BSBADM409-Coordinate Business Resources

Formative Assessment

Activity 1

Question 1: Why is resource management important to organizational health? (80 to 100

words)

Answer 1: Resource management is the efficient and effective development of organizational

resources. Such resources can be financial, inventory, human skills etc.The resource
management is important to organizational health because:

 Minimize cost: When optimum utilization of resources, the more efficiently will be there
which results into minimization of cost.
 Maintained cash flow: Resource management identifies, manages and controls risk.
Risk is a fundamental part of business strategy. However, risk needs to be managed.
 Managing quality: Quality is the value of what you produce. Resource management
helps to know availability of resources and manages and controls quality.
 Increase productivity: resource management is very much helpful in increase
productivity by using the resources effectively and efficiently.

So it is rightly said that without resource management, the organization would be less
successful.

Question 2: Choose a common household item on which to base this activity.

Where do the resources used to make this item come from-internal or external sources? What
constraints might impact on the acquisition and use of these resources? Discuss 150 to 180
words.

Answer 2:

Item:

Resource list Source: Constraints

Television
Plastic components
Electrical components
Human resources
Internal/external
Made by electronic division or Budget, latest technology
directly from company
internal Efficiency of production , Raw
material supply
external Supplier reliability
internal Qualifications skills availability
Question 3: What is the link between resource acquisition and quality outputs? (30 to 50
words)

Answer 3: Resource acquisition is important in quality outputs. Quality outputs lead to quality
products otherwise known as output only. Quality output also helps in positive reputation from
consumers. Without good quality raw material, the output will also not be of good quality.

To monitor and manage high quality input is very important, because it involves various
important steps such as: budgets, customer's expectations, suppliers and skilled staff with
appropriate training.

Question 4: Are the customers for the outputs of a team/section/division/ plant different from
the customers for an organization? Discuss in 50 to 80 words.

Answer4: No. Customers expect a quality service on time and within their budget. They both
have needs that they need to have met and are dependent on your leadership skills to ensure
this happens. External customers usually have agreed on an output and signed off with a
contract. The ability to meet customers' (external and internal) requirements is vital. To achieve
quality throughout an organization, every person in the quality chain must be trained about
every customer interface.

Question 5: What are the three consequences of failing to involve a wide range of people in
resource planning?

Answer 5: Human Resource planning is integral to the efficient running and continued success
of businesses, enterprises and even start-up companies.

An incompetent and poorly functioning human resource department reflects the overall state
of organization and its possible uncompetitive position to the marketplace.

The three consequences of failing to involve a wide range of people in resource planning can
be:

1. Higher staff turnover: Poor human resource planning begins to reflect on the corporate
ethos of an organization. The working culture is affected and is generally negative.
Performance reviews and performance appraisal systems are badly managed.
2. Bottom line: An Ineffective HR management strategy has long-term consequences for
an organization.
3. Unmotivated employees: Due to poor resource planning, there can be underutilization
of skills and capabilities of experienced employees, which will result into poor
production and poor good and services.
Question 6: List five methodologies that can be used to consult with customers, other
stakeholders and employee when planning resource use and acquisition?

Answer6: The customers, employees, stakeholders all are play an important role in achieving
the organizational goal.

The different methodologies that can be used to consult with customers, other stakeholders
and employee in planning resource use and acquisition are as:

1. Customer surveys: Customer surveys helps in understanding your customers likes,

dislikes, and where you need to make improvements. It gives the insights for better
decision making.
2. Project groups: Leading effective projects requires not only strong general leadership
skills, but also a methodological and responsive set of core processes and abilities.
Setting clear phases for work to be completed, initializing teams, and having budget in
place before work begins are vital for strong start.
3. Asset/Resource target groups: A resource target is the definition or specification of a
group of resources. A resource target begins as a group of all the resources to which the
current user has security access.
4. Brainstorming sessions: It is a very helpful tool for generating as many ideas or
solutions as possible to a problem or issue.
5. Stakeholders feedback analysis : It is a systematic way to analyze stakeholders by their
power and interest.

Activity 2

Question 1: Explain in 150 to 180 words, how an organisation determines if an action supports
its intent in regards to effective resource management.

Answer 1: To achieve the main goal of an organization, it is very important to break down it
into various sub-goals. Resource planning supports operations and also helps in achieving long-
term and short-term goals.

An organization can determine when action supports it actions in terms of effective resource
management if it involves proper employee training and management. Actions would support
effective HRM when they support the training of the employees, effective selection and the
long-term management of the employees in the organization. The actions should be aligned to
the sound HRM policies within the organization. The actions will be inclined on growing the
employee skills and abilities within the organization. Human resource planning is a process
through which the right candidate for the right job is ensured. For conducting any process, the
foremost essential task is to develop the organizational objective to be achieved through
conducting the said process.

The various steps for effective human resource planning are as follows:

1. Analysing Organizational Objectives: The objective to be achieved in future in various fields

such as production, marketing, finance, expansion and sales gives the idea about the work to be
done in the organization.

2. Inventory of Present Human Resources: From the updated human resource information
storage system, the current number of employees, their capacity, performance and potential
can be analysed. To fill the various job requirements, the internal sources (i.e., employees from
within the organization) and external sources (i.e., candidates from various placement
agencies) can be estimated.

3. Forecasting Demand and Supply of Human Resource: The human resources required at
different positions according to their job profile are to be estimated. The available internal and
external sources to fulfill those requirements are also measured. There should be proper
matching of job description and job specification of one particular work, and the pro-file of the
person should be suitable to it.

4. Estimating Manpower Gaps: Comparison of human resource demand and human resource
supply will provide with the surplus or deficit of human resource. Deficit represents the number
of people to be employed, whereas surplus represents termination. Extensive use of proper
training and development programme can be done to upgrade the skills of employees.

5. Formulating the Human Resource Action Plan: The human resource plan depends on
whether there is deficit or surplus in the organization. Accord-ingly, the plan may be finalized
either for new recruitment, training, interdepartmental transfer in case of deficit of
termination, or voluntary retirement schemes and redeployment in case of surplus.

6. Monitoring, Control and Feedback: It mainly involves implementation of the human

resource action plan. Human resources are allocated according to the requirements, and
inventories are updated over a period. The plan is monitored strictly to identify the deficiencies
and remove it. Comparison between the human resource plan and its actual implementation is
done to ensure the appropriate action and the availability of the required number of employees
for various jobs.

Question 2: Describe (100 to 120 words) the process you should follow when preparing a
resource proposal—a proposed resource purchase or expenditure item.

Answer 2: A business plan should not be something you prepare once, then put on a shelf and
forget. Dynamic planning should be an integral part of managing your business.. This involves
updating last year’s business plan by comparing the planned figures and goals with results
achieved and taking into account changes.

The steps involved in the business planning process are the following:

a. Assessing the situation: This should be an assessment of how your customers, partners,
competitors and suppliers view your business. It should answer the question “where are we
now?” It should also be an honest and self-critical exercise trying to answer the important
questions.

b. Developing a mission: Before proceeding further you should formulate a clear mission
statement for your enterprise. Developing your mission is often the most valuable part of the
dynamic planning process since it can change or reconfirm the direction of your business.
Shareholders, employees and business partners can be better motivated and support the
mission

c. Getting ready: After the mission and the philosophical basis have been defined, you need to
start the actual work of preparing the business plan. Some important matters you need to
address when getting ready are:

• Appointing a coordinator.

• Hiring a facilitator.

• Defining tasks.

• Identifying team members.

• Gathering information.
d. Setting goals. Setting goals for the future development of the business is a prerequisite for
the preparation of the business plan. Although these goals will have to be adjusted in the
iterative planning process,

e. Working out the business plan: It involves synthesizing and harmonizing your marketing,
sales, development, manufacturing, operations and financing targets in such a way as to enable
the enterprise to meet its overall objectives.

f. Setting employee objectives. One of the most important actions after your business plan has
been completed is to use it as a basis for setting the objectives of units and individuals in your
firm. The production manager has to meet the quality standards and production rates
anticipated.

g. Monitoring the process. Systematic monitoring of the implementation of your plan is a very
important factor for the success of your business. Action plans, monitoring systems and
constant feedback should be integrated to ensure successful implementation of the plan and
achievement of its objectives.

Activity 3

Question 1: Explain in about 100 words why hiring the right people for the job is a critical factor
for resource management?

Answer 1: Every business owner knows her company's productivity and profitability depend on
the quality of workers she employs. Recruiting the right employees is a great responsibility that
can't be taken too seriously.

Here are some ways in which employers can benefit from hiring Right people:

1. Creativity Brings New Solutions for Difficult Problems

In today’s world, companies need to come up with innovative solutions for complex challenges.
A simple way to deal with this problem is to hire creative thinkers who can think outside the
box and suggest better solutions. By hiring creative people, companies across industries can
find solutions to difficult problems.

2. Creative People Find New Opportunities

By thinking differently, creative employees help organizations find new opportunities to grow.
As creative employees do not believe in simply doing what they are asked to do, they show
more commitment and proactively in exploring other opportunities.
3. Creative Thinkers Ask Questions before the Customers Do

With creative team members on board, managers can see a paradigm shift in how the process
works and the way in which they share their thoughts. Creative people think from different
perspectives and ask questions that can be quite pertinent from a customer’s point of view.
Answering those questions is important to satisfy customers and grow business.

4. Creative Employees Have a Broader Outlook and Approach

Unlike analytical thinkers who have a set way of doing things, analyzing situations and arriving
at conclusions, creative employees have a broader approach. No two creative employees will
react to a situation in the same way. Therefore, their approaches will be different from one
another. Different approaches bring new solutions to problems and enable organizations to
respond to challenging situations.

5. Creativity Ushers Enthusiasm to Learn

With the business scenario becoming more dynamic, there is no room for rigidity. Companies
need flexible employees who have the enthusiasm to take up new challenges and explore
different opportunities. Creative employees respond well to change.

Conclusion: From above points we can rightly conclude that the right person is very important
for effective and efficient utilization of resources. Getting the right person for a job will increase
the operational effectiveness of the organization; on the other hand, getting the wrong person
will increase the cost along with poor output and poor quality.

Question 2: Discuss how measuring and monitoring individual or work group performance links
with the management of effective business resources in 120 to 150 words.

Answer 2: Improvement in individual, group, or organizational performance cannot occur

unless there is some way of getting performance feedback. Feedback is having the outcomes of
work communicated to the employee, work group, or company. For an individual employee,
performance measures create a link between their own behavior and the organization's goals.
For the organization or its work unit's performance measurement is the link between decisions
and organizational goals.

Importance of Performance Management Process & Best Practices to Optimize Monitoring

Performance Work Reviews/Feedback and Goal Management

In today's workplace, performance improvement and the role of performance Management is

an increasingly popular topic. Business pressures are ever-increasing and organizations are now
required to become even more effective and efficient, execute better on business strategy, and
do more with less in order to remain competitive.

Good managers have been speaking and practicing effective performance management all their
lives, executing each key component process well. They not only set goals and plan work
routinely; they measure progress toward those goals and give feedback to employees. They
set high standards, but they also take care to develop the skills needed to reach them. And they
use formal and informal rewards to recognize the behavior and results that accomplish their
mission.

Question 3: How important to the achievement of objectives, targets and goals is the
management of human resources? Explain in 120 to 150 words.

Answer 3: The human resources department can have a huge impact on employee satisfaction.
As such, it's important for HR leaders to set goals that support a business' goals

Human resources professionals have many roles within an organization. Most human resources
departments control the overall operations of a business, making the department a key
component of a company’s success in achieving its objectives.

It is important to the achievement of objectives, targets and goals are the management of
human resources because:

i) To secure integration of individual and groups in securing organizational effectiveness.

(iii) To create opportunities, to provide facilities, necessary motivation to individual and group
for their growth with the growth of the organization by training and development,
compensation etc.

(iv) To employ the skills and ability of the workforce efficiently, i.e., to utilise human resources
effectively.

(v) To increase to the fullest the employee’s job satisfaction and self-actualization; it tries to
prompt and stimulate every employee to realize his potential.

Question 4: List five consequences of not sharing information in an organization.

Answer 4: A key ingredient to successful team-based decision-making is the sharing of

information among members. How, and what, information is shared between members greatly
impacts the team’s decision-making ability.
If information is not shared properly at workplace, there can be lot of consequences such as:

 Inefficiency: The employees' efficiency can be reduced if they are not cleared about
their job information.
 Confusion: Confusion can be created regarding various job roles, in case of non-
communicating the role of job assigned to employees.
 Expectation: it is very important for employees that what is expected from them, so that
he can perform accordingly, which will further help him to achieve the organization's
goal.
 Mistakes: Mistakes can be occurred in the performance and quality of goods and
services will also decrease, if important information regarding products and services will
not be communicated.
 Increase employment cost: The employment cost can be increased due to inefficient
performance by employees in case of non- sharing of important information in the
workplace.

Activity 4

Question 1: Why must stock be controlled and, if required, rationalized? (100 to 120 words)

Answer 1: Introduction: Stock control is important because it prevents retailers from running
out of products, according to the Houston Chronicle. Stock control also helps retailers keep
track of goods that may have been lost or stolen.

Inventory management, or inventory control, is an attempt to balance inventory needs and

requirements with the need to minimize costs resulting from obtaining and holding inventory.
Inventory may be kept "in-house," meaning on the premises or nearby for immediate use; or it
may be held in a distant warehouse or distribution center for future use.

Stock must be controlled and, if required, rationalized because of the following reasons:

1) Meet variation in Production Demand

Production plan changes in response to the sales, estimates, orders and stocking patterns.
Holding inventories at a nearby warehouse helps issue the required quantity and item to
production just in time.

2) Cater to Cyclical and Seasonal Demand

Market demand and supplies are seasonal depending upon various factors like seasons;
festivals etc and past sales data help companies to anticipate a huge surge of demand in the
market well in advance. Accordingly they stock up raw materials and hold inventories to be able
to increase production and rush supplies to the market to meet the increased demand.

3) Economies of Scale in Procurement

Buying raw materials in larger lot and holding inventory is found to be cheaper for the company
than buying frequent small lots. In such cases one buys in bulk and holds inventories at the
plant warehouse.

4) Take advantage of Price Increase and Quantity Discounts

If there is a price increase expected few months down the line due to changes in demand and
supply in the national or international market, impact of taxes and budgets etc, the company’s
tend to buy raw materials in advance and hold stocks as a hedge against increased costs.

5) Reduce Transit Cost and Transit Times

In case of raw materials being imported from a foreign country or from a far away vendor
within the country, one can save a lot in terms of transportation cost buy buying in bulk and
transporting as a container load or a full truck load. Part shipments can be costlier.

6) Long Lead and High demand items need to be held in Inventory

Often raw material supplies from vendors have long lead running into several months. Coupled
with this if the particular item is in high demand and short supply one can expect disruption of
supplies. In such cases it is safer to hold inventories and have control.

Question 2: Discuss how you can allocate resources necessary to achieve objectives in 150 to
180 words.

Answer 2: It is very important to allocate the resources properly for the optimum utilization of
resources, which will further help in achieving organizational goal. The different resources in
the workplace can be:

 Raw materials
 Storage space
 Technological equipment
 Staff amenities
 Training materials

Resources are optimally allocated when they are used to produce goods and services that
match consumers' needs and wants at the lowest possible cost of production. Efficiency of
production means fewer resources are expended in producing goods and services, which allows
resources to be used for other economic activities, such as further production, savings, and
investment. This basically boils down to creating what customers want as cheaply and
efficiently as possible.

Effective allocation of resources is useful in promoting the ability of the organization achieve
their objectives. The allocation of resources should be done based on priority and the most
profitable units within the organization. Most organizations are keen on meeting the wealth
maximization objectives. For example, the management should assign resources to
departments with capacity and ability to complete tasks efficiently. The effective allocation of
resources is more essential and efficient in enhancing the long-term productivity and
achievement of the goals in the organization.

Various points regarding allocation of resources are as:

1. Know your scope: Before you assign or manage resources know you scope of the project you
are working in.
2. Dont over-allocates resources: Due to poor planning some managers over-allocate
resources. This does not help but threaten team burnout. You should re-examine your resource
plan to make sure that resources are distributed to the project evenly
3. Know and indentify your resources: You cannot manage what you don't know. Before you
allocate resources you will have to have them. So make a list and make sure resources fits
within the budget allocated for the project.

Question 3: Discuss the role of consultation with individuals and teams in the allocation of
resources used to meet an organization's goals in 200 to 250 words.

Answer 3: Team Leaders need to allocate roles to team members in such a way that the roles
are coordinated to achieve the team's goals and that team members take responsibility for
their individual roles. Allocating appropriate roles and coordinating these roles can lead to
increased morale and motivation.

There are a number of factors that Team Leaders need to consider when allocating roles to
ensure that the team is effectively meeting its goals. Team Leaders need to ensure that team
members:

 Understand their roles

 Understand the roles of their team mates
 Understand how the roles interrelate in the achievement of the team's goals
 Have authority to coordinate activities with team mates
Understand Their Roles

In order to be effective in their assigned roles, team members clearly

their role and the expectations of the role. If the expectations are
unclear then the team member may fails in achieving the team goals.

Understand the Roles of Team Mates

Understanding the roles of team mates helps ensure that team members
concentrate on their own responsibilities and that their actions do not
impinge on their team mates functions. Team members need to
understand the challenges and basic functions of other roles so that they
can support and complement their team mates.

Understand How the Roles Interrelate in the Achievement of Team

Goals

As team members take ownership of the team's goals it is important that

they understand how the different roles of each team member
interrelates. Knowing that each role is contributing towards the
achievement of team goals encourages team members to play their part
and take responsibility for their work. Understanding how the team
operates increases the sense of belonging to a team and a belief that the
whole team is moving in the same direction.

Have Authority to Coordinate Activities with team mates

It is important that team mates have the authority to coordinate their

activities with team mates. This helps ensure that obstacles can be
effectively dealt with by the team and that opportunities for
improvements to the work process can be capitalized upon.

Activity 5

Question 1: List four ways to build effective, quality-based relationships with suppliers?

Answer 1: Once you have chosen your suppliers, it is important to develop a productive and
professional relationship. The following tips will help you maintain positive relationships with
your suppliers:

 Bring any problems or concerns immediately to your supplier's attention.

  Pay your accounts on time. If you cannot make your payments in time, make sure you
let your supplier know before the due date.
 Avoid making unrealistic demands for products or services. Constantly changing or
rushing orders will frustrate your suppliers.
 Return defective goods promptly.
 Monitor and review your supplier's performance and measure it against their
competitors. Be prepared to negotiate the terms of trade from time to time.

Developing a good relationship with your suppliers is essential for good Stock control.

Question 2: Discuss the benefits of building such relationships in 50 to 80 words.

Answer 2: Supplier relationships are critically important to the health of your business. If you
want good delivery, good service, and good quality, then you need to keep your suppliers
healthy and happy. .

The benefits of building such relationships can be:

Reduced costs
Good working relationships with suppliers will not only deliver cost savings, they will reduce
availability problems, delays and quality issues - and that means a better service for the
consumer.

Increased efficiency
As a defined and establish supplier relationship develops, communication improves. Suppliers
gain a more complete understanding of the businesses they serve, and this allows them to
meet their needs more effectively.

Consolidation of the supply chain

As specific areas of both the supplier's and buyer's business work together, this allows both
parties to better understand the inner workings of the other. In some cases, both parties will be
able to adapt their own working practices and operations to better accommodate the other,
and that can lead to further efficiencies and operational advantages.

The consolidation of the supply chain may allow buyers to reduce the number of suppliers they
purchase from - streamlining the purchasing process and making budgeting a far simpler task.

Continual improvement of operations

A long-term relationship between supplier and buyer allows for the free-flow of feedback and
ideas. Over time, this will create a more streamlined, effective supply chain that could have a
positive impact on both costs and customer service.
Question 3: In 120 to 150 words, explain whether it is best to use external suppliers with whom
you have built effective relationships, or whether you should constantly shop around for the
cheapest deal. Give sound reasons for your answer.

Answer 3: When choosing and negotiating with suppliers, you need to consider a number of
different factors. How you weigh up the importance of these different factors will depend on
your business priorities and strategy.

This will help you decide what you need in a supplier, identify potential suppliers and choose
your suppliers. It will also show you how to manage your relationships with suppliers and
negotiate the best possible deal.

There are a number of key characteristics that you should look for when identifying and short
listing possible suppliers which are below:

Quality and reliability

The quality of your supplies needs to be consistent - your customers associate poor quality with
you, not your suppliers. Equally, if your supplier lets you down with a late delivery or faulty
supplies, you may let your customer down.

Speed and flexibility

Flexible suppliers help you respond quickly to changing customer demands and sudden
emergencies.

Value for money

The lowest price is not always the best value for money. If you want reliability and quality from
your suppliers, you'll have to decide how much you're willing to pay for your supplies and the
balance you want to strike between cost, reliability, quality and service.

Strong service and clear communication

You need your suppliers to deliver on time, or to be honest and give you plenty of warning if
they can't. The best suppliers will want to talk with you regularly to find out what needs you
have now and how they can serve you better in the future.

Conclusion: We can rightly conclude that if you keep changing suppliers and shop around for
bargains, it will increase the risk of inconsistent delivery of products and services, delivery times
and quality. So it is very important to have reliable supplier.
Question 4: Explain, in 120 to 150 words, how resource management is related to quality
management and to continuous improvement.

Answer 4: Introduction: Continuous quality improvement is a fundamental requirement of all

quality management systems. The core principle is that quality improvement is not a one-time
effort; it is an ongoing process that lasts for the life of an enterprise.

The role of continual improvement is one of the most important principles and enables a core
goal for all improvement practices within the organisation.

The human resource management plays vital role in quality management and to continuous
improvement. It is critical to an employee-oriented, productive workplace in which employees
are energized and engaged. The various points are as:

 Resource management is responsible for the overall recruiting of a superior workforce.

 It helps in providing responsible employees who are having different qualities such
as, leadership, training, scheduling assistance.
 Resource management is also responsible for controlling costs and considering various
options which will further responsible for gaining good returns.
 HR makes sure that workplace activities, events, celebrations, ceremonies, field trips,
are occurring. The resource management is generally responsible for monitoring the
budget and providing committee oversight.
 The Resource management also helps in resolving issues or conflict with management
and coaches managers and executives who seek a more effective approach to working
with particular employees.

Above all points clearly show that how resource management is important in controlling
quality and providing goods and services. When all activities will perform effectively and
efficiently, the quality of goods and services will be increased. The resource
management also helps in continuous improvement by taking feedbacks from
employees, customers and suppliers.

It means when human resources are used efficiently, means of good quality, they will
get good quality output, which will return high quality outcomes.

Activity 6

Question: Why is it necessary to maintain records concerning equipment and resource

purchases? Provide a list of at least seven operational aspects that must be monitored in terms
of resource use.
Answer: Information has always been an organization’s central resource. Without it, the
modern organization simply could not function. Business records are operational—and
sometimes strategic—assets. They have economic, legal, fiscal, risk-management, and
competitive values.

It is necessary to maintain records concerning equipment and resource purchases because of

the following reasons:

1. Legal requirements: The most important reason for keeping good records is that it’s a
legal requirement. By law, you must keep business records.

2. Tax requirements: If you are carrying on a business, you need to keep records
explaining all transactions that relate to your tax affairs. These records include: sales
and expense invoices, sales and expense receipts, cash register tapes, credit card
statements.

3. Profit and loss analysis: Recording of data will clearly helps in calculating organization's
profit or loss by considering all expenses incurred and income generated from the
equipment or machinery.

4. Audit requirements: sometimes it is important to record the data for audit purpose.

5. Forecast future expenditure: The proper maintenance of data will clearly helps in
calculating future expenditure and will give effective results in budgeting.

6. Appropriateness: once the record is maintained, from that record, the business can
easily calculate the appropriateness of equipment .i.e. is equipment is useful or it is only
cost bearing.
BSBADM409-Coordinate Business Resources

Summative Assessment 1

Question 1: Identify three common business resources (equipment), their functions, and
common faults that can affect performance.

Answer1: While a wide range of factors undoubtedly contribute to under-performance or to

variations in performance for basic services, this review highlights the extent to which it is
helpful to include political and governance variables as part of the explanation (and as part of
identifying solutions). This has been under-explored to date in many of the predominant
measures of sector performance.

All modern organizations use a wide variety of business equipment. During a typical business
day at the office, you may be asked to use telephones, printers, computers, binders, shredders
and photocopiers. Each of these pieces of equipment is designed to enable you to complete
your work quickly and professionally. As you begin a new job, it is important that you are able
to use the various pieces of equipment that are in use within your organisation. This knowledge
will enable you to ascertain which pieces of equipment will be of most help in completing your
jobs. We will be looking at the types of equipment that you will possibly be asked to use. What
they are used for, how to use them, and how to be safe when using them. This information is
crucial to your efficiency in the workplace. A vital part of your job will be to be able to
determine the right machine to use in a given circumstance. All machines have different
functions, which enable them to be used for different tasks. Being able to select the right
equipments for the right task is of vital importance. Over the page we will discuss the various
functions of different types of machinery. Be sure to practice using various types as much as
possible. After you have practiced using the equipment, you will get to know the various tasks
each type of machine can do. This will make it easy for you to decide what equipment to
choose and how to use it for the job.

The common business resources (equipment), their functions, and common faults that can
affect performance are as:

1) Photocopier: The function of the photocopier is to create copies of pages or entire

documents. The most common faults that can arise in photocopier are:

 Paper jam
 Ink guzzlers
 Overheating
 Confusing codes
All above faults can leave bad impact on business. The result could be damage the costly
photocopier and also delay in work.
2) Fax machine: A fax machine is a communication system that is used for sending and
receiving documents that contain images and text. The advantage of a fax machine over email is
that it sends a physical document to the receiver.

The faults in fax machine can be:

 Complicated pieces of equipment and delicate sensors.
 Electricity: Just like the office building's lights, climate control and computers, a fax
machine is subject to the same electrical line outages. Whether your office experiences a
power failure, brown out or maintenance worker cutting through the electrical lines,
your fax machine has the potential to go out at any time, even in the middle of sending
or receiving a fax.
 Privacy: Companies conducting secure and private matters such as divorce, investments,
real estate and criminal background checks run the risk of their fax machines spilling their
important details

The affects on performance of faulty fax machine can be:

 Just like all technology, fax machines can fail. If a company depends too heavily
upon the fax machine and the machine fails to operate, the individuals using the
machine may experience some difficulty, having to come up with a way to
circumnavigate this now failed piece of machinery.
 If there is no electricity, there will be delay in work and leaves bad impact on
business.
3) Computer: In today's business computer is a backbone in every organisation. Without
computer, all the main activities of a business cannot be performed.
The faults may occur in computer system:
 Strange noises
 Lockups and freezes
 Slow performance
 Overheating
 The computer won't turn on
Due to above faults; there can be bad affects on business such as:
 Delay in work
 Mismanagement of data handling
 Delay in communication
 Delay in communicating suppliers
 Conclusion: We can rightly conclude that business resources are important aspects in
business and helpful in achieving organization's goals.

Question 2: How can organisational policies and procedures help ensure that:

 Physical resources and services are acquired as and when they are needed
 Resources are checked to ensure quality
 Resources are allocated promptly and efficiently to work teams
 Work teams are encouraged to provide feedback on resource use, quality, timely delivery
and suitability
Answer 2It is for these reasons that human resources (HR) policies and procedures were
developed. They encapsulate a broad field of information, requirements, and restrictions that
assist employees in doing their jobs well; assist management in training, managing, and
disciplining employees; ensure consistency in how companies interact with employees; and
ensure that companies are following the law when it comes to the treatment of their
employees.
Human resource policies and procedures are a very important aspect of the workplace. They
offer protection to employees, provide guidance to management, and ensure that
organizations comply with government regulations and mandates. They offer protection by
ensuring consistency and eliminating subjectivity. When policies are followed appropriately, an
employee can be sure that s/he is being treated the same way that all other employees are
being treated for each scenario that develops.
The different points are:

 Physical resources and services are acquired as and when they are needed
As a team leader always helps in understanding how to acquire and use physical resources.
Whenever resources are acquired, it is important that the organization's policies and
procedures are followed. Some organizations have preferred supplier of physical resources
or services.
Often an organisation will have specific order forms, such as Purchase Order forms, that
need to be completed when ordering physical resources. Using these forms will reduce the
time and cost involved in processes.
 Resources are checked to ensure quality
Human resource policies and procedures help in ensuring quality of products and services
by checking all the resources. The various points are as:
 Developing effective and compliant processes and procedures.
 Measuring and continually improving processes and procedures.
  Enhancing Client and Candidate satisfaction.

So human resource policies and procedures not only helps in achieving business goals but also
helps in smooth functioning of business by coordinating all activities effectively and efficiently.

Summative assessment 2

Project 1

Write a 2,000 word report on the importance of effective resource management. Your report
can be based on a workplace, sporting club or social club so long as all of the following report
components can be addressed:

 why it is essential for resource requirements to be determined in accordance with plans

 how opportunities can be given to individuals and groups to contribute to the identification
of resource requirements
 how recommendations on resource requirements should be presented
 how resource expenditure can be contained to a realistic budget
 how resource use can be made as efficient as possible
 how resources and services can be acquired
 why resources must be checked to ensure quality and to ensure that they match what was
requisitioned
 the importance of allocating resources promptly
 why resource planning should be monitored for effectiveness
 why monitoring methods must allow for timely and accurate reporting
 the importance of continual improvement of resource management systems
 why keeping accurate records of equipment and resource purchases is important
Address and discuss any considerations in relation to legislation that may affect aspects of
business operations.

Answer: Introduction: In organizational studies, resource management is the efficient and

effective deployment of an organization's resources when they are needed. Such resources may
include financial resources, inventory, human skills, production resources, or information
technology (IT). In the realm of project management, processes, techniques and philosophies as
to the best approach for allocating resources have been developed.
The objectives of Resource management are:

 To secure integration of individual and groups in securing organisational effectiveness.

 To create opportunities, to provide facilities, necessary motivation to individual and

group for their growth with the growth of the organisation by training and
development, compensation etc.

 To employ the skills and ability of the workforce efficiently, i.e., to utilize human
resources effectively.

 To increase to the fullest the employee’s job satisfaction and self-actualization; it tries
to prompt and stimulate every employee to realize his potential.

Determine resource requirements include the resources of the business is accordance with
business and operational plans and requirements.

Legislation could affect an organization’s resources or how they are allocated. Resources must
take into account issues arising from legislation such as Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO),
Privacy Act, Anti-discrimination and Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S). You should
familiarize yourself with the current features of each of these pieces of legislation to ensure
compliance.

Purpose of resources

With the advanced use of technology, organizations are changing rapidly. It is very important
for business to satisfy their customer (both internal and external) without delay. This can only
be done when business maintains resource allocation systems and communicate processes that
are efficient and effective.

For optimum utilization of resources, it is important to recruit human resource carefully. The
various points in this are:

1. development of a policy on recruitment and retention and the systems that give
life to the policy;
2. Needs assessment to determine the current and future human resource
requirements of the organisation. If the activity is to be effective, the human
 resource requirements for each job category and functional division/unit of the
organisation must be assessed and a priority assigned;
3. Identification, within and outside the organisation, of the potential human
resource pool and the likely competition for the knowledge and skills resident
within it;
4. Job analysis and job evaluation to identify the individual aspects of each job
and calculate its relative worth;
5. Assessment of qualifications profiles, drawn from job descriptions that
identify responsibilities and required skills, abilities, knowledge and experience;
6. Determination of the organization’s ability to pay salaries and benefits within
a defined period;
7. Identification and documentation of the actual process of recruitment and
selection to ensure equity and adherence to equal opportunity and other laws.

For maximum result and minimize cost, it is important to group the tasks
together according to the type of work involved. In other words, all tasks that
have similar technological processes are grouped together to form a work unit.
For example, all production operations throughout a factory that involve
painting are grouped together to form a painting department. All processes with
printing may form a printing department.

Resource expenditure

It involves fixed capital and working capital.

1) Fixed capital: it includes physical resources like vehicles, equipment, office

furniture, computers and telephone systems.
2) Working capital: It involves the money required to cover the regular expenses
such as service cost or wages.

Estimating Resource Use

In the planning stage of resource, the main purpose is to get a realistic estimate of the amount
of resource i.e. time, materials and people involved in the business processes.

There are some issues that need to be examined when discussing the best guest. In making the
estimates, be realistic- be a little pessimistic. It is important to determine the best resource
allocation by estimating the best guess.
Maximizing Resource Use

Process of resource planning and design means looking at the specific steps in the production
process. It is necessary to determine the system that will allow producing products and services
of the desired quality in the required quantities, at the time customers want them and at the
budgeted cost.so that process should effectively utilize the physical resources of the
organization to maximise human resources use.

Resource planning brings together knowledge and operational strategy, production design, and
technologies in order to design a process which best suits the needs of product and service
being produced. This ensures that the plan for producing the products or services best utilizes
the physical resources of the organization, and minimizes waste.

Information system in resource planning

When attempting to bring together the information you need, you may find it useful (if your
organization has one) to access your Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. Such a system
is involved in all aspects of resource use within an organization. This may include
manufacturing, process control, logistics, inventory control, and accounting for a company.
Enterprise Resource Planning Software can also assist in the control of many business activities
such as billing, processing, inventory management, and human resource management.

ERPs generally are cross-functional and encompass the entire organization-rather than a
specific department within it. All departments that are involved in operational areas of the
organization are integrated in this one processing system.

Initially, such software to control resource use and allocation was a specific piece of software
written just for the specific organization.

Quality assurance

Quality assurance (QA) refers to the full range of practices employed. Quality assurance may be
defined as the system of documenting and cross referencing of management procedures. Its
objective is to have clear and concise records of all procedures which may have a bearing on
the quality of data, so that those procedures may be monitored with a view to ensuring that
quality is maintained.

Quality assurance achieves these objectives by establishing protocols and quality criteria for all
aspects of laboratory work, and provides a framework within which internal quality control
(IQC) and external quality control (EQC) programmes can be achieved.
Importance of resource allocation

Every organization in any industry has its own resources, which consist of equipment, materials,

people, time, and knowledge. Most organizations have very limited resources, and thus, leaders

are always looking for ways to identify which project resources need to be invested in and

which ones can be put in least priority. This is a tough task to deal with, but with the help of an

effective resource allocation plan, it becomes easier to effectively manage scarce project
resources.

A project resource plan ensures that the timing of the need of such resources is determined

according to the schedules of projects. In this plan, it is also important that it describe the kinds

of resource are needed, as well as the timing of such need. These are vital factors for an

effective management of project resources. Project leaders should also ensure that the project

resource plan will be flexible enough to adapt to the possible changes in project schedules. The
different points are:

1) Dealing with Unknown Details

When project resource plans are being developed, there is a huge possibility that the project

manager will not have all the essential resources to get the project started and done. As a

matter of fact, when starting a project, many of its details are usually unknown. It's because of
this that it isn't always possible to predict the duration and types of resources required for the
completion of the project.

On the other hand, the known details are what the project management team can plan for. In

creating the schedule, for instance, certain deliverables may be decomposed in detail, but there

are deliverable also that will be known only at the highest level. Once the details of a
deliverable aren't completely known, it would be necessary to use a planning package.
2) Making Project Management Succeed: Project leaders have a huge responsibility on their

shoulders. They are the ones who are responsible for planning the project itself, supervising the
creation of project resource plan, and of course, allocating resources to corresponding groups.

In order for a project to be completed within its timeframe and within budget, a project leader

must have a clear plan on how to go about things. Leaders need to form groups and select the

most capable people to fill those groups. Each group should have a specific role to play. Thus,
project leaders need to communicate his or her expectations clearly to each group.

Why resource planning should be monitored for effectiveness

Monitoring the efficiency and effectiveness of policies, rules or other methods in policy
statements or plans (policy and plan monitoring) is an important part of the resource
management planning process. It is an ongoing activity throughout the planning cycle to assess
how well the plan is working. Policy and plan effectiveness monitoring helps determine the
need for further action, and possible changes and improvements in policy statements and
plans, or in actions taken to implement them.
The Resource Management Act (RMA) requires local authorities to monitor the efficiency and
effectiveness of policies, rules, or other methods in its policy statements or plans; to take
appropriate action when monitoring indicates that this is necessary and to prepare a report
at least every five years on the results of section 35(2)(b) monitoring.

Monitoring closes the loop in the 'plan - do - monitor - review' cycle and informs decision-
makers of the consequences of actions and changes in the environment. Policy and plan
effectiveness monitoring provides a means for determining how well plans are working in
practice. It both builds on and provides information for state of the environment monitoring
and can be assisted by monitoring resource consents, compliance and complaints. It is
important to have an integrated approach.

Why monitoring methods must allow for timely and accurate reporting
In the absence of accurate, reliable and timely information, people and organizations will make
bad decisions, they will be unable to help or persuade others to make better decisions; and no-
one will be able to ascertain whether the decisions made by particular individuals or
organisations were the best ones that could have been made at the time.

Evaluation is conducted to assess the efficiency, effectiveness and appropriateness of actions.

An activity or outcome is best evaluated against a stated goal, objective, target or benchmark.
This helps identify whether the level of change in resource condition, for example, is
appropriate or adequate, and the strength of the link between the activity and the change that
resulted. The need for ‘before and after’ information is often a key requirement for evaluation.
Evaluations might also assess project participants’ reactions, changes in knowledge, attitude,
skills or behavioral change. Depending on the type of evaluation, quantitative or qualitative
data may be required. Some monitoring and evaluation is costly and time consuming.
Therefore, the amount and type of data collected for evaluation should be tailored to the
particular purpose such as the decision making that it will inform.

Reporting is the documentation of results of monitoring and evaluation and the presentation of
them to appropriate audiences at specified times. To help ensure efficiency, the purpose of
reporting should be clearly defined. Key purposes may be accounting for funds expended or
feeding data directly into a decision-making process.

Key principles are that monitoring, evaluation and reporting should:

• be useful for all partners

• be simple, cost-effective, affordable and practical by: -

 Avoiding duplication of effort

 , using data for multiple purposes,
 - ensuring that users can obtain the data, and
 - ensuring that users can easily find out whether suitable data already exist.

• recognise that catchment management interventions encompass a range of time-scales

• allow meaningful interpretation of data over time

• specify assumptions within strategies and decision making processes.

The importance of continual improvement of resource management systems

Ideally, a performance management system is so well-integrated with the day-to-day

operations and planning of an organization that it becomes an ongoing part of the
organizational culture. It is possible to reach a state of performance management in which all of
the components of the Performance Management Framework -- visible leadership,
performance standards, performance measures, reporting progress, and quality improvement
(QI) -- are working in harmony as the organization continues to evolve.
Continual Improvement Steps for Quality Management
The primary steps that comprise the continual improvement principle in a quality management
environment include the following:

1. Ensure that continual improvement is a major objective for every individual in the
organisation, from the lowest entry level employee all the way through to senior
management, directors and CEOs. This should be implemented across all products,
services, processes and systems within the organisation.
2. Apply the basic principles of gradual improvement as well as breakthrough
improvement across the organisation, and ensure that these principles are carried out
across all levels of the organisation.
3. Use intermittent valuations and assessments against recognised criteria of excellence to
detect areas for prospective improvement to ensure that continual improvement
principles are being followed as part of quality management strategies within the
organisation.
4. Constantly improve the proficiency and effectiveness of all processes, to ensure that
there is always room to develop processes as a fluid approach rather than a static
approach that may rely on outdated processes within the organisation.
5. Rather than reaction based actions for problem solving, encourage prevention based
actions that aim to prevent even the smallest of problems within processes from
becoming larger and harder to manage.

6. Recognise improvements, and acknowledge these improvements so that all levels of

employees within the organisation are able to see the results that come from continual
improvement strategies, and to motivate them for further improvements over the long-
term.
Why keeping accurate records of equipment and resource purchases is important

Keeping accurate and up-to-date records is vital to the success of any business. The business
must realise that records kept will be one of the most important management tools it possesses
and, therefore, it should be allocated due importance. Many business owners invest a lot of
time and effort into the running of their business and yet fail to realise the importance of
maintaining good documentation. The business owner is looking for the maximum return from
their investment and the maintaining of good records is part of that equation.

For the business to achieve its success and profit, it is necessary for the scores to be kept, as it
were. Keeping records is really like score keeping - if you went to a football game where no one
kept the score, you would have to ask “what was the point of that whole exercise?” By keeping
the score you are able to work out who is winning and whether you are winning at all. Many
people do not know the "current score" of their own business because they have failed to
realise the importance of keeping good and adequate records.
It is important to keep records of the equipment and resources purchased because:

• Provides management information to base business decisions on.

• Contributes promptly to assessing the financial situation of the business at any time.

• Saves a lot of time and effort.

• Keeps a good track of the costs of staff and their performance.

• Measures the business performance against the projections that were originally set down in
the business plan.

• Highlights quickly areas where problems could arise and enable remedies to be put in place.

• Fulfills the obligations as to taxation law

• Assists you in calculating how much tax you have to pay.

• Assists in providing information required by your bankers.

• Helps in detecting thefts within the business itself.

• Provides valuable information and details for the future sale of your business where that is
required.

• Increases the chances of the business operating and achieving success.

Conclusion: From all above writings, it is clear that how human resource management play vital
role in the business to achieve its long term and short term goals. It is very important to
procure, maintain the human resources to attain results by using resources efficiently and
effectively.

Resource Management is a facet of project management that deals with the human, financial,
distribution and demands of project resources. Careful management of human resources leads
to the path of project success. However, mismanagement of resources can lead to project
failure, overtime, budget overages, and other unfortunate events. Below, I outline the key
elements of resource management.