HRM3704 ASSIGNMENT 2 SEMESTER 1 2023

HRM3704 ASSIGNMENT 2 SEMESTER % TRUSTED workings, explanations and solutions. For assistance call or us on . QUESTION 1 Learning outcome • Identify and discuss organisational models of leadership. (Study unit 3) Read the following case study and then answer the question that follow. Palesa’s leadership Women don’t just wear fashion, they drive it, at least, that is the case for Palesa Ngubane, a popular leader in the South African retail space. She founded Smooth Lines, which is a clothing range that offers antiwrinkle clothes that require no ironing. The range started in 1997 and has grown exponentially since then, with her range now found in most major retailers. The organisation is not only successful because of its crease-free clothes. It is also because of Palesa’s leadership style, which has led her to receive many HRM3704: Assignment 02 Semester 01 (2023) 4 leadership awards and being asked to speak at several conferences. Her employees are her greatest cheerleaders and ascribe their success to her leadership style and approach. “She is bold and authentic, and I know I can always approach her if I have a problem or just need insight,” said Katie Arendse, one of her fashion designers. This combination of boldness, authenticity, and open collaboration has become part of the business’s identity and these qualities are encouraged in all staff. Palesa constantly strives to combine innovation and perfection and these two goals do not always fit well together. Innovation can often be imperfect as ideas have to be fine-tuned and do not always work perfectly at first. Palesa acknowledges this and knows that there is always room for improvement, she sees every failure as success as it highlights areas for improvement. Her approach is to unite the various teams and ensure that the vision and mission are lived by her employees. Palesa is committed to disrupting the industry and encourages her team to take on personal projects outside the workplace that encourage individual development through innovation. She also places employee well-being at the heart of her organisational culture. Aside from her successful business, Palesa is also a co-founder of a not-for-profit initiative that focuses on sustainable clothing. She is committed to giving back to her community and her employees are inspired by her personal and social goals. She has created an online training programme that encourages her community to participate in free entrepreneurial courses. Source: adapted from Dodd 2021. Contemporary issues in human resources management 1.1 Identify and discuss Palesa’s type/s of leadership by giving relevant examples. (10) QUESTION 2 Learning outcome • Distinguish between the different sources of competitive advantage (Study unit 2) Read the following case study and then answer the question that follow. Battle off the skies: The quest for competitive advantage Let us consider a practical example using three different airlines: South African Airways (South Africa), Emirates (United Arab Emirates), and Virgin Atlantic (United Kingdom). All three airlines have been affected by the covid-19 pandemic, which has had an enormous negative impact on international air travel. Virgin Atlantic and Emirates have excellent geographical locations. Virgin Atlantic is located in a major travel hub, as is Emirates. South African Airways (SAA), on the other hand, is geographically isolated – being located in South Africa with relatively underdeveloped countries as neighbours. Emirates has another resource – easy access to cheap fuel (the UAE is a major oil exporter). Neither Virgin Atlantic nor SAA has access to fuel at the same price and this puts them at a relative disadvantage. Virgin Atlantic is renowned for having a fun culture and was voted the seventh best company to work for in the world in the year 2017. Its founder, Richard Branson, believes that taking care of employees takes care of everything else. He has advocated for a people-first culture with an intense focus on employee well-being. Source: adapted from Dodd 2021. Contemporary issues in human resources management 2.1 Based on the case study, distinguish between the different sources of sustained competitive advantage of the two different airlines (Virgin Atlantic and Emirates) in terms of organisational or company resources. (8) HRM3704: Assignment 02 Semester 01 (2023) 5 QUESTION 3 Learning outcome • Explain the difference between successful and unsuccessful leadership. (Study unit 3) Read the following case study and then answer the question that follow. Canaan University After two months as the new HR director of Canaan University, Mandla organised an early Monday morning meeting where he notified the HR manager and HR practitioners of the changes he would implement in the following month. He told them that he had changed the way they operated and that he had re-assigned HR practitioners to different colleges of the university because they would be more effective there. Each practitioner would assist the academic staff of a college. Only three HR practitioners would remain in the main HR office for general HR duties. He also mentioned that he was working on restructuring the HR manager’s role too. Mandla gave HR practitioners and their managers copies of a well-planned structure containing a list of HR practitioners and the colleges they would be serving. But there was no prior discussion of this, and it was clear the change was not going to be discussed in that meeting. He further informed them that, because of austerity measures, he had decided that from the start of the following year, HR staff had to pay their yearly membership fees of the HR organisations to which they belonged out of their own pockets. In the weeks that followed, Mandla noticed that HR practitioners and their managers were avoiding him and that, sometimes, their work was submitted to him late. At the second meeting, 50% of the HR practitioners were absent ‒ they were either sick, had emergencies, or had problems with their children. Those who were present never aired their views and replied only “yes” and “no” when Mandla questioned them. He could feel that working with them would be difficult. Source: the primary lecturer, 2023 3.1 Explain Mandla’s unsuccessful leadership regarding his decision-making by giving relevant examples. (6) QUESTION 4 Learning outcome • Distinguish between the different flexibility types. (Learning unit 5) Read the following case study and then answer the question that follows. Zondi Printers Customers complain about the slow and poor service at Zondi Printers. Because of a staff shortage, workers cannot handle the considerable workload. Although Zondi Printers has a lot of printers that can improve the pace of service, only one staff member has been trained to operate them. The rest of the staff do not know how to operate a printing machine. Gloria, one of the staff members, approaches Nonhle, the manager, with a request to work flexitime. Gloria’s mother moved in with her a couple of days before and she must take care of her. Gloria wants to work a four-day compressed workweek as she must take her mother to the clinic every Friday. Gloria’s HRM3704: Assignment 02 Semester 01 (2023) 6 colleague, Mankosi, also wants to work flexitime, from 10:00 to 18:00. These requests make Nonhle realise that flexible working hours are a need among workers at Zondi Printers. She informs Zondi Printers management of the need for flexible working hours. Source: the primary lecturer, 2023 4.1 Distinguish between the three flexibility types applicable to managing HR at Zondi Printers by discussing the benefits of each flexibility type. (6) Total mark allocation for assessment 02 = [30]