Practice Exam 5
VCE Business Management Units 3 & 4 | Section A: 50 marks, Section B: 25 marks | Total: 75 marks
✎ 15 minutes reading time. 2 hours writing time. There are two sections. Section A (50 marks): answer all questions. Section B (25 marks): a case study is provided – answer all questions based on it. Complete ALL questions on paper before opening the Model Answers lesson. No notes permitted. Aim for approximately 1 minute per mark.
SECTION A
Question 1 (4 marks)
Distinguish between a participative management style and an autocratic management style. Identify one management skill a manager would need to use each style effectively.
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Question 2 (4 marks)
Explain the relationship between inputs, processes and outputs in an operations system. Use an example to illustrate your answer.
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Question 3 (4 marks)
Describe corporate culture and explain one way a strong corporate culture can benefit a large-scale organisation.
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Question 4 (4 marks)
Using Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, explain how a manager could motivate an employee whose esteem needs are not being met.
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Question 5 (4 marks)
Distinguish between quality control and quality assurance as approaches to quality management.
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Question 6 (10 marks)
Discuss the role of negotiation, mediation and arbitration in resolving disputes between employers and employees, and evaluate the effectiveness of individual bargaining compared with collective bargaining for employees seeking improved wages and conditions.
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Extended Response 1: Employee Relations & Negotiation
Question 7 (8 marks)
Extended Response 1: Employee Relations & Negotiation (a)
Enterprise bargaining is a common method used to determine wages and conditions in Australian workplaces. Explain the enterprise bargaining process and analyse two advantages this approach offers to employers compared with reliance on the modern award system alone.
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Extended Response 1: Employee Relations & Negotiation
Question 8 (6 marks)
Extended Response 1: Employee Relations & Negotiation (b)
Employees who are dissatisfied with the outcome of negotiations may engage in industrial action such as strikes or bans, while employers may respond with lockouts. Explain two forms of industrial action available to employees and discuss the risks this action poses to the employer.
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Extended Response 2: Termination of Employment
Question 9 (4 marks)
Extended Response 2: Termination of Employment (a)
Distinguish between redundancy and summary dismissal as forms of termination of employment.
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Extended Response 2: Termination of Employment
Question 10 (2 marks)
Extended Response 2: Termination of Employment (b)
Identify two entitlements an employee may be eligible to receive upon termination of their employment.
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SECTION B — CASE STUDY
Case Study – Read carefully before answering Section B
Coastal Freight Logistics
Industry: Road Transport & Warehousing
Coastal Freight Logistics (CFL) is a mid-sized transport and warehousing company operating across regional Victoria, employing 220 drivers, warehouse staff and administrative employees. Over the past two years, e-commerce growth has increased delivery volumes by 60%, and drivers have been required to work longer shifts and additional weekend rostering to meet customer demand. Many drivers, represented by the Transport Workers’ Union (TWU), argue that pay rates have not kept pace with the increased workload and that fatigue is creating serious safety risks, including two recent near-miss incidents at the Dandenong depot. The union has lodged a log of claims seeking a 12% pay rise over the next enterprise agreement, improved rostering limits, and additional safety equipment. Management argues that rising fuel costs and competitive freight pricing mean the company cannot afford the union’s full claim without cutting jobs elsewhere. Negotiations between CFL’s HR Manager and TWU delegates have stalled after three meetings, and drivers voted last week to authorise protected industrial action if an agreement is not reached within 21 days. Customers awaiting deliveries and CFL’s board are increasingly concerned about the reputational and financial impact of a prolonged dispute.
Question 11 (4 marks)
Identify two stakeholders referred to in the case study and outline their differing interests in the outcome of the dispute at Coastal Freight Logistics.
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Question 12 (5 marks)
Explain the role of the Transport Workers’ Union in representing the interests of Coastal Freight Logistics’ drivers, and outline one approach, other than industrial action, that could be used to resolve the current dispute.
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Question 13 (6 marks)
Analyse the advantages and disadvantages for Coastal Freight Logistics if drivers proceed with protected industrial action.
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Extended Response 3: Resolving the CFL Dispute
Question 14 (6 marks)
Extended Response 3: Resolving the CFL Dispute (a)
Recommend a course of action Coastal Freight Logistics’ management could take to resolve the dispute with the TWU, and justify why this approach is likely to be effective given the circumstances described in the case study.
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Extended Response 3: Resolving the CFL Dispute
Question 15 (4 marks)
Extended Response 3: Resolving the CFL Dispute (b)
Discuss the potential impact of the dispute’s resolution (or non-resolution) on Coastal Freight Logistics’ corporate culture and its relationship with employees in the longer term.
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✓ Finished? Open the next lesson – Model Answers – to mark your work.
