Entrepreneurship and Management of SME Mumbai University October 2011 Exam Question Paper

Duration – 2 hours

Total marks – 60

1) All questions in Section I are compulsory.

2) Answer any 3 questions from Section II

3) Figures on the right indicate full marks.

Section I

Q. 1) Explain the following concepts: ( 3 marks each) – 15 marks

a) SISI

b) Ancillarisation

c) Seed Capital

d) Brainstorming

e) Intrapreneur

Q. 2) Case Study

Shahnaz Hussain is an entrepreneur in the truest spirit of the world. The lady has a whopping 80 percent of the domestic herbal market, and sales counters in the best stores internationally,  be it the Seibu chainn in Japan, Bloomingdales in the US, Galleries Lafayette in Paris, Harrods and Selfridges in London.

Not prepared to sit back as a housewife and mother at the age of 16, young Shahnaz set about writing for magazines to earn money so that she could fund her education. Staying with husband Nasir in Tehran, Shahnaz found the ideal opportunity in the international beauty schools there. After studying cosmetic chemistry in international beauty schools in centres including London, Paris and Denmark for close to 8 years. Hussain hit upon the idea of exporting the 4000 year old Indian Ayurvedic system, so that she could research and develop herbal cures and treatments.

“I had seen the debilitating effects of synthetic cosmetics abroad; there was no doubt in my mind that the herbal system would work,” recalls Shahnaz. She returned to India to set up shop in one room, with a startup investment of Rs. 35,000/- b0rrowed from her father. The going was tough. Shahnaz had priced her product well above the existing market. “I began with just one product – ‘Shalife’, a massage cream. My facials were priced at Rs. 100/- while you could get one in the market for a paltry Rs. 6/-” reminisces Hussain. However that did not stop the crowds from coming in, and soon. Shahnaz had more clients than she could handle. The lady  invented a marketing style  uniquely her own; she decided to make the brand a personality-driven one, flying in to various cities to lecture on herbals and Ayurveda, inaugrating Shahnaz franchies and salons, and returning the same day. “I would go to a place for one day, offer free prescriptions and advice, inaugrate the salons and go back,” says Shahnaz. It worked-today, there are more than 600 salons in India and abroad.

The Shahnaz Hussain group of companies had acquired a global presence with exports to 132 countries including those in the Middle East, South-East Asia, Australia and all over Europe. Since Shahnaz never had advertised her product and yet sold so well, Harvard in the US wanted to use her marketing system as a case study. To sum it up, Shahnaz says, “I never fail, because I never stop trying”.

Questions:

1) What entrepreneurial qualities do you find in Shahnaz Hussain? – 7 marks.

2) Explain the role of innovation and creativity in entrepreneurship with respect to this case. – 8 marks

Section II

Q. 3) Discuss the contribution of Joseph Schumpeter and David McClelland with regard to entrepreneurship. – 10 marks

Q. 4) Write short notes on any 2  (10 marks)

a) Role of culture in the development of entrepreneurs

b) Franchising

c) Entrepreneurial Development Programme

Q. 5) How should a prospective entrepreneur formulate a good business plan? Illustrate with examples – 10 marks

Q. 6) What are the causes of sickness in small scale industries? Explain the measures to prevent sickness?  – 10 marks