2.5 - Making Human Resource Decisions Flashcards
1
Q
What do organisational structures do?
A
Organisational structures organise people
2
Q
What is it important that a firm has?
A
+It’s important that a firm has a clear organisational structure.
+This makes it easy for everybody in the business to know who is responsible for what, and helps the company to make sure that it has people in every job role to deal with each of its activities.
3
Q
What do most firms have in their organisational structure?
A
+Most firms have layers in their organisational structure - there are four basic roles of staff, with different responsibilities, that make up the layers:
- Directors
- Senior Managers
- Supervisors or Team Leaders
- Operational and Support Staff
4
Q
What happens to the number of people generally as you go down the organisational structure?
A
+The number of people on each layer generally increases as you go down the organisational structure.
5
Q
Who are directors?
A
+Directors are responsible for the business’s strategy [its overall direction].
+The directors decide on strategy and targets at regular board meetings.
6
Q
Who are senior managers?
A
+Senior managers organise the carrying out of the directors’ strategy.
+A large firm may have middle and junior managers ranked below the senior managers.
7
Q
Who are supervisors or team leaders?
A
+Supervisors or team leaders are ranked below managers.
+They usually look after specific projects or small teams of operational or support staff.
8
Q
Who are operational or support staff?
A
+Operational or support staff are workers who aren’t responsible for other staff.
+They’re often given specific tasks to perform by managers, supervisors or team leaders.
9
Q
Where are the directors on the layers of the organisational structure and where are the operational or support staff?
A
+The directors are on the top layer of an organisational structure, and operational and support staff are on the lowest layer.
10
Q
What is the chain of command?
A
+The chain connecting directors to operational and support staff is called the chain of command.
+At each level, a certain amount of responsibility is delegated [passed on] to people in the level below.
11
Q
What is the span of control?
A
+The span of control is the number of workers who report to one manager.
12
Q
What can an organisational structure be?
A
+An organisational structure can be hierarchical or flat.
13
Q
What does a hierarchical organisational structure have more than a flat one?
A
+A hierarchical organisational structure has more layers than a flat organisational structure.
14
Q
How many layers does a flat organisational structure have?
A
+In a flat structure there are very few [if any] layers between directors and operational support staff.
15
Q
What will a firm’s organisational structure affect?
A
+Whether a firm’s structure is hierarchical or flat will affect communication and management in the firm.
16
Q
What happens in hierarchical structures?
A
- There is a long chain of command with more layers of management.
- This can make communication between the top and bottom of the structure difficult and slow because more people need to pass on the message.
- Each manager only has a narrow span of control - this can make a firm more effective as managers can monitor the employees they are responsible for more closely.
17
Q
What happens in flat structures?
A
- There is a short chain of command - this means that passages can be passed on quickly.
- However, each manager also has a wide span of control - this means that each manager has to manage a lot of employees at once [it can be difficult to manage a lot of employees effectively].
18
Q
What do firms need to decide on at each layer of their organisational structures?
A
+Firms need to decide how much power to give people at each layer of their organisational structures.
19
Q
What can organisations be?
A
Organisations can be centralised or decentralised.
20
Q
What will depend on whether the bosses want a centralised or decentralised structure?
A
+How much power and authority is delegated at each layer in an organisational structure will depend on whether the bosses want a centralised or decentralised structure.
21
Q
What happens in centralised organisations?
A
+All major decisions are made by one person or a few senior managers at the top of the structure/
22
Q
What are the advantages of centralised organisations?
A
+Advantages are that these senior managers tend to have plenty of experience, and can get an overview of the whole business.
+Policies will be uniform throughout the business.
23
Q
What are the disadvantages of centralised organisations?
A
+On the downside, if all business decisions need to be made by one or two people, it can slow down decision-making and communication of decisions can take a long time to filter through to employees.
+This means that the organisation reacts slowly to change.
24
Q
What can senior managers become in centralised organisations?
A
+Senior managers at the top of the organisational structure can become very powerful.
+But depending too heavily on a few people at the top can cause problems if those people lack specialist knowlege or if they ‘lose their touch’ and start making poor decisions.
25
What happens in decentralised organisations?
+The authority to make most decisions is shared out - for example, power might be delegated to regional managers or to more junior employees in individual branches of a business.
26
What are the advantages of decentralised organisations?
* Advantages are that employees can use expert knowledge of their sector to make decisions - they don't always need to communicate these decisions with managers above them for approval, so changes can be made more quickly.
* This is really important in competitive environments, where a firm needs to respond to changes or opportunities in the market more quickly than its competitors.
27
What happens to senior managers in decentralised organisations?
+Another advantage is that senior managers at the top of the organisational structure are not responsible for making as many decisions.
+This means there's less need for a central office where decisons are made [a headquarters], which can decrease a firm's fixed costs.
28
What are the disadvantages of decentralised organisations?
+The disadvantages are that inconsistencies may develop between departments or regions.
+Also, the decision-makers might not be able to see the overall needs of the business.
29
Give example of decentralised businesses.
+Supermarket chains [eg. Tesco, Asda] have a decentralised structure.
+Big decisons on things such as branding and marketing campaigns are made by directors at the top of the organisational structure.
+But each store usually has its own manager who makes important decisions about the running of their store, eg. decisions about recruiting and training staff, and controlling stock levels.
30
What do businesses need to choose?
+Businesses need to choose the most appropriate structure.
31
What does the type of organisational structure a business has depend on?
+The type of organisational structure a business has depends on many things, eg. the business's size.
32
What structure is a small business likely to have?
+A small business is likely to have a flat structure - it's often just run by the owner without the need for any additional managers.
33
What happens as a business grows and employs more staff?
+As a business grows and employs more staff, managers might be needed to help organise and control things, so the organisational structure becomes hierarchical.
34
What happens to the number of managers the bigger the business?
+The bigger the busines, the greater the number of managers needed [and the greater the costs].
+A big business might be easier to operate if it splits into different parts [eg. different regions].
35
What structure do businesses often start with?
+Businesses often start with a centralised structure, but decentralise as they get too big to make all the decisions at the top or if it's better for different areas of the business to be managed separately.
36
What do firms have to overcome?
Firms have to overcome barriers to communicate effectively
37
What kind of communication is really important in a business?
+Effective communications in a business is really important - it means that different areas of the business work well together, and that everyone in the business knows what they should be doing and why.
+It can improve staff motivation as staff will know what's going on in the firm and are likely to feel more confident that they're doing their job properly.
38
What should businesses do in order to communicate effectively?
+In order to communicate effectivey, messages need to reach the people that need to receive them without unnecessary delay and without being misinterpreted.
+Firms need to overcome barriers to communication in order to communicate effectively.
39
What are the barriers to communication?
* Noise
* Personalities
* Distance
* Jargon
40
How is noise a barrier to communication?
+Noise - it's difficult to hold a conversation in a noisy environment, such as a busy factory.
41
How are personalities a barrier to communication?
+Some employees may feel uncomfortable communicating with other people in the firm because, eg. they don't get on personally or feel they are unapproachable.
42
How is distance a barrier to communication?
+Distance - many businesses operate across different sites, sometimes many miles apart, so it can be difficult to speak to people face-to-face.
43
How is jargon a barrier to communication?
+Technical language used in one department may not be understood by people in other departments.
44
What is one of the most effective ways to communicate?
+Face-to-face is one of the most effective ways to communicate - body language can help express the message and it's easy to confirm the message has been properly received and understood.
45
What kinds of communication can cause problems?
+To little or too much communication can cause problems.
46
What do businesses need to balance?
+Businesses need to get the balance right between having insufficient [not enough] and excessive [too much] communication.
47
What are the effects of insufficient communication?
+Insufficient communication can lead to inefficiency - people may be slow to recieve important messages about what they should be doing, meaning time and money is wasted on them doing things incorrectly.
+It may also mean that information isn't passed on between different departments or teams - this may mean that some tasks end up getting done more than once, or are not done in ways that are best for the business as a whole.
48
How can insufficient communication demotivate staff?
+Insufficient communication can demotivate staff.
+They may feel frustrated if a lack of communication is stopping them from doing their job properly.
+Also, they may not feel valued if they're not told about things that are going on in the firm.
49
What are the effects of excessive communication?
+Excessive comminication can lead to inefficiency - it takes time to pass on and receive messages; if people are frequently involved in communication about things that don't directly affect them it can waste valuable time.
+People may also start to take less notice of messages, and miss out ones that are important to them.
50
What may excessive communication lead to?
+Excessive communication may mean many people are trying to pass on the same message - employees may get conflicting information from different sources and there may be confusion over which information is correct.
+This can lead to time being wasted while the workers find out the correct information, or mistakes being made while workers follow the wrong information.
+Both of these things reduce efficiency and productivity, which can reduce output.
51
How may staff feel due to excessive communication?
+Staff may feel demotivated by excessive communication
+They may feel overwhelmed with all the information they are receiving and annoyed if it's affecting their ability to do their job well.
52
What do all employees have?
+All employees have a contract of employment - a legal agreement between themselves and their employer.
+The contract includes details about the way the employee works, eg. how many hours they are required to do.
53
What can employment be?
Employment can be full-time or part-time
54
What does working full time and part-time usually mean?
+Working full-time usually means around 35-40 hours a week.
+Part-time staff work 'less than a full working week' usually between 10 and 30 hours per week.
55
What type of job do some people prefer to have?
+Some people prefer to have a full-time job, or need to work full-time for financial reasons.
+Other people work part-time so they can spend more time with family or on other interests.
56
What are the advantages of full-time staff?
+Full-time staff are good if there's enough work for them to do, since they are likely to have only one job and so the business will have more control over the hours they work.
57
What are the advantages of part-time staff?
+Employing part-time staff can make more financial sense if a business is only really busy at certain periods.
+It also means they can fill in when other staff members are absent [eg. due to sickness or holidays].
58
What hours can staff work?
Staff can work flexible hours
59
What kind of employees can request to work flexibly?
+Employees that have been with a firm for at leat 26 weeks can request to work flexibly - this is when working hours and patterns are adapted to suit the employee.
+Eg. a full time employee might be allowed to work 37 hours over four days, rather than the usual five days.
+This can be very motivating for staff as it makes it easier to fit other commitments around their working life.
60
What are zero hour contracts?
+Some employees have zero hour contracts - this means that the employer doesn't have to offer them any work at all, nor does the employee have to accept any work that is offered to them.
+The contracts are used in businesses where there can be lots of fluctuation in demand, eg. hotels.
+They are a cheap form of labour for businesses - they don't waste money paying staff when they're not really needed and they don't need to pay sick pay or holiday pay.
61
What can employees be?
Employees can be permanent, temporary or freelance.
62
What is a permanent contract?
+A permanent contract of employment has no end date.
+The person stays at the firm unless:
* they choose to leave
* they're dismissed for misconduct
* their job is made redundant
63
What is a temporary contract?
+A temporary contract is for a fixed period [eg. six months, one year or 10 years etc.]
+At the end of the period, the contract can be renewed, or the person can leave the company.
64
What is a freelance contract?
+A freelance contract is when a self-employed person is recruited by a company, usually to work on a specific project.
+Freelancers can usually be hired and dismissed at short notice.
65
What do temporary and freelance contracts make it easier for?
+Temporary and freelance contracts can make it easier for the firm to employ people with particular skills for a particular period [without the commitment of a permanent contract]
+This can make it easier to adjust the number of staff according to the needs of the business.
66
What has had an impact on the ways employees work?
Technology has had an impact on the way employees work.
67
What has advances in technology lead to?
+Advances in technology have made processes more efficient - eg. many repetitive tasks can be done much faster and more accurately by computers than by staff.
+Working with technology is now a much bigger part of people's jobs, which has changed the way many people work.
68
What has technology made it easier for?
+Technology has made it easier for employees to share information and communicate with each other.
+Eg. documents can be put onto a firm's intranet so they can be accessed by employees in any location at any time [as long as they have an internet connection].
+Employees can communicate via emails and video calls, and mobile devices allow people to communicate from many different locations.
69
What has technology impacted?
+This has impacted on the ways that people work.
+Eg. it's easier for employees to work remotely [ie. in locations away from their employers' offices, such as at home or on a beach in the Maldives]
70
What is recruitment?
Recruitment is the process of finding that special someone - that is, the best person to do a job.
+Businesses need to recruit people to increase their size, to gain new people with expertise or to replace staff that have left.
71
What do businesses need to be clear about?
+Businesses need to be clear about about the job on offer.
72
What are the steps involved in recruitement?
+There are several steps involved in recruitment:
* Job analysis
* advertisement
* selection
73
What is job analysis?
+Job analysis is where a firm thinks in depth about every little detail of the job in question.
74
What is advertiseement [in recruitment]?
+The business then advertises the job - this usually includes two documents:
+A job description and a person specification, which are produced from the job analysis.
75
What is a job description?
+Job description - includes the formal title of the job, the main purpose of the job, the main duties plus any occasional duties.
+It will also state who the job holder will report to, and whether they will be responsible for any other staff.
76
What is a person specification?
+A person specification lists the qualifications, experience, skills and attitudes needed for the job.
77
What do businesses need to do after it makes a job description and person specification?
+Then the business has to go through the candidates that apply and select the best.
78
How can a firm recruit people?
A firm can recruit people internally or externally
79
What is the purpose of a job advert?
+The purpose of a job advert is to get as many suitable people as possible to apply for the job.
+Firms can use job adverts to recruit internally or externally.
80
What is internal recruitment?
+Internal recruitment involves recruiting current employees into new roles.
+The job position is advertised within the company.
81
What are the advantages of internal recruitment?
+The advantages are that it's much cheaper, the post can be filled more quickly.
+The candidates will already know a lot about the firm, and bosses may already know the candidate well.
82
What are the disadvantages of internal recruitment?
+On the downside, there will be no 'new blood' or ideas, and the employee's move will leave a vacancy to fill.
83
What is external recruitment?
+External recruitment involves recruiting from outside the business.
+The job can be advertised in lots of places, eg. the local and national press, job centres, trade journals and employment websites.
84
What are the advantages of external recruitment?
+An advantage is that the job advert will be seen by more people, so it's more likely that the firm will find somebody really suited to the job.
85
What are the disadvantages of external recruitment?
+However, advertising externally isn't cheap - only specialist and senior jobs get advertised in the national press because it's very expensive.
86
What do the business's needs determine?
+The business's needs determine which method of recruitment they use.
+Eg. internal recruitment may be used for a job which requires an in-depth knowledge of the firm's processes, whereas external recruitment may be used if a lot of new recruits are needed at once or no one in the firm has suitable qualifications.
87
How does CVs and application forms help a firm?
CVs and application forms help a firm select the best candiate.
88
What do most firms ask candidates to do?
+Most firms ask candidates to send a written application for a job - these are used to decide who to interview.
89
What is a CV?
+A curriculum vitae [CV] is a summary of a person's personal details, skills, qualifications and interests.
+It's written in a standard format to give the firm the basic facts.
+Almost all firms ask for a CV.
90
What is an application form?
+Many businesses also ask candidates to fill in an application form.
+These forms give the firm the information it wants - and nothing else.
+This means they're much quicker to process and more relevant to the job than open-ended letters written by the candidates.
91
What do many companies now like to use [in terms of application forms]?
+Many companies now like to use online application forms, where applicants fill in their details on the company's website.
+This allows the company to compare the applications using computer software.
92
What does training employees help them to do?
+Training employees helps them to keep developing their skills, so they can be brilliant at their jobs.
93
What are there different types of?
There are different types of training
94
What do staff need when they start working?
+Staff need training when they start working for a company so that they know how to do their job.
95
What do staff need when they've been working for a company for a while?
+But even when they've been working for a company for a while, employees still need ongoing training.
+This could be to retrain them so they learn new processes or how to use new technology, or just to help them develop so that they're doing their job as well as possible.
96
What do many firms do for the training that they want their employees to have?
+Many firms plan the training they want their employees to have, but in some firms employees are encouraged to self-learn; this is where employees seek out their own training and development.
+Eg. they might be given access to online videos, apps and courses which teach different skills.
+They can pick and choose what they want to learn depending on where they want to take their career.
97
What types of training can there be?
Training can be informal or formal
98
What is informal training?
+Informal training is usually done 'on-the-job' - the employee learns to do their job better by being shown how to do it, and then practising.
+There is no strict plan to the training and it is usually given by other workers.
99
What are the advantages of informal training?
+It's cost-effective for the employer because the employee works and learns at the same time.
100
What is the downside of informal training?
+A problem is that bad working practices may be passed on.
101
What is formal training?
+Formal training often involves a set plan with learning objectives and a set schedule.
+The training can involve learning in a firm's training department or away from the workplace, eg. at a local college.
102
What are the advantages and disadvantages of formal training?
+It's more expensive than informal training, but it's often higher quality because it's usually taught by people who are better qualified to train others.
103
What do performance reviews help?
Performance reviews help employees to develop
104
What can performance reviews also play a part in?
+Performance reviews can also play a part in employees' training and development - this is when firms set employees targets and then review their performance to make sure they're developing as they should.
105
Give an example of a performance review.
* The worker and their manager agree the worker's performance targets for the year.
* During the year, training and other resources are provided to help the worker meet the targets.
* At the end of the year they meet again to discuss how well the targets were met.
[Then the process starts all over again]
106
What may happen when people meet their targets?
+People who meet or beat their targets may be rewarded with higher pay or a promotion.
+If a worker doesn't meet their targets, the manager can decide what training or support they might need to help them improve.
107
What benefits does training and development have?
Training and development has may benefits
108
What can training and development make staff more?
+Training and development can make staff more productive - it makes staff better at their jobs, which means they may work faster.
+This could lower the business's unit costs.
109
How can training help staff?
+Training can help staff stay up to date with changes in the business, such as knowing how to use new technology.
110
How is training and development likely to make staff feel overall?
+Overall, training and development is likely to make staff feel motivated - it shows the firm is interested in how well staff are doing their jobs and are willing to help them improve, and it makes staff feel like they're progressing in the firm.
+This might increase staff retention
111
What is staff retention?
+Staff retention is when a business keeps its staff.
112
What are motivated staff?
Motivated staff are more productive
113
What do motivated staff do?
+Motivated staff work harder, which leads to high productivity - workers want the firm to do well and so do their jobs as well as they can to help this happen.
114
What happens to staff who are motivated and happy?
+Staff who are motivated and happy in their jobs are more likely to stay with the firm.
+Having a high level of staff retention is good for a firm as it means less time and money is spent having to recruit and train new workers, which reduces the firm's costs.
115
What can being more productive mean?
+Being more productive means staff can produce goods faster or using fewer resources..
+This reduces the unit cost of each item produced.
116
What can having highly motivated staff also attract?
+Having highly motivated staff may also attract new employees to the firm.
+This makes recruiting new staff easier because there are likely to be lots of applicants for vacancies.
117
What can financial motivation be?
Financial motivation can be wages or a salary
118
What do most people get for the work they do?
+Most people get remuneration [payment] for the work they do for an employer [some people might not, eg. if they're doing voluntary work]
+Often, the more that a worker is paid, the more motivated they feel to do their job.
119
What can workers be paid with?
+Workers can be paid with wages or with a salary
120
How are wages commonly paid?
+Wages are commonly paid weekly or monthly - usually to manual workers.
+The amount paid is based on the amount of work that the employee does.
121
What is a salary?
+A salary is a fixed amount paid every month - this doesn't change even if the number of hours worked does change.
+It is usually paid to office staff who do not directly help to make the product.
+A salary of £24,000 means you are paid £2000 per month.
122
What is the advantage of a salary?
+The advantage of a salary is that the firm and workers both know exactly how much the pay will be.
+However, it doesn't link pay directly to performance, so it doesn't encourage employees to work harder.
123
What can employers give staff?
Employers can give staff financial extras
124
What do some firms offer on top of regular payments?
+On top of their regular payments [wage or salary], some firms offer extra financial incentives to help to motivate them. Eg:
* Commission
* Bonus
125
How is commision an extra financial incentive?
+This is paid to sales staff for every item they sell.
+It is given to them on top of a small basic salary.
126
How is a bonus an extra financial incentive?
+A lump sum added to pay, usually once a year.
+It's commonly paid if the worker [or the firm] has met their performance targets.
127
Give an example of a business using extra financial incentives.
* John Lewis Partnership is a business that employs around 90,000 permanent staff.
* One of the main aims of the business is to keep its employees as happy and motivated as possible.
* Each year, John Lewis Partnerhip gives a proportion of its profits to its employees as a bonus.
* Each employee gets a percentage of their salary.
128
What are fringe benefits?
+These are any reward that is not part of a worker's main income.
+Examples include staff discount on the firm's products, the use of a company car, gym membership, a daily meal allowance or free health insurance.
+All of these perks cost money for the business, and save it for the worker.
129
What can promotion do?
Promotion can boost motivation
130
What can employees be trained to learn?
+Employees can be trained to learn new skills - this means they can start to take on new tasks and have a greater responsibility.
+This may lead to them getting a promotion, which is likely to mean they get paid more.
+So promotion [and the opportunity to get promoted] can motivate staff.
131
What can job rotation give?
Job rotation gives workers a change now and again
132
What are a lot of production jobs like?
+A lot of production jobs are boring and repetitive, eg. working on a factory assembly line.
+Job rotation reduces this by occasionally moving workers from one job to another.
+This motivates workers as they don't get so bored - they also learn to do different jobs, so if someone's ill, someone else will be able to cover.
133
What is the disadvantage of job rotation?
+The problem is that if one boring job is replaced by another it doesn't improve job satisfaction.
134
What is a promotion?
+A promotion is when an employee is given a higher status or position within a firm.
135
What does job enrichment give workers?
Job enrichment gives workers better things to do
136
What is job enrichment?
+Job enrichment is when a worker is given greater responibility - for example supervising the work of new staff.
137
What happens as a worker becomes good at their job?
+As a worker becomes good at their job they become more productive - they can do the same work in less time.
+So giving workers more responsibility can stop them from feeling that their increased productivity is being punished by more of the same work.
138
What is an advantage of job enrichment?
+It gives workers new challenges and so may motivate them to work harder.
139
What is a disadvantage of job enrichment?
+A problem is that they may expect a pay rise as well.
+Some people are never happy...
140
What does autonomy give workers?
Autonomy gives workers a chance to make their own decisions
141
What is autonomy?
+Autonomy means giving workers the freedom to make their own decisions.
+Workers may be told their overall goal but not told specifically how they should achieve it.
+This responsibility motivates workers as it makes them feel trusted and like their contribution is valued.
