Managing People
PART 1
MONDAY 12 JUNE 2006
QUESTION PAPER
Time allowed
3 hours
This paper is divided into two sections
Section A
This ONE question is compulsory and MUST be
answered
Section B
FOUR questions ONLY to be answered
Do not open this paper until instructed by the supervisor
This question paper must not be removed from the examination
hall
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
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Section A – This ONE question is compulsory and MUST be attempted
1 Flavours Fine Foods is a leading producer for the food industry, supplying many of Europe’s leading restaurants.
Started just five years ago by brothers Lee and Alan Jones, the organisation has grown from a small company employing five people to a multi-divisional organisation employing 120 people.
The organisation’s production facility is divided into three separate departments. Each department has a single manager with supervisors assisting on the production lines. The managers and supervisors, all of whom are aware of their roles, work well together. However, although the organisation has grown, the owners continue to involve themselves in day to day activities and this has led to friction between the owners, managers and supervisors. As a result a problem arose last week. Alan Jones instructed a supervisor to repair a machine on the shop floor, which he refused to do without confirmation and instruction from his departmental manager. The supervisor’s manager, Dean Watkins, became involved and was annoyed at what he saw as interference in his department’s activities. Dean told Alan Jones that he “should have come to me first” because although the responsibility for the overall organisation was a matter for the brothers, action taken in the factory was his through powers that had been delegated to him and through his authority, as manager. In the argument that followed, Alan Jones was accused of failing to understand the way that the hierarchy in such a large organisation operates and that interference with operational decisions by senior management was not helpful.
As a consequence of this, Alan Jones has asked you to explain to him and his brother the issues behind the dispute to clarify the roles of managers and supervisors and to indicate how and why successful delegation might be achieved.
Required:
(a) Explain to Alan Jones the main differences between the work of a manager and that of a supervisor.
(13 marks)
(b) Explain in the context of Flavours Fine Foods, what is meant by:
(i) responsibility; (4 marks)
(ii) authority; (3 marks)
(iii) delegation. (3 marks)
(c) To correct the problems at Flavours Fine Foods, explain to Alan Jones:
(i) the need for delegation; (3 marks)
(ii) how effective delegation might be achieved; (6 marks)
(iii) problems with delegation; (4 marks)
(iv) how these problems might be overcome. (4 marks)
(40 marks)
Section B – FOUR questions ONLY to be attempted
2 The activities of an organisation have to be managed and co-ordinated to ensure that its objectives are met. The
organisation’s structure is designed to support this.
Required:
(a) What is meant by the term ‘organisational structure,’ often shown as an organisation chart? (5 marks)
(b) Explain Mintzberg’s five organisational components. (10 marks)
(15 marks)
3 Organisations need to recruit new employees. An important step in the process is the selection interview.
Required:
(a) Explain the purpose of the selection interview. (4 marks)
(b) Explain the advantages and the disadvantages of:
(i) the face to face interview between two people; (6 marks)
(ii) the panel interview with more than one interviewer. (5 marks)
(15 marks)
4 All organisations require trained employees. However, training can take many forms, some of which are internal to
the organisation.
Required:
Explain what is meant by the terms:
(a) Computer based training. (3 marks)
(b) Coaching. (3 marks)
(c) Mentoring. (3 marks)
(d) Job rotation. (3 marks)
(e) Job instruction. (3 marks)
(15 marks)
5 Your manager has heard of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory and how it has some relevance to motivational techniques.
Required:
(a) Explain Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory. (10 marks)
(b) How can Maslow’s theory be applied to the motivation of staff? (5 marks)
(15 marks)
6 An important part of managing people in a professional organisation is to be able to distinguish between
aggressiveness and assertiveness in an employee.
Required:
(a) Explain and give examples of aggressive behaviour. (8 marks)
(b) Explain and give examples of assertive behaviour. (7 marks)
(15 marks)
End of Question Paper
