VCE Business Management Question Thread!

[Callum@1373]

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Processes: Giving homework, giving feedback, teaching content

Output: Educated student

[chansena]

I'm confused about understanding the operation management functions. Is it the same as the operation management?  Also how would i relate the operations function to business objectives and business strategy?

thanks in advance

[Callum@1373]

I'm confused about understanding the operation management functions. Is it the same as the operation management?  Also how would i relate the operations function to business objectives and business strategy?

thanks in advance

Sorta confused by this. Operations management is a function - along with marketing, hr....etc.

Operations management relates to business objectives and strategy because:

• It produces the necessary goods to gain profit from customers
• It involves maximizing productivity so financial objectives can be achieved
• Ethical and socially responsible activities are incoorporated into it so corporate objectives related to esr are met

Does anyone know if there are any other strategies in materials management aside from JIT?

[bizman]

Hi!!!

I have a business management sac on Mars for AOS 3 unit 3 . What sort of question can I expect to see in this area of study ??

[iClinton]

Hey guys quick question,
If a question asks you "Which management style would you recommend (Relating to the case study)"
Could you write any of the management styles as long as you could justify ?

[stockstamp]

Hey guys quick question,
If a question asks you "Which management style would you recommend (Relating to the case study)"
Could you write any of the management styles as long as you could justify ?

There is freedom as to which style you recommend, but you can't use any style at all - justification is essential though!
What you will find is that the examiners (or SAC assesors) will want you to land at one end of the spectrum, and will give you hints in the case study to determine this.

This is the order of the spectrum, just in case you weren't aware
     1.   Autocratic
     2.   Persuasive
     3.   Consultative
     4.   Participative
     5.   Laissez-Faire

For example, if your case study has someting like this...

Richie is the manager of a manufacturing LSO which uses heavy and dangerous machinery to produce its goods...

In this case, You will be expected to land at the top end of the spectrum, as the Autocratic and Persuasive styles both "suit high-risk or difficult decisions" (an advantage) which could arise from the heavy machinery. Because the examiners want you to land at one of the spectrum, if you decided to recommend the Laissez-Faire style from this study, it would be wrong, no matter how well you think you have justified it.

As a general rule these questions can be answered like this:
Step 1: Read the question carefully and decide which end of the spectrum you should be on (keep in mind that its unlikely you should ever recommend consultative)
Step 2: I.D.L. - Identify the style that you are recommending. Define it. Link it back to the case study.
Step 3: If the question also says "justify your choice", provide an advantage of the style, then link the advantage to the case study. EG One advantage of the persuasive style is its suitability for high risk and difficult decisions, where the manager can take charge and respond quickly in times of crisis without wasting time considering subordinate input. Becuase Richie works with dangerous machinery, the suitability for high-risk decisions will allow him to quickly make decisions in the best interest of his LSO to overcome any danger that may arise from faulty machinery, or sustained injuries..    Basically, show them you understand the theory, and know how it relates to the case study.

[iClinton]

There is freedom as to which style you recommend, but you can't use any style at all - justification is essential though!
What you will find is that the examiners (or SAC assesors) will want you to land at one end of the spectrum, and will give you hints in the case study to determine this.

This is the order of the spectrum, just in case you weren't aware
     1.   Autocratic
     2.   Persuasive
     3.   Consultative
     4.   Participative
     5.   Laissez-Faire

For example, if your case study has someting like this...

Richie is the manager of a manufacturing LSO which uses heavy and dangerous machinery to produce its goods...

In this case, You will be expected to land at the top end of the spectrum, as the Autocratic and Persuasive styles both "suit high-risk or difficult decisions" (an advantage) which could arise from the heavy machinery. Because the examiners want you to land at one of the spectrum, if you decided to recommend the Laissez-Faire style from this study, it would be wrong, no matter how well you think you have justified it.

As a general rule these questions can be answered like this:
Step 1: Read the question carefully and decide which end of the spectrum you should be on (keep in mind that its unlikely you should ever recommend consultative)
Step 2: I.D.L. - Identify the style that you are recommending. Define it. Link it back to the case study.
Step 3: If the question also says "justify your choice", provide an advantage of the style, then link the advantage to the case study. EG One advantage of the persuasive style is its suitability for high risk and difficult decisions, where the manager can take charge and respond quickly in times of crisis without wasting time considering subordinate input. Becuase Richie works with dangerous machinery, the suitability for high-risk decisions will allow him to quickly make decisions in the best interest of his LSO to overcome any danger that may arise from faulty machinery, or sustained injuries..    Basically, show them you understand the theory, and know how it relates to the case study.

Thanks sir, i finished my SAC for this area of study last week and received my SAC back.
The only one mistake in the SAC i did was this question.
The question asked which management style would you recommend for this manager to adopt instead of autocratic , i wrote persuasive.
The case study was something about People working in the bank and the staff did not know the mission/vision etc , and they didnt know the objectives either.
I wrote persuasive and justified it but she didn't give me any marks, she said the correct one was Consultative.
Is this correct?

[stockstamp]

To give you a satisfactory answer here, I would have to actually see the case study.
If your teacher wanted you to specifically give the consultative style, then the case study would have needed to have made very explicit reference to features of the consultative style.

It is possible that case studies might want you to recognise a specific style, though it is very rare, and unlikely to be assessed.

The VCE 2014 exam has an example of this:
The case study for Question 3 was...

Shackleton Pty Ltd is a large-scale business producing and installing state-of-the-art security systems. Its headquarters is in Melbourne and it has numerous offices across Australia. The organisation employs 1000 people. Shackleton has grown into a leader in its field. Shackleton believes in using products of the highest possible quality to ensure that the customer has many years of problem-free use. Shackleton’s CEO, Zac Shackleton, believes that if he employs capable staff, they will motivate themselves to do a good job. However, last month Zac noticed a drop in productivity and a rise in the number of customer complaints. Zac knows he must act swiftly or face  competitors gaining a larger market share.

According to the examiners report, this case study had enough information to show that Zac was using the Laissez-Faire style. (The case study hinted at this by referencing motivation and capable staff).
From the report:
"Based on the information provided, Zac is using a laissez-faire management style"

But! Although students were expected to recognise that the Zac was using a Laissez-Faire style, this wasn't actually what was assessed. The question asked students to discuss an alternative style.
The accepted styles were (again, taken directly from the examiner's report)

"Management styles include:
 autocratic
 persuasive
 consultative
 participative."

This means that you could get full marks by discussing any of these styles.

So, to give you a more general answer, it is good to be able to recognise which style (or which end of the spectrum) the case study is referring to, but it is unusual that you would be expected to answer a question referring to one specific style. Usually a range of responses is accepted.

In the case of your SAC, it might be a little bit harsh here, but come the exam you are unlikely to be penalised for something like this.
 

[Rob16]

In a discuss question that is worth 4 marks would you provide 2 advantages and 2 disadvantages or 1 advantage with and explanation and 1 disadvantage with an explanation

[iClinton]

In a discuss question that is worth 4 marks would you provide 2 advantages and 2 disadvantages or 1 advantage with and explanation and 1 disadvantage with an explanation

If it says discuss, you discuss 1 advantage and disadvantage (with explanation)
if it says list, you list 2 advantages + 2 disadvantages.

[chansena]

The wording of this question is confusing me. Could someone please help


A question from textbook relationship of human resources to business objectives and strategy. The words policies and practices are throwing me off (I get what they mean btw)


7. A company has an objective of "increasing export to Asian market". What HR policies and practices would be put in place to achieve this objectives?


Thanks !!


 

[leu0017]

7. A company has an objective of "increasing export to Asian market". What HR policies and practices would be put in place to achieve this objectives?

This question could be answered like this:
In order to achieve the objective of increasing export to the Asian market, the establishment of new employees and training of existing employees is essential. Firstly, language barrier is knowledge of the Asian culture and buyer behavior will be solved through employing new staff from the targeted Asian countries as the first step. Secondly, a practice that could be implemented would be transferring the existing employees that are can communicate with an Asian language to a new team, which specializes with the communication of the Asian branches and the head office. Policies that could be implemented would be staff training in basic business communication courses in different Asian languages. the new staffs will need to have basic understanding of the export laws and regulation to prevent unethical conducts. Under these procedures the staff will be able to have sufficient understanding of the Asian market and be able to have effective communication to achieve their goals.

Hope this response will be adequate to solve this question.

[calculatedrisk]

Does anyone know if there are any other strategies in materials management aside from JIT?

Bar-coding: Allows for greater control over order assembly, stock availability and monitoring of stock.

Would materials planning count too? The Master Production Schedule (MPS) and the Materials Requirement Plan (MRP) that outline what/how many of a product must be made within a given time frame + what/how many materials will be required. (From A+ Notes)

[Callum@1373]

Bar-coding: Allows for greater control over order assembly, stock availability and monitoring of stock.

Would materials planning count too? The Master Production Schedule (MPS) and the Materials Requirement Plan (MRP) that outline what/how many of a product must be made within a given time frame + what/how many materials will be required. (From A+ Notes)

Yeah it's a bit of a grey area seeing as it's not lists in the SD, but for my sac we only had to know JIT.

[pinklemonade]

How might diversity of employees be relevant to motivation and job satisfaction?


Can't find a text book answer anywhere! If anyone could give me a good answer it would be greatly appreciated!