Class 12 Business Studies: CBSE Sample Question Papers- Term I (2021-22)

The activities involved in managing an enterprise are common to all organisations whether economic, social or political. A petrol pump needs to be managed as much as a hospital or a school. What managers do in India, the USA, Germany or Japan is the same. How they do it may be quite different. This difference is due to the differences in culture, tradition and history.

Planning is deciding in advance what to do and how to do. It is one of the basic managerial functions. Before doing something, the manager must formulate an idea of how to work on a particular task. Thus, planning is closely connected with creativity and innovation. But the manager would first have to set objectives, only then will a manager know where he has to go. Planning seeks to bridge the gap between where we are and where we want to go. Planning is what managers at all levels do. It requires taking decisions since it involves making a choice from alternative courses of action.

Transportation involves physical movement of goods from one place to the other. As generally the users of products, particularly consumer products are wide spread and geographically separated from the place these are produced, it is necessary to move them to the place where it is needed for consumption or us. A marketing firm has to analyse its transportation needs after taking into consideration various factors such as nature of the product, cost and location of target market and take decisions in respect of mode of transportation to be chosen and other related aspects.

Management is a process of getting things done with the aim of achieving goals effectively and efficiently. Management as a process means to carry out primary functions or activities that management performs to get things done. These functions are planning, organising, staffing, directing and controlling.

The principles of management are not rigid prescriptions, which have to be followed absolutely. They are flexible and can be modified by the manager when the situation so demands. They give the manager enough discretion to do so. For example, the degree of concentration of authority (centralisation) or its dispersal (decentralisation) will depend upon the situations and circumstances of each enterprise.

Offering products at special prices, to clear off excess inventory is called rebate.

Art is the skillful and personal application of existing knowledge to achieve desired results. It can be acquired through study, observation and experience. Since art is concerned with personal application of knowledge some kind of ingenuity and creativity is required to practice the basic principles learnt. Management is an art because it requires personal skill, creativity and practice to apply systematic and well-organised body of knowledge in the best possible way.

That part of a brand which can be recognised but which is not utter able is called brand mark. It appears in the form of a symbol, design, distinct colour scheme or lettering. For example, the Gattu of Asian Paints or Devil of Onida or symbol of Yogkshma of LIC, or four fingers and a palm of Anacin are all brand marks.

A manager, no matter how capable he is, cannot manage to do every task on his own. The volume of work makes it impractical for him to handle it all by himself. As a consequence, if he desires to meet the organisational goals, focus on objectives and ensure that all work is accomplished, he must delegate authority. Delegation refers to the downward transfer of authority from a superior to a subordinate. It is a pre-requisite to the efficient functioning of an organisation because it enables a manager to use his time on high priority activities. 

By stating in advance how work is to be done planning provides direction for action. Planning ensures that the goals or objectives are clearly stated so that they act as a guide for deciding what action should be taken and in which direction. If goals are well defined, employees are aware of what the organisation has to do and what they must do to achieve those goals individuals in the organisation are able to work in coordination. If there was no planning, employees would be working in different directions and the organisation would not be able to achieve its desired goals.

Product specialization helps in the development of varied skills in a divisional head and this prepares him for higher positions. This is because he gains experience in all functions related to a particular product. Divisional heads are accountable for profits, as revenues and costs related to different departments can be easily identified and assigned to them. This provides a proper basis for performance measurement. It also helps in fixation of responsibility in cases of poor performance of the division and appropriate remedial action can be taken.

Planning is required at all levels of management as well as in all departments of the organisation. It is not an exclusive function of top management nor of any particular department. But the scope of planning differs at different levels and among different departments. For example, the top management undertakes planning for the organisation as a whole. Middle management does the departmental planning. At the lowest level, day-today operational planning is done by supervisors.

Marketing management means management of the marketing function. In other words, marketing management refers to planning, organising, directing and control of the activities which facilitate exchange of goods and services between producers and consumers or users of products and services. Thus the focus of marketing management is on achieving desired exchange outcomes with the target markets.

Political environment includes political conditions such as general stability and peace in the country and specific attitudes that elected government representatives hold towards business. The significance of political conditions in business success lies in the predictability of business activities under stable political conditions. On the other hand, there may be uncertainty of business activities due to political unrest and threats to law and order. Political stability, thus, builds up confidence among business people to invest in the long-term projects for the growth of the economy.

Packaging and labelling have become so important in modern day marketing that these are considered as the pillars of marketing. Packaging is important not only for protection of the products but also serves as a promotional tool. Sometimes, the quality of the product is assessed by the buyers form packaging.

The first and foremost step is setting objectives. Every organisation must have certain objectives. Objectives may be set for the entire organisation and each department or unit within the organisation. Objectives or goals specify what the organisation wants to achieve. Objectives should be stated clearly for all departments, units and employees. They give direction to all departments. Departments/ units then need to set their own objectives within the broad framework of the organisation’s philosophy. Objectives have to percolate down to each unit and employees at all levels. At the same time, managers must contribute ideas and participate in the objective setting process.

Standardisation refers to producing goods of predetermined specifications, which helps in achieving uniformity and consistency in the output. Standardisation ensures the buyers that goods conform to the predetermined standards of quality, price and packaging and reduces the need for inspection, testing and evaluation of the products.

Legal environment includes various legislations passed by the Government administrative orders issued by government authorities, court judgments as well as the decisions rendered by various commissions and agencies at every level of the government— centre, state or local. Impact of legal environment can be illustrated with the help of government regulations to protect consumer’s interests. For example, the advertisement of alcoholic beverages is prohibited. Advertisements, including packets of cigarettes carry the statutory warning ‘Cigarette smoking is injurious to health’.

The management principles are developed only after deep and thorough research work. They are not developed overnight or they are not the personal feelings of any person. Proper observations and experiments are conducted before developing them. These are the expressions of deep experiences of the leaders of management thoughts.

Organising leads to a systematic allocation of jobs amongst the work force. This reduces the workload as well as enhances productivity because of the specific workers performing a specific job on a regular basis. Repetitive performance of a particular task allows a worker to gain experience in that area and leads to specialisation.

The process of marketing facilitates exchange of products and services between the buyers and the sellers. The buyers, however, make buying decisions on their perceptions of the value of the product or service in satisfying their need, in relation to its cost. A product will be purchased only if it is perceived to be giving greatest benefit or value for the money. Goods are produced at different places and are distributed over a wide geographical area through various middlemen, involving exchanges at different levels of distribution. Exchange is, therefore, referred to as the essence of marketing.

Since business environment consists of numerous interrelated and dynamic conditions or forces which arise from different sources, it becomes difficult to comprehend at once what exactly constitutes a given environment. In other words, environment is a complex phenomenon that is relatively easier to understand in parts but difficult to grasp in its totality.

Grouping of jobs of similar nature under functional and organising these major functions as separate departments creates a functional structure. All departments report to a coordinating head. For example, in a manufacturing concern division of work into key functions will include production, purchase, marketing, accounts and personnel. These departments may be further divided into sections. Thus, a functional structure is an organisational design that groups similar or related jobs together.

There should be complete cooperation between the labour and the management instead of individualism. Competition should be replaced by cooperation. Both should realise that they need each other. For this, management should not close its ears to any constructive suggestions made by the employees. They should be rewarded for their suggestions which results in substantial reduction in costs. They should be part of management and, if any important decisions are taken, workers should be taken into confidence. According to Taylor, there should be an almost equal division of work and responsibility between workers and management. All the day long the management should work almost side by side with the workers helping, encouraging and smoothing the way for them.

Coordination is not a onetime function but a continuous process. It begins at the planning stage and continues till controlling. It involves a continuous review of performance and is not a one-time exercise.

Discipline is the obedience to organisational rules and employment agreement which are necessary for the working of the organisation. According to Fayol, discipline requires good superiors at all levels, clear and fair agreements and judicious application of penalties.

Planning is an activity which enables a manager to look ahead and anticipate changes. By deciding in advance, the tasks to be performed, planning shows the way to deal with changes and uncertain events. Changes or events cannot be eliminated but they can be anticipated and managerial responses to them can be developed. Planning serves as the basis of coordinating the activities and efforts of different divisions, departments and individuals. It helps in avoiding confusion and misunderstanding.

Planning requires a lot of time to collect information, its analysis and interpretation. So, it is a timeconsuming process. When plans are drawn up huge costs are involved in their formulation. The environment in which a business survives is dynamic as it keeps on changing. The dynamic environment may sometimes lead to failure of plans.

Planning does not guarantee success. The success of an enterprise is possible only when plans are properly drawn up and implemented. Any plan needs to be translated into action or it becomes meaningless. Managers have a tendency to rely on previously tried and tested successful plans. It is not always true that just because a plan has worked before it will work again. Besides, there are so many other unknown factors to be considered. This kind of complacency and false sense of security may actually lead to failure instead of success. Planning involves huge costs. When plans are drawn up huge costs are involved in their formulation. These may be in terms of time and money for example, checking accuracy of facts may involve lot of time.

A need is a state of felt deprivation or feeling of being deprived of something. If unsatisfied, it leaves a person unhappy and uncomfortable. For example, on getting hungry, we become uncomfortable and start looking for objects that are capable of satisfying our hunger. Needs are basic to human beings and do not pertain to a particular product.