Techniques for responding to short answer questions PDF

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Techniques for responding to short answer questions...

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MMM132/MMMP132 – MANAGEMENT Guidelines for answering short answer exam questions You may find the following technique useful for interpreting, and responding to, short answer exam questions. Please note: These questions are not necessarily the same questions on the exam but are provided as a guide for you to practice interpretation of exam questions. You will remember that only topics 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 are relevant for the final exam. The following questions come from these topics. Remember to use the Revision Lecture to guide you about what to study, and what is not important to study for the final exam. Speak to your lecturer if unsure. Each question is worth 10 marks. There are 5 marks available for showing knowledge and 5 marks available for showing understanding. 1.

Define job specialisation. Using examples explain three (3) advantages and three (3) disadvantages of job specialisation. See pp. 162-163 of prescribed text.

Interpret the question i.e. what is this question asking me?

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What is meant by ‘job specialisation’ List 3 advantages and 3 disadvantages of job specialisation environmental factors Explain how/why each advantage is an advantage, each disadvantage is a disadvantage (examples are good if your explanation is not clear)

MMM132/MMMP132 Management Techniques for exam questions

What do I have to do/write to get marks for this question? (Note: definitions should be in your own words). Marks are allocated according to your ability to show knowledge, and understanding. Please note, responses will vary across students. How you structure your answer is up to you. You don’t have to follow the structure of the sample response below. Your marker will read your whole answer to look for opportunities to give you marks. You don’t need an introduction, body, conclusion.  Define job specialization. Use your OWN words, we don’t expect perfect definitions and you don’t get extra marks for memorizing definitions from your text. (showing knowledge)  List the advantages: takes little cost and time to train employees, easier to replace employees who leave, lower salaries. (showing knowledge)  List the disadvantages: jobs can be boring, low job satisfaction, may result in higher absenteeism, may result in higher staff turnover (choose ONLY 3 as question asked for only 3). (showing knowledge)  Explain how/why each advantage is an advantage. Job specialization is economical because time and money are saved training employees to perform only simple limited tasks. It is also economical because time and money is saved recruiting and selecting employees who need only a few skills to perform the jobs (the more skills needed to perform a job the harder it is to find candidates in the labour market). Job specialization is also economical because pay for employees with few skills performing simple tasks will be lower than for those with higher skills performing many tasks. (showing understanding)  Explain how/why each disadvantage is a disadvantage. Job

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specialization can lead to boredom as employees are performing the same tasks over and over again. Boredom leads to loss of concentration and increased accidents. Boredom leads to low job satisfaction as employees do not feel valued or feel their jobs are worthwhile. When there is low job satisfaction employees are more likely to increase their absenteeism (not come to work) or even leave the job and organization. These are very costly because of lost production and the need to hire new employees. (showing understanding)

MMM132/MMMP132 Management Techniques for exam questions

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2.

Define departmentalisation. Provide an example of functional departmentalisation. In your response explain three (3) advantages of this type of departmentalisation. See pp. 155-156 of text.

Interpret the question i.e. what is this question asking me?

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Define what departmentalization means Describe functional departmentalization using an example (may be draw this too?) List 3 advantages of functional departmentalisation Explain why each advantage is an advantage

MMM132/MMMP132 Management Techniques for exam questions

What do I have to do/write to get marks for this question? (Note: definitions should be in your own words). Marks are allocated according to your ability to show knowledge, and understanding. Please note, responses will vary across students. How you structure your answer is up to you. You don’t have to follow the structure of the sample response below. Your marker will read your whole answer to look for opportunities to give you marks. You don’t need an introduction, body, conclusion.  Define in your own words what departmentalization means (showing knowledge)  Describe it (expand on your definition) using an example. You could use a diagram here showing departments by function (such as Finance, Sales, Production … Your example and description should include discussion too (not just the diagram if you choose to use a diagram) stating that jobs are divided into separate units according to the functions they perform. For example, a job involved in making/producing the goods in a manufacturing organization would be in the Production Department etc (showing knowledge)  List 3 advantages (showing knowledge)  Explain why each advantage is an advantage: it allows work to be done by qualified specialists in that function. For example an employee whose job is related to finances can improve his/her skills by working in the Finance Department with other employees doing similar tasks, they can learn from each other. This also leads to another advantage which is that the employee can increase opportunities for promotion by increasing skills. Functional departmentalization reduces duplication because skills are shared across different departments. For example researchers/innovators in the company may create new products/services and can rely on production to produce it and marketing to market it. (showing understanding)

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