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The employment relations department of a small manufacturing business has provided the following data from its annual audit - HSC - SSCE Business Studies - Question 7 - 2003 - Paper 1
Question 7
The employment relations department of a small manufacturing business has provided the following data from its annual audit. | | 2002 | 200... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:The employment relations department of a small manufacturing business has provided the following data from its annual audit - HSC - SSCE Business Studies - Question 7 - 2003 - Paper 1
Step 1
Identify trends in the data
Answer
Review the provided data comparing the years 2002 and 2003:
- Number of days lost due to disputes drastically decreased from 250 to 20, indicating a significant reduction in disruptions due to disputes.
- Absenteeism increased from 5 days per employee in 2002 to 10 days in 2003, signaling a potential issue in job satisfaction despite fewer disputes.
- Staff turnover remained the same at 10%, showing no change in the overall movement of staff.
Step 2
Analyze the implications of changes
Answer
The decrease in days lost due to disputes suggests that previously, disputes may have impacted employee relations negatively, and the organization has since addressed these issues effectively. However, the increase in absenteeism might indicate underlying job dissatisfaction. Despite fewer disputes, workers may still be disengaged, leading to increased absenteeism.
Step 3
Evaluate the answer options
Answer
Now, we evaluate each option: (A) The staff may be taking covert action to demonstrate their dissatisfaction - this is less likely given the decrease in dispute days. (B) The staff turnover levels indicate increased levels of job dissatisfaction of workers - incorrect, as turnover remains unchanged. (C) The change in the number of work days lost to disputes and absenteeism indicates increased job satisfaction of workers - this appears contradictory due to increased absenteeism. (D) There has been an overall improvement in employment relations, indicating that grievance procedures are now working - this aligns with the significant reduction in days lost to disputes, suggesting improved relations.
Thus, the most fitting description of the changing state of employment relations is (D).