“Principles of Management (MGT503)”
Assignment No. 2
Marks: 30
PLANNING
IMPORTANCE OF PLANNING
As the news of influenza pandemic broke out, it was witnessed that the government and health
officials rushed to purchasing medicines, conducting disaster drills and taking such initiatives
that would limit the spread of these diseases.
However, one survey indicated that 72% companies had not even begun to prepare for the bird
flu pandemic. Most of the business officials in United States stated that they had nobody in
charge of a plan that could identify the severity of the issue and its impact on operations. On the
contrary, Asian and particularly Southeast Asian countries had planned for this situation, as
they previously had to deal with the SARS outbreak in 2003 which brought the regions’
commerce to a standstill. But they were well prepared this time. A survey of 80 corporate
officials held by American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong found that nearly every
company had someone incharge of such catastrophic situations and 60 percent stated that they
had clearly mapped out plans that could be implemented immediately in such a crisis situation.
For instance, HSBC, a global bank took steps to help and prepare its employees work from
home and also prepared to divide work among multiple sites. Even FedEx said it had prepared
contingency plans down to every district or market in Asia Pacific.
But what about those businesses that had not yet prepared for a potential outbreak? A report on
the outbreak of such a deadly flu reported. “In a world where the global supply chain and real-
time inventories determine almost everything we do, down to the food available for purchase in
our grocery stores, the importance of advanced planning can not be overstated.”
1. What role do you think goals might play in a company’s planning for any possible
pandemic outbreak? List down some goals that you think might will be important
2. What type of plans might companies need for this situation ( for instance short term,
long term or both) Explain why you think these plans are important in this situation
3. Being a manager what planning tools would you recommend to deal with this type of
situation effectively?
Important Tips
1. This Assignment can be best attempted from the knowledge acquired after
watching video lecture no. 18 to lecture no 24 and reading handouts as well as
recommended text book).
2. Video lectures can be downloaded for free from www.youtube.com/vu.
Schedule
Opening Date and Time
June 17th, 2010 At 12:01 A.M. (Mid-Night)
Due Date and Time
June 22nd, 2010 At 11:59 P.M. (Mid-Night)
Note: Only in the case of Assignment, 24 Hrs extra / grace period after the above mentioned
due date is usually available to overcome uploading difficulties which may be faced by the
students on last date. This extra time should only be used to meet the emergencies and above
mentioned due dates should always be treated as final to avoid any inconvenience.
Important Instructions:
Please read the following instructions carefully before attempting the assignment solution.
Make sure that you upload the solution file before the due date. No
assignment will be accepted through e-mail once the solution has been
uploaded by the instructor.
Formatting guidelines:
Use the font style “Times New Roman” and font size “12”.
It is advised to compose your document in MS-Word 2003.
Use black and blue font colors only.
Solution guidelines:
Maximum word limit for attempting each question is 50
It is preferable to express your answer in bullets form
Use APA style for referencing and citation. For guidance search “APA
reference style” in Google and read various website containing
information
for
better
understanding
or
http://linguistics.byu.edu/faculty/henrichsenl/apa/APA01.html
Every student will work individually and has to write in the form of an
analytical assignment.
Give the answer according to question, there will be negative marking
for irrelevant material.
For acquiring the relevant knowledge don’t rely only on handouts but
watch the video lectures and use other reference books also.
Rules for Marking
Please note that your assignment will not be graded or graded as Zero (0) if:
It has been submitted after due date
The file you uploaded does not open or is corrupt
It is in any format other than .doc (MS. Word)
It is cheated or copied from other students, internet, books, journals etc…
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