1.4-managing people

Question 1

+

Question 3

what is chain of command?

Answer 3

the movement of information, power and authority throughout an organisation

Question 4

what is a hierarchy?

Answer 4

the levels that a business has, based on how much authority and power each employee has
those at the top are more important than those at the bottom
employees can gain a promotion to move up a hierarchy

Question 5

What is span of control?

Answer 5

the number of employees that a manager is directly responsible for
in a flat structure- wide
in a tall structure- narrow

Question 6

What is a tall structure?

Answer 6

a organisation with many layers of management
it has a long chain of command, but a narrow span of control
+ve
more promotional opportunities
narrow span of control means managers can keep close eye on employees
-ve
long chain of command makes sending and receiving messages more time consuming and inefficient- takes longer to make decisions and implement changed
higher labour costs as there is more managers and employees

Question 7

what is a flat structure?

Answer 7

an organisation with few layers of management
has a short chain of command but wide span of control
+ve
short chain of command means quicker communication, so decisions made quicker
employees delegated more tasks to do- increases motivation
-ve
staff may feel overstretched and overworked
lack of supervision means no motivation
no promotion opportunities

Question 8

What is a matrix structure?

Answer 8

this is where employees report to multiple leaders when there is more than one project at the same time
+ve
departments are specialised in certain areas so increased efficiency
creates a multi skilled workforce as employees from each department can jump in when needed
-ve
can be coordination problems as chain of command is hard to identify

Question 9

What is delayering?

Answer 9

is where you remove a number of layers in the hierarchy
-can be to reduce costs- save on salaries
-may cost in the short term to retrain staff
-too much delayering can mean managers and employees are overworked

Question 10

what is a centralised structure?

Answer 10

this is where all decisions are made by managers at the top of the hierarchy- head office-decisions such as sales, products, recruitment, accounts
only rotas and stock levels are decided on branch level
+ve
leaders making decisions are experienced and not biased towards one branch
decisions stay consistent throughout whole business
quicker decisions as managers dont need to consult with employees
-ve
employees may feel demotivated as they are excluded from decision making
managers making decisions dont work on shop floor so may take longer to notice consumer trends

Question 13

What is motivation?

Answer 13

having motivated staff means that they are more productive and work harder, which meets business objectives and creates higher profitability

Question 14

What is importance of employee motivation?

Answer 14

motivated employees are:
-creative
-accurate
-productive
-better customer service

motivated employees are more reliable and loyal to the business- less likely to be absent and leave which reduces absenteeism and turnover which reduces costs or recruitment and training

Question 15

What is Taylors scientific management motivational theory?

Answer 15

he believed the only way of motivating employees is by paying them
employees get paid based on output produced- the more produced the higher the pay
he believed the managers job was to tell employees what to do, whilst employees job is to do what they are told and get paid accordingly
he also used time=-motion study where he examines how long it takes to do a task and eliminates the time consuming tasks

Question 16

What is Maslows hierarchy of needs theory?

Answer 16

The idea that everyone has a pyramids of needs- you need to meet the omnes at the bottom and your work your way up where you start to self-actualise and reach your full potential
1-physical needs
basic needs of life eg, food, water, shelter
business does this by paying its employees
2-safety needs
health and safety: business does this by providing a safe working environment and job security
3-social - love and belonging needs:
you seek love and frienships
you want to be part of social clubs and community groups
business does this by organising team outings
4-self esteem needs:
where you seek respect, status and recognition
you create a good working image
business does this by giving employee recognition
5- self actualisation:
only met when all others are met
where you are creative, inspiring and problem solving.
you reach your full potential and develop new skills and take responsibility

Question 17

what is mayos human relation theory?

Answer 17

he realised money wasn’t the only motivating factor, there were non-financial factors too.
he didn’t believe that the employer and employees had different job roles
he created better working conditions, team working and social clubs to increase employee motivation

Question 18

What is hertzbergs two factor theory?

Answer 18

interviewed accountants and engineers to find out what motivates them
found out that there are 2 groups of motivating factors:
1- motivating factor- interesting work, personal achievement, responsibility and development
2-hygiene factors- good working conditions, pay, relationships with employers.

Question 19

What are the 5 financial motivation methods?

Answer 19

1- piecework
2-commission
3-bonuses
4-profit share
5-performance related pay

Question 20

what is piecework?

Answer 20

this is where employees are paid based on unit produced- they dont get paid a fixed salary
-employer can either pay minimum wage or fair peace rate- paid according to how long it took to produce a product
+ve:
-efficient employees can earn more
-motivates employees to produce more
-employees may work longer hours
-ve:
quality may suffer if employees cut corners
employees may get tired

Question 21

what is commission?

Answer 21

money paid to employees for meeting targets
often used in sales roles as a reward of selling products
can be commission only, or low basic salary and commission
commission is paid as a %of unit price or unit sold
+ve
-motivates sales person to sell more-sales person can earn good money
-ve
not a steady income
if employee on commission only they may not earn anything

Question 22

what is a bonus?

Answer 22

lump sum of money added onto annual salary
can be for meeting sales targets or performance targets
+ve
seen as an incentive to work harder
can be seen as a mean of appreciation
-ve
tax on bonus
can be costly so business may use girft cards instead

Question 23

what is profit share?

Answer 23

where employees are paid an annual dividend based on how much profit the firm makes
employees spend less to make more profit
they become more loyal to the firm
+ve
employees work together towards a goal
increases motivation
increased commitment to the business
-ve
salaries increase yearly so profit share may not motivate them
may be focused on profit rather than customer service

Question 24

what is performance related pay?

Answer 24

employees and manager decide on objectives for employee and targets are set. if targets are met, employee gets a bonus
+ve
motivates employees to work harder as there is a direct relationship between performance and pay
employees can see who to promote
-ve
if targets arent met, may be demotivated
bonus may be seen as too low of an incentive

Question 25

What are the 7 non financial motivation methods?

Question 26

What is delegation?

Answer 26

1- delegation
this is where managers are allowed to allocate tasks to employees
+ve
makes employees feel valued
builds tryst between employee and manager
-ve
may allocate when overloaded with work, not to motivate employees
may not choose suitable employee to allocate tasks to

Question 27

What is consultation?

Answer 27

where employees are involved in the decision making- can be by law or business related
+ve
increases employee motivation
makes them feel valued
builds trust between manager and the employee
-ve
employee may not have enough business knowledge to make decisions
if there not listened to, may hold a grudge

Question 28

What is empowerment?

Answer 28

employees are able to delegate tasks to others, to those most suitable to the task
+ve
employees are recognised for abilities
have control over decisions
more likely to remail loyal
-ve
may be seen as giving employees more work for same pay
can be seen as a strategy to delayer or make staff redundant
inexperienced employees may make mistakes

Question 29

what is team working?

Answer 29

where you are put into small groups to organise your work
+ve:
more ideas so more innovation
share responsibility
skilled workers so more specialists
-ve
tension can occur
sometimes individual approach is better

Question 30

What is flexible working?

Answer 30

allows employees to work a variety of working patterns to allow them to have a work life balance
+ve
leads to more motivation and efficiency
more job satisfaction
-ve
employees may take advantage and not work as hard
may not fit everyones schedule

Question 31

what is job enrichment?

Answer 31

where employees are given a greater range of tasks at a higher level
+ve
more challenging and interesting so less likely to get bored
more motivation and productivity
-ve
some staff may feel job has just got harder
staff may need training on machinery/it

Question 32

What is job rotation?

Answer 32

this is where employees get to move from one task to another
employees are trained in all skills- better to utilise when there is shortages
+ve
job is less boring
business gains more skilled employees
easy and cost effective way to motivate employees
-ve
some employees may noy want to work with others
can be time consuming

Question 33

what is job enlargement?

Answer 33

where you give employees more work at same level
+ve
prevents getting bored
gets max output out of workers
more motivation
-ve
employees may just see it as more work