1.4 Managing people Flashcards
define collective bargaining
a method of determining conditions of work and terms of employment through negotiations
define flexible workforce
a workforce that can respond in quantity and type to changes in market demand
define homeworkers
people who undertake their regular work from home
define industrial action
disruptive measures taken by workers to apply pressure on employers when disagreements can’t be resolved
define outsourcing
getting other people or businesses to undertake work that was originally done in house
define multi skilling
the process of increasing the skills of employees
define trade unions
organisations of workers that exist to promote the interests of their members
define 0 hours contract
a contract that does not guaruntee any particular number of hours work
define curriculum vitae
a document that lists personal details, qualifications, work experience, referees and other information about the jobseeker
define external recruitment
appointing workers from outside the business
define internal recruitment
appointing workers from inside the business
define induction training
training given to a new employees when they first start a job
define job description
a document that shows clearly the tasks, duties and responsibilities expected of a worker for a particular job
define off the job training
training that takes place away from the work area
define on the job training
training that takes place while doing the job
define person specification
a personal profile of the type of person needed to do a particular job
define training
a process that involves increasing the knowledge and skills of a worker to enable them to do their jobs more effectively
define centralisation
a type of business organisation where major decisions are made at the centre or core of the organisation and then passed down the chain of command
define chain of command
the way authority and power is organised in an organisation
define decentralisation
a type of business organisation where decision making is pushed down the chain of command and away from the centre of the organisation
define delayering
removing layers of management from the hierachy of an organisation
define delegation
authority to pass down from superior to subordinate
define formal organisation
the internal structure of a business as shown by an organisational chart
define responsibility
the duty to complete a task
define hierarchy
the order of levels of responsibility in an organisation, from the lowest to highest
define span of control
the number of people a person is directly responsible for in a business
define subordinates
ppl in the hierarchy who work under the control of a senior worker
define autocratic leadership
a leadership style where a manager makes all the decisions w/o consultation
define democratic leadership
a leadership style where managers allow others to participate in decision making
define laissez faire leadership
a leadership style where employees are encouraged to make their own decisions within certain limits
define paternalistic leadership
a leadership style where the leader makes decisions but takes into account the welfare of employees
define bonus
a payment in addition to the basic wage for reaching targets or in recognition for service
define commission
percentage payment on a sale made to the salesperson
define consultation
listening to the views of employees before making key decisions that affect them
define delegation
the passing of authority further down the managerial hierarchy
define empowerment
giving official authority to employees to make decisions and control their own work activities
define hawthorne effect
the idea that workers are motivated by recognition to them as a group
define hygeine/maintainence factors
things at work that result in disattisfaction
define hygeine/maintainence factors
things at work that result in dissatisfaction
define job enlargement
giving an employee more work to do of a similar nature:horizontally extending to their work role
define job enrichment
giving employees greater responsibility and recognition by vertically extending their work role
define job rotation
the periodic changing of jobs or tasks
define maslows hierarchy of needs
the order of ppls needs starting with basic human requirements
define motivated
the desire to take action to achieve a goal
define motivators
things at work that result in satisfaction
define payment by results
payment methods that reward workers for the quantity and quality of work they produce
define performance related pay
a payment system designed for non manual workers where pay increases are given if performance targets are met
define piece rates
a payment system where employees are paid an agreed rate for every item produced
define profit sharing
where workers are given a share of the profits,usually as a part of their pay
define scientific management
a theory that suggests there is a best way to perform work tasks
define self-actualisation
a level in maslows hierarchy where ppl realise their full potential
define teamworking
organising ppl into working groups that have a common aim
why is important to have motivated staff?
more motivated -> more productive as happier in their job, willing to work hard, likely to be reliable and align w bus objs
-> decrease labour turnover -> decrease costs
more attractive for future employees
inc customer satisfaction
what are the four motivational theories?
Taylors scientific management
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Herzbergs two factor theory
Mayos human relations theory of motivation
explain taylors scientific management theory?
workers are motivated by money, would do minimum if left on own
goal = figure out most efficient way to do a job
broke work down into small repetitive tasks with managers taking responsibility for workers
pay workers accorsing to quantity they produced -> pay piece rate -> more produced = more money (financial incentives)
what are some disadvantages to taylors scientific management theory?
wouldn’t work in modern business -> exploitation
ignores demotivating effect
reduction in quality
what are some advantages to taylors theory?
+main form of motivation is high wages, higher wages equalled higher output.
+managers job is to tell employees what to do
+ a workers job is to do what they are told and get paid accordingly
explain maslows hierarchy of needs as?
meet needs at bottom of pyramid to move on to next level
five needs are important to workers
top to bottom:
Self actualisation = meeting potential by giving opp to develop new skills & responsibility
Self esteem =achievement, give recognition and promotions
social needs = friendship, team work and social outings
safety = safe environment w job security, H&S policies
Basic physical needs = food, water, clothes, pay workers enough
what are some advantages of maslows theory?
focuses on needs of employee
accounts for factors which can help an employee reach their most productive level
what are some disadvantages of maslows theory?
not obvious which level each employee is at
diff workers may need to put their needs in a different order
explain more about Herzbergs two factor theory?
interviewed accountants and engineers to find out what motivated and satisfied them at work
two groups of factors:
hygiene factors like good company policy, working conditions, relations with other employees, don’t directly motivate if not good -> dissatisfied
motivating factors like interesting work, job enrichment, achievement and recognition, which positively influence motivation
what are some advantages of herzbergs theory?
recognises motivation comes from individuals needs and has influenced motivational techniques today -> clear solutions
what is a disadvantage of herzbergs theory?
criticised for being based on a small sample of ppl -> doesn’t consider that ppl have different hygiene and motivation needs
explain more on the hawthorne experiements?
investigated whether certain factors effected workers productivity
1 grp given usual cond, other grp had working conditions changes in length and number of rest breaks
found those exposed to change = more productive
mayo concluded that it was the ATTENTION given to employees by management and not any specific change in working condition
-> productivity inc when employees work together -> benefit from social interaction
explain mayo’s theory?
suggests managers need to improve communication with workers & value their opinions
-must meet the workers social needs in order to improve motivation
(focuses on non financial)
modern methods can be staff social clubs, team working
what are some disadvantages of mayos human relation theory?
- Assumes workers and management share the same goals
- Assumed that communication between workers and management will break down ‘barriers’, can be argued that knowledge of directors salaries lead to more barriers & unrest
Biased towards management, workers are manipulated into being productive by managers -> reducing trade union power
- Assumed that communication between workers and management will break down ‘barriers’, can be argued that knowledge of directors salaries lead to more barriers & unrest
explain empowerment
gives people control over their work and a greater role in decision making
like quality circles -> make suggestions & improvements
explain delegation
gives employees more responsibility for decision making
manager needs to trust ppl they be delegating to and person being delegated to needs to trust their manager
what are methods of financial motivation?
piecework
commission
performance related pay
bonus schemes
profit sharing
evaluate piecework as a financial motivator?
-used for assembly line workers,
+motivates to produce high quantity of products
-quality can suffer -> manager needs to do quality control
evaluate commission as a financial motivator?
used in sales roles like real estate
+increases motivation and performance of sales staff
-lead to overselling and customers can feel overwhelmed
-businesses doesn’t know its monthly labour costs
evaluate performance related pay
+rewards the best workers, determined by the individual and bus meeting targets -> annual appraisals
+ workers are motivated to meet objectives
-leads to demoralisation of staff if only certain ppl are getting inc pay
evaluate bonus schemes as a financial motivator?
+on top of salary ->individual targets are met and is a fixed payment > business knows labour costs
motivates to reach targets
-some targets may be unachievable so can demotivate employees
evaluate profit sharing as a financial motivator?
-if business make small profit -> employees might not get a share of the profit
+motivate employees to meet businesses main goals -> encourages hard work throughout the whole year
what are some non financial incentives?
job enlargement
job enrichment
job rotation
empowerment
teamworking
delegation
how can the type of business and the job affect motivational techniques used?
the time period spent w company ->non financial incentives are long term =permanent staff, financial incentives = temporary staff
organisational structure= flat choose job enlargement or enrichment
tall use piecework or ppr
to attract & retain staff when theres a shortage of labour, concentrate on providing better financial rewards than competing firms
define leader
Leadership is the relationship through which one person influences the behaviour or actions of other people.
define management
Management is the process of dealing with or controlling things or people, the responsibility for and control of a company.
what is a leader?
have a vision to share and push others in the right direction
long term thinking - improving and innovating
power can be temporary & is only held as long as the leader continues to inspire and motivate those that are following them
what is a manager?
make decisions that affect a day to day running of a business
set objectives
decide what work needs to be done to meet the objectives and what resources and staff they need
focus on meeting targets and maintaining the status quo than on innovation
explain more on autocratic style
leader makes decisions on their own
identify obj of business and say exactly how they should be achieved
useful when dealing w unskilled workers in crisis management
-requires lots of supervision -> demotivates able & intelligent workers
+speeds up decision making -> more effective
explain more on paternalistic style
softer form of autocratic
focuses on staff wellbeing and motivation
leader consults workers before making decisions then explains the decisions to persuade them that the decisions are in their interest
getting involved and caring about human relations =positive motivator
+high employee morale as feel valued -> less staff turnover
-if behaviours are not controlled -> develop negative traits
explain more on democratic style
leader encourages participation in decision making
discuss issues w workers, delegate responsibility and listen to advice
shows leaders have confidence in the workforce -> inc employee motivation
takes weight of leader
-difficult to implement in large firms as increase time spent making decisions
+employees feel valued and inc in morale -> happier to work
what are the two types of democratic?
- Democratic persuasive - leader has made decisions and persuades subordinates into best option
- Democratic consultative - the leader consults with subordinates then makes a decision.
explain laissez faire style
Employees can carry out activities and make decisions freely
They work in a relaxed environment and have little direction & guidelines
Provides employees with autonomy to make decisions
Adopted by managers who have a team of employees who are vastly experienced and capable in their role -> relying on high levels of trust between the employees and manager
what is an advantage of laissez faire?
good in creative environments
encourages innovation
inc decision making time
what is a disadvantage of laissez faire?
Employees may not understand their role clearly and use the lack of direction as a reason to not perform at their full capacity
Manager may fail to inspire and motivate employees as they can appear disengaged and disinterested.
what is transformational leadership?
used when a business needs to drastically change
leader has highly innovative ideas about improvements to make and will need to inspire the employees to amke these changes
requires an existing business structure which needs fixing
best use is businesses that need modernising and small businesses
what is meant by employees being an asset to a business?
something to the business which are valuable
skills and abilities add value to product
e.g. manufacturing high quality products or excellent customer service
-invest in them by training and looking after their welfare, -> inc motivation and productivity
what is meant as employees as a cost to a business?
employees get remuneration for work -> cost
paid in wages/salary
wage = amount of work done, lower skilled workers, manual workers
set minimum wage which is the legal minimum which employees must be paid per hour -> better motivated -> inc costs
salary = fixed amount paid monthly, highly skilled like office staff
costs of recruitment included
what is the difference between redundancy and dismissal?
contract of employment, which is legally binding between employer and employee
dismissal is when an employee has breached their contract of employment and it ends - choice of employer
redundancy is when the employee’s job role is no longer required -> cost a business a minimum redundancy payment to employees who had worked for at least two yrs
can ask employee to take volunteer redundancy before it chooses who will lose their job
how is it beneficial to a business to be flexible?
easier to match work done by employees to the needs of the business
refer to the variety of different wats in which employees worj and the different contracts which can be offered, employees can be multi-skilled
what are methods of flexible working?
full or part time contracts, full time at least 35hrs/wk, more part time -> more staff to cover absent workers
0 contract hours
permanent or temporary contracts
shift work
home working
flexible hours
outsourcing
evaluate part time or full time contracts
full time = 35hr/wk
part time work less
more part time -> can cover absent workers
+financial security
evaluate zero contract hours
employs workers but doesn’t have to offer them guaranteed hour
only work when and as needed -> no obligation to accept work
-can be difficult for employers to find enough staff in busy times
+employees prefer as can work around other commitments
+ no garuanteed hours -> less cost
-little financial security
evaluate permanent or temporary contracts
permanent contract has no end date but a temporary contract does
temps are good as can be issued to cover a temp increase in need for a particular job or if a current employee is off work for a long period of time
permanent contracts are more motivating -> financial security
evaluate shift work
used when a job role needs filling for more hours in a day that can be completed by a single worker
divided into shifts
neccesary in businesses that need 24hr cover like hospitals
choose the shifts they prefer -> gives flexibility
-irregular shifts or night shifts can be hard for employees
evaluate home working
work from home some or all days
save on travel costs and can work around outside commitments
can be harder work and more distracting
employees may gain from freeing up desk and office space for other workers
-difficult to monitor performance
evaluate flexible hours
complete set number of hours at times that suit them, usually core hours in the middle of the day that all workers need to be present for’
good work life balance
improve employee motivation
harder to set up business meetings
evaluate outsourcing
outsource some tasks to external businesses
+don’t need to invest money into training staff for tasks they don’t regurlarly need
explain more on a flexible work force being multi skilled
can employ fewer workers -> lowers recruitment costs
workers can be moved between jobs when neccessary -> absent staff can be covered any time -> maintains output levels
increases motivation as employees have more variety in their job ->increased productivity
face additional training costs -> cost of labour increases
why do employee and employer relationships matter?
need each other
employers need hard working staff to contribute to the production of products sold for profits
employees need to support themselves
a successful relationship maximises the cooperation and minimises the potential for conflict
build on trust
benefits employer and employee -> inc motivation and productivity
why do inividual employee and employer relationships matter?
treated as individuals for some purposes like employee appraisals
individual bargaining = when an individual employee negotiates with their own employer their pay and working conditions
-individual can decide what they think they’re worth per hour and changes between individuals -> financial incentive
explain more about collective bargaining
when a group of employees is represented by workforce representatives - these negotiate with the employers on issues such as pay and working conditions
-can be done through trade unions
explain more on trade unions
trade unions can take action in the workplace to protect or improve conditions like pay, reasonable hours of work and paid holiday entitlement
-take action at a national level by putting pressure on the government to bring in legislation that will serve the interests of trade union members
explain what is meant by recruitment
the process of finding and hiring someone for a job role that needs filling
what are the stages of recruitment?
- identify vacancy
- write job description & specification
- advertise job
- process applications
- shortlist most suitable candidates
- appoint most suitable candidate
what does a job description include?
includes job title, the main roles and responsibilities, the salary
what does a job specification include|?
the qualities and qualifications required for the job
e.g. experience of 2 years in hospitality
what happens during the selection process ?
three ways to assess candidates: interviews
assessment days
in-tray exercises
what happens during an inveterview?
questions are asked to candidate about experience, qualitites etc
can be one to one, panel of interviewers or phone
-phone is seen to be less effective than face to face
what happens during assessment days?
used by some organisations
help test candidates by using a range of activities
include psychometric testing which assesses personality
aptitude tests - see how good the candidate is at job tasks
group exercises - see how candidates interact with others
what happens during in tray exercises?
candidates are given scenarios where they play a member of staff and are given are list of tasks that need completing
like calls, emails
-candidate has to put tasks in the order of importance and say what actions needed to be taken for each task
what will a business look for when recruiting,?
right attitude / right skills
as more driven and motivated to learn new skills at a fast rate -> work better in teams
-this reduces training costs, -> inc costs if candidate lacks positive attitude
evaluate internal recruitment?
+candidates already know the business vice versa
+short and cheap process
+motivates workers to go for promotions
-leaves a vacancy in other department
-can cause resentment among colleagues who aren’t selected
evaluate external recruitment
+brings in new fresh ideas, experience from other organisations and larger number of applicants
-long & expensive process, longer induction process and will have only sen a candidate at recruitment - not representative of how they work
what are some of the training and recruitment costs?
recruitment - advertising to attract the right staff like Linkedin -> expensive, recruitment agencies recruit professional staff if job is unique-> shortlists candidates, shortlisting and assessing can be done by existing staff
training - off the job is more expensive as another business will deliver the training or staff train new ppl -> shadowing
why is it important to train staff members well?
needs to be effective
if not trained well enough may leave job -> more ppl leave the higher a businesses labour turnover
high labour turnover -> high costs fpr business as more time is needed to recruit and train new employees
whats labour turnover?
the percentage of employees who leave a business over a period of time
what happens during induction training?
into business history inc familarisation with all key policies and procedures used in the business, health and safety
info on line management
info on job role and training - amount & depth depends on the business and the nature of the job
what could happen if the employee is not fully supported?
can be overwhelmed, demotivated and unable to work effectively -> lower productivity
explain more on on the job training
done in house
suitable for practical skills are taught and providing its safe to do so
e.g. picking stock in a warehouse
explain more on off the job training
appropriate when the employees need to know general information about the business
useful when learning a new skill that may be difficult to learn in the real work environment
explain more on off the job training
appropriate when the employees need to know general information about the business
useful when learning a new skill that may be difficult to learn in the real work environment
evaluate on the job training
+easy to organise, lower cost, training is job specific
-trainers are not fully productive during training, bad practices are passed on and no new ideas are bought to the business
evaluate off the job training
+trainers are specialists, new ideas are brought into the business, no jon distractions during training
-expensive, no benefit to the business whilst training and training might not be specific to their day to day job
what does an organisational chart do?
sets out who has authourity & responsibility to make decisions
shows who individual employees are accountable to and who employees are responsible for
shows chain of command - path of communication
how is an organisation divided up?
- Board of directors - give direction
- Managers - ensure targets are met
- Team leaders - responsible for a team of supervisors and shop-floor workers
- supervisors - oversee things on a day to day basis
- Shop floor workers
what is a tall heirarchy?
has long chains of command which is clear
layers of management
slow communication as lots of ppl to communicate w.
roles & responsibilities are clearly defined
long decision time
high motivation -> possibility to get promoted
CENTRALISED AUTHORITY
Evaluate tall hierarchies?
+clear lines of formal authority
managers control fewer ppl -> more quality time
promotional opportunities
-slow communication -> message is passed down the chain
slower decision making
higher costs -> different levels of roles
what is a flat hierarchy?
only have a few levels of management
given more freedom and responsibility
quick communication
fairer pay due to equal positioning
wide span of control
Authority is centralised
low motivation -> not lots of management roles
evaluate flat hierarchies?
+fast communication & less disortion
workers have a wider job role
low management -> less management costs
-manager has less time for staff under their control
lack of promotional opportunities -> go somewhere else
what is delayering?
means to remove parts of the hierarchy
creating a flatting structure with wider spans of control
evaulate delayering
+helps lower costs ->gives junior employees more responsibility -> improve efficiency & communication
-costs business money as staff left will need to be retrained and give redundancy pay
- too much delayering -> managers can become stressed and overworked with huge spans of control
whats the difference between centralised and decentralised?
centralised - all decisions made by senior managers at the top of the business
decentralised - authority is shared out to more junior employees like branch managers to help make decisions
evaluate centralised organisations?
+leaders have lots of experience making business decisions, managers get an overview of whole business -> consistent decisions, no bias towards a department, quicker decison making
-not many ppl aqre export enough to make decisions about all aspects of the business, react to change slowly -> comp gets ahead, excluding employees = demotivating
evaluate decentralised organisations
+involvement in dm motivates employees, employees can use expert knowledge of their sector and day to day decisions are made quickly
-may not have enough experience to make decisions, inconsistence may develop between divisions, may be unable to see the overall situation
what is a matrix structure?
organise staff by two different criteria
used in projects
business is organised by project and function, each project team hasworkers from different functions
ensures staff are persuing clearly defined objectives & encourages departments to build relationships
-> can lead to conflict
