2.10 Human resource Management

Question 1

HRM jobs

Answer 1

• planning the workforce needs of the business
• recruiting and selecting staff
• appraising, training and developing at every of their careers
• preparing contracts of employment (permanent, temporary, full or part time)
• improving staff morale and welfare
• developing appropriate pay systems
• measuring and monitoring staff performance

Question 2

Workforce planning

Answer 2

Analyzing and forecasting the numbers of workers and the skills of those workers that will be required by the organization to achieve its objectives
– It determines what mix of experience, knowledge and skills is required and sequences the steps to get the right number of right people in the right place at the right time. – Effective workforce planning ensures that decisions are made on staffing
– decisions that are linked to an organisation’s mission, strategy, budgetary resources and a set of defined workforce competences.
– Without effective workforce planning a business will not be equipped to achieve performance targets and will likely drift and ossify.
– Workforce planning affects most parts of a business

Question 3

Planning:

1.Deciding on the number of staff needed

Answer 3

• forecast demand for the firm’s product
• the productivity of staff
• the objectives of the business
• changes in the law regarding workers’ rights
• labour turnover and absenteeism rate

Question 4

Recruiting

Answer 4

The process of identifying the need for a new employee, defining the job to be filled and the type of person needed to fill it it, attracting suitable candidates for the jobs and selecting the best one

Question 5

Job description

Answer 5

A detailed list of the key points about the job to be filled - stating all its key tasks and responsibilities

Question 6

Person specification

Answer 6

A detailed list of the qualities, skills and qualifications that a successful applicant will need to have

Question 7

Benefits of internal recruitment

Answer 7

• applicants may already be known
• applicants will already know the organisation –> induction training a vote of confidence in internal staff
• a means of continuity
• less expensive than external recruitment
• maintains the morale of staff

Question 8

Human Resource management (HRM)

Answer 8

The strategic approach to the effective management of an organization’s workers so that they help the business gain a competitive advantage

Question 9

The process of recruiting

Answer 9

1. Establishing job vacancy and drawing up a job description
2. Drawing up person specification
3. Preparing job advertisement
4. Drawing up shortlists
5. Conducting interviews

Question 10

Benefits of external recruitment

Answer 10

• external applicants –> new ideas and practices
• wider choice of potential applicants –> higher standards
• avoids resentment felt by existing staff if former colleagues get promoted
  there may not be a suitable internal candidate
• it may be the start of a new era for the business – introduce a new culture
• new skills may be required

Question 11

Induction training

Answer 11

Introductory training program to familiarize new recruits with the systems used in the business and the layout of the business site 
\+ introduce people
\+ internal organizational structure 
\+ outline layout of premises 
\+ make clear essential health and safety

Question 12

On-the-job training

Answer 12

Instruction at the place of work on how a job should be carried out
+ conducted by HR managers
+ working, watching with experienced members –> cheaper than external training

Question 13

Off-the-job training

Answer 13

All training undertaken away from the business e.g: work-related college courses
+ specialist training centre belonging to the firm or could be a course organized by outside body
+ expensive yet indispensable
POACHING: when qualified staff leave the business for better-paid jobs –> business is discouraged to send staff to training since it mainly benefits the individuals

Question 14

Training

Answer 14

Work-related education to increase workforce skills and efficiency

Question 15

Staff appraisal

Answer 15

The process of assessing the effectiveness of an employee judged against pre-set objectives

• continuous process
• provide sense of fulfillment
• important feature of Herzberg’s motivators –> provide the conditions for effective motivation at work

Question 16

Employment contract

Answer 16

A legal document that sets out the terms and conditions governing a worker’s job

• legally binding documents
• details employee’s responsibilities, working hours, rate of pay and holiday entitlement….

Question 17

Dismissal

Answer 17

Being dismissed or sacked from a job sue to incompetence or breach of discipline

Question 18

Unfair dismissal

Answer 18

Ending a worker’s employment contract for a reason that the law regards as being unfair
+ pregnancy
+ discriminatory e.g: race, color, religion
+ being member of a union
+ non- relevant criminal records

Question 19

Redundancy

Answer 19

When a job is no longer required, so the employee doing this job becomes redundant through no fault of his or her own

Question 20

Employee welfare

Answer 20

• Counseling and services to staff who’re in need of support e.g: family or financial problems
• -> reflect on the caring attitude of the business -> lead to a much stronger sense of loyalty and desire to do well and increase staff morale

Question 21

Temporary employment contract

Answer 21

Employment contract that lasts for a fixed time period

Question 22

Part-time employment contract

Answer 22

Employment contract that is for less than the normal full working week

Question 23

Flexi-time contract

Answer 23

Employment contract that allows staff to be called in at times most convenient to employers and employees
E.g: busy times of day

Question 24

Outsourcing

Answer 24

Not employing staff directly, but using an outside agency or organization to carry out some business functions

Question 25

Planning:

2. The skills of the staff required

Answer 25

+ The pace of technological change in the industry
+ The need for flexible or multi-skilled staff as businesses try to avoid excessive specialisation. Also gives the firm more “adaptability”

Question 26

Workforce audit

Answer 26

A check on the skills and qualifications of all existing workers/managers

Question 27

[ Part time workers ] Ads for the firm

Answer 27

+ Staff available in case of sickness or absenteeism happen
+ Can assessed the efficiency of staff before offering a full-time contract
+ “Teleworking” –> further savings in overhead costs
+ Staff can be required in work at busy periods and slack times

Question 28

[ Part time workers ] Disads for the firm

Answer 28

+ More staff to manage
+ Effective communication = more difficult. Greater reliance on written communication methods
+ Motivation levels = adversely affected since part time staff feel less involved and committed.
+ Difficult to establish teamwork culture bc work in different hours

Question 29

[ Part time workers ] Ads for workers

Answer 29

+ Ideal for certain types of workers (students, elderly people, parents with young children)
+ Able to combine jobs with different firms –> greater variety to working lives

Question 30

[ Part time workers ] Disads for the workers

Answer 30

+ Earn less than full-time workers (work less, paid at lower rate)
+ Security of employment is inferior the full time workers’ .

Question 31

Effective HRM

Answer 31

–high levels of productivity.
– lower unit costs than the average in an industry.
– mission and purpose of the business understood and achieved.
– low labour turnover and sickness levels.
– high quality staff recruited.
– there may be training and development policies.
– effective workforce planning.
– motivation and morale is high.
– few disputes and disruptions.
– customer satisfaction

Question 32

Labour turnover

Answer 32

• A measure is the number of staff leaving in any one year divided by the average number of staff employed × 100.
• An indicator of staff morale or poor recruitment policy

Question 33

High labour turnover because

Answer 33

– HR policy and action in the company may not be strong.
– Recruitment and selection methods may be deficient so poor staff recruited.
– Mis-match of skills and competencies with jobs.
– Poor management and leadership -> leading to low morale and motivation.
– Poor training and development opportunities.
– More attractive jobs elsewhere.
– The nature of a business
– casual, part-time employees might explain a relatively high labour turnover.
– Low wages and poor working conditions.

Question 34

Ads of contract of employment for workers

Answer 34

– certainty about specific conditions of service, e.g. hours of work, pay rates, holiday entitlements, redundancy conditions, disciplinary codes (any of these or similar could be explained and developed as a separate advantage)
– clarity about the responsibility of both employee and employer and the protocols that exist in the business
– provides a framework for a legal solution to issues e.g. unfair dismissal