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RLM621S - Human Resources for Line Managers - 1st Opp - Nov 2022 |
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nAmI BIA un IVERS ITY
OF SCIEnCE Ano TECHnOLOGY
FACULTY OF COMMERCE, HUMAN SCIENCESAND EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES
QUALIFICATION: BACHELOR OF HUMAN RESOURCESMANAGEMENT
QUALIFICATION CODE: 07BHRM
LEVEL: 7
COURSE CODE: RLM621S
SESSION: November 2022
COURSE NAME: HUMAN RESOURCESFOR LINE MANAGERS
PAPER: THEORY
DURATION: 3 HOURS
MARKS: 100
EXAMINER(S)
FIRST OPPORTUNITY EXAMINATION QUESTION PAPER
Ms Martha Namutuwa
MODERATOR:
Ms B. Dreyer
1. Answer ALL the questions.
INSTRUCTIONS
2. You are expected to apply your subject knowledge to the questions.
3. Write clearly and neatly.
4. Number your answers clearly.
PERMISSIBLE MATERIALS
1. Pen
2. Ruler
THIS QUESTION PAPER CONSISTS OF 7 PAGES (Including this front page)
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Question 1
(40 marks)
Read the fictional case studies below and answer all the questions that follows.
Case study 1: Ngepathimo Trading
Ngepathimo Trading is a Namibian owned company specialising in engineering and architecture.
Judith Masule is the founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). In the past five years the
business grew, and new branches were established in different parts of the country. The
expansion led to the review of the organisation structure and as a result, new layers were
added including the Human Resources manager position. Mr Tunya Witbeen occupies this
position. The company also has other departments such the Office of the CEO,Engineering and
Architecture, Finance and Procurement, Operations and Logistics.Sincethe business expansion,
there has been misunderstandings within the workforce. Some departments hardly engage or
consult other departments as they feel they are more important than others. For example, the
Engineering and Architecture General manager told Witbeen to stop meddling in the affairs of
his department because he has no authority whatsoever. On the other hand, the Safety,
Health, Environment & Quality (SHEQ) Manager (under the CEO) also received unfavorable
remarks from departments. "...you think this is your house, how dare you telling us what to do!
Go play far with your office Ergonomics and Compliance stories, we know these things better
than you. Your position is useless, we never had accidents or safety-related incidents in this
company. Why are you here anyway?" One of the general managers remarked.
The SHEQ Manager was shocked and reported the matter to Judith. The CEO instructed
Witbeen to investigate the allegations and provide feedback with recommendations in a week.
Among others, Witbeen recommended to Judith that an Employee Climate Survey (ECS)(aimed
at assessing employee perception of job satisfaction, leadership, inter-departmental
communication and staff and line function issues) be conducted without delay. The findings of
the survey were not surprising because misunderstanding, insubordination, interpersonal
relations, incompetency, sabotaging, toxic working atmosphere, dictatorship, lack of leadership,
and job dissatisfaction are a common feature in the company daily operations. What was
interesting about the HR-initiated survey is that it cemented and transformed allegations into a
proven and factual narrative to which management future decisions of leading and growing the
company can be based.
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Questions
1.1. The management of Ngepathimo Trading reviewed its organisational structure and
added different positions including that of Human Resources. Describe the role of the
human resources department at Ngepathimo Trading.
(5)
1.2. Based on the case study, what was interesting about the HR-initiated survey is that it
cemented and transformed allegations into a proven and factual narrative to which
management future decisions of leading and growing the company can be based.
Describe HR planning and explain the significance of HR data to Ngepathimo Trading
management.
{15}
1.3. After conducting the Employee Climate Survey misunderstanding, insubordination,
interpersonal relations, incompetency, sabotaging, toxic working atmosphere,
dictatorship, lack of leadership, and job dissatisfaction are a common feature in the
company daily operations. Assume you are Tunya Witbeen the HR manager required to
keep the workforce motivated. Using Frederick Herzberg's two factor theory discuss
how you can motivate the employees of Ngepathimo Trading.
{20}
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Question 2
(29 marks)
Read the fictional case studies below and answer all the questions that follows.
Foibe, a Talent Management Practitioner at a local company has been in the HRfield for over 10
years. She is not someone who values career growth and hardly applies for senior positions. She
is content with what she has, and always asks herself why she needs to move elsewhere or
change offices. To her, HR is just HR regardless of whether you are a manager or not. She has
been involved in many interviews over her working career and can literally prepare the
interview process in her sleep. Foibe's record-keeping is poor. She received several warnings on
her administrative conduct. In most cases when the process of interviewing candidates has
been completed, she packs up all documents including panel members' interview scoresheets
and footnotes but in disarray. She later dumbs these documents in her office dustbin and
requests the cleaner to shred documents including scoresheets of those not recommended for
the position. Why keep a bunch of documents if the company recruitment and selection policy
indicates that only the highest scorer should be recommended for the position? She asked
herself as she joined the paper-shredding frenzy with John, the cleaner.
Moments later, her supervisor called her and informed her that a candidate interviewed for the
Senior Marketing Officer position last month has written a letter to the CEOclaiming that the
interview was unfair and threatened to take legal action against the company. Her supervisor
then requested Foibe to provide the interview file of the Senior Marketing Officer position.
Foibe is in shock, she rushed to her office to see if John is there. She found John placing an
empty dustbin back to where it used to be. John has already returned from the municipality
skip container and informed Foibe that he set the papers alight because it's windy and shredded
papers were getting scattered. Foibe couldn't believe what is happening and don't know how to
handle the matter.
2.1. Having read Foibe's story, discussthe importance of documenting the interview process.
Remember to link your answer to the case.
(10}
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2.2. Can you blame John for throwing away shredded papers and setting them alight, why or
why not?
(5)
2.3. In your view, what implications does Foibe's action has on the entire organisation? Also,
if you were Foibe's line manager, what action will you take?
{10)
2.4. Every organisation has an organisational culture, whether it embarks on formal
processes to shape that culture or not. Provide two examples of organisational culture.
(4)
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Question 3
{31 marks)
Read the case study below and answer all the questions that follows.
Case study: Broadway
Broadway is a small charity providing a range of services and support to homeless people. It
employs 180 people in London. Competition for service contracts and talent is fierce in the
social care sector, and so Broadway has invested in its employment offer and HR practices to
attract the highest quality people, who are looking for engagement at work, and given them the
freedom to deliver quality services.
Broadway gathered data from its staff survey and bench-marked it against 13 other
homelessness charities. Broadway scored highest in 9 out of the 11 categories and achieved the
highest organisational score for engagement. They have also been listed in the Sunday Times
100 Best Small Companies for the last three years.
Broadway places a lot of emphasis on only recruiting people who are willing to be engaged and
has developed recruitment processes that identify those people. Employees are offered
challenging work and the autonomy and flexibility to improve the services that they deliver.
Broadway has flexible working practices and staff are trusted to manage their time effectively.
However, Broadway ensures that all staff understand the organisation's values and standards,
and that they have clarity on what is expected of them. Staff are given the information they
need to do their jobs well, and 80 per cent agree that they have plenty of ways to feed their
views up the organisation.
The result is quality services that are rated highly by clients, and a reputation as an employer of
choice. Eighty-one per cent of clients said they were fully satisfied with Broadway's services in
2008, and demand for jobs at Broadway continues to be considerably higher than for other
charities.
Source: Macleod report: Engaging for success (2007}
Questions
3.1. From the case study identify six staff engagement practices used by Broadway. (6)
3.2. Discuss the significance of employees' engagement practices
{10)
3.3. "Broadway has invested in its employment offer and HRpractices to attract the highest
quality people, who are looking for engagement at work, and given them the freedom
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to deliver quality services". Discuss the above statement within the purview of talent
attraction, motivation, and retention.
(15)
End of paper
Total Marks: 100
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