1 Due date : Friday 5th August, 2016 (end of week 4) Marks : 15 marks Value : 15% Coverage : Units 1 to 4 of the Study guide and corresponding textbook readings Format Essay : Answer any three of the four questions given in this assignment. Approximate length (exclusive of references and appendices) for each question should be roughly one page in length, that is, approximately 350-400 words. Where possible, support aa your discussions with hypothetical or real life examples. Each question is worth 5 marks. Question 1 Pacific Holdings Limited specializes in transportation and building products business. Lionel Messi was recently hired as an HR executive to bring a fresh business perspective to the organization. He started by identifying strategic priorities for his business unit which wasn't readily accepted by the employees. He set objectives and asked questions that required his team to do research. From the research he developed a Talent Solutions Framework that the team could use to address various talent management issues. The new framework improved Pacific Holding's performance and now the HR team is seen as a strategic partner. Identify and explain three important HRM skills Lionel Messi applied to his role to bring about a fresh perspective at Pacific Holdings Limited. Question 2 Some years back Bupa, Australia's largest, privately managed health insurance group merged with the NBF group, which was Australia's second largest health insurer. Senior leaders in both companies realized that great people were the key to delivering the promise of becoming a healthcare partner for its customers. A major objective in the new company was to retain talented people. Discuss some major challenges companies such as Bupa and NBF could face when confronted with a merger and acquisition strategy? Question 3 Besides outsourcing, what other strategies local retailers have at their disposal to address labour shortage in light of hike in demand of their sales. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of your chosen strategies. 1 Question 4 Many organizations are increasingly outsourcing their business activities to thirdparty providers for efficiency reasons. A recent study suggests 8 out of 10 companies in developed countries outsource at least one human resource activity to an external vendor. However, it is also a common knowledge that outsourcing is a risky business. Discuss how businesses could minimise the challenges and risks of outsourcing their non-core business activities to external providers. Illustrate your discussion with relevant real life or hypothetical examples. 2 Assignment 2 Due date : Friday 30th September, 2016 (end of week 11) Marks : 15 marks Value : 15% Coverage : Units 5 to10 of the Study guide and corresponding textbook readings Format Essay : Answer any three of the four questions in this assignment. Approximate length (exclusive of references and appendices) for each question should be roughly one page in length, approximately 350 - 400 words. Where possible, support your discussion with hypothetical or real life examples. Each question is worth 5 marks Question 1 Fiji Airways is a well-known brand in the aerospace industry but the company still struggles with identifying, attracting, and retaining its skilled workers. Many talented people are leaving for other occupations because of the challenges in the aerospace industry. In light of high employee turnover problem, Fiji Airways has put in place various strategies to proactively deal with the potential employee shortage. Firstly, they have divided work groups into segments and use predictive models to forecast business trends and workforce demographics. The HR department uses the data to determine where they can promote, transfer, or recruit to fill needed positions. Fiji Airways have also started some partnerships with tertiary education providers such as the USP to better prepare their future employees. Fiji Airways has embarked on promotions and transfers of employees within the company to mitigate its potential labour shortage. Discuss the advantages of filling positions with current employees rather than recruiting from external sources. Illustrate your discussions with relevant examples. Question 2 Viti solutions is a software company headquartered in Suva, Fiji. The vice president for sales, Barry Ilaisa, needed to hire a sales team to handle clients in the Eastern region of the Pacific Islands. Barry culled the initial list of 100 resumes down to 20, and then used personality testing to identify candidates who had the characteristics he deemed were consistent with a sales representative and most likely to succeed in this particular business. Identify the selection methods Barry Ilaisa used for hiring salespeople? Did he go about using these methods in the best order? Explain your answer. 3 Question 3 Suppose the managers in your organization tend to avoid delegating projects to the people in their groups. As a result, they rarely meet their goals. A training needs analysis indicates that an appropriate solution is training in management skills. You have identified two outside training programs that are consistent with your goals- experiential programs or adventure learning and interactive computer program learning. Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each of the techniques mentioned above? Which would you choose? Justify your choice. Question 4 Besides giving employees feedback, what other steps a manager can take to improve employees' performance? Discuss your answer. 4 MG 106 Assignment Marking Rubrics Criteria/ Marks Argument / Structure and Content [3 marks] Organisation and Presentation 1 2 The purpose and focus of writing is unclear. Arguments are unconvincing or unformed, lack logic, or proceed by assertion. Unrelated ideas or phrases are linked to draw causal inferences. Key arguments are communicated adequately. Evidence, reasoning and analysis are evident and linked to the argument. Key arguments are well elucidated and justified. Evidence, reasoning and analysis are well developed and linked to the argument Structure does not demonstrate understanding of the problem or research question. Introduction or conclusions are unclear. Conclusions do not follow from the analysis. Little or no evidence of critical thinking, analysis or presentation of evidence Structure suggests a reasonably coherent understanding of the problem or research question. More could have been done to explain its logic and rationale, and provide links between sections. Introduction provides reasonable rationale; and outlines arguments and contribution. Conclusions largely follow from the analysis. Some or good evidence of synthesis and critical thinking. Evidence, reasoning and analysis are evident The rationale for the structure is explicit and links between sections are clear and logical. Introduction provides compelling framing of analysis and clear statement of contribution. Conclusions follow from the analysis. Syntheses and contrasts ideas and excellent use of critical thinking. Evidence, reasoning and analysis are well presented and developed. Shows evidence of originality 0.5 1 1.5 Word use is unclear and incorrect. Sentence and paragraph structure lacks clarity. Malapropisms and pretentious language are used. Major grammatical errors Word usage is generally correct. Sentence and paragraph structure is effective in communicating to the reader. Few or minor grammatical errors. [1.5 marks] Research and Referencing 3 Word usage is correct Develops concise and clear sentences. Uses paragraphs well. Writing flows and engages. No or very minor errors 0.2 0.25 0.5 No or little evidence of independent academic research. Writing simply follows lectures, uses only nonacademic sources, or is unformed opinion Good evidence of independent research, including use of library databases and academic and non-academic sources, including refereed journals and books. Evidence of some synthesis of ideas, research and sources, but not systematic and tending to descriptive rather than critical. Extensive independent research using academic and non-academic sources, including refereed journals and books. Excellent synthesis and critique of ideas research and sources. Evidence of independent primary research No references or does not use Harvard referencing style. Uses Harvard highly inconsistently or incorrectly. Quotes lack quotation marks and page numbers. Ideas are not referenced Harvard referencing style is used, with only minor errors. Quotes are mostly referenced correctly. Ideas are mostly referenced correctly. Harvard referencing style is used with no or very minor errors. Quotes are referenced correctly. Ideas are referenced correctly [0.5 marks] 13 14