Refer to Table 1.1. Calculate annual labour productivity for 2023.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Oct/Nov 2024). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [1] Labour productivity = 60 000 / 8 = 7500 (units)
2. Do not accept $7500
3. [3] Correct answer 1.7021% OR 1.7%
4. [2] Correct equation AND total number of workdays (32/1880 × 100)
5. [2] Correct equation and days absence per employee (4/235 × 100)
6. [2] OFR based on incorrect number of total days (32/235 × 100 = 13.62% OR 13.6% OR 14% (Allow 13.61%))
7. [1] Total number of workdays (8 x 235 = 1880)
8. [1] Days of absence per employee (32/8 = 4)
9. [1] Correct equation (Rate of absenteeism = number of days of employee absence / total number of workdays × 100 OR Rate of absenteeism = average number of days per employee absent / work days per employee × 100)
10. [K] Knowledge of hard and/or soft approaches to HRM.
11. [K] Hard - focus on cutting costs.
12. [K] Soft - focus on developing workers.
13. [K] Benefits of HCC approach: Increased motivation of workers.
14. [K] Benefits of HCC approach: Reduced labour turnover.
15. [K] Benefits of HCC approach: More satisfied workers.
16. [K] Disadvantages of approach: Higher labour costs.
17. [K] Disadvantages of approach: Slows decision making.
18. [APP] HCC takes a soft approach to management of HR.
19. [APP] Use of quality circles.
20. [APP] Negotiation of targets.
21. [APP] Investment in training (5 days per employee per year) and facilities (new canteen and rest room).
22. [APP] Good pay.
23. [APP] Discusses plans with employees.
24. [APP] Reviews employee satisfaction regularly.
25. [AN] HCC's soft approach managing human resources will result in a satisfied workforce will reduce labour turnover and therefore costs of recruitment resulting in HCC being more competitive in the market.
26. [AN] Productivity has increased which could result in lower unit costs and more competitive pricing.
27. [AN] Low rate of absenteeism due to satisfied workforce will increase efficiency.
28. [AN] Good pay and better working conditions result in higher costs and decrease competitiveness of HCC so could lose sales to CA.
29. [AN] May be difficult for HCC to respond to market changes because of time spent consulting employees therefore losing competitive advantage.
30. [EVAL] A judgement about HCC's approach to HRM.
31. [EVAL] Evaluation of the relative importance of different advantages/disadvantages of HCC's approach to HRM.
32. [EVAL] Elements that the evaluation/judgement might depend on – financial cost to HCC of its soft approach to HRM, impact on motivation and productivity of employees, impact on quality of HCC's products and link to customer satisfaction, ethical considerations given that HCC operates as a social enterprise, significance of profit v other objectives.
33. [EVAL] HCC faces increased competition and therefore needs to control costs to remain competitive as customers have low incomes so price will be a significant factor in customer purchasing decisions.
34. [EVAL] In the short term a soft HRM approach will be more costly to the business, for example spending $500 000 on new staff facilities may prevent them from investing in new products.
35. [EVAL] In the longer term, maintaining a satisfied workforce should keep absenteeism below the industry average of 5% which allows production to continue, and therefore meeting the targets set for production.
36. [EVAL] Overall, as a social enterprise HCC is not primarily concerned with profit and the treatment of workers may be more important to Abeba than profit.