Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Business > 3.4.1 > Flashcards

3.4.1 Flashcards

1
Q

what is human resources?

A

the function of the business which manages the people

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

what does human resources include?

A

organisation, recruitment, pay, motivation, training and administration

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

what are the reasons for organisational charts?

A

-‘pecking order’/accountability
-people knowing what jobs to do
-decision making
-effective communication
-responsibilities and delegation of tasks
-career path/promotion

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

what are the different roles within an organisation?

A

-managing director/CEO
-directors
-managers
-team leaders/supervisors
-operatives/shop flow workers
-support staff

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

what is an organisation chart?

A

shows the different jobs in a business with titles and responsibilities, shows communications and delegations

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

what is a span of control?

A

number of employees for whom a manager is directly responsible

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

what would be considered to be a wide span of control?

A

a span of control of 7

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

what would be considered to be a narrow span of control?

A

a span of control of 3 (no more than 6 people)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

describe the responsibility of a shop floor worker/operative

A

in charge of basic duties, such as working on the sales floor in a shop or performing tasks on a production line

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

describe the responsibility of a CEO/managing director

A

establishes the long-term vision of the organisation and sets the business’s overall aims

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

describe the responsibility of a team leader

A

in charge of simple decisions, such as staff rotas and allocating tasks to different employees, for example which area of a supermarket to replenish stock

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

describe the responsibility of a director

A

sets the long-term goals for a specific functional area to ensure that they are aligned with the overall vision of the business

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

describe the responsibility of a manager

A

accountable for meeting the short and long term targets in a specific area of the business; decides how best to allocate resources and on the workload in their specific team

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

what are levels of hierarchy?

A

the number of levels on an organisational chart

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

what is a chain of command?

A

shows the people who are in charge of others

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

what is a line of communication?

A

how a message gets from one worker to another

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

what is delegation?

A

passing down authority/responsibility

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

what is a line manager?

A

the person directly above someone in a chart

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

what is a subordinate?

A

the person directly below someone in a chart

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

what is the definition of authority?

A

having the power to make a decision

21
Q

what is accountability?

A

being responsible for something if it goes wrong

22
Q

what does a span of control depend on?

A

-the experience and personality of the manager
-the type of business
-the skills and attitudes of the employees

23
Q

what are the characteristics of a tall structure?

A

a tall structure is one which has many levels of hierarchy, a long chain of command and narrow spans of control

24
Q

what are the characteristics of a flat structure?

A

a flat structure has fewer levels of hierarchy, a shorter chain of command and wider spans of control

25
Q

what are the advantages of a tall structure?

A

-more control
-specific roles and responsibilities
-clear lines of communication
-chances of promotion

26
Q

what are the disadvantages of a tall structure?

A

-can stifle creativity
-very rigid, little flexibility
-bureaucracy/procedures

27
Q

what are the advantages of a flat structure?

A

-open communication
-staff more confident putting ideas forward
-delegation, meaning motivation
-easier to adapt to changes

28
Q

what are the disadvantages of a flat structure?

A

-harder to monitor employees
-less accountability
-less chance of promotion
-workers may not be able to take on responsibility

29
Q

what are the advantages of a narrow span of control?

A

-less mistakes and increased efficiency as staff are closely supervised
-more promotional opportunities can exist within the organisation

30
Q

what are the disadvantages of a narrow span of control?

A

-communication may become difficult, due to lots of layers of management for messages to pass through

31
Q

what are the advantages of a wide span of control?

A

-less layers of management can motivate employees, as they have more contact with senior staff
-number of managers can be reduced, lowering labour costs

32
Q

what are the disadvantages of a wide span of control?

A

-possibility of an increased workload, as less managers exist within the organisation

33
Q

what are the factors influencing the choice of structure?

A

-management style–> autocratic or democratic leadership approach
-skills of the workforce–> whether they are able to cope with responsibility
-external influences–>costs, competition, the economy
-size of the business–> larger firms may be suited to a tall structure

34
Q

what is delayering?

A

removing levels of hierarchy from an organisation, often middle management

35
Q

what are the advantages of delayering?

A

-reduces wage costs
-more responsibility
-efficiency gains
-can improve communication
-quicker decision making

36
Q

what are the disadvantages of delayering?

A

-difficulty of responsibility
-redundancy
-transition problems
-reduces promotional opportunities
-motivation levels may fall

37
Q

what is centralisation?

A

decisions made at head office, complete control and no authority to subordinates

38
Q

what would centralisation involve?

A

the central management would pass on their instructions to a different site, staff ect.

39
Q

what is decentralisation?

A

-subordinates have greater authority and authority to make decisions in region
-more freedom from local/branch managers or employees to manage their own areas as they see fit

40
Q

describe centralisation vs decentralisation

A

centralisation:
-more control
-procedures can be standardised
-management better at decision making
-strong leadership needed in crisis
-communication better if fewer decision makers

decentralisation:
-empowers and motivates employees
-senior management can focus on important tasks
-local knowledge, can be more well-informed
-more flexibility and responsive to change
-more innovative and specialist input

41
Q

what are the advantages of decentralisation?

A

-decisions are made closer to the customer and therefore are more likely to reflect their specific needs
-good way of training and developing junior management
-should improve staff motivation

42
Q

what are the disadvantages of decentralisation?

A

-decision making is not necessarily looking to long-term future direction of the business
-more difficult to ensure consistent practices and policies, customers might prefer consistency from location to location
-harder to control costs, which means business may end up over-spending

43
Q

what are the advantages of centralisation?

A

-easier to implement common policies and practices for the business as a whole
-decisions are taken for the benefit of the whole business not one division or department
-consistency will exist amongst branches, therefore the customer experience will be uniform

44
Q

what are the disadvantages of centralisation?

A

-lack of authority down hierarchy may reduce staff motivation
-there are often more layers in the organisation, which will increase costs
-local or junior managers are likely to be much closer to customer needs, therefore the best decisions for the local area may not be taken by the business

45
Q

what is the definition of communication?

A

the exchange of messages between two or more people e.g. verbal, written, images, body language or tone of voice

46
Q

what are the different types of communication?

A

-one way
-formal
-upward
-external
-internal
-horizontal
-two way
-informal
-vertical
-downward

47
Q

what things to businesses need to consider when choosing a form of communication?

A

-cost
-need for hard copy
-amount of information
-speed
-images
-sensitivity of message

48
Q

what are the different barriers to communication?

A

-timing
-language
-wrong method
-clarity
-attitude of sender or receiver
-problems with technology

Business (32 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions