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Business Studies A Level > 1. Human Resources > Flashcards

1. Human Resources Flashcards

Term 5 Miss Blackwell Begin HR

1
Q

Human Resource Management

A

How the workforce is managed by a business in order to meet the strategic objectives

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2
Q

3 activities undertaken by the HR department

A

Recruitment and selection
Training and development
Staff motivation

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3
Q

Why has HR become important?

A

Most businesses now provide services rather than goods - people are the critical resource
Competitiveness requires a business to be efficient and so staff must be well motivated

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4
Q

Organisational Chart

A

A diagram that shows the hierarchy in a business, usually from top to bottom in terms of seniority.

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5
Q

Span of Control

A

The number of subordinates for whom a manager is responsible

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6
Q

How many people would a manager be responsible for, if they had a narrow span of control?

A

Max of 4 people

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7
Q

How many people would a manager be responsible for, if they had a wide span of control?

A

More than 4 people

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8
Q

What are the advantages of a narrow span of control?

A

+ Manager gets to spend lots of time giving clear and direct instructions

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9
Q

What are the disadvantages of a narrow span of control?

A
  • Costly

- Staff may feel “watched over”

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10
Q

What are the advantages of a wide span of control?

A

+ Can reduce costs

+ Independence may be motivating for staff

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11
Q

What are the disadvantages of a wide span of control?

A
  • Staff members may perform badly as manager loses control
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12
Q

What does the effectiveness of a span of control depend on?

A

Manager’s personality
Skills of subordinates
Business size
Industry

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13
Q

Chain of command

A

The order of authority and delegation in a business

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14
Q

Levels/layers of hierarchy

A

This refers to the number of levels/layers in a business organisation

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15
Q

Line Relationship

A

The vertical relationships in the organisational hierarchy between managers and subordinates

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16
Q

Staff Relationship

A

The horizontal relationship between a manager and another organisational member to/from whom the manager gives or receives information or advice

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17
Q

Delayering

A

A process of reducing the number of layers in an organisational structure

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18
Q

What are the advantages of delayering?

A

+ Reduces costs
+ More employee responsibility
+ Faster communication

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19
Q

What are the disadvantages of delayering?

A
  • Spans of control will increase (training will be required)
  • Redundancy payments
  • Damage to staff morale
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20
Q

As spans of control widen, there becomes an increase in the need for…

A

Delegation and empowerment

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21
Q

Delegation

A

The assignment to others of the authority for particular functions, tasks and decisions

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22
Q

Empowerment

A

Involves giving people greater control over their working lives

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23
Q

What does viability mean?

A

The ability of a business to work successfully

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24
Q

What is a centralised structure?

A

Decision making ability is kept firmly at the top of the hierarchy

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25
Q

What are the advantages of a centralised structure?

A

+ Easier to implement common practises
+ Prevents parts becoming too independent
+ Easier to co-ordinate and control from the centre
+ EOS easier to achieve

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26
Q

What are the disadvantages of a centralised structure?

A
  • More bureaucratic - often extra layers
  • Local/junior managers are likely to be much closer to the customer needs
  • Lack of authority may reduce manager motivation
27
Q

What is a decentralised structure?

A

Decision making ability is spread out to include more junior managers in the hierarchy, as well as individual business units or trading locations

28
Q

What are the advantages of a decentralised structure?

A

+ Decisions are made closer to the customer
+ Improved customer service
+ Can enable a flatter hierarchy
+ Good way of training and developing junior management

29
Q

What are the disadvantages of a decentralised structure?

A
  • Decision making not necessarily strategic
  • Harder to ensure consistency
  • May be some diseconomies of scale, duplication of role
  • Who provides strong leadership when needed?
  • Harder to achieve tight financial control
30
Q

What is meant by a tall organisation?

A

Many layers within the hierarchy

31
Q

How are spans of control and opportunities for promotion affected by taller organisations?

A

Spans of control become narrower and the number of opportunities for promotions increases

32
Q

What is meant by a flat organisation?

A

Few layers within the hierarchy

33
Q

What are the characteristics of a flat organisation?

A

More delegation and empowerment as the 1 person cannot do all
Wide spans of control
Faster communication

34
Q

What are the reasons for choosing a tall structure?

A

Everybody knows exactly what the lines of communication are
Easy to identify who you can delegate jobs to
Subordinates require guidance

35
Q

What are the reasons for choosing a flat structure?

A

More empowering
Shows trust between manager and employees - working from home
Easier to share ideas
Reduced costs

36
Q

Organisation by function

A

The business is arranged into specialist/functional areas. Each function has an input into the output

37
Q

Advantages of organisation by function

A

+ Specialists can concentrate on what they do best
+ Share ideas
+ Less duplication

38
Q

Disadvantages of organisation by function

A
  • Conflict may occur over budgets
  • Segregation of functions leads to ineffective communication
  • Departments cannot identify their outcome
39
Q

Organisation by product

A

The business is organised according to the different products made. Each product becomes a “mini-company”

40
Q

Advantages of organisation by product

A

+ Communication barriers are broken down for specialists

+ Each centre has a lot of independence - increases motivation

41
Q

Disadvantages of organisation by product

A
  • Different products compete for resources

- Duplication of departments is a waste of resources

42
Q

What is meant by a matrix structure?

A

A team member has 2 managers - their normal functional manager as well as the team leader of the project

43
Q

What are the advantages of a matrix structure?

A

+ Improves communication across entire organisation
+ Less meetings required - reduced costs
+ Greater motivation
+ Shares resources and ideas

44
Q

What are the disadvantages of a matrix structure?

A
  • Divided loyalties as they have 2 managers
  • No clear lines of accountability
  • Communication problems
  • Takes time to adjust
  • May neglect functional responsibilities
45
Q

What is meant by organisation by division?

A

The business is organised into different geographical locations

46
Q

What is an appraisal?

A

A formal assessment of an employee’s performance

47
Q

What are the areas of an appraisal?

A
  1. Strengths
  2. Development areas
  3. Performance targets
  4. Training needs
  5. Promotion opportunities
  6. Pay progression
48
Q

What are the reasons for carrying out an appraisal?

A 
To motivate staff
To record any issues - evidence for future if employee fails to improve
To give staff a focus
To make staff feel valued
To set the expectation
49
Q

What is a managerial appraisal?

A

A method of appraisal where a manager examines and evaluates an employee’s performance

50
Q

What are the advantages of a managerial appraisal?

A

+ Employees receive expert input

+ Supports making subsequent actions: promotions, rewards and disciplinary procedures

51
Q

What are the disadvantages of a managerial appraisal?

A
  • Manager may not work closely with employees to know their strengths/development areas
  • Input is limited to 1 point of view
52
Q

What should the opening of an appraisal be like?

A

Light not trivial mood

Appraisee needs to be encouraged towards candour

53
Q

What is a self assessment?

A

Employees assess their own performance, often using a tick sheet to grade aspects of their work. Can be used as a stand alone method or in advance of a managerial appraisal

54
Q

What are the advantages of a self assessment?

A

+ Appraisee is more likely to be honest

+ Quicker

55
Q

What are the disadvantages of a self assessment?

A
  • People may be overly confident/modest

- Rating scale limits opinion

56
Q

Why would an employee complete a self assessment before a managerial appraisal?

A

The appraisee is more prepared and not put on the spot.

Concerns raised can be discussed

57
Q

What is a peer assessment?

A

The appraisal is carried out by a work colleague

58
Q

What are the advantages of a peer assessment?

A

+ Have a very clear idea on how employee contributes to the team

59
Q

What are the disadvantages of a peer assessment?

A
  • Appraisal may be overly positive/negative depending on relationships (particularly if linked to pay)
60
Q

What is a 360 degree appraisal?

A

An employee receives feedback from several people in the organisation. Most appropriate for large businesses

61
Q

What are the advantages of a 360 degree appraisal?

A

+ A broader picture of performance is gained

62
Q

What are the disadvantages of a 360 degree appraisal?

A
  • Employee could receive too many and conflicting targets
63
Q

Why might appraisals be ineffective during the appraisal itself?

A
  1. Most reviews don’t include an eval of the manager’s eval
  2. Paper work is prioritised//quality convo
  3. Employees may not take seriously
64
Q

Why might appraisals be ineffective after the appraisal itself?

A
  1. Unrealistic targets have been set
  2. Employee does not understand if they have been praised or criticised due to ambiguous language
  3. Failure to respond to employee concerns

Business Studies A Level (17 decks)

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