Refer to Table 1. Calculate for 2020: labour turnover

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2021). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [1] (a)(i) (Number of employees leaving / average number of employees) × 100
2. [2] (a)(i) 2020 labour turnover = 12 / 40 × 100
3. [3] (a)(i) 30% OR 30
4. [2] (a)(i) 2019 labour turnover = 20% OR 20 (Other answers - likely error for 2019 data)
5. [1] (a)(ii) Labour productivity = Annual output / Employees
6. [1] (a)(ii) Annual output = 6000 × 12 = 72 000
7. [2] (a)(ii) 2020 labour productivity = 72 000 / 40
8. [3] (a)(ii) = 1800
9. [1] (a)(ii) Monthly labour productivity = 6000/40
10. [2] (a)(ii) = 150
11. [3] (a)(ii) 150 × 12 = 1800
12. [1] (b) Identification of role of HRM and objectives (Recruitment & selection, Appraisal of employees, Workforce planning, Training)
13. [1] (b) Distinction between hard and soft HRM
14. [1] (b) Hard HRM: treating employees as a cost, autocratic leadership.
15. [1] (b) Soft HRM: focus on training and development, democratic style of leadership, empowerment.
16. [1] (b) Knowledge of Taylor, Mayo and Herzberg et al and approaches to managing human resources.
17. [1] (b) Knowledge of measuring effectiveness such as absenteeism rates and labour turnover.
18. [1] (b) Productivity has decreased by 200 scooters per employee.
19. [1] (b) Labour turnover has increased from 20% to 30%.
20. [1] (b) Lack of flexibility in shift patterns.
21. [1] (b) Weekly production targets given.
22. [1] (b) No union allowed to negotiate on behalf of employees.
23. [1] (b) Absenteeism has increased. Total days lost in 2020 is 320.
24. [1] (b) Link to use of quality control inspectors and the battery fires.
25. [1] (b) Training in one specific skill.
26. [1] (b) Hard approach to managing employees may negatively impact Inolla: Alienate some employees and this may explain why labour turnover has increased.
27. [1] (b) Increased labour turnover may disrupt production, and this could be why productivity has fallen.
28. [1] (b) New employees take time to recruit and train and therefore this reduces productivity and increases unit costs.
29. [1] (b) Failure to recognise union could cause conflict with employees resulting in disruption to production. This could affect customer satisfaction and therefore sales could decrease.
30. [1] (b) Unions could be used to drive productivity agreements and thus reduce costs.
31. [1] (b) Unions could provide a means of communicating effectively with employees and this helps achieve objectives such as increasing productivity.
32. [1] (b) More extensive training could make employees more flexible and therefore Inolla could be more responsive to customer demands.
33. [1] (b) Empowering employees may increase motivation and may help assure quality, improving Inolla's brand reputation and increasing sales.
34. [1] (b) Training in one specific skill may impact flexibility of workforce.
35. [1] (b) Benefits of hard HRM may include: Controls costs by only paying minimum wage which increases Inolla's competitiveness.
36. [1] (b) Recognising trade union could drive up costs making the electric scooters more expensive or reducing profit margins.
37. [1] (b) Minimises training costs leaving more cash available for alternative uses such as marketing.
38. [1] (b) Some employees will respond positively to being given direct orders and supervision increasing.
39. [1] (b) Better control of employees as more closely supervised.
40. [1] (b) Decisions may be made more quickly making Inolla more responsive to changes.
41. [1] (b) Given the economic situation, employees can easily find other employment so this would suggest that Inolla should take a softer approach to human resource.
42. [1] (b) Premium prices require a product that meets quality standards. Will a hard approach ensure this cost effectively as quality inspectors required and employees not given responsibility?
43. [1] (b) Extent to which hard approach reduces costs and importance of controlling costs to competitiveness.
44. [1] (b) Other factors that might have contributed to the declining workforce performance. Is Li-chun correct in terms of cause and effect?
45. [1] (b) Is it Neten that is the problem rather than the hard approach.
46. [1] (b) Is labour turnover due to economic growth providing more opportunities for workers.