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Strategic Human Resources Management(Hrmg 432 Question Paper
Strategic Human Resources Management(Hrmg 432
Course:Business Administration
Institution: Kenya Methodist University question papers
Exam Year:2011
TIME : 2 HOURS
INSTRUCTIONS Answer Question ONE and any Other TWO Questions
MBUNDES CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL
Mbunde’s Children’s Hospital (MCH) is a highly successful but small stand-alone unit within the Mbunde’s Foundation Hospitals Trust (MFHT). It operates from its own site five miles from the main city hospital. The future of MCH is uncertain. There is a strong chance that in three years time it will be merged with the children’s acute ward in the city hospital. the MFHT believes that bringing all children’s services onto one site would reduce overheads and enable more effective use of flexible staffing. Given recent overspends on the MFHT overall budget such economies are highly favoured. However, the success of the unit has enabled its management to defend it so far against merger plans. It has recently won a national award as the most welcoming unit of its type and has a national reputation of excellence in service provision. Recent charges in patient referral policy and choice have resulted in huge increases in the number of parents seeking to have their children admitted to MCH for elective care. As a result, MFHT is reluctant to press ahead with a move that would be financially sound but hugely damaging to its public, both local and national pressure groups have been campaigning strongly and noisily for the retention of the separate children’s hospital. Even though no decision is imminent, it is inevitable that there will be appeals whatever the decision. Meanwhile funding remains deficient and the uncertainty over the unit’s future casts a cloud over day-to-day operations. As a result, staffing MCH is increasingly challenging and morale is falling.
MCH has a high labour turnover. It is a pressured and emotional environment and many staff find dealing with sick children is too hard for them for any length of time. The lack of clarity over the hospital’s future is lowering morale within. The local labour market this is well known, making it an unattractive place to consider working. As a result there are significant number of permanently unfilled vacancies and an increasing use of agency staff across all areas of the hospitals provision.
The hospital lost its consultant paediatrician and its senior nurse manager within the space of six weeks. Neither of these resignations was foreseen and both occurred for reasons unrelated to the hospital and its difficulties. In general, staffs were very sorry to see them leave and each has left a large hole behind.
MCH general management needs to decide on a way forward and make a decision about whether and how to replace these two significant roles. Without appropriate leadership on both the medical and the nursing side, it is anticipated that morale will fall further, and this will give MFHT the ideal excuse to go ahead with the merger. On the positive side, the performance figures for MCH are spectacular and it is widely respected as providing an excellent service to both patients and their families.
Question 1
a) Show by illustrating from the case strategic HRM resourcing contributions in this period of uncertainty and change. (10marks)
b) From the case above, discuss how managers and staff can be supported to be competent in decision making and maintaining momentum and effort in the face of change. (10marks) c) By examples show the steps you would take to fill the available roles within MCH. (10marks)
Question 2
You have been recruited to work as a HR manager in an organization that has experienced considerable conflict over recent years. On your first day of employment the employees are just returning after two days of industrial action. Bring out and illustrate the actions you will take to improve the relationships between the employees and the management. (20marks)
Question 3
“The resource – based view of the firm points to sources of ‘human resources advantage’ in exceptional human capital and outstanding human processes. It helps to place emphasis not only on implementing predermined competitive scenarios but on building strategic capability, improving the long term resilience of the firm”. Discuss this view. (20marks)
Question 4
Discuss and illustrate by example the contribution of a high-performance work system towards an organization’s performance. (20marks)
Question 5
Explain the meaning of ‘Engaged Employee’ and identify the specific engagement strategies an organization ought to put in place for its valued asset ‘people’. (20marks)
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