1.

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each of the staffing

philosophies/approaches

Advantages Disadvantages

Ethnocentric (firms fill key - Alignment of - No diversity or

managerial positions from
HQ, PCN)
Polycentric (key positions
filled with local managers,
HCN)
Regiocentric (recruiting
done in regional basis, TCN)
e.g. countries that closely
resemble the HQ country
(middle east, Scandinavia
etc.)
interests and outsiders point of
perspectives of the view
home office with all - No local perspective
foreign subsidiaries in the subsidiaries
- Ease of
communication, no
cultural barriers
- no adaptation - language barrier
problems between the HQ and
- less expensive the subsidiaries
- enhances locals’ - lack of knowledge of
career opportunities market conditions of
- continuity of mgmt. the host country
within host country
- supported by host
country gvmt
- no cultural - language barrier
differences - manager might lack
- less cost in hiring international
experience

Global (best managers - diversity - culture shock

recruited regardless of - all of the above - costly
nationality, all) - difficulty of hiring the
appropriate candidate

*Parent country nationals (PCNs)

*Host country nationals (HCNs)
*Third country nationals (TCNs)

2. Discuss 4 factors that companies need to consider when having to decide whether to
use ethnocentric or polycentric staffing approach when staffing their foreign
subsidiaries. Explain the strategic implication of this decision
 Ethnocentric Polycentric

How the systems are set up
When company’s
procedures and operations
requires control and mgmt
to profit, managers ensure
the guidelines are followed
HCNs will have better
insights on how to generate
profit in that particular
country via customer
knowledge

Giving employees Sending managers overseas Savings in cost, HCNs would

international exposure will give them international already know the culture of
exposure and broaden their the subsidiaries
thinking

Maintaining corporate Offers a chance to transfer Managers would know

culture company values to foreign subsidiary country’s work
operations ethics, customer service etc.
better

Continuity Prevention of expanding When expansion wanted,

interests into unwanted managers can provide
areas during growth stage potential insights on what
areas they could expand to

3. The Harvard model shows that HRM policy choice must be designed according to
situational factors. Using an industry that you are familiar with, discuss 2 situational
factors that must be considered by the companies in that industry when they are
deciding their HRM policies. Explain how those situational factors influence the HRM
policies of the companies in that industry.

Automobile industry, labour market & workforce characteristics.

4. Explain the for C’s model which is proposed by the Harvard Model

Competence: how competent employees are, do they need additional training, how do
HRM policies attract, keep and develop the skills & knowledge

Commitment: how committed are employees, how do HRM policies enhance commitment

Congruence: is there agreement between the basic philosophy and goals of the company &
employees, is there trust and common purpose

Cost effectiveness: are HRM policies cost-effective in terms of wages, benefits, turnover,
absenteeism strikes and similar factors?

5. What does it means by “unfair dismissal”? Discuss how this can be prevented.

Unfair dismissal is harsh, unjust, unreasonable and not a case of genuine redundancy.
(genuine redundancy: when person’s job does not need to be done by anyone else and
employer follows agreements, employee cannot make an unfair dismissal claim)

To avoid unfair dismissal the employer must:

- make sure to have valid reason for the dismissal relating to employee’s capacity or
conduct
- make sure to notify the employee of this reason before the decision of termination
- make sure the employee is given an opportunity to respond to any reason to their
capacity or conduct
- allow the employee to have a support person present to assist at any discussions related
to the dismissal
- if the employee’s performance has previously been unsatisfactory, make sure you have
given a written warning to the employee

Discipline without punishment:

- issue an oral reminder to get the employee to agree to avoid future infractions
- in case of another incident within 6 weeks, issue formal written reminder, copy to
personnel file
- give a paid one day decision making leave, if another incident occurs within 6 weeks,
force the employee to take the day off to think if theyre willing to abide company rules
- if no further incidents in the next year, purge the one day suspension from the file,
otherwise dismissal is justified

6. Discuss 2 weaknesses of using a job interview as a selection tool

1. Incomplete process: interview is a major tool of the selection process but it isn’t the
final/only one. Interviews cannot extract all the details about the candidate, for example a
person applying for a writers position should also include a sample piece.
2. Snap judgement: interviews last for a given period of time during which the interviewer
attempts to collect as much information as possible by asking the interviewee questions.
The interviewer judges the interviewee’s personality, attitudes and entire nature based on
the answers to these questions

7. Suggest 2 ways how interviews can be used more effectively to overcome the
weaknesses that you have mentioned in your previous answer.

2. Ask the right questions prepped beforehand: open-ended questions allow better
understanding of the interviewee’s motivation to seek for the job
1. Learn as much as you can about the candidate before the interview
2. Clarify the interviewee’s answers with thoughtful follow-up questions

8. Briefly explain 3 performance rating errors and recommend how they can be
prevented. Briefly explain and justify your recommendations.

- Horns effect: opposite of halo effect, letting one negative factor or behaviour define the
rest
- Favoritism: overlooking the flaws of preferred employees
- Bias: allowing bias influence your rating, bias can come from attitudes and opinions about
race, nationality, religion etc.

Avoiding horns effect:

- stay alert, be aware of the effect and know it can influence your judgement significantly.
Set emotional reactions aside in favour of more professional behaviour
- interview structure, analyse each candidate as objectively as possible, avoid first
impressions
- analyse what needs to be analysed only, design an interview that analyses the candidate’s
capacity to overcome potential challenges and classify their skills according to their
relevance to the position

Avoiding favouritism:
- Check in on every employee individually
- Keep everyone in the loop and communicate effectively about what is going on in the
company and department, this makes your employees feel like they are involved
- Keep rotating jobs, cross train and help your employees take up on new skills, avoid giving
better assignments to certain employees, strive for equality

Avoiding bias:
- create gender neutral job descriptions (avoid feminine and masculine words)
- review resumes without reading the name of the candidate to avoid unconscious bias for
race (names can give away the ethnicity or the race of the candidate)
- have more than one person give feedback on the candidate
- standardize interview questions (avoid asking age, religion sexual orientation)
9. You have been hired as a Training & Development Consultant for a large bank. The
company plans to conduct “Consultative Sales” training for its financial advisors. Using
ADDIE model to carefully describe and explain how you are going to plan, implement,
and evaluate the training program.

1. Analyse the training need

2. Design the training program
3. Develop the course, create training materials
4. Implement training
5. Evaluate outcomes

10. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of employing casual employees instead of
full-time employees

Advantages Disadvantages

- Lower cost - Less committed

- Flexible workforce - Less knowledge
Casual

- Consistent workload - Additional costs

- Higher productivity (insurances etc.)
Full-time - Stronger employee
loyalty