1.4 - Managing People

Question 1

Describe a matrix structure

Answer 1

They combine the functional areas of a business (HR, finance, marketing) with a specialist product/ project teams that operates inside the business, meaning that teams report to multiple leaders.

Question 2

Distinguish between mamagement and leadership

Answer 2

• Managers impliment the leaders vision

Vision vs. Execution

• Leadership focuses on creating a vision, setting direction, and inspiring others to follow
• Management focuses on executing plans, organising resources and ensuring tasks are completed on time

Influence vs. Control

• Leadership focuses on influencing others to achieve a common goal by inspiring and motivating
• Management focuses on controlling resources and processes to ensure that objectives are met

People vs. Processes

• Leadership focuses on people, their needs, and their motivation
• Management focuses on processes, structures and systems

Long-term vs. Short-term

• Leadership focuses on the long-term vision and strategy
• Management focuses on short-term goals and targets

Creativity vs. Efficiency

• Leadership encourages creativity and innovation
• Management focuses more on efficiency and productivity

Question 3

Describe Elton Mayo’s Human Relations Theory

Answer 3

Elton Mayo – Human Relations Theory
* Mayonnaise that binds people together
* Found teamwork and social factors, (e.g. feeling valued, included, empowered, building relationships) were key motivator and more important than environmental factors (e.g. temperature, light intensity) in causing motivation.
* Emphasis on non-financial motivation.
* Believed effective internal communication would help identify employee needs more effectively – feel empowered – increase productivity.
* His research helped to develop the first HR departments and leisure facilities.

Evaluation
* Hertzberg – social factors like building relationships are hygiene factors which don’t directly motivate.

Question 4

Describe Taylors Scientific Management Theory

Answer 4

Taylors Scientific Management Theory
* Devised to combat “soldiering”
● Believed financial reward is the key motivator. Set targets and reward employees accordingly.
● Piece rate (paying per unit of output).
● Sees employees as a cost?
● Focused on increasing productivity and efficiency
● Promoted division of labour- specialisation – increase productivity
● Autocratic, similar to “McGregor theory X” management style – close control and supervision. Employees must be obedient, not have initiative. FYI – theory X wasn’t devised by Taylor, but his management approach mirrors it.
● Identify quick workers – identify their method – train other employees – reward accordingly with financial motivation like bonuses
Evaluation
● Can be criticised for encouraging poor working conditions/ sweatshop conditions
● Increased output per employee (productivity) may result in redundancies as less employees needed to do the same job – may decrease existing employees’ motivation – feel they lack job security.
● Business process reengineering (BPR) is still used by businesses today and is inspired of Taylors work. It involves the radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in productivity, quality, and employee and customer satisfaction.

Question 5

Describe Herzbergs Two factor theory

Answer 5

Herzberg’s Two Factor theory
Hygiene factors
* place emphasis on non-financial motivation, but Motivators place emphasis on non-financial motivation
* Hygiene Factors – Don’t directly motivate employees, but reduce motivation if absent.
* Pay, working environment, relationships with employees

Motivators
* directly motivate employees
* Promotions, self improvement (training), Job Design
* job enlargement – more tasks of same difficulty
* job enrichment – more challenging tasks
* Job rotation - different role
* Empowerment – decision making power, greater responsibility & autonomy, may involve employees being delegated tasks

Evaluation
* Lacks supporting research or empirical evidence

Question 6

Describe Maslow’s Hieararchy of Needs

Answer 6

Five levels of the hierarchy
* Self actulisation
* Self esteem
* Love and belonging
* Safety needs
* physiological needs

One can only obtain needs further up in the hierarchy if all needs below have first been fulfilled

Question 7

Distinguish between dismissal and redundency

Answer 7

Dismissal occurs as a consequence of an action or inaction by the employee, while redundancy arises as a legal matter when the employer no longer requires a specific type of work to be performed.