Unit 6 Business Management and Human Resource Management PYQ’s 26th Nov 2021 Shift 1

The correct answer is – Case study

Key Points

• Training is important in employee onboarding as well as employee retention
• Employers and human resource professionals now have more development training options than ever thanks to technological advancements.
• There are three major learning styles:
  • Visual: Learning by seeing or watching
  • Auditory: Learning by hearing information
  • Kinaesthetic: Learning through action, or by doing

Important Points

Case Study:

• Most suitable for developing problem-solving skills is case study as it includes all the three major learning styles.
• The case study is a proven method for training and is known to effectively boost learner motivation.
• However, participants’ motivation and learning will suffer if they don’t have access to the tools they need to do a case study or if the assignment becomes difficult.
• This approach is appropriate when the learners already possess the fundamental knowledge but still stand to gain from instruction.
• This approach is also one of the more widely used approaches in fields like law, counselling, and medical because it is less expensive.

The correct answer is – Gen X

Key Points

Gen X:

• Gen X or Generation X is a demographic group of peoples born between the mid-1960s to 1980.
• Gen X is also the generation that was influenced by hip hop, alternative rock, and grunge music.
• Gen X, therefore, appreciate the value of independence and informality and are also technologically savvy, more educated than their parents, and are a more flexible generation.
• Gen X is attributed to generating a balanced work-life trade-off and is also synonymous with a higher entrepreneurial tendency.
• There are various characteristics that are common to the Gen X- Skeptical, Independent, casual approach, pragmatic, individualistic, adaptable and others.

Additional Information

Gen Y- Generation Y, also known as millennials or the Millennial Generation, often have certain skills and behaviors that make them unique and valuable employees. They are tech-savvy, flexibile , seeks work-life balance, is results-oriented, seeks rewards and praise others.

Silent generation- The demographic group known as the Silent Generation for those born between 1928 and 1945, is one such example. They generally posses traditional values, Financial prudence, Interpersonal respect, Self-sacrifice and others.

Baby Boomers- The “Baby Boomer Generation” refers to people who were born during the years following World War II. They are generally said to possess certain characteristics like they value relationships, are goal centric, are self-assured, resourceful and others.

Hence, the Gen X is the generation that are pragmatic and individualistic.

The correct answer is – Role clarity and definition

Key Points

Resistance to change and coping strategies:

• Resistance to change is a typical human reaction.
• One of a leader’s most important abilities is understanding the reasons why people resist change as well as how to overcome that resistance in light of the constant change that is taking place in organisations.
• Change and resistance go hand in hand. Without resistance, major change is essentially impossible.
• Unfortunately, resistance is frequently seen as undesirable and as something that must be overcome.
• Resistance also serves a useful purpose by drawing attention to some overlooked details.

Important Points

Some sources of resistance and the coping mechanisms include the following:

1. Perceived Peripherality of Change: The implementation of change can only be effective if it is recognised as essential and beneficial, which can be done by involving the affected parties in the identification of the problems or concerns.

2. Perception of Imposition: People typically oppose change when they feel that it is being forced upon them. By integrating individuals in the introduction of change at various phases, the resistance can be overcome.

3. Vested Interests: People’s vested interests lead to change resistance. Once people have gone through the transition, they frequently appreciate it and may even perceive its benefits.

4. Complacency and Inertia: Change is resisted because it causes discomfort. The problem can be solved by bringing about change and assisting people in adjusting to new circumstances.

5. Fear of Large Scale Disturbance: Resistance could be brought on by the worry that the suggested change will probably trigger some additional adjustments with unanticipated effects. The resistance may be overcome by phasing out the change.

6. Fear of Overload: If the change is perceived to increase the work load of people, they tend to resist the change. There is a need to bring in more of role clarity to overcome the resistance.

The incorrect statement is – “It is based on the principle of unity of command”

Key Points

Functional Organisation:

• A functional organisational structure differentiates the employees based on their expertise, specialisation, etc.
• It is entirely dependent on a ranking system made up of many departments that are led by knowledgeable experts.
• Most firms adopt a functional structure because it brings together employees with complementary expertise and abilities who, when working together as a team, can assist the business achieve its objectives.

Important Points

Explanation of statements:

1. It is based on the principle of unity of command:

• This statement is incorrect as a functional organization violates the principle of unity of command since a person is accountable to a large number of bosses.

2. Discipline tends to break down not only among workers:

• This statement is correct as The division of authority leads to discipline issues. The workers have to obey many bosses their loyalty becomes divided. Not just among employees, but also among lower level supervisors, discipline frequently fails.

3. It is useful for large-scale business:

• This statement is correct. Large businesses can benefit from functional organisation since it divides an organisation’s activities into key functional areas like IT, finance, and marketing.

4. Functional managers are specialists in their respective areas:

• This statement is correct as Functional managers are considered as specialists who are in charge of functional areas (such as operations, marketing, and finance, etc.), each of which is given a specific set of functional tasks.

The incorrect option is – Fear

Key Points

Robert Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotions:

• Robert Plutchik was a psychologist who created an evolutionary theory of emotion, known as the wheel of emotion.
• Plutchik created the wheel of emotions, which illustrates the various relationships among the emotions. The primary emotions are:
• Joy: it is a state of satisfaction and well-being, with ourselves and with whom we have to live.
• Trust: is the position we take in a subjective way when we believe that there is no harm or damage in a situation after an action.
• Fear: is the uncertainty we feel when we create expectations about something we believe will harm us.
• Surprise: the way we react when something unexpected happens to us. It is the basic neutral emotion.
• Sadness: it is mainly a state of despondency, it requires social support.
• Aversion: through this emotion we express our will of rejection or that the person wants to avoid something or someone.
• Anger: It is the way of responding to an act of offense, especially if that act is done deliberately.
• Anticipation: the expectations that are created for ourselves, based on the experience and information, about a specific event or situation.

Hence, fear is not a secondary emotion, it is a primary emotion.

The correct answer is – Generates new evidence in support of a decision

Key Points

Decision Support System:

• A decision support system is a piece of software or a programme that helps experts in many fields in formulating and supporting decisions.
• It is a part of a business intelligence system and frequently has a database with data particular to the industry.
• Files, business models, health data, sales data, estimates, marketing stats, and personal expertise can also be included in decision support systems.
• Decision support systems are extensively used in sectors like healthcare, agriculture, and marketing.

Important Points

Advantages of Decision Support System

• Improves performance and effectiveness of the user
• Allows for faster decision-making
• Reduces the time taken to solve problems
• combine to save money!
• Has been seen to improve collaboration and communication within groups
• Reduces training times because the experience of experts is available within the programs algorithm
• Provides more evidence in support of a decision
• May increase decision-maker satisfaction
• Providing different perspectives to a situation
• Helps automate various business system

Additional Information

Disadvantages of Decision Support System

• Too much emphasis/control given to the machines.
• May reduce skill in staff because they become dependent on the computers
• Reduction in efficiency because of information overload
• Shift of responsibility – easy to blame computer!
• Disgruntled employees who feel they are now only doing clerical work
• False sense of being objective – humans still feed information in and decide how exactly to process it.

The correct answer is – A – lll, B – l, C – lV, D – ll

Key Points

The correct match is given below:

Important Points

Defense Mechanisms: Defense mechanisms are acts people do to distance themselves from unpleasant situations, ideas, or deeds.

Types of Ego Defence Mechanisms

Projection: When you attribute your suffering to other people, things, or circumstances. Additionally, it entails blaming other people for your own unpleasant emotions and thoughts. A person with a short fuse, for instance, could frequently complain that everyone else is not short-tempered.

Regression:

• Regression is the process of going backward in psychological growth.
• The idea of regression is connected to Freud’s stage-based theory of personality development.
• A person may become focused if they haven’t overcome the obstacles of a particular stage. Regression transports you back to that fixation’s stage and mannerisms.
• For instance, an adult who is under a lot of stress might not want to get out of bed and start their day.
• They might decide to remain at home, where they feel comfortable and secure, instead.
• They may even start experiencing hazy physical discomfort without any obvious signs.

Repression: Recalling sad or traumatic memories can hurt emotionally. Therefore, our mind choose to disregard them. Repression is the term used for when this occurs subconsciously as opposed to suppression, which occurs when it is done intentionally.

Sublimation: When you satisfy your socially unacceptably selfish needs and desires in a civilised way. For instance, a person with a craving for hostility and violence could choose to work as a police officer.

The correct sequence is – D, A, E, B, C

Key Points

Decision-making:

• Decision-making is the cognitive process of selecting a course of action from among multiple alternatives.
• A decision is a choice made between two or more available alternatives.

Important Points

Steps in the managerial decision-making process:

Step 1. Defining a Problem: Recognizing the necessity for a decision is the most important step in making successful decisions. Without a doubt, no appropriate action can be performed if the necessity for a decision is not recognised.

Step 2. Determining the objective: Goal identification is a key component of the decision-making process for organisations. Effective decisions are based on a thorough understanding of the goals and objectives. Without well defined goals, decisions are pointless and ineffective.

Step 3. Identifying possible solutions: The next step is to create alternate solutions. In most cases, it’s vital to come up with a number of alternative options that may be compared.

Step 4: Selecting the best solution: Among the various alternatives, the best suitable solution to the problem is chosen after careful evaluation of all the alternatives.

Step 5: Implementing the decision: Leaders may be asked to “sell” the solution, guide others to do so, or assist in its execution with the aid of others. It is effective to acquire support and buy-in from others throughout implementation to reduce resistance to later modifications.

The correct answer is – C, A, E, D, B

Key Points

The position, permission, production, people development, and pinnacle levels of leadership according to John Maxwell. Each level is associated with a certain action that generates followers. Using the expertise and data he’s accumulated over the course of 40 years as a successful leader, the best-selling book created six different stages of leadership.

Important Points

5 Levels of Leadership

• Position: An individual is given the authority to lead by a leader. Because of this, people don’t follow them because they are influential but rather because they are ordered to.
• Permission: Focus is placed on developing and maintaining relationships with the team. As a result, they are given unrestricted authority to lead by their teammates.
• Production: When a leader achieves Level 3, they start to concentrate on improving results. People then follow them because they believe the individual is competent and will guide them in the proper route.
• People Development: The servant leaders who get to Level Four mentor, teach, and multiply other leaders. People are drawn to them and stay with them because they are aware of their beneficial impact on the lives of those around them.
• Pinnacle: The rarest kind of leaders, Level Five leaders are highly renowned for their successes, the ways in which they have improved the lives of others, and the ways in which they have inspired their organisations to improve the world. Because of who they are, what they have accomplished, and what they stand for to the public, these leaders have followers.

The correct answer is – B, D and E only

Key Points

Lower Management – When it comes to management levels, lower level management is at the base of the pyramid. The supervisory or operational level of managers is another name for the lower level of management.

Foremen and supervisors make up the lower-level management; they watch after the operative workers and make sure that the work is completed correctly and on schedule. They are therefore primarily in charge of the organization’s actual production of goods and services.

Important Points

The functions of lower management are as follows –

• To lead and instruct the staff in their daily activities.
• Representing workers’ grievances before middle level management.
• To ensure a secure and safe working environment (iii).
• To ensure that the employees uphold the quality standards.
• They encourage workers to work in the intended direction.
• To give the staff the training they require.
• To create recurring reports on the workers’ performance.
• To maintain discipline and good relations with the workers.
• Maintaining good human relations

The correct answer is – A and E only

Key Points

Incentives schemes -The incentive schemes are the initiatives created to inspire and motivate employees to work more effectively and produce more. The financial incentives provided to employees in honour of their accomplishment of specific results within a predetermined time frame are known as incentives.

Important Points

Gantt Task System –

• According to the Gantt Work System, a thorough time and motion study is used to determine the standard time for completing a task.
• To calculate the worker’s efficiency and make the payments accordingly, the worker’s actual performance is compared to the standard time.
• The Gantt task system ensures the worker’s time rate for output that is below the expected level.
• If a worker takes longer than the average amount of time to accomplish a task, his efficiency is below 100%, and he is only paid time wages.
• If the employee finishes the job in the allotted time, his efficiency is 100%, and in addition to the time pay, he receives a bonus of 20% of the wages earned.
• When a worker completes a task in less time than is required, his efficiency is more than 100%, and he is paid at high piece rates.

Emerson’s Efficiency Plan-

• Under the Emerson Plan, a predetermined benchmark time for completing a task is used to gauge how well the employees really execute.
• By dividing the time spent by the standard time, the worker’s efficiency may be calculated.
• In the Emerson Plan, the employee only receives time pay for efficiency levels up to 67 percent.
• The worker receives time compensation and a 20% bonus on earnings when they perform at 100% of their potential.
• For every additional one percent of efficiency above the required level, the employee receives a bonus of one percent.