Instructions for Assignment Submission

181/TI/2605/Management Information Systems

Bangladesh Open University

Programme : Commonwealth Executive MBA/MPA Semester: 181, Level: 2nd

Course Title: Management Information Systems Submit by: October 18, 2019

Instructions for Assignment Submission

1. Answer all questions in your own handwriting on A4 size white paper. 2. Fill-in the cover page (see page#5 of Semester Calendar) of your assignment with

care. 3. Submit the assignment to the study centre coordinator or his delegate and ensure

his/her signature on your Assignment Acknowledgement Form (see page#6 of Semester Calendar).

4. Don’t make spiral binding. Instead, make soft binding. 5. If your e-mail address is not yet added to our e-mail list, please send a mail with your

ID Number and Level to [email protected] with subject “Add Me”. 6. In the case of delayed submission, the School will not acknowledge the submission

of the assignment(s) and will not be responsible for any damage or loss of the assignment(s).

7. If it is noticed that your assignment is copied from another student’s assignment, your assignment will automatically be cancelled.

1. What do you mean by Information System (IS)? Explain the impact of Information

Technology on organizational strategy.

2. Explain the evaluation of management information systems.

3. Describe how IS planning has evolved and relate to new planning strategies for e-business and IOS.

4. What is value chain? Explain the new value chain for e-Business.

5. Identify stages of growth in IS and e-business.

Assignment # 1 CORE 2605 For New Students




Course Title: Management Information Systems Submit by: November 22, 2019

1. Discuss Porter’s Five Competitive Forces Model. 2. Describe the Principles of the balanced score card. 3. Explain the cultural implications of global communities and the impact on IOS and e-

business networks. 4. Briefly discuss the Seven ‘S’ Framework. 5. Define the concept of business transformation. How would you formulate an effective

Implementation plan? 6. Narrate the enumerate the threats of e-business with example.

7. Read carefully the case bellow and answer the questions below.

Case: IT in the Construction Industry

Many people think that the most widely used tool in a construction project is the hammer, but it’s probably a filing cabinet or fax machine. The $3.4 trillion US construction industry is highly paper intensive. A complex project such a large building requires the co-ordination of many different groups and hundreds of architectural drawings and design documents, which can change daily. Costly delays because of misplaced documents could make or break a company in an industry with razor-thin profit margins of 1 to 2 percent.

Web technology is starting to address this problem. New web-based construction project management systems enable project managers to exchange documents and work online wherever they are using web browser software. Auto Desk Building Corporation services, for example, offers customers a shared central space where project managers can exchange documents with engineers and architects, track scheduling and performance, and hold online meetings.

Questions: (a) What are the management benefits of using web-based construction management software? (b) How can the systems as mentioned be used to share knowledge and experiences for better

management of projects and tasks at hand? (c) What problems might be associated with such web-based systems? How can those problems

be tackled?

Assignment # 2 CORE 2605 For New Students




Course Title: Management Information Systems Submit by: October 18, 2019

Instructions for Assignment Submission 1. Answer all questions in your own handwriting on A4 size white paper. 2. Fill-in the cover page (see page#5 of Semester Calendar) of your assignment with







1. What do you mean by Information System (IS)? Explain the impact of Information

Technology on organizational strategy.

2. Explain the evaluation of management information systems.

3. Describe how IS planning has evolved and relate to new planning strategies for e-business and IOS.

4. What is value chain? Explain the new value chain for e-Business.

5. Identify stages of growth in IS and e-business.

Assignment # 1 CORE 2605 For old Students




Course Title: Management Information Systems Submit by: November 22, 2019

1. Discuss Porter’s Five Competitive Forces Model.

2. Describe the Principles of the balanced score card.

3. Explain the cultural implications of global communities and the impact on IOS and e-business networks.

4. Briefly discuss the Seven ‘S’ Framework.

5. Define the concept of business transformation. How would you formulate an effective implementation plan?





Course Title: Management Information Systems Submit by: December 13, 2019

1 Narrate the threats of e-business with example.

2 Develop an approach to customer relationship management and a plan for e-branding

3. Briefly discuss the Seven ‘S’ Framework.

3. Read carefully the case bellow and answer the questions below.

Case: IT in the Construction Industry

Many people think that the most widely used tool in a construction project is the hammer, but it’s probably a filing cabinet or fax machine. The $3.4 trillion US construction industry is highly paper intensive. A complex project such a large building requires the co-ordination of many different groups and hundreds of architectural drawings and design documents, which can change daily. Costly delays because of misplaced documents could make or break a company in an industry with razor-thin profit margins of 1 to 2 percent.

Web technology is starting to address this problem. New web-based construction project management systems enable project managers to exchange documents and work online wherever they are using web browser software. Auto Desk Building Corporation services, for example, offers customers a shared central space where project managers can exchange documents with engineers and architects, track scheduling and performance, and hold online meetings.

Questions:

(a) What are the management benefits of using web-based construction management software?

(b) How can the systems as mentioned be used to share knowledge and experiences for better management of projects and tasks at hand?

(c) What problems might be associated with such web-based systems? How can those problems be tackled?


CEMBA/CEMPA 181/QGA/operations Management Page # 1


Programme: Commonwealth Executive MBA/MPA Semester: 181, Level: 2nd

Course Title: Operations Management Submit by: October 18, 2019








1. (a) “ Operations management refers to the direction and control of inputs that transform

processes into products and services”. Do you agree? Explain. (b) What are four core processes in a firm and how are they related? (c) Explain what an operations strategy is and the importance of competitive priorities.

Give an example from an organization (public or private, manufacturing or service).

2. (a) How has global competition affected productivity? (b) The three person crew worked their way through the neighborhood, mowing lawns,

edging, applying fertilizer and weed treatments where necessary and collecting all the clippings for use as mulch as part of their new green initiative. Their pricing scheme appears in Table A and the mix of orders and service costs appear in Table B:

a. What is their multifactor productivity for these orders in the prestigious Edmond Oaks neighborhood?

b. Which of the service combinations provided by them is the most productive service combination from a multifactor perspective?

c. What is their labor productivity for the same mix of orders?

CORE 2606 RE 3612

Assignment-1

For New/Old Students


Table A: Price List

SERVICE PRICE LABOR MATERIAL Mow lawn Tk.75 1 hr Tk.2

Edge Tk.20 .25 Tk.1 Fertilizer treatment Tk.120 .25 Tk.45

Weed prevention treatment Tk.80 .25 Tk.25 Multiple services 5% discount times the

number of services

Workers are paid at a rate of Tk.10 per hour, and overhead is charged at 120% (or

1.2 times) labor costs. For a customer that gets both mowing and edging, their Tk.95 bill would be discounted for two services times 5% for a total of 10% off the Tk.95 straight charge for a cost of Tk.85.50. A customer receiving three services would get a 15% discount off their service bill. Labor hours shown in Table A are total hours for the three-person crew.

Table B: Orders Processed

SERVICE # Customers Mow lawn & edge 6 Mow lawn, edge, and fertilize 3 Mow lawn, edge, and weed prevention treatment 2 Mow lawn & fertilize 2

3. (a) What factors should be considered when selecting the appropriate capacity cushion?

How does the choice of capacity cushion relate to other decisions in operations management? To other functional areas?

(b) Discuss the relationship between setup time and utilization. (c) The seven-person maintenance function at a hospital performs both preventive and

corrective maintenance on hundreds of items each month. All the workers are scheduled for 40 hours per week and there are four weeks in a month. It is the goal of the maintenance department to achieve 90% utilization with a mix of two-thirds preventive maintenance and one-third corrective maintenance. How many hours each month are spent performing preventive maintenance if they achieve their 90% utilization and correct/preventive mix targets?

(d) A printing company works on three types of printing jobs, each of which could be produced on the same model printing machine. The predicted annual demands and typical order sizes are shown in the table. The company has 2000 production hours available each year and requires a 10% capacity cushion to allow for preventive maintenance, breakdowns, and other unforeseen circumstances. How many printing machines must they have under these circumstances?

Job Type Job A Job B Job C Demand 6000 4000 5000

Process time per unit .8 .75 .25 Average order size 40 100 50 setup time (hours) 1 .75 .5




Course Title: Operations Management Submit by: November 22, 2019 1. (a) Your team has been asked to develop a forecast for the need for storage in the

company's communication devices ten years from now. What method would develop the best forecast? Why? How would you execute this method?

(b) The management of an insurance company monitors the number of mistakes made by telephone service representatives for a company they have subcontracted with. The number of mistakes for the past several months appears in this table along with forecasts for errors made with three different forecasting techniques. The column labeled Exponential was created using exponential smoothing with an alpha of 0.30. The column labeled MA is forecast using a moving average of three periods. The column labeled WMA uses a 3-month weighted moving average with weights of 0.65, 0.25, and 0.10 for the most-to-least recent months.

Month Mistakes Exponential MA WMA

1 55 2 61 3 71 4 77 71 62 67 5 88 73 70 74 6 100 77 79 84 7 109 84 88 95 8 122 92 99 105 9 126 101 110 117

10 126 108 119 123 (i) Using Table above, what is the CFE for months 6-10 for the exponential

smoothing technique? (ii) Using Table above, what is the MSE for months 6-10 for the exponential

smoothing technique? (iii) Using Table above, what is the MAD for months 6-10 for the exponential

smoothing technique? (iv) Using Table above, what is the mean absolute percent error for months 6-10

using the exponential smoothing forecasts?

2. (a) How can an MRP system be used in a firm's sustainability efforts? (b) What are the differences and similarities among material requirements planning,

manufacturing resource planning, and enterprise resource planning systems?

CORE 2606 Assignment-2 For New/Old Students


(c ) Scenario :

Item Amount Item Amount Item Amount O 17 F 15 D 30 P 25 U 11 E 93 C 13 N 34

Inventory amounts indicated in the table are available to produce the end item indicated

in this bill of materials. (i) Use the above Scenario to answer this question. How many additional units of E

are needed to produce ten end items? (ii) Use Scenario above Scenario to answer this question. How many additional units of

D are needed to produce seven end items? (iii) Use Figure above Scenario to answer this question. How many additional units of P

are needed to produce ten end items? (iv) Use above Scenario to answer this question. How many additional units of F are

needed to produce twelve end items? (v) Use above Scenario to answer this question. In order to keep their suppliers happy,

the company assembling the end item wants to make sure they build enough product to order at least one of each of the components on the lowest level of the BOM. What number of end items will make that happen?

3. (a) Explain the fundamental difference between the "capacity options" and the "demand options" of aggregate planning strategies.

(b) Compare the chase strategy versus level scheduling. (c) List, in order, the five steps of the graphical method of aggregate planning. Is it

possible that these steps can be properly followed and the solution properly implemented without using a graph? Explain.


(d) Osprey Fabrication has the following aggregate demand requirements and other data for the upcoming four quarters.

Quarter Demand Previous quarter's output 1300 units 1 1400 Beginning inventory 0 units 2 1200 Stockout cost Tk.50 per unit

3 1600 Inventory holding cost Tk.10 per unit at end

of quarter 4 1500 Hiring workers Tk.40 per unit Laying off workers Tk.80 per unit Subcontracting cost Tk.60 per unit Unit cost Tk.30 per unit Overtime Tk.15 extra per unit

Which of the following production plans is better: Plan A — chase demand by hiring

and layoffs; Plan B— pure level strategy, or Plan C — 1350 level with the remainder by

subcontracting? A fleet repair facility has the capacity to repair 800 trucks per month. However, due

to scheduled maintenance of their equipment, management feels that they can repair no more than 600 trucks per month. Last month, two of the employees were absent several days each, and only 400 trucks were repaired. What are the utilization and efficiency of the repair shop?




Course Title: Operations Management Submit by: December 13, 2019

1. (a) “ The just-in-time (JIT) philosophy is the belief that cutting inventory and removing non-value-added activities in operations can eliminate waste”.Explain.

(b) The Edward James Toy Company uses a Kanban system to make plastic wheels that are a component of several toys. The waiting time for a container of the wheels during production is 0.25 day; average processing time is 0.15 day per container. Each container holds 200 wheels. The company uses 2000 wheels a day in the production of its products.

(i) Use the information stated above in (b). Using a policy variable of 5%, calculate the number of Kanban containers needed for the wheels.

(ii) Use the information stated above in (b). How many Kanban containers would be required if a 10% policy variable is used?

(c) What are the general operating rules for a single-card kanban system?

2. (a) What is the difference between a Gantt load chart and a Gantt scheduling chart? (b) In what five ways does the problem of scheduling service systems differ from that

of scheduling manufacturing systems? (c) A practitioner of family medicine begins her day with five patients needing urgent

care. She does a very brief assessment of what each patient appears to need and estimates the time required of each. None of the cases is life-threatening, and so she determines to take the five in the order that they arrived at the clinic. The processing-time data for these patients, in the order they arrived, are: Patient A, 30 minutes; Patient B, 40 minutes; Patient C, 10 minutes; Patient D, 50 minutes; and Patient E, 15 minutes.

(a) If it is now 8:00 a.m., at what time will the doctor be finished with all five of these emergencies?

(b) How much time will the five patients have collectively spent waiting? (c) How much less time would have been spent waiting if the doctor had taken the

patients according to shortest processing time?

3. (a) What is the fundamental distinction between design capacity and effective capacity? Provide a brief example.

(b) Distinguish between utilization and efficiency. (c) Why is the capacity decision important?

CORE 2606 Assignment-3 For Old Students

CEMBA/CEMPA 181/Dr MI/CORE 2607 Human Resource Management-1 Page # 1



Course Title: Human Resource Management Submit by: October 18, 2019








1. a) What do you mean by human resource management?

b) Describe the major functions of human resource management. c) Explain the applications of three approaches of human resources management.

2. a) What is strategic human resource management (SHRM)?

b) What are the key themes of strategic human resource management? Explain with example. c) Discuss in brief the past present and future perspective of human resource management.

3. a) Who does human resource planning?

b) Discuss the different employee forecasting techniques. c) What do you mean by career? Explain the components and stages of career.

CORE 2607 RE 3612

Assignment-1

For New /Old Students




Course Title: Human Resource Management Submit by: November 22, 2019

1. a) What do you mean by job analysis? State the process of job analysis. b) Discuss the major uses of job analysis information. c) Explain the observation method and technical conference method of collecting job analysis

information.

2. a) How does recruitment differ from selection?

b) Describe the barriers to effective selection.

c) What is interview? Discuss the effectiveness of interview.

d) What do you mean by training? Explain the methods of training.

3. Go through the case and answer to the questions given below the case. Recruitment issues for Rift Airlines 'So we are all agreed’, said Kieran Mathieson, managing director of Rift Airlines. ’We need to change.' Stan Vines, marketing manager, leant forward. 'Kieran, it is imperative. We are losing market share. The competition is killing us. We are seen as a safe but boring way to fly. Our in-flight service at best is average and our crew is seen as surly and not service-oriented. We are just not competitive.’ ‘l agree with Stan', growled operations manager, Bill Armstrong. 'Our present cabin crew is not with it - they’re too old. They don’t present a modern image. We need people who are young, attractive, cheerful and dynamic. If we are going to turn around this airline, we need to do something. Some of the male crew looks like absolute slobs with their beer guts and some of the women have backsides the size of a barn! lt’s no wonder we can’t compete with Virgin and Singapore. Their crews are attractive, cheerful and service-oriented. As a passenger, you get greeted with a smile, not a snarl.’ 'lt seems to me', snapped Linda Church, HR manager, 'that this sorry state of affairs is a reflection of our bad management.’ ‘For heaven's sake, Linda. We’re trying to run a business not a social welfare organisation. Face reality, customers prefer to be served by young, attractive cabin crew. Our competition realises it. Listen to this. This is what Malaysia Airlines corporate services senior general manager, Mohammadon Abdullah, was reported as saying in the press: "Customers prefer to be served by young, demure and pretty stewardesses, especially Asian ladies.”Who wants to be served by a_ bunch of ageing couch potatoes and old boilers?' 'I can’t believe you said that!’ snapped Linda. 'What you are saying is so blatantly discriminatory that it is not funny.' 'lt's not just me Linda. Look at this newspaper clipping. The writer makes it clear what passengers want.' ’What does it say?’ questioned Kieran. 'To quote’, smiled Bill 'a charming face with a captivating smile has a more positive impact than a wrinkled face with a forced smile.’

CORE 2607 Assignment-2 For New /Old Students


'Really Bill, you are being ridiculous', sighed Linda. Kieran interrupted. 'Please let's remain focused. We have a problem and we have to do something. We are losing market share and money. We can’t continue with the old ways or we will be out of business. Now, what do you suggest?’ 'Hire all new cabin crew', enthused Stan. 'l’m prepared to explore the option, Stan, but it seems to me that Linda has raised some valid objections, responded Kieran. ’Linda?' questioned Kieran. ’Alright, l’ll go along with the exercise. But first we need to clearly define the type of people we need’ 'Well, if our aim is to be the fastest-growing, most profitable airline in the Asia Pacific region, that means we need people who are motivated and have a strong service orientation. They must fit with our image as a young, dynamic, "with it" Australian airline that has an international outlook and is going places’, said Stan. ’So, we are the young, confident, progressive airline that proclaims its ”Australianness" but at the same time communicates its cultural diversity’, said Kieran. ’Mmm, sounds interesting. You three get together and articulate the specific qualities we should look for and identify where we are going to find such people’, requested Kieran. Discussion question Critically review the points raised. Which manager(s) do you agree with and which do you disagree with? Why?




Course Title: Human Resource Management Submit by: December 13, 2019

1. a) Why is performance appraisal conducted? b) Explain the conceptual feedback model on employee performance. c) Discuss the point method of job evaluation.

2. (a) What is compensation? State the objectives of compensation. (b) Discuss the methods of payment of compensation. 3. (a) What is industrial relation? Describe the aspects of industrial relation. (b) What do you mean by trade union? Why do workers join a trade union?

4. Go through the case and answer to the questions given below the case. Jahangir Alam’s Promotion Jahangir Alam is a senior officer in the Agrani Bank Limited. The bank has a policy to give weight to the merit, seniority and score of performance appraisal. The bankers need to take diploma in banking from Institute of bankers. It has two parts – 1 and II. This diploma will have 2 points and to be added with the total points. The annual performance appraisal has 100 marks. Foundation training along with other trainings will have weights. If anybody has Master of Bank Management from the Institute of Bank Management, he/she will get additional 5 points. There is no interview system to get promotion to the upper level. There is a board to seat and decide considering overall results and performances for giving promotion to the higher level. Discussion Question What is the promotional basis of the bank? Write with arguments.


CEMBA 181/TMA-CORE2608/MAK Page # 1


CEMBA/CEMPA Program Semester 181, Level: 2nd

Course: Economic Environment of Business Due on: October 18, 2019

(Assignment is to be presented in own handwriting on A4 size white pages)

Note : Answer all the questions and submit to the coordinator of your tutorial center on or before due date.

Instructions for Assignment Submission Answer all questions in your own handwriting on A4 size white paper. Fill-in the cover page (see page#5 of Semester Calendar) of your assignment with care. Submit the assignment to the study centre coordinator or his delegate and ensure


Don’t make spiral binding. Instead, make soft binding. If your e-mail address is not yet added to our e-mail list, please send a mail with your

ID Number and Level to [email protected] with subject “Add Me”. In the case of delayed submission, the School will not acknowledge the submission of

the assignment(s) and will not be responsible for any damage or loss of the assignment(s).

If it is noticed that your assignment is copied from another student’s assignment, your assignment will automatically be cancelled.

1. Distinguish between GNP and GDP. Suppose, Mr. Plattaeu, a Dutch, is working at an

NGO in Chittagong. His colleague, Rina Ahmed, is a Bangladeshi. Her husband Mr. Daud Ahmed, a Bangladeshi, is a salesman at a super market in Malaysia. Now identify who’s income belongs to: i) GNP of Bangladesh, ii) GDP of Bangladesh, iii) GNP of EU, and iv) GDP of Malaysia.

2. What is the difference between demand and quantity demanded? Show graphically the effect of the following changes on the position of the demand curve for sugar: i) Decrease in the price of sugar, ii) Increase in the population size, iii) Increase in the numbers of aged people in the society.

3. What is supply? Describe the difference between the movement along the supply curve and the shift of the supply curve. Show graphically the effect of the following changes on the position of the supply curve of potato: a) Price of the potato has been reduced, b) Weather got worse, c) Level of technology has been enhanced.

4. What is equilibrium? Show graphically the effects of the following factors on equilibrium price and quantity: (i) market syndication, (ii) price floor, (iii) price ceiling, (iii) sales tax

Assignment # 1 CORE 2608



5. Define price elasticity of demand, income elasticity of demand and cross elasticity of demand? Suppose, Mr. Sadin is a consultant to Nondon Mega Shop. He tells them that their product, T-bone steak, is a superior good. If his claim is true, what is the income elasticity of demand for T-bone steak?




Course: Economic Environment of Business Due on: November 22, 2019


Note : Answer all the questions and submit to the coordinator of your tutorial center on or before due date.

1. Explain the relationship between marginal cost and average cost. Why the average cost curve is U-shaped? ‘Supply curve is a portion of the marginal cost curve’. Explain this statement graphically.

2. Think of a hawker who sells tea. Identify his/her cost items and put them under explicit and implicit heads. The details of the production activity of a farm are as below:

Find – i) Explicit cost ii) Economic cost

3. Identify MC, AC, AVC from the following data:

Product: Rice Output: 200Kg Interest: rate=10% [Own money used]

Name of the Inputs

Quantity of inputs required Price of input Sources of

input

Land 500 Decimals Tk. 50/10Decimal Family

Labor 40 Mandays Tk. 200/Manday Family Seed 10 Kg Tk. 20/Kg Market Fertilizer (Chemical) 20Kg Tk. 40/Kg Market

Irrigation 2 Months Tk. 300/Month Market

Ploughing Tractor Tk300/100 Decimals Market

Cow dung 500kg Tk. 25/10Kg Family Insecticide 3 Litres Tk. 200/Litre Market

Entrepreneurship 1 Tk. 6000 (Opportunity cost)

Quantity (Q) → 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total Cost (TC) 600 1000 1400 1700 2500 3100 Fixed Cost (FC) 100 100 100 100 100 100

Assignment # 2 Assignment # 2 MBA 1304 Assignment # 2 Assignment # 2 CORE 2608



4. What are the characteristics of a perfectly competitive firm? How perfectly competitive market is different from monopoly? Can a firm in perfectly competitive market continue production even it incurs loss? Explain with diagrams. Explain in your own words what market structure favours more the consumers’ interests.

5. Read the following passage and answer the questions below it:

Recent Swings in Oil Price: What were the major determinants? A recent low point of oil price was reached in January 1999 of $16 (all prices are in US$ per barrel), after increased oil production from Iraq coincided with the Asian financial crisis, which reduced demand. Prices then increased rapidly. On July 11, 2008, oil prices rose to a new record of $147.27 following concern over recent Iranian missile tests. However, oil prices declined by more than $20 over the next two weeks, settling around $125 a barrel on July 24, 2008. A strong contributor to this price decline was the drop in demand for oil in the US. Oil further dropped down to $70 per barrel on October 16, 2008.

The price of oil, like the price of all commodities, is subject to major swings over time, particularly tied to the overall business cycle. When demand for a commodity like oil exceeds production capacity, the price will rise quite sharply because both demand and supply are fairly inelastic in the short run. Users of oil might be shocked by much higher prices, but they have commitments and habits that determine their energy use and these take time to adjust. On the supply side, especially at the outer edge of existing production capacity, adding new capacity is time-consuming and expensive. Over time, however, both businesses and individuals figure out ways to cut back their oil consumption in response to high prices, and the high prices promote new investment in production and the arrival of new sources in the market, gradually restoring a supply-demand balance. The extraordinary spike in prices in mid-2008 represents to a large extent the consequences of a brief period where global oil demand outran supply.

Questions: a. What is the market structure of petroleum? If the demand for oil increases, why price

rockets high in short run? b. What was the major reason of shockingly high oil price in early July 2008? Use

concept of demand for and supply of oil to explain your answer. What kind of affect the high international price of oil might have had on the prices of agricultural products in Bangladesh? Use the concepts of supply and demand to answer the question.




Course: Economic Environment of Business Due on: December 13, 2019


1. What is inflation? What are the commonly used measures of inflation? If the price of the inputs for some necessary items increases remaining all other prices unchanged, what kind of inflation may happen in the economy?

2. Define unemployment. Describe different types of unemployment. Do you believe there may remain some unemployment even if the economy is in full employment level? What kind of unemployment that is?

3. What is the difference between closed economy and open economy? Identify which of the following economies are open and which are closed economies: i) Canadian Economy, ii) US Economy, iii) Bangladesh Economy, iii) Singaporean Economy, and iv) UK Economy.

Assignment # 3 CORE 2608 For Old Students

CEMBA/CEMPA 181/AAS/CORE 2609 Public System Management-1 Page # 1



Course Title: Public Systems Management Submit by: October 18, 2019








1. (a) What does new public management (NPM) mean? How does it differ from the

traditional model of public administration? Explain. (b) Describe the nature, scope and features of new public management. 2. (a) What is public policy? Discuss different models of public policy making. (b) Discuss project implementation techniques and techniques for monitoring

implementation. 3. (a) What is responsive administration? Discuss some specific environmental elements

towards which public administration has to be responsive. (b) Discuss the roles of public administrators in comparison to those of private-sector

managers.

CORE 2609 RE 3612

Assignment-1





Course Title: Public Systems Management Submit by: November 22, 2019

1. Read the following passage and answer the questions those follow: Kandura City Development Project Kandura is a fast developing city situated in the southeastern province of the country. It is the trade centre for more than 50,000 people in the area. Previously, the roads in the city were very narrow and there was much congestion caused by vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The need for widening the roads for developing the city was imperative and that the political authority of the area urged the central government to initiate a city development project for Kandura. After preliminary discussions, the central government assigned the project to the Highway Development Authority (HDA) that, with the assistance of a foreign company, designed the project. At the beginning of the project, there was consensus on certain issues. The central government agreed that acquiring land and paying compensation would be the responsibility of the government while the company would be responsible for the construction work. The provincial engineer’s office (PEO) was in charge of road maintenance in the province; therefore, the HDA on behalf of the central government assigned the acquisition of land to the PEO. The provincial engineer, Mr. Ebrahim, was a well-experienced senior officer of the National Engineering Service. He came for the preliminary discussions and thought that the project would be implemented under his leadership. But the political authority of the area wanted this to be a special project. The HDA appointed a Deputy General Manager as the head of the project and initiated the project under his leadership. The Deputy General Manager assigned the responsibility to a young qualified engineer, Mr. Mooshin, who had recently returned to the country after obtaining postgraduate qualifications from a foreign university. It was his first assignment after his arrival to the country. Young Mr. Mooshin wanted to finish the construction work as quikly as possible to show his capability to his supervisors. He didn’t give serious thought towards the acquisition of land next to the roadside. He thought that it was the responsibility of the Provincial Engineer. The Provincial Engineer. Mr. Ebrahim was not a good terms with Mr. Mooshin. There was a touch of professional jealousy between that two and both of them didn’t discuss the matter cordially. The foreign company prepared an action plan with a consultant. They wanted to complete the project within eight months. The first step was clearance of land. For this task, they allocated two months. But the two months passed without acquiring land. The foreign company started construction work as scheduled in May 1999 although land acquisition land acquisition had not been done.

CORE 2609 Assignment-2 For New/Old Students


When the construction work started, the Provincial Engineer Mr. Ebrahim went abroad for further training and another young inexperienced engineer, Mr. Praba, was appointed to cover up his duties. Mr. Praba had to learn his work by studying the various records and files and had to manage only with the knowledge he gained from such learning.

Acquiring land is quite an important component in this multi-million-dollar project. When using private property for a government purpose, the government has to repay the value of the land they acquired for that purpose. According to the law of the country, the Minister of Land should gazette the Divisional Secretary of the area (DS) as the land acquisition officer. When the Gazette notification is published, the DS as the acquiring officer goes to take over the lands from the landowners. He takes over the lands in front of a valuation officer appointed by the government. The valuation officer takes into account all the valuable property, buildings, trees and the like when he assesses the value of the land. Compensation is based on this assessment. When construction was under way, an election was announced to select the Provincial council members and the Chif Minister. The political authority of the area wanted the project to be completed before the election.

As the government press was busy with printing ballot papers, the gazette notification for acquiring land didn’t arrive on time. Although land acquisition had not been completed, the political authority together with Mr. Mooshin the engineer managed to demolish private property to carry on construction work to widen the road. With the support of the enthusiastic Mr. Mooshin and the political authority, the construction company complete the project three weeks before the elections. The political authority ceremonially opened the widened road with other distinguished guests.

The Gazette notification came one month after the elections declaring the DS as the acquiring officer. The DS together with the valuation officer went to acquire lands from the landowners. The valuation officer pointed out that he had to value the land on the acquiring data and he could not give an estimate including all the buildings, trees and the like which had been demolished for road construction and were not there at the date of assessment.

The landowners demanded compensation for the valuable property lost to them because of the road construction. The valuation officer expressed his inability to give an estimate to the lost property. The DS had to answer the questions of people who came to the Divisional Secretariat almost every day to demand compensation. The Provincial Engineer put the blame on the Government press for their inability to publish the Gazette notification in time. The newly elected political authority maintained that people should be paid for their lost property somehow. Two of the former Provincial Council members who were defeated in the last election put the blame for their defeat on public officers’ failure to pay timely compensations for acquisitions.

Question:

(i) Identify all the stakeholders of the above project. (ii) Against each stakeholder, list the objectives each wanted to achieve through

implementation of the project. (iii) How could project administrators avoid such problems? Suggest ways and

means.




Course Title: Public Systems Management Submit by: December 13, 2019

1. (a) Why should public organizations in a democratic system be concerned with customer services? Explain.

(b) What are the advantages and disadvantages of privatization programmes? Discuss. 2. (a) Discuss the causes and effects of lack of sufficient responsiveness in administration. (b) Explain the basic principles that are useful in developing and sustaining TQM in

public organizations in Bangladesh. 3. (a) What are the prerequisites for effective project monitoring plan? State all the

criteria’s for evaluating policy action. (b) Describe the techniques for evaluating policy actions in the context of public service

management.


Documents

Instructions for Assignment Submission