1.4 managing people

Question 1

what is an employee who sees staff as an asset more likely to do

Answer 1

• give reasonable holiday and sick pay
• see training as a important investment
• provide workers with job security

Question 2

what is an employee who sees staff as a cost more likely to do

Answer 2

• pay workers the minimum
• provide the minimum legal holiday/sick pay
• see training as an unnecessary cost

Question 3

what is flexible working and what does it include

Answer 3

adapting a flexible approach to the workforce
- flexible hours
- outsourcing
- multi-skilling employees

Question 4

what are the advantages and disadvantages of flexible working (3 each)

Answer 4

+ business can respond to short term demand
+ specialist jobs can be done by employees who aren’t permanent
+ easier to manage staffing costs

• communication issues
• outsourced work lower quality
• employees may not feel committed on a part time contract

Question 5

what is dismissal

Answer 5

when an employee fails to meet the required standard

Question 6

what is redundancy

Answer 6

where there is no/too little work or the position is np longer needed, sometimes offered voluntary redundancy where they receive a pay out

Question 7

what is employee representation and what are the 3 ways

Answer 7

involves collective representation of employees
- trade unions
- works councils
- employee committees

Question 8

what are the 2 bargaining methods

Answer 8

1. collective bargaining- trade unions agree on pay
2. individual bargaining- small businesses

Question 9

what is the human resource flow

Answer 9

the movement of employees through an organisation, there are three specific areas of the flow that must be managed effectively for the business to achieve its human resource objectives

Question 10

what are the benefits of internal recruitment (4)

Answer 10

+ cheaper than external
+ managers know employees
+ requires less training
+ promotion gives good motivation and retention of staff

Question 11

what are the benefits of external recruitment (3)

Answer 11

+ increases capacity
+ brings new skills and ideas
+ may attract wider number of applicants

Question 12

what is on the job training and evaluation (1 strength 1 limitation)

Answer 12

where an employee learns a job by seeing how it is carried out by an experienced employee

+ continuous output as carried out while working
- disruptive for others or mistakes made

Question 13

what is off the job training (1 strength 1 limitation)

Answer 13

when employees are taken away from their place of work to be trained
+ mistakes reduced
- may not always be directly linked to the job

Question 14

when is training required

Answer 14

when new employees join, new technology is introduced, new health and safety legislation or new working practices

Question 15

what are the roles within business

Answer 15

1. directors
2. managers
3. supervisors
4. team leaders

Question 16

what categories is there for roles within a business

Answer 16

• professionals
• operatives (skilled workers)
• general staff

Question 17

what are the 2 factors in an organisation hierarchy

Answer 17

1. chain of command - levels in hierarchy
2. span of control - number of employees a manager is responsible for

Question 18

what is centralisation

Answer 18

decision making process whereby the majority of decisions are led by senior managers

Question 19

what is decentralisation

Answer 19

decision making process whereby majority of the decisions are delegated to managers in charge of regions, functions and product categories

Question 20

what are the advantages of centralisation

Answer 20

+ most suitable in times of crisis
+ effective at cost minimisation and achieving eos
+ good in situations where managers have knowledge and workers are low skilled

Question 21

what are the advantages of decentralisation

Answer 21

+ allows flexible working conditions and supports job enrichment
+ appropriate where businesses are spread over a area and local needs are important

Question 22

what is a tall organisational structure

Answer 22

generally has many levels in the chain of command and there may be a narrow span of control, tends to add levels as they grow

Question 23

what is a flat organisational structure

Answer 23

few levels in the chain of command, few middle managers but span of control for managers at top can be wide

Question 24

what is a matrix organisational structure

Answer 24

involves workers being organised by a project and business function, teams are formed to carry out a specific project such as development of new product

Question 25

what impact does a tall structure have on a business (good and bad)

Answer 25

+ managers have tighter controls
+ clear promotional route
- slow to make decisions because of long chain of demand
- expensive because lots of managers

Question 26

what impact does a flat structure have on a business (good and bad)

Answer 26

+ good communication
+ decisions made quickly
- managers may lose control
- can be cheaper because fewer managers

Question 27

what impact does a matrix structure have on a business (good and bad)

Answer 27

+ motivational
+ flexible
- expensive
- difficult to co-ordinate

Question 28

describe Taylor’s theory of motivation

Question 29

evaluate Taylors motivational theory

Question 30

describe Maslow’s theory of motivation

Question 31

evaluate Maslow’s motivational theory

Question 32

describe Herzberg’s theory of motivation

Question 33

evaluate Herzberg’s motivational theory

Question 34

describe Mayo’s theory of motivation

Question 35

evaluate Mayo’s motivational theory