MGP437U/101/0/2018

Tutorial Letter 101/0/2018

Management Practice IV
MGP437U

Department of Business Management

IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Please register on myUnisa, activate your myLife e-mail addresses and
make sure that you have regular access to the myUnisa module
website, MGP437U-2018.

Note: This is an online module and therefore it is available on myUnisa. However, in order to
support you in your learning process, you will also receive study material in printed format.

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CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 3
2 PURPOSE OF AND OUTCOMES FOR THE MODULE................................................................ 3
2.1 Purpose ........................................................................................................................................ 3
2.2 Outcomes ........................................................................................................................................... 4
3 LECTURERS AND CONTACT DETAILS ..................................................................................... 6
3.1 Lecturers....................................................................................................................................... 6
3.2 Department ................................................................................................................................... 6
3.3 University ...................................................................................................................................... 7
4 MODULE-RELATED RESOURCES ............................................................................................. 7
4.1 Prescribed book ............................................................................................................................ 7
5 STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES FOR THE MODULE ............................................................... 7
6 MODULE-SPECIFIC APPROACH ............................................................................................... 8
7 MODULE PRACTICAL WORK AND WORK-INTEGRATED LEARNING .................................... 8
8 ASSESSMENT ............................................................................................................................. 8
8.1 Assessment plan .......................................................................................................................... 8
8.2 Unique assignment numbers and due dates ................................................................................. 9
8.3 Submission of assignments .......................................................................................................... 9
8.4 Plagiarism ................................................................................................................................... 10
8.5 Guidelines for answering essay-type assignments ...................................................................... 10
8.6 Assessment process ................................................................................................................... 12
8.7 Assignments ............................................................................................................................... 12
9 OTHER ASSESSMENT METHODS ........................................................................................... 12
10 EXAMINATION ........................................................................................................................... 12
11 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ........................................................................................ 13
12 CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................ 13
ANNEXURE A: ASSIGNMENT 01 ......................................................................................................... 14
ANNEXURE B: ASSIGNMENT 02 ......................................................................................................... 17

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1 INTRODUCTION

Dear Student

Welcome to the exciting module of Management Practice (MGP437U) in the 2018 academic year. For
most of you this year marks the end of your academic journey as you will be completing your qualifications.

Currently, organisations are faced with volatile and competitive business environments as well as ever-
changing customer needs, coupled with technological developments. This module deals with management
practices that are specific to management competencies, planning in a dynamic business environment,
motivation, leadership and control in organisations. Once you have successfully completed this module,
you should have a better understanding of the skills needed in regards to management competencies.
This will be shown by your ability to demonstrate an in-depth understanding of management theory and
practices. Every manager has a different style of management, which makes the field of management
practice complex. In this module, we hope to simplify the development of your critical thinking on
management practices and promote your understanding of management theory and its application in
practice.

During the course of the year, you will receive a number of tutorial letters that will be downloadable from
myUnisa. It is important for you to familiarise yourself with the content of these tutorial letters, as they
contain essential information on the assignments and the applicable assessment criteria. They also
provide information on the examination.

This tutorial letter contains important information about the module outcomes, and alignments of the
textbook with the outcomes. Note that there is no study guide for this module, thus this tutorial letter serves
a combined purpose. Moreover, it serves as a guide for completing the assignments, preparing for the
examination and addressing questions to your lecturer.

Before contacting the university, please read all your tutorial letters carefully. They contain important and
sometimes urgent information. Before you start your Management Practice studies, you need to familiarise
yourself with Unisa and the Department of Business Management. For this purpose, ensure that you have
taken note of the information contained in the Studies @ Unisa brochure.

Please ensure that you register on myUnisa if you have not yet done so. The myUnisa portal makes it
easier to communicate with the university, module lecturers and other students. We strongly urge you to
activate your myUnisa account to submit assignments, to access library resources and to download study
material. Please note that not all the tutorial letters may be available when you register, but some tutorial
letters and official study material will be available on myUnisa upon registration. We hope that you will
grasp and put into practice what you learn in this module!

2 PURPOSE OF AND OUTCOMES FOR THE MODULE

2.1 Purpose

The main purpose of this module is to introduce you to the importance of management by explaining how
management theory is applied in management practice. More specifically, the module describes:
 what managers do and the competencies used in managerial work;
 the composition and characteristics of the management environment;
 the importance of planning;
 the importance of decision-making and aids to decision-making;
 the different theoretical perspectives on leadership, motivation and control.

Managers must demonstrate a range of competencies and primarily have the responsibility of making
sound decisions in organisations, reconciling the organisations’ resources with the demands of various
stakeholders. Business environments are now more turbulent than they were in the past two decades, and
managers have to contend with economies and communities driven by knowledge and creativity rather
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than capital or commodities. Significant changes in work ethics and corporate social responsibility issues
have also taken place in the past decade, requiring organisations to act much more sociably responsible.

As a result, it is important for managers to have an in-depth understanding of the changes, dynamics and
complexities of business environments. Overall, there is no one generic theory or model to guide a
manager. Managers must develop critical thinking and a style of management that best fit the
organisational environment.

As a student, the challenge is to gain a good grasp of management theories and to be able to demonstrate
that you can apply this knowledge to case studies or to your work environment.

In this module, you will be in charge of your progress, that is and will, therefore, have to work regularly.
We will give you all the support that we possibly can, but ultimately it will be up to you to decide how you
are going to master the required knowledge, skills and values in the relevant context.

2.2 Outcomes

Please note that there is no study guide for this module. The learning outcomes for this module are
presented in the table below. This table highlights the relevant chapters that must be studied in the 3rd or
4th edition of the prescribed textbook in relation to module outcomes. The learning outcomes are based
on the following textbooks:

Hellriegel, D, Jackson, SE, Slocum, J, Stude, G, Amos, T, Klopper, HB, Louw, L & Oosthuizen, T. 2008.
Management. 3rd edition, South African edition. Cape Town: Oxford University Press.

Hellriegel, D, Jackson, SE, Slocum, J, Stude, G, Amos, T, Klopper, HB, Louw, L, Oosthuizen, T, Perks, S,
& Zindiye, S. 2012. Management. 4th edition, South African edition. Cape Town: Oxford University Press.

Note that either the 3rd or the 4th edition can be used.

LEARNING OUTCOMES 3rd EDITION 4th EDITION

Outcome 1
Evaluate the nature and importance of management by Chapter 1 Chapter 1
relating the theory to practice by
1.1 explaining what organisations are p.6-7 p.5
p.4
1.2 explaining what managers are and their functions p.8-12
p.6-7
1.3 explaining the scope of management and its challenges p.9 p.6-7
1.4 defining management p.9 p.7
explaining what the management process entails and
1.5 p.10-12 p.8-11
how it enables organisations to achieve their goals
Outcome 2
Chapters 1, 2, Chapters 1,5
Comment on the composition and characteristics of the
4 and 5 and 6
management environment with specific reference to:
the internal or micro-environment including the different
levels and kinds of management in the organisation and p.13-17 p.10-14
2.1
the managerial skills required at the various levels p.21-34 p.31-45

the forces in the market environment and how they

2.2 influence the organisation and decision-making in the p.98-100 p.200-203
organisation
the forces in the macro-environment, how they
2.3 influence the organisation and decision-making in the p.81-97 p.181-198
organisation

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how to identify and apply the five competitive forces

2.4 p.98-100 p.200-203
that directly affect the organisation and an industry
the importance of ethics for organisations and their
2.5 p.106-118 p.144-158
employees
how the concerns of stakeholders influence managers'
2.6 p.118-125 p.158-159
ethical considerations
Outcome 3
Comment on the importance of planning with specific Chapter 6 Chapter 7
reference to
the distinction between strategic and tactical
3.1 p.135-139 p.219-220
planning
the basic levels of planning and strategy p.227,232
3.2 p.141-144
formulation and 235
3.3 the eight tasks of the strategic planning process p.144-150 p.220-239
using the generic competitive strategies model to
3.4 p.150-152 p.233-235
develop business-level strategies
Outcome 4
Comment on the importance of decision-making with specific Chapter 7 Chapter 8
reference to
defining decision-making and explaining its role for
4.1 p.158-159 p.248
managers and employees
explaining the conditions of certainty, risk and
4.2 p.159-162 p.248-252
uncertainty under which decisions are made
describing the characteristics of the different types
4.3 p.162-165 p.253-258
of decision (e.g. routine, adaptive and so on)
4.4 explaining how goals affect decision-making p.166-169 p.258-261
Outcome 5
Chapter 8 Chapter 9
Explain the different aids to decision-making and planning.
use a creativity model to stimulate adaptive and
5.1 p.190-193 p.284-289
innovative decisions
5.2 apply quality decision-making aids p.193-196 p.289-293
Outcome 6
Chapter 9 Chapter 10
Comment on organisational design with specific reference to
the main elements of organisational design and
6.1 p. 207-216 p.301-312
how they are reflected on an organisational chart
6.2 the most common types of design p. 216-226 p.304-323
6.3 the authority structure of an organisation p. 210-214 p.304-309
factors affecting centralisation and decentralisation
6.4 p. 214-216 p.309-312
of an organisation
Outcome 7
Chapter 11 Chapter 13
Comment on motivation by
7.1 defining motivation p. 267 p.407-408
comparing and contrasting the four different
7.2 p. 267-283 p.407-428
theories for understanding motivation
explaining how individual differences, the job and
7.3 organisation context and managerial behaviours p. 267-283 p.407-428
affect motivation
advising how to enhance the motivation of staff in
7.4 p. 283-285 p.428-430
an organisation
Outcome 8
Chapter 12 Chapter 12
Explain leadership with specific reference to
8.1 the basics of leadership p. 294-296 p.373-376
8.2 the different leadership models p. 296-311 p.376-392
8.3 how organisations develop leaders p. 311-312 p.392-396
Outcome 9 Chapter 16 Chapter 17
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Evaluate control in organisations by

explaining the foundations of control and its relation
9.1 p. 403-406 p.541-547
to planning
9.2 identifying and explaining the three types of control p. 403-404 p.542-544
9.3 discussing the criteria for effective control p. 407-409 p.548-552
identifying and explaining the six steps of the
9.4 p. 409-413 p.522-556
control process
identifying and explaining different control
9.5 p. 410-411 p.554-555
standards
describing the different classification approaches to
9.6 p. 413-421 p.557-570
organisational control

3 LECTURERS AND CONTACT DETAILS

3.1 Lecturers

Refer to Tutorial Letter 101 and the brochure Study @ Unisa before contacting us. You will find that much
of the information that you need is included in these documents.

Direct all queries about the CONTENT OF THIS MODULE to your lecturers. Do not direct administrative
queries to your lecturers. You should have your study material, module code and student number at hand
when you contact the University.

The lecturer for this module will be available to take phone calls on academic matters and/or to attend to
students who may prefer to visit personally for academic engagement. However, the days and times of
lecturer’s availability will be communicated in the module page on myUnisa. These days and times are
subject to change from time to time in order to accommodate the lecturer’s work schedule and other
commitments. The changes on the days and times will be communicated by the lecturer in advance
through the announcement option on myUnisa as and when this happen. Students are advised to check
the module page on myUnisa before making phone calls or visiting the lecturer’s office for academic
enquiries/engagements. Details of the primary module lecturer is as follows:

Name Office Telephone E-mail

Mr N Ramasimu AJH van der Walt Building, 4-74, 012 429 6518 [email protected]
Pretoria Campus

Module- or content-related queries of an academic nature include queries about the contents of
assignments, difficult concepts that you struggle to grasp, discussions of examination questions, and so
on. Please have your study material with you when you contact the lecturer. All queries sent via e-mail
must include your student number and the module code (MGP437U) in the subject line.

PLEASE NOTE:

 We will communicate with you via your myLife e-mail address and on myUnisa. We will assume that
you have received any and all messages communicated using these two media facilities.
 Always provide your student number when contacting the University.
 Do not enclose letters to lecturers with assignments.

3.2 Department

Contact details of the various administrative departments are included in the brochure Studies @ Unisa,
which you received with your study package.

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This module is offered in the Department of Business Management. Please note the department of
Business Management’s for administrative queries is +27 12 429 4220 and the email address is
[email protected].

3.3 University

If you need to contact the university about matters not related to the contents of this module, please consult
the brochure, Study @ Unisa, which you received with your study material. This brochure contains
information on how to contact the university (eg to whom you can write for different queries, important
numbers, addresses and details of the times certain facilities are open).

Below is a quick reference guide to the contact details of various administrative departments that student
contact often and where your queries should be addressed.

Directorate/Business Description of Short SMS Email address

Unit enquiry code

Student Admissions and Applications and 43578 [email protected]

Registrations registrations
Student Assessment Assignments and 43584 For assignments:
Administration examinations [email protected]
For examination:
[email protected]
Despatch Study material 43579 [email protected]
Finance Student accounts 31954 [email protected]
ICT (myUnisa & myLife) myUnisa 43582 [email protected]
myLife email [email protected]

4 MODULE-RELATED RESOURCES

4.1 Prescribed book

Assignments and examinations are based on the prescribed textbook. You will not be able to complete
the assignments or study for the examination without the following prescribed textbook (you can use either
the 3rd or the 4th edition):

Hellriegel, D, Jackson, SE, Slocum, J Stude, G, Amos, T, Klopper, HB, Low, L & Oosthuizen, T. 2008.
Management. 3rd edition, South African edition. Cape Town: Oxford University Press.

Hellriegel, D, Jackson, SE, Slocum, J, Stude, G, Amos, T, Klopper, HB, Louw, L, Oosthuizen, T, Perks, S,
& Zindiye, S. 2012. Management. 4th edition, South African edition. Cape Town: Oxford University Press.

Please consult the list of official booksellers and their addresses as detailed in Study @ Unisa. Should you
experience any problems obtaining the prescribed book from the booksellers, please contact the
Department: Prescribed Books as soon as possible via email: [email protected].

5 STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES FOR THE MODULE

Only academic-related support is given via e-mail, telephone and the myUnisa discussion forum by the
module lecturer. The details of other forms of student support are included in the my Studies @ Unisa
brochure, which you received with your study package.

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6 MODULE-SPECIFIC APPROACH

We strongly recommend that you draw up a study programme for this year and allocate sufficient time to
work through the study material, to read the relevant sections of the prescribed book, to incorporate
additional material if necessary, to do the assignments and to prepare for the examination. The following
activities are suggested:
You will have to spend at least 240 hours working on this module. The time should be divided as follows:
approximately 100 hours of reading and studying the learning material, 80 hours of doing activities and
assignments, and 60 hours of preparing for the MGP437U/101 examination. Your personal study plan for
the module should be detailed and realistic, and should clearly set out deadlines and activities to be
completed.

Important deadlines and activities to include in your study plan are the due dates for the two assignments
and your participation in the discussion forum on myUnisa throughout the year.

Please see the Studies @ Unisa brochure, which you received with your study package, for details on how
to go about developing a long-term study plan. Your study plan should allow for sufficient time, on a weekly
basis, to master all of the outcomes in the module. As a guideline, you should have mastered outcomes 1
to 5 by May 2018 and outcomes 6 to 9 by August 2018.

7 MODULE PRACTICAL WORK AND WORK-INTEGRATED LEARNING

Assignments and self-assessment exercises form the core of integrated learning, where assignments
typically include and require practical application of the relevant theory based on the approach outlined in
paragraph 6 above. Two compulsory assignments have to be completed for this module.

Work-integrated learning as such is not applicable to this module. However, case studies in assignments
and examinations will demonstrate the practical application of the module theory in organisations. More
information on work-integrated learning is available in the my Studies @ Unisa brochure.

8 ASSESSMENT

8.1 Assessment plan

The main purpose of the assignments is to encourage you to study the prescribed book, to read certain
sections over and over again and to think about the tutorial matter in terms of its practical application. The
questions may sometimes be difficult, and some may seem ambiguous. The idea is not to trick you or to
catch you out, but to get you to think critically about management practice.

The assessment plan for this module comprises the following:

 Formative assessment takes place through the compulsory assignments that you have to submit.
Furthermore, feedback on Assignments 01 and 02 will be provided in Tutorial Letters 201 and 202.

 Summative assessment comprises a two-hour written, closed-book examination during which you will
be assessed on relevant theory as well as practical applications within the context of the syllabus and
the learning outcomes.

The university has a policy of compulsory assignments in all modules for 2018. Assignments 01 and 02
for MGP437U are, therefore, compulsory. You must submit ASSIGNMENT 01 to gain admission to the
examination. You will gain admission by submitting the assignment and NOT on the strength of the marks
that you have obtained for it. Failure to submit Assignment 01 will mean that you will not be admitted to
the examination, regardless of whether or not you have submitted Assignment 02.

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VERY IMPORTANT

Please ensure that your assignments reach us on or before the due dates. You will not be
admitted to the examination if an assignment is submitted later than the due dates. Please do
not phone us with a request to be admitted to the examination if you have not submitted an
assignment, or if you submitted it later than the due date.

The assignments appear in Annexures A-B of this tutorial letter.

8.2 Unique assignment numbers and due dates

Assignment 01 Assignment 02

Due date Unique number Due date Unique number

18 May 2018 852888 20 July 2018 746417

8.3 Submission of assignments

It is your responsibility to ensure that you submit the correct assignment. If you submit an assignment for
a wrong assignment, it will not be marked.

Formative assessment for MGP437U takes place through a year mark system. As already mentioned,
Assignments 01 and 02 are compulsory. You will be awarded a mark for Assignment 01 and a mark for
Assignment 02. Both assignment marks are taken into account to calculate your year mark and they carry
equal weight in the calculation. Your final assessment mark for this module will be a combination of
the assignment marks and the examination mark. The two assignment marks will contribute a
maximum of 20% to the final assessment mark for the module, while the examination mark will contribute
80%. Irrespective of the year mark you receive, you must obtain a subminimum of 40% in the examination.
You will therefore not pass the module if your examination mark is less than 40%. Please study the
following examples to see how the assignment mark will contribute to the final assessment mark.

Example 1:

If you are awarded an assignment mark of 50% for Assignment 01 and 50% for Assignment 02, the
average ((50%+50%)/2) of the two assignment marks are multiplied by 20. This equals 10% of the final
assessment mark. If you obtain 35 out of a possible 70 marks in the examination (50%), this percentage
is multiplied by 80. This equals 40% of the final assessment mark. The assignment mark and the
examination mark are then added together (10% + 40%) to give a final assessment mark of 50% for the
module.

Example 2:

If you are awarded an assignment mark of 60% for Assignment 01 and 80% for Assignment 02, the
average ((60%+80%)/2) of the two assignment marks are multiplied by 20. This equals 14% of the final
assessment mark. If you then obtain 44 out of 70 marks (or 63%) in the examination, this figure is multiplied
by 80 to give 50,2% of the final assessment mark. The two results are then added to give a final
assessment mark of 64% (14% + 50,2%) for the module.

For detailed information concerning assignments, consult Study @ Unisa, which you received with your
study material.
To submit assignments via myUnisa:

Go to http://my.unisa.ac.za.

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Log in by using your student number and password.

Select the programme and the module.
Click on “Assignments”.
Click on “Submit Assignments”.
Follow the instructions.

8.4 Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the act of taking the words, ideas and thoughts of others and passing them off as your own.
It is a form of theft and involves a number of dishonest activities. Examples of plagiarism include copying
from the textbook, or any other source, or copying from fellow students and passing off their work as your
own work.

All students receive the Disciplinary Code for Students (2004) when they register. You are advised to study
the Code, especially sections 2.1.13 and 2.1.14 (2004:3-4). Kindly read the University’s Policy on
Copyright Infringement and Plagiarism as well.

Please note: Although students may work together when preparing assignments, each student must write
and submit his or her own individual assignment. In other words, you must submit your own ideas in your
own words, sometimes interspersed with relevant short quotations that are properly referenced. It is
unacceptable for students to submit identical assignments on the basis that they worked together. That is
copying (a form of plagiarism) and none of these assignments will be marked.

8.5 Guidelines for answering essay-type assignments

Below are some guidelines that may assist you in approaching written essay-type assignments:
Technical care requirements
 Always provide a heading to your assignment and a table of contents on the first page.
 Use headings and subheadings and number them.
 Start your answer with an introduction, briefly explaining your approach and the contents of the
answer. Please note that you should have one introduction and one conclusion for the entire
assignment.
 Use in-text references correctly.
 Include a conclusion to indicate your own perspectives and insight based on the information in your
assignment; you may also make recommendations. Conclude your assignment with a short
summary in which you repeat the main points of your discussion and reach a conclusion.
 Use the Harvard referencing method in your assignments to refer to sources you have consulted. If
you do not include in-text references, you may find that you are guilty of plagiarism.
 Include a bibliography at the end of your assignment. A bibliography is an alphabetical list of all the
references cited in your assignment. The bibliography at the end of your assignment is the list of
books consulted. It too, should be compiled according to the Harvard referencing method. You will
be penalised in the assignments if you do not include a bibliography. When you use the Internet, you
need to provide the details. Indicate the name of the author (if available), the full name of the website,
the web address and the date on which you have accessed the site in your bibliography. The date
is essential, since information on the internet changes continuously.
 Your work should be of a high technical standard.
 Use the following page margins (normal page setting): top 2.54cm, bottom 2.54cm, left 2.54cm and
right 2.54cm. Set your computer to Arial or Times New Roman, font size 11 or 12 and 1.5 line
spacing.
 The page limit is a maximum of 8 pages (1.5 line spacing) for each assignment. This excludes the
cover page, table of contents and bibliography. You may be penalised if you exceed the maximum
number of pages.
 The cover page of your assignment must clearly indicate your student number, module code and
assignment number (unique number).
 The way in which you present your assignments clearly reflects your character. Do not submit untidy
and badly presented assignments. Be proud of the work you present.
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 Assignments should be typed if at all possible. If you cannot type your assignment, you must ensure
that your handwriting is legible.
 The presentation of the assignment and adherence to the format requirements will also contribute
five marks towards your assignment mark.
 The body of an assignment is composed of a discussion under several headings and subheadings.
These headings should be related to the question numbers. Each of these headings is numbered,
as indicated in the table below.

HEADING
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION
2 SELECT AN APPROPRIATE HEADING (Question 1)
2.1 Subheading (An aspect of the topic mentioned in the heading)
2.2 Subheading (Another aspect)
2.3 Subheading (Another aspect)
3 SELECT AN APPROPRIATE HEADING (Question 2)
3.1 Subheading (Aspect of the topic in 3)
3.2 Subheading (Aspect of the topic in 3)
4 SELECT ANOTHER APPROPRIATE HEADING (Question 3)
5 SUMMARY/CONCLUSION
6 BIBLIOGRAPHY

The body of your assignment

 Your answers should show your ability to approach a problem in a structured, analytical way. Apply
the theories and concepts of strategic management in a coherent way to the assignment
problem/question.
 Discussions of theory should be concise and to the point: use words economically – in other words,
say as much as possible, but as concisely as possible.
 Develop a style of writing in which sentences and paragraphs follow one another in a logical sequence.
 Arguments should follow a logical pattern and be substantiated with suitable references, facts or
examples from the case study. Conclusions should not be based on intuition. Vague generalisations
and half-truths should be avoided in your assignments.
 Note that the assignment questions will not require you to merely rewrite the text of your prescribed
textbook. In all cases, you will be required to show your insight and understanding into the topic.
Make sure you understand the questions in the assignment. If you copy from the prescribed book or
any other sources, you could be penalised. Note that the focus of the assignments are not about
 Merely re-writing facts or theory. It is about your demonstrating that you understand how to use the
theory and that you can apply the theory to a practical organisational setting (or case study).
 Arranging your thoughts in such a way that the points follow one another logically is something of an
art. Make sure that what you have to say under a specific heading is related to the subject of that
heading.

Technical aspects of submitting your assignment online

 Your assignment, when submitting online, must be in pdf format only. Do not submit your
assignment in any other file format, or embed your assignment file in any other file format (for example
a Zip file).

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 Your assignment must be submitted as one complete file. Do not submit parts of your assignment in
separate embedded files.
 Please ensure that the pdf file submitted has no restriction settings on the file, such as print, save or
password restrictions.
 If the pdf file you submitted cannot be opened, has restrictions setting on the file or the file is corrupted
then your submission will be cancelled.
 It is your responsibility to check if the file submitted contains the correct assignment and
meets the technical requirements of submitting online. If an incorrect file or corrupted file was
submitted, it will not be marked.
 Please note that the declaration statement on own work must be included in the assignment,
when submitting the assignment. The declaration form is available under "Additional Resources"
on the myUnisa website. As myUnisa only allows one document to be submitted, you can copy and
paste the declaration statement onto your assignment document or you can retype the content of the
declaration statement to form part of your assignment document. It will be sufficient to copy the content
of the declaration to acknowledge that the assignment is your own work.

Important:
Please ensure that your assignments reach us on or before the due date. Do not email your
assignments to your lecturer. Do not telephone the lecturer with requests to be admitted to the
examination if you have not submitted the assignment, or if you submitted it later than the due date. NO
excuses will be accepted. Your assignment will be marked and returned to you. You will receive
feedback on Assignment 01 and 02 in Tutorial Letter 201 and 202.

Remember:
Keep a copy of your assignment before you submit the original!

8.6 Assessment process

This module has been structured in such a way that you will be able to assess your own progress and
mastery of all the stated outcomes continuously. To assess your own mastery of the outcomes, you will
have to complete the two assignments. Once you have done this, we will attach feedback and marker’s
comments to each of your marked assignments. Feedback will be given in Tutorial letters 201 and 202
and will help with assessing your progress and mastery of the module outcomes.

8.7 Assignments

The assignments appear in Annexures A-B of this tutorial letter.

9 OTHER ASSESSMENT METHODS

There are no other assessment methods for this module.

10 EXAMINATION

10.1 Examination admission

The examination for this module comprises a two-hour written, closed-book examination that covers the
prescribed syllabus, based on all relevant study materials. As previously mentioned, Assignment 01 is
compulsory. Failure to submit Assignment 01 will mean that you will not be admitted to the examination,
regardless of whether or not you submit Assignment 02.

10.2 Examination period

The examination periods for the academic year is October/November 2018 examination period.
Supplementary examination dates will be provided by the Directorate: Student Assessment Administration.
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During the year, the Directorate: Student Assessment Administration will provide you with information
regarding the examination in general, examination venues, examination dates and examination times.

10.3 Format of the examination

The examination paper is marked out of 70 and is a two-hour paper. The examination is a closed-book
examination comprising of essay-type questions. You will be expected to answer all questions. These
questions may be subdivided into paragraph questions.

Given the time limitation of two hours, you should divide the time spent on each question proportionately.
This also means that, in your answers, you should concentrate on the most important parts of each
question. Do not fall into the trap of spending so much time on one question that you do not have enough
time to answer the other questions.

MGP437U covers a fair number of topics. A breakdown of the module outcomes and the specific chapters
to study is provided in section 2.2 of this tutorial letter.

10.4 Previous examination papers

Previous examination papers are available on myUnisa. We advise you, however, not to focus on old
examination papers only, as the contents of modules and, therefore, examination papers change from
year to year. You may accept that the types of questions that will be asked in the examination will be
similar to those asked in the assignments.

Please do not contact your lecturers with requests for model answers for previous examination papers.

10.5 Alternative assessment to assist students who qualify for final-year concessions

The Studies @ Unisa brochure contains important information on the final-year (FI) concession procedure
to assist students who have one or two modules outstanding. The Directorate: Student Assessment
Administration will inform all students who qualify for an FI concession by SMS/e-mail.

For this module, FI students have the option to be referred to the next alternative assessment opportunity
or to engage in an alternative method of assessment. The alternative method of assessment for this
module will be determined by the lecturer concerned. More information on the alternative method of
assessment will be communicated directly to the qualifying students.

11 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

See Studies @ Unisa, which you received with your study material, for a list of the most frequently asked
general questions.

12 CONCLUSION

We look forward to a good working relationship with you. We would like this to be an interesting module
for you, and we hope that you will participate in myUnisa discussions.

We wish you success in your studies.

Your lecturers for MGP437U

Department of Business Management

Unisa

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ANNEXURE A: ASSIGNMENT 01

ASSIGNMENT 01: COMPULSORY ASSIGNMENT FOR 2018

DUE DATE: 18 MAY 2018 (Unique number: 852888)

Each assignment addresses a number of learning outcomes. Outcomes 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 will be assessed
in Assignment 01. The learning outcomes clearly indicate the level of thinking skill you need to demonstrate
when answering each question in the assignment. For Assignment 01, you must answer the questions in
section 1.2 below that are based on the article of Pepsi in section 1.1.

1.1 ARTICLE: PEPSI GETS A MAKEOVER

Coca-Cola once famously defined its market as “throat share”, meaning its stake in the entire liquid intake
of all humanity. Not to be outdone, Indra Nooyi, the boss of Coke’s arch-rival, PepsiCo, wants her firm to
be “seen as one of the defining companies of the first half of the 21st century”, a “model of how to conduct
business in the modern world.” More specifically, she argues that Pepsi, which makes crisps (potato chips)
and other fatty, salty snacks as well as sugary drinks, should be part of the solution, not the cause, of “one
of the world’s biggest public-health challenges, a challenge fundamentally linked to our industry: obesity.”

To that end, on March 22nd she unveiled a series of targets to improve the healthiness of Pepsi’s wares.
By 2015, the firm aims to reduce the salt in some of its biggest brands by 25%; by 2020, it hopes to reduce
the amount of added sugar in its drinks by 25% and the amount of saturated fat in certain snacks by 15%.
Pepsi also recently announced that it would have removed all its sugary drinks from schools around the
world by 2012.

Although Ms Nooyi talks about the need to “cherish” employees, and once wrote to the parents of her
senior managers thanking them for bringing up such wonderful offspring, she rejects the notion that these
goals are soft-headed or decorative. She argues that they are necessary to prevent food companies from
going the way of tobacco firms, which are perennially held accountable by governments for the health
problems associated with their products, and penalised accordingly. As it is, several countries in Europe
and various localities in America have banned trans-fats, a particularly unhealthy ingredient in much junk
food. A bill introduced earlier this month in New York’s state assembly proposes banning salt in
restaurants. Michelle Obama, America’s first lady, has launched a campaign against obesity among
children.

In the 1990s virtually all of Pepsi’s products were bad for you — or “fun for you”, as the firm likes to put it.
Under Ms Nooyi, who became boss in 2006, it has stepped up its diversification into products it calls “better
for you” and “good for you”, including fruit juices, nuts and porridge (oatmeal, to Americans). Ms Nooyi
does not see this as a case of trading profits for virtue. Instead, she insists both are possible — an idea
expressed in the firm’s syrupy motto, “Performance with purpose”.

There is no shortage of sceptics, both about the sincerity of Pepsi’s social mission and, more recently, its
performance, which was decidedly flat in 2009. Indeed, this week, at the firm’s first meeting with investment
analysts since 2006, in New York’s Yankee Stadium, Ms Nooyi admitted to a series of disappointments,
before promising that lessons had been learned and that “we won’t make the same mistakes”. As well as
being hurt by the economic downturn, Pepsi suffered from a flawed financial hedging strategy that left it
paying too much for commodities. And it has suffered from some recent marketing disasters, including a
campaign for Tropicana fruit juice that is widely regarded as one of the worst brand makeovers since Coca-
Cola launched New Coke.

Yet investors seem to be taking seriously Ms Nooyi’s claim that Pepsi’s future is bright. It helps that the
firm has raised its dividend and announced a big share buyback. Investors also seem to be reappraising
Pepsi’s decision last year to acquire the two independent firms that bottle its drinks. The deal received a
tepid reception, not least because Coca-Cola had insisted that keeping syrup-making and bottling separate

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made sense. Now, however, Coca-Cola has decided to follow Pepsi’s lead by acquiring its main bottler —
a move Ms Nooyi describes as “vindication”.

The hope is that integrating the bottling company into Pepsi will bring greater control over an increasingly
diverse drinks portfolio, and promote cross-marketing between the food and drink divisions (not something
that Coca-Cola’s acquisition will help with much, as it does not own a large snack operation). Pepsi, which
jointly markets several different brands, dubs the clout this gives it with retailers and customers “Power of
One”. The bottling acquisition should boost this tactic by ending the need to negotiate a division of the
spoils from every big deal. When Wal-Mart calls asking for a joint promotion of, say, Pepsi and Doritos, as
it did for the Super Bowl in February, Pepsi can “respond in 24 hours, instead of six weeks.

Ms Nooyi wants to take this idea further, with a strategy she snappily dubs “Power of Power of One”. By
that she means partnerships with other firms to cut the cost of procurement, or research and development.
Pepsi has already signed a supplies and ad-purchasing deal with Anheuser-Busch, a big brewer.

In the long run, much will depend on the success of Pepsi’s strategy to convince the public and regulators
that it is on the side of reducing obesity, not creating it. This strategy will have several prongs, including
reducing the amount of obviously unhealthy ingredients in its existing products, adding new healthier
products to its portfolio, promoting healthier lifestyles and trying to point the finger of blame away from how
many calories people consume to how few calories they burn. “Why aren’t we going after computer and
cable-TV companies for creating a sedentary lifestyle?” asks Ms Nooyi.

Pepsi’s growing portfolio of “good for you” products now accounts for around $10 billion in revenues (nearly
a fifth of the total). Ms Nooyi expects that figure to grow to $30 billion within ten years. The firm has been
hiring an army of experts on health to work in its research and development business, to give credibility to
its claim that it is applying science to creating products that are better for its customers. Mahmood Khan,
a British-born doctor recruited to run Pepsi’s R&D at the start of 2008, says he has been “pleasantly
surprised by how rapidly this new health agenda has been embraced.”

Pepsi already claims to be making significant progress in making its “fun-for-you products better for you”
by voluntarily removing trans-fats long before it was required to do so, and reducing the amount of sugar,
fat and salt. There is now less salt in a packet of crisps, claims Dr Khan, than in a slice of white bread.

Quaker, which makes porridge, cereal, cereal bars and rice crackers, is Pepsi’s leading healthy brand.
Pepsi hopes to use its expertise in product design and packaging to make these goods more enticing,
especially to children at breakfast time. It is already testing oatmeal drinks and biscuits, as well as new
flavours of porridge. Quaker Oats packaging will also get a more contemporary look, although the black-
hatted Quaker mascot will survive. “Our goal”, says Ms Nooyi, in typically forthright style, “is to rewrite the
rules of breakfast”.

There is no doubting the seriousness of Ms Nooyi’s drive to increase Pepsi’s sales of healthy products.
But it will not be easy to push them without undermining sales of its other, less wholesome wares or
appearing to nanny its customers. Moreover, politicians and public-health campaigners may not regard
selling more healthy products, while continuing to profit handsomely from unhealthy ones, as the best way
to tackle obesity.

Adapted from: http://www.economist.com/business-

finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15772138&source=hptextfeature, accessed 30 March 2017)

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1.2 ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS

Note that the article is applicable to question 1, 2 and 3 only.

QUESTION 1

Comment on how forces in the macro and market environment impacts on the decision-making at Pepsi.
Make use of examples to support your arguments. (10)

QUESTION 2

Would you describe the decision-making at Pepsi as socially responsible? Make use of examples from the
case study to support your discussion or arguments. (5)

QUESTION 3

Discuss the importance of planning by making specific reference to the eight tasks in the strategic planning
process. Make use of examples from the case study to support your discussion. (15)

QUESTION 4

Discuss how the generic competitive strategies model can be used to develop business-level strategies.
Make use of appropriate organizational context examples and indicate the type/s of business level strategy
used within this organization. (10)

QUESTION 5

Define management and explain the scope of management within an organization. (5)

[45]

Table of contents and headings are used 1

Sources are acknowledged/Correct referencing technique is used 1
Technical aspects Bibliography included 1
Introduction included 1
Conclusion included 1

[5]

TOTAL: [50]

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ANNEXURE B: ASSIGNMENT 02

ASSIGNMENT 02: COMPULSORY ASSIGNMENT FOR 2018

DUE DATE: 20 JULY 2018 (Unique number: 746417)

Each assignment addresses a number of learning outcomes. Outcomes 6, 7, 8 and 9 will be assessed in
Assignment 02. The learning outcomes clearly indicate the level of thinking skill you need to demonstrate
when answering each question in the assignment. For Assignment 02, you must answer the questions in
section 1.2 below that are based on the Kellogg article section 1.1.

1.1 ARTICLE: MOTIVATION OF STAFF AT KELLOGG”

People spend a considerable part of their lives at work, so it is not surprising that they expect to be
rewarded and satisfied with the job that they do. Motivation is concerned with why people do things as well
as what drives them to behave in a particular way. Understanding what motivates individuals is important
in the workplace. Research suggests that motivated employees are happier at work. They get more
satisfaction from their work, are absent less often, tend to be more loyal and work with more enthusiasm.
This in turn encourages them to contribute more to the development of an organisation. This case study
focuses on how Kellogg’s motivates its people. It illustrates how the use of motivational techniques helps
to develop the business as a ‘great place to work’.

The Kellogg Company is the world’s leading producer of breakfast cereals. Its products are manufactured
in 18 countries and sold in more than 180 countries. For more than 100 years, Kellogg’s has been a leader
in health and nutrition. It has done this by providing consumers with a wide variety of food products. Within
Kellogg’s, there is a variety of functions and work roles. These include engineering operatives in the
manufacturing section. Others work in finance, marketing, sales, information technology or human
resources. Keeping everybody motivated no matter what their role is not easy. Kellogg’s was recently
placed in the top 100 of the Best Companies to Work For list in The Sunday Times.

Kellogg’s values and culture support its role as a good employer. Encouraging everyone to live by the K-
Values throughout the whole business creates a culture of people that have ownership over their own
projects and strive for continuous improvement and industry-leading results. These values influence the
behaviour of individuals within the workplace, making Kellogg’s a positive place to work. Employees are
encouraged to speak positively about each other when apart, focusing on their strengths. This involves
listening to others and accepting their right to their own views regarding the workplace. The benefits of
Kellogg’s investing in people can best be illustrated by looking at the work of some of the theorists who
have worked on motivation. The remainder of the case study shows how Kellogg’s commitment to creating
a ‘great place to work’ is supported by these theories.

Frederick Taylor

Frederick Taylor was associated with what has become known as ‘scientific management’. Taylor believed
that monetary reward was an important motivating factor. Pay could simply be used to increase rates of
output. Taylor’s view of motivation applies to people who tend to work within narrow job confines such as
on a production line. These are people who can be paid according to the amount of work that they do or
units they produce. This is known as ‘piece work’. For many people pay is still a prime motivator. For
example, within Kellogg’s many employees are motivated by cash alternatives which include the
opportunity to buy and sell their holiday days. Taylor’s theory breaks down jobs into components or
specialist tasks through the division of labour. This especially applies to production processes within large
companies like Kellogg’s. These rewards can help to increase productivity and profitability. The danger
with this is that individuals are simply focused on output to get rewards so quality might suffer as a result
of employees rushing to do the job.

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Limitations of scientific management

Scientific management is not a process that allows development of people. It limits their ability to take
ownership of what they do. Kellogg’s staff are encouraged to be creative and use their imagination to
contribute towards change. Consequently, Taylor’s view of monetary reward for output is not appropriate
for the motivation required for this type of workplace.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

Maslow’s theory relates motivation to a hierarchy of needs. At the bottom are essential physiological needs
such as air, food, shelter and clothing. As individuals satisfy one level of need, their motivations change
as they aspire to reach the higher order needs. Therefore, to motivate an individual Maslow suggests that
it is necessary to know where within the hierarchy each employee is placed so that these factors can be
taken into account. Within Kellogg’s every employee is motivated to work through each of these levels. As
they do so, this provides positive effects for each employee and the organisation. For example:

Physiological needs – Kellogg’s offers competitive salaries. This gives people the means to acquire the
basic needs for living. The Kellogg’s Cornflex flexible benefits programme allows employees to choose
those benefits that suit them. This includes childcare vouchers, cash alternatives to company cars and
discounted life assurance schemes. These savings and competitive salaries help workers’ pay go further
and so motivate them to be loyal to the company.

Safety needs – Kellogg’s values the safety of all employees. The company is committed to providing a
safe and healthy work environment to prevent accidents. Employees are however accountable – that
means they have to take responsibility for observing the health and safety rules and practices. Kellogg’s
also offers employees a range of working patterns. Some may want to work part-time, others may want
career breaks or undertake homeworking. This helps employees to choose the best option for a healthy
work-life balance.

Social needs – These are associated with a feeling of belonging. Kellogg’s operates weekly group
‘huddles’. These provide informal opportunities for employees to receive and request information on any
part of the business, including sales data and company products. This helps strengthen teams and
enhances workers’ sense of belonging. Having an open approach to communication keeps everybody
focused on the company’s aims helps individuals contribute to the company’s K-Values. They include
values such as being positive, seeing the best in people and recognising diversity. Kellogg’s positively
recognises and rewards staff achievements.

Self-actualisation – Kellogg’s provides employees with the opportunity to take on challenging and
stimulating responsibilities. For example, the business provides the opportunity for individuals to take
ownership of projects. This enables them to develop and improve.

Laura Bryant joined Kellogg’s straight after university in 2002. She joined the Field Sales team initially.
This involved visiting five to ten supermarkets a day to develop relationships at a local level. After two
years her hard work was rewarded and she was promoted to Customer Marketing Manager at Head Office.
This helped to raise her profile as she wanted to move into marketing. With support from her manager,
Laura made the transition from Sales to Marketing as Assistant Brand Manager on Rice Krispies and
Frosties. In 2009 she was promoted again to manage the marketing plan for Special K and she is now
Brand Manager for Kellogg’s Cornflakes. The company has helped motivate her to climb the hierarchy of
needs and achieve her career ambitions.

Elton Mayo

Elton Mayo was the founder of the Human Relations Movement. His experiments were conducted at the
Hawthorne plant in the USA during the 1930s. His work showed that taking an interest in and caring for
employees can have a positive effect on employee motivation and productivity. He showed that employees
were best motivated if they worked in teams. They were also motivated if managers communicated and
consulted with them more and took a greater interest in their views and wellbeing.

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Communication

Kellogg’s keeps a two-way dialogue with employees through its communication programmes. This helps
to empower the workforce. For example, its open-plan lobby area with coffee bar accommodates as many
as 200 people. It provides an informal venue for briefings and presentations. The WK Kellogg Values
Awards programme provides special recognition for what employees do and rewards them for how they
perform.

‘Here at Kellogg’s listening is a central premise of the way we work. We believe that our employees have
some of the best ideas and that a successful company is one that listens to the grass roots feedback and
acts on it. Any employee can raise an issue or a suggestion via their rep who will raise it at one of their
monthly meetings.’ (Sue Platt, HR Director)

Generating ideas

The Kellogg’s suggestion box scheme helps to generate ideas and improve productivity. Kellogg’s has an
initiative called ‘Snap, Crackle and Save’ – an employee suggestion scheme to save costs within the
supply chain. Hundreds of ideas have been put forward over the last couple of years. One idea suggested
that the same thickness of cardboard could be used for packaging in all manufacturing plants in Europe.
This saved around £250,000 per year. Kellogg’s also shows its commitment to making its business a great
place to work. It provides personal development planning for employees which includes provisions such
as secondments and study leave as part of staff development. This reinforces staff commitment and their
sense of being treated well.

Herzberg

Herzberg felt that satisfied employees would be productive employees. Herzberg’s theory is sometimes
called the two-factor theory. These factors are hygiene factors and motivators.

Hygiene factors are often referred to as ‘dissatisfiers’. These are elements in the workplace that could
make employees unhappy, such as excessive company bureaucracy or an autocratic working
environment. Herzberg motivators (sometimes called ‘satisfiers’) are aspects of any workplace that give
individuals job satisfaction. These include, for example, the level of responsibility of the job, promotion or
recognition for effort and performance. Herzberg believed that businesses needed to ensure hygiene
factors were minimised in order to enable motivators to have their full effect.

Motivating factors

Kellogg’s has developed a number of motivating factors. These are designed to ensure that Kellogg’s is
perceived as a good place to work and a desirable employer of choice. For example, Kellogg’s has a ‘Fit
for Life’ programme offering employees access to fitness centres, free health checks and annual fitness
assessments by healthcare specialists every spring. It also provides a ‘summer hours’ programme from
May to September so if employees have worked a full week’s hours by noon on a Friday, they can finish
work at that point. This means employees can adjust their working hours to balance their work against
family or lifestyle commitments.

Awareness of motivating factors helps Kellogg’s to build a business that delivers consistently strong
results. Other initiatives within the organisation include:

 flexitime, home working, part-time working and job sharing

 career breaks, parental leave, time off for dependents and maternity and paternity leave
 on-site gyms or subsidised access to local facilities.

Claire Duckworth works in the Consumer Insight team at Kellogg’s. She takes part in Latin American
ballroom dancing competitively with her partner. They are ranked 7th in England in the over-35 category.
Flexible working at Kellogg’s enables her to travel to events and provides her with the opportunity to pursue
her hobby at a serious level. This opportunity to adjust her working life to accommodate her personal
ambitions makes Claire feel respected and supported.

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Motivators within the Kellogg’s company reflect the different personal aspirations of staff. The working
environment provides the opportunity to move forward and take on responsibilities. There is clear
recognition and reward for performance. For example, the Kellogg’s sales team meets every Friday
morning to share success stories of the week. Once a month it recognises individuals that have worked
above and beyond the K-Values. Winners receive a range of awards ranging from cash prizes, vouchers
or holiday entitlements.

Conclusion

This case study illustrates the range of different motivation measures in practice at Kellogg’s. It
demonstrates that highly motivated employees can improve efficiency, output and quality for a business.
Motivating staff helps to make them more committed to the workplace. By understanding the effects of
different motivation techniques, Kellogg’s is able to make work a more exciting and interesting experience
for employees whilst creating a more productive, profitable and competitive business.
Source adapted from: http://www.qbd-sa.com/case-study-kellogs-motivation-of-staff/ Accessed: 01 July 2013.

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1.2 ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS

Note that the article is applicable to question 1 and 2 only.

QUESTION 1

Compare and contrast four differenttheories for undertanding staff motivation.. Make use of examples from
the case study to support your discussion. (10)

QUESTION 2

Discuss how to enhance the motivation of staff in an organisation. Make use of examples from the case
study and world of work examples. (10)

QUESTION 3

Discuss organisational design with specific reference to the factors that affect centralisation and
decentralisation of an organisation. Make use of appropriate organisational context examples to support
your discussion. (10)

QUESTION 4

Use Hersey Blanchard’s situational leadership model of leadership, to explain leadership from a
contingency perspective. Make use of appropriate organisational context examples to support your
discussion. (10)

QUESTION 5

Discuss the criteria managers can use to evaluate if the control measures they have designed are effective.
(5)

[45]

Table of contents and headings are used 1

Sources are acknowledged/Correct referencing technique is used 1
Technical aspects Bibliography included 1
Introduction included 1
Conclusion included 1

[5]

TOTAL: [45]

©
UNISA 2018

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