Sample/practice exam 2014, questions PDF

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PART A – SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS (4 x 5 marks each = 20 marks) Answer any Four (4) of the following Six (6) short answer questions. Each question is worth 5 marks. Your answer to each question should be approximately 1 page in length. 1. Define employee benefits. Which employee benefits should employers provide? Why should employers provide such benefits? Benefits are supplements to wages and salaries which are paid in kind to employees. They are part of the income package and are usually not contingent upon performance, as are bonus and incentive schemes. The right combination of benefits can assist an organisation in reaching its objectives and provide HR managers with an improved focus and sense of perspective on their organisation’s benefit programs. Unfortunately, many conventional benefits programs bear little relationship to the strategic objectives of the organisation. Equal pay for equal work, and pay for performance philosophies, are promoted by many organisations. The reality however is that many benefit programs are in direct conflict with these principles. For example, employees with families are frequently provided with extra coverage under medical and health benefit programs; superannuation entitlements are extended to all irrespective of performance, and the allocation of company cars, club memberships, payment of union dues and so on are linked to status not performance. One purpose of benefits is to satisfy the organisation’s objectives. Another is to help attract, motivate and retain the right mix of employees. Benefits are intended to reflect merit or value to the organisation. Consequently, the type, number and proportion of benefits to direct or cash remuneration has an impact on the employee mix.

2. What are some of the challenges faced by dual career couples? How might these challenges be overcome? As more women enter the workforce, HR managers will need to develop specific policies and programs designed to accommodate the dual career aspirations of employees and their spouses. In particular, HR managers need to be alert to the implications of an employed spouse when providing career counselling to an employee. Problems may arise because each works different shifts, both have very strong identifications with their chosen professions; or a relocation is incompatible with a spouse's career plans. Organisations and employees can therefore both lose flexibility because of dual career demands. Dual career couples need to be flexible; mutually committed to both careers; adopt coping mechanisms (such as clearly separating work and non work roles) and develop the skills to manage their careers through career planning. Organisations in turn can provide flexible work schedules, counselling, effective career management, child care and support with transfers and relocations.

3. What is the role and importance of needs analysis in employee training? The effectiveness of training and development is enhanced when training activities are preceded by comprehensive analysis. This permits the HR manager to demonstrate how training and development contributes to the organisation’s strategic business objectives. Training and development should be as cost effective as any other functional activity. Training and development are investments in the human ‘capital’ of the organisation. It is essential to measure the adequacy of the ‘return on investment’ for training and development activities. The return is likely to be higher if a systematic approach to training and development is taken rather than an ad hoc one. Logical sequence is the essence of this particular system. 1. Assessment. Establish what is needed, by whom, when and where, so that training objectives can be determined. 2. Training activity. Select the training methods and learning principles to be employed. 3. Evaluation. Measure how well the activity met the training and development objectives

4. What is performance management? Describe how it relates to the organisation's strategic business objectives. Performance management is defined as an ‘interlocking set of policies and practices which have as their focus the enhanced achievement of organisational objectives through a concentration on individual performance’. It is aimed at improving organisational, functional, unit and individual performance by linking the objectives of each. It incorporates job design, recruitment and selection, training and development, career planning, and compensation and benefits, in addition to performance appraisal. This it provides the link between the organisation’s business strategy, employee performance, development and rewards, and organisational results. It is also though to promote cooperative effort towards common goals, encourage team work and more open communication, increase individual and group performance, and facilitate change.

5. What is outplacement? Describe the benefits of outplacement from the employer's and employee point of view. Outplacement is a special type of assistance given to terminated employees to help them find jobs with other organisations. This service sustains the public image of the organisation while furthering the wellbeing of the exiting employee, by providing advice on termination procedures, career evaluation, psychological appraisal, interview training, resume preparation, job-search techniques and the provision of office and secretarial service.

6. Explain what is meant by a strategic approach to human resource development (HRD) and why it is so important? Training and development has an important role in generating improved organisational performance and individual growth, but it must be aligned with corporate objectives if an organisation is to gain any real benefit from expenditure. Failure to link training and development to business objectives means that the organisation’s competitive strategy will not be supported; training and development will take place for its own sake and be determined by popularity with management and employees. In contrast, a strategic approach aims to meet an organisation’s specific objectives. The ultimate purpose of training and development is to help the organisation and individuals compete more effectively, now and in the future. Objectives such as improving customer service, increasing the quality of the company’s product or service and boosting productivity can be realised by well designed training and development programs. One of the reasons that training budgets are axed and HR managers lack top management support is because much training and development has little positive impact on an organisation’s ability to compete.

PART B – ESSAY QUESTIONS (2 x 15 marks each = 30 marks) Answer any Two (2) of the following Four (4) essay questions. Each question is worth 15 marks. Your answer to each question should be approximately 2 pages in length. 1. The role of the HR manager involves being a strategic partner, an administrative expert, an employee champion and a change agent. Which role is most important? Why? The roles are essentially complementary. People in HRM positions, or fulfilling HRM roles, must be able to play out a number of roles. Therefore, these roles complement one another rather than being in conflict. Strategic partner – ‘HR professionals’, says Ulrich, ‘play a strategic partner role when they have the ability to translate business strategy into action’. This facilitating role allows the HR manager to become part of the business team. To achieve this, the HR managers must be able to ask appropriate questions and contribute to business decisions. Consequently, the HR manager must develop business acumen, a customer orientation and an awareness of the competition to be able to link business strategy to HR policies and practices. One practitioner notes that ‘We need to go outside our HR boxes and learn the business, the market, the unique roles in our organisation and to think and operate as independent consultants from within’. Administrative expert – According to Ulrich, to become administrative experts HR professionals must be able to re-engineer HR activities through the use of technology, process engineering and total quality management; see HR as creating value; and measure HR results in terms of efficiency (cost) and effectiveness (quality). Employee champion – The HR professional must be able to relate to and meet the needs of employees. This can be achieved, says Ulrich, by being the employees’ voice in management discussions, by being fair and principled, by assuring employees that their concerns are being heard and by helping employees find new resources (for example, learn how to set priorities, eliminate non-value added work, clarify goals, simplify complex processes, become involved in decision making, increase commitments, share in economic gains and so on) that enable them to successfully perform their jobs. ‘These activities’, says Ulrich, ‘will help employees to contribute more fully because they will have the competence to do a good job and the commitment to do it right’. Nevertheless, the dual responsibility of strategic business partner and employee champion can create tensions as the HR manager learns to balance the demands of both. Change agent – The HR manager needs to serve as a catalyst for change within the organisation. This can be achieved by leading change in the HR function and by developing problem-solving communication and influence skills. In short, the HR manager must know how to manage change. The HR function must change: ‘It has to be transformed to deal creatively and pragmatically with emerging challenges. By accomplishing new roles and acquiring new competencies, the HR function will become more critical and strategic than ever before’, say Yeung, Brockband and Ulrich.

2. It has been argued that for organisations to develop effective OHS programs they need to develop a culture which views OHS as an essential part of the organisation's overall business objectives. Discuss the arguments that support this view. Making health and safety part of the organisational culture is an integral part of good HR management. In performanceoriented organisations considerable attention is given to employee health and safety and the promotion of a corporate culture that puts safety first. Linking pay to safety goals is one technique used to promote such an environment. It has been shown the effective management of health and safety contributes to the bottom line of organisations through minimising losses, reducing workers compensation costs and protecting employees. Many organisations make health and safety the cornerstone of their culture and work practices. Organisations striving to achieve competitive advantage through increased employee commitment, motivation and productivity, reduced operating costs and enhanced public image must align health and safety objectives with their strategic business objectives.

3. Gemma is a marketing manager for Law Shift, a national law firm with sixteen offices in metropolitan and regional Australia. The main accountability of Gemma and her team of two staff is to identify sources of new business and to promote the company in these markets. In 2013, the company introduced a new performance appraisal system using the MBO method. Gemma has been performing well under this system; although she has been concerned that the evidence base used by her manager in drawing conclusions about performance has tended to cover the two or three month period before the actual date of final appraisal. Earlier evidence of high performance has tended to be overlooked. Gemma is uncomfortable about this, but she not raised this with her manager. Gemma’s manager has proposed that, from the 2016 cycle, almost half of Gemma’s salary should be linked to the volume of new business that the company gets each year. Gemma has been asked to think this over and prepare a response. What advice would you give Gemma regarding the proposal put by her manager? Should she do anything at all about her concerns regarding the way the performance appraisal system is being used by her manager? There are several issues to discuss here, before determining the advice that you would provide. The first issue relates to the use of the MBO system. The purpose of the MBO method of performance appraisal is to align the objectives of individuals and teams with those of the organisation. This method works well for roles where specific, measurable, realistic and timebounded goals can be set; and it is worth pointing out that this is one of several methods that are available for evaluating performance; for example, critical incidents and narrative, as well as behavioural methods. It is noted in the case that the evaluation of Gemma's performance has tended to be based on recent evidence only. This is one of the limitations in appraising performance - the recency effect; and it is worth discussing this and other limitations with the MBO method. To the extent that the recency effect creates a bias in the overall evaluation of performance, it is worth raising with Gemma's manager. The proposal to link Gemma's compensation to new business is problematic, for several reasons. There are several factors that contribute to business development, and it may not be reasonable to hold Gemma and her team accountable fully for this outcome, if there are significant factors that are outside her control. The role of the manager in business development is also important to raise. Furthermore, there is a high risk of de motivation, if the level of remuneration that it 'at risk' is too high. Finally, it is unclear how the link between business development and remuneration will be made. For example, will Gemma be paid a percentage of the value of new business? Who will determine this? How will the personal contributions of Gemma, her team members and other be worked out? These are all legitimate questions to raise and discuss. In answering this question, it is important to provide clear, specific advice. You may advise that Gemma turns down the proposal, or accepts it as is, or suggests a counter-proposal. It would be good to canvass all of these options, and then conclude with your recommendation.

4. Describe three main approaches that might be used when introducing a human resource information system (HRIS). Identify and discuss the pros and cons of each approach. An organisation can choose to design an in-house HRIS using either internal or external resources or it can buy an ‘off-theshelf’ system as is or it can buy an off- the-shelf system and modify it to meet its own needs. With off-the-shelf systems set up costs are known and it is immediately available with generally a strong vendor maintenance base. The major drawback is its lack of flexibility and the difficulty of introducing it into the existing culture. The in-house system can be designed specifically for the organisation’s requirements and full control can be maintained over its development. On the other hand the costs of developing a system can go out of control and staff skilled in designing such a system might not be readily on hand. The buy and modify offers the best of both other systems since it uses both outside and internal specialists to ensure the needs of the organisation are met. The problem however is that once modifications commence it is often the case that the system ends up being built from the ground up because of irreconcilable differences about the design of the system....