Higher Diploma Assignment Booklets Here
Transcription
Higher Diploma Assignment Booklets Here
INSTITUTE OF PEOPLE MANAGEMENT OF ZIMBABWE ASSIGNMENT BOOKLET HIGHER DIPLOMA SUBJECTS APRIL 2015 *n.b.ALL ASSIGNMENTS SHOULD BE TYPED Assignment Submission Deadline for students writing April 2015 Exams is Tuesday 10 February, 2015. April 2015 CONTENTS HIGHER DIPLOMA SUBJECTS PAGE ASSIGNMENTS AND EXAMINATIONS INSTRUCTIONS............................ 2 Module 12 PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT & PRODUCTIVITY............... 3 Module 13 MANAGEMENT ............................................................................... 4 Module 14 COMMUNICATION AND MOTIVATION ...................................... 5 Module 15 ORGANISATION DEVELOPMENT................................................. 6 Module 16 RESEARCH METHODS ................................................................... 7 Module 17 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT ......................................................... 8 Module 18 MARKETING MANAGEMENT ....................................................... 9 Module 19 BUSINESS ECONOMICS ................................................................ 10 Module 27 STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT ......................................................... 11 Module 28 LEADERSHIP, CORPORATE GOVERNANCE ÐICS ........... 12 Module 29 BUSINESS STATISTICS .................................................................. 13 1 April 2015 ASSIGNMENTS AND EXAMINATIONS INSTRUCTIONS In line with the New Curriculum, Assignments have been re-introduced with effect from the December 2011 Examinations. Please note that the final examination mark will be an aggregate of Assignments and Examinations marks. Assignments : Will contribute 30% Examinations : Will contribute 70% to the final examination pass mark Answer any TWO (2) Assignments questions per subject. The assignment should be about 1 500 words in length. Some answers should be brief where required. Now it is A Margins Must : : Typed assignments, font size 12 2 cm PLAGIARISM OF ASSIGNMENTS Students Please Note that Plagiarism of Assignments is not Allowed nor Tolerated. While students are allowed to study and discuss the study materials/assignment questions with others and/or with the tutors; but ultimately the assignment to be submitted should contain one’s own thoughts and research findings and understanding of the subject matter. Submitting an assignment copied word by word with another person is considered plagiarism and is not acceptable. IPMZ is a professional body, and as such we cannot be seen to be condoning behaviour which is completely at variance with our code of ethics. We expect our members to behave in an ethical and professional manner as representatives of the HR profession. Please be advised that if an Assignment is deemed to have been Plagiarised, the following will happen:A) Suspension from writing the examination/s in the Assignment/s proven beyond reasonable doubt to be plagiarized. B) Forfeiting of the examination fees paid for the subject/s. ALL assignments submitted will not be marked. Writing of examinations on the other subjects will be allowed but will be marked out of 70%. C) Resubmission of the assignments in the subject/s if and when one decides to register for future examinations. PLEASE NOTE THAT NO CORRESPONDENCE SHALL BE ENTERED INTO AND NO FURTHER REDRESS SHALL BE PERMITTED 2 April 2015 PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT AND PRODUCTIVITY 1. 2. Module 12 (a) Explain the terms efficiency and effectiveness as they relate to productivity. [10] (b) Demonstrate your understanding of the systems view to productivity. [10] (c) What is the difference between a closed and an open system? (a) Differentiate with examples, between multifactor and single factor productivity. (b) [5] [10] What companies in Zimbabwe can apply the following types of benchmarking? Non-competitive benchmarking External benchmarking Internal benchmarking [3] [3] [3] Provide at least three examples and justify your answer in each case. (c) 3. Briefly explain the maturity stage in benchmarking process. [6] “Continuous improvement is a never ending effort to investigate and consequently eliminate the root causes of problems. It involves small, incremental improvements as opposed to dramatic changes.” Qualify this statement. [25] 4. Illustrate the stakeholders that benefit from increase in productivity. In what way do they stand to benefit? 3 April 2015 [25] MANAGEMENT Module 13 1. Discuss the role and relevance of Labour Unions in Zimbabwe. [25] 2. You have been appointed a Marketing Manager of a large organisation with branches in all towns in Zimbabwe, and have been asked to prepare a marketing plan. What details would you include? [25] “Both McGregor’s Theory X & Y represent effective approaches for motivating employees.” Discuss this statement making reference to an organisation of your own choice. [25] “The Finance Department is the pivot of any organisation.” Discuss this statement using an organisation of your own choice. [25] 3. 4. 4 April 2015 COMMUNICATION AND MOTIVATION 1. 2. 3. 4. Module14 Formulate a plan to motivate employees through the development of their skills and abilities at the workplace. [25] Criticise the use of Max Weber’s Theory on bureaucracy as a motivating tool to employees at the workplace. [25] Justify the study of motivation at the workplace as a critical step towards achieving both organisation’s and employees’ goals and objectives. [25] Review your organisation’s communication systems to ensure compliance with the theories of motivation at the workplace. [25] 5 April 2015 ORGANISATION DEVELOPMENT 1. 2. 3. 4. Module 15 Generate the criteria used for structuring successful organisation development interventions. [25] Analyse the causes of failure of the Organisation Development program that your organisation has invested in heavily. [25] Formulate the roles played by the HR Manager in implementing the Human Resources Management Systems. [25] Compile the characteristics of the data collected through Action Research to solve the organisation’s problems. [25] 6 April 2015 RESEARCH METHODS 1. 2. (a) What are the differences between Applied Research and Basic Research? [16] (b) Explain the circumstances within which true experimental design can be applied and why. [9] (a) (b) (c) 3. 4. Module 16 Explain the following terms as regards threat to internal validity: (i) Effects of history [5] (ii) Effects of maturation [5] Explain the following: (i) Non-probability sampling [4] (ii) Stratified sampling [4] Briefly describe what is meant by variables. Give a full outline of the steps to be followed in designing a questionnaire in the field of research. What are the key pitfalls to be avoided in the process of questionnaire design? [7] [25] You have just attended a seminar on Research Methodology. Your Line Manager asks you to give a full report on how to conduct a research on gender disparities within the organisation that you work for. Suggest an appropriate research topic, likely hypothesis, literature references, population and sampling, definition of abstract terms, how you would ensure validity and reliability, population and sampling to be applied and the limitations of the study. Make all common sense assumptions in developing the research plan likely to be guiding this research. 7 April 2015 [25] FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT 1. 2. 3. 4 Module 17 ‘To say that the main objective of financial management is to maximise shareholders’ wealth or the value of the firm is both nebulous and vague. Maximisation of profit is a much more clearer and precise objective.” Discuss. [25] Discuss the balanced score card approach to performance measurement. Is it any better than the traditional approaches to performance measurement? Explain. [25] Explain the advantages of debt-financing and discuss its limitations as a viable source of business finance. [25] “Debtors constitute a big component of working capital and they require the same type of planning and control as cash.” Discuss. [25] 8 April 2015 MARKETING MANAGEMENT 1. 2. 3. 4. Module 18 Outline the major consumer reference groups and explain how each group influence the consumer’s decisions. Advertisers often do research to test for the effectiveness of an advert before it is placed in the media. Suggest some principles that should be followed when testing an advert copy. [25] [25] Discuss the circumstances under which a manufacturer would initiate price cuts to his/her customers. [25] Discuss the factors that contributed to the adoption of marketing concepts and practices by service industries. [25] 9 April 2015 BUSINESS ECONOMICS Module 19 1. “With the rapid growth of the informal sector in Zimbabwe, omissions from GDP have now become significant enough to seriously undermine the credibility of GDP as an economic indicator.” Discuss. [25] 2. Discuss the arguments 3rd world countries advance against a Floating Exchange rate system. [25] Explain the barriers to entry that are generally found in monopoly markets. Have advances in technology and the increasing pace of globalisation weakened any of these barriers? Discuss. [25] “In recent years the influence of trade unions in the Zimbabwe economy has steadily and persistently declined.” Discuss. [25] 3. 4. 10 April 2015 STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT 1. 2. Module 27 Discuss the generic strategies according to Michael Porter. How relevant are these strategies to organisations that you are familiar with in Zimbabwe. [25] Critically analyse the characteristics of an effective evaluation system using an organisation of your own choice. [25] 3. Discuss the strategies for implementing change using an organisation that you are familiar with. Illustrate your answer. [25] 4. Explain the concept of “Business Reengineering.” How important is this concept in enhancing the competitive advantage of organisations in Zimbabwe? Use organisations of your own choice to illustrate your answer. 11 April 2015 [25] LEADERSHIP, CORPORATE GOVERNANCE & ETHICS 1. 2. 3. 4. Module 28 What lessons on leadership can one learn from the challenges that bedevilled the City of Harare during the period 2009 to 2013? [25] As the major shareholder in Air Zimbabwe, what measures should the government have put in place to stop the decline as well as the rot in this organisation? [25] What is an adverse opinion in an audit report? In your opinion, what is the effect of such a report on the operations and reputation of an organisation? [25] Discuss the conduct that ensures good boardroom practice. In your opinion, is good boardroom practice feasible in modern organisations? [25] 12 April 2015 BUSINESS STATISTICS Module 29 Instructions to Candidate 1. Section A is compulsory 2. Answer any one question from Section B Section A 1. (a) A simple random of 400 of Blackberry customers showed that the mean value of orders in the 1st quarter of 2013 was $31 with a standard deviation of $10 Find confidence limits for the population mean and interpret your answer. [8] (b) (i) The sample of 400 comprises 80 pensions fund a 99 % confidence interval for the population % of pensioner customers and interpret your answer. [8] (ii What size of sample would have to be taken at least 95% confident that the population % of pensioner would be estimated to within +2%. [9] Section B 2. Answer any one question Mcell has implemented a system of charging out telephone calls based on the length of the call. To find out how this new charging out system would affect its telephone bill, a market research company which carries out extensive telephone interviews monitored the duration of 600 calls over a period of 3 days. The following frequency distribution was completed. Duration (minutes) 2 – 4.9 5 – 7.9 8 – 10.9 11 – 13.9 14 – 16.9 17 – 19.9 Number of calls 38 122 186 134 98 22 13 April 2015 You are required to 3 4. (i) Find the mean and the median of the call lengths [10] (ii) Find standard deviation of call lengths [10] (iii) Find interquartile range [5] Explore the relationship among the three measures of centrality in terms of skewness. [25] The following two-way table shows the frequencies of occurrence of a hypothetical exposure and disease in a group of 1 000 people Exposure Present Absent Disease Present 75 25 100 Absent 325 575 900 400 600 1 000 (a) What is the probability of exposure in the group? [7] (b) What is the joint probability of both exposure and disease being present in the group? [8] (c) Compute the probability of disease being present conditional on the presence of exposure and conditional on the absence of exposure. 14 April 2015 [10]