CASE STUDY: BMW EXAM QUESTIONS
WITH CORRECT ANSWERS
Maintenance - Answer-- Valuing employees is widely applied at BMW
- Benefits include protective clothing, maternity and sick pay, participation in a staff
shore scheme, holiday bonus and an annual bonus based on the company's success
- During GFC there was no performance pay
Separation - Answer-- Despite benefits of its demand-driven business model, in 2008 in
response to the GFC, BMW still needed to reduce overheads and this included reducing
staff
- Staffing levels reduced by 5.4%
- Conducted in close partnership with unions, included seeking voluntary redundancies,
encouraging early retirement and not filling vacant positions or renewing contracts for
temporary workers
Leadership Style - Answer-- Systematic management to change best seen in BMW's
approach to ageing workforce
- Older employees valued by company, BMW wants to keep them healthy and
productive
- In 2007, BMW built an experimental production line staffed with older workers whose
task was to epitomise their own workplace
Provided seating on the production line to relieve muscle and joint stress and installing
softer falling pads
- Approx. 70 small suggestions like these game from workers in designing future
environments
Training and Development - Answer-- 2010 Universum rankings, students placed BMW
as the fifth most attractive employer for engineers and twelfth in the world among
commercial organisations
- BMW invested E179 Million in employee training in 2010
- During GFC, formal training per employee averaged about 1.6 days per year
increasing to 2.4
Rewards - Answer-- Valuing employees is widely applied at BMW
- Benefits include protective clothing, maternity and sick pay, participation in a staff
shore scheme, holiday bonus and an annual bonus based on the company's success
- During GFC there was no performance pay
Workplace Disputes - Answer-- Taken steps to promote an ethical workplace and
responsible governance
- In addition to code of ethics and an Ethics Advisory Committee
- Established independent and anonymous external contact points for employees and
other stakeholders to report any form of suspected misconduct or impropriety
WITH CORRECT ANSWERS
Maintenance - Answer-- Valuing employees is widely applied at BMW
- Benefits include protective clothing, maternity and sick pay, participation in a staff
shore scheme, holiday bonus and an annual bonus based on the company's success
- During GFC there was no performance pay
Separation - Answer-- Despite benefits of its demand-driven business model, in 2008 in
response to the GFC, BMW still needed to reduce overheads and this included reducing
staff
- Staffing levels reduced by 5.4%
- Conducted in close partnership with unions, included seeking voluntary redundancies,
encouraging early retirement and not filling vacant positions or renewing contracts for
temporary workers
Leadership Style - Answer-- Systematic management to change best seen in BMW's
approach to ageing workforce
- Older employees valued by company, BMW wants to keep them healthy and
productive
- In 2007, BMW built an experimental production line staffed with older workers whose
task was to epitomise their own workplace
Provided seating on the production line to relieve muscle and joint stress and installing
softer falling pads
- Approx. 70 small suggestions like these game from workers in designing future
environments
Training and Development - Answer-- 2010 Universum rankings, students placed BMW
as the fifth most attractive employer for engineers and twelfth in the world among
commercial organisations
- BMW invested E179 Million in employee training in 2010
- During GFC, formal training per employee averaged about 1.6 days per year
increasing to 2.4
Rewards - Answer-- Valuing employees is widely applied at BMW
- Benefits include protective clothing, maternity and sick pay, participation in a staff
shore scheme, holiday bonus and an annual bonus based on the company's success
- During GFC there was no performance pay
Workplace Disputes - Answer-- Taken steps to promote an ethical workplace and
responsible governance
- In addition to code of ethics and an Ethics Advisory Committee
- Established independent and anonymous external contact points for employees and
other stakeholders to report any form of suspected misconduct or impropriety
