THE KENYA NATIONAL, EXAMINATIONS COUNCIL
DIPLOMA LN SALES AND MARKETING
DIPLOMA IN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
DIPLOMA IN TOURISM MANAGEMENT
DIPLOMA IN TOUR GUIDING MANAGEMENT
DIPLOMA IN INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY
DIPLOMA 1N PETROLEUM MANAGEMENT
MODULE I
Business leaders often struggle in ensure that [heir employees are productive. Measuring employee productivity is not easy and a number til applications have been designed to help do it. However, in ihc absence of the gadgets which can measure productivity, employers turn to mon doting bchuYkuiuL aspects such as the time spent in the office, late arrival to work, early departure from work, or if ihc staff are having too many conversations when they meet at common places such as washrooms. Nevertheless, these observable behavioural characteristics □rc by ho means a measure of productivity.
It is estimated that employees spend an average of live hours per day at their desks. However, this does not mean that they spend the entire five hours being productive. Conintry to what many people belecvc. a culture of long working hours docs not Dfice ssarily translate inEo more input In fact, such a culture may lead to staff burnout and an upsurge of sick leaves. A study of 600,000 individuals in Australia,the US and Europe found that people who work for more than 55 hours a week have a 33 per cent greater risk of suffering a stroke and 13 percent greater risk of suffering from coronary heart disease. The study concludes that employees need to pay mure attention to the health risk of long working hours.
Research findings show that more people are sLrcsscd today than ever before. A study in the US revealed that 40 per cent of employees feel thai their jobs arc a major cause of stress. The study further showed that 73 per cent of employees regularly experience psycholugfcat symptoms caused by stress and that workplace stress casts employers 3300 hillion annually. These statistics call for employers to create healthy and productive work environments in their organizations. In order to create a healthy and productive work environment, a number of measures need to be put in place. To begin with.an employer should understand the current situation in the workplace
by getting feedback troni staff. An annual staff survey would help die employer to know what employees are experiencing and understand what hinders or helps in their performance. The survey would also provide data that would enable the employer to focus on the crucial areas as well as a benchmark to measure improvement in the successive years.
In addition, encouraging staff to be active would help to maintain employee’s physical and mental health. Exercise brings many benefits to employees including stress relief, mood improvement, energy boost as well as combating diseases. Further. Lhc employer can encourage open and honest conversations as a way of relieving stress. Unhealthy work relationships such an bullying and harassment have beet) found to be a major source of stress. The employer should therefore
SECTION A (32 marks)
List three features of appraisal interviews.
List four instances when an apology letter may be written by an organization.
State three reasons why organizations may prefer written reports.
Outline three disadvantages of holding meetings in organizations.
State three roles of external communication in an organization
State three reasons for selecting communication media carefully
State three factors that determine the appropriate time to make a telephone call
List three reasons why a speaker should maintain eye contact when communicating
List four forms of visual communication which may be used to pass information.
State three instances when a sender may prefer to use e-mail to pass information
SECTION B (68 marks)
Answer ALL the questions in this section.
11. (a) Jamul Limited has advertised vacant positions in the company and has invited qualified candidates to send their curriculum vitacs. Assume that you qualify and write a curriculum vitae, (12 marks)
(b) Outline three ways of capturing the attention of the audience when delivering a speech. (6 marks)
12. (a) Explain four ways in which the chairperson may ensure the success of a meeting. (8 marks)
(b) Explain four ways in which the receiver may minimise barriers to oral communication. (8 marks)
13. The directors of Ukulima /Kgribusiness Limited have realized thal a number of its distributors have terminated their contracts over the last one year. As rhe Assistant Office Manager, you have been asked to investigate the matter and write a report with recommendations. Assume that you have completed your investigations and write the report. (16 marks) aim to create an environment where conflict k dealt with m a healthy way and problems are addressed as they arise.
Besides, ensuring that employees ate: clear about their roles and what is expected of them will enable them to focus on what needs to he achieved as opposed to constantly questioning if they are doing the right thing. This is because lack of clarity of roles and responsibilities can be a major stress trigger. Moreover, employees need a sense of purpose and clear direction in order to be productive. Employees should thus he made to understand not only what needs to be done but when it needs to be done. Linking goals to the bigger picture provides a meaningful context to the employee. Furthermore, employers should motivate employees to take personal initiative
to minimise work-related stress. In order to have a productive workforce, therefore, employers need lo take various measures.
Such measures include restructuring the methods of gauging work done and placing more emphasis on employee wellbeing among others. IT such measures are pul in place, work-related stress will be reduced to a bare minimum thus saving employers a lot of resources which have hitherto been spent on medical bills.
Adapted from: ‘Business Daily’ Tuesday 14lf> February, 2017
(a) State the meaning of the following words and phrases as used in the passage:
(i) measure;
(ii) spend;
(iii) regularly;
(iv) hinders;
(v) as they arise;
(vi) work done.
(6 marks)
(b) In about 130 words and according to the passage, explain the ways in which an employer may create a healthy and productive wnrk environment,
