1.4

Question 1

flexible workforce

Answer 1

employees have a choice over how/when they work by agreement with the company. may be ms, part time, temp, flex hours.
adv: demand varies through week/season/year, so can be useful to respond with appropriate level of staffing when unpredictable high demand and cost efficient when low demand, allows easier management and adapt to changes in demand. peak periods, seasonal fluctuations.
greater flexibility in the way they deploy their staff ability whilst controlling costs. some staff can work from home, makes more productive as they don’t have top waste time travelling.

Question 2

multi skilling

Answer 2

When workers are given the scope and ability to carry out a variety of tasks, rather than specialising in completion of one particular area. This can be encouraged through the use of job rotation, in which workers carry out an increased number of tasks at the same level of difficulty
Adv equips skills needed to cover for staff absences, minimising any disruption or loss of production that this may otherwise have caused, greater utilisation of employees.
respond positively to the increased variety and new challenges provided, improving motivation and productivity.
loss of production as workers switch between tasks.
greater training requirements because wider skills, increased costs
reluctant to acquire new skills esp if no increase in pay.

Question 3

temporary work

Answer 3

giving staff short-term contracts making it easy for the company to cut staff without getting criticism; all they need to do is allow the contract to lapse.

Question 4

full time vs part time

Answer 4

Question 5

flexible hours

Answer 5

Greater flexibility can also be created by moving away from the traditional 9–5 working day, in order to respond more effectively to customer demands.
annualised: employee works certain amount of hours, flex when they can work them.
flexitime: employee chooses when to start and end work.
compressed: full time hours, but fewer days.
job share: two+ employees share work and pay
ADV: improve recruitment, increase motivation and reduce labour turnover, leading to reduced costs and boosts to productivity.
provide 24-hour employee cover via the telephone and internet, in order to provide customers with greater convenience, respond more effectively to customer demands.
flexibility to meet family, lowers stress, general well being improves, more control over working lives so increases motivation’ performance.
increased staff retention, lower absenteeism

Question 6

Zero hour contact

Answer 6

A contract that does not guarantee any particular number of hours’ work.
ADV: gives employees flexibility in their working lives, cuts the wage costs, flexibility in staffing.
DIS: pressured to work hours when offered, struggle to pay day to day bills no regular income, low staff retention rates as less motivation.

Question 7

Home worker

Answer 7

People who undertake their regular work from home

Question 8

ways to work flexible hours

Answer 8

Question 9

Outsourcing

Answer 9

Outsourcing involves a firm finding an external business to carry out part of the production process, to cut costs or achieve a better level of service.

Question 10

Dismissal Vs Redundancy

Answer 10

Question 11

Permanent contracts

Answer 11

Question 12

ADV and DIS to flexible working

Answer 12

Question 13

Trade unions

Answer 13

Question 14

Works council

Answer 14

Question 15

methods of bargaining

Answer 15

Question 16

Recruitment

Answer 16

Question 17

Induction training

Question 18

On the job training

Answer 18

Generally most cost-effective
Employees are actually productive | Opportunity to learn whilst doing
Training alongside real colleagues
Disadvantages
Quality depends on ability of trainer and time available
Bad habits might be passed on
Learning environment may not be conducive
Potential disruption to production

Question 19

Off the job training

Answer 19

A wider range of skills or qualifications can be obtained
Can learn from outside specialists or experts
Employees can be more confident when starting job
Disadvantages
More expensive - e.g. transport and accommodation
Lost working time and potential output from employee
New employees may still need some induction training
Employees now have new skills/qualifications and may leave for better jobs

Question 20

Training adv

Question 21

Authority

Question 22

Span of control

Answer 22

The number of employees who are directly supervised by a manager

Question 23

Chain of command

Answer 23

Question 24

Organisational chart

Question 25

Hierarchy

Answer 25

The structure and number of layers of management and supervision in an organisation

Question 26

Centralised Vs Decentralised

Answer 26

Adv: increase in motivation and decisions more likely to reflect local needs, local demographics- using market orientation to meet customer needs more. Less bureaucracy, benefits or training and development Additional responsibility and increase in stress

Question 27

Hierarchical/Tall Organisations

Answer 27

Question 28

Flat Organisations

Answer 28

Question 29

Matrix structures

Answer 29

Help to breaks down traditional department barriers, improving communication Individuals get to use their skills within a variety of contexts Likely to result in greater motivation amongst the team members Encourages sharing of good practice and ideas across departments A good way of sharing resources across departments Disadvantages of a Matrix Structure Members of project teams may have divided loyalties as they report to two line managers May not be a clear line of accountability for project teams Difficult to co-ordinate Team members may neglect their functional responsibilities It takes time for matrix team members to get used to working in this kind of structure

Question 30

Delayering

Answer 30

The process of removing one or more layers from the organisational structure Adv: fewer management costs Shorter communication paths so quicker decision making Dis:wider span or control Loss of management expertise

Question 31

Delegation

Answer 31

Where responsibility for carrying out a task or role is passed onto someone else in the business. Reduces management stress and workload, allowing senior management to focus on key tasks Subordinates are empowered and motivated Better decisions or use of resources Good method of on the job training DIS: Cannot / should not delegate responsibility Depends on quality / experience of subordinates Harder in a smaller firm May increase workload and stress of subordinates

Question 32

Motivation

Answer 32

Question 33

Taylor (Scientific Management)

Answer 33

Question 34

Elton Mayo (Human Relations Theory

Answer 34

Question 35

Maslow (Hierarchy of Needs)

Answer 35

Question 36

Herzberg (Two Factor Theory)

Answer 36

Question 37

Job Enrichment

Question 38

ADV and DIS of job sharing

Answer 38

Question 39

employees as assets and costs

Question 40

employee committee

Answer 40

Question 41

financial methods of motivation

Answer 41

Question 42

non financial methods of motivation

Answer 42

Question 43

leadership styles

Question 44

staff as an asset

Answer 44

treats employees as the most important resource and source of CA, treated as individ and their needs are planned accordingly. strategic focus on longer-term workforce, avoids redundancies and reduces labour turnover. less costly as less recruitment needed. strong two way communication, better performance due to rewards and empowerment. have more responsibility so more purpose. But may be too soft and costs may leads to CD.

Question 45

staff as cost

Answer 45

treats employees simply as resource, focus on identifying workforce needs. short term changes in employee so recruitment and redundancy minimum wage, more cost effective. quicker decision making as its made by senior managers up, less delegation. high absenteeism and staff turnover, less successful recruitment.

Question 46

Decen

Answer 46

An organisational structure where authority is delegated further down the hierarchy, away from the centre Decisions are made closer to the customer Better able to respond to local circumstances Improved level of customer service Consistent with aiming for a flatter hierarchy Good way of training and developing junior management Should improve staff motivation Disadvantages of Decentralisation Decision-making is not necessarily "strategic" Harder to ensure consistent practices and policies at each location May be some diseconomies of scale - e.g. duplication of roles Who provides strong leadership when needed (e.g. in a crisis)? Harder to achieve tight financial control - risk of cost-overruns Promethean

Question 47

Cent

Answer 47

An organisational structure where authority rests with senior management at the centre of the business Easier to implement common policies and practices for the whole business Prevents other parts of the business from becoming too independent Easier to co-ordinate and control from the centre - e.g. with budgets Economies of scale and overhead savings easier to achieve Quicker decision-making (usually) - easier to show strong leadership Disadvantages of Centralisation More bureaucratic - often extra layers in the hierarchy Local or junior managers are likely to much closer to customer needs Lack of authority down the hierarchy may reduce manager motivation Customer service does misses flexibility and speed of local decision-making

Question 48

Internal recur

Answer 48

Cheaper and quicker to recruit People already familiar with business and how it operates • Provides opportunities for promotion with in business Drawbacks of Internal Recruitment Business already knows strengths and weaknesses of candidates Limits number of potential applicants No new ideas can be introduced from outside • May cause resentment amongst candidates not appointed Creates another vacancy which needs to be

Question 49

External rec

Answer 49

Outside people bring in new ideas • Longer process • Larger pool of workers from which to • More expensive process due to find best candidate advertisements and interviews • People have a wider range of required experience • Selection process may not be effective enough to reveal best candidate