BMHR5103/SEPTEMBER2013-F/SA ANSWER SCHEMES

PART A
INSTRUCTIONS:

1. THERE ARE TWO (2) QUESTIONS IN THIS PART.

2. ANSWER BOTH QUESTIONS.

Question 1
Before designing its work flow, human resource department need to analyze what work needs
to be done. Assume you are the managerof a manufacturing firm, and you are assigned to
conduct a job analysis for customer service officer. Discuss in detail two sources of collecting
job analysis information. Why do you decided to choose these two sources? Justify in detail
your answer.

ANSWER
Job analysis interviews range from
completely unstructured interviews to highly
structured ones. Source to collect job
analysis information are:

MARKING
Student is required to choose any two
sources. There are in total of six sources.
List = 2 marks@source = 4 marks
Discuss and justification; 8 marks = 16
marks

Questionnaires
Having employees fill out questionnaires to
describe their job-related duties and
responsibilities is another popular way to
obtain job analysis information.
Observation
Direct observation is especially useful when
jobs consist mainly of observable physical
activitiesassembly-line worker and
accounting clerk are examples.
Diary/log
Another method is to ask workers to keep a
diary/log of what they do during the day. For
every activity engaged in, the employee
records the activity (along with the time) in a
log.
Qualitative
Qualitative methods like interviews and
questionnaires are not always suitable.. The
position analysis questionnaire (PAQ) is a
very popular quantitative job analysis tool,
consisting of a questionnaire containing 194
items.
Internet-based

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For internet-based job analysis, the HR

department can distribute standardized job
analysis questionnaires to geographically
disbursed employees. Such questionnaires
may be sent via company intranets, and
include instructions to complete the forms
and return them by a particular date.

[TOTAL: 20 MARKS]

Question 2
Refer to the same position as stated in question 1 above; assume that you plan to call for an
interview session with the candidates.
a.

Suggest THREE types of interview questions that you plan to ask during the interview
session. Why? You are required to discuss two justifications to support your answer.
[12 marks]
ANSWER

MARKING

There are two types of interview which are:

Structured
Unstructured
In unstructured (or nondirective) interviews,
the manager follows no set format. In
structured (or directive) interviews, the
employer lists the questions ahead of time.
He or she also may even list and score
possible answers for appropriateness.
Structured
interviews
are
generally
superior. In structured interviews, all
interviewers generally ask all applicants the
same questions. Its clear the courts will
look at whether the interview process is
structured and consistently applied.

Student is required to choose any two

types of interview questions. There are in
total of five types of interview questions.

There are five types of interview questions

namely are:
o Situational
o Behavioral
o Job-related
o Stress
o Puzzle questions

Marks are not supposed to give if the

student answered this wrongly by using
types of interviews which are structured or
unstructured.
List = 2 marks@types = 4 marks
Discuss and justification; 8 marks = 16
marks

BMHR5103/SEPTEMBER2013-F/SA ANSWER SCHEMES

In a situational interview, you ask the

candidate what his or her behavior would
be in a given situation. Behavioralinterviews
ask applicants to describe how they reacted
to actual situations in the past. In a jobrelated interview, the applicants answer
questions about relevant past experiences.
In stress interviews, the applicant is
madeuncomfortable by a series of often
rudequestions. This technique helps
identifyhypersensitive applicants and those
with low or high stress tolerance. Puzzle
questions are popular. Recruiters like to
use them to see how candidates think
under pressure.

b.

For each of the types of interview question that you choose in question 2(a) above , list
two samples of questions that you planned to ask during the interview?
[ 8marks]
ANWER
MARKING
This is an open question. The purpose is to Marking should be given based on the
evaluate students understanding. Students suitability of the answer.
should be able to list only the interview
questions.
[TOTAL: 20 MARKS]

BMHR5103/SEPTEMBER2013-F/SA ANSWER SCHEMES

PART B
INSTRUCTIONS:

1. THERE ARE FIVE (5) QUESTIONS IN THIS PART.

2. ANSWER THREE (3) QUESTIONS ONLY.

Question 1
a.

Define ethics from the lens of human resource management.

[4 marks]

ANWER
Ethics refers to the principles of conduct
governing an individual or a group. Ethical
decisions also involve morals, which are
societys accepted standards of behavior.
The law is not the best guide about what is
ethical because something may be legal but
not right, and something may be right but not
legal. Ethics means making decisions that
represent what you stand for not just what is
legal.

b.

MARKING
Mark is located to the definition. However, it is
not necessary to be verbatim as the text book.

Discuss two HR methods to promote ethics and fair treatment at the work place. You are
required to use relevant example to justify your answers.
[16 marks]

ANWER

MARKING

Selection
Ethics training
Performance appraisal
Reward and disciplinary systems
Managing ethics compliance

Discuss and justification; 8 marks = 16 marks

Screening out undesirables actually can start

before the applicant applies. This is more
likely if the HR department creates recruiting
materials containing explicit references to the
companys emphasis on integrity and ethics.
Interviewing using questions about ethical
behavior and managing other aspects of the
selection process sends signals about the
companys ethical values and culture.
Ethics training typically plays a big role in
helping employers nurture a culture of ethics
and fair play. Such training usually includes
showing employees how to recognize ethical
dilemmas. It also includes how to use ethical

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frameworks to resolve problems, and how to

use HR functions in ethical ways.
The firms performance appraisal processes
provide another opportunity to emphasize a
commitment to ethics and fairness. The
appraisal can actually measure employees
adherence to high ethical standards.
Managers and organisations need to reward
ethical behavior and penalize unethical
behavior. However, care must be taken in
rewarding ethical behavior so as not to
undermine the intrinsic value of behaving in
an ethical manner.

[TOTAL: 20 MARKS]
Question 2
a.

Discuss in detail FOUR alternatives to reduce unsafe acts among the employees.
[20 marks]
ANSWER
Selection and placement
Training
o Creating
a
supportive
environment
Motivation
o Posters, incentives, positive
reinforcement
Behavior-based
Employee participation
Proper selection and placement is, of course,
a good way to reduce unsafe acts. The basic
aim is to isolate the trait that might predict
accidents on the job in question, and then
screen candidates for this trait.
Training is especially appropriate for new
employees although refresher training can
help keep safety issues front and center. Its a
good idea to have some of the refresher
training done by more senior people who
have extensive experience with safety issues
and the credibility of being on the job.
Motivational tools such as incentives, positive
reinforcement, and posters are also
successful at reducing workplace injuries.

MARKING
List = 1 mark@types = 4 marks
Discuss and justification; 4 marks = 16
marks

BMHR5103/SEPTEMBER2013-F/SA ANSWER SCHEMES

Behavior-based safety involves identifying

worker behaviors that contribute to accidents
and then training workers to avoid these
behaviors.
Employee participation can make a significant
difference in adherence to safety standards.
There are at least two reasons to get the
employees involved in designing the safety
program. First, those actually doing the jobs
are often managements best source of
ideas.Second, it is easier for employees to
accept and enthusiastically follow the safety
program when theyve had a hand in
designing it.

[TOTAL: 20 MARKS]

Question 3
Define the types of flexible benefits programs below. Provide an advantage for each type.
a.

Flextime

b.

Compressed work week

c.

Job sharing

d.

Work sharing

ANSWER
Flexible benefits programs remain popular and
continue to grow. Lets discuss some of the
key elements of such programs.
Flextime is an arrangement allowing
employees to have flexibility in scheduling
their workday around core hours.
Compressed workweeks may consist of four
10-hour days, three 12-hour days, or other
such combinations. However, the
effectiveness of flexible work schedule
arrangements may be questionable. Reviews
indicate that they increase employee
satisfaction and productivity. However, some
critics are concerned that fatigue and
accidents may increase. Ongoing
measurement and tracking is the key here.
Workplace flexibility means providing
employees with technology so work can be
accomplished wherever they are located.

MARKING
Definition = 2 marks@types = 8 marks
Discuss and justification of the advantage; 4
marks = 16 marks

BMHR5103/SEPTEMBER2013-F/SA ANSWER SCHEMES

Other flexible work arrangements include jobsharing, work-sharing, and telecommuting.

Job-sharing occurs when two people share
one full-time job. Such a program can be
useful for retirement-aged employees, allowing
the company to retain the experienced
employee while allowing him or her to have
reduced work hours.
Work-sharing results when a group of
employees reduce their hours to prevent
layoffs. Finally, telecommuters work at home
and use phones, computersoftware, and the
Internet to conduct business.

[TOTAL: 20 MARKS]
Question 4
Discuss in detail THREE reasons why careful selection is important in HR.
[TOTAL: 20 MARKS]
ANSWER
Careful selection is important for three main
reasons: performance, costs, and legal
obligations.
First, your own performance always depends
on your subordinates.
Second, it is important because its costly to
recruit and hire employees. As the opening
story in this chapter indicated, Googles hiring
process was streamlined due to the amount of
time taken for interviews. Time spent by
employees equates to the costs of not being
productive in their jobs.
Third, its important because mismanaging
hiring haslegal consequences.
Person-job fit refers to identifying the
knowledge, skills, abilities (KSAs), and
competencies that are central
to performing the job. Then we must match the
KSAs to the prospective employees
knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies.

MARKING
Marks should be given based on answer and
their discussion .

BMHR5103/SEPTEMBER2013-F/SA ANSWER SCHEMES

Question 5

a.

Differentiate the concept of home and host country

ANSWER
Home the origin country of the firm

MARKING
2 marks for the definition

Host the country which the firm is running

their business.
b.

There are three ways in staffing the global organisation which are ethnocentric,
polycentric and geocentric practices. By using relevant examples, discuss these three
practices in detail.
[TOTAL: 20 MARKS]

ANSWER
MARKING
Ethnocentric-run
firms
staff
foreign 5-6 marks for each of the points = 16
subsidiaries with parent-country nationals.
They believe that home country attitudes,
management styles, and knowledge are
superior to the host country. Polycentric-run
firms staff foreign subsidiaries with hostcountry nationals. They believe they are the
only ones that can really understand the
culture and the behavior of the host country
market. Geocentric-run firms staff foreign
subsidiaries with the best people for key jobs
regardless of nationality. They believe that the
best manager for any specific position
anywhere on the globe may be in any of the
countries in which the firm operates.