3.6 human resources Flashcards
human resources
the function of a business that is concerned with ensuring that the organisation has a workforce who are able to do their job effectively in order to meet the needs of the business and its customers
human resources are concerned with anything related to the people within the organisation
effectively managing human resources allows a business to
control costs of production (through controlling labour costs)
add value through expertise and customer service
ensufre employees are driven and motivated
identify and develop leaders
adapt to the internal and external pressures on the business
what are the two competing perspectives on HR
hard HRM
soft HRM
hard HRM
this refers to managers who see employees as just another resource in the business that needs to be utilised efficiently and effectively
soft HRM
this refers to managers who see people as the most valuable asset a business has
therefore they need to be nurtured and developed to achieve their potential
human resource objectives
employee engagement and involvement
alignment of values
talent development
diversity
number skills and location of employees
training
labour productivity
employee engagement and involvement
ensuring employees feel involved values and part of the organisation and maximising intellectual input and effort from the workforce
alignment of values
ensuring the values of the organisation are embraced by all employees
talent development
ensuring talent in the organisation is developed and promoted
diversity
such as ethnicity gender disability religion or sexuality
number skills and location of employees
ensuring the business has the right number of employees with the correct skills in the right places
training
ensuring the workforce has the right training to do their jobs properly considering the changing nature of business
labour productivity
maximising output from its workers
influences on human resource objectives
legal/political factors
social factors
technological factors
make-up of the current workforce
economic factors
competitive environment
attitudes and beliefs of managers
the product
how do legal/political factors influence human resource objectives
eg health and safety legislation and industry regulation may influence job design
how do social factors influence human resource objectives
employee values must match that of the consumer (ethical consumers)
how do technological factors influence human resource objectives
employees might require training to use new technologies or processes
how does make up of the current workforce influence human resource objectives
an ageing workforce may necessitate the need for training of new employees and dissemination of expert knowledge
how do economic factors influence human resource objectives
it may be difficult to employ the right people when there is a lack of skills in the labour market
how does the competitive environment influence human resource objectives
a business may need to move fast and offer competitive remuneration packages in order to attract the best employees
how do attitudes and beliefs of managers influence on human resource objectives
the extent to which the business adopts a ‘soft’ or ‘hard’ approach to HRM
how does the product influence human resource objectives
labour intensive production will often require a highly skilled workforce
what calculations can managers use to interpret and analyse the performance of human resources within their business
labour productivity
unit labour costs
employee costs as a % of revenue
labour turnover
labour retention
what can understanding human resource performance help managers to do
make decisions about job design, employee numbers, rewards and remuneration and human resource policies
labour productivity
a key measure of employee performance
labour productivity interprets the output per worker over a given time period
labour productivity directly affects profit margins and decisions around pricing
labour productivity calculation
total output per time period divided by number of employees at work
disadvantages of labour productivity
doesnt take into account wage rates- a key factor in employees performance
doesnt take into account technology used in the production process
labour productivity may be affected by many other factors- such as internal disruptions to production or the nature of the task or product being produced which also influence this calculation
unit labour costs
this measures the labour costs per unit of output produced
the calculation takes into account non-wage costs such as national insurance and therefore considers the full cost of labour compared to output
unit labour costs formula
labour costs divided by units of output
interpreting labour productivity
generally the higher labour productivity the better the business is performimg
interpreting unit labour costs
lower the unit costs the bettter
unit labour costs have an inverse relationship with labour productivity they should go down as labour productivity increases
however
labour costs will rise if employees recieve training but this should ncrease labour productivity in the long term
lowering unit labour costs will be ineffective if other business costs rise
employee costs as a % of revenue
directly compares employee costs against the busiess’s revenue or turnover
this is a particularly important measure for businesses where labour costs are a high % of total costs- eg in service sector businesses
employee costs as a % of revenue calculation
employee costs divided by sales turnover x 100
what factors can employee costs as a % of revenue be influenced by
higher labour productivity can lead to higher sales revenue thus lowering the % of labour costs compared to revenue
any increase in wages/salaries must have an impact on productivity otherwise the % labour costs will rise
human resources capacity must be maximised in order to lower the %
labour turnover and retention
important measure as the number of employees leaving a company can give an insight into a number of issues relating to happiness motivation and the impact of this on overall labour costs
labour turnover calculation
number of staff leaving in a year divided by average number of staff
labour retention calculation
average number of staff employed for one year divided by average number of staff
interpreting labour turnover and retention
with labour turnover comes increased costs of recruitment and training
a higher turnover or low retention figure could indicate that employees are not happy with their jobs
this might be used as a key performance indicator as businesses try to retain the most talented workers within their company- having the best employees can be a competitive advantage
some industries will expect high rates of labour turnover- eg holdiay companies due to contracts being seasonal
high rates of labour turnover ,ay be encouraged as a business goes through a period of change
what will the human resource measures inform for demand for labour
number of employees
skills required
new roles required
labour cost implication
what will human resource measures inform for supply of labour
review of existing workforce
forecast staff leaving in next year
changes required to current working practices
what will human resource measures inform for human plan
recruitment
training
reorganisation
redundancies
remuneration
job design
refers to the contents of a job in terms of its duties and responsibilities, the methods to be used in carrying out the job and the relationship between the job holder and their superior
influences on job design
opportunity for flexible working practices (contracts and location)
motivation of employees
legal requirements including health and safety
skills of the workforce- matching job design to utilise employees skill sets
technology- new technology will influence how people work
focus on customer needs- especially important in job design for service sector workers
the hackman and oldham job charachteristics model
model helps managers understand the different dimensions (core job dimensions) which contribute to theoverall job design and how these impact the psychological state of their employees
managers should design jobs so that they maximise these three psychological states in order to achieve the desired outcomes
key aspects of job design
job enlargement and rotation
job enrichment
empowerment
job enlargement and rotation
adds variety to the job
means employees understand more aspects of the organisation and how jobs fit together
means employees are able to cover for each other
job enrichment
adds more challenge and complexity to the job
promotes opportunities and skills for promotion
gives employees more responsibility
supports on the job training
empowerment
gives employees more control over their working lives
means employees are able to make their own decisions on how best to achieve the necessary outcomes
brings new ideas and innovation into the company
enables employees have autonomy to solve problems how they like
organisational design
a key factor when managing a business as it determines how a business responds to external factors, how people within the business relate to one another and how the company adapts to change
key factors in organisational design
authority
levels of hierarchy
span of control
decision making process (centralisation vs decentralisation)
delegation
delegation
the process of passing down authority through the organisation
delegation can be used to lighten the workload of key personnel as the organisation grows and can be a key aspect of job design as it leads to job enrichment for junior members of staff
delegation may not be suitable in certain situations where junior employees dont have the skills or in a crisis situation
what are the two things involved in organisation hierarchy
chain of command
span of control
chain of command
refers to the levels in the hierarchy
organisations with many levels are referred to as being ‘tall’ organisations
organisations naturally increase the levels of the hierarchy as they grow
span of control
refers to the number of employees that a manager is directly responsible for
an organisation with a wide span of control will encourage delegation and is referred to as having a ‘flat’ hierarchy
what are the two types of organisational structure
tall
flat
tall organisational structure
generally have many levels in the chain of command and there may be a narrow span of control
organisations tend to add levels to their hierarchy as they grow
more opportunities for promotion
more control of employees
communication takes longer
less delegation and empowerment
flat organisational structure
charachterised by few levels in the chain of command
there will be few middle managers but the span of control for managers at the top of the structure could be wide
faster decision making
more flexible
broader job roles
less control and fewer opportunities ffor promotion
centralisation
refers to a decision making process whereby the majority of decisions are led by senior managers
key points of centralisation
works well where standardisation is required
appropriate for situations where managers have knowledge and workers are low skilled
suited to authoritarian leadership styles
more suitable in times of crisis
effective at cost minimisation and achieving economies of scale
decentralisation
a decision making process whereby the majority of decisions are delegated to managers in charge of regions, functions and product categories
key points of decentralisation
effective where local teams are best placed to make decisions to meet the customer needs
appropriate where business is spread over a wide geographic area and local trends/needs are important
effective at reducing workload of senior managers and promoting autonomy and the skills of subordinates
allows for flexible working conditions and supports job enrichment
the value of changing job design
unit labour costs- such as making use of underutilised workers
boost motivation and morale- happier workers leads to greater productivity and retention
employer brand- developing the reputation of the company as a good place to work
customer needs- such as designing jobs that revolve around meeting customer expectations and excellent service
the value of changing organisation design
boost motivation and morale- happier workers leads to greater productivity and retention
competitiveness- eg responding faster than competitors
delayering- removing unessecary jobs to improve efficiency and communication
employer brand- developing the reputation of the company as a good place to work
what factors should be considered when making any decisions or analysing the organisation
financial position/strength
skill of the workforce
nature of the job/product
morale/motivation of staff
human resource flow
refers to the movement of employees through an organisation
there are three specific areas of the flow that must be managed effectively for the business to achieve its human resource objectives