UPSC Mains MANAGEMENT-PAPER-II 2013

In a post office, three clerks were assigned to process incoming mail. The first clerk, C1, processes 40%, the second clerk, C2, processes 35% and the third clerk, C3, processes 25% of the mail. The first clerk has an error rate of 0.04, the second clerk has an error rate of 0.06 and the third clerk has an error rate of 0.03. A mail selected at random from a day's output is found to have an error. The Postmaster wishes to know the probability that the mail was processed by the first, second or third clerk respectively. Find the probabilities.

The odds that A speaks the truth is 3:2 and the odds that B speaks the truth is 5:3. In what percentage of cases are they likely to contradict each other on an identical point?

In a class of 50 students, the regression equation of marks in Economics (X) on marks in Management (Y) is 3Y-5X+180 = 0. The mean marks in Management is 44 and the variance of marks in Economics is 9/16 of the variance of marks in Management. Find the mean marks in Economics and the coefficient of correlation between marks in the two subjects.

A light metal company manufactures two products A and B. Each product must pass through two processing sections L and M. A good number of machines are available in both the sections. One unit of product A requires 2 hours of processing time in L and 1 hour in M. One unit of product B requires 1 hour of processing time in L and 4 hours in M. Total time available in section L is 6000 hours whereas in section M, it is 10000 hours. The net profit for product A is ₹ 3.50 per unit and for product B is ₹ 5.00 per unit. The company wishes to maximize the total net profit.

Formulate the problem as a linear programming problem.

Find the optimum production schedule that will maximize the total net profit per week by graphical method or otherwise.

Describe briefly each step of the six-sigma methodology popularly known as DMAIC methodology.

In statistical quality control, what is the difference between 'control by variables' and 'control by attributes'? What are the most popularly used control charts used for 'control by variables' and 'control by attributes'?

In Just In Time (JIT) manufacturing system, how does the 'subsequent process' signal the 'preceding process' to produce the quantity required?

What is an Electronic Business (e-commerce)? What is Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)? What are the elements of e-commerce and EDI? What are the benefits of e-commerce and EDI?

A furniture company manufactures four-drawer filing cabinets in six stages. In the first stage, the boards forming the walls of the cabinet are cut; in the second stage, the front door panels are woodworked; in the third stage, the boards are sanded and finished; in the fourth stage, the boards are cleaned, stained and painted with a clear finish; in the fifth stage, the hardware for pulls, runners and fittings is installed; and in the final stage, the cabinets are assembled. Inspection occurs at each stage of the process, and the average percentages of good quality units are as follows:

Determine the weekly product yield of good quality cabinets without process improvement.

Which alternative will yield greatest increase in product of good quality and why?

Which alternative will be most cost-effective and why?

The determination of three different varieties (say X, Y and Z) was subject of a recent experiment. Different blocks chosen at random from a larger group were used for this purpose. The data recorded were as follows:

Analyze the above two-way classified data.

Test for the effects of blocks and varieties at the 5% level of significance.

Determine which varieties differ, if any. Is it possible to do the same with the blocks?

An oil company is considering a bid for a shale oil development contract to be awarded by the Central Government. The company has decided to bid ₹ 660 crores. The company estimates that it has a 60% chance of winning the contract with this bid.

Should the company make the bid?

If yes, what method for oil extraction should it adopt?

Product A is assembled from two parts B and C. One unit of A is assembled from 1 unit of B and 2 units of C. Each item requires one or more operations and the lead time everywhere is assumed negligible. Part C requires first machining operation followed by heat treatment. Part B requires only machining operation. Product A requires an assembly operation. The Master Production Schedule (MPS) for product A is given in the table below:

What will you recommend as normal capacity at each work center?

If product A of each batch has a setup cost of ₹ 5,000, a manufacturing cost of ₹ 2,000 per unit and an inventory holding cost of 20% of the manufacturing cost, which MPS will you recommend to minimize setup and inventory costs?

Given the MPS in the table above, what is the schedule of gross requirements of part C?

Forecast of demand for cakes made by a baking company needs to be made with accuracy. The bakery markets cakes through a chain of food stores. It has been experiencing over- and under-production due to forecasting errors. The demand in dozens of cakes for the past four weeks is shown in the table below. Cakes are made for sale on the following day, for example, Monday's cake production is for Tuesday's sales and so on. The bakery is closed on Saturday. So Friday's production must satisfy demand for both Saturday and Sunday:

Using a weighted average of 0.40, 0.30, 0.20 and 0.10 for week 1, week 2, week 3 and week 4 ago respectively, what is the weighted average forecast for Monday of the current week?

The bakery also produces bread and is planning its purchases of ingredients for bread production. If bread demand forecast for last week had been 22000 loaves, and only 21000 loaves were actually demanded, what would the forecast be for this week using exponential smoothing method with smoothing coefficient α = 0.10?

In part (ii) above, if actual demand in current week turns out to be 21500, what will be the forecast for the next week with exponential smoothing method, using α = 0.10?

XYZ is famous for homemade pizzas which are crisp with thin crust and varied toppings giving the pizzas fabulous tastes. XYZ is revamping its order processing and pizza-making process. In order to deliver fresh pizza fast, six work elements must be completed as shown in the table below:

Construct a precedence diagram for the process.

If the demand is 120 pizzas per night (5:00 pm to 1:00 am), compute the cycle time for the process. Compute the lead time for the process.

What is the theoretical minimum number of workstations needed to achieve the required production?

How will you balance the production line to produce and deliver 120 pizzas per night? What is the actual minimum number of workstations needed?

An antiseptic mouthwash is one of the major products of WL Company. Materials collected from eucalyptus farms are shipped to WL's manufacturing plants. The mouthwash is purchased by thousands of retail stores, some of them are giants like Walmart and many are small. To avoid high inventories or shortages, WL decided to use Demand Planning Decision Support System (DSS) from a well-known vendor of IT software.

How are Supply Chain Management (SCM) and Enterprise DSS related?

In WL case, how do Demand Planning DSS, Capacity Planning DSS and CPFR result in supply chain excellence?

How is second generation ERP different from first generation ERP?

Can first generation ERP help achieve supply chain excellence? Can second generation ERP help do this?