1.4

Question 1

How are employees an asset to a business?

Answer 1

• the skills and abilities of the staff add value to the product by
• good manufacturing skills = high quality products
• efficient work rate = higher output
• excellent customer service = repeat custom

Question 2

How are employees a cost to a business?

Answer 2

• employees get remuneration(payment)
• recruitment and training of staff
• staff welfare and healthcare
• severance

Question 3

What is the difference between dismissal and redundancy?

Answer 3

• Dismissal is when an employee breaches their contract of employment (legally-binding agreement between both parties)

• Redundancy is when the employee’s job is no longer required but the business has to pay a redundancy fee if the employee has been with the firm for atleast two years

Question 4

7 stages of recruitment

Answer 4

Identify vacancy
Write job description
Advertise job
Process applications
Shortlist suitable candidates
Assess candidates (interview)
Appointment most suitable candidate

Question 5

How are candidates assessed during the recruitment process?

Answer 5

• Interviews
• Assessment days
• In-tray exercises (candidate plays a member of staff in a scenario)

Question 6

Pros of internal recruitment

Answer 6

• Pros
- candidates already know the business
- short and cheap process
- motivates workers to go for promotion

Question 7

Cons of internal recruitment

Answer 7

• leaves vacancy in another department
• can cause conflict or resentment among colleagues who aren’t selected

Question 8

Pros of external recruitment

Answer 8

• brings in new ideas/skillset
• brings in experience from other firms
• larger number of applicants

Question 9

Cons of external recruitment

Answer 9

• long and expensive process
• candidates will need a longer induction/training period
• candidate at recruitment might not be representative of candidate at work

Question 10

What are the costs recruitment and training?

Answer 10

• Advertising the vacant post
• Specialist recruitment agencies
• Shortlisting and assessing requires existing staff, so they can’t do their regular job
• Travel expenses of candidates

Question 11

What is labour turnover?

Answer 11

The percentage of employees that leave a job over a period of time (usually in a year)

Question 12

Pros of on the job training

Answer 12

• easy to organise
• lower cost of training
• training is job specific

Question 13

Cons of on the job training

Answer 13

• trainers are not fully productive during training period
• bad habits are passed on
• no new skills are brought to the workforce

Question 14

Pros of off the job training

Answer 14

• trainers are specialists
• no job distractions during training
• new ideas brought to workforce

Question 15

Cons of off the job training

Answer 15

• expensive
• they are of no benefit to business while training
• might not be specific to day to day job

Question 16

What is induction training and why is it important?

Answer 16

• introduces new employees to their workplace and role

• important as if they are not supported they may make mistakes and feel overwhelmed and demotivated making them unable to work effectively

Question 17

Give an example of the chain of command

Answer 17

• board of directors
• managers
• team leaders
• supervisor
• shop-floor workers

Question 18

Pros of tall structure

Answer 18

• lots of layers of management so more opportunities for promotion (motivates workers)
• narrow spans of control, can monitor and supervise closely

Question 19

Cons of tall structure

Answer 19

• communication from the top can take a long time (negatively impacts efficiency)
• narrower span of control, workers feel demotivated (feel micromanaged)

Question 20

Pros of flat structure

Answer 20

• employees are given more freedom and responsibility, more motivated
• wide span of control

Question 21

Cons of flat structure

Answer 21

• if span of control is too wide, managers can struggle to manage and become demotivated

Question 22

What is the matrix structure

Answer 22

Staff are organised by project and function

Question 23

Pros of matrix structure

Answer 23

• Means staff are pursuing clearly defined objectives
• Encourages departments to build relationships with one another

Question 24

Cons of matrix structure

Answer 24

• This structure could lead to conflict, project managers might have different ideas about how a strategy should be implemented

Question 25

Pros of centralised organisations

Answer 25

• all decisions made by senior managers

• have lots of experience
• they can make decisions quick because they don’t have to consult anyone

Question 26

Cons of centralised organisations

Answer 26

• decision making power is all at the top

• not many people are expert enough to make decisions about all aspects of the business
• excluding employees may be demotivating

Question 27

Why is motivation important for workers?

Answer 27

• less labour turnover as workers are more loyal
• more productive, reliable workers
• increases customer satisfaction as workers are engaged

Question 28

Describe Taylor’s scientific management theory

Answer 28

• motivated by money
• favoured division of labour
• financial incentives

Question 29

Describe Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

Answer 29

1. Basic physical needs
2. Safety
3. Social needs
4. Self-esteem (achievement )
5. Self actualisation

Business meet these needs through different means to motivate their employees. Workers may put their needs in a different order.

Question 30

Describe Mayo’s human relations theory

Answer 30

• Productivity increases if :

• improve communication between managers and workers
• workers opinions are more valued
• work in teams

Question 31

What 5 financial incentives?

Answer 31

• piece work
• commission
• bonus
• profit share
• performance related pay

Question 32

Describe piecework, its pros and cons ;

Answer 32

• workers are paid per unit produced

+ high quantity produced
- quality can suffer as workers may rush it

Question 33

Describe commission, its pros and cons ;

Answer 33

• money paid for completing tasks (making sales)

+ can support customer service because workers are more engaged
- can lead to overselling, customers may feel overwhelmed
- business can’t predict their labour costs each month (varies on their workers’ sales)

Question 34

Describe bonus pay , its pros and cons ;

Answer 34

• workers are paid extra on top of their salary once they meet an agreed target

+ if the target is set too high, might demotivate as they think they will never reach the target
- if target is set too low, it is not worth it to the business, lose money

Question 35

Describe profit share, its pros and cons ;

Answer 35

• firm sets profit targets and share a proportion of its profits if targets are met

+ includes all employees, motivate everyone
- doesn’t reward a worker due to their sole excellence

Question 36

Describe performance related pay, its pros and cons ;

Answer 36

• workers are paid based on performance

+ workers are motivated to meet their targets and business objectives
- lead to demoralisation if only certain people get paid when the whole business is doing well

Question 37

What are the non-financial incentives

Answer 37

• delegation
• consultation
• empowerment
• team working
• flexible working
• job enrichment
• job rotation
• job enlargement

Question 38

Difference between management and leadership?

Answer 38

Managers tend to focus more on reaching targets over innovation and inspiring (motivating) workers.