Assignment 2

Marks: [100]

SECTION A

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

Answer all questions

[40 Marks]

Question 1

List and describe the four (4) factors within which Human Resource Management exists. (6)

Question 2

List four (4) of the six (6) fundamental elements of Strategic Human Resource management. (4)

Question 3

Depict graphically, the Strategic Planning Process. (6)

Question 4

Give and explain any three (3) reasons why organisations need to develop strategic plans. (3)

Question 5

Distinguish between the Organisational Vision and Organisational Mission. (2)

Question 6

Define Strategic Human Resource Management in your own words. (4)

Question 7

Distinguish between the bottom-up and the top-bottom approaches to communication. (2)

Question 8

As a Human Resource Manager which activities would you undertake to ensure training and Learning of the workforce? (3)

Question 9

What does linking or aligning organisational and human resources management strategies mean? (4)

Question 10

You are the Human Resource Manager for Badirile Incorporated. The Chief Executive Officer has tasked you to arrange for a strategic planning retreat. What factors would you consider in deciding whether to engage an external consultant for the retreat or not. Give three (3) factors. (6)

SECTION B

Essay Questions

Answer all questions

Question 11

Discuss the four (4) perspectives of the Balanced Score Card. (15)

Question 12

Discuss the Vision, Mission and Strategic Objectives as aspects of Strategic Planning. (15)

SECTION C

CASE STUDY

Answer all questions. 30 marks

Air BOCODOL unveiled its long awaited discount carrier, Air DOL Inc. yesterday, but warned that customers shouldn’t expect fares to immediately be lower than those already offered by Air BOCODOL. John Shumba, President and Chief Executive Officer of Air DOL Inc., said the new airline is being created to cut Air BOCODOL’s costs – not to reduce fares. “Right now, the price is already low, particularly in this market,” he said, adding that prices could fall over time as the new airline reduced expenses. Observers see the wholly owned subsidiary as a way for Air BOCODOL to lower labour costs and win back market share it has lost in recent years to Maun-based North West Airlines Ltd. Mr. Shumba said a new business model is emerging in the airline market – as it has in retailing – where lower-cost, no-frills service becomes the norm. He said the full-service model for short flights is “going the way of the dinosaur. Air DOL is aimed at meeting that challenge in the low end of the market”, he said Air DOL’s Human Resource Management costs will be at least 20 per cent lower than those at Air BOCODOL’s comparable mainline flights, in part because Air DOL’s employees will be making less money than their counterparts at Air BOCODOL. Mr. Shumba said wages will be competitive with Air DOL’s competitors in the low-cost market. “For the employees, they have to understand that they will be working for Air DOL,”. Pamela Phuthego, President of Air BOCODOL Staff Union said the union will mount a legal challenge to Air BOCODOL’s attempts to pay so called B-scale wages to Air DOL employees. “They are hurting the very people who have worked so hard for them and for so long”, she said. The company will operate independently of Air BOCODOL, although it will buy mainte¬nance services from its parent, as well as using the larger company’s pilots.

Question 1

In the Air BOCODOL case study above, what challenges faced the Air BOCODOL management and what was the effect of the challenges on the business? (8)

Question 2

Describe the Human Resource decision taken by the Air BOCODOL management. Is the decision strategic? (12)

Question 3

What Human Resource challenges exist in this strategy? If you were the Human Resource Manager, what would you have done? (10)

THE END