Sheffield

Hallam University

ICBT Campus
Exam Paper - MODEL PAPER

Faculty of

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Development and Society

2015 EXAMINATION
PROGRAMME:BSc (HONS) BUILDING CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT
MODULE: PRODUCTION ORGANISATION AND HUMAN
RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
LEVEL

:6

DATE : Jan 2015

TIME ALLOWED:3 HOURS (+ 15 MINUTES READING TIME)

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES:
1. The University Regulations, on academic conduct, including cheating and plagiarism,
apply to all examinations.
2. Answer FOUR questions out of SIX.
3. The proportion of the marks allocated to each part of a question is shown in brackets.
4. Start each answer on a separate sheet of paper.
5. In the absence of specific information, candidates are to assume their own.

LIST OF ENCLOSURES (If applicable):

STATIONERY REQUIREMENTS:
24 page answer booklet

THIS PAPER CONTAINS 3 PAGES INCLUDING THIS SHEET

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Question 1
a. Explain the potential benefits of training and development for an organization
engaged in construction.
b. Briefly explain the potential advantages and disadvantages of appointing an
apprentice to an organization in the construction industry. What on-the-job and off-thejob training methods can you use for developing the apprentice staff of your
organization?
c. Explain how job analysis information can be used to support recruitment, selection,
performance assessment and training of an organization?
d. Discuss the role of Human Resource (HR) department in the following areas
1. Health and safety of employees
2. Implementing employment laws and regulations
Question 2
a. Subcontracting is very common in construction industry compared to other industries.
Explain the three major advantages and disadvantages of subcontracting work to
outside organizations with especial emphasis on construction industry.
b. Explain the concept of nominated subcontractor and what could be the possible
advantages of using a nominated subcontractor?
Question 3
a. What are the major activities that are typically carried out in the pretender planning
stage, pre-contract planning stage and post-contract planning stage of a complex
construction project?
b. What is recruitment? Briefly explain three major sources of recruitment for
construction industry.
Question 4
a. The project manager of your project is reluctant to sub-contract the work and
delegate the work to subordinates fearing the he will lose the control. Explain the
advantages of using subcontracting and delegation strategies effectively to achieve
organizational goals.
b. Importance of safety in construction industry cannot be underestimated as there are
lot of health and safety hazards in construction sites compared to other industries Do
you agree with above statement? Explain your answer.
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c. Assume you are the project manager of a large construction project. You notice that
an employee in your construction site works without obeying well laid down safety rules.
Explain how you would handle this situation if
1. the employee is from your organization
2. the employee is from a subcontractor
Question 5
a. Explain the use of baseline curves in construction related projects
b. A contractor found out that due to poor infrastructure in a certain rural construction
site, the movement of heavy vehicles, raw materials and laborers are a major challenge.
Additionally the lack of basic amenities such as drinking water and threat of wild animals
created an unexpected situation. Such situation incurred a lot of additional cost which is
not accounted in original estimates.
1. Explain the importance of identifying the existence of proper infrastructure before
contract
2. Suggest two ways which can be used to transport raw materials using heavy vehicles
to an isolated area mentioned in the scenario
Question 6
a. Discuss why risk management is important in a construction project.
b. Explain the concept of risk matrix. Take five risk factors that you think will affect a
residential housing construction project. Develop a risk matrix for the risk factors that
you identified with justification.
c. Assume that you are a Project Manager for a flood control project of building a dam
across a river and redirecting the water flow in an urban area. This involves lot of
demobilization and environment concerns which are sensitive issues to different
persons. As this is a very large project, there is a high chance that you will encounter lot
of conflicts from various stakeholders. Explain briefly the possible conflicts and how you
use your management skills and techniques to manage the issues and conflicts
effectively.

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