BSc (Hons) in Actuarial Science – BAS/09/FT

BSc (Hons) in Business Information Systems - BIS/10A/FT

BA (Hons) in Graphics Design- BGD/10/FT (1), BGD/10/FT (2), BGD/09/PT

Bsc (Hons) in Logistic and Transport -

BSc (Hons) in Mathematics - BM/10A/FT, BM/09/PT

BSc (Hons) in Software Engineering - SE/10/FT

Examinations for 2010 – 2011 / Semester 1

MODULE: Organisation and Management

MODULE CODE: MGMT1101

MARKING SCHEME
 SECTION A: COMPULSORY

QUESTION 1: (40 MARKS)

a. What barriers you could face in the process of initiating change within the
workplace and how such barriers can be overcome. Make reference to
appropriate theories. (20 marks)

Knowledge Analysis
and and
Application Evaluation

Good awareness shown of Critical analysis of each

the possible barriers in the resistance and evaluation of the
Level process of initiating change impact of the barriers if change is
two within the workplace and still initiated without addressing
some techniques in those barriers and how to
overcoming the barriers. overcome those barriers.
5 – 8 marks 8 – 12 marks

Some or limited Unclear and/or incomplete

understanding of the analysis of the barriers and lack
Level possible barriers when of understanding of the
one initiating change within the concepts/arguments mentioned.
workplace and the methods
to overcome them. 4 – 7 marks
2 – 5 marks

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Answers could include:

Barriers when initiating change within the workplace:

Organisational culture as a barrier – feeling of threat by efforts to radical change in the

organisational culture; cultural resistance;

Poor communication system – poor flow of information and lack of information available
to employees about the reasons for change; Making assumptions and no/little
participation in the decision about making change and its implementation;

Lack of cooperation between management and workers – Adversarial relationship

between management and workers; refuse to believe that change is for the welfare of
the business and for them also; record for unethical approach by management in the
past; lack of commitment towards organisational success; lack of belongingness to the
organisation; low motivation of workers; lack of trust between management and
employees; trade union as a barrier;

Fear of the unknown - fear of losing job security; fear of losing status and power; lack of
training; feeling unprepared to face the change; upset the routines of individuals; fear of
a change in the working methods and conditions of employment;

Individual self-interests as barriers – high concern for individual’s own benefit; threat of
status quo; economic fears; symbolic fears like loss of certain facilities; loss of
interpersonal relationships and disrupt the standards of groups

Individual perceptions of organisational goals and strategies – differences in information

within the possession of managers and employees; inconveniences making their lives
more difficult; no systematic and planned process when introducing change; short term
change in behavior or working method for a long term change process

Note: Students can refer to Lewin’s model in their answers.

Overcoming barriers to change:

Unfreezing – making the need for change so obvious that the individual, group or
organisation can readily see and accept it;

Change agent – appointing a trained change agent or champions of change who will
lead individuals, groups or the entire organisation through the process; fostering new
values, attitudes, behaviors, internalizing them once they perceive their effectiveness in
performance;

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Refreezing –locking the new behavior pattern into place by mean of supporting or
reinforcing mechanisms so that it becomes new norms.

Other answers could also include the following:

Strong commitment and visionary leader; fostering the appropriate culture conducive for
initiating change; develop appropriate reward system; accepting criticisms and failure as
opportunities for improvements; education and communication; participation and
involvement of individuals in designing the change process; facilitation and support like
training and retraining programs, time off, emotional support, understanding and
protection of the interests of those people affected by the change as far as possible;
negotiation and agreement with potential resisters even soliciting written letters of
understanding; explicit and implicit coercion like threatening job loss or transfer, lack of
promotion among others; introducing a planned process of change by altering its
structure, technology, people or some combination of these aspects.

Students are supposed to refer to a particular change model which could include the
following: Lewin’s model (1951); Beckhard (1969); Thurley (1979); Bandura (1986);
Beer et al (1990).

Breakdown of marks:

4 main points mentioned above properly explained and analyzed 4 × 2 = 8 marks

4 main points above explained properly to show how management can overcome
barriers to change 4 × 2 = 8 marks

Validity of arguments, use of appropriate theories/concepts, quality of writing and flow of

ideas 4 marks

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b. How would you go by fostering a new organisational culture which can be
conducive for the success of the organisation? (10 marks)

Knowledge and Analysis and Evaluation

Application

Good knowledge of Good use of theory to explain

organisational culture and its
effect on the success of an
Level organisation and well applied to
two contexts raised by the candidate
in the answer
2 – 3 marks
and evaluate the significance of
the proper organisational culture
as one of the crucial element for
the success of an organisation
fully supported by reference to
appropriate theories and valid
arguments
5 - 7 marks

Poor knowledge of organisational No or inappropriate theories

culture with no/little reference
made to organisational success
and lack of realistic arguments
Level put forward by the candidate
one
1 – 2 mark
used to explain the significance
of a proper organisational
culture and its impact on
organisational success and
evaluation is ambiguous and/or
not tailored according to the
context and requirements of the
questions.
2 - 3 marks

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Answers could include:
Definition of organisational culture - better answers will make reference to appropriate
authors; analysis of existing culture – joint exercises to discuss appropriate values
which are more likely to be ‘owned’ by people; defining the desired culture; identification
of ‘cultural gap’; identification of behavioral expectations; definition of development and
reward processes and reinforcing them; identification of levers for change like focus on
performance, commitment, quality, customer service, teamwork, organisational learning
and defining the underpinning values in each case, prioritize areas that need the most
urgent attention; strategic change; operational change; developing a ‘high performance’
culture producing a high level of business performance; no such thing like the ‘ideal’
culture.

Breakdown of marks:

Any five points mentioned above explained critically with valid arguments and a good
flow of ideas and use of appropriate theories/concepts/models 5 × 2 = 10 marks

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 c. What are the characteristics of an effective work team? (5 marks)

Knowledge Analysis
and and
Application Evaluation

Level Good awareness shown of Good analysis made of the

two effective work team criteria for a team to be effective
1 – 2 marks 2 – 3 marks

Some or limited Unclear and/or incomplete

Level understanding of an effective analysis of the conditions
one work team. required for a team to be
effective.
1mark 1 mark

Answers could include:

Importance of teams; critical challenges for teams to be effective; understanding,

relevance, and commitment to goals; communication of ideas and feelings; active
participation and distribution of leadership; flexible use of decision-making procedures;
encouragement and constructive management of conflict; power based on expertise,
ability and information; high group cohesion; efficient problem-solving strategies; high
interpersonal effectiveness

Breakdown of marks:

Any five points mentioned above raised and properly explained including importance of
teams 5 × 1 = 5 marks

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 d. Encouraging initiative and innovation is one among the priorities
mentioned in the case above. Discuss how you could encourage
innovation and initiative within the workforce? (5 marks)

Knowledge Analysis
and and
Application Evaluation

Good awareness shown about Good analysis made of how and

Level the methods that could be used what could be the barriers for
two to encourage innovation and encouraging innovation and initiative
initiative. within the workforce
1 – 2 marks 2 – 3 marks

Some or limited understanding Unclear and/or incomplete analysis

Level of the methods used to of the methods used to encourage
one encourage innovation and initiative and innovation and a lack
initiative. of critical reasoning.
1mark 1 mark

Answers could include:

Reasons for encouraging initiative and innovation; methods of encouraging creativity

like: encouraging individual creativity, challenging their abilities and encourage ‘thinking
out of the box’; organisational creativity and innovation in terms of encouraging new
ideas to be generated among organisational members, efficient communication system,
holistic perspective to problem solving and change; establishment of a climate for
organisational initiative and innovation in terms of nurturing and harnessing the skills of
workers through training and development, fostering the appropriate organisational
culture where holding or hoarding information is not a sign of power, designing an
appropriate structure, process and providing infrastructure, decentralization and
empowerment of individuals, tolerate failures, permit more interaction among workers,
develop an acceptance for change, offer recognition (financial and non-financial) and
provide clear objectives and freedom to implement and achieve them by individuals.

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Breakdown of marks:

Any five points mentioned above raised and properly explained including importance of
encouraging initiative and innovation 5 × 1 = 5 marks

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 SECTION B: ATTEMPT ANY TWO (2) QUESTIONS

QUESTION 2: (30 Marks)

(a). Outline the major elements which make up the

i) Macro (External) environment. ( 10 marks)

Suggested Answers
• Political

• Economic

• Social

• Technological

• Ecology

• Legal

• International

ii) Micro (Internal) environment. ( 10 marks)

Suggested Answers
• Suppliers

• Customers

• Labor supply

• Government agencies

• Competitors

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 (b). Discuss five methods that can be used to help organizations adapt
to their environment. (10 marks)

Suggested Answers
The expected answers for this question are open and the aim is to test the general
knowledge and practicality of management and organizational concepts.

QUESTION 3: (30 Marks)

Collecting and managing information is increasingly vital from small businesses

to multinational organisations.

(i). Use the support of examples in the context of a chosen organization,

differentiate between data and information. (4 marks)

Suggested Answer:
Data:
Data is raw fact. (1 mark)
In the case of a car rental organization, data can be the name of the customer who has
come to the organization to rent a car. (1 mark)

Information:
Information is data which has been processed. (1 mark)
In the case of a car rental organization, information can be from a list of customers who
have rented cars for a period of time from the company. Information is normally in
reports. (1 mark)

{Definition given for both concept carries 1 mark each (2X1=2 marks) and examples given
carries 1 mark each (2X1=2 marks)}

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(ii). Describe three importance of information to top management. (6 marks)
Suggested Answer:
• To assist management to plan the most effective use of resources
(labour/materials)
• To assist management to choose between alternative courses of action
• to aid management in controlling daily operations

{Explanation on similar 3 points carries 2 marks each; (3X2=6 marks)}

(iii). Elaborate on five points relating to the value of information within

organisations. (10 marks)
Suggested Answer:
Value of information within organisations is based on:
• Minimising and/or elimination of losses
• Savings in cost
• Improved use of resources
• Improved in sales ad / or profit
• Prevention of fraud by improved audit controls

{Explanation on the 5 points carries 2 marks each; (5X2=10 marks)}

(iv). Managers depend much on information in order to make good decisions.

Describe five criteria for related to information that managers should
consider for their proper decision making and planning processes.
(10 marks)
Suggested Answer:
• Relevant
• Accurate
• Timely
• Complete
• Simple

{Explanation on the 5 criteria carries 2 marks each; (5X2=10 marks)}

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QUESTION 4: (30 Marks)

1. (a) Decision making is the essence of management, and every decision starts with a problem.
(i) What is a decision? (2 marks)

ANSWER

A decision is a choice from two or more alternatives.

(ii) What is a problem? (2 marks)

ANSWER

A problem is an obstacle that makes achieving a desired goal or purpose difficult.

(b)Decision making is not as simple as just choosing among alternatives. It involves eight
steps in the process.

(i) Make a list of the eight steps involved in decision making.

(½ mark per step)
ANSWER

List of eight steps involved in decision making:

1. STEP ONE : Identifying the problem

2. STEP TWO : Identifying decision criteria
3. STEP THREE :Allocating weights to the criteria
4. STEP FOUR :Developing alternatives
5. STEP FIVE :Analysing alternatives
6. STEP SIX :Selecting an alternative
7. STEP SEVEN :Implementing the alternative
8. STEP EIGHT :Evaluating decision effectiveness

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(ii) Describe how you would go through each step in the process. Use an example to
illustrate your answer. (2 marks per step)
ANSWER

STEP ONE: IDENTIFYING THE PROBLEM

Every decision starts with a problem. A problem is an obstacle that makes achieving a
desired goal or purpose difficult. It could be an urgency to replace an old obsolete camera
by a new digital one.

STEP TWO: IDENTIFYING THE DECISION CRITERIA

Once the manager has identified the problem, he or she must identify the decision criteria
that are important or relevant to resolving the problem. Every decision maker has criteria
that guide his or her decisions, even if they are not explicitly stated. In our example, the
manager decides after careful consideration that memory and storage capabilities,
resolution, battery life, warranty and carrying weight are the relevant criteria in his/ her
decision making.

STEP THREE: ALLOCATING WEIGHTS TO THE CRITERIA

If the relevant criteria are not equally important, the decision maker must weigh the items
in order to give them the correct priority in the decision. How? A simple way is to give
the most important criterion a weight of 10 and ten assign weights to the rest using that
standard. The weighted criteria for the digital could be as shown below:

Memory and storage capabilities : 10

Resolution : 9
Battery life : 8
Warranty : 4
Carrying weight : 3

STEP FOUR: DEVELOPING ALTERNATIVES

Memory Battery life Carrying Warranty Resolution

and storage weight
Canon 8 5 4 6 6

Nikon 10 7 5 8 9

Pentax 6 4 4 5 5

EXHIBIT 1.1

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The fourth step in the decision making process requires the decision maker to list viable
alternatives that could resolve the problem. This is the step where a decision maker needs
to be creative. At this point, the alternatives are only listed, not evaluated. The manager
identifies three cameras as possible choices.
STEP FIVE: ANALYSING ALTERNATIVES
Once alternatives have been identified, the decision maker must evaluate each one by
using the criteria established in step 2. Exhibit 1.1 shows the assessed values that the
manager gave each alternative after doing some research on them. At this stage, these
data represent an assessment of the three alternatives using the decision criteria but not
the weighting. When we multiply the score of each alternative by the assigned weight, we
get the weighted alternatives, as shown in Exhibit 1.2. The total score for each alternative,
then, is the sum of its weighted criteria.

Memory Battery Carrying Warranty Resolution Total

and life weight
storage
Canon 80 40 12 24 54 210

Nikon 100 56 15 32 81 284

Pentax 60 32 12 20 45 169

STEP SIX: SELECTING ALTERNATIVES

The sixth step in the decision-making process is choosing the best alternative or the one
that generated the highest total score in step 5. In this example, the manager would
choose Nikon because it scored highest (284 total).

STEP SEVEN: IMPLEMENTING THE ALTERNATIVE

In step 7 in the decision making process, the manager puts the decision into action b
conveying it to those affected and getting their commitment to it. It is known that if
people who must implement a decision participate in the process, they are more likely to
support it than if they are just told what to do. Another thing managers may need to do
during implementation is reassess the environment for any changes, especially with a
long-term decision. Are the criteria, alternatives and choices still the best ones, or has the
environment changed in such a way that we need to revaluate?

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STEP EIGHT: EVALUATING DECISION EFFECTIVENESS
The last step in the decision-making process involves evaluating the outcome or result of
the decision to see if the problem was resolved. If the evaluation shows that the problem
still exists, then the manager needs to assess what went wrong. Was the problem
incorrectly defined? Were errors made when evaluating alternatives? Was the right
alternative selected but poorly implemented? The answers might lead to redo an earlier
step or might require starting the whole process over.

(c) Managers face three different conditions when making decision. What are the
characteristics of each? (2 marks for each condition)

ANSWER

Managers may face three different conditions when making decisions: certainty, risk and
uncertainty.

1. CERTAINTY
The ideal situation of making decisions is one of certainty, which is a situation in
which a manager can make accurate decisions because the outcome of every
alternative is known.

2. RISK
A far more common situation than decision making under certainty is one of risk,
conditions in which the decision maker is able to estimate the likelihood of certain
outcomes. Under risk, managers have historical data from past personal experiences
or secondary information that lets them assign probabilities to different alternatives.

3. UNCERTAINTY
Very often, managers take decisions the outcomes of which they are not certain. So
much so that they can’t even make reasonable estimates. This condition is called
uncertainty.

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QUESTION 5: (30 Marks)
(a) Define planning. (4 marks)
Suggested Answer:
Planning is often called the primary management function because it establishes the
basis for all other functions that manager perform. {1 mark}

Planning is a process by which a decision is made in advance about what objectives are
to be attained; what actions are to be taken; what alternative steps are to be taken to
attain the objectives (how and when) and who will be responsible for the actions
envisaged. {3 marks}

(b) Explain the following terms: (10 marks)

(i). Strategic plans
Suggested Answer:
Strategic plans are plans that apply to the entire organisation, establish the
organisation’s overall goals, and seek to position the organisation ion terms of its
environment. {2 marks}

(ii). Operational plans

Suggested Answer:
Operational plans are plans that specify the details of how the overall goals are to be
achieved. {2 marks}

(iii). Long term plans

Suggested Answer:
Long term plans are plans with a time frame beyond three years. {2 marks}

(iv). Short-term plans

Suggested Answer:
Short term plans are plans covering one year or less. {2 marks}

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(v). Specific plans.
Suggested Answer:
Specific plans are plans that are clearly defined and that leave no room for
interpretation. {2 marks}

(c) Planning seems to take a lot of effort. However, there are at least four
reasons why managers should plan.

(i) What are those reasons? (8 marks)

1. To compensate for uncertainty and change {2 marks}

2. To ensure that actions accord with objectives {2 marks}
3. To function economically {2 marks}
4. To facilitate control {2 marks}

(ii) Elaborate on each of the reasons. (8 marks)

{Detailed answer of the each of the above answer carries 2 marks each}

***END OF MARKING SCHEME***

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