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Campus: Stream: Level: Year/Semester Assignment Module Name: Type: Assessors Students Name: Name: Reqd. Issued on: Submission Date: Actual Submitted to : Submission Date: Higher Level Skills Students are expected to develop the following skills in this assignment: Cognitive skills of critical thinking, analysis and synthesis. Effective use of communication and information technology for business applications. Effective self-management in terms of planning, motivation, initiative and enterprise. Certificate by the Student: Plagiarism is a serious College offence. I certify that this is my own work. I have referenced all relevant materials. (Students Name/Signatures) EXPECTED OUTCOMES Assessment Criteria To achieve Achieved each outcome a student must (Y/N) demonstrate the ability to :

Assignment Grading Summary (To be filled by the Assessor) Grades P M1 M2 M3 D1 D2 D3 Grade Descriptors A Pass grade is achieved by meeting all the requirements defined. Identify and apply strategies to find appropriate solutions. Select/design and apply appropriate methods/techniques. Present and communicate appropriate findings. Use critical reflection to evaluate own work and justify valid conclusions. Ability to anticipate and solve complex tasks in relation to the assignment. Demonstrate convergent, lateral and creative thinking. Achieved Yes/No (Y / N)

OVERALL ASSESSMENT GRADE: TUTORS COMMENTS ON ASSIGNMENT: SUGGESTED MAKE UP PLAN (applicable in case the student is asked to re-do the assignment) REVISED ASSESSMENT GRADE TUTORS COMMENT ON REVISEDWORK (IF ANY) Date: Assessors Name / Signatures: SECTION- A Q1. Why do you think the history and culture of ABC has helped to face challenges? History and culture of ABC airlines is something which has been developed over years. They serve half of the nation, preferring to use the smaller airports to reduce costs and delays, while attracting a different Consumer niche. ABC Airlines is dedicated to the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and Company Spirit. ABC Airlines engages in a slow-growth or slow-expansion strategy where competition is low. This allows the airline to use its cash reserves and avoid high debt obligations. ABC airlines mixes in New Age management techniques, such as celebrating different milestones, and letting love play a part in running the airline. Employees are encouraged to be responsible and are given authority to make decisions .Employee input into all policies and procedures .All decisions are weighed against Southwests commitment to honesty and integrity. Rather than using the common pricing strategy of lowering fares to cause financial harm to the competitors, ABC airlines opted to make reasonably low fares permanent to prove profitability and build loyalty. ABC airline was the only airlines that could have remained profitable through airline deregulation, September 11, and through the bankruptcy of the competitors. Post-September11, 2001, when most airlines in went in for massive layoffs, ABC airlines avoided laying off any employee Even before the September 11 crisis hit, the organization believed that nothing kills the company's culture like layoffs. Nobody has ever been furloughed, and that is unprecedented in the airline industry. It's been a huge strength of ABC airlines. All these have contributed towards ABC airlines to face challenges. Q2. Why did ABC Airlines take extra emphasis on taking care of the employees and building relationships? ABC airlines management has created a culture where employees are treated as the company's number one asset. The management believes that though relationships are relatively soft organizational factors and therefore tempting to neglect under challenging conditions, strong working relationships allow organizations to move beyond the traditional trade-offs between efficiency and quality and to achieve higher levels of both, simultaneously.

Relationships are not just a nice addition to the hard factors, but are powerful drivers of organizational performance; if they are consistently integrated into organizational practices over the long term. The organization is committed to provide employees a stable work environment with equal opportunity for learning and personal growth. Creativity and innovation are encouraged for improving the effectiveness of ABC Airlines. Above all, Employees will be provided the same concern, respect, and caring attitude within the organization that they are expected to share externally with every ABC airline Customer. The organization always showed their employees that they value them and they're not going to hurt them just to get a little more money in the short term. Not furloughing people breeds loyalty. It breeds a sense of security. It breeds a sense of trust. So in bad times the management takes care of them, and in good times they're thinking, perhaps, "We've never lost our jobs. That's a pretty good reason for employees to stick around." ABC airline has a long tradition of bridging the work/family divide by seeking to accommodate the needs of families through flexible scheduling and ensuring that managers do not devote too much time to the job at the expense of their families. The benefits it gives its employees include: profit-sharing and empowering employees to make decisions. It has developed strong employee and customer loyalty - a feeling of devotion, duty and attachment towards the organization. ABC airlines most distinctive organizational competency is its ability to build and

Sustain relationships characterized by Shared goals, Shared knowledge and Mutual respect. Focus on relationships is the fundamental driver of leadership, culture, strategy, and coordination at ABC airlines .All these makes employees embrace their connections with one another Which allows them to coordinate more effectively across all functions. The organization believes that credibility and caring are the ability to inspire trust and the ability to inspire in employees the belief that their leaders care deeply about their well-being. ABC airlines top management team have gained the complete trust of managers in the field, and of frontline employees, by being forthright and consistent in their messages to employees SECTION- B

Q1.

Organization structure:An organizational structure consists of activities such as coordination and supervision which constitute towards the achievement of organization. Organization structure determines how businesses are made and implemented at all levels of business. Every organization made up of more than one person will need some forms of organizational structure .An organizational structure shows the way in which the chain of commands works within the organization. Each organization will have different structures. For example most organizations will have a marketing department responsible for market and market planning. The customer department will look after the customer requirements. The human resources department will be responsible for recruitment and selection of new employees, employee motivation and ranges of other people focused activities. In an organization there will also be a number of core functional areas such as

administration and information technology department that services the functional areas of the company. These departments provide back up support and training. From the above statements its clear that organizations are structured in different ways by its functions, by regional areas, by products and into work teams. Importance of Organization structure:Importance of organization structure involves assisting business owners, ceos, and entrepreneurs to conceptualize, visualize and construct a hierarchical system to be implemented into their organization. Organization structure gives authority and responsibility to individuals. It directs who is in charge of what and who is responsible for what outcome. The structure helps individuals to know their roles and how to relate to each other in the organization. The organization structure gives the pattern of communication and coordination in the organization. By grouping activities and individuals, organization structure helps to facilitate communication between individuals centered in their responsibilities. This enables information sharing and problem solving. Proper balancing: organization structure ensures good coordination between different groups in the organization. For example: Nike Company it is a publicly traded supplier of sportswear and equipment in the United States. The company headquarters are based in Beaverton. Nike is the worlds greatest manufacturer and supplier of athletic shoes. The Company adopts a hybrid of both functional and divisional structure. The chief executive officer is in the top of the hierarchy and the following managers directly report to him: the corporate vice president, manager operations, manager Jordan brand, manager Nike brand, manager global basketball, manager Americas brand, manager administration, manager Brand and category management, manager footwear, human resources manager, sports marketing manager and the manager in charge of Nike design . Looking at the Nike structure we realize that each brand has a department that organizes its activities. Each brand operates independently such that it organizes on the production and marketing. Each department then has subunits or sub-departments like production and accounting. This enables the company to track the performance of each of its brand separately.

Q2. The impact of culture on an Organization:Strong culture is said to exist where staff respond to stimulus because of their alignment to organizational values. In such environments, strong cultures help firms operate like well-oiled machines, cruising along with outstanding execution and perhaps minor tweaking of existing procedures here and there. Conversely, there is weak culture where there is little alignment with organizational values and control must be exercised through extensive procedures and bureaucracy.

Research shows that organizations that foster strong cultures have clear values that give employees a reason to embrace the culture. A "strong" culture may be especially beneficial to firms operating in the service sector since members of these organizations are responsible for delivering the service and for evaluations important constituents make about firms. Research indicates that organizations may derive the following benefits from developing strong and productive cultures: Better aligning the company towards achieving its vision, mission, and goals. High employee motivation and loyalty. Increased team cohesiveness among the companys various departments and divisions. Promoting consistency and encouraging coordination and control within the company. Shaping employee behavior at work, enabling the organization to be more efficient.

Q3.

Kolb's Cycle of Learning

The four learning styles. Concrete Experience (doing / having an experience) - . Learning from specific experiences and relating to people.

Reflective Observation (reviewing / reflecting on the experience) - Observing before making a judgment by viewing the environment from different perspectives.

Abstract conceptualization (thinking) - Logical analysis of ideas and acting on intellectual understanding of a situation.

Active experimentation (planning) - Ability to get things done by influencing people and events through action. Includes risk-taking. According to Kolb, the learning cycle involves four processes that must be present for learning to occur: Diverging (concrete, reflective) - Emphasizes the innovative and imaginative approach to doing things. Views concrete situations from many perspectives and adapts by observation rather than by action. Interested in people and tends to be feeling-oriented. Likes such activities as cooperative groups and brainstorming. o Assimilating (abstract, reflective) - Pulls a number of different observations and thoughts into an integrated whole. Likes to reason inductively and create models and theories. Likes to design projects and experiments. o Converging (abstract, active) - Emphasizes the practical application of ideas and solving problems. Likes decision-making, problem-solving, and the practicable application of ideas. Prefers technical problems over interpersonal issues. o Accommodating (concrete, active) - Uses trial and error rather than thought and reflection. Good at adapting to changing circumstances; solves problems in an intuitive, trial-and-error manner, such as discovery learning. Also tends to be at ease with people.
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Q4.

The two purposes of Learning Style Inventory

The Learning Style Inventory (LSI) was created to fulll two purposes:

1) To serve as an educational tool to increase individuals understanding of the process of learning from experience and their unique individual approach to learning. By increasing awareness of how they learn, the aim is to increase learners capacity for meta-cognitive control of their learning process, enabling them to monitor and select learning approaches that work best for them in different learning situations. By providing a language for talking about learning styles and the learning process, the inventory can foster conversation among learners and educators about how to create the most effective learning environment for those involved. For this purpose, the inventory is best presented not as a test, but as an experience in understanding how one learns. Scores on the inventory should not be interpreted as denitive, but as a starting point for exploration of how one learns best. To facilitate this purpose, a self-scoring and interpretation book that explains the experiential learning cycle and the characteristics of the different learning styles, along with scoring and proling instructions, is included with the inventory. 2) To provide a research tool for investigating experiential learning theory (ELT) and the characteristics of Individual learning styles. This research can contribute to the broad advancement of experiential learning and, specically, to the validity of interpretations of individual learning style scores. A research version of the instrument, including only the inventory to be scored by the researcher, is available for this purpose.