16. HRM Strategy

Question 1

Hard HRM

Answer 1

1. The hard approach is to view employees as resources just like any other business resource. According to this view, people have to be managed in a similar way to equipment and raw materials.
2. They must be obtained as cheaply as possible, used sparingly and exploited as much as possible to keep labour costs per unit as low as possible.
3. This approach may remind you of the Theory X view of workers and Taylor’s approach to motivation.

Question 2

Hard HRM
* Drawbacks

Answer 2

1. The hard approach is to view employees as resources just like any other business resource. According to this view, people have to be managed in a similar way to equipment and raw materials.
2. They must be obtained as cheaply as possible, used sparingly and exploited as much as possible to keep labour costs per unit as low as possible.
3. This approach may remind you of the Theory X view of workers and Taylor’s approach to motivation.

Question 3

Soft HRM

Answer 3

Veiws employyes as valuable assets, prioritizing their development, well-being,

Question 4

Soft HRM
* Advanatges

Question 5

full-time employment contracts
* Advantages

Answer 5

• They help satisfy employees’ safety or
  security needs, as defined by Maslow.
• They can result in employee loyalty to the
  business being high and labour turnover low.
• Employers are usually prepared to finance
  training programmes for employees on these
  contracts as the workers are more likely to stay
  with the business.

Question 6

full-time employment contracts
* Disadvantages

Answer 6

Labour costs become fixed costs as they
cannot easily be varied with output or demand
for the products of the business.
* The contracts are inflexible as they do not
allow employers to vary the number of
workers or the number of hours they work
quickly.

Question 7

Temporary employment contracts
* Advantages

Answer 7

• Fixed labour costs are reduced. Employees can
  be required to work at particularly busy times
  of the day or week, but not during less busy
  periods.
• Flexibility offers firms real competitive
  advantages, as they can give good customer
  service without substantial cost increases.
• More workers are available to be called upon
  should there be sickness or other causes of
  absenteeism.
• The efficiency of employees can be assessed
  before they are offered a full-time contract.
• Zero-hours contracts mean that there is no
  fixed cost element in a worker’s pay. No
  guaranteed work or pay is offered and a wage
  is only paid if the worker is called in to work
  for a specified number of hours.
• One-off gig contracts for a particular job
  remove all employment costs other than
  payment for the job being performed. These
  workers are not employees.