BusMan VCE exam

Performance management

The system used to improve organisational, functional and individual productivity through linking the objectives of each.

Management by objectives

Manages an employees agreeing on set goals for the employee that relate to the subordinate’s specific role within the business.

Performance appraisal

The formal assessment of how efficiently and effectively an employee is performing their role in the business.

Self-evaluation

When an employee assesses their performance based on a set of agreed criteria.

Employee observation

A tool utilised to seek a variety of opinions on the performance of an employee against a set of criteria

Role of the FWC

Provides a safety net of minimum wages and conditions for all employees through independently setting the minimum wage and national employment standards.

Awards

Legally binding minimum require requirements for wages and conditions applying to specific industries

Enterprise agreements

A written collective agreement made between an employer and its employees that sets out the terms and conditions of employment for a particular business

Grievance procedure

A formalised set of steps that employees and employers can follow to resolve a workplace dispute

1. Attempt informal resolution

2. Submit a formal complaint

3. Investigation

4. Seek external assistance

Mediation

Where an independent third-party facilitates without prejudice discussions between the two parties with the aim of reaching a mutual agreement

Arbitration

A method of industrial dispute resolution where an independent third-party listens to both sides of the agreement, then makes a decision based on these arguments, which is legally binding on both parties. This role is usually undertaken by the FWC.

Automated production lines

Consist of machinery and equipment arranged in a sequence where component parts are then added to the product as it moves along the assembly one

Robotics

Programmable machines that can perform tasks automatically

Computer-aided design

Computer program that facilitate creation and modification of 3D diagrams

Computer-aided manufacturing

Control of machinery, tools and equipment through a computer

Artificial intelligence

The ability of a computer or a robot controlled by a computer to perform tasks that are usually performed by humans because they require human intelligence and discernment

Online services

The use of Internet based systems and platforms to communicate with customers and staff, sell products or services, store and share information, and carry out business operations digitally

Forecasting

A materials planning tool that relies on data from the past or present and analysis of trends to attempt to determine future requirements

Master production schedule

A statement of what business intends to produce, in what quantities over a set timeframe considering forecast customer demand and production costs

Materials requirement planning

Is completed after the business has a clear understanding of the quantities to be produced and the timeframe involved

Just in time

An inventory management system which aims to avoid holding any stock (either as inputs or finished outputs). Supplies arrived just as needed for production, and finished products are immediately despatched or sold to customers.

Quality

The degree of excellence in a product and its ability to satisfy client/customer requirements

Quality control

The use of a series of physical checks at different stages of production to ensure that products and services meet designated standards and errors are eliminated post production

Quality assurance

A proactive process that aims to build quality into work processes and thereby avoid errors in the first place

Total quality management

An ongoing, business-wide commitment to excellence that is applied to every aspect of the business’s operations

Reduce

Aims to limit the amount of waste that is created in the first place

Reuse

A strategy focusing on finding new uses for items that would otherwise become waste

Recycle

The process of converting discarded materials, including inputs and outputs, into new products

Pull

Customer demand drives production; products are only produced when a customer places an order

One piece flow

Involves a piece of production moving smoothly through the operations process one stage at a time

Takt

The rate of production needed to meet customer demand

Zero defects

Striving to eliminate errors throughout production or rectifying an error before the product moves to the final stage

CSR

The obligations of business has over and above its legal responsibilities to the well-being of employees and customers, shareholders and the community as well as the environment

Proactive change management

To initiate change by foreseeing pressures in the dynamic environment and implementing change to take advantage

Reactive change management

Where the business is impacted by pressures from the business environments and then responds as a result

Rate of productivity growth

Measures the amount of inputs produced compared to the amount of inputs used and the rate in which it increases overtime

Rates of staff absenteeism

A percentage indicating the number of workdays lost due to unscheduled staff absence from work over a specified period of time

Level of wastage

A measure of the resources that have not been converted into outputs over a set period of time

Number of customer complaints

The volume of written or verbal expressions of dissatisfaction from customers about an organisation’s products or services over a specified period of time

Number of website hits

The total amount of visits to the business’s specific web address by potential customers over a specific period of time

Number of workplace accidents

The amount of unplanned or uncontrolled events that result in personal injury or property damage within a business over a set period

Porter’s strategic management

A proactive theory which describes how a business can seek to acquire a competitive advantage in its industry or market and therefore dominate that industry or increase its market share in it

Lower cost strategies

Involve a business seeking to become the business with the lowest costs in its industry

Differentiation

An approach used to develop the uniqueness of a product or service in order to attract and keep customers

Leadership

The ability of a manager to influence and motivate people to work towards the achievement of organisational objectives

Systems thinking

The ability to see the big picture rather than seeing things in isolation

Personal mastery

Where people within the business undertake continual learning

Mental models

Deeply entrenched assumptions, generalisations and images of how people understand the world

Building a shared vision

Creating a shared picture of the future that all people within the business believe in

Team learning

A process where members of the group develop the group’s capacity to create desirable results for all

Senge’s Learning Organisation

A theory for managing change in an organisation that states that learning organisations are organisations where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning to see the whole together.

Low risk strategies

A participative management approach to implementing change that gradually encourages employees to accept and participate in a business change

Empowerment

The practice of sharing information, rewards and power with employees so that they can take initiative and make decisions to solve problems and improve performance

Communication

Process of creating an exchanging information between people that produces the required response

Support

The process of showing care, encouragement and acknowledgement for employees’ work

Incentives

Inducement offered if employee performance related to the change improves

High risk strategies

Autocratic management approaches to implementing change used to influence employees to quickly accept and follow a business change

Manipulation

Gaining support from employees by the selective use of facts or deception

Threat

Coercing employees to embrace the change or receive retribution

Lewin’s three step change model

A seminal, structured approach to help businesses implement change smoothly and successfully. It provides manages with three clear stages that can be planned, communicated to stakeholders and worked through systematically.