GERMAN ENGINEERING German Engineering is an aluminium extrusion plant specialising in the design and manufacturing of modular items used in shop fitting. The organisation is in the hands of the third Gassner generation. Most of the management positions are occupied by a range of family members including aunts, uncles and cousins. The staff complement is 300. Additional staff are brought in on a contract basis during the organisation’s peak times. The organisation also emphasises the need for employees to be skilled across a range of jobs. This is done so that when certain sections are quiet while others are busy, the employees can be moved to where the need is the greatest. The owner’s wife assumes the role of matriarch and demands that all the employees refer to her as mom. Employees are referred to as family and the approach to management is one of ‘the owners know best’. The owners have kept trade unions out of the business by maintaining above average remuneration packages. Unbeknownst to the owners, NUMSA had embarked on a strong recruitment drive amongst their employees. At this stage, NUMSA had 125 of the employees as members. As the owners considered the employees to be family, the view from management was that the employment relationship was concluded of the basis of a handshake. Not a single employee has a written contract of employment. The following general conditions apply to employees: Hours of work 08:00 to 17:00; All employees take lunch between 13:00 and 13:30; Annual leave is taken during the company’s shutdown period, the last two weeks in December and the first two weeks in January. Leave days vary according to when the four weeks start and end. The leave period for 2017/2018 has been scheduled for 18 December 2017 to 12 January 2018; Sick leave is set at 10 days a calendar year. Any sick days not taken in a year are forfeited; Family responsibility leave is set at five days per calendar year. Any family responsibility days not taken in a year are forfeited; Maternity leave is on full pay and is set at six months for one child only. Employees who fall pregnant for a second time during their employment with the organisation are expected to resign; Paternity leave is on full pay and is set at two weeks for one child only. Assume the position of a newly appointed Human Resource Manager at German Engineering and address the issues raised in the questions below. Question 1 Three traditional approaches to labour relations can be identified. Identify, and describe in detail the approach that is prevalent in German Engineering. Support your answer with examples from the text.
Critical Path Method
The critical path is the longest succession of tasks that has to be successfully completed to conclude a project entirely. The tasks involved in the sequence are called critical activities, as any task getting delayed will result in the whole project getting delayed. To determine the time duration of a project, the critical path has to be identified. The critical path method or CPM is used by project managers to evaluate the least amount of time required to finish each task with the least amount of delay.
Cost Analysis
The entire idea of cost of production or definition of production cost is applied corresponding or we can say that it is related to investment or money cost. Money cost or investment refers to any money expenditure which the firm or supplier or producer undertakes in purchasing or hiring factor of production or factor services.
Inventory Management
Inventory management is the process or system of handling all the goods that an organization owns. In simpler terms, inventory management deals with how a company orders, stores, and uses its goods.
Project Management
Project Management is all about management and optimum utilization of the resources in the best possible manner to develop the software as per the requirement of the client. Here the Project refers to the development of software to meet the end objective of the client by providing the required product or service within a specified Period of time and ensuring high quality. This can be done by managing all the available resources. In short, it can be defined as an application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to meet the objective of the Project. It is the duty of a Project Manager to achieve the objective of the Project as per the specifications given by the client.
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GERMAN ENGINEERING German Engineering is an aluminium extrusion plant specialising in the design and manufacturing of modular items used in shop fitting. The organisation is in the hands of the third Gassner generation. Most of the management positions are occupied by a range of family members including aunts, uncles and cousins. The staff complement is 300. Additional staff are brought in on a contract basis during the organisation’s peak times. The organisation also emphasises the need for employees to be skilled across a range of jobs. This is done so that when certain sections are quiet while others are busy, the employees can be moved to where the need is the greatest. The owner’s wife assumes the role of matriarch and demands that all the employees refer to her as mom. Employees are referred to as family and the approach to management is one of ‘the owners know best’. The owners have kept trade unions out of the business by maintaining above average remuneration packages. Unbeknownst to the owners, NUMSA had embarked on a strong recruitment drive amongst their employees. At this stage, NUMSA had 125 of the employees as members. As the owners considered the employees to be family, the view from management was that the employment relationship was concluded of the basis of a handshake. Not a single employee has a written contract of employment. The following general conditions apply to employees: Hours of work 08:00 to 17:00; All employees take lunch between 13:00 and 13:30; Annual leave is taken during the company’s shutdown period, the last two weeks in December and the first two weeks in January. Leave days vary according to when the four weeks start and end. The leave period for 2017/2018 has been scheduled for 18 December 2017 to 12 January 2018;
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Sick leave is set at 10 days a calendar year. Any sick days not taken in a year are forfeited; Family responsibility leave is set at five days per calendar year. Any family responsibility days not taken in a year are forfeited; Maternity leave is on full pay and is set at six months for one child only. Employees who fall pregnant for a second time during their employment with the organisation are expected to resign; Paternity leave is on full pay and is set at two weeks for one child only. Assume the position of a newly appointed Human Resource Manager at German Engineering and address the issues raised in the questions below. |
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Question 1 |
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Three traditional approaches to labour relations can be identified. Identify, and describe in detail the approach that is prevalent in German Engineering. Support your answer with examples from the text. |
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Question 2 |
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NUMSA had served notice on German Engineering indicating their demands for all the organisational rights as per the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 (LRA). The owners of the business, in turn demanded that all the employees who had joined the union be identified and dismissed. Write a memorandum to the owners explaining the impact of the Constitution of South Africa, 1996, on Labour Relations in South Africa, particularly why they cannot dismiss the employees who had joined NUMSA. |
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Question 3 |
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Discuss how to determine whether a person is an employee or an independent contractor. |
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Question 4 |
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The owners of the business are under the impression that as the employees had not signed contracts of employment, no such contract therefore existed between the employees and organisation. Write a memorandum to the owners explaining the following • Whether or not a contract of employment existed • Which of the conditions would be considered legal and which conditions not (Use the Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997 (BCEA) (and any amendments) as the framework to your discussion). Identify the reason for the legality/illegality and propose a remedy where the BCEA is not adhered to.
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Question 5 |
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A broad definition of • all those who are willing and able to work, but who cannot find work, those who find only partial work and those who have given up looking for work. Write a essay explaining the difference between the various categories of unemployment. |
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Question 6 |
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Rumours about the possible dismissal of those employees who had joined NUMSA spread like wildfire through the organisation. Sandile Ngubane, one of the employees, hoping one day to become a shop steward, called a meeting of all the union members. After sharing the rumour, he accused the organisation of bad faith bargaining and called for all the employees to go out on strike action. All of the NUMSA members left the property immediately, dancing and shouting slogans. As the employees were leaving the premises, Sandile Ngubane broke away from the main group. It was subsequently seen on the security CCTV footage that he had in fact set the owners’ vehicle on fire. The damage caused by the fire was in excess of R600 000 00. Advise the owners on the steps to take in order to deal with Sandile Ngubane’s actions. |
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Discuss the impact of labour unions in labour relation within the South African context.
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