VCE Business Management Question Thread!

[Adiamond]

Is retrenchment and redundancy the same thing?

Basically yes as calculatedrisk* said, they would allow for the ex employee to receive the same severance package, but retrenchment is when there is not enough work to be considered profitable to pay the employee, while redundancy is when the job becomes completely redundant.

e.g. If the job that people were doing is not going to be done by robots, they would be made redundant. Whereas if there was a person working as a retailer in a luxury store and something like the 2008 GFC occurred they would not have as much work so the employee may need to be retrenched.

[Rachelle]

Any predictions of questions regarding employee relations (ER)? Not exam predictions, like if any questions have propped up into your head!
Here's my list:
The classic compare/contrast decentralised/centralised approach to ER.
The role HRM plays in ER under decentralised approach
Advantages/disadvantages of different methods of wage determination (enterprise bargaining etc)

Not sure what else...any thoughts/questions? 

[pinklemonade]

Could someone help me answer this question?
Recommend and justify the most appropriate management style a human resource manager should use when implementing a Collective Agreement.

I think I would choose the persuasive management style but I just don't know how to justify this well enough, all i can think about writing is that 'it allows the employees to understand why the agreement has been put into place, leading to less confusion and allows them to become more likely to follow it'

[Rachelle]

OOh thnx that's a good question. 

[Callum@1373]

Any predictions of questions regarding employee relations (ER)? Not exam predictions, like if any questions have propped up into your head!
Here's my list:
The classic compare/contrast decentralised/centralised approach to ER.
The role HRM plays in ER under decentralised approach
Advantages/disadvantages of different methods of wage determination (enterprise bargaining etc)

Not sure what else...any thoughts/questions? 

Take a look at the practice SACs for more questions, but here is what I have off the top of my head : )

 - Various definition
 - Compare awards
 - Dicuss how decentralised approach will affect certain businesses
 - Conflict resolution methods
 - Relationship to business objectives
 - distinguish protected/unprotected action
 - distinguish arbitration and conciliation
 - Relationship between decentralised approach and motivation
 - Role of fair work australia
 - importance of leadership under a decentralised approach

Could someone help me answer this question?
Recommend and justify the most appropriate management style a human resource manager should use when implementing a Collective Agreement.

I think I would choose the persuasive management style but I just don't know how to justify this well enough, all i can think about writing is that 'it allows the employees to understand why the agreement has been put into place, leading to less confusion and allows them to become more likely to follow it'

I think the reason you are having difficulty in justifying this is because you have chose a strange style haha.

First off, a collective agreement will be made where two-way communication occurs and employees have a 'say' in what gets put into the agreement. For that very reason, the conditions of the agreement are tailored towards both employees and management. SO, if employees are happy with the conditions of the agreement, and they had a say in what was in it, then they deserve to get a say in how it is implemented, hence a participative management style.

For example, if employees decided they wanted to always finish work at 6pm and that was put into the collective agreement, it should be part of not only the employers responsibility but also the employees responsibility to determine how that will be implemented, e.g having shorter meal breaks to allow for work to be completed by 6pm.

So basically, the conditions that employees wanted are useless unless they get to take part in the decisions that implement the conditions. There is no point letting employees decide how many hours they want to work in the collective agreement if they are not then allowed to decide with managers how they will achieve all that work in the time period they suggested.

Try justifying it with a participative management approach, then post up the response here : )

[iClinton]

Just a question in regards to the SAC i've done.
Q. Analyse the role of the Human Resource Manager under a decentralised approach in employee relations.(3)
I wrote something along the lines:
- The role of the HRM under the decentralised approach is to negotitate agreements which may include a group of employees or individual employees. The HRM is also responsible for keeping up to date and informed of any legal requirements or work agreements, such as minimum wage and annual leave. And then i explained the benefits, i can't clearly remember what i wrote for this part but i wrote something about increased job satisfaction,
The teachers (it got crossed marked) gave me 0 marks for this and said when it asks for role POLC (Planning, organising, leading and controlling) is the only acceptable answer, i'm currently arguing, persisting that i should gain full mark.
In addition, this question was on last years exam,and i illustrated the exact same points, however i did not receive any marks.
What should i do ?

[Callum@1373]

Just a question in regards to the SAC i've done.
Q. Analyse the role of the Human Resource Manager under a decentralised approach in employee relations.(3)
I wrote something along the lines:
- The role of the HRM under the decentralised approach is to negotitate agreements which may include a group of employees or individual employees. The HRM is also responsible for keeping up to date and informed of any legal requirements or work agreements, such as minimum wage and annual leave. And then i explained the benefits, i can't clearly remember what i wrote for this part but i wrote something about increased job satisfaction,
The teachers (it got crossed marked) gave me 0 marks for this and said when it asks for role POLC (Planning, organising, leading and controlling) is the only acceptable answer, i'm currently arguing, persisting that i should gain full mark.
In addition, this question was on last years exam,and i illustrated the exact same points, however i did not receive any marks.
What should i do ?

Yeah that's pretty rough, I gave the exact same answer and scored 4/4. You'll have probably noticed in past exams that when they want you to SPECIFICALLY use POLC, they will say something like 'choose planning or controlling' etc. Definitely show the past exam question and the answer provided in the exam report.

[iClinton]

Yeah that's pretty rough, I gave the exact same answer and scored 4/4. You'll have probably noticed in past exams that when they want you to SPECIFICALLY use POLC, they will say something like 'choose planning or controlling' etc. Definitely show the past exam question and the answer provided in the exam report.

Finally an answer, thanks appreciate it !
Yep i showed the past exam AND the answer from the text book - said exact same thing as i said in the SAC.
HOWEVER, they're insisting that both sources are wrong, i even got my hands on another textbook which also supported my answer, again, they're insisting that answer is wrong.
So yeah.... these teachers....argh so frustrating
That was the only question i apparently got wrong, which costed me 15% in the SAC

[calculatedrisk]

Does anyone have any solid definitions for technological development, computerisation and automation?
This is what I have but I don't think they're the best:
Technological dev: The application of science to industrial objectives. This involves either
Computerisation: Taking tasks not previously done on the computer and shifting them so they are.
or
Automation: The use of machines and technology to make processes run on their own w/o manpower.
Any help is much appreciated!

[Callum@1373]

Does anyone have any solid definitions for technological development, computerisation and automation?
This is what I have but I don't think they're the best:
Technological dev: The application of science to industrial objectives. This involves either
Computerisation: Taking tasks not previously done on the computer and shifting them so they are.
or
Automation: The use of machines and technology to make processes run on their own w/o manpower.
Any help is much appreciated!

What I have...
Technological development: The application of scientific research and innovation to streamline a production process
Computerisation: The progressive use of computers to complete tasks
Automation: Your definition  looks spot on : )

[Rob16]

For the end of year exam, do we only need to know about one significant change issue e.g. globalization? or is it advised to know more than one?

[Callum@1373]

For the end of year exam, do we only need to know about one significant change issue e.g. globalization? or is it advised to know more than one?

You should only need to know one, most likely there will be none or one question on the exam asking for any change issue that YOU have studied so knowing just one is fine. I would however, know a couple examples of organisations that changed because of your particular issue, just in case one organisation lends itself to a question better than another does 

[pinklemonade]

Can anyone name more than 1 advantage and disadvantage for high risk and low risk strategies?

I'm feeling fairly confident that my next SAC will ask for more than one but all i can think of is 1 for each! 

low risk advantage - better in long run as employees feel valued in the org
low risk disadvantage - time consuming

high risk advantage -saves time as employees are not consulted, leading to a more efficient workforce
high risk disadvantage- can potentially damage employer and employee relationship, leading to distrust in management and change -> creating low morale against employees

[iClinton]

Can anyone name more than 1 advantage and disadvantage for high risk and low risk strategies?

I'm feeling fairly confident that my next SAC will ask for more than one but all i can think of is 1 for each! 

low risk advantage - better in long run as employees feel valued in the org
low risk disadvantage - time consuming

high risk advantage -saves time as employees are not consulted, leading to a more efficient workforce
high risk disadvantage- can potentially damage employer and employee relationship, leading to distrust in management and change -> creating low morale against employees

Low Risk = Two way communication = Staff can ask questions if unsure = higher job satisfaction
Disadv for high risk -
Use of force = employees unhappy = low staff satisfaction/morale
Thats what i can think of on the spot

[idris]

Hey Guys, for Change, kotters theory step number 7 and 8 is too vague and i dont understand it properly, can someone please rephrase it in an easier manner asap pls
thankyou