1.4 Flashcards
Seeing employees as assets vs costs
Assets
- Provide good remuneration package
- Good holiday and sick pay
- Invest in working conditions
- Provide job security
- See training as a good investment
- Delegate responsibility
Costs
- Pay minimum wage
- Provide legal requirements, sick pay and holiday
- Provide basic working conditions
- Find ways to increase output and decrease cost
- Training seen as unnecessary cost- cut during financial crisis
- Centralised decision
What is flexible working
A way of working which suits employees needs
Approches of flexible working
- Multi-skilling: Employees trained in multiple roles, increasing adaptability.
-Part-time & Temporary Workers: Used to manage seasonal demand or short-term needs.
-Flexible Hours & Home Working: Allows employees to work at different times or remotely, improving work-life balance.
-Outsourcing: Hiring external firms to handle certain tasks (e.g., customer service, manufacturing) to reduce costs.
ADV of flexible working
- Allows firms to respond to short term changed in demand
- Specialist jobs done by people who dont need a permanent contract
- Easier to manage staff cost
DIS of flexible working
- Communication reduced
- Outsourced may be low quality
- Employees may not be committed to firm if they dont have permanent job/contract
Difference between dismissed and redundancy
Dismissed- When an employee is fired due to poor performance or misconduct
Redundancy- when there is no work, not enough work or position no longer applies
What is collective and individual bargaining
Collective Bargaining: Unions negotiate with employers on behalf of employees, ensuring fair pay and conditions.
Individual bargaining - individuals negotiate their own pay and conditions
What is recruitment and selection
Recruitment is the process of attracting and choosing the right employees
Types of recruitment
- External- Hiring from outside the company
- Internal - Hiring from within the company
ADV of internal recruitment
- Cheaper than external
- Decreased risk as managers know employees, while unable to see how external act
- May require less training as already understand business to some extent
- Promotion opportunity= good as increases motivation and retention
> However may limit new ideas and fresh talent
ADV of external recruitment
- Attract wider number of applicants
- Bring new skills and ideas
- Help increase capacity of firm
> However may be expensive and takes longer
Costs of Recruitment, Selection, and Training
-Recruitment Costs: Advertising, recruitment agency fees, job fair costs.
-Selection Costs: Time spent reviewing applications, conducting interviews, testing candidates.
-Training Costs:
>Financial costs (hiring trainers, materials).
>Lost productivity (time away from work for training).
>Risk of employees leaving after training
What is training
process of developing employees by improving their skills and knowledge so they can perform better
Types of training:
- Induction- new employees are trained up to do their role efficienctly
- On-the job training
- Off the job training
Define on the job and off the job
On-the-Job Training – Employees learn while working, guided by experienced staff e.g., shadowing
Off the job- Training that takes place away from the workplace eg courses
ADV of on the job
- Easier and cheaper to organise
- Output doesnt fall as work is done and learning at same time
DIS of on the job
- Increased mistakes
- Disruptive for others
ADV of off the job
- Decreased mistakes as not on site
- Safer
- More motivating
DIS of off the job
- Costly
- May not be relevant
ADV of induction training
-provides staff with info to settle in
-helps staff understand bsuiness and their role
DIS of induction training
-more costs as employees not producing output while training
- can be overwhelming
Define:
-hierarchy
-chain of command
-span of control
Hierarchy– a system in an organisation where people are ranked
according to the authority that they have.
Chain of command refers to levels in the hierarchy eg tall structure = large chain of command
Span of control- number of employees that a manager is directly responsible for eg flat structure = large span of control
Define centralised and decentralised
Centralised structure- decision making process whereby the majority of decisions are led by senior managers/ head offices
> (Decisions are made at the top of the hierarchy)
Decentralised structure- decision-making process whereby the majority of decisions are delegated to managers in charge of regions, functions or product categories
> (Decision-making is spread out to lower levels)
Centralised ADV
- Good when managers have knowledge and workers are low skilled
- Suitable in time of crisis
- Good for cost minimisation and achieving EOS
Centralised DIS
- Not effective at meeting local customer needs
- Not goods if firm has large geographical area
- More workload on senior managers
ADV of decentralised
- Effective at meeting local needs
- Good if firm has large geographical area and local trends need to be met
- Effective at reducing workload of senior managers
- Job enrichment and flexible working
Define tall flat and matrix
Tall structure- many levels in the chain of command and a narrow span of control
> Tall structures more centralised
Flat structure- few levels in chain of command but wide span of control for managers
> Mpre decentralised approach
Matrix structure- workers are organised by projects and functions and teams are formed to carry out a specific project
Adv of tall
- Provides a clear hierarchy of authority and defined roles and responsibilities
- Promotes specialisation and expertise within each department or function
- Offers opportunities for career advancement and promotion within the organisation
- All of the above increases efficiency and motivation
Dis of tall
- Slow decision making as information must pass through multiple layers of management
- Communication takes longer
- Expensive due to many managers
- This can lead to bureaucracy and excessive levels of management
- All of the above reduce efficiency and motivation
Adv of flat
- Increased communication
- Decision-making can be faster and more efficient
- Encourages creativity and innovation as employees have more autonomy and flexibility
- All of the above increases efficiency and motivation
Dis of flat
-May not provide clear opportunities for career advancement or promotion
-This may require employees to take on multiple roles and responsibilities, leading to burnout
- Managers may lose control
-All of the above reduce efficiency and motivation
Adv of matrix
- Flexible
- Allows for specialisation and expertise within each functional area
- Enables efficient allocation of resources and coordination of multiple projects
- All of the above increases efficiency and motivation
Dis of matrix
- This can create confusion over roles and responsibilities, particularly when multiple managers are involved
- Requires a high degree of communication and coordination, which can be challenging
- All of the above reduce efficiency and motivation
Motivation defintion
Motivation refers to the willingness to work and achieve a given target/goal
Impact of motivation on productivity, reliability of workers and staff turnover
The impact of motivation on productivity
Motivated employees= more productive and efficien= generate higher levels of output and quality. Increased productivity= higher profits for the business
The impact of motivation on the reliability of workers
Motivated employees are more likely to be reliable and dependable= show up on time, meet deadlines, and take fewer sick days= increased trust =higher productivity
The impact of motivation on turnover rates
-Motivated employees are more likely to stay with the company long-term, which reduces the turnover rate, lower turnover rates reduce the need for costly recruitment and training
Taylors scientific management
Define and ADV and DIS
- Believed workers are motivated by money
- Advocated for piece-rate pay (pay per unit produced).
- Focused on efficiency, specialisation and improved competitiveness
ADV of taylor
- Increased efficiency, which lowers costs
- Specialisation of labour leads to greater efficiency and productivity
DIS of taylor
- Overemphasis on efficiency reduces worker satisfaction and creativity
- Ignores human/social needs= demotivating
Mayo theory
- Motivation increases if social needs are met and increased efficiency through teams = focus on needs of employees
How businesses uses mayos approach
-Empowering employees in decision-making, e.g, creating teams which decide their priorities
-Team-building activities are used to build relationships
-Providing feedback and recognition to employees, e.g. Worker of the Week
-Creating a positive work environment by promoting open communication and providing support to employees, e.g. offering wellness programmes
-Encouraging employee development by offering training programmes, mentorship opportunities, and career advancement paths
Mayo adv and dis
ADV of mayo
Improved job satisfaction
Increased productivity as workers feel valued and supported
Better communication as workers value open and honest communication, which reduces misunderstandings
Employee empowerment increases worker’s sense of ownership and responsibility
DIS of mayo
-Time-consuming as building positive relationships requires time and effort
-Lack of control as workers take more decisions
Maslows hierarchy of needs
- Self-actualisation – personal growth, creativity
- Self esteem - confidence, achievement
- Love and belonging ( sense of connection, love)
- Safety and security- health,family,employment
- Psychological needs- food,clothes,water
> Motivate workers by satisfying these needs, cannot move up unless first needs/level are met
Adv and dis of Maslow
ADV of maslow
- Higher employee satisfaction: By meeting the needs of employees, businesses can create a more satisfying work environment, which can lead to increased productivity and lower turnover rates
-Increased motivation
- Improved employee performance: Employees who feel valued and supported by their employers are more likely to perform at a higher level
Disadvantages of maslow
- Expensive: Meeting many individual needs can be costly, especially when offering perks such as the use of a company car
- Time-consuming: Requires significant effort from management to connect individually to understand which opportunities for personal growth are desired
Herzberg 2 factor
Herzbrgs 2 factor theory
Herzberg’s theory suggests that there are two types of factors that affect employee motivation
-Hygiene factors are elements that do not necessarily lead to job satisfaction, but their absence can cause dissatisfaction, which decreases motivation
- Motivators are elements that lead to job satisfaction and motivation
Factors influenced by hygiene factors and motivators
Factors influenced by hygiene factors
- Working conditions
- Pay
- Job security
- Coworker relations
Factors infleunced by motivators
- Recognition
- Responsibility
- Achievement
- Personal growth
Financial incentives to improve employee performance
- piecework- Employees are paid according to the number of units they produce
> links to taylor
ADV- encourages high output
DIS- can reduce quality and can cause stress
-commission- A percentage of sales revenue paid to workers who sell products or services
> Hygiene factor in Hertzberg’s Theory and Connects to Esteem Needs in Maslow’s Hierarchy
ADV- motivates staff to sell more and increase their sales revenue
DIS- takes away focus from other areas eg customer service
-bonus- Extra payment for good performance
> Connects to Esteem Needs in Maslow’s Hierarchy (achievement)
-profit share - Employees receive a % of profits
> Motivator in Herzberg’s Theory
Encourages team focus on success, but depends on profits
-performance-related pay- Staff are paid based on their performance
> Hygiene Factor in Herzberg’s theory
- ADV- motivates staff to work harder and achieve better results
- DIS- can demotivate if targets are unrealistic
Non-financial techniques to improve employee performance
So long just check table
Difference between leadership and management
-Leadership is about having a vision, sharing that vision with others and providing direction
-Management is the day-to-day organisation of the business, its resources and its
Also check table to see characteristics change
Autocratic everything
Autocratic- Leader makes all decisions with little or no input from others
ADV of autocratic
- Focuses on getting tasks done
- High control= suitable for unskilled work
- Fast decision making = benficical in time of crisis
DIS of autocratic
- Low levels of motivation
- No input or creativity from employees
Everything on paternalistic
Paternalistic- managerial approach where a leader acts as a parental figure to create a workspace where co-workers view eachother as family
ADV of paternalistic
- Attention to employee welfare
- Employees fell like theyre looked after
- Builds trust
DIS of paternalistic
- Employees have no power to make decisions
- Staff may feel undervalued if ignored = low level of motivation
Everything on democratic
Democratic- leader involves their team in decision making process
ADV of democratic
- Develops team spirit
- Collects ideas and opinions from workforce
- Increases motivation as people feel connected
- High motivation and engagement
DIS of democratic
- Decision making can take long
- Employees may not see long run effects and vote for decision that benefits them
Everything on lassiez-faire
Lassiez-faire- leader takes hand off approach and allows their time to manage their own work
ADV of lassiez faire
- Encourages creativity and innovation
- Works well with highly skilled staff
- Employees make their own decision
DIS of lassiez faire
- Lack of direction can cause confusion
- Lack of control - deadlines and targets not met
- Tasks may not coordinate well
