INSIGHT

YEAR 12 Trial Exam Paper

2013
BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
Written examination
STUDENT NAME:

QUESTION AND ANSWER BOOK

Reading time: 15 minutes
Writing time: 2 hours
Structure of book

Number of questions

Number of questions
to be answered

Number of marks

65

Students are permitted to bring the following items into the examination: pens, pencils,
highlighters, erasers, sharpeners and rulers.
Students are NOT permitted to bring sheets of paper or white out liquid/tape into the examination.
Calculators are not permitted in this examination.

Materials provided
The question and answer book of 19 pages.
Additional writing space is provided at the end of this book if you require more space to complete
an answer.
Instructions
Write your name in the box provided.
You must answer the questions in English.

Students are NOT permitted to bring mobile phones or any other electronic devices into the
examination.
This trial examination produced by Insight Publications is NOT an official VCAA paper for the 2013 Business Management
written examination.
This examination paper is licensed to be printed, photocopied or placed on the school intranet and used only within the
confines of the purchasing school for examining their students. No trial examination or part thereof may be issued or passed
on to any other party including other schools, practising or non-practising teachers, tutors, parents, websites or publishing
agencies without the written consent of Insight Publications.
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Instructions
Instructions
Answer all questions inAnswer
the spaces
provided.
all questions in the spaces provided.
Question 1
It was both good news and bad news for the Board of Directors and employees at Gilham
Motor Parts Co. at their annual general meeting last week. In February 2013 the company
announced it was shedding over 500 jobs from its Williamstown (Victoria) and Alberton
(South Australia) plants a reduction of 10% of its total workforce. The reductions were
deemed necessary due to the global decline in demand for new cars. Senior management was
hoping that many of these job losses would occur through voluntary redundancies, retirements
and in-house transfers, and to some degree they were justified. At the meeting last night it was
announced that only 187 of these jobs needed to be shed through forced redundancies. CEO
Colin Thompson announced that it was unfortunate that these jobs had to go but that the longterm future of the company was now secure.
a.

Identify two characteristics of Gilham Motor Parts Co. that suggests the company is a
large-scale organisation.

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b.

Despite the loss of jobs, Gilham Motor Parts Co. contributes positively to the Australian
economy. Describe two positive contributions that Gilham Motor Parts Co. makes to
the Australian economy.

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4 marks
c.

Redundancies are one form of termination. Explain one other form of termination.

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d.

Describe how the Human Resources Manager could or may have handled this situation
in an ethical and socially responsible manner.

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4 marks

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Question 2
Eucalyptus Publishing is an Australian-based company with a long history of publishing
high-quality books and selling them through their own stores. Recent developments in
technology have seen the growth of e-books and online retail, and the CEO has become
concerned that Eucalyptus is falling behind their competitors, who have introduced an online
store and e-books.
The CEO has decided to expand the business to develop an online store and begin producing
e-books for sale through that store. She is seeking to employ an experienced person to manage
and develop this new division of the company, and is considering how best to recruit the most
suitable person.
a.

Compare internal and external recruitment, providing an advantage of each form of

recruitment.

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b.

Distinguish between a job description and a job specification, and explain how each
could be used by the CEO to assist in recruiting the most suitable person.

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c.

Explain two skills, other than communication skills, that the new manager will need to
have in order to successfully develop the online store and e-book division of the
organisation.

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d.

Identify and explain one method the CEO could implement to assess the performance of
the person employed to lead the new division.

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e.

As a publisher and a retailer, Eucalyptus Publishing is both a manufacturer and a service

organisation. Describe two differences between the operations management system of
the publishing division and the retail division of the organisation.

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Question 3
Tampering with a well-known brand can be described as marketing madness. Companies
spend years and millions of dollars trying to get a brand adopted into the psyche of
consumers. This point was made consistently when Walker Bottling Co. decided to change
the name of its most iconic brand, Walkers Water.
The change to Freshwater in 2012 was designed to broaden the market appeal of the brand
and move it away from being perceived as a sports drink. Plummeting sales have forced the
management to revert back to the original name and bottle. Walker Bottling Co. Chief
Executive Officer Tayla Walker stated, The Walkers Water drinkers have spoken and told
us that we should not have changed their water.
a.

Describe the driving and restraining forces that impacted upon Walker Bottling Co. (or
another organisation you have studied this year) that resulted in the organisation
undergoing change.

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b.

Describe one performance indicator Walker Bottling Co. (or another organisation you
have studied this year) could use to assess the success of implementing the change
identified in part a. of this question.

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2 marks

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Question 4
In recent months, senior management at a multinational mining company based in Perth has
become concerned about the drop in the demand for its products due to a decline in economic
growth in China a major customer of the company.
At a recent board meeting, a discussion was held regarding the proposed expansion of one of
the companys Queensland mines. This expansion was due to commence in August 2013,
with the project to be completed by 2015. The Project Manager appointed to oversee the
expansion was asked to report back at the next meeting as to the viability of proceeding with
the expansion as planned.
a.

Analyse the importance of conducting a SWOT analysis in the circumstances facing

the Project Manager.

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b.

This organisation has adopted a matrix management structure to oversee this expansion.
Describe two features of this management structure and outline one advantage of using
this structure.

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c.

Identify two stakeholders in this organisation who have conflicting interests in the
outcome of the Project Managers report, and explain those interests.

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d.

Suggest an appropriate management style that the Project Manager should adopt when
preparing his report. In your response explain two features of the management style
selected.

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e.

The board of the mining company is vitally aware of its role and responsibility to ensure
that the organisation is competitive and productive. In the event of the Project Manager
advising the board to postpone the planned expansion of the Queensland mine, the
board has directed the senior management team to ensure that the organisation
maintains its current positive corporate culture and high level of staff morale and
productivity. These measures will ensure that the companys overall level of business
competitiveness continues in this period of economic uncertainty.
Identify and explain the strategies that the various members of the senior management
team and their respective departments need to implement to meet the boards direction.
In particular, you need to address the following points.

The role of effective leadership, including the qualities and skills required to
manage the current difficult business-operating environment.
How Herzbergs theory of motivation could be applied to assist in maintaining the
current high levels of staff morale and employee productivity.

Analyse and evaluate the effectiveness of these strategies in assisting the organisation to
maintain its current positive corporate culture.
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10 marks
END OF QUESTION AND ANSWER BOOK

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Extra space for responses
Clearly number all responses in this space.

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