2.1 Functions of HR

Question 1

Human resource planning?

Answer 1

A strategy to ensure that the best fitted employees are
selected,
used and
developed
in the most effective way.

Question 2

Labour turnover ?

Answer 2

The movement of employees in and out of a business over a given period of time.

Question 3

The most common steps in the process of recruitment?

Answer 3

✓ identification
✓ application and.
✓ selection

Question 4

On-the-job training?

Answer 4

Takes place as part of day-to-day work.

Question 5

Off-the-job training?

Answer 5

Allows employees time off work to attend external training.

Question 6

Cognitive training?

Answer 6

Is not focussed on a particular aspect of the business but helps employees to develop their thinking skills.

Question 7

Behavioural training?

Answer 7

Helps employees develop interpersonal skills.

Question 8

Who leads on-the-job training?

Answer 8

It is usually led by an experienced employee who can act as a mentor to the trainee.

Question 9

Ways for employees to leave a business?

Answer 9

Due to:
termination,
dismissal or
redundancy.

Question 10

For which sectors is an HR function/department particularly important?

Answer 10

The tertiary and
quaternary sectors.

Question 11

What form does the plan/framework take?

Answer 11

This framework for how to get the most from their human resources is referred to as the HR plan or workforce plan. With large businesses, this plan will almost always be a written document that can be referred to. With smaller businesses, the plan may not be written but decided upon by and remain “in the head” of the director of HR or the owner of the small business.

Question 12

Labour turnover formula?

Answer 12

Number of staff leaving over a year
vs
average number of staff employed in the same year (in%)

Question 13

Drawback of high labour turnover?

Answer 13

Even if workers are otherwise satisfied in their jobs, high labour turnover may lead them to believe that they should be dissatisfied.

Loss of skills which were trained through hard work and time

Younger workers tend to leave more often

Question 14

For which business will be a higher rate of labour turnover more damaging:
For a Shop - one of the shop consultants.
For a Warehouse - one of the forklift operators
For a Hotel - one of the hosts
Accountancy firm - one of the accountants

Answer 14

Accountancy firm - one of accountants

Question 15

What effect may have an economic boom on the labour turnover?

Answer 15

Also called the expansion/peak phase of the business cycle or an upswing, upturn, growth period.

When economic indicators rise and Gross domestic product (GDP), increases, employees tend to look for new opportunities since more jobs are available.

Question 16

Types of external factors, affecting the availability of the pool of potential employees?

Answer 16

● Technological change – e.g. make employing someone from further away easier than before.
● Government regulations - maximum weekly working hours or equality in the workplace irrespective of age, gender, ethnicity, or disability.
● Demographics – e.i. ageing population, migration
● Social trends – single parents families, or the importance of leisure in the “work–life balance”
● Economy – economic boom leads to deficit of labour and increased wages; a recession makes more workers and low wages possible.
● Education
● Labour mobility – particularly after 2019-2020 pandemic

Question 17

The internal factors which may have an impact on the current HR plan?

Answer 17

● A reorganization of the business organization –
● Changes in labour relations – e.i. formation of an powerful union.
● Changes in business strategy
● Changes in business Financial position – the

Question 18

The four parts/processes of the HR plan, which follow an individual’s career path as the employee progresses in the business?

Answer 18

● recruitment – how the business recruits the right person for the right job
● training
● appraisal
● termination or dismissal – whether voluntarily or involuntarily.

Question 19

Parts of job Identification process?

Answer 19

● Job description
● Person specification
● decision whether Internal or external recruitment

Question 20

What does identification part mean in the recruitment process?

Answer 20

The business realizes that it needs a new employee because of a change of some factors.

Question 21

The internal factors which may have an impact on the current HR plan?

Answer 21

● A reorganization of the business organization –
● Changes in labour relations – e.i. formation of a powerful union.
● Changes in business strategy
● Changes in business Financial position – the

Question 22

Components of Job description?

Answer 22

This gives details about the job, such as:
● the job title
● what the employee will have to do
● the employee’s responsibilities.

Question 23

Components of the Person specification?

Answer 23

This gives details about the type of person required to do the job, such as:
● the skills required to do the job
● the qualifications necessary
● the experience necessary.

Question 24

Benefits Internal vs external recruitment

Answer 24

Recruiting internally by promotion (or redeployment), may be:
● cheaper
● quicker
● more efficient as the person would know how the business works.

Disadvantages:

● limits the pool of potential candidates
● may cause resentment
● causes the “domino” effect as the person promoted would leave a vacancy to be filled, and so on down the hierarchy.

Searching externally would be the reverse of all of the above.

Question 25

Benefits Internal vs external recruitment

Answer 25

Recruiting internally by promotion (or redeployment), may be:
● cheaper
● quicker
● more efficient as the person would know how the business works.

Disadvantages:

● limits the pool of potential candidates
● may cause resentment
● causes the “domino” effect as the person promoted would leave a vacancy to be filled, and so on down the hierarchy.

Searching externally would be the reverse of all of the above.

Question 26

What components does the Application processes have?

Answer 26

The business has to decide how to find the best applicants for the job. The business will need to consider:
● Job advert (where? to be seen by the right people? relevant legal requirements?)

● Application form (What fields to include?) or résumé
(CV);

Question 27

Benefits of predetermined Application form?

Answer 27

● designed specifically to match the job requirements
● standardized, so they are useful (to compare) for
jobs with lots of possible applicants
● is quicker way for the HR to process.

Question 28

What type of people are better suited to conduct application and selection process?

Answer 28

Advantages of Internal staff for this purpose:
● cheaper
● quicker
● more efficient as the HR department will know precisely what the business requires.

Advantages of external staff/agency for this purpose:

● They may have more applicants in their databases
● Is specialized on applications and selection and does not loose focus (vs internal staff that has other obligations as well)
● specializes in specific vacancies.

Question 29

Benefits of a CV vs application form?

Answer 29

● is better for jobs with limited applicants (such as senior posts)
● is more personal and can reveal more about the applicant
● can be more flexible
● is quicker for the applicant, as may be prepared beforehand and used many times.

Question 30

What components are included in the Selection process?

Answer 30

● Shortlisting
● Testing
● The interview

Question 31

Types of tests for selection process?

Answer 31

● aptitude (task-oriented activities, to test understanding and application of theories or concepts)
● psychometric (to test reasoning skills & personality)
● team based

Question 32

Types of an interview in the selection process?

Answer 32

● face to face (one to one)
● panel (with more than one person)
● video conference (or telephone)
● multi-stage (one interview leads to another)
● multi-day (conducted over a number of days).

Question 33

Induction - training?

Answer 33

● that focuses on making a new employee familiar with the way the business functions and with lines of authority

Question 34

Mentoring vs shadowing during the on-the-job training?

Answer 34

● mentoring is when an experienced employee guides the employee being trained.
● shadowing is when one employee follows, or “shadows”, another to learn a new skill.

Question 35

Inspection vs appraisal?

Answer 35

Under inspection,

● communication is one-way and top–down (from manager to employee).

● The process focuses on the negative – what the employee has failed to do

Under appraisal,
● employees may respond or even initiate discussion.
Communication is two-way,
● a non-threatening and supportive process.

Question 36

Summative appraisal?

Answer 36

● measures an employee’s performance according to set standard -making a judgment of whether the employee passed or failed. Failure should not necessarily lead to termination.

Question 37

360 degree appraisal?

Answer 37

● Ab employee is appraised not only from their line manager but also from subordinates and even customers. It is often used with CEOs and other executives

Question 38

Self-appraisal?

Answer 38

● Is done with the help of a self-appraisal form on
which employees rate themselves on various performance indicators. Typically, employees can also suggest their training needs

Question 39

Formative appraisal?

Answer 39

● a continuous approach to evaluate performance during an employee’s time at work. typically run on a one-to- three-year cycle. This type of appraisal presumably “forms/developes” the employee.

Question 40

Termination vs dismissal

Answer 40

Voluntary (changing career goals, family) vs involuntary (fired because of poor discipline etc)

Question 41

What is a “summary dismissal”?

Answer 41

It takes effect immediately without a period of notice:

When employees have done something very bad or

when the employer fears that the employee will damage the property of the business

Question 42

What is redundancy?

Answer 42

When a business no longer has any work for an employee, causes:
● a drop in demand for the business’s products
● a recession etc.

In these cases, because employees have lost their job through no fault of their own, they would normally expect to receive a redundancy payment and a letter of reference
May also take voluntary and involuntary form, to make the life fo everybody easier.

Question 43

Full-time work?

Answer 43

When employees work the maximum hours per week accepted by law (for example, working
35 hours a week in Europe).

Question 44

Permanent contracts?

Answer 44

An employee who has been hired for a position without a predetermined time limit.

Question 45

Part-time work?

Answer 45

Work less than the full-time weekly maximum hours.

Question 46

Temporary work?

Answer 46

Work that is on a fixed-term contract usually of a temporary nature (for example, to cover maternity leave). The employee would normally sign up to an agency who finds work for the employee.

Question 47

Freelance?

Answer 47

Someone who is self-employed works for several different employers at the same time.

Question 48

Teleworking?

Answer 48

Work taking place from home or a
telecommunication centre. Usually the employee would have a core number of hours he or she has to work at the office, the remainder from home.

Question 49

Homeworking?

Answer 49

When an employee works from home. Usually the employee would have a core number of hours he or she has to work at the office, the remainder from home.

Question 50

Flexitime?

Answer 50

Work involving a set number of hours of an
employee’s own choosing. Usually the employee would have a core number of hours he or she has to work at the office; the rest is up to the employee.

Question 51

Casual Fridays?

Answer 51

An employee is allowed to wear less formal dress on a Friday so that it is easier to go away at the weekends.

Question 52

Three-day weekend?

Answer 52

Instead of working, say, five days of eight hours, the employee works four days of ten hours and so has a three-day weekend.

Question 53

Career breaks?

Answer 53

● An employee decides to stop working for a time, usually a year or more, before returning to work in the same career. Sometimes the employer formalizes this and agrees to take the employee back after the break – this is known as a “sabbatical”.

Question 54

Job share?

Answer 54

● two or more employees decide to share a job in order to free up more time for other activities.

Question 55

Downshifting?

Answer 55

● An employee gives up a senior position or highly paid employment in order to change career into another lower-paid field or area of interest.
● Study leave – an employee is granted time off work to acquire a new qualification such as an MBA.

Question 56

Study leave?

Answer 56

● An employee is granted time off work to acquire a new qualification such as an MBA.

Question 57

Outsourcing vs offshoring?

Answer 57

Offshoring is an extension of outsourcing: when a business outsources outside its home country.
With improved global communication, offshoring has been a growth area in the modern business environment. Businesses take advantage of the huge wage differences between workers doing the same job in different countries.

Question 58

Benefit of offshoring?

Answer 58

● Huge wage differences between workers doing the same job in different countries.
● Any other benefit of outsourcing (focus on core activities and competences)

Question 59

Examples of offshoring practices?

Answer 59

Call-centers
Marketing
HR

Question 60

The opposite of innovation?

Answer 60

The inertia

Question 61

Innovation vs HR?

Answer 61

HR is most important for tertiary and quaternary sectors
These sectors are mostly innovative.
No innovation without a good selection of highly creative, skilled and motivated staff

Question 62

HR vs ethics?

Answer 62

Not only should businesses treat their employees ethically, today it must do so. With the Internet, people have greater ability to send and receive information. As a result, businesses have to be careful to act in an ethical manner – or at the least to create that appearance.

Ethics is a factors at many areas of HR:
● Hiring - selection (non-discrimination)
● Remuneration (merit-based, non-discriminatory)
● Health and safety
● Maintenance of relations (non-discrimination in
promotions)
● Dismissal and redundancies (non-discrimination,
fairness)

Question 63

HR vs cultural differences?

Answer 63

Hofstede indexes, such as:
● Power distance
● Masculinity
● Individualism
etc

Question 64

HR vs cultural differences?

Answer 64

Hofstede indexes are useful , such as:
● Power distance
● Masculinity
● Individualism
● Uncertainty avoidance
● Long term orientation
● Indulgence

As well as:
● Humour
● Body language
● Dress-code
etc

Question 65

Hofstede indexes ?

Answer 65

● Power distance
● Masculinity
● Individualism
● Uncertainty avoidance
● Long term orientation
● Indulgence

Question 66

(cultural) Diversity vs innovation?

Answer 66

Innovation occurs when people see a problem and solve it.
When people from different backgrounds are gathered together to solve problems, the diversity of perspectives increases the likelihood that a successful and novel solution will be found.

Question 67

What is measured by power distance index of Hofstede

Answer 67

A distance an ordinary citizen feels between himself and decision-making over his life or over the state. How he feels his own responsibility.

This dimension expresses the degree to which the less powerful members of a society accept and expect that power is distributed unequally.

Question 68

Limitation of outsourcing?

Answer 68

● lost control over operations
● may be costly
● if quality control is poor, there is a risk of reputation

Question 69

Limitation of outsourcing?

Answer 69

● lost control over operations
● may be costly
● if quality control is poor, there is a risk of reputation

Question 70

Offshoring vs ethics?

Answer 70

● it means redundancies at original place, making people unhappy
● On the one hand, it means raising employment in a law-wage, probably less developed country

Question 71

What is measured by Uncertainty Avoidance index of Hofstede

Answer 71

The Uncertainty Avoidance dimension expresses the degree to which the members of a society feel uncomfortable with ambiguity. High score means that the society prefers prescribed rules rather than taking responsibility to create a new paradigm.

Countries exhibiting strong UAI maintain rigid codes of belief and behaviour, and are intolerant of unorthodox behaviour and ideas. Weak UAI societies maintain a more relaxed attitude in which practice counts more than principles.

Question 72

What is measured by Masculinity index of Hofstede

Answer 72

The Masculinity side of this dimension represents a preference in society for achievement, heroism, assertiveness, and material rewards for success. Society at large is more competitive.

Its opposite, Femininity, stands for a preference for cooperation, modesty, caring for the weak and quality of life. Society at large is more consensus-oriented.