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Business A - Level > 3.6 - Human Resources (HR) > Flashcards

3.6 - Human Resources (HR) Flashcards

1
Q

What is Human Resource Management? (HRM)

A

The design, implementation and maintenance of strategies to manage people for optimum business performance.

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2
Q

What is the importance of HRM?

A

most business now provide services rather tan produce goods.

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3
Q

why does competitiveness require a business to be efficient and productive

A

Because it is difficult unless the workforce is well motivated, has the right skills and is effectively organised.

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4
Q

What does the move towards fewer layers of management hierarchy (flatter organisational structure) mean?

A

Places greater emphasis on delegation and communication

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5
Q

The scope of HR is wide…

A
  • workforce planning
  • recruitment
  • training
  • creating a culture
  • employee discount
  • diversity
  • talent management
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6
Q

HR objectives are…?

A
  • employee engagement and involvement
  • talent development
  • training
  • diversity
  • alignment of values
  • numbers, skills and location of employees.
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7
Q

‘Employee engagement & involvement’ as a HR objective means…

A
  • maximising reported levels of engagement

- extent of satisfactorily completed appraisals

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8
Q

‘Talent development’ as a HR objective means…

A
  • investment (level) in employees training
  • staff retention rates
  • % of job vacancies filled by internal candidates
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9
Q

‘Training’ as a HR objective

A
  • spend in total and per employee on training

- measures of training effectiveness

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10
Q

‘Diversity’ as a HR objective

A
  • In senior management positions (gender, experiences, ethnicity)
  • in extent recruitment (gender, ethnicity)
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11
Q

‘Alignment of values’ as HR objective

A
  • recruitment & induction training: extent focused on cost values
  • employee awareness of core values
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12
Q

‘Number, skills & location of employees as a HR objective…

A
  • labour turnover
  • staff retention
  • recruitment targets
  • training budgets
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13
Q

External Influences on HR objectives…

A
  • market changes
  • economic changes
  • technological changes
  • social changes
  • political & legal changes
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14
Q

Market Change as an influence on HR objectives

A

E.g a loss of a market share to a competitor may require a change in management or job losses to improve competitiveness

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15
Q

Economic Change as an influence on HR objectives

A

E.g the recession of 2009/10 placed great pressure on HR departments to reduce staff costs and improve productivity

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16
Q

Technological Change as an influence on HR objectives

A

E.g the rapid growth of social networking may require changes to the way the business communicates with employees and customers

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17
Q

Social Change as an influence on HR objectives

A

E.g the growing number of single-person households is increasing demand from employees for flexible working options

18
Q

Political and Legal Change as an influence on HR objectives

A

E,G EU legislation on areas such as maximum working time and other employment rights impact directly on workforce planning and remuneration,

19
Q

Internal Influences on HR objectives…

A
  • corporate objectives
  • operational strategies
  • marketing strategies
  • financial strategies
20
Q

Corporate objectives as an internal influence on HR objectives

A

e.g an objective of cost reduction is likely to require HR to implement redundancies, job reallocations etc.

21
Q

Operational objectives as an internal influence on HR objectives

A

E.g introudction of new IT or other systems and processes may require new staff training, fewer staff

22
Q

Marketing objectives as an internal influence on HR objectives

A

E.g new product development and entry into a new market may require changes to organisational structure and recruitment of a new sales team

23
Q

Financial objectives as an internal influence on HR objectives

A

E.g a decision to reduce costs by outsourcing training would result in changes to training programmes

24
Q

Hard HR

A

treats employees simply as resources of the business
Strong link with the corporate business planning - what resources do we need? how do we get them? and how much will they cost?

25
Q

Soft HR

A

Treats employees as most important resources in the business and a source of competitive advantage.
Employees are treated as individuals and their needs are planned accordingly.

26
Q

The focus of Hard HRM

A

identify workforce needs of business and recruit, manage accordingly (hiring, moving, firing)

27
Q

Key features of Hard HRM

A
  • short term changes in employee’s number / recruitment / redundancy
  • minimal communication, from top down
  • pay-enough to recruit, retain enough staff (e.g minimal wage)
  • little empowerment or delegation
  • appraisal system focused on making judgements (good + bad) about staff
  • taller organisational structures
  • suits autocratic leadership styles
28
Q

Soft HRM focus

A

Concentrate on the needs of employees - their sales, rewards, motivation etc.

29
Q

Soft HRM key features

A
  • strategic focus on long term workforce planning
  • strong, regular two way communication
  • competitive pay structure, with suitable performance - relatable rewards (e.g profit share, share options)
  • employees are empowered, encouraged to seek delegation and take responsibility
  • appraisal systems focused on identifying and addressing training and other employees development needs
  • flatter organisational structures
30
Q

Reasons a business may lose staff

A
  • recruitment / maternity / death / long-term illness
  • unsuitability
  • change in strategy (e.g closure of locations)
  • labour turnover needs to be managed if the business is to succeed
  • employee retention, the ability of a business to convince its employees to remain with business
31
Q

Labour turnover

A

the % of the workforce (employees) that leave a business within a given period (usually a year)

32
Q

How to calculate labour turnover

A

number of employees leaving during period / average number of employed during that period X 100

33
Q

Factors that affect labour turnover

A
  • types of business (some has seasonal staff or employee temporary staff - hotels)
  • pay and other rewards
  • working conditions
  • opportunities for promotion
  • competitor actions
  • standard of recruitment
  • quality of communication in business
  • employee loyalty
  • economic conditions (down = lower staff retention, buoyant economy - staff more likely to leave)
  • labour mobility ( how transferrable are staff skills, what other jobs are available )
34
Q

How can a business improve labour turnover

A
  • job enrichment
  • effective recruitment and training (recruit the right staff, do all you can to keep the best staff)
  • provide competitive pay and other incentives (competitive pay levels and non-financial benefits)
  • reward staff loyalty (service awards, extra holiday etc.)
35
Q

Increase of labour productivity means…

A

Higher output per employee

36
Q

Decrease of costs per unit means …

A

Lower labour costs per unit

37
Q

Influences on labour productivity

A
  • extent and quality of fixed assets (e.g equipment, IT systems)
  • skills, ability, and motivation of the workforce
  • methods of production organisation
  • extent to which the workforce is trained and supported (e.g working environment)
  • external factors (e.g reliability of suppliers)
38
Q

Problems when trying to improve labour productivity

A
  • potential “trade-off” with quality - higher output must still be of the right quality
  • potential for employee resistance - depending on the methods used (e.g introduction of new technology)
  • employees may demand higher pay for their improved productivity (negates impact on labour costs per unit)
39
Q

Ways to improve labour productivity

A
  • measure performance and set targets
  • streamline production processes
  • invest in capital equipment (automation + computerisation)
  • invest in employee training
  • improve working conditions
40
Q

How to calculate labour productivity

A

Output per period (units) / number of employees at work

Business A - Level (20 decks)

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