The Exam Hall

PPSC · PMS (Provincial Management Service) — Combined Competitive Examination

Business Administration

Management theory, marketing, HR and organisational behaviour, then finance, accounting and quantitative methods.

PPSC

Group A

200

Marks

2

Papers

11

Readings

3

Min read

Paper I — Management

100 marks
  • Management yesterday and today - Historical background of Management - Managing in the New Era The Internet, Globalization, Knowledge Management and Collaboration across "boundaries".
  • Planning: Delivering strategic value, the basic planning process, strategic planning, types of plans and decision making.
  • Organizing: Building a dynamic organization, fundamentals of organizing (differentiation & integration), organization structure (vertical & horizontal). Empowerment (Centralization & Decentralization), Co-ordination by (Standardization by plan & by adjustment). (Human Resource Management; (HRM); Planning, Recruitment, Selection and Training etc).
  • Leading: Mobilizing People, Human Factors and Motivation, Leading and Managing, Leadership and Followership, Power and Leadership.
  • Controlling: Learning and Changing, Basic Control Process, Control Techniques and IT, Organizing for Innovation (Technology, Job Design & HR Development, Project Implementation and Unleashing Creativity)

Recommended reading

3 titles
  1. 01Management: A Global Perspective 11 Ed. Koontz, Harold & Weihrich, Heinz, McGraw-Hill
  2. 02Management: 8 Ed. Robbins, Stephen P. & Coulter, Mary, Prentice Hall of India.
  3. 03Management: Competing in the New Era. 5 Ed. , Bateman, Thomas S. & Snell, Scott A. McGraw-Hill Irwin

Paper II

100 marks

Part I

Marketing

Marks: 50

  • The Field of Marketing: Marketing Role and what is it all about: Who Performs Marketing Functions, Marketing and Customer Value, Satisfaction and Loyalty, Global Marketing Systems, 4Ps (Product, Price, Place and Promotion).
  • The Marketing Environment and Market Selection: Internal & External Environment, Market Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning, Market Information & Research.
  • Product: Product Planning and Development, Product line and Product mix strategies, Branding, Packaging, Other Product Features and Services Marketing.
  • Price: Price determination (An Ethical Dilemma, Factors Influencing, and Setting Pricing etc.), Pricing Strategies (Price Vs Non Price Competition, Geographic Pricing, Discount & Allowances, Special Pricing Strategies and Situations etc).
  • Place:Middlemen and Distribution Channels, Designing, Selecting and Distribution of Channels, Retailing and Wholesaling.
  • Promotion: Marketing Communications Mix (Personal Selling, Advertising, Sales Promotion and Publicity or Public Relations).

Recommended reading

4 titles
  1. 01Principles of Marketing 6 Ed. Kotler, Philip & Armstrong Gary, Prentice-Hall, International, Inc.
  2. 02Essentials of Marketing: A Global-Managerial Approach 8 Ed. McCarthy, E. Jerome & Perreault, William D. Irwin McGraw-Hill.
  3. 03Basic Marketing: A Global Managerial Approach 14 Ed. McCarthy, E. Jerome & Perreault William D. McGraw-Hill Irwin.
  4. 04Marketing 13 Ed., Stanton William J., Etzel, Michael J. & Walker, Bruce J., McGraw-Hill Irwin.

Part II

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT Marks: 50

  • Understanding Financial Management: An Overview of Financial management, Securities markets and Financial institutions, Concept of Time Value of Money, Valuation of Securities (Stocks and Bonds), Measuring the Risks and Returns.
  • Understanding and Analyzing Financial Statements: IASB (International Accounting Standard Board) Framework and Fundamental Accounting Concepts, Components of Financial Statements (Preparation and Presentation), Financial Statement Analysis and Interpretation.
  • Short term Financial Management Decision (investing & financing): Budgets and Projected Financial Statements, Managing Net Current Assets, Inventory Management, Accounts Receivable Management, Managing Short Term/Spontaneous Finances.
  • Financing Decisions (Long Term): Capital Structure Decisions, Leverage Decision, Cost of Capital Decision, Dividend Decisions.
  • Investing Decisions (Long Term): Capital Investment Decision, Capital Investment Appraisal Techniques, Risk Management in Capital Investment Appraisal.
  • Corporate Financing: Mergers, Acquisitions, Takeovers and Buyouts, Financial Distress and Restricting, Hedging Decision.

Recommended reading

4 titles
  1. 01Principles of Managerial Finance, Lawrence J. Gitman, Pearson Education Asia
  2. 02Intermediate Financial Management, Eugene F. Brigham Gapenski & Daves, The Dryden Press
  3. 03Fundamentals of financial Management, James C. Van Horne John M. Wachowicz, Jr., Prentice_Hall International, Inc.
  4. 04Advanced Corporate Finance (Policies and Strategies), Joseph P. Ogden Frank
  • Jen Philip F. O'Connor, Farhan Raza Printers, Islamabad

Others in Group A

EconomicsPublic AdministrationCommerce (Accounting)

You may take one subject from this group, so these are alternatives to Business Administration, not companions to it.

All 27 subjectsPractise a paper