NMIMS Sem 4 December 2024 HRM Assignments
Business: Ethics, Governance & Risk
Q1. “Business should conduct and govern themselves with integrity, and in a manner that is ethical, transparent and accountable” (Principle 1). Prepare an executive summary (in your own words) based on the disclosures given under Essential Indicators and Leadership Indicators, to showcase how the company is delivering on this principle from the Business Responsibility & Sustainability Report – 2023-24 (BRSR) of a company of your choice. You will find this report under Director’s Report section. Please select any ONE company that is listed as Large Cap. For this selection you must refer to the NSE’s Nifty 50 list by market cap. It is required that you include the name of the company in the brief introduction at the beginning. You must also go through the website of the company as well as its sustainability report, if available in public domain for relevant information on Principle 1. DO NOT copy paste.
Q2. Go through the ‘Management Discussion & Analysis’ section under the Director’s Report in the annual report (FY2023-24) of the company selected in question1 and prepare an executive summary (in your own words) on the following two topics:
Opportunities and threat
Internal control systems & their adequacy
You must mention the name of the company. DO NOT copy paste.
Q3. As Head of Sales in a medium size consumer durables company selling cooling systems and air conditioners you have just bagged a Rs 75 lac worth of order from an out-of-town company, (their first order with you). The purchase executive of the client company agrees to confirm the order on the condition that you will agree to pay for his and his wife’s travel and stay in your city, while visiting your office for finalizing and signing of the contract.
3a. What do you think are the ethical dilemmas involved in this scenario?
3b. Describe the process you will adopt to resolve the dilemmas in this scenario?
Research Methodology
Q1. Samsung mobile phones have been facing a significant decline in market share over the past one year in India, despite the growing overall demand for Mobile Phones. The company’s sales have decreased by 12%, while competitors have seen a growth of 18% in the same period. This decline is affecting the company’s profitability and brand position in the market. This decline is occurring despite an overall increase in industry demand. The problem impacts the company’s profitability, brand strength, and market position. Which type of research study is above and what can be the research questions for this study? Explain which research design you will follow and why?
Q2. You are working in the HR department of Havells India; who have 15 state-of-the- art manufacturing plants spread across 8 locations in India. You have to study the relationship of Annual Increment (three levels 5%, 8% and 10%) and employee productivity (in units). Explain the design of experiment, independent, dependent and extraneous variable (assume any) for the study. What can be the potential threat to internal and external validity in this experiment?
Q3. In recent years, the financial landscape has witnessed significant transformations driven by advances in technology and the widespread adoption of online banking platforms. The emergence of online banking has revolutionized the way consumers engage with banks. With the increasing adoption of digital banking channels, it is crucial to assess how traditional banking methods are affected in terms of customer behavior, service demand, Trust, Security, operational adjustments and the response to the socio-demography of consumers.
a. Develop a comprehensive research plan to compare customer satisfaction and service efficiency between online and offline banking.
b. Develop a Structured questionnaire for this study.
Strategic HRM
1. Think of two managers who have trained you – one whom you consider very good and one whom you consider a poor manager. What specific behaviours distinguish the two managers? In your opinion what is the best source of obtaining training performance data for appraising performance of managers? What are the merits and demerits of appraisal of managers by students?
2. Do you think that the compensation and rewards strategy of a high technology firm will be different from that of an emerging fast-growing firm? Why? Enumerate your answer giving examples.
3. Mind Space Technology Solutions is a medium-sized technology company that specializes in software development. The company has experienced rapid growth in recent years, expanding its customer base and entering new markets. However, with this growth came challenges related to performance management, particularly in evaluating and developing its workforce. Mind Space Technology Solutions is struggling with its performance evaluation process, which is perceived by employees as subjective and unfair. The current system relies heavily on annual performance reviews, which are often rushed and lack meaningful feedback. The HR department is tasked with revamping the performance evaluation process to make it more objective, transparent, and aligned with the company’s strategic goals. There is a lack of alignment between employee goals and organizational goals at Mind Space Technology Solutions. Many employees are unclear about how their individual contributions impact the company’s overall success. The HR department is tasked with developing a system to cascade organizational goals down to individual employees and ensure that everyone is working towards common objectives. Mind space Technology Solutions recognizes the importance of employee development in retaining top talent and staying competitive. However, the company’s current approach to employee development is ad-hoc and lacks a structured framework. The HR department is tasked with developing a comprehensive employee development program that includes training, mentoring, and career planning.
a) What role can technology play in improving the performance evaluation process, and what are the potential benefits and drawbacks.
b) How should Mind Space Technology Solutions communicate organizational goals to employees to ensure alignment with individual goals.
Employee Development & Talent Management
Q1. Since 6 years when Rahul Sumant had joined Acme Inc., he had been applying many approaches to employee development. He was successful in retaining most of the talent and saw good results. However, management always showed mild disappointment towards the overall growth rate of the organization. They expected more prominent sales advancement and growth. Rahul decides to use 360 degrees appraisal as a new initiative. Please discuss the concept of 360 degrees appraisal and how it will contribute to finding the root cause for slower growth at Acme.
Q2. Apex Tech was at its peak performance in the financial market when the charismatic founder, Ashutosh, collapsed suddenly on one of his business trips. His employees felt lost, his customers were left confused. There were constant phone calls enquiring about the status of various projects going on resulting in great uncertainty since no one but only Ashutosh was aware of all the required facts. Every other employee knew only part of every project. The company struggled to keep the nose above the water until Ashutosh was back on his feet and realised his mistake that he has not developed any succession plan for his growing business. What Issues do you think lack of succession planning might cause?
Q3. SolarCity is a start-up that has grown quickly with awareness of solar powered equipment. Growing from 20 to 120 within a span of 1 year 4 months, the director, Gautam wants to set up a performance management system.
Additional information, the organization has flat hierarchy currently with Gautam and his 2 partners spear heading core departments.
a. Gautam wants to implement Human Asset Accounting method at the start of the process. Please explain the concept and justify if this would be an appropriate method of SolarCity?
b. One of Gautam’s partners thinks, MBO would be an appropriate method. Please elaborate your opinion on this thought.
International HR Practices
1. GloTech Solutions, a New York-based technology consulting firm specializing in large scale IT infrastructure projects, is planning to establish a regional headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. To spearhead this initiative, a team of 12 IT consultants from the United States and 3 from Germany, including a senior project director from Germany, will relocate to Tokyo. What are the pre-departure and post arrival training HR should plan for the team? What could be the top 3 challenges you as HR Manager expect after the movement is completed to Tokyo?
2. XYZ limited is a leading bicycle manufacturing company from Ludhiana, India and now coming up new offices in Europe and Australia continent. The management set to standardize the performance management policies in new international offices of the company. How should performance metrics be standardized to ensure fairness and compatibility across different international offices? What challenges might arise in the collection and analysis of performance data from diverse locations?
3. GreenWave Solutions, a startup headquartered in pune, India, Specializes in eco- friendly water purification systems. Known for their innovative and sustainable technology, they have gained attention from clients both in India and internationally. Recently, they secured a 15 year contract to supply their systems to a new green initiative in Berlin, Germany. As part of the contact, they need to employ 2 engineers, 3 quality assurance experts, 2 supply chain managers and 1 customer support manager at the client’s headquarters in Berlin. GreenWave Solutions has decided to recruit local candidates in Germany to comply with local employment laws and reduce costs. You ate an HR consultant tasked with facilitating this international expansion.
a) What are the key challenges and considerations in recruiting, selecting and managing local talent in Berlin, Germany you may come across? Elaborate your answer by keeping the scenario in mind.
b) What strategies you will plan to attract skilled local talent in a competitive job market with limited brand recognition?
