SECTION A $[40$ MARKS$]$

Read the article below and answer ALL the questions that follow.

Mars is a Sweet Gig

Free chocolate is a nice perk that is likely to get the attention of a job applicant, but is it enough to keep employees long

enough to have employee retention rates to brag about? Probably not. That takes the kind of fulfilment that even

chocolate doesn$$t provide.

Mars Chocolate North America, producer of M&Ms$,$ Snickers, Dove, Milky Way, Twix, and many other chocolate treats,

places a high priority on training and development, contributing to the longevity and loyalty of their employees.

Tracy Wood, VP of People and Organisation at Mars North America, says, $$Our stellar retention rate ties back to the fact

that Mars invests in its people. I$$ve personally experienced this investment, and I$$ve witnessed other associates with

similar stories of trying new jobs within the same section, transferring to an entirely different section, or moving to a new

state, country or continent.$$

Wood herself benefitted from Mars employee development programmes, starting as an HR Manager in Mars Australia

Petcare Division $($which produces Pedigree dog food and Temptations cat treats$)$ and moving through positions in

different divisions and countries until finally landing her current position.

Another example of employee development is the career path of Lisa Schroeder, Associate Scientist and Descriptive

Panel Manager at Mars Chocolate. Schroeder had a secretarial background when she applied to be a Taste Tester at

Mars in $2000.$ Her background wasn$$t important, she explains. She was hired for ability, not experience. $$The first step of

the hiring process is to fill out a questionnaire, which asks questions to find out how you describe food and your

experience with tasting food. Once you$$re selected as a Taste Tester, you go through a six$-$month intensive training

programme to learn how to become a Mars Taste Tester.$$

After four years as a Taste Tester, Lisa was promoted to a role as a Sensory Technician and Trainer for the descriptive

analysis panel who help maintain the quality of Mars Chocolate products. She$$s proud of her work, explaining $$Mars

Chocolate has given me the opportunity to travel nationally and globally to share best practices, helping to ensure that

wherever around the world you taste Mars Chocolate products, the quality and experience are just the same.$$ Her

favourite chocolate? Twix, a Mars product of course!

Source: Adapted from: Verhulst, S$.$L$.$ and DeCenzo, D$.$A$.(2022)$ Fundamentals of Human Resource Management.

Fourteenth Ed$.$ Ontario: Wiley

Answer ALL the questions in this section.

QUESTION $1(20$ Marks$)$

$$Once you$$re selected as a Taste Tester, you go through a six$-$month intensive training programme to learn how to

become a Mars Taste Tester."

Critically discuss the training methods that would be most effective to train the Mars Chocolate Taste Testers.