management paper 1 exam paper with examiners comments

7/23/2019 Management Paper 1 Exam Paper With Examiners Comments

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MANAGEMENT

PAPER 1

Tuesday 3rdJune 2014 9.25am-12.30pm (in!. 5 mins. "#r readin$%

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Where questions are divided into sections, marksare allocated equally unless otherwise stated.

Candidates must make reference to modern managementtheories and use examples from their own experiences

where appropriate. Marks will be lost if this supportingevidence is not included.

Ma/imum mars 300

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. What are the different ways a manager might respond to conflict and how might this conflict

impact on organisational performance' (se theory and models to support your answer.

$. What kinds of resistance can influence change processes in organisations and how could amanager try to address them'

). *xplain, by drawing on decision making models, why it is important for a manager to knowabout decision making processes.

&. Compare and contrast two different theories of motivation and explain how they contribute toour understanding of motivating people at work.

+. hould organisations aim to have a strong organisational culture' !raw on theory and

practical examples to support your answer.

-. !iscuss the extent to which leadership ability is inborn or can be developed, drawing out themanagerial implications of this argument.

. Critically discuss why knowledge management is important to organisations and explainwhat managers can do to more effectively manage knowledge.

/. *xplain the role of Performance 0ndicators in organisations. 1ow effective are these in

driving performance' 2nswers should be illustrated with examples from your ownorganisation or one with which you are familiar.

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E/aminers #mmensJune 2014

. What are the different ways a manager might respond to conflict and how might this conflictimpact on organisational performance' (se theory and models to support your answer.

3o pass, candidates should be able to identify at least $ reasons why conflict may arise andthen proceed to identify and explain the composite elements of at least one of the betterknown theories of Conflict Management. 3homas 4 5ilmann6s 2ssertiveness 7 Co8operativeness model identifies the following conflict handling styles 8 9competition,collaboration, compromise, avoidance 4 accommodation6 . :ahim ;etter answers will consider these aspects and then expand to consider the likely;negative= impacts on individuals, teams 4 organisation 8 in terms ot costs, production loss,absenteeism, team morale etc.3he best answers will cover all these elements but will also consider explain the process ofmediation and conflict as a potentially positive experience. 3he best answers will link

elements of the models with their own experience of conflict.tudents generally were able to identify the theories but the detail and elements weresketchy in some cases. 3here was very little attempt at looking at the negative impacts onthe individual with practically no drawing of camparisons from the students ownexperiences.

$. What kinds of resistance can influence change processes in organisations and how could amanager try to address them'

3o pass, students should be able to identify reasons why there may be resistance to?rganisational Change. 3hese may include @ self interest, misunderstanding, lack of trust,personal cost7benefit Audgement or change fatigue ;low tolerance for change= based on

previous experience.0n terms of managing resistance, the better answers will refer to 5otter6s / step changemodel or 5ubler :oss6 grief model. 3he best answers will extrapolate the discussion tocover assessment of readiness for change and the most appropriate style of leadershipwhere there is resistance @ *ducation 4 commitment, Bacilitation 4 support, egotiation 42greement, 0mplicit 4 explicit coercion ;5otter 4 chlesinger $%%/=3his "uestion was well answered with the students drawing from 5otter well. ?pinions asto the better style were less forthcoming but the analysis was good.

). *xplain, by drawing on decision making models, why it is important for a manager to knowabout decision making processes.

3o pass, essays should to include reference to the :ational *conomic model of decisionmaking. tudents should be able to describe all7some of the following elementsD:ecognition 4 definition of a problemEearch for alternative courses of actionE2nalysis of data on each alternativeE*valuation of optionsEelection 4 implementation of preferred option.1enry MintFberg ;


4/5

3o pass, essays should start with a definition of motivation, drawn from any of themainstream theories 8 process and7or content. !iscussion should then move on tocompare the different elements to each and establish some relevance to everydayexperience in organisations. tudents should be able to make the point that the manager6srole in motivating staff is as a facilitator. 3here should also be recognition that motivationcomes from within a person and cannot be 9done to6. >etter essays will be able todifferentiate between intrinsic 4 extrinsic motivators. 3he best essays should point out that

levels of staff motivation can influence the outcomes for an organisation. *ssays may alsodiscuss ways in which organisations assess levels of motivation @ i.e. internal staffsatisfaction surveys2ll students passed the question who attempted it but it was a basic answer without thecross referencing to other options and the effect of motivation in a workplace.

+. hould organisations aim to have a strong organisational culture' !raw on theory andpractical examples to support your answer.

3o pass, candidates should firstly define their understanding of the question. 3his is toclarify the candidate6s interpretation of the words 9strong6 and 9culture6. 3his should then belinked into either 1andy or chein6s definitions of organisational culture ;?3 structure= andthe elements of these applied to own organisations. 3he advantages and disadvantages ;tothe organisation= of the various types of culture should then be evaluated.

Most students did not answer this well, there was the inevitable muddle with structure andarguments were not developed. tudents should think about the question and in the subAectas interpretation is everything, definition of strong and culture was necessary.

-. !iscuss the extent to which leadership ability is inborn or can be developed, drawing outthe managerial implications of this argument.

3o pass, candidates must describe >?31 3rait and Contingency theories of leadership @ inorder to demonstrate their understanding of the question and as a basis for the discussion.tudents may then support their preference ;if any= with examples from current affairs orfrom experience in organiFations. >etter essays will describe and apply the constituentelements of their preferred leadership approach viewpoint and be able to give examples ofthe impact of particular behaviours.2 mixed bag of answers this question gave the real opportunity for debate and sadly therewas little. ome good examples were given but choosing controversial characters shouldnot require defending the choice of that person as an example over the development oftheir leadership qualitites. ome good discussion as to kings and rulers rather thanmeritocracy and elections.

. Critically discuss why knowledge management is important to organisations and explainwhat managers can do to more effectively manage knowledge.

3o pass, candidates should define the term 9knowledge management6 8 in order to showtheir understanding. 3his definition should explain that knowledge management is theprocess by which individual and tacit knowledge is converted into explicit knowledge, sothat it can be shared with others. !iscussion should consider the reasons why this may bedesirable7essential ;improving adaptability and flexibility, being able to respond better tochanging customer needs, organisational effectiveness etc=. >etter answers will explain theterms tacit and explicit and will make the links with the benefits of shared knowledge andorganisational learning. ot popular and a split good pass and one fail. 0 suspect theterm was not understood by the maAority of candidates. 1owever this is a phrase that has aplace in the management and workplace of local government and should be known

/. *xplain the role of Performance 0ndicators in organisations. 1ow effective are these indriving performance' 2nswers should be illustrated with examples from your own


5/5

organisation or one with which you are familiar.

3o pass, candidates should be able to explain the purpose of performance indicators andthe process by which they are arrived at and implemented. >etter answers will link intotheory on Performance Management and the best answers may consider the role ofconsider 5P0s in other areas such as benchmarking, sustainability, triple bottom line andacquiring competitive advantage.

2 question that 0 would have expected all students to have no problem with produced mixedmarks. 3he purpose of performance indicators seems to have been lost in the requirementto do these and some students did not really explain how they can be useful, butconcentrated on the benchmarking. Practically no one talked about how useful P0 collationand understanding can result in competitive advantage.

?verall the maAority of candidates secured a pass, but the importance of real life examplesshowing practical understanding of leaned theory will make all the difference to the qualityof answers.

management paper 1 exam paper with examiners comments

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