Business ManagementUNIT 3- OUTCOME 2 SAC 2

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This SAC is a written response. You are not permitted to use any other materials.The total SAC contributes to 15/100 marks allocated for Unit 3.

Name: Examiner’s report

Note: The grade or score for this task is only part of the internal assessment for this Unit. Your total School-assessed Coursework score may change as a result of statistical moderation by VCAA.

Grade/Score: ______ Satisfactory Completion? S/N: ______(Provisional)---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Assessment CriteriaDid you……?

1. Underline key terms in the case study yes or no2. Use circular language yes or no3. Use clear business language instead of slang yes or no4. Respond clearly to task words yes or no5. Waste time beginning Qs with an introduction yes or no6. Describe theory FIRST then link examples to the case yes or no7. Use your subject timeline as a checklist for glossary terms yes or no8. Use your subject timeline as a checklist for task words yes or no9. Complete suggested VCAA Qs yes or no10. Read VCAA examiner’s report for attempted Qs yes or no11. Complete Qs under timed conditions [1.6 mins per mark] yes or no12. Clearly label Qs completed in ‘extra space’ [including section] yes or no

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Thursday 19th April, 2018- You will have 25 minutes to complete this SAC.

Case Study

The Australian Border Force Police are responsible for all existing border operations across Australia’s airports and seaports. Officers are responsible for protecting and facilitating a service for people who interact with the Department (including travellers, traders, visa holders, those in detention and the Australian community).

Staff have not received a pay rise since 2013 and, in conjunction with the union, are currently involved in a bitter pay dispute with management. Staff are employed by the Australian Government at the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. They are being offered an enterprise agreement. This agreement would include a 3 per cent increase at commencement of the agreement followed by a performance-based advancement of 3 per cent after 12 months.

The case is now before the Fair Work Commission. The Commission will arbitrate the pay and conditions of workers after hearing from the department and the union in this workplace dispute. There are concerns that these workforce problems are affecting the ability of the staff at the Australian Border Force to protect Australians from unwanted drugs, weapons and people.

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Use the case study provided to answer the questions for this case study. Answers must apply to the case study. Answer all questions in the spaces provided.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/seven-charts-revealing-the-truth-about-wages-and-the-australian-economy-20180328-p4z6na.html

Question 1 (6 marks)

a. Outline the role of the human resource manager in this dispute.2 marks

The HR manager has many different roles BUT there must be a link to the DISPUTE -it cannot just be a description of random roles.RELEVANT roles include:

- Help business resolve conflict- Facilitate negotiations with staff- Help business comply with legal standards when implementing agreement (eg.

Meeting or being better than 10 National Employment Standards)- Represent business when negotiating agreement with staff and union.- Organize meetings with Fair Work Commission / prepare information for this.- Train department managers in implementing any agreement.

b. Describe two differences between an award and an agreement.4 marks

This Q was NOT clearly answered by many students. Many DID NOT clearly outline specific FEATURES when describing differences. Given that resources were provided for this, this result indicated a lack of effective note-taking and revision for this topic.

Relevant differences include:

- Role of union (essential part of negotiations vs optional)- Role of Fair Work Commission (sets awards using minimum wages as a guideline vs

monitor that wages and conditions of agreement meet or are ‘better overall’ than award wages and conditions

- Who wages and conditions apply to (industry vs individual workplace)- Wages and conditions NOT linked to productivity gains vs negotiate to increase

wages as a result of productivity gains.

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Question 2 (5 marks)

This Q was marked globally. Students could examine strengths and weaknesses of each of the award or the agreement OR one of the options. The questions did state OR so this would be the grammatical interpretation. However, best answers would examine the weaknesses of the option not chosen as the overall recommendation.

This Q had mixed results. Some students state strengths and weaknesses clearly whereas others did not use strong theory. Many did not link to case clearly.

It would be easier to argue that agreements are the best option due to:- Ability to negotiate higher wages than award – would motivate workers to be more

productive and do their jobs better (provide better service)- Case study stated that workers were being offered a 3% increase at start of agreement

plus a further 3% performance based after 1 year. (answers should have linked to this data)

- Could also link to slow wage growth (approx. 2% recently) so agreement is quite generous. [this is a true case study!]

- When choosing this option, could easily emphasise limitation of award in providing generous wages to motivate workers.

However, you could choose awards as recommendation. If so, emphasise strength of award in resolving conflict quickly due to strong involvement of Fair Work Commission in arbitrating award as a 1st option. Evident from case to support this is lengthy, bitter pay dispute. Would also provide uniformity of wages and conditions amongst workers despite skill level or seniority.

Question 3 (2 marks)

The Fair Work Commission uses arbitration as its method of dispute resolution. Justify how this method could achieve an appropriate outcome at The Australian Border Force.

When answering this Q, it is important to remember clear features of each dispute resolution and link these to how they could be used appropriately.Eg. Role of parties in conflictEg. Who makes decisionEg. Decision outcome.

Sample answerArbitration involves the use of a judge figure making a legally binding decision in their independent role after all parties (employees, employer and union) present their case. This ensures that wages and conditions are above the legal minimums when an agreement is set. It

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also provides a timely resolution to the bitter dispute as all parties will need to accept the Commission’s decision.

Question 4 (2 marks)

Distinguish between entitlements and transition issues for those staff who choose to leave the Australian Border Force.

This question was NOT handled well. Many had not revised this clearly – despite it being clear wording on the study design. Students needed to clearly explain the difference between key features. It is also important to focus on staff being made redundant – not those choosing to retire (we did discuss this in class)

Sample answer:

Entitlements are conditions that a business is legally required to offer an employee when they end their employment. Eg. Redundancy pay or unused annual leave whereas transition issues are services that a business may voluntarily provide to help a worker move to another job eg. a CV writing workshop or provide time off for job interviews.

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