Business roles + Management/securites/insurance

Examples of ethical behaviour

The business is telling the truth during a public relations crisis to overcome the issues they are facing.

Businesses do not make use of child labour.

The business operates within the law and other restrictions.

Examples of unethical behaviour

Engaging in price-fixing to force smaller competitors out of business.

Deliberately falsifying information on tax returns.

Using bait and switch or false advertising tactics to lure customers in or convince them to buy a product.

Examples of professional behaviour

Treating all colleagues and clients the same.

Using polite language with colleagues and clients.

Exercising reasonable work morale and self-motivation

Examples of unprofessional behaviour

Unauthorised use of business resources.

Being unprepared for assignments or tasks.

Giving some people special favours.

Overstating the number of hours worked

ethical behaviour vs professional behaviour

Ethical behaviour	Professional behaviour
Refers to the principles of right and wrong in society.	Refers to what is right/wrong/acceptable in a business
Conforms to a set of values that are morally acceptable.	Set of standards of expected behaviour.
Forms part of a code of conduct to guide employees to act ethically	Applying a code of conduct of a profession or business.

Transparency

Decisions/actions must be clear to all stakeholders.

Staffing and other processes should be open and transparent.

Directors should be aware of the employment policies of the business.

Accountability

Businesses should be accountable/responsible for their decisions/actions.

There must be regular communication between management and stakeholders.

Businesses should present accurate annual reports to shareholders at the AGM.

Responsibility

The business should develop and implement programmes that should be aimed at protecting the communities in which they operate.

Ways in which professional, responsible, ethical and effective business practice should be conducted

Business directions and actions must be clear to all stakeholders.

There must be ongoing development and training for all employees of the business.

Performance management systems should be in place to motivate employees of the business.

There must be adequate internal controls/monitoring/evaluation to ensure accountability of the business.

Types of unethical business practices

Unfair advertising

Pricing of goods in rural areas

Taxation

Challenges posed by unfair advertising

Deceptive advertising can violate the trust of consumers and destroy business relationships.

Unfair advertisements could negatively affect consumers.

Businesses can make unwise advertising choices when they are under pressure to increase their profits.

Businesses posed by pricing of goods in rural areas

Some businesses in rural areas exploit their customers by inflating their prices, and this could lead to disloyalty from their customers.

Businesses may experience decline in sales due to high cost added into the price of the final product.

Businesses may form monopolies in rural areas and increase their prices unilaterally which may result in heavy fines.

Challenges posed by taxation

Businesses may pay heavy fines for evading tax.

Tax evasion may negatively impact on the business image.

The accountant may be charged high fees for falsifying financial statements.

Dealing with unfair advertising

Advertisements should be honest/legal and not abuse consumer’s trust/lack of knowledge.

Businesses should be encouraged to keep their advertising fair and in line with the constitution.

Businesses must report unfair advertisements by competitors to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA)

Dealing with pricing of goods in rural areas

A business may lobby with other businesses in the area to convince the government to improve infrastructure in the rural area.

Businesses must charge fair/market-related prices for goods and services.

The businesses must work together with suppliers to share delivery costs to remote rural areas.

Dealing with taxation

Value Added Tax needs to be charged on VAT-able items.

Submit the correct tax returns to SARS on time

Make sure that all financial records are checked and audited.

The types of unproffessional business practices

Sexual harrassment

Unauthorized use of workplace funds and resources

Abuse of worktime

Challenges posed by sexual harrassment

The affected party is normally reluctant to report the incident because of the fear of victimisation.

The business can lose workers because they do not feel safe in the business.

Sometimes the victim prefers to stay away from work and the business loses productivity.

Challenges posed by unauthorised use of workplace funds and resources

It may affect the competitiveness of the business.

Fraud increases the cost of doing business.

It could discourage customers when prices are increased to absorb the losses.

Challenges posed by abuse of worktime

Abuse of work time decreases productivity and causes businesses to lose profits.

Businesses can also lose customers and not meet work deadlines.

Time is money, therefore, a loss of work time affects the profits of the business.

Ways in which businesses could deal with unprofessional business practices (sexual harrassment)

Dealing with sexual harrassment:

Businesses must ensure that they comply with the law/business code of conduct

Every business must implement internal complaints and disciplinary procedures.

They must educate employers on sexual harrassment matters

Dealing with unauthorised use of workplace funds and resources

The business must conduct regular audits.

They must identify risk areas.

The business must implement fraud prevention strategies.

Dealing with abuse of work time

Speak directly to those employees who abuse work time.

The Code of Conduct should contain clear rules about the abuse of work time.

The code of conduct should be signed by all employees so that they are aware of its contents.

Differences between decision making and problem solving

Decision-making	Problem-solving
Decision-making is often done by one person/senior management. This makes decision-making more authoritative.	Problems can be solved by a group/team or an individual team member. This makes problem-solving more inclusive.
The person will consider various alternatives before deciding on the best one.	The group will generate various solutions and then critically evaluate each one.

Steps in problem solving

1. Identify the problem -Acknowledge that there is problem before it can be solved.

2. Define the problem - Define all the possible causes of the problem.

3. Identify alternative solutions - Decide what seems to be the best solution to the problem

4. Evaluate alternative solutions - Consider the advantages and disadvantages of each alternative solution.

5. Choose the best solution - The best solution should match the size and the resources of the business.

6. Develop an action plan - Establish a timeline for implementation and set deadlines

7. Implement the action plan- Carry out the planned actions to solve the problem.

8. Evaluate the solution/action plan - Assess whether the problem has been solved partially or entirely.

Ways in which the business can apply the delphi technique

The business must invite a panel of experts to research the challenge/s it might be facing

Experts do not have to be in place and will be contacted individually.

The experts will then be requested to send individual responses to the questionnaire.

The business then needs to summarise the responses from the experts using a feedback report.

Impact of delphi technique

Businesses may use a group of experts without bringing them together.

Conflict may be avoided especially if all experts are knowledgeable and well qualified.

It is expensive to use because of its high administration costs.

Not all experts are willing or interested to give feedback or to complete questionnaires.

Ways in which the business can apply force field analysis

List all pros and cons that will support and resist change

Allocate a score to each force using a numerical scale, where 1 is weak and 5 is strong.

Weigh up the positives and negatives then decide if the project is viable

Choose the force with the highest score as the solution.

Identify priorities and develop an action plan.

Impact of force field

It provides a visual summary of all the factors supporting and opposing a particular idea.

Employees feel included and are able to understand where the business is going.

It enables businesses to strengthen driving forces and weaken restraining forces.

Requires the participation of all business units.

ways in which the business can apply the brainstorming technique

The business must define the problem clearly so that all participants understand it.

The group must set a time limit for each brainstorming session.

Each suggestion must be made to inspire new thoughts or ideas from other group members.

Impact of brainstorming

Creativity may lead to new inventions, which may improve the general standard of living.

Managers will be better leaders because they will be able to manage change creatively.

Productivity increases if the business generates ideas that use time and money more effectively.

Discussion may result in conflict because of differences in opinions.

Some employees fear criticism, and this may prevent full participation in brainstorming sessions.

Ways in which the business can apply the nominal group technique

If the group is too big it must be split into smaller groups.

Employees are then encouraged to ask clarity-seeking questions.

The next step is to eliminate any duplicate or similar ideas.

impact of the nominal group technique

It provides time to think about the question in silence before responding.

Voting on the ideas is anonymous and may be more reliable

Strong technique for preventing conformity to group pressure.

It is time-consuming as every member has to make a presentation.

Ways in which businesses can create and environment that promotes creative thinking in the workplace

Encourage all staff members to develop new or unique ideas.

Introduce incentives for staff members who came up with useful creative ideas.

Train staff members on innovative techniques like mind mapping

Make sure that the working environment is free from distractions like high noise levels.

Advantages of creative thinking in the workplace

Better, unique or unconventional ideas and solutions are generated.

Complex business problems may be solved.

Improves motivation amongst staff members.

Management and employees may keep up with fast-changing technology.

Criteria for successful team performance

Interpersonal attitudes and behaviour

Shared values and support

Communication

Collaboration

Interpersonal attitudes and behaviour

Team members work together passionately to achieve a common goal.

Members have a positive attitude of support and motivation towards each other.

Shared values and support

Team members respect one another despite differences that may exist among the team.

The experiences/skills of other team members are acknowledged.

Communication

Honest discussions lead to effective solutions of problems.

Quality feedback improves the morale of the team.

Collaboration

Each team member knows exactly what they are expected to do.

All members take part in decision making

Characteristics of successful team performance

There is a climate of respect/trust and honesty.

Share a set of team values and implement group decisions.

Successful teams have sound intra-team relations.

Teams pay attention to the needs of the individual team members.

Forming

Team members show mutual respect and they feel comfortable.

Team members observe one another’s behaviour and are polite to each other.

Storming

Conflict occurs among team members after the forming stage is concluded.

There may be power struggles for the position of team leader

Norming

The conflict during the storming stage must be resolved as sson as possible. this will allow the team to move to the mourning stage.

Team members come to an agreement and reach consensus.

Performing

Team members are aware of strategies and aims of the team

Leaders delegate and oversee the processes and procedures

mourning

The focus is on the completion of the task.

All tasks must be completed before the team finally breaks up and individual members go their seperate ways.

The importance of team dynamic theories in improving team performance

Team dynamics are used to explain the effectiveness and importance of teamwork.

The skills of the team member determines the role that will be allocated to her/him.

Disagreements amongst team members may be reduced when team members specialise in their roles/tasks.

Causes of conflict in the workplace

Lack of clear communication may cause uncertainty amongst employees.

Unfair workloads may cause some employees to feel marginalised.

Unrealistic deadlines may increase the stress levels of certain employees.

Lack of cooperation could delay the production process and cause frustration amongst colleagues.

Conflict resolution steps

1. Acknowledge that conflict exists

2. determine the cause of the conflict

3. Invite conflicting employees to state their views seperately

4. Explain the purpose of the meeting to the conflicting employees

5. Invite conflicting employees to a joint meeting

6. Arrange a time and place for conflicting employees to meet

7. Allow each employee to express his/her views

8. Encourage the conflicting parties to accept that their views are different

9. Evaluate the views expressed and make an objective decision

The difference between grienvance and conflict

Grievance	Conflict
When an employee is unhappy in the workplace	Clash of opinions/ideas in the workplace
It is when an individual/group has a work-related issue	Disagreement between two or more parties in the workplace

Procedures to deal with grievances n the workplace

The complaint must verbally report the grievance to his/her supervisor

The supervisor must resolve the grievance within 3-5 working days

The grievance forwarded to the manager of the supervisor must be in writing.

The manager must invite all parties to the grievance to a meeting

Ways of dealing with difficult employees

State the purpose of the meeting to ease any fear that the employee may have

Assist the difficult employee about being realistic about changes in his behaviour.

Determine a deadline by which the behaviour of the difficult employee must improve.

Provide the difficult employee with guidelines for improvement of his/her behaviour