CBSE UGC NET July 2016 Paper 1 (11-20)

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Read the following passage carefully and answer question numbers from 1 to 6 :
In terms of labour, for decades the relatively low cost and high quality of Japanese workers conferred considerable competitive advantage across numerous durable goods and consumerelectronics industries (eg. Machinery, automobiles, televisions, radios). Then labour-based advantages shifted to South Korea, then to Malaysia, Mexico and other nations. Today, China appears to be capitalizing best on the basis of labour. Japanese firms still remain competitive in markets for such durable goods, electronics and other products, but the labour force is no longer sufficient for competitive advantage over manufacturers in other industrializing nations. Such shifting of labour-based advantage is clearly not limited to manufacturing industries. Today, a huge number of IT and service jobs are moving from Europe and North America to India, Singapore, and like countries with relatively well-educated, low-cost workforces possessing technical skills. However, as educational levels and technical skills continue to rise in other countries, India, Singapore, and like nations enjoying labour-based competitive advantage today are likely to find such advantage cannot be sustained through emergence of new competitors.
In terms of capital, for centuries the days of gold coins and later even paper money restricted financial flows. Subsequently regional concentrations were formed where large banks, industries and markets coalesced. But today capital flows internationally at rapid speed. Global commerce no longer requires regional interactions among business players. Regional capital concentrations in places such as New York, London and Tokyo still persist, of course, but the capital concentrated the were is no longer sufficient for competitive advantage over other capitalists distributed worldwide. Only if an organization is able to combine, integrate and apply its resources (eg. Land, labour, capital, IT) in an effective manner that is not readily imitable by competitors can such an organization enjoy competitive advantage sustainable overtime.
In a knowledge-based theory of the firm, this idea is extended to view organizational knowledge as a resource with atleast the same level of power and importance as the traditional economic inputs. An organization with superior knowledge can achieve competitive advantage in markets that appreciate the application of such knowledge. Semiconductors, genetic engineering, pharmaceuticals, software, military warfare, and like knowledge-intensive competitive arenas provide both time-proven and current examples. Consider semiconductors (e.g. computer chips), which are made principally of sand and common metals. These ubiquitous and powerful electronic devices are designed within common office buildings, using commercially available tools, and fabricated within factories in many industrialized nations. Hence, land is not the key competitive resource in the semiconductor industry. Based on the passage answer the following questions :

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1. Which country enjoyed competitive advantages in automobile industry for decades ?
South Korea)
Japan
Mexico
Malaysia

2. Why labour-based competitive advantages of India and Singapore cannot be sustained in IT and service sectors ?
Due to diminishing levels of skill.
Due to capital-intensive technology making inroads.
Because of new competitors.
Because of shifting of labour-based advantage in manufacturing industries.

3. How can an organisation enjoy competitive advantage sustainable overtime ?
Through regional capital flows.
Through regional interactions among business players.
By making large banks, industries and markets coalesced.
By effective use of various instrumentalities.

4.What is required to ensure competitive advantages in specific markets ?
Access to capital
Common office buildings
Superior knowledge
Common metals

5. The passage also mentions about the trend of
Global financial flow
Absence of competition in manufacturing industry
Regionalisation of capitalists
Organizational incompatibility

6. What does the author lay stress on in the passage ?
International commerce
Labour-Intensive industries
Capital resource management
Knowledge-driven competitive advantage

7. Imagine you are working in an educational institution where people are of equal status. Which method of communication is best suited and normally employed in such a context ?
Horizontal communication
Vertical communication
Corporate communication
Cross communication

8. Identify the important element a teacher has to take cognizance of while addressing students in a classroom.
Avoidance of proximity
Voice modulation
Repetitive pause
Fixed posture

9. What are the barriers to effective communication ?
Moralising, being judgemental and comments of consolation.
Dialogue, summary and self-review.
Use of simple words, cool reaction and defensive attitude.
Personal statements, eye contact and simple narration.

10. The choice of communication partners is influenced by factors of
Proximity, utility, loneliness
Utility, secrecy, dissonance
Secrecy, dissonance, deception
Dissimilarity, dissonance, deviance