HRM Exam Question Essay

1. Explain the ways that recruitment can contribute to the implementation of Human Resource Strategy 2. Outline and explain the options to consider when designing a reward strategy. 3. Briefly compare and contrast the differences between the ‘best fit’ and the ‘resource based’ approaches to strategic human resource management. 4. Outline the main uses of competency models in Strategic Human Resource Management? 5. Explain what you understand by the terms ‘unitarist’ and ‘pluralist’ and their implications for employee relations strategies. 6. Outline and discuss the factors to consider when designing a retention strategy October —2013 1. Critically assess the strengths and weaknesses of ‘best practice’ models of HRM strategy? 2. Outline and discuss the main obstacles hindering or preventing HR departments from delivering strategic HRM 3. What should organisations consider when developing a reward strategy? 4. How can recruitment and selection processes contribute to strategic HRM? 5. Discuss the main features of a Learning Organisation. Why is it important in a strategic HRD approach to organising development? 6. Which mechanisms of employee involvement would you recommend using as part of your employee relations strategy and why? New 1. Explain three best fit’ models of HRM and outline the strengths and weaknesses of such approaches to ‘strategy? 2. What are the main elements of a reward strategy? 3. Specify the data that you would need to analyse the potential absence problems of an organization 4. How can recruitment and selection processes contribute to strategic HRM? 6. Which mechanisms of employee involvement or ‘employee voice’ would you recommend using and why? Section – b Question 1 Critically evaluate the role that performance management systems play in the delivery of SHRM. Discuss the main mechanisms used in PMS and explain the different options that can be used within them. Use organisational examples as appropriate to support your answer Question 2 Critically evaluate the factors to consider when designing a retention strategy. Question 3 How can you best define and explain the concept of Strategic Human Resource Development? How does it differ from the concept of training and what are the strategic choices that make up Strategic Human Resource Development? Question 4 Critically evaluate the options and strategic approaches required to design a ‘total reward’ system Section B Answer two questions – Section B is worth 60 marks (30 marks for each question) Question 1 Critically evaluate the role that performance management systems play in the delivery of SHRM. Discuss the main mechanisms used in PMS and explain the different options that can be used within them. Use organisational examples as appropriate to support your answer Question 2 For developmental activity to be deemed ‘strategic’ organisations need to shift the focus from a training’ to a ‘learning’ approach. Discuss this proposition in the context of development activity supporting individual and organisational change Question 3 Critically evaluate the use of competency based approaches in modern HR strategies. Explain in detail how they may be used in one specific area of HR such as performance management. Use organisational examples as appropriate to support your answer Question 4 Critically evaluate ONE of the following a)In what ways can HR strategies provide the level of organisational flexibility required by modern organisations? OR b)Should reward strategies always include an element of performance related pay. Justify your answer in relation to both theory and practise? Section B Answer two questions – Section B is worth 60 marks (30 marks for each question) Question 1 Critically evaluate the role that performance management systems play in the delivery of SHRM. Discuss the main mechanisms used in PMS and explain the different options that can be used within them. Use organisational examples as appropriate to support your answer (30 marks) Question 2 (30 marks) Question 3 Critically evaluate the use of competency based approaches in modern HR strategies. Explain in detail how they may be used in relation to EITHER Recruitment and selection OR Performance management Use organisational examples as appropriate to support your answer (30 marks) Question 4 Critically evaluate THREE of the following payment systems Individual performance related pay (merit pay) Time based pay Skills based pay Team based pay (30 marks)

Carrefour S.A.

tCarrefour S. A. is a large multinational corporation that aims to issue EUR 750 million worth of debt. Consequently, Carrefour must decide the market in which it wants to place its bonds. The company had historically financed growth using securities denominated in the currency of its business operations. However, Carrefour’s investment banks, Morgan Stanley and UBS-Warburg, recently recommended borrowing in British pounds sterling to take advantage of a borrowing opportunity in that currency.This recommendation seems counter-intuitive prima facie, given that the British coupon rate is higher than those in all the other currencies, particularly the Swiss franc. Nevertheless, there are several reasons why investing in the British pound is a good idea. While the nominal interest rate of the Swiss franc is lower than that of the British pound, the real interest rate of the British pound is lower because of the relatively higher inflation rate in the U. K. Moreover, the exchange r ate for GBP/EUR (. 628) appears more favorable than the exchange rate of CHF/EUR (1. 53). In addition, we can calculate the implied forward rates to further help us with our decision. We can use the formula F (f. c. /EUR) = (1+i(f. c. ))N/(1+i(EUR))N*S(f. c. /EUR) to find the implied 10 year forward rates: The low forward rates for GBP/EUR suggest that borrowing in British pounds is a wise choice. Next, we must use the implied forward rates to calculate the cash flows for each currency (in Euros). This will allow us to compare each currency and see which one has the smallest cash outflow (which is the best option, since we are issuing debt).We do this by finding the coupon payment in each currency and then dividing it by the implied forward rate for the appropriate year. Using this information, we can see that the cash outflow for the GBP is the smallest, which further suggests that borrowing in British pounds is advantageous. Plus, the cash outflow is greatest for the Swiss franc. We can also use a discounted cash flow analysis to guide our decision. We can take the cash flows we just calculated and discount them to the present time using the risk free rate for each respective country and for the appropriate year.These numbers will be even more helpful and accurate because will they be in terms of today’s dollars. See below: Once again, it is evident that the smallest cash outflow corresponds with the British pound. While the coupon rate for the GBP is higher, the exchange rate is more favorable, the real interest rate is actually lower, and the coupons paid are lower. All of these factors lead me to conclude that borrowing in British pounds is in the best interest of Carrefour. One final factor to consider is the markups that brokers typically charge to make money for their services.We can find the markup for each currency by subtracting the risk-free rate from the coupon rate. The markup for the Euro is 5. 25% – 5. 087% = . 163%. The markup fo r the GBP is . 001%. The markup for the CHF is . 126%. The markup for the USD is . 087%. As we can see, the markup for the GBP is significantly lower than those of the other currencies. This suggests that the GBP is less risky and has a lower chance of default than the other currencies. It is also another reason for borrowing in British pounds.

Learning Skill Essay

?The attributes of the learners and how they can help the learners to be successful in an online learning environment Education of children is compulsory, formal and standardized. Adult learning is voluntary and intentional. The purpose of adult education is the independent self-directed learner. Adults tend to resist a learning process which is incongruent with their self-concept as autonomous individuals and does not correspond to their needs and interests. Adults focus on direct application. Given their daily duty in job, profession, family and community, they learn to cope with the pressures and problems of life they are facing. For that reason, the adult educator’s concern is primarily focused on the needs and interests of the learners. â€Å"Andragogy (adult education) calls for program builders and teachers who are person-centered, who don’t teach subject matter but rather help persons learn† (Knowles). Hence, the interests of adults are their real needs. Or the solutions learners have in mind do not solve their problems. The adult educator often has to register into a â€Å"needs negotiation† (Bhola) with learners when teaching new needs about boiled water or a balanced diet, about clean surroundings, preventive health practices or small families. In the dialectical process of needs negotiation the needs as felt by the learners and the needs as seen by the adult educators must be showed together to reach a consensus on the â€Å"real† needs. These real needs must agree to the experience of adult learners. If an adult gets the impression that his experience is not being valued he feels turned down as a person. New learnings take on meaning as adults are able to relate them to their life experience. Experienced adult educators, so, build into the design of their learning experiences provision for the learners to plan and rehearse how they are going to apply their learnings in their day-to-day lives or duties and combine training with transfer and application. A workshop then really can become a workplace where educational materials are produced or evaluation studies are designed. According to Knox’s proficiency theory the learning needs for an adult move upward from life situations and interpersonal communication. Social expectation motivates and empowers an adult to search for more knowledge, better expertness and more suitable performance. Adult learning is based on experience, on the learners’ own experience and on the experience of others. Learning settings of adults usually have a participatory and collaborative basic part. Adults prefer to meet as equals in small groups to explore outcome and concerns and then to take common action as a result of dialogue and inter-learning by discourse. The group becomes the â€Å"learning co-operative†. The group provides the opportunity for inter-learning. Within the group the teacher as well as the other group members plays the task of facilitators. All group members become â€Å"co-agents† (Bhola) in learning. The absence of formal accreditation or certification facilitates collaboration not only on a specific product or outcome but even in structuring and restructuring the learning process according to the needs and interests of the group. The learning process becomes as important as the learning outcome, and a balance between both is often not easy to maintain. How much freedom can actually be given to the adult learner in choice of content and way? Adult learning is life-centered. It is learning by doing, by application and experience, and if need be by trial and error. Adults do not simply to get knowledge created by outsiders, but should examine their own reality themselves and make a positive declaration about it. â€Å"Praxis† is the focus of effective adult learning and praxis means analysis and examination of reality in order to transform it. Adult learning is without interval process of investigation and exploration followed by proccess of doing something grounded in this exploration, followed by reflection on this action, leading to further investigation and so on. The principle is testing not â€Å"banking† (P. Freire) of knowledge. Exploration of new opinion, skills and knowledge take place in the context of the learners’ experience. In settings where skills are being learned, learners become acquainted with skills, apply these in real life settings, redefine hoe these skills may be altered by context, re-apply these in other settings and so on. Adults explained the meaning of ideas, skills and knowledge through the medium of their life-experience and test them in real life settings. To make the learner self-directed is the intention of adult education. But the self-directed learner is neither the one who can retrieve information or locate resources nor the one who appears in group dynamics. The â€Å"inner-directed, self-operating learner† (R. Kidd) is the one who reflects critically on his own assumptions and is keen to find alternative and better solutions. The learning process contributes largely to the success of learning. But learning is more than just the learning process. A participative learning process which fails to assist the learners in  acquiring knowledge and competence is a failure. A participative learning process may take more time because it means active involvement of everybody, discussing all the pro’s and con’s, despite that it must lead to concrete results combining commitment with competence. Education is, as Brookfield points out a â€Å"transactional encounters†. That means that the sole responsibility for determining curricula or for selecting appropriate methods does not rest either with the educator or with the learner. If the first acquires, then we have an authoritarian style and a one-way transmission of knowledge and skills. If curricula, methods and evaluative criteria become predetermined solely by what learners say they want, then the â€Å"cafeteria approach† governs the educational process. Accepting the felt needs logical basis without any further inquiry and needs negotiation means that the facilitator has to give up responsibility for the learning process and the accomplishment of learning aims and objectives. Successful learning especially in workshop settings means to keep the balance between the learning process and the learning outcome so that the results justify the efforts and if they are not excellent they should be at least and always â€Å"good enough†. Successful distance learners are self-motivated, self-reliant and self – disciplined. Distance learning students are the architects of their own learning surrounding, have the ability to manage their study time and schedule. Students can often customize their learning projects to fit their personal interests and there is great chance for personal growth and individual academic success. This requires both internal personal motivation and discipline, and also requires the establishment of a supportive personal learning environment and may require elimination of certain activities to make room for online learning in daily life. Distance learners should be self – sufficient, self-directed individuals. The online environment enables students to learn at their own pace, relieving some of the pressure of traditional seated learning and making learning more enjoyable but requires that the student is able to identify learning goals and objectives and focus their attention accordingly. Distance learners become independent problem solvers, doing their own research and expanding their lifelong learning skills. This process helps them to grow critical thinking skills and the ability to interpret and synthesize reading materials, articles and research papers with differing points of view and in the process develop their own positions and beliefs about the subject matter. Some computer and Information literacy is necessary for a distance learner. Distance learners should possess a working knowledge of email, the Internet, and basic keyboard skills. Instructional material within the learning management system will provide all the other skills needed to access and begin the online or distance lesson. Distance learners may be required to develop skills for researching and locating information from several sources and differentiate and assess them for inclusion in distance learning assignments and research projects. Distance learners should be energetic and disciplined managers of their own time. Students must be able to organize and plan their own best study schedule. While individual learners may prefer a different time of day or times in the week to give up to their distance learning study and projects, it is important to devote time each week to course work and it is vital that the distance learner understand that the same amount of time is involved in distance education courses, and traditional seated courses. The distance learner should assess his or her best time of day for study, either it is early morning or evening, every person has a best time of day for learning and thinking. A intentional effort must be made to carve out time in the student’s daily schedule for an optimal study time. Study time should not be the time that is left at the end of the day, unless that is the time when the student is most lively and attentive. All learners and especially distance learners need effective communication skills. The particular nature of distance education requires that communication be done in a written format, whether it is email, written assignments or discussion forums, the written word is vital in distance education. The ability to write clearly and communicate ideas becomes more important since it is the primary means of communication in distance learning. The successful distance learner has a strong sense of responsibility and personal commitment to academic success. Online learning, like many things in life, reaps rewards equal to the energy put into the changes. The independent nature of distance education to insist upon the presence of motivation, and discipline but commitment and follow-through are also vital.

Project Risk Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Project Risk Management - Essay Example They are present almost everywhere like in business, homes, and government agencies. Government agencies are using digital mediums to improve their governance style like filing of taxes, utility bill payments, pension payment etc. Through the use of e-governance the government is trying to speed up the process and reduce cost at the same time. Because of computers we can now use digital evidence to solve crime and prosecute the offenders at a much faster pace. Many a times the law enforcement agencies and judiciary can’t handle such evidences. There is an ample shortage of judges and attorneys who understand technology. Digital courtrooms refer to use of technology to run the courtrooms so that prosecution or trials can be done at a much faster pace and at considerably low cost. They use electronic evidence which can be effective at implicating the criminal. Electronic evidence refers to the information and data which of investigative value and stored in the electronic medium. With new advancement of technology digital forensic specialist will ensure that the evidence meets the standards. In such trials both the parties need not be present in the courtrooms. They can be connected via internet and use their laptops or other visual mediums to get connected to the digital courtrooms. It reduces the cost to a great extent. Risk Identification To make the judicial system digital, necessary infrastructure needs to be built upon; it means technical platforms are needed to be put in place for the data systems (software, equipment, networks and standard services). The aim should be that the same standard platforms should be able to serve the data systems which will be implemented in the coming years (Kendrick, 2009, p67). The users in the digital courtrooms will now require graphical user interfaces and easy to use systems should be installed. Else it would be difficult for all to comprehend and use the devices (Pmp and Knapp, 2010, p65). One of the most common f orms of digital devices to be used is audio devices. One needs to ask the question whether digital recording is better than human reporting or it may cause more trouble. There can be problems like botched recordings, microphone mishaps etc. can lead to a mistrial in the courtroom (Institution of Civil Engineers (Great Britain), 2005, p67). Also with the introduction of new digital courtrooms the pending cases must be first integrated to the system. It may result in few cases not making it through (Bartlett, 2004, p78). With the era of digital information comes the question of security and reliability. The reliability of the saved digital devices must be ascertained at first (Raftery, 2003, p99). It is not impossible to create a fake digital recording or fake videos to implicate someone. Again the security issue must also be looked at. Making the courtrooms digital implies that all of the data needs to be stored somewhere. With the advent of newer technologies it its becoming increas ingly important to keep the data secured from data theft (Grey,

Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Environment - Essay Example In terms of the environment, thorium is a better product in contrast to uranium. In the reaction process, most of the thorium is combusted in a way that most of the thorium is spent. This means that a lower amount of waste is produced. Eventually, there are less harmful wastes in the surroundings. This argument favors thorium reactors because its resistance to meltdowns is greater. This means that it is safer, although there is always the possibility of some poisonousness. It is poisonous in the short-term, but nearly harmless in the long-term in comparison to uranium. Although both of them are nuclear reactors, they use dissimilar fission reactions. In essence, this means that there are different products and properties that arise from the reactions. While uranium cannot be easily used with thorium, thorium can be mixed with other uranium extracts. This means that its use does not mean that uranium would be out-of-date. They can be used together to form bigger and more potent compounds. However, scientific research indicates that the assembly of thorium is not as stress-free as that of uranium. Scientifically, thorium is not fissile. While uranium can split to form a nuclear chain reaction, thorium cannot split. Even so, it can be made fissile through the bombardment of diverse chemical reactions. Apart from that, the damage caused in the Fukushima disaster evidences how volatile uranium can be. On the contrary, thorium does not exhibit such reactions, and it cannot be used in making weaponries. In case of a catastrophe, a thorium reaction can be stopped because it is not fissile. In terms of density, thorium is about 200 times heavier than uranium and other lead products. Thorium is perhaps better than uranium as a nuclear reactor. In the main, it is a better substitute when equated to uranium. However, there still exists some challenges in the use of thorium, mainly because of personal welfares. Over the years, the use of uranium has formed a

World war one and US Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

World war one and US - Essay Example The main purpose of the war was struggling for division of the world. However, the United States wasn’t in hurry to enter the war. First of all, a conflict between the US and other countries hadn’t reached the extreme point that could lead to military actions; secondly, the majority of Americans didn’t think that interfering into European affairs (and vice versa) was a good idea. The third reason was that US army wasn’t ready for large-scale war, because it was formed on a voluntary basis and had approximately 100  000 badly trained soldiers. But in the 7th of May 1915 German submarine sank the British largest passenger liner â€Å"Luisitania†, including 128 Americans that were on board. A report about this event caused a storm of dissatisfaction in the United States. Despite multiple warnings, German repeatedly attacked American ships. President Woodrow Wilson was an advocate of nonintervention of USA into European war, but the actions of the Ger mans forced him to announce the transition to the US policy of armed neutrality (26th of February 1917), which meant a gap of diplomatic relations between the US and Germany. The further German aggression forced Wilson to enter the war (6 of April 1917) on Allies’ side, against Germany (Kennedy 46). For the first time in US history a law on conscription was passed. Losses suffered by Americans were relatively not that big (approximately 104,000 lives). For comparison, 26 million people were killed during the entire war, half of them were civilians. The war abruptly changed the balance of forces in world political arena. It provoked huge amount of revolutions: Bolsheviks came to power in Russia and formed their own government, Germany and Austria-Hungary collapsed and lost their influence. The military destruction and revolutions weakened Europe, while US entry into the war caused new rise of

Biblical Exegetical Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Biblical Exegetical - Research Paper Example The apostles could see Jesus transfigure into another form, a great light which covered Jesus Christ and there was a voice that came from the sky. The apostles could see each and every thing during this process and they were afraid to see bright lights everywhere and they lay on the ground but Jesus went to them and told them not to worry as this is the blessing of the God. This verse also means that the God wanted to show his blessings on Jesus in front of the apostles so that faith of apostles can get more strong and augmented. The apostles were also benefited from the transfiguration process because of the fact that there were two prophets with them, Moses and Elijah and the apostles saw that both the prophets were not given the transfiguration light at the moment. The verse also means that God can do anything he wants in front of naked human eye and there is no limitation to his glory. The other part of the verse is explaining the brightness of the light that covered Jesus Face. The light was so bright and powerful that the apostles could not bear it with their naked eye and they had to lay down. The verse explains that the transfiguration did not change the face of the Jesus rather there was bright light depicting the great glory and blessing of God. The light which also covered the clothes was clearly visible on the face and though the face was not changed but there were clearly signs of glory and holy light. Their surroundings were also lit by this light and everything was clearly visible due to this light despite of the night time. Raiment in Latin means snow and this word is used to depict and explain the massive white color of holy light that lit all the garments of the Jesus and the light darted through his flesh. All his clothes and whole body were covered under the bright white light that was coming from the sky. Mark says that the Latin word used for snow means that everything was just like the color of snow. It does not mean that snow began to su rface physically rather it is a symbolic term used here to explain the people about the factual scene. The raiment was white and snow and the light was continually coming from the sky thus making a scene worth being blessed with eternal glory. Other commentators and theologians are also of the view that the garments were there on the body of the Jesus and everything was same as before but when the transfiguration started, everything looked new and blessed because of the holy light. The raiment can also depict the flesh and physical body of Jesus because many narrations show that all this physical body and skin were covered in light and his skin was shining like snow so there can be different interpretations of this text. Commentaries The commenter Adman Clarke says in the commentary of the Mathew 17:2 that this verse explains the transfiguration process and first it affirms that Jesus was transfigured which is a great historical events and one of the miracles of Jesus Christ -He say s that this verse explains the completeness and fullness of the God who is deity or worship by the human beings that how God can turn everything over and show the miracles wherever He wants. The light on the mountain during the transfiguration , As said it Mathew 16:16, Peter had already confessed the divinity of Jesus Christ before coming to the mountain so this light dwelt and elevated the level of faith of all the apostles in Jesus (Clarke, 175). There is also a great connection between the transfigura