Appreciative Questions for Special Preparedness – Set of Hundred

1.       What are the major challenges facing our economy in terms of growth, stability, and inequality, and how can they be addressed?

2.       How do you think the our economy will be impacted by global economic trends like a war between different groups of countries?

3.       How do you assess both strengths and weaknesses of our economy in the current context?

4.       What are the key drivers of India's economic growth during the current phase?

5.       How do you evaluate the importance of monetary policy on the Indian economy? How do you appreciate the role of the MPC?

6.       What are the benefits and drawbacks of globalization for the our economy? How do you nuance these for manufacturing and service sectors?

7.       What are your thoughts on the positive impact of demonetization on the Indian economy?

8.       What are your thoughts on the unachieved targets of demonetization on the Indian economy?

9.       How do you evaluate the effectiveness of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in India? What are the issues between the centre and the states around GST?

10.  What are the key features of the Indian government's economic policies, such as Make in India? How it is different from “Made in India” centredness?

11.  What are your thoughts around Digital India?

12.  How do you think recent fund availability for micro-entrepreneurs has helped taking the startup culture forward?

13.  How do you think the Indian economy will be impacted by the rise of digital payments?

14.  How do we need to deal with security issues pertaining to penetration of fintech?

15.  What are the major infrastructure development projects in India especially around road/rail travel, and how will these impact the economy?

16.  What are the key challenges facing the Indian government's economic policymaking, and how can they be addressed? How to deal with job-less growth?

17.  How do you evaluate the impact of fiscal policy on the Indian economy? How do we bring more under the tax-net?

18.  What are the major initiatives taken by the Indian government to promote economic growth and inclusive development through JAM (Jandhan Aadhar Mobile) initiative?

19.  When we have very little sensitivity towards environment, how do you think the our government can promote sustainable economic development?

20.  What are the key features of the Indian government's trade policies in the current world of geo-political necessities, and how do these impact the economy?

21.  What are the major trends shaping the Indian agriculture industry, and how will they impact the economy?

22.  How do you evaluate the impact of technological advancements on the Indian industry? Do you think “Digital” has ground level impact or is only a buzzword?

23.  What are the key challenges facing the Indian automobile industry, and how can they be addressed?

24.  What are the key challenges facing the Indian energy industry, and how can they be addressed?

25.  What are the key challenges facing the Indian higher education industry, and how can they be addressed?

26.  How do you think the Indian industry will be impacted by global market trends of slow growth and saturation?

27.  What are the major opportunities and threats facing the Indian defense production industry?

28.  Analyze the impact of a change in interest rates on the Indian economy. Higher savings are triggered by higher interest rates but cost of capital goes up. How do you resolve this?

29.  Evaluate the effectiveness of the Indian government's recent budget macro-economic policies in promoting economic growth.

30.  Develop a strategy for a company from regulated industry to navigate the challenges and opportunities presented by the Indian economy. Take the example of a real estate company or a pharmaceutical company.

31.  Analyze the impact of any previous global economic meltdown on our Indian economy.

32.  Develop a plan for a company to expand its operations in India, taking into account the current economic and business environment.

33.  In the above context analyze various global expansion modes, starting from simplest export approach to full-hog subsidiary?

34.  Analyze the economic impact of a infrastructure project in India, such as the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor.

35.  Analyze the economic impact of a infrastructure project in India, such as Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train.

36.  Analyze the economic impact of a infrastructure project in India, such as 700 kilometer Mumbai-Nagpur highway project.

37.  Evaluate the effectiveness of the Indian government's policies in promoting the growth of a specific industry, such as the space sector.

38.  Is it true that Indian IT industry has grown inspite of the government?

39.  Develop a business plan for a company looking to enter the Indian market, taking into account the current economic and business environment. Comment on typical lack of single window clearance system in our country.

40.  Analyze the impact of a change in government policy on a specific industry like Real Estate in India. Take the example of change in FSI or giving “industry status” for access to funding etc.

41.  Evaluate the economic viability of a major project in India, such as a new highway or a power plant in a slow growing state?

42.  What is the time value of money, and how is it related to prevailing interest rates?

43.  Viability of a strategy may be dependent on the Cost of Capital (CoC). What steps you propose for optimizing the CoC.

44.  Essence of strategy is to gain sustainable competitive advantage. How do you evaluate investment opportunities with reasonable assumptions? Use IRR or NPV approach for a simple business model.

45.  Strategy has to do with risk management as well. Given the advantages involved in debt financing, how do you control the temptation for going for higher debt levels? What can be the downside?

46.  Can we compare across industries weighted average cost of capital (WACC)?

47.  How do you explain the unsustainable valuations of businesses when you feel neither the industry nor the company doing well?

48.  In acquisitions, what explains the “premium paid”? Can there be any other strategic reasons apart from “control”?

49.  Huge clarity around strategic marketing is needed for a company to keep offering products and services. Briefly clarify.

50.  Give a simple example of an innovator’s dilemma? How do you tackle such in real life situations?

51.  How do you measure the effectiveness of a Strategy?

52.  How are branding and business Strategy connected?

53.  How is strategy implementation aided by human resource management?

54.  How do you design a recruitment and selection process when your strategy is centred around cost-leadership?

55.  Strategy implementation requires huge effort around training and development programs? Share your appreciation.

56.  Strategy implementation has to do with having a thorough performance management system? Comment on the linkage between these.

57.  What are the key factors that influence employee motivation and engagement for strategy implementation?

58.  Focus of business can be different. What is the difference between a product-focused and process-focused operations strategy?

59.  How can an organization reap strategic benefits from superior supply chain?

60.  What are the key principles of lean manufacturing?

61.  How Strategy and operational effectiveness are different?

62.  How strategy can be understood around “choosing to be different”?

63.  How Value Chain Analysis (VCA) helps an organization? How to take a call on  outsourcing an activity?

64.  What are the cultural sensitivities associated with “offshoring”?

65.  What is the difference between a Vision statement and a Mission statement.

66.  Why do you need to conduct a SWOT analysis?

67.  What are the differences in business strategies possible, and how does one choose the right one to suit their business requirements?

68.  How do you evaluate the effectiveness of a functional strategy?

69.  What are strategic choices?

70.  How Strategy and Organizational Structure are related?

71.  What is the important role of organizational culture in strategy implementation?

72.  Strategy implementation involves huge cultural change. How do organizations manage this.

73.  Why top management while setting the strategic agenda need also to define the desired organizational culture?

74.  What type of leadership you believe shall be successful when the organizations are undergoing rapid transformation?

75.  What is a trusteeship approach to ownership/leadership?

76.  We all study financial statements. How do you explain that “topline is only vanity, profit is sanity, but cashflow is the only reality”.

77.  Revenue maximization and cost control are two different approaches followed. Explain when it might happen that neither is present in a business’s situation.

78.  Why do you need to prepare a financial budget, and what are the benefits of this in strategy implementation in terms of progress tracking?

79.  Apply Porter’s five forces to assess industry attractiveness of Indian industry in the vertical of Steel.

80.  Apply Porter’s five forces to assess industry attractiveness of Indian industry in the vertical of Aluminum.

81.  Apply Porter’s five forces to assess industry attractiveness of Indian industry in the vertical of petrochemical industry.

82.  Apply Porter’s five forces to assess industry attractiveness of Indian industry in the vertical of pharmaceutical industry.

83.  Apply Porter’s five forces to assess industry attractiveness of Indian industry in the vertical of EV.

84.  Apply Porter’s five forces to assess industry attractiveness of Indian industry in the vertical of airline.

85.  What is industry concentration? How are HHI and 4F applied in any industry case?

86.  Increasing inequality threatens sustainability. Comment.

87.  How is Sustainability aided by implementation of business ethics?

88.  How do you manage ethical dilemmas in a business context?

89.  In terms of corporate governance what is the important role played by board of directors?

90.  Why do you ensure transparency and accountability in business?

91.  What are the benefits and challenges of Corporate Social Responsibility?

92.  What are the key characteristics of successful entrepreneurs? What are the requisites of an entrepreneurship ecosystem.

93.  Who is a serial entrepreneur and what is the value created by such people for the ecosystem and for self?

94.  How do you develop a business plan for any startup in a blue ocean context?

95.  What are the different sources of funding for startups and what are the relative advantages and disadvantages?

96.  How do you manage risk and uncertainty in any startup? How do we mitigate these?

97.  What are the key factors that influence the success of a Startup? How better people handling can enhance the success of the venture?

98.  How do you attract the competent manpower to a startup and also retain these.

99.  An organization is witnessing huge manpower churn. How do you connect that to organizational culture?

100.                          Strategy implementation tracked in terms of Balance Scorecard has some positives. Explain either side of the argument.