HRM2602 EXAM PACK

HRM2602 EXAM PACK. Mari is a shy person who works as an office administrator in a financial institution. Two colleagues have been making hurting, insulting and offensive comments to Mari about the way she dresses, her hair, her make-up and her work. They have also been sending her insulting messages over e-mail. Which of the following is Mari experiencing from her two colleagues? 1. Workplace bullying 2. Workplace harassment 3. Workplace violence 4. Workplace victimisation The correct answer is option 1. To answer this question, you had to study section 12.9 of chapter 12 in the prescribed book. Workplace bullying is closely linked to violence in the workplace. These are acts or verbal/written comments aimed at hurting, intimidating, offending, humiliating, isolating or degrading a person, whereas workplace harassment can take place in many forms such as physical, verbal, written or non-written communication. In chapter 3, we discussed sexual harassment. 4 Workplace violence originates in the workplace between employees and employers, or employees and customers/clients. Violence between persons can cause physical harm such as bodily injuries or death. Workplace victimisation is often by an employer or line manager towards an employee aimed at getting rid of the employee by adopting tactics that create extremely unpleasant or unacceptable working conditions, hoping that the employee will resign. Question 2 Nola is the safety officer at AZ Waste Management Services. Nola wants to implement a safety-incentive programme in the organisation. She needs to tell the operations manager of all the benefits of such a programme in order to go ahead with implementation. Which of the following are benefits of a safety-incentive programme that she can point out to the operations manager? a. Decline in related legal expenses b. Decrease in insurance premiums c. Savings in salaries/wages and benefits paid to injured employees d. Less overtime and training of new employees to replace injured employees e. More productivity Choose the correct option. 1. a, b and c 2. b, c, d and e 3. a, b, c, d and e 4. b, c and d The correct answer is option 3. To answer this question, you had to study section 12.4 of chapter 12 in the prescribed book. The cost of an incentive programme will be outweighed by the benefits of a successful safety management programme. All the above are benefits of a safety-incentive programme that she can point out to the operations manager. Question 3 Leona was recently informed by her doctor that she suffers from high blood pressure and that she is overweight. The doctor put her on medication and advised her to lose weight. Which of the following programmes would help Leona lose weight and manage her high blood pressure? 1. Wellness and substance abuse programmes 2. Wellness programmes and addiction in the workplace 3. Employee assistance and wellness programmes HRM2602/201 5 4. Substance abuse and employee assistance programmes The correct answer is option 3. To answer this question, you had to study section 12.3 of chapter 12 in the prescribed book. Employee assistance and wellness programmes can help Leona to overcome the problems she is experiencing. Employee assistance programmes (EAPs) are designed to help employees overcome job stress, personal problems ranging from substance abuse to stress and burnout, including emotional wellbeing, family or financial problems. An increasing number of organisations provide physical fitness facilities to improve employee health and morale as well as reduce job stress. Leona could also benefit from personal strategies such as extended leave. Wellness programmes are designed to assist employees with their overall health to prevent health issues in the future; however, they can also be applied to deal with existing health problems. Leona could benefit from personal strategies such as healthy eating and exercises to deal with her weight gain. The programmes can also help to educate Leona about health risks associated with smoking, coffee and obesity. Substance abuse and addiction in the workplace includes alcohol and drug abuse as well as gambling. An alcoholic employee's performance, including above-average absenteeism, injuries, accidents and sub-standard levels of productivity and quality, represent costs to the organisation. The negative effects of smoking have been documented including damage to the non-smokers. Legislation in South Africa regulates smoking in public places and certain public outdoor places. Therefore, organisations must ensure all buildings are smoke-free zones and provide a smoking area for its employees. Question 4 Sandra is an extremely hard-working employee and she has been employed with Tip-Top Trade for nearly ten years. She has moved up the corporate ladder and now holds a managerial position where she is responsible for retail outlets in three provinces in South Africa. Sandra attends monthly strategic planning meetings at the head office in Pretoria. She has built up her region over a period of five years from a turnover of only R1, 8 million to a total of over R11, 6 million. Recently, her line manager has observed that Sandra is increasingly absent from work, expressions of frustration, appears depressed and her productivity has decreased. What is probably the root cause of the symptoms that Sandra is experiencing? 1. Demotivation 2. Employee burnout 3. Job stress 4. Physical stress 6 The correct answer is option 2. To answer this question, you had to study section 12.2 and tables 12.4 and 12.5 of chapter 12 in the prescribed book. Employee burnout is a state of physical, mental and emotional exhaustion combined with doubts about one's competency and the worthiness of your work. The signs and symptoms of burnout vary as indicated in tables 12.4 and 12.5. Absenteeism from work, expressions of frustration, appearing depressed and decreased productivity as experienced by Sandra are typical symptoms of burnout. Demotivation can be a symptom of burnout or stress. Stress is any demand caused by physical, mental or emotional factors that requires coping behaviour. With this phenomenon, the employee is still able to work productively. Question 5 Which of the following job evaluation methods determines the specialist and managerial components of a job? 1. Job appreciation 2. Point 3. Peromnes 4. Hay The correct answer is option 1. To answer this question, you had to study section 11.2 of chapter 11 in the prescribed book. The job appreciation evaluation method determines the specialist and managerial components of a job. Instead of conducting job evaluation, the organisation conducts appreciation of the strategic role and type of contribution that can be made by the job. The point method is detailed and specific – jobs are evaluated on a component basis and compared against a predetermined scale. Peromnes is popular in South African organisations. It is based on eight factors, namely problem-solving, consequences of judgement, work pressure, the knowledge required, job impact, educational qualifications and training, and experience. The Hay method/plan (also known as the Hay Guide Chart Profile Method) is based on factors such as know-how, problem-solving, accountability and additional compensable elements. HRM2602/201 7 Question 6 Mr Limbo, an HR specialist, is preparing a Power Point presentation for PR Bank line managers. Which of the following should he include in the compensation objectives to motivate employees? a. Accurate appraisal b. Merit evaluation c. Performance rewards d. Staffing decisions e. Supervisor feedback Choose the correct option. 1. b, d and e 2. a, c and e 3. a, d and e 4. c, d and e The correct answer is option 2. To answer this question, you had to study section 11.1.3 of chapter 11 in the prescribed book. To safeguard the relationship of performance and motivation that benefits both the organisation and the employee, the organisation's compensation system must provide accurate appraisal, performance rewards and supervisor feedback. Staffing decisions and merit evaluation relate to the evaluative performance appraisal objectives (see section 9.3 in the prescribed book). Question 7 Which of the following are guidelines for compensation incentive plans? a. Deferred plans b. Simple formulae c. Profit-sharing plans d. Quick feedback e. Bold incentives Choose the correct option. 1. a, b and c 2. a, c and e 3. b, d and e 4. a, b and e 8 The correct answer is option 3. To answer this question, you had to study section 11.4 of chapter 11 of the prescribed book. Simple formula, quick feedback and bold incentives are guidelines for compensation incentive plans whereas deferred and profit-sharing plans are performance-based systems. Question 8 Company Zee manufactures 150 cars per month. Which of the following motivates electrical engineers working on the assembly line? 1. Skill-based pay 2. Commission 3. Team-based pay 4. Piece-rate pay The correct answer is option 1. To answer this question, you had to study section 11.3 of chapter 11 of the prescribed book. Skill-based pay is based on how many skills employees have or how many jobs they can perform. Piece-rate pay refers to work paid according to the number of units produced. Each worker is quoted at a fixed or standard rate of pay for each unit of output produced. Jobs more suitable for piece-rate systems are typically found in manufacturing. Production standards, usually set by industrial engineers, are stated in terms of expected output per hour or day. Commission is widely used in sales positions where employees are given a percentage of sales measured in units or Rands, whereas team-based pay recognises situations where teamwork and coordination among workers are important; for example, interrelated tasks such as an assembly line where one worker's performance can influence the productivity of everyone on the line. The team incentive arrangements differ from traditional incentives in that goals and results are clarified and established for teams, not for individuals.