The exam consists of approximately 90-120 questions; 10 questions from each topic are selected at random from a test bank. The topic areas included in the Bachelor of Arts in Human Resources Management comprehensive exam match the design of the BAHRM curriculum. 

The following topics are assessed:

1. Accounting

2. Business Ethics

3. Business Finance

4. Business Integration and Strategic Management

5. Advanced Human Resource Management II

6. Advanced Human Resource Management IV

7. Information Management Systems

8. Legal Environment of Business

9. Management a. Human Resource Management b. Operations/Production Management c. Organizational Behavior

10. Marketing

You are the vice president for human resources for GMFC. The company and the union have failed to agree on a new contract, and the old contract expired last week. Two issues are unresolved, and no movement has been made on these for more than 10 days. The union is demanding 10 cents an hour more than the company is willing to offer, and management continues to demand some employee co-payments for medical care. This is the first negotiation in 15 years in which a new contract has not been ratified before the old one expired.

Local 384 voted a strike authorization about a month ago, but the leaders have not indicated at this point whether they intend to strike. Production managers are lobbying for a lockout to avoid material losses if the heated steel treating process must be shut down rapidly. Marketing managers want production to meet orders scheduled for shipment. They argue the union doesn’t intend to strike because it hasn’t already done so.

In the senior management meeting this morning, the CFO briefed the other members and indicated the company could accept a labor cost increase of 5 cents an hour more, but only if this is a firm figure and not subject to increase over the term of the contract. Unfortunately, the union appeared adamant that it will not agree to any health care co-payment.

You have been tasked to recommend specific strategic actions to the senior management team in this impasse. Considering the evidence, what actions should the company take? Outline each specific action, including processes used and timetables. Consider the possibility that your strategic recommendations may trigger a lockout, strike, or other union activity.

Be sure your paper follows APA style according to the CSU-Global Guide to Writing and APA Requirements; the paper should be 8-10 pages in length, not including the cover and reference pages.

Use at least five credible sources. The CSU-Global Library is a good place to find these resources. You may not use Wikipedia for any CSU-Global assignment. For this assignment, a credible source is defined as:

• A scholarly or peer-reviewed journal article
• A government-based website or publication
• A trade or industry journal article, publication, or website, including those from trade organizations

The next part of the project will focus on specific areas of the concept, such as describing the menu, describing functional areas, and determining relevant data for the facilities.  You will need to use provided resources for overall project as well as describing specific areas. Necessary files are linked and found under “Resources” on class website navigation menu.  These forms should be presented as appendices in your submitted document.  Each worksheet will be presented in dedicated appendix, shown in sequence as Appendix A, Appendix B, and so on until complete.  Appendices follow the reference list in APA format.  Content related to a worksheet should annotate the relevant appendix.

Example: “The design worksheet in appendix A shows that 20% of the total square footage will be used for the bar.”

• Facilities design: ACTION PLAN – Facility Design Worksheet
• Each functional area: ACTION PLAN – Foodservice Facilities Program Worksheet

The content of the writing will provide an analysis of the data presented as well as justification for decisions or claims being made.  The content of the writing will also need to explain decisions made within context of the planning process, such as identifying what needed to be decided first or what decisions affected other aspects of the planning process.

The project planning analysis will need to include the following elements;

• Compile operational data [Use facility design worksheet]
• Menu development.
  • Your base menu must identify at least five [5] “signature” entrées that will affect layout or necessary equipment.
  • Discuss intended prices for these items.
  • Justify prices with a discussion of your food costs.
  • Estimate your projected sales and expenses for this menu.
• Develop a Foodservice Facilities Program [Use foodservice facilities design worksheet]
  • Create a bubble diagram or flow chart to show how the areas relate to each other
• Facility layout
  • On computer or on 24-by-36-inch graph paper, create a layout of the proposed facility, both front and back of house. (Check out: www.smartdraw.com)
    • Define scale
    • Begin by deciding the broad outlines of such areas as entrance(s), dining space, kitchen, bar, restrooms, storage spaces Be sure to show all doors, windows, aisles and enclosed spaces Show locations of all drains and the grease interceptor (trap). Show electrical outlets and direct electrical connections, particularly in the kitchen

As with phase one, the above elements do not represent the framework or outline of the writing. These are only elements that must be addressed as if presenting to investors or partners.

Writing Guidelines

• Written communication: Written communication is free of errors that detract from the overall message.
• APA formatting: Resources and citations are formatted according to APA (6th edition) style and formatting.
• Length of paper: Actual length will be based on assessing what information is necessary and what is extraneous.  You will need to determine what you need to communicate without adding “fluff” and assuring all identified elements from the instructions are addressed where and when applicable.

Activity #3: Submission

Please refer to the case overview in Units 1 & 2 for the business premise and situation. This week, you will continue to work on The Broadway Café as it struggles to compete in the 21st century.

PROJECT INSTRUCTIONS:

Each week you will submit your response to the business situation presented. Use an APA formatted paper with a Title page and a References page. Your paper should be double-spaced and written in Times New Roman size 12 font. The paper will be written in an essay format. Do not use a question and answer format.

Business Dilemma

Components of a solid enterprise architecture include everything from documentation to business concepts to software and hardware. Deciding which components to implement and how to implement them can be a challenge. New IT components are released daily, and business needs continually change. An enterprise architecture that meets the cafe’s needs today may not meet those needs tomorrow. Building an enterprise architecture that is scalable, flexible, available, accessible, and reliable is key to the cafe’s success.

The cafe has a limited budget for computer equipment.  One of your most valued employees, Nick Zele, is highly technical and always insisting that the cafe is outdated and needs to upgrade its equipment.  Nick’s latest push is for dishwasher safe keyboards and mice for the cafe’s kiosks.  The spill proof equipment would last longer and could be washed daily to remove germs and bacteria. The cost of the new hardware is around $1,000 for a keyboard and a mouse.

PROJECT FOCUS:

You understand the need to bring the cafe into the 21st century. However, you have many equipment requirements and a limited budget.

If you could determine the return on investment (ROI) of the new computer equipment, it would be easy to make a decision. Unfortunately, this is a difficult task.  For example, what is the ROI of a fire extinguisher? If you never use the fire extinguisher, your return on the investment is low. If the first extinguisher puts out a fire that could destroy the entire building, then its ROI is very high.

Making Business Decisions II

On your way to work this morning, you stopped for gas. When you were inside paying, someone broke into your car and stole your computer bag. You did not notice until you arrived at the cafe and began looking for your bag. As you begin to realize all of the data you just lost including customer lists, profit and loss analysis, tax returns, e-mail, sales information, payroll files, etc. you begin to wonder when you last backed up your hard drive.

Because of the importance of data backup, numerous companies produce specialized backup software. Backup utilities offer advanced features in the following areas to differentiate it from the Windows Backup utility and from software included with CD and DVD burners:

Support for all current media types, including all DVD formats, Zip disks, Pen storage, and so on.

Highly specific backup selections, combinations of files and folders in any location.

On-the-fly compression of files, to provide reduced file sizes in the backup.

Automatic comparisons of data after the backup, taking a number of forms.

Support for multi-CD or multi-DVD backups, with a single backup spanning as many discs as necessary.

Detailed backup schedulers.

Detailed methods of including or excluding file types.

Backup from remote computers.

In addition, some backup utilities now include the technology known as ghost imaging or just plain ghosting. A ghost image captures the entire hard drive, backing it up to the point where you can restore your entire system from it.

PROJECT FOCUS:

Assess you plans for your enterprise architecture. Also, now that you have been stung by a painful data loss experience you realize the importance of having a backup strategy.

1. Why is it so difficult to determine the ROI of the components in your enterprise architecture?

2.  What can you do to determine the cost/benefit or ROI of the proposed dishwasher safe keyboard and mice?

3. Create a strategy to backup your personal computer. Be sure to search the Internet to find different third-party utilities that perform backup, restore, and ghosting.

4.  List the features and prices of each.

NOTE: This assignment is subject to the Critical Thinking Institutional Learning Outcome.  Select the link to view details on the grading parameters for this standard.