3.6.3 Improving organisational design and HR flow Flashcards
5 what is an organisational structure?
simplest way to show how a business is organised
shows management hierarchy
works from top to bottom
also shows span of control, line management, chain of command
5 what does the organisational structure determine?
authority and responsibility
individual job roles and titles
people who are accountable for who
formal paths that communication flows though
5 what is hierarchical structure
traditional form of an organisational structure in business
layers of hierarchy reflect levels of seniority
tall or flat, depends on layers
associated with formal or bureaucratic management styles
5 What are some features of an organisational structure?
tall structure
narrow span of control
long chain of command
more layers
5 What are the advantages of a tall structure?
opportunities for promotion
5 What are the disadvantages of a tall structure?
lines of communication is slower
less opportunities for delegation
5 What are the advantages of a flat structure?
wider span of control
shorter line of communication
less layers
more decentralised and flexible
opportunities for delegation
5 What are the disadvantages of a flat structure?
difficult to manage employees properly
insufficient time to dedicate to each employee
many people to communicate with
5 what is an organisation chart?
the chart that shows each person in a business
5 what are levels of hierarchy?
the number of levels on an organisation chart
5 what is chain of command
shows the people who are in charge of others
5 what is span of control
number of workers a manager is responsible for
5 what is line of communication
how a message gets from one worker to another
5 what is delegation
passing down responsibility/authority
5 what is a line manager
the person directly above someone in the chart
5 what is a subordinate
the person directly below someone in the chart
5 what is authority?
having the power to make a decision
5 what is accountability
being responsible for something if it goes wrong
5 what is a functional structure
The business organizes employees by splitting them up into specialized departments, whereeach department has a specified role or task within the business.
like in a school, teachers etc
5 advantages of a functional structure?
Speed
Clarity
Increased productivity
Motivation
Shared knowledge
Skill Development
5 disadvantages of a functional structure?
Slow to change
Competition between departments
Management issues
Slower decision making
5 what is a Product based structure?
Used by multi-product firms. In this type of structure, a firm splits itself into divisions, each division specializes in producing a particular product
Like Unilever, Protect & Gamble
5 advantages of a product based structure
Diversification
Knowledge transfer
Flexible
form of expansion
enter different markets to reduce risk of business failure
5 disadvantages of a product based structure
High costs
Cannibalization
Loss of control
can cause increases in products while others decrease
5 what is a regional structure
Like product based , however divisions in this case are geographical locations.
5 advantages of a regional structure
Better efficiency for division
Flexible market response
Improved customer communication
5 disadvantages of a regional structure
More expensive
Potential conflict
Low economies of scale
5 what is a matrix structure
Tends to be used alongside a functional structure
Employees will report into two managers
Functional manager/project manager
5 advantages of a matrix structure
Greater sharing of knowledge and expertise
More motivating
5 disadvantages of a matrix structure?
Main drawback is having to work for two bosses
Can lead to a conflict of interest
6 what is factors influence organisation structure?
size of the business
type of business
management and leadership style
the competitive environment
6 what is the size of the business
Small businesses will tend to have informal or flat hierarchical structures. Larger businesses have more complicated structures involving more layers of hierarchy, departments and functions
6 what is type of business
Does the business operate from just one or several locations?
Is the business in the service or manufacturing sector?
Does it have overseas operations or outsource any significant business activities?
Is the workforce mainly unskilled, semi-skilled, highly skilled?
6 what is leadership and management style?
Often over-looked, but very important. An autocratic leadership style will often result in a very different structure compared with one designed by a leader who prefers to delegate responsibility
6 what is the competitive environment?
Organisation structures are often influenced and changed by developments in the market – for example changes in the use of distribution channels, suppliers, competitor actions
6 what is organisational design?
How are we designing our organisation?
What spans of control? How many levels of hierarchy? Delegation? Centralised?
6 what is organisational structure?
What is the relationship between the workers?
What is the relationship between the different departments?
Who has responsibility for what and for who?
6 what are four factors to decide when designing an organisation?
Span of Control
Hierarchy
Authority/Delegation
Centralisation/Decentralisation
6 what factors affect span of control?
Type of Job
Type of Organisation
Type of Employee
Degree of Centralisation
Availability ofManagement
6 what is delegation
Process of passing authority down the hierarchy from the manager to subordinate
authority, responsibility and accountability
6 advantages of delegation
frees up management time,motivation, staff development, flexibility
6 disadvantages of delegation
Crisis situations, quality of staff, attitudes and approach of management
6 what is delayering?
the action/process of reducing the number of levelsin the hierarchy.
6 advantages of delayering
improves communication and decision making, reduces costs, improves flexibility
6 disadvantages of delayering
may cause work overload for managers,job losses,redundancy payments, reduces sense of security for employees
6 what is centralization
keep decision-making firmly at the top of the hierarchy (amongst the most senior management).
McDonalds or Burger King
6 advantages of centralization
Easier to implement commonpolicies and practices for the wholebusiness
Prevents other parts of the businessfrom becoming too independent
Easier to co-ordinate and controlfrom the centre – e.g. with budgets
Economies of scale and overheadsavings easier to achieve
Quicker decision-making (usually) –easier to show strong leadership
6 disadvantages of centralization
More bureaucratic – often extralayers in the hierarchy
Local or junior managers are likely tomuch closer to customer needs
Lack of authority down the hierarchymay reduce manager motivation
Customer service does missesflexibility and speed of local decision-making
6 what is decentralization
decision-making is spread out to include more junior managers in the hierarchy, as well as individual business units or trading locations.
Hotel chains
6 advantages of decentralization
Decisions are made closer to thecustomer
Better able to respond to localcircumstances
Improved level of customer service
Should improve staff motivation
Good way of training and developingjunior management
6 disadvantages of centralization
Decision-making is not necessarily“strategic”
Harder to ensure consistent practices andpolicies at each location
May be some diseconomies of scale – e.g.duplication of roles
Who provides strong leadership whenneeded (e.g. in a crisis)?
Harder to achieve tight financial control –risk of cost-overruns
7 why do we change the structure of organizational design?
Growth of the business means a more formal structureis appropriate
Reduce costs and complexity (key)
Employee motivation needs boosting
Customer service and/or quality improvements
7 what are the challenges of changing organizational structure?
Manager and employee resistance
Disruption and de-motivation = potential problems withstaff retention
Costs (e.g. redundancies)
Negative impact on customer service or quality
8 What factors contribute to Human Resource Flow
Organisational Requirements
Individual Needs
External Environment
8 What are organisational requirements
corporate objectives
humane resource objectives
8 what are individual needs
employees personal objectives and career plans
8 what is the external environment
government legislation and policy
economy
educational and training institutions
8 what is Human Resource Flow?
The flow of employees through an organization
inflow
internal flow
outflow
8 what is HR inflow?
when they are recruited
selection and introduction
8 what is HR internal flow?
what happens to them within the organization
evaluation of performance/ appraisal
career development
promotion and demotion, transfer and redundancy
training and development
8 what is HR outflow?
when they eventually leave the organization.
employees leaving voluntarily, dismissal, redundancy and retirement
8 What are the stage in workforce planning cycles?
1 Set HR objectives
2 Analyse current workforce
3 Forecast future requirements
4 Identify shortage or excess
5 Develop strategies to fill gaps or reduce oversupply
6 Write a workforce plan
8 What does setting HR objectives mean?
Evaluating the company as a whole and deciding on what HR objectives to set for the year
8 What does Analysing the current workforce mean?
What criteria could you use?
How many workers
Full/part time?
Age, length of service
Staff turnover, promotion and retirement rates
8 What is Forecasting Future Requirements?
Why might a firm need new employees?
short term (to cover sick or maternity leave)
medium/long term (meet future growth needs)
8 How do you identify shortage or excess?
Record all current resources and figure out if this is relatable to current demand procedures
8 How do you develop strategies to reduce oversupply or fill gaps
Brain storm ideas with managers to find the most cost effective way of meeting the brief
8 What should be in a workforce plan?
the right people
in the right place
at the right time
8 what are some components of workforce planning?
1.Recruitment and selection requirements
2.Training and development programmes
3.Retraining and redeployment programmes
4.Redundancy plans
8 What should a workforce plan include, if a company has identified a future labour shortage?
Outsourcing
Training programmes , skill-up existing staff
Automation – reduce need for staff
Better terms and conditions – attract more applicants
Increasing overtime – to meet increase in demand
8 what are some internal influences on workforce planning?
Corporate objectives
Marketing and Production plans
Finance
Internal Labour supply
Current workforce skills and age profile
Organisational Structure
Technology
8 How does corporate objectives affect workforce planning?
plan must meet corporate goals
growth, cost cutting, redundancies
if the business needs to expand, workforce plans need to recruit more staff
8 How does Marketing and production plans affect workforce planning?
innovation may require skills training
8 How does Finance affect workforce planning?
quantity and quality of staff and training business can afford
plans are limited by budgets, recruitment training and redundancies all have costs
8 How does Internal Labour Supply affect workforce planning?
flexibility of work force
retirement
flexible working
8 How does Current workforce skill and age profile affect workforce planning?
Must account for existing skills and identify future training needs
aging workforces could prompt succession planning
8 How does Organisational Structure affect workforce planning?
tall would require more managers
flat means more multi tasking focus
8 How does Technology affect workforce planning?
Automation reduces low skilled roles
8 What are some external influences on workforce plans?
Market conditions
Labour Market trends
Economy and government policy
local/social factors/trends
competitive environment
8 what are some issues implementing workforce plans for employers?
Resistance from employees
cost of implementation/training needs
forecasting inaccuracies
operational disruptions
corporate images
8 what is the value of having a workforce plane
Avoid labour shortages
Ensure production continues and quality
Helps firms remain competitive
Planning important for firms operating in changing markets
support employee retention and engagement, gives flexibility and adaption
8 what is the impact of having no workforce plan?
Poorly trained staff
Can’t recruit skilled staff
Morale & motivation problems as staff cover shortages
Stress, absenteeism, labour turnover
Increased costs reduce competitiveness
8 why do businesses recruit
expansion
temporary/seasonal staff/maternity cover
staff leaving businesses
retirement unhappiness
promotion vacancy to be filled
8 what are the stages of recruitment?
a vacancy comes up
job description/job analysis
person specification/job profile
recruit internally or externally
adverts made on media
application forms issued/ or CVs
shortlisting
interviews
selection and appointment
8 what is a job description
Tells candidates what is expected in the job
Helps the business write the job advert
Job title
Purpose of the job
Who the job holder answers to
Duties and tasks of the job
Authority of the jobholder
8 what is a person specification
Provides details of the ideal candidate by listing essential and desirable characteristics of the person
It’s used in short-listing and selecting the best candidate for the position
8 what is internal recruitment?
filling a job vacancy by choosing a person who already works for the business
8 what is external recruitment?
filling a job vacancy in by choosing a person from outside of the business
8 advantages of internal recruitment
Cheaper and quicker to recruit
Provides opportunitiesfor promotion within the business – can be motivating
Business already knows the strengths and weaknesses of candidates
8 disadvantages of internal recruitment
No new ideas can be introduced from outside the business
May cause resentment amongst candidates not appointed
Creates another vacancy which needs to be filled
8 advantages of external recruitment
Larger pool of workers from which to find the best candidate
Outside people bring in new ideas
Candidates might already have the skills required to carry out the job, avoiding the need (and cost ) of training
8 disadvantages of external recruitment
Longer process
More expensive process due to advertisements and interview required
Can have de-motivating effects on members of existing workforce, who may have missed out on promotion
8 how do you internally recruit?
promotion/transfer
internal advertisement
personal recommendation
8 what is promotion/transfer
somebody who already works for the organization has the potential to do a different, or more demanding job.
8 what is internal advertisement
organization’s newsletter, magazines, on notice boards or via company intranet.
8 what is personal recommendation
managers/team leaders may see potentialin a member of their team or department and suggests suitability for a different post
8 how do you externally recruit?
Media advertising:
Newspapers, magazines, Radio, TV
Job centres, government run organizations
Recruitment agencies/head-hunters
Career pages on their own websites
‘Word of mouth’ - full assessment is needed
8 what will influence a business choice of recruitment?
The cost of the recruitment method
The size of the recruitment budget
The location and characteristics of the likely candidates
time limit on vacancies
number of employees needed
type of job
8 what is application form?
An application form provides information in a standard format making it easier to pre-select candidates.
8 what is a CV
Curriculum Vitae
CV’s contain similarinformation,but they vary and may be difficult to compare
8 what is training?
Work-related education, either on-the-job or off-the-job, involving employees being taught new skills or improving skills they already have.
8 why do you train new employees?
New development and new products
Restructuring firm
New development and new technology
Changes in procedure
Customer service improvements
High labour turnover
Low morale
Changes in legislation
8 what is redeployment?
The process of moving existing employees to a different job, or different location within the same organization
8 what is redundancy?
When an employer dismisses an employee because theirjob no longer exists.
The business is changing what it does; doing things in a different way, changing location or closing.
Can be compulsory or non-compulsory.
8 how can a business avoid redundancies
Natural wastage and recruitment freezes
Stopping or reducing overtime
Asking people to volunteer to retire early
Retraining and redeploying
Pay freezes
8 what are the benefits of training?
Reach performance level required
Required skills, knowledge, qualifications & attributes to do their job
Knowledgeable, committed workforce
Improves motivation and job satisfaction
Increases efficiency and productivity which
Identify employee potential for promotion
Reduces costs in the long term
Deal with change more effectively and be more flexible
Work towards the firm’s goals
8 How can you evaluate effective training?
Questionnaires to assess people before and after
Mystery visitors –see if the training has improved customer service
Monitoring improvements in quality
Reduction in labor turnover
Reductions in accidents and wastage
8 advantages of on-the-job training
Familiar with environment, equipment and people
Confidence through doing
Easier to assess improvements
Cost effective with training normally delivered by people from within the firm at no extra cost
8 disadvantages of on-the-job training
Instructions might not be to a good enough standard
Bad habits may be passed on
Often, lack of time means sub-standard training
8 advantages of off-the-job training
Specialist trainers can provide higher level of knowledge
Can often lead to qualifications and motivate workers
Can be cheaper way of acquiring information and skills, the trained employee can feedback to work colleagues
8 disadvantages of off-the-job training
Instructions might not be specific to the requirements of the individual firm
Can be expensive
If done during worktime can lead to loss of productivity
8 advantages of induction training
Provides staff with information that helps them to settle in
Helps staff to understand the formal and informal culture within the organization
Staff will have a greater understanding of their role
Familiarization with Health and Safety and legal requirements
8 disadvantages of induction training
Costs – whilst training employees are not producing
Information overload
Often, less personal than training from immediate colleagues or supervisors
8 what is on-the-job training
Where employees learn in the workplace howto do a job
8 what is off-the-job training
any form of education that takes place outside the workplace
8 what is induction training
for employees who are new to the organization
