BMHR5103/SEPTEMBER2013-F/SA – ANSWER SCHEMES
PART A
INSTRUCTIONS: INSTRUCTION S:
1. THERE ARE TWO (2) QUESTIONS IN THIS PART. 2. ANSWER BOTH QUESTIONS.
Question 1
Before designing its work flow, human resource department need to analyze what work needs to be done. Assume you are the managerof a manufacturing firm, and you are assigned to conduct a job analysis for customer service officer. Discuss in detail two sources of collecting job analysis information. information. Why do you decided to choose these two sources? Justify in detail your answer.
ANSWER Job analysis interviews range from completely unstructured interviews to highly structured ones. Source to collect job analysis information are:
MARKING Student is required to choose any two sources. There are in total of six sources.
List = 2 marks@source = 4 marks Discuss and justification; 8 marks = 16 marks
Questionnaires Having employees fill out questionnaires to describe their job-related duties and responsibilities is another popular way to obtain job analysis information. Observation Direct observation is especially useful when jobs consist consist mainly of of observable observable physical physical activities—assembly-line worker and accounting clerk are examples. Diary/log Another method is to ask workers to keep a diary/log of what they do during the day. For every activity engaged in, the employee records the activity (along with the time) in a log. Qualitative Qualitative methods like interviews and questionnaires are not always suitable.. The position analysis questionnaire (PAQ) is a very popular quantitative job analysis tool, consisting of a questionnaire containing 194 items. Internet-based
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BMHR5103/SEPTEMBER2013-F/SA – ANSWER SCHEMES
For internet-based job analysis, the HR department can distribute standardized job analysis questionnaires to geographically disbursed employees. Such questionnaires may be sent via company intranets, and include instructions to complete the forms and return them by a particular date.
[TOTAL: 20 MARKS]
Question 2
Refer to the same position as stated in question 1 above; assume that you plan to call for an interview session with the candidates. a.
Suggest THREE types of interview questions that you plan to ask during the interview session. Why? You are required to discuss two justifications to support your answer. [12 marks] ANSWER
MARKING
There are two types of interview which are: Structured Unstructured In unstructured (or nondirective) interviews, the manager follows no set format. In structured (or directive) interviews, the employer lists the questions ahead of time. He or she also may even list and score possible answers for appropriateness. Structured interviews are generally superior. In structured interviews, all interviewers generally ask all applicants the same questions. It’s clear the courts will look at whether the interview process is structured and consistently applied.
Student is required to choose any two types of interview questions. There are in total of five types of interview questions.
• •
There are five types of interview questions namely are: o Situational o Behavioral Job-related o Stress o o Puzzle questions
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Marks are not supposed to give if the student answered this wrongly by using types of interviews which are structured or unstructured. List = 2 marks@types = 4 marks Discuss and justification; 8 marks = 16 marks
BMHR5103/SEPTEMBER2013-F/SA – ANSWER SCHEMES
In a situational interview, you ask the candidate what his or her behavior would be in a given situation. Behavioralinterviews ask applicants to describe how they reacted to actual situations in the past. In a jobrelated interview, the applicants answer questions about relevant past experiences. In stress interviews, the applicant is madeuncomfortable by a series of often rudequestions. This technique helps identifyhypersensitive applicants and those with low or high stress tolerance. Puzzle questions are popular. Recruiters like to use them to see how candidates think under pressure.
b.
For each of the types of interview question that you choose in question 2(a) above , list two samples of questions that you planned to ask during the interview? [ 8marks] ANWER This is an open question. The purpose is to evaluate student’s understanding. Students should be able to list only the interview questions.
MARKING Marking should be given based on the suitability of the answer.
[TOTAL: 20 MARKS]
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BMHR5103/SEPTEMBER2013-F/SA – ANSWER SCHEMES
PART B
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. THERE ARE FIVE (5) QUESTIONS IN THIS PART. 2. ANSWER THREE (3) QUESTIONS ONLY.
Question 1
a.
Define ethics from the lens of human resource management. [4 marks]
ANWER Ethics refers to “the principles of conduct governing an individual or a group.” Ethical decisions also involve morals, which are society’s accepted standards of behavior. The law is not the best guide about what is ethical because something may be legal but not right, and something may be right but not legal. Ethics means making decisions that represent what you stand for not just what is legal.
b.
MARKING Mark is located to the definition. However, it is not necessary to be verbatim as the text book.
Discuss two HR methods to promote ethics and fair treatment at the work place. You are required to use relevant example to justify your answers. [16 marks]
ANWER
• • • • •
MARKING
Selection Ethics training Performance appraisal Reward and disciplinary systems Managing ethics compliance
Discuss and justification; 8 marks = 16 marks
Screening out undesirables actually can start before the applicant applies. This is more likely if the HR department creates recruiting materials containing explicit references to the company’s emphasis on integrity and ethics. Interviewing using questions about ethical behavior and managing other aspects of the selection process sends signals about the company’s ethical values and culture. Ethics training typically plays a big role in helping employers nurture a culture of ethics and fair play. Such training usually includes showing employees how to recognize ethical dilemmas. It also includes how to use ethical
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BMHR5103/SEPTEMBER2013-F/SA – ANSWER SCHEMES
frameworks to resolve problems, and how to use HR functions in ethical ways. The firm’s performance appraisal processes provide another opportunity to emphasize a commitment to ethics and fairness. The appraisal can actually measure employees’ adherence to high ethical standards. Managers and organisations need to reward ethical behavior and penalize unethical behavior. However, care must be taken in rewarding ethical behavior so as not to undermine the intrinsic value of behaving in an ethical manner.
[TOTAL: 20 MARKS] Question 2
a.
Discuss in detail FOUR alternatives to reduce unsafe acts among the employees. [20 marks] ANSWER • Selection and placement • Training o Creating a supportive environment • Motivation Posters, incentives, positive o reinforcement • Behavior-based • Employee participation Proper selection and placement is, of course, a good way to reduce unsafe acts. The basic aim is to isolate the trait that might predict accidents on the job in question, and then screen candidates for this trait. Training is especially appropriate for new employees although “refresher” training can help keep safety issues front and center. It’s a good idea to have some of the refresher training done by more senior people who have extensive experience with safety issues and the credibility of being on the job. Motivational tools such as incentives, positive reinforcement, and posters are also successful at reducing workplace injuries.
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MARKING List = 1 mark@types = 4 marks Discuss and justification; 4 marks = 16 marks
BMHR5103/SEPTEMBER2013-F/SA – ANSWER SCHEMES
Behavior-based safety involves identifying worker behaviors that contribute to accidents and then training workers to avoid these behaviors. Employee participation can make a significant difference in adherence to safety standards. There are at least two reasons to get the employees involved in designing the safety program. First, those actually doing the jobs are often management’s best source of ideas.Second, it is easier for employees to accept and enthusiastically follow the safety program when they’ve had a hand in designing it.
[TOTAL: 20 MARKS]
Question 3
Define the types of flexible benefits programs below. Provide an advantage for each type. a.
Flextime
b.
Compressed work week
c.
Job sharing
d.
Work sharing
ANSWER Flexible benefits programs remain popular and continue to grow. Let’s discuss some of the key elements of such programs. Flextime is an arrangement allowing employees to have flexibility in scheduling their workday around core hours. Compressed workweeks may consist of four 10-hour days, three 12-hour days, or other such combinations. However, the effectiveness of flexible work schedule arrangements may be questionable. Reviews indicate that they increase employee satisfaction and productivity. However, some critics are concerned that fatigue and accidents may increase. Ongoing measurement and tracking is the key here. Workplace flexibility means providing employees with technology so work can be accomplished wherever they are located.
MARKING Definition = 2 marks@types = 8 marks Discuss and justification of the advantage; 4 marks = 16 marks
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BMHR5103/SEPTEMBER2013-F/SA – ANSWER SCHEMES
Other flexible work arrangements include jobsharing, work-sharing, and telecommuting. Job-sharing occurs when two people share one full-time job. Such a program can be useful for retirement-aged employees, allowing the company to retain the experienced employee while allowing him or her to have reduced work hours. Work-sharing results when a group of employees reduce their hours to prevent layoffs. Finally, telecommuters work at home and use phones, computersoftware, and the Internet to conduct business.
[TOTAL: 20 MARKS] Question 4
Discuss in detail THREE reasons why careful selection is important in HR. [TOTAL: 20 MARKS] ANSWER Careful selection is important for three main reasons: performance, costs, and legal obligations. First, your own performance always depends on your subordinates. Second, it is important because it’s costly to recruit and hire employees. As the opening story in this chapter indicated, Google’s hiring process was streamlined due to the amount of time taken for interviews. Time spent by employees equates to the costs of not being productive in their jobs. Third, it’s important because mismanaging hiring haslegal consequences. Person-job fit refers to identifying the knowledge, skills, abilities (KSAs), and competencies that are central to performing the job. Then we must match the KSAs to the prospective employee’s knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies.
MARKING Marks should be given based on answer and their discussion .
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BMHR5103/SEPTEMBER2013-F/SA – ANSWER SCHEMES
Question 5
a.
Differentiate the concept of home and host country
ANSWER Home – the origin country of the firm
MARKING 2 marks for the definition
Host – the country which the firm is running their business. b.
There are three ways in staffing the global organisation which are ethnocentric, polycentric and geocentric practices. By using relevant examples, discuss these three practices in detail. [TOTAL: 20 MARKS]
ANSWER MARKING Ethnocentric -run firms staff foreign 5-6 marks for each of the points = 16 subsidiaries with parent-country nationals. They believe that home country attitudes, management styles, and knowledge are superior to the host country. Polycentric -run firms staff foreign subsidiaries with hostcountry nationals. They believe they are the only ones that can really understand the culture and the behavior of the host country market. Geocentric -run firms staff foreign subsidiaries with the best people for key jobs regardless of nationality. They believe that the best manager for any specific position anywhere on the globe may be in any of the countries in which the firm operates.
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