2018 Trial Examination



Student Name:_________________________________________________________BUSINESS MANAGEMENTUnits 3 & 4 – Written examination PES2018 Trial Examination Reading Time: 15 minutesWriting Time: 2 hoursQUESTION & ANSWER BOOKStructure of bookSectionNumber of questionsNumber of questions to be answeredNumber of marksSection ASection B575750251962153175Students are permitted to bring into the examination room: pens, pencils, highlighters, erasers, sharpeners and rulers.Students are not permitted to bring into the examination room: blank sheets of paper and/or white out liquid/tape.A calculator is not allowed in this examination.Materials suppliedQuestion and answer book of 17 pages.InstructionsAnswer all questions in the answer book.All written responses must be in English.00Students are permitted to bring into the examination room: pens, pencils, highlighters, erasers, sharpeners and rulers.Students are not permitted to bring into the examination room: blank sheets of paper and/or white out liquid/tape.A calculator is not allowed in this examination.Materials suppliedQuestion and answer book of 17 pages.InstructionsAnswer all questions in the answer book.All written responses must be in English.SectionNumber of questionsNumber of questions to be answeredNumber of marks15811590805Students are NOT permitted to bring mobile phones and/or any other unauthorised electronic devices into the examination room.00Students are NOT permitted to bring mobile phones and/or any other unauthorised electronic devices into the examination room.SECTION AQuestion 1 (17 marks) Taylor Cleeland has just been appointed Operations Manager at JD Manufacturing – a small business in the toy manufacturing industry.Outline one objective a business such as JD Manufacturing may have.1 markExplain how the operations area of a business can contribute to the achievement of the objective outlined in Question 1a above.2 marksTaylor Cleeland has replaced Kim Anderson as the Operations Manager. Anderson was known as an autocratic manager whereas Cleeland sees herself as pare the autocratic and consultative management styles.6 marksAnderson was dismissed after a series of poor performance reviews and a number of complaints from staff in her department. Explain dismissal and one other form of termination.4 marks Describe a performance management strategy the business may have used to assess the performance of Kim Anderson.4 marksQuestion 2 (4 marks)Describe how lean management can be used to minimise waste for a business and hence improve the efficiency of the operations system of that business.Question 3 (6 marks)Evaluate career advancement as a strategy for motivating employees and improving the efficiency of the business.Question 4 (13 marks)Management at Mayer Plastics is concerned about high levels of staff turnover.Describe Lawrence and Nohria’s theory of motivation and outline how it could be used to improve staff satisfaction and morale.4 marksExplain how improving staff morale and satisfaction may improve the corporate culture at Mayer Plastics.2 marksThe Operations Manager believes part of the problem may be that the business is looking to invest in some new technology.Explain how an automated production line could improve the effectiveness of the operations system at Mayer Plastics.4 marksOnce these strategies are implemented management hope that staff turnover will improve. Explain why it is important for businesses to review key performance indicators.3 marksQuestion 5 (10 marks)Hayley Berry is the Operations Manager and Steven Hawking is the Human Resources Manager at Horrids – a producer of pre-cooked and pre-packaged meals. At the most recent board meeting senior management identified global strategies as an area the business should consider.Evaluate two global considerations the Operations Manager could implement and explain strategies the Human Resources Manager could implement to support these global considerations.SECTION B – Case studyInstructions for Section BUse the case study provided to answer the questions in this section. Answers must apply to the case study. Answer all questions in the spaces provided.The National Australia Bank (NAB) has made several announcements in recent times that explain the strategies the business is adopting to deal with the various forces for change impacting it.The first announcement was the recording of a $5.3 billion profit for the year ended 2017. This comes of the back of its worst financial performance in recent years when the company reported a profit of only $352 million in 2016. In addition to this the business announced:The cutting of 6,000 jobs over the next three years with almost 1,000 jobs to be lost this year (2018)The closing of some branches in less profitable areasThe halving of the number of products it provides The plan to move up to 60% of its business through digital channelsThis was further complicated by announcements that:The bank would be creating up to 2,000 jobs in the digital area of the businessThe opening of new branches in growth areas such as Sydney and western MelbourneThe investment of up to $1.5 billion over three years to ‘simplify’ the bankThe announcements allowed the CEO Andrew Thornburn to warn customers that banking is changing and the impact of new technology and digital transactions had impacted traditional banking jobs. Customers were driving the change through their willingness to use digital and technological means to conduct their banking.Source: 6With reference to the definition of the term ‘key performance indicator’, explain the key performance indicator that is referred to in the case study.2 marksQuestion 7Describe the two key driving forces that have led to NABs decision to cut jobs and branches.4 marksQuestion 8Change is often resisted by employees. With reference to NAB explain why employees can act as a restraining force to change and describe a high risk strategy that could be used to overcome this resistance.4 marksQuestion 9In making the announcement, NAB CEO Andrew Thorburn stated that the entire banking industry needed to change to meet the demands of a changing banking environment. Porter suggested two approaches a business could adopt in response to changing environments. Evaluate one of these approaches as it could be related to NAB.4 marksQuestion 10NABs decision to focus on the digital side of its operations is an example of management seeking a new domestic business opportunity.Describe one other domestic business opportunity and one global business opportunity a business such as NAB could adopt.4 marksQuestion 11Evaluate the effect of the planned change by NAB on the employees of the business4 marksQuestion 12Analyse how adopting the principles of the Learning Organisation may assist NAB in the future.3 marksEND OF QUESTION AND ANSWER BOOKExtra space for responses Clearly number all responses in this space. ................
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