BSNS5401 Introduction to Leadership Assessment 1, 2026 | Open Polytechnic

BSNS5401 Introduction to Leadership Assessment 1

Weighting

40%

Learning outcomes

1 Analyse the role leaders play in creating an inclusive and positive workplace culture.
2 Describe leadership approaches that contribute to the successful performance of an organisation.

Instructions

Complete and submit your assessment according to the Open Polytechnic’s Assessments webpage.

This includes information on academic integrity, formatting, word limits and referencing.

• Include your name, student number, course number and the assessment number.
• Number your pages.

Submission

• Submit your assessment in one file.
• Submit your work through your iQualify course.
• Emailed assessments will not be accepted.
• You will receive an automated notice advising you of your successful submission.
• By submitting your assessment, you confirm that it is your own original work.

Assessment Introduction

This assessment is based on Juniper Kiwifruit.
You should read the scenario information and then complete the two (2) tasks that follow.

Scenario Information

Juniper Kiwifruit is a kiwifruit orchard and packhouse in the North Island of New Zealand. The business grows, manages, picks and packs its own fruit and manages a handful of other orchards in the area. The owners are Hine and Jacob Juniper. Although they are actively involved in the business from start to finish, they also have an orchard manager, Shane, who supervises the running of the leased orchards and the picking gangs.

They have a packhouse manager, Dom, who oversees the day-to-day operations in the packhouse. They also have a cool store manager, Marie, who oversees all employees and operations around the product that goes into and out of their cool store.

The workplace is usually relaxed during the off-season, but it gets fast-paced and busy during the picking and packing season when they see an increase in staff of at least 100 people. At times, there are seasonal employees who have returned from the previous year as well as employees who have worked in the industry with other types of fruit. However, there are often people who have never worked in this type of environment before. They are usually thrown into the deep end and simply asked to follow the example of those around them.
About 25% of the seasonal employees are backpackers from places like Europe, Canada and Australia. Due to the labour shortage in the agricultural sector, the business has recently gained Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) status and has employed 10 workers from Samoa and Papua New Guinea. At least half the RSE workers are brand new to the New Zealand work environment. Many of the other employees are Maori and Pasifika people, although some employees are from the Philippines and India.

During breaks, it is common to see employees break up into groups of people with similar cultural backgrounds. The managers rarely sit in the lunchroom with the employees; they are usually locked in their office overlooking the packhouse. It is also common that the quality control team is invited to have their breaks with the managers and owners to ‘talk about the product’.

The deadlines that have been set for picking are often dependent on the weather. Some days, the packhouse staff will be working until midnight just to get the fruit packed and put into storage. The owners are approachable, but they are often hard to find. In contrast, Dom, the packhouse manager, is always there, but he is strict and inflexible. Dom has been with Juniper Kiwifruit for 18 years now and runs an organised and regimented operation in the packhouse. Although he is happy to train people in various roles in the packhouse, he clearly has his ‘favourites’ and puts them in the more desirable roles, like quality control, even when someone else has proven themselves a better candidate for the role. Dom is good at making the schedule and ensuring that all the roles have been filled. Each morning, Dom leads a morning hui where he lists off who is working where, what needs to be done and what to expect throughout the shift. He always asks if anyone has questions, but most people avoid asking questions as they don’t feel comfortable enough to ask questions in front of everyone else. He is also able to keep a cool head even when there is conflict or when issues arise. Dom believes he tries to include all employees equally and even asks some of the Māori employees to say karakia before meetings and kai, even after some of them have told him they are not actually fluent in te reo Māori. Dom always says things with a smile on his face, even if he is not happy with a situation.

Dom has been told by the Senior Leadership Team that he needs to address the fact that the packing line has slowed down in the last two weeks and, as a result, it has been taking longer to pack than it should. To address this issue, Dom has decided to call a meeting with all the packhouse staff. He has asked everyone to meet in the lunchroom, and when they arrive, Dom is half-sitting on the kitchen bench waiting for them. He doesn’t seem to notice the shocked look on some of the employees’ faces when they enter the lunchroom or hear some people whispering about ‘tapu’. Dom announces that during their regular morning meetings, he will be giving them each production targets that they will need to reach each day. He explains to them that this may mean their work hours might be longer over the next few days so that they hit their targets and that the standard hourly wage (not overtime pay) is all that can be offered for any extra hours worked. Dom asks if anyone has any objections to this request, but there is dead silence. No one voices their opinions in case it puts their job at risk.

Dom is also aware that Rawiri has just returned to the packhouse for the summer after a long and difficult recovery from a motorcycle accident, where he lost the use of his left leg. Rawiri has worked at the packhouse during the busy season for the previous eight years and has always been one of the team’s most efficient packers. However, Rawiri quits his job just two days after Dom announces the introduction of the performance targets. Rawiri’s friends on the production line know that the reason he quit is Dom’s lack of consideration for Rawiri’s disability. They are now worried about what would happen to their employment if they became sick or injured. On top of this, three of the RSE workers have written to management stating that they want to return to their home countries because the work requirements are far more than they expected, and they are unable to keep up.

Task 1

Roles of leaders in creating an inclusive and positive workplace culture

Questions

1. Identify and discuss the workplace culture of Juniper Kiwifruit (positive or negative), including three (3) examples to support your conclusions.
(Word count guideline: 170 words)
(10 marks)

2. Discuss how Dom’s role contributed to the overall success or failure of the team. Support your discussion with two (2) examples from the scenario.
(Word count guideline: 170 words)
(10 marks)

3. Explain how Dom’s role affected the work environment. Your answer should include an identification of:
a. the leadership qualities Dom possesses
b. the leadership style that was preferred by Dom
c. the leadership approaches implemented by Dom.
(Word count guideline: 170 words)
(10 marks)

4. There are two (2) parts to this question.
a. Based on the scenario, identify two (2) examples where Dom was either
culturally aware or unaware.
b. Analyse the benefits of a culturally aware workplace and the role of the leader in creating a positive workplace culture.
(Word count guideline: 300 words)
(15 marks)

5. There are two (2) parts to this question.
a. Based on the scenario, identify two (2) examples where Dom was either aware or unaware of inclusive workplace practices.
b. Analyse the benefits of inclusive workplace practices and the role of the leader in creating a positive workplace culture.
(Word count guideline: 300 words)
(15 marks)
(Task 1 total word count guideline: 1110 words)
(Task 1 total: 60 marks)

Task 2

Describe leadership approaches

Questions

1. Identify two (2) leadership approaches that would contribute to the successful performance of this organisation.
a. Describe each approach.
b. Evaluate the advantages and limitations of each approach.
(Word count guideline: 250 words)
(10 marks)

2. From the approaches discussed above, identify the approach you think would be most suitable for this scenario and justify your decision.
(Word count guideline: 250 words)
(10 marks)

3. Discuss how cultural perspectives can influence leadership approaches.
Examen simulado
Resumen
Quiz(Word count guideline: 250 words) (10 marks)