FH It sucks that your school didn't have a good camp for you. Our food is pretty good, we're in charge of our breakfasts and our first night's dinner (the school gave us money as a budgeting/team work/life skills activity) which was fun. We did some basic school stuff (how VCE works, what a study score is etc), some mental health stuff (like crafts and stuff), some team building, we got to hang out on the beach and surf.

We also had to write a letter to our end of year self which was kind of strange but I appreciate the idea behind it, kinda made me realise what I put in this journal may be a good way to reflect on me at the end of the year and try to remember just some stuff I've done.
Overall I've enjoyed this camp, talked to more people than I normally would have but I think it's good, it's made me happy at least.
I'm sorry your camp experience wasn't great, hopefully you have a good rest of the year to make up for it

  • FH replied to this.

      Rey_of_sunshine WHOA that is so cool not gonna lie - i would have loved being in charge of planning meals. we did a lot of similar stuff, we had to write letters to each other too which was a bit cliche but i think it would be fascinating to see what i wrote to myself this time next year.
      i hope the rest of your year 12 goes well!!

          FH Yeah it was a pretty good camp and the planning meals activity was a lot of fun. I hope the rest of your year 12 goes well as well!

            Officially week 3 and still won't be having a full week of classes this week lol. We have swimming sports day and I have my CHES orientation day so I'll be missing 2 days worth of classes, plus V-line strikes are making going to CHES orientation very difficult which sucks for anyone who isn't in Melbourne (me and a couple people from my school).
            I don't have much work to do at the moment still (subject to change), with just some notes for english and some textbook questions for business but I will have to do some catchup after missing subjects for orientation.
            Our last day at camp we played a bunch of trivia before driving home, it was nice to be able to sleep in my own bed again but definitely weird thinking I'll never have a school camp again.
            Hope everyone's doing well and to anyone else coming up to CHES for orientation day from rural/regional vic I hope you're able to find something that works for you and if not I'll probably talk a little about it on here.
            Hope everyone's classes are going well

            My last swimming day is done, my house won (go green!) and I was helping teachers run organisational stuff to get house points rather than by racing. Plus it meant I got to hangout with my friend in the teachers only area. It was fun and It's weird that it was my last but even though I didn't participate in the year 12 events I still had fun.
            I did participate in our 'fashion show' which was fun, and my yearly contribution at the swimming carnival lol.
            Just need to work on some busines notes as I'll be absent for my next period in the week (for CHES orientation) and some psychology edrolo notes yet I keep forgetting to bring headphones to school, woops. I do have a double free tommorow though, plus I'm at my 'study club' (if two people is enough to be considered a club lol) right now, about to get the business notes done because we have a SAC next week I think?
            To anyone who reads this, I hope your year is going well so far!

            • FH replied to this.

              FH That'd be awesome thanks, we've only used the textbook and did a case study/questions on Australia Post so far so any extra resources would always be welcome lol. How are you feeling about the SAC?

              • FH replied to this.

                  Just a general update, geuss who got sick (spoiler alert: the answer is me). It's just a stupid cold but I've taken yesterday and today off school meaning I had to miss the CHES orientation day which was devastating (I could have gone wearing a mask but because of the V-line strikes the only option was to wake-up at 4 am to drive in and then wait in the cold from 6-9:30 when the program starts which is a horrendous idea if you're sick, or if you're not sick). So I'll have to do the online one like a lot of other rural/regional students. At least I should be well enough for Melbourne Uni's orientation day tommorow but I'm just so upset because I had to spend a while stressing and trying to organise a way to get to CHES (I was going to have to catch the bus thursday night, stay with a friend who lives in an outer Melbourne suburb and then spend an hour on buses/trams just to get there) and the universe decides now is the best time for me to get sick which just sucks, especially because it's such a mild cold but I still didn't want to get my friend sick potentially, or anyone else.
                  At least I shouldn't have too much schoolwork for the missed days as I was already ahead on business notes/hospitality work, so it's just English and some psych I'll really need to catch up on but currently procrastinating that.
                  Hope everyone else is feeling well

                  Rey_of_sunshine we just got a bunch of practice exam questions. i have NO idea how to attach this, so i’ll do the good old copy and paste T-T. hope you feel better too!

                  VCAA 2017: Section A - Q1a-b
                  Gadget Industries has recently changed its business structure from being a sole trader to a partnership. The business has also employed a new Human Resource Manager to oversee this area of management responsibility. (3 marks)
                  a. Define the term ‘sole trader.’ (1 mark)
                  b. Outline one reason why a business may choose to operate as a partnership rather than as a sole trader. (2 marks)

                  VCAA 2021: Section B - Q1
                  Define what is meant by the ‘rate of staff absenteeism.’ (2 marks)

                  VCAA 2022: Section A - Q1b
                  In 2017, John was employed as the manager of a bakery with 80 employees. In 2020, the business has had the following business objectives:
                  to increase profits by 10%
                  to reduce staff absenteeism by 20%
                  John has adopted an autocratic management style.
                  b. Evaluate the suitability of the management style John has adopted for achieving the bakery’s business objectives. (5 marks)

                  VCAA 2018: Section A - Q1b
                  123 Childcare Centre is a business operating as a partnership. It provides child care services for children aged five and under. Mary Kidd, one of the partners at the centre, wants to meet the demand for high-quality and reliable childcare in her local area. However, employees complain of long hours and their motivation is low. Staff turnover is a problem and Mary is unsure of how to address this.
                  b. Describe a business objective (other than ‘to make a profit’) that would be relevant to 123 Childcare Centre. (2 marks)

                  VCAA 2021: Section A - Q1a
                  Fran is the newly appointed manager of an Australian software business. The business is a public listen company working towards the achievement of its business objectives.
                  a. With reference to this business, define the term ‘stakeholder.’ (2 marks)

                  VCAA 2021: Section A - Q5a
                  Alex is the manager of a large gaming store. The business sells games for gaming consoles.
                  Alex has recently been informed that the store has been sold to a multinational chain. As changes are implemented, approximately 20% of all staff will need to be retrenched. Alex is concerned that some stakeholder groups will resist the changes. He has noticed that employees seem to be lacking motivation since the announcement of the sale of the business.
                  a. Identify one stakeholder group that might resist these changes at the gaming store. Describe one low risk strategy that could be used to overcome resistance to the changes from this stakeholder group. (4 marks)

                  VCAA 2017: Section A - Q4c
                  Small Goods Pty Ltd is a manufacturer of various types of processed meats, including ham, salami, and sausages. The Operations Manager, Heidi, is concerned about the increasing level of wastage. She has set an objective to reduce wastage from the production process by 90% over the next two years.
                  c. Analyse the impact that the reduction of the level of wastage may have on Small Goods Pty Ltd’s suppliers and one other stakeholder. (4 marks)

                  VCAA 2019: Section B - Q4-5
                  ATI-TUDE is a Melbourne-based clothing manufacturer and retailer. It was established as a public-listed company in 2009. ATI-TUDE produces a range of innovative and quality sportswear products for men, women and children. Customers can buy products online as well as through the five ATI-TUDE stores located in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.
                  ATI-TUDE’s market share has risen steadily since 2009 to a peak of 15% of overall market share in the sportswear market in Australia in 2019.
                  The Finance Manager recently produced data for ATI-TUDE’s senior managers, showing key performance indicators (KPIs) for the past two years. One of the KPIs was net profit. The net profit figures for each of the five ATI-TUDE stores are shown in Figure 1.

                  The Sales and Marketing Director has identified an increase of 75% in the number of online sales over the same period of time (2018–2019). She believes that this is due to the strategy of increased investment in technology and the development of the company’s website and online store.
                  The following KPIs, for the last 12 months, were also presented to ATI-TUDE’s shareholders.

                  At the recent annual general meeting, it was announced to shareholders that the board will be streamlining business operations. As a result, the board will be closing two stores and this will lead to the termination of the employment of many staff.

                  1. Explain two skills that ATI-TUDE’s Human Resource Manager will require during the period of store closures. (6 marks)
                  2. The Human Resource Mnagager is known for his autocratic management style. Evaluate the sustainability of this management style as the store closures are implemented. (5 marks)

                  VCAA 2017: Section A - Q1d
                  Gadget Industries has recently changed its business structure from being a sole trader to a partnership. The business has also employed a new Human Resource Manager to oversee this area of management responsibility.
                  d. In order to reduce the level of staff turnover, the Human Resource Mnaager has decided to adopt a persuasive management style.
                  Explain how a persuasive management style may assist in reducing the level fo staff turnover. (3 marks)

                  VCAA 2016: Section A - Q5c-d
                  c. Justify an appropriate management style that could be used to help in the resolution of conflicts that may arise in the workplace. (2 marks)
                  d. Other than communication, justify two management skills reuiqred to successfully resolve disputes. (4 marks)

                  VCAA 2014: Section A - Q3b-c
                  Shackleton Pty Ltd is a large-scale business producing and installing state-of-the-art security systems. Its headquarters is in Melbourne and it has numerous offices across Australia. The organisation employs 1000 people. Shackleton has grown into a leader in its field. Shackleton believes in using products of the highest possible quality to ensure that the customer has many years of problem-free use. Shackleton's CEO, Zac Shackleton, believes that if he employs capable staff, they will motivate themselves to do a good job. However, last month Zac noticed a drop in productivity and a rise in the number of customer complaints. Zac knows he must act swiftly or face competitors gaining a larger market share.
                  b. Discuss a management style that would best suit Zac in overcoming the drop in productivity that he has identified. (4 marks)
                  c. Identify and explain two management skills that Zac could use to address the issue of customer complaints. (4 marks)

                  VCAA 2011: Section A - Q1a-b
                  In the foyer of the head office of Southern Industries hangs a sign that states ‘Employees are our most important resource. If we look after our staff everything else will take care of itself.’
                  a. Define the term corporate culture. (1 mark)
                  b. Describe one way management can develop an organisation’s corporate culture.

                      FH Thankyou so much, I'll make sure to use these in the leadup to the SAC and I don't think we can attach stuff? (either that or I just have not been able to find it lol, about a 50/50 chance I'm just blind). I've also copied and pasted the one case study we did below just in case it may be useful but feel free to ignore it completely. Goodluck for your SAC!

                      AUSTRALIA POST
                      Background
                      Australia Post is a self-funded business enterprise that is wholly owned by the Australian Government. Founded in 1975, it was previously a department of the federal government, although its establishment dates back to 1810 when the first post office was opened in Sydney. In 1989, Australia Post was incorporated under the Australian Postal Corporation Act.
                      In addition to providing postal services across Australia and internationally to more than 200 countries, Australia Post offers retail, banking and travel services. It has more than 4320 retail outlets Australia wide, with over half of them located in rural and remote areas, and it delivers nearly 3 billion items each year.
                      It offers a range of business services, one of which is MyPost Business that enables businesses to send parcels efficiently by using an online portal to create and pay for shipping labels, and track them. Australia Post also offers parcel, freight and logistics services through its subsidiary Star Track. It is Australia’s largest parcels, freight and logistics supplier. (Logistics refers to planning and executing the movement and storage of products and materials through a supply chain from the point of origin to its final destination.)
                      Australia Post employs approximately 37 000 people directly, including casual workers, and has an ‘extended’ workforce consisting of around 27 000 contractors, post office licensees and consultants.
                      Financial performance and business objectives
                      In the 2020–21 financial year, Australia Post recorded $8.3 billion in revenue and a profit before tax of $100.7 million. It contributes around $6 billion annually to the Australian economy. Australia Post’s profits are reinvested into the business or paid to its sole shareholder, the federal government, as dividends. In the 2020–21 financial year, the dividend was $46.2 million.
                      Australia Post’s principal objectives are based on commercial and community service obligations, as set out in the Australian Postal Corporation Act. According to its Statement of Corporate Intent 2020–21 – 2023–24 (page 2), Australia Post’s principal objectives are:
                      to supply postal services within Australia and between Australia and places outside Australia. While doing this, we will provide high-quality, efficient services to the community, and operate commercially and achieve a reasonable return on assets.
                      Australia Post has a broad range of stakeholders, including:
                      • customers
                      • its workforce, including employees and an extended workforce
                      • partners, for example logistics companies such as ReadyToShip and Aramex, and not-for-profit organisations such as The Big Issue and Beyond Blue
                      • suppliers
                      • the federal government, as a customer, shareholder and regulator
                      • the community.
                      Leadership team
                      Australia Post has a board of directors and an executive leadership team consisting of a chief executive officer and seven executive general managers who are responsible for different areas of the organisation.
                      In late 2021, Paul Graham was appointed Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Australia Post, having previously been Woolworths Group’s Chief Supply Chain Officer.

                       

                      He immigrated to Australia from Northern Ireland in the 1970s and started work at the age of 18 in the area of customer service at an air freight company. He later moved into the field of sales and operations, working in different jobs. He rose to the position of Chief Operating Officer of the Supply Chain division at logistics company DHL, before joining Woolworths.
                      Paul Graham is aware of the pressures on supply chains caused by increased consumer demand created through e-commerce, combined with high customer expectations about efficient and effective service delivery. Given his background, he strongly believes it is important for executives to ‘get out of the office’ and talk to frontline team members, who are doing the hard work in warehouses or delivering parcels, and to listen to and respect their views. He regards it as his responsibility to invite feedback from all areas of the business, including from team members, customers and other stakeholders, to avoid developing an ‘ivory tower’ mindset and losing touch with frontline employees. He has appointed a new executive team who he says has the right skills and strategy to ensure Australia Post meets customers’ expectations.
                      Ethical standards and corporate culture
                      Australia Post places a high value on being one of the nation’s most accessible and trusted brands and postal services. Its core values, which are documented in a number of its publications, are trust, inclusivity, empowerment and safety. These values underpin the business’s ethical standards, which guide conduct and behaviour among Australia Post employees and with the organisation’s partners and customers.
                      In 2020, Australia Post’s ethical standards were called into question when it was revealed that four of its senior managers were given Cartier watches valued at $20 000 in total as a reward for securing a lucrative contract with three of Australia’s largest banks. Despite Australia Post profiting from the contract and being required to operate commercially, the purchase of the Cartier watches was considered by some people to be an example of a negative corporate culture. The purchase was also regarded as being out of step with public expectations and a waste and misuse of taxpayer money, given that Australia Post is a government-owned enterprise.

                      Australia Post is a self-funded business enterprise that has 4320 post offices
                      across Australia, including over 2500 in rural and remote areas.

                       
                      QUESTIONS AND TASKS
                      1 a. Define the term ‘government business enterprise’.
                      b. State two characteristics of a government business enterprise.
                      c. Distinguish between a government business enterprise and a social enterprise.
                      d. Is a government business enterprise the most suitable type of business for Australia Post? Justify your answer.
                      2 The following statistics, which have been reproduced from the Australia Post annual report 2021 (page 1), measure performance against specific targets.
                      Analyse the statistics and state which one of Australia Post’s principal objectives each performance result has helped to achieve. Justify your answer.
                      Performance statistics (2020–21) Related principal objective Justification
                      i. 15 000 street posting boxes compared with a target of 10 000
                      ii. Rolled out route optimisation software to more than 3700 drivers to support delivery of 500 000 parcels every day
                      iii. Revenue of $8.27 billion, an increase of 10.3%
                      iv. 2517 post offices in rural and remote areas compared with a target of 2500
                      v. On-time delivery of letters performance of 95.1% compared with a target of 94%
                      vi. A dividend of $46.2 million paid in the 2020–21 financial year, compared with a target of $39.8 million
                      3 a. Select two of the following general business objectives that are closely aligned with Australia Post’s principal objectives. Justify your choices.
                      • To make a profit
                      • To increase market share
                      • To improve efficiency
                      • To improve effectiveness
                      • To fulfill a market need
                      • To fulfill a social need
                      • To meet shareholder expectations
                      b. Describe two ways Australia Post can ‘meet shareholder expectations’.
                       
                      4 a. Describe two characteristics of two stakeholders of Australia Post.
                      b. Of Australia Post’s stakeholders, identify those that are internal stakeholders and those that are external stakeholders.
                      c. The following issues were identified by Australia Post’s internal and external stakeholders in 2021, as reported in Australia Post’s 2021 annual report.
                      For each of the issues, list one stakeholder for whom the issue would be a prime concern.
                      Stakeholder issue Stakeholder
                      i. Employee safety, health and wellbeing
                      ii. Viable parcel business
                      iii. Operating profitably
                      iv. Workforce engagement
                      v. Post office network viability
                      vi. Customer experience
                      vii. Corporate governance
                      viii. Employer of choice
                      ix. Reliable letters business
                      x. Supporting the community
                      xi. Employee safety, health and wellbeing
                      d. Choose two of the stakeholders you listed in your answer to part c. and explain why the corresponding issue would be important to them.
                      e. Outline one possible conflict of interest between two of Australia Post’s stakeholders.
                      5 a. Identify the management style of Australia Post’s CEO, Paul Graham. With reference to the case study, justify your answer.
                      b. Describe two management skills that Paul Graham would need to possess when using the management style you identified in your answer to part a.
                      c. In what circumstances might Paul Graham use a different management style? Identify the management style he might use in these circumstances and justify your choice.
                      6 a. i. Define the term ‘corporate culture’.
                      ii. Why was the Cartier watch controversy at Australia Post regarded by some people as an example of a negative corporate culture?
                      b. What are the possible implications of the controversy for Australia Post and how might these affect the success of the business?
                      c. Explain how the Cartier watch controversy at Australia Post could be regarded as an example of the real culture of a business not being aligned with the official culture.
                      d. Using a different business example, explain how official corporate culture and real corporate culture can differ.

                      • FH replied to this.

                          That's alright and I think Friday but honestly not 100% certain, he said it'd be a single later in the week so it'd make the most sense?

                          yeah, my sac is PERIOD 6 on a friday (which i think is hell) BUT i might have cancelled class 1/2 and 3/4 is my study, so i get in class revision period 5 for business so i might get all of next friday to study for the sac (fingers crossed)

                          That'd be awesome and your school does 6 periods? Can I ask how many periods you get for each class and how long a period is?

                          ofc! each period goes for 50 minutes and the structure is P1/2, recess, P3/4, lunch, P5/6. each class has 2 double periods and 1 single period per week, except in one of the blocks where it’s 3 singles and 1 double. i thought all schools have 6 periods what does yours do?

                          We have 5 periods, each one is 58 minutes and we have 2 periods in the morning, 2 before lunch and 1 after lunch. Our school gives us 4 periods per subject (a double and 2 singles) and one period a week is for our homeroom type class

                          Just had my Melbourne Uni HES program orientation day and it was pretty good, we got pizza and tea from chatime for lunch, everyone was really nice and I made a few friends. We got some general study tips, explored their biggest library and went on a tour (apparently Melbourne uni was the reason for labour day and they also had like the entire front of an old fancy building donated to them which was interesting). The cohort was pretty massive and we all got a free hoodie and badge. We played human bingo (this is my like fourth game of human bingo for stuff this year).
                          I got there all by myself (may not be an achievement to anyone else but public transport is very scary and I am regional so had to catch the train in so like it was time consuming and I'd never done it by myself before).
                          Found out we'll get revision lectures, exam preparation workshop and even a graduation ceremony which means I'll have multiple graduation ceremonies (so fancy wow)
                          I also saw two cosplayers in Melbourne and a tonne of swifties were out (especially in the afternoon), not related just cool cause like they all looked pretty cool.
                          I hope everyones weekend is going well!

                          • FH likes this.

                          Back at school for 2 days now and I've pretty much gotten myself where I should be, just need to finish a small task about the characters in We Have Always Lived in the Castle plus a homework task (though I have a week for that), a few psych notes I didn't quite finish and some multichoice questions. My business SAC has been pushed back to next week, my psych SAC is also next week and English and hospitality aren't for a little while.
                          Last hospitality lesson we got to do a tea tasting which was fun, plus I did some notes at the same time to do catch up and tommorow we start making mocktails. I got my official dux certificate for my year 12 subject today which is cool though I hated getting it in front of people at the assembly.
                          We're up to gut microbiota in psychology and I love it because of food last year, I miss taking the subject but I'm still enjoying the ones I'm currently doing.
                          Oh and I got the official (not called a study design but I'm going to call it that anyway) for my university course and I love knowing when all the assessments are due for the entire year, although there is apparently a group project oral presentation which I'm not looking forwarrd to.
                          I think that's about it so yeah, sorry it's kind of a jumble of thoughts but we haven't really done that much lol. Hope everyone's going well and goodluck to people as SAC's start coming through!

                          Had double business and double hospitality today, we made mocktails which was fun and pretty tasty.
                          In business Management we had a practice SAC which was 20 marks, I got 19/20 and I'm a little annoyed at myself (yeah I know it's not a bad grade) because my mistake was not a content error but a command word error. I was meant to evaluate but I answered it more like a justify so it's a fixable mistake but just something I already knew so a little dissapointed in myself but I'm still pretty happy with the rest of my marks so I must've done better at the content than I thought I would.
                          I also did the modules on consent and academic integrity for Melbourne Uni which was long, but the academic integrity was kind of interesting (mainly the stuff on collusion and AI in learning).
                          Don't have much else to say so to anyone who reads this, hope you're doing well 🙂

                          I've done all the notes from the textbook for psychology now (yay!) which puts me ahead of my class so I'm also doing edrolo notes. We've gotten the short case study our SAC next week will be based on and also been given a practice SAC I havent looked at yet (I plan on doing it under exam conditions over the weekend).
                          In English I've started transferring all the information for the We Have Always Lived in the Castle insight text guide into notes as revision and I think I'm on track for the class work.
                          Hospitality is still easy, I'm where I should be with course work although I do need to start making coffee's soon to get enough done throughout the year (the thought makes me kind of anxious because I'm not great at pracs and teachers drink them and I don't want to mess up, also I struggle to fully understand the difference between a lot of coffee's because to be honest as a non-coffee drinker they're all just kind of milk and coffee but I'll learn).
                          Business Management is going alright still, fairly confident on my content and the SAC is next Wednesday, I think I might ask for another practice SAC when I have it today just as extra revision, or I may see if I can find one online for free, we'll see I geuss.
                          CHES starts next week on Tuesday for me (terrifyig and exciting) with tutorials starting the week after, but I am excited and I'm hoping that the content helps out in my 3/4 psych too. CHES has also released their school council applications and I'm considering applying, I haven't done much to do with leadership but I think it'd be a really cool opportunity, plus obviously it looks good on a resume. Also their meetings are run digitally meaning as a regional student I could still join which is awesome because a lot of CHES while being state wide is a lot more accessible for metropolitan students.
                          I think that's kind of it for what's been happening at school, I haven't hit the year 12 exhaustion yet but haven't even started all my classes so I geuss we'll see how I go.
                          I hope everyone who reads this is going well and remember to try and take care of yourself and don't let the pressure overwhelm you (easier said than done, I know).