In need of current examples for the exam!

[jackinthepatch]

Hey just looking for recent examples of organisations undergoing change. Also, if you could mention the steps that the organisation took in order to facilitate the change that would be sick. Thanks!

[olly_s15]

- BHP and Billiton merging to become BHP Billiton (not too recent but relevant for mergers)
- Ford (or most car companies for that matter) adopting technological developments such as robotics
- in terms of legislative compliance, basically all organisations would have to implement the OH&S act
- Mcdonald's using rainforest alliance coffee beans for coffe (relating to social responsibility change)
- Commonwealth bank and Qantas undergoing privatisation (formally owned by gov, now private sector orgs)

As for the steps taken, I'm not certain on this but you should be able to briefly explain what would need to be undertaken to facilitate these changes. I'm sure there wont be a question asking you to explain in great detail on this.

Hope this helps

[jackinthepatch]

Ah sick cheers man

[nala]

Also for mergers a great one we used last year was Wesfarmers- Coles Group. There was heaps to discuss and it was really relevant. Also I know this is a minor change, but you could discuss Coles stores and their aim to make it more 'friendly'- they've removed scanners, self-serve etc. I brought in heaps of those small things for my exam last year, they just help to 'value-add' answers.
Pretty much any minor/major change you can discuss! They're everywhere, McDonalds going healthy (social responsibilty) etc.

[shinny]

Also for mergers a great one we used last year was Wesfarmers- Coles Group. There was heaps to discuss and it was really relevant. Also I know this is a minor change, but you could discuss Coles stores and their aim to make it more 'friendly'- they've removed scanners, self-serve etc. I brought in heaps of those small things for my exam last year, they just help to 'value-add' answers.
Pretty much any minor/major change you can discuss! They're everywhere, McDonalds going healthy (social responsibilty) etc.

On the contrary, I basically didn't use any examples last year and still did fine (I only used one for offshoring). While I'm not doubting their usefulness as they do help to 'value-add' and compensate for any marks lost within your answer itself, they aren't vital to scoring marks as long as you say exactly what they're asking, and at the least, consistently use the case study provided. Finding examples for every concept in the course is something that you should absolutely leave 'til the last minute as it's very time consuming, and unlikely to net you many, if any marks.  However, with the exception of last year, there are often questions asking you to 'refer to a company you have studied this year' or something along those lines, but those questions tend to be on quite straight forward things such as their inputs/processes/outputs, HR strategies they use, or operations strategies they use etc. I've never really seen a case where you'd lose marks for not having an example on hand for something even mildly obscure.

[nbalakers24]

abit offtopic but how important are definitions when answering questions?

[nala]

Oh I'm not saying they are at all necessary, I just found that on questions that were not related to a case-study, they just helped to reinforce what I was saying. I think it's a personal choice, I just found that I felt more confident in some of my answers knowing I had relevant examples to support them. I agree, I doubt giving an example where it isn't asked will gain any extra marks, however I just found it helped me to give more thorough, concise answers.

That's just my personal opinion, everybody has preferred methods of tackling exams

[studyhound]

personally, i think there mainly useful on the definition q's at the start, as shinny said if you give a dodgyish answer a good example may get you the mark,
an examiner i was talking to said this is also good in respect that, at 2am after marking hundreds of papers markers may be feeling slightly tired, hence, if they see an external example, she said this may prompt them to sit up and take more notice that 'this kid knows what hes talking about' so i guess their not imperative and will not make a difference (if any) to your overall score, but if you have a good one that fits well, use it