ASSESSMENT FEEDBACK

GUIDELINES FOR ANSWERS TO ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS

Year 2023
Semester First semester
Module Management III
Module code MAN301

1. DETAILS OF LECTURER

Lecturer Johann Venter

Consultation times Mondays to Fridays, 17:00-21:00

Telephone 083 263 5906

Email jventer@sbs.ac.za

Office 101, The Village Square, c/o Oxford and Queen Streets, Durbanville, Western Cape, 7550

CPD Vorster – Director | S Totaram – Director | D Singh – Director | JJ Human – Director

Company registration number: 2004/031722/07

2. GUIDELINES FOR ANSWERS TO ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS

Question 1 [16]
CASE STUDY
A DIFFERENT EMPLOYEE

Everything at Harvey's Retailers was going well. The work groups in the different departments of the retail
store were functioning with very few problems. The employer had very strict rules regulating the basic
conditions of employment, and employees knew that they had to work according to the rules governing
time off. And then the new employee Karim was appointed.

Karim was Muslim. On the first Friday after he was appointed, he went to the supervisor and asked to have
time off from 11:30 to 14:00 because he had to go to the mosque for the weekly prayer. The supervisor
refused, saying that Karim was only allowed 45 minutes for lunch per day. Karim was very disturbed by this.

After deliberations between Karim and the management of Harvey's Retailers, it was decided that Karim
would only take 30 minutes for lunch Monday to Thursday so that he could make up the time to go to the
mosque on Fridays from 11:30 to 14:00. The other employees were very unhappy and decided to approach
their trade union about this.
Source: Adapted from: Lazenby, J.A.A. Editor. 2016. General management. Van Schaik Publishers: Pretoria. Juta

1.1 Evaluate the conduct of the supervisor who refused to allow Karim time off work to go to the
mosque. (10)

Textbook reference: Topic 4. Managing diversity and inclusion. Chapter 10:313-317

Learning outcome: Diversity training.
Allocation of marks:
• Award marks as indicated below.
• A maximum of 10 marks can be awarded, as indicated below.
• The marker must use his/her discretion in allocating marks.
• Answers will vary but should at least include the following (as set out in the guidelines below):

Answer:
1. The management of an organisation must focus on the efficient functioning of the organisation's
business ().
2. As part of this process, it is important that the management of Harvey's Retailers make sure that
managing the diverse internal community () of their business is a high priority ().
3. They must also be able to identify which interventions are required in the business () to increase
efficiency ().
4. When appointing someone with a specific religious orientation, like Karim, () it was important that
the employer made sure that they understood () what would be expected from them () regarding
the specific religion ().

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5. Workplace procedures and rules should have been formulated () to accommodate certain religious
practices ().

1.2 As the trade union official, evaluate the situation and discuss what advice can be given to the
employees. (6)

Textbook reference: Topic 4. Managing diversity and inclusion. Chapter 10:313-317

Learning outcome: Diversity training
Allocation of marks:
• Award marks as indicated below.
• A maximum of 6 marks can be awarded, as indicated below.
• The marker must use his/her discretion in allocating marks.
• Answers will vary but should at least include the following (as set out in the guidelines below):

Answer:
1. The specific arrangements with Karim led to conflict ().
2. Some people in the workplace may perceive it as favouritism if people are given time off to practise
their religion ().
3. The first important point, however, is that Karim is still working the appropriate and expected hours
during the week ().
4. As a trade union official, the first responsibility would be to inform the employees about that (Karim
still working the appropriate and expected hours during the week) ().
5. It is also important to inform them that if management takes a non-adaptive approach to specific
religious groups, it may be regarded as religious discrimination ().
6. Management must therefore try to be as fair as possible when dealing with this issue ().
7. Workplace regulation and training are also high priorities ().
8. Union officials will expect and indeed request management to explain this issue in a meeting with all
the employees ().

Question 2 [20]
CASE STUDY
THE SLEEPWELL MATTRESS ORGANISATION
The Sleepwell mattress organisation was established by a team of 6 friends, who got together in one of their
parent's garages – using it as a working space in early 2014. The team wanted to find a product with a
traditional model they could disrupt in the way that Uber transformed the taxi business worldwide. The
team explored mattresses because one team member had sold mail-order bedding out of his dorm room at
the University of Johannesburg a decade before. That business, the Mattress Group, reached R10 million in
annual sales. The team agreed that the mattress idea was a good one, and they started Sleepwell, a
mattress organisation that eased customer points on shopping, delivery and sleep comfort.

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The team members brought different skills to the table. Their disparate backgrounds proved to be
advantageous. One was a mattress expert, and one was a marketing expert that knew how to build a brand
that could resonate with the public. The third team member was a music student who veered into web
design, so he took charge of the online presence – he is now the chief technology officer. The fourth team
member was a stylist and took charge of innovation at the mattress organisation.
All team members were from Johannesburg, so they knew about the problem of manhandling mattresses up
the stairs in multiple walk-ups. That led to the breakthrough idea that they all endorsed: a boxed,
compressed mattress that could easily be carried up steps, around corners and through doorways. The
organisation generated R1 million in revenue in their first 28 days of operation – exceeding all their
expectations and projections.

Source: Adapted from: Smit, P.J., Botha, T. & Vrba, M.J. 2018. Management Principles. A contemporary edition for Africa. 6th ed.
Cape Town: Juta.

2.1 Drawing from your knowledge about teams and groups and citing the evidence from the case study,
evaluate (give reasons) whether you consider the 6 Johannesburgers team to be an effective team
or not. (16)

Textbook reference: Topic 5. Groups and teams in the organisation. Chapter 13:396-398
Learning outcome: Differentiate between groups and teams in the organisation.
Assessment notes:
• Allocate marks as indicated.
• A maximum of 16 marks can be awarded.
• The textbook contains a few other points which students may cite, such as quality, team size and
selection of members. Markers need to be familiar with such alternative points and allocate marks
accordingly.
• Answers will vary, and the marker must use his/her discretion in allocating marks.
• Students' answers must at least contain some of the following elements:

Answer:
1. A team consists of a small number (✓) of people with complementary competencies (✓) who work
together on a project (✓), are committed to a common purpose (✓), and are accountable for
performing tasks that contribute to attaining organisational goals (✓).
2. The six friends who started Sleepwell formed a team (✓✓).
3. The team displayed the following characteristics:
a. Complementary competencies (✓). The team members brought different skills to the table.
Their disparate backgrounds were proven advantageous. (✓).
b. Commitment to a common purpose (✓). A team of 6 friends, who got together in one of their
parent's garages – using it as a working space in early 2014 (✓).
c. Shared mission and collective responsibility (✓). The team agreed that the mattress idea was a
good one, and they started Sleepwell, a mattress organisation (✓).

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 d. Individual and mutual accountability (✓). All six team members were from Johannesburg, so
they knew about the problem of manhandling mattresses up the stairs in multiple walk-ups.
(✓).
e. Synergy (✓). The members were: a mattress expert; a marketing expert; a web designer; a
stylist, and they took charge of innovation (✓).
f. Shared leadership (✓). The team members brought different skills to the table (✓).

2.2 Discuss the team type(s) that was(were) created by the six friends to start the Sleepwell mattress
organisation. (4)

Textbook reference: Topic 5. Groups and teams in the organisation. Chapter 13:410-414
Learning outcome: Describe the characteristics of a work team.
Assessment notes:
• Allocate marks as indicated.
• A maximum of 4 marks can be awarded.
• Answers will vary, and the marker must use his discretion in allocating marks.
• Students' answers must at least contain some of the following elements:

Answer:

1. The cross-functional team (✓) – the team had to solve a complex problem, which required the
expertise of specialists with diverse backgrounds (✓).
2. It was also a self-managed work team (✓) since they functioned autonomously and made and
implemented their own decisions (✓).

Question 3 [22]
CASE STUDY
FORD KUGA CRISIS
In December 2016, The Times broke the story that Ford Kugas were catching fire mysteriously and that one
person had died when his Ford Kuga caught fire a year earlier in December 2015. This information resulted
in Ford SA being attacked in the media and angry customers calling radio stations threatening to take legal
action against the company for not informing them about the potential dangers of the car. Soon
afterwards, Ford was reported to the National Consumer Commission (NCC).
In January 2017, the NCC pressured Ford SA's American CEO, Jeffery Nemeth, to recall the affected models.
It was discovered that this would involve about 4 556 Kuga Ecoboost 1.6 litre models manufactured in
Valencia, Spain, between December 2012 and February 2014. Ford then released a statement explaining
that the fires were possibly caused by overheating due to a lack of coolant circulation and that the recall
would involve replacing the affected components in the cooling system and updating the software of the car
so that it could alert the driver in time if the car overheated or if the coolant circulation dropped. Ford went
on to blame the hot South African weather for the overheating, while auto experts blamed poor engineering
of Ford's cooling circulation system and its control module, which could malfunction in high temperatures.

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In March 2017, Nemath was summoned to appear before parliament to give an update and progress report
on the recall. He admitted that about 47 Ford Kugas had caught fire between 2015 and 2017, also those
faulty components had been replaced in almost 3 000 Kugas and that the company was still trying to trace
600 Kugas. Later in March, Nemath himself was recalled to the USA by Ford and a new CEO, Casper Kruger,
was appointed.
Ford tried to salvage the situation and rebuild customer trust and loyalty. It gave affected customers
courtesy cars to drive while their Kugas were being repaired; it assisted some customers in trading in their
Kugas for some other models, and it extended the warranty on the affected Kugas to six years. Despite
these efforts, Ford Kuga sales dropped by 50% in January 2017. Moreover, in 2019, the NCC advocated that
the company should be fined 10% of its annual turnover if found guilty of deliberate negligence and cover-
up over the Kuga saga.
Ford instituted several actions: Employee involvement became a buzzword at Ford, e.g., teamwork and
collaboration between management and workers were cultivated. Plans were put in place across business
functions and between the organisation and its customers and suppliers to improve - the implication of this
was that, to achieve better quality, everyone in the organisation had to work together to make
improvements and solve problems. Employees were given the power and authority to manage problems in
their departments and implementing solutions to the problems was a way of empowering them.
Employees' attitude was cultivated to display a commitment to quality – the focus should be on
manufacturing error-free products.
Furthermore, Ford started a programme that not only focussed on their customers and customer
satisfaction but also focused on the organisation's business processes, using scientific tools, technologies
and methods that managers could apply to make systematic changes in processes and products.
From the supply chain point of view, Ford improved relationships with suppliers to the extent that suppliers
became part of the process of delivering total quality to the customers and meeting their needs.
A "new culture" at Ford, one of striving for continuous improvement, was cultivated - the concept of Kaizen,
which was pioneered by Japanese companies, which requires the organisation and all its members to
improve on something every day.
Source: Adapted from: Lazenby, J.A.A. Editor. 2019. The strategic management process. A South African approach. 2nd ed. Van
Schaik Publishers: Pretoria.

3.1 Briefly discuss what Ford's management did to solve the company's quality problems.
(5)
Textbook reference: Topic 1. Strategic planning. Chapter 4:92-108
Learning outcome: The business environment. The strategic planning processes.
Allocation of marks:
• Award marks as indicated below.
• A maximum of 5 marks can be awarded.
• The marker must use his discretion in allocating marks.
• Answers will vary but should at least include the following (as set out in the guidelines below):

Answer:
1. Ford issued a recall of all affected models ().
2. They replaced all faulty components ().

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3. They gave affected customers courtesy cars to drive until their Kugas had been repaired ().
4. They assisted customers in trading in their affected Kugas for other models ().
5. They extended the warranty on the affected Kugas to six years ().

3.2 Explain what the consequences were of Ford's poor-quality components and the subsequent recall
of the Kugas. (4)

Textbook reference: Topic 1. Strategic planning. Chapter 4:92-108

Learning outcome: The business environment. The strategic planning processes.
Allocation of marks:
• Award marks as indicated below.
• A maximum of 4 marks can be awarded.
• The marker must use his discretion in allocating marks.
• Answers will vary but should at least include the following (as set out in the guidelines below):

Answer:
1. Customer dissatisfaction with the quality of the Kuga model ().
2. Lack of customer trust in the company ().
3. Legal action/proceedings against Ford from insurance companies and victims' families ().
4. Drop in Kuga sales of 50%. A possible fine of 10% of annual turnover if found guilty of cover-up and
negligence over the Kuga fires ().

3.3 Assume you have been hired as a quality consultant by Ford. Advise Ford on ways it can improve
quality in the company. (13)

Textbook reference: Topic 1. Strategic planning. Chapter 4:92-108

Learning outcome: The business environment. The strategic planning processes.
Allocation of marks:
• Award marks as indicated below.
• A maximum of 13 marks can be awarded.
• The marker must use his discretion in allocating marks.
• Answers will vary but should at least include the following (as set out in the guidelines below).

Answer:
1. Employee involvement means that there should be teamwork () and collaboration () between
management and workers (), across business functions () and between the organisation and its
customers () and suppliers ().
2. The implication of this is that to achieve better quality, everyone in the organisation must work
together () to make improvements and solve problems (). Giving employees power and authority to

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 manage problems in their departments and to implement solutions to the problems is a way of
empowering them ().
3. Employees should have an attitude that is committed to quality () – the focus should be on
manufacturing error-free products ().
4. Ford should focus on their customers and customer satisfaction ().
5. Ford should also focus on the organisation's business processes () and, through scientific tools, on
technologies and methods () that managers can use to make systematic changes in processes and
products ().
6. Ford should have a good relationship with suppliers () because suppliers are part of the process of
delivering total quality to the customers and meeting their needs ().
7. Ford should always strive for continuous improvement (). This refers to the concept of Kaizen (),
pioneered by Japanese companies, which requires the organisation and all its members to improve on
something every day ().

Question 4 [12]
CASE STUDY
ROBOTS AND HUMANS IN THE WORKPLACE
More and more modern organisations utilise robots to replace humans in the workplace. Although all
industries are affected by robots, there are some industries that are most likely to be affected, such as
health care, transportation and logistics, customer service and manufacturing, where the latter pertains
specifically to the car manufacturing industry. Robotics has also been used widely in the medical industry,
where it has been tapped to conduct neurological, orthopaedic and general surgery. Robotics has various
benefits such as assisting with dirty, dull and dangerous tasks. It can lead to increases in productivity and
worker safety. However, there are also many risks involved and being a "good corporate citizen" requires
organisations to also investigate and address the risks associated with robots in the workplace. Robot
technology could increase productivity in the workplace. However, such increase could give rise to higher
employer expectations on human workers and, in turn, to increasing injury risk. Another possible risk is that
the decreased physical capabilities gained from using robots, will tempt employees to push themselves,
potentially increasing their risk of injury. The biggest risk from using robots, is probably when robots replace
workers, and employers are forced to give workers notice of layoffs, pay severance and to retrain
employees.
Source: Adapted from: Smit, P.J., Botha, T. & Vrba, M.J. 2018. Management principles. A contemporary edition for Africa. 7th ed.
Cape Town: Juta.

Evaluate the features of a flexible organisation and comment on the statement: will the use of robots in the
workplace lead to a more flexible organisation? Substantiate your answer.

Textbook reference: Topic 7. New challenges for management. Chapter 18:543

Learning outcome: Characteristics of contemporary organisations.
Allocation of marks:
• Award marks as indicated below.
• A maximum of 12 marks can be awarded.
• The marker must use his discretion in allocating marks.
• Answers will vary but should at least include the following (as set out in the guidelines below).

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Answer:
A flexible organisation has the following features:

1. They respond to changing customer needs and intense competition ().

2. They cater for the different needs of a diverse workforce, which may include temporary workers
().
3. The systems and processes in flexible organisations respond differently to different situations
().
4. They have fewer rules and standard operating procedures ().
5. Managers and workers work on more than one project at the same time and are members of
various teams ().

Based on these features, using robots can lead to a more flexible organisation because:
1. Robots can respond quicker to changing customer needs, and the use of robots can provide a
competitive advantage to organisations ().
2. Using robots can lead to a smaller workforce, and the organisation can make more use of
temporary workers to complete certain projects ().
3. Robots will allow organisations to develop systems and processes differently, making them more
competitive ().
4. Having a smaller workforce will enable them to have fewer rules and standard operating
procedures ().
5. Teamwork will be more effective and efficient ().

Question 5 [15]

Explain information systems according to their use in operational and managerial support.

Textbook reference: Topic 2. Information management. Chapter 7.

Learning outcome: Characteristics of contemporary organisations.
Allocation of marks:
• Award marks as indicated below.
• A maximum of 15 marks can be awarded – 5 marks each for operations information, management
information systems and the other classifications of information systems.
• The marker must use his discretion in allocating marks.
• Answers will vary but should at least include the following (as set out in the guidelines below).

Answer:
1. Operations information systems ().
a. The purpose of operations information systems is to support business operations ().
b. These systems process data generated by and used in business operations ().
c. The major categories of these are:
i. Transaction processing systems to record and process data resulting from business
transactions, such as sales, purchases and inventory changes ().

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 Transaction processing systems produce a variety of documents and reports for internal
and external use ().
They also update the databases used by an organisation for further processing by its
management information system ().
ii. Operations information systems can make routine decisions that control physical
processes ().
iii. Office automation systems () transform traditional manual office methods and paper
communications media ().
These systems support office communication and productivity ().

2. Management information systems ().

a. The goal of management information systems is to provide information on and support for
decision-making by managers ().
b. The major categories of these are:
i. Information-reporting systems. Information-reporting systems provide managerial end-
users with the information reports they need for making decisions ().
These systems access databases on internal operations containing information
previously processed by transaction-processing systems ().
Data on the external environment is obtained from external sources ().
Decision support systems are a natural progression from transaction-processing
systems and information-reporting systems. They are computer-based information
systems that provide interactive information support to managers during the decision-
making process.
ii. Executive information systems are tailored to the strategic information needs of top
management ().
The function of computer-based executive information systems is to provide top
management with immediate and easy access to information on the organisation's
critical success factors, that is, the factors critical to accomplishing the organisation's
strategic goals ().
Executives usually consider various factors critical to the success and survival of their
organisations (), such as an insightful understanding of socio-economic and
technological trends, innovative thinking, an understanding of the impact of legislation
and changes in legislation on the business environment and ways to deal with it, and
the key success factors pertaining to the industry that they are in ().

3. Other classifications of information systems ().

a. There are several major categories of information systems that provide more unique or
broader classifications ().
b. These are information systems that can support broader classifications (), such as:
i. An expert system is a programme that is designed to solve problems within a specified
domain that ordinarily requires a human expert ().
By mimicking the thinking of the human expert, the system can perform the analysis,
design, or monitoring, make decisions and more ().

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 ii. Business function information directly supports the business functions of accounting,
finance, human resource management, administration, purchasing, marketing, and
operations ().

Question 6 [15]

Comment on the following statement:

"The best way to change an organisational culture is to change the mindset of the managers and workers in
the entire organisation".

Textbook reference: Topic 3. Innovation and technology. Chapter 9:273-274

Learning outcome: Changing the organisational character.
Allocation of marks:
• Award marks as indicated below.
• A maximum of 15 marks can be awarded.
• The marker must use his discretion in allocating marks.
• Answers will vary but should at least include the following (as set out in the guidelines below).

Answer:
1. Changing the culture of an organisation is a very challenging () – and long-term – process ().
2. To ensure that the change in culture has an influence on all managers () and employees (),
the following should be changed:
a. Structure and process ():
Organisations, big or small, can change their structures and processes to change the
organisational culture, as this will have an influence on all members of the organisation. To
create a culture of responsibility and decision-making, management can decentralise
autonomy ().
b. Incentives ():
Many organisations reward people for the length of service and not for performance.
People are therefore rewarded for doing the same things in the same way over an
extended period. A new incentive system will affect behaviour and performance and
attract new resources and capabilities, which can lead to culture change ().
c. Control ():
It is important that managers should give continuous feedback to
departments/sections/individuals, evaluate performance, identify gaps in performance
and take remedial action to get the organisation back on track. Emphasis should be on the
achievement of stated organisational and individual goals. These actions or emphases will
help to shape new behaviours, task interactions, and ways of thinking. This, in turn, will re-
emphasise a culture of learning and achievement ().
d. People ():
Appointing an outsider may bring in new innovative ideas for how to improve the business.
He or she will also not 'carry any baggage' or have any personal relationships in the
organisation to protect. New appointees will also not be contaminated by the old
organisational culture or internal politics. Managers can even be rotated in the
organisation. In short, new people, ideas, and strategies can have a positive effect on
culture change ().

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 TOTAL: 100

3. CONCLUSION

I wish you all the best with your studies.

Regards
Johann Venter

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