,Question 1
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Brenda is a dental assistant at Bright Smile Dental Studio. The terms and conditions of her
relationship with her employing organisation are clearly stipulated in a contract of employment.
This contract of employment serves as the foundation of her __________ relationship with her
employer.
Select one:
info rmal
for mal
coll
ective
individual
Feedback
Your answer is correct.
To answer this question, you had to work through section 1.3 of Lesson 01 on the myUnisa
module site and section 1.3.1 in Chapter 1 of the prescribed book.
The scenario reflects the formal dimension of the employment relationship. The formal (or legal)
dimension means that parties enter into a legally binding agreement and there are specific laws
and formal rules that have an official bearing on the relationship between the employer and the
employee. This dimension forms the basis of the formal rights and duties of the parties. In this
scenario, Brenda has entered into a contract of employment with her employer (Bright Smile
Dental Studio) and this contract will regulate the terms and conditions of their relationship.
The collective dimension of the employment relationship refers to the relationship between labour
as a group and the employing organisation. In this relationship, labour is often represented by
trade unions and trade union federations, while employers may be represented by employers’
organisations and federations of employers’ organisations. No trade unions or employers’
organisations are mentioned in this scenario and therefore the collective dimension is not
reflected.
The individual dimension refers to the relationship that exists between an individual employee
and his or her employing organisation as a legal entity. It may also refer to the individual
employee’s relationship with someone representing the employing organisation, such as his/her
supervisor or an HR practitioner. While Brenda will certainly have an individual relationship with
Bright Smile Dental Studio as her employing organisation, and various representatives of the
organisation, the emphasis in this
,scenario is on the contract of employment that regulates her relationship with her employing
organisation.
The informal dimension of the employment relationship refers to human behaviour in the
workplace and the feelings, needs, attitudes and perceptions that influence both individual and
group behaviour. These aspects of the employment relationship are not reflected in the scenario.
The correct answer is: formal
Question 2
Incorrect
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Read the news report and then answer the question that follows.
Eskom bosses De Ruyter, Oberholzer get zero salary increase
Engineering News reports that Eskom has confirmed that while workers below the senior
management level at the entity will be getting a wage increase, its executives including
group CEO Andre De Ruyter and chief operating officer Jan Oberholzer will not be
getting any salary increase.
Last week, Eskom concluded wage negotiations with trade unions in terms of which
labour got a 7% increase across the board. The wage agreement followed weeks of
protest disruptions due to a deadlock in wage talks that triggered Stage 6 load-shedding
for several days. According to Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha, top-level
employees at Eskom have not received salary increases or a bonus for years. "All
managerial level employees have not received salary increases or bonuses since at least
2018. This year the lower-level managerial staff will be receiving the 7% increase agreed
upon at the Central Bargaining Forum. Senior managers and executives in the F and
EBands will still not be receiving any increases," said Mantshantsha. With a zero percent
increase on their salaries, De Ruyter and Oberholzer would still be earning salaries of
R7million and R5.4-million respectively, according to Eskom’s financial statements for
the year ended in March 2021. The total salary of executives at Eskom for the year ended
in March 2021 was R11.9-million, compared to R9.8-million in the year ended in March
2020.
Source: Engineering News. 2022. Eskom bosses De Ruyter, Oberholzer get zero salary increase. South African Labour News [online]. Available
from: https://www.salabournews.co.za/58787-eskom-bosses-de-ruyter-oberholzer-get-zero-salary-increase (accessed 14 July 2022).
Specific criteria are applied when making judgements in terms of distributive fairness.
Demonstrate your understanding of these criteria by identifying the relevant criterium that would
be applied to inform one’s perception of distributive justice in this instance.
Select one:
need
, equ ality
equity
Feedback
Your answer is incorrect.
To answer this question, you had to work through section 1.5 of Lesson 01 on the myUnisa
module site and section 1.4.1 in Chapter 1 of the prescribed book.
Distributive justice or fairness, in the organisational and employment relational context, refers to
an individual employee’s preference for a situation of perceived fairness insofar as it relates to
his/her input/outcome ratio, compared with the input/outcome ratio or equation of other
employees.
Distribution decisions can be based on the following three criteria:
• Equality, where everyone gets exactly the same distribution (e.g.
in a family that has four children, the parents are likely to share
sweets, presents, chores, etc equally among their children).
• Need, where allocations are based on who needs something the
most (e.g. in a hospital, someone suffering a heart attack will need
medical attention more urgently than someone who comes in with
a broken toe).
• Equity, where outcomes or rewards are based on how much the
person contributes or invests (e.g., a bank pays out more money in
interest to people who invested larger amounts with them).
In this instance, a decision was taken that, while Eskom workers below the senior management
level will be getting a wage increase, its executives will not be getting any salary increase. This
decision is most likely based on need – workers at the lower levels have a greater need for a
wage increase to cover their living expenses than the executives who already earn excessive
salaries. While this may have been intended as an act of goodwill towards workers, it might not
be perceived as such given the extreme level of inequality that still persists.
The correct answer is:
need
Question 3
Partially correct
Mark 0.25 out of 1.00
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Question text
The National Union of Metalworkers of SA (NUMSA), the National Union of
Mineworkers (NUM) and Solidarity came to an agreement with Eskom on Tuesday for a
7% wage increase, costing Eskom an extra R1 billion.
Both Eskom and NUMSA confirmed the signing of the one-year wage deal. The
longawaited agreement comes after a strike by essential service workers at Eskom saw
the power utility having no option but to implement Stage 6 load shedding last week.
Apart from the 7% wage bump, Eskom workers have also won a R400 increase in the
Correct
Mark 1.00 out of 1.00
Flag question
Question text
Brenda is a dental assistant at Bright Smile Dental Studio. The terms and conditions of her
relationship with her employing organisation are clearly stipulated in a contract of employment.
This contract of employment serves as the foundation of her __________ relationship with her
employer.
Select one:
info rmal
for mal
coll
ective
individual
Feedback
Your answer is correct.
To answer this question, you had to work through section 1.3 of Lesson 01 on the myUnisa
module site and section 1.3.1 in Chapter 1 of the prescribed book.
The scenario reflects the formal dimension of the employment relationship. The formal (or legal)
dimension means that parties enter into a legally binding agreement and there are specific laws
and formal rules that have an official bearing on the relationship between the employer and the
employee. This dimension forms the basis of the formal rights and duties of the parties. In this
scenario, Brenda has entered into a contract of employment with her employer (Bright Smile
Dental Studio) and this contract will regulate the terms and conditions of their relationship.
The collective dimension of the employment relationship refers to the relationship between labour
as a group and the employing organisation. In this relationship, labour is often represented by
trade unions and trade union federations, while employers may be represented by employers’
organisations and federations of employers’ organisations. No trade unions or employers’
organisations are mentioned in this scenario and therefore the collective dimension is not
reflected.
The individual dimension refers to the relationship that exists between an individual employee
and his or her employing organisation as a legal entity. It may also refer to the individual
employee’s relationship with someone representing the employing organisation, such as his/her
supervisor or an HR practitioner. While Brenda will certainly have an individual relationship with
Bright Smile Dental Studio as her employing organisation, and various representatives of the
organisation, the emphasis in this
,scenario is on the contract of employment that regulates her relationship with her employing
organisation.
The informal dimension of the employment relationship refers to human behaviour in the
workplace and the feelings, needs, attitudes and perceptions that influence both individual and
group behaviour. These aspects of the employment relationship are not reflected in the scenario.
The correct answer is: formal
Question 2
Incorrect
Mark 0.00 out of 1.00
Flag question
Question text
Read the news report and then answer the question that follows.
Eskom bosses De Ruyter, Oberholzer get zero salary increase
Engineering News reports that Eskom has confirmed that while workers below the senior
management level at the entity will be getting a wage increase, its executives including
group CEO Andre De Ruyter and chief operating officer Jan Oberholzer will not be
getting any salary increase.
Last week, Eskom concluded wage negotiations with trade unions in terms of which
labour got a 7% increase across the board. The wage agreement followed weeks of
protest disruptions due to a deadlock in wage talks that triggered Stage 6 load-shedding
for several days. According to Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha, top-level
employees at Eskom have not received salary increases or a bonus for years. "All
managerial level employees have not received salary increases or bonuses since at least
2018. This year the lower-level managerial staff will be receiving the 7% increase agreed
upon at the Central Bargaining Forum. Senior managers and executives in the F and
EBands will still not be receiving any increases," said Mantshantsha. With a zero percent
increase on their salaries, De Ruyter and Oberholzer would still be earning salaries of
R7million and R5.4-million respectively, according to Eskom’s financial statements for
the year ended in March 2021. The total salary of executives at Eskom for the year ended
in March 2021 was R11.9-million, compared to R9.8-million in the year ended in March
2020.
Source: Engineering News. 2022. Eskom bosses De Ruyter, Oberholzer get zero salary increase. South African Labour News [online]. Available
from: https://www.salabournews.co.za/58787-eskom-bosses-de-ruyter-oberholzer-get-zero-salary-increase (accessed 14 July 2022).
Specific criteria are applied when making judgements in terms of distributive fairness.
Demonstrate your understanding of these criteria by identifying the relevant criterium that would
be applied to inform one’s perception of distributive justice in this instance.
Select one:
need
, equ ality
equity
Feedback
Your answer is incorrect.
To answer this question, you had to work through section 1.5 of Lesson 01 on the myUnisa
module site and section 1.4.1 in Chapter 1 of the prescribed book.
Distributive justice or fairness, in the organisational and employment relational context, refers to
an individual employee’s preference for a situation of perceived fairness insofar as it relates to
his/her input/outcome ratio, compared with the input/outcome ratio or equation of other
employees.
Distribution decisions can be based on the following three criteria:
• Equality, where everyone gets exactly the same distribution (e.g.
in a family that has four children, the parents are likely to share
sweets, presents, chores, etc equally among their children).
• Need, where allocations are based on who needs something the
most (e.g. in a hospital, someone suffering a heart attack will need
medical attention more urgently than someone who comes in with
a broken toe).
• Equity, where outcomes or rewards are based on how much the
person contributes or invests (e.g., a bank pays out more money in
interest to people who invested larger amounts with them).
In this instance, a decision was taken that, while Eskom workers below the senior management
level will be getting a wage increase, its executives will not be getting any salary increase. This
decision is most likely based on need – workers at the lower levels have a greater need for a
wage increase to cover their living expenses than the executives who already earn excessive
salaries. While this may have been intended as an act of goodwill towards workers, it might not
be perceived as such given the extreme level of inequality that still persists.
The correct answer is:
need
Question 3
Partially correct
Mark 0.25 out of 1.00
Flag question
Question text
The National Union of Metalworkers of SA (NUMSA), the National Union of
Mineworkers (NUM) and Solidarity came to an agreement with Eskom on Tuesday for a
7% wage increase, costing Eskom an extra R1 billion.
Both Eskom and NUMSA confirmed the signing of the one-year wage deal. The
longawaited agreement comes after a strike by essential service workers at Eskom saw
the power utility having no option but to implement Stage 6 load shedding last week.
Apart from the 7% wage bump, Eskom workers have also won a R400 increase in the
