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Business Studies > 4 - Human resources > Flashcards

4 - Human resources Flashcards

1
Q

Organisational structure

A

Is the way a business arranges itself to carry out its activites

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2
Q

Organisational chart

A

Is the plan showing the roles of, and relationships between all the employees in a business

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3
Q

Line manager

A

Is an employees immediate superior or boss

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4
Q

Authority

A

Is the power to control and make decisions

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5
Q

Responsibilities of directors (2)

A
  • Establish the business’ overall goals

* Set long term plans and targets for the business

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6
Q

Responsibilities of managers (3)

A
  • Work to achieve the short and long term targets set by directors
  • May be responsible for a function within a business e,g marketing or finance
  • Use employees and other resources in the best way possible
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7
Q

Responsibilities of team leaders (or superiors) (2)

A
  • Help managers to achieve their targets by reporting any problems and passing on instructions
  • Take simple decisions, such as allocating jobs amongst different employees
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8
Q

Responsibilities of shop floor workers

A

• Carry out a business’s basic duties or activities e,g working on a production line, serving customers, basic office duties

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9
Q

Span of control

A

Is the number of employees managed directly by another employee

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10
Q

Levels of hierarchy

A

Are the layers of authority in a business

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11
Q

Chain of command

A

Is the line of authority within a business along which communication passes

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12
Q

Delayering

A

Is the removal of one or more levels of hierarchy from a business’ organisational structure

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13
Q

Delegation

A

Is the passing down of authority to more junior employees

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14
Q

Features of a flat organisational structure

A

Wide span of control:
• fewer levels of hierarchy
• each director, manager or team leader/supervisor will have a large number of people reporting directly to them

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15
Q

Features of a tall organisational structure

A

Narrow span of control:
• each director or manager or team leader will have a small number of employees reporting directly back to them
• Many layer of hierarchy

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16
Q

Advantages of flat organisational structures

A
  • communication is easier

* employees given greater authority - encouraging them to communicate more with line managers

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17
Q

Disadvantages of flat organisational structures

A
  • Quality of communication may suffer - line managers have lots of people to handle so difficult to keep up with emails etc
  • Horizontal communication becomes harder due to the amount of people of each level
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18
Q

Advantages of tall organisational structures

A

• Operate with smaller spans of control - lead to good communication between line managers and subordinates

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19
Q

Disadvantage of tall organisation structure

A

• Problems with passing information between levels e.g misinterpretation of a message

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20
Q

Decentralisation

A

allows employees working in all areas of the business to take decisions

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21
Q

Advantages of decentralisation

A
  • reduce pressure on senior managers in the business
  • job enrichment - employees feel more motivated to have more authority - making them perform better and improve overall performance
  • can lead to better decisions
  • faster decision making
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22
Q

Challenges of dencralisation

A
  • vital for employees to understand the business’ aims and goals
  • costly - training may be needed
  • communication is very important
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23
Q

Centralisation

A

Occurs when a small number of senior managers in a business take all the important decisions

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24
Q

Diversification

A

Occurs when a business starts selling new products in the new markets

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25
Q

Advantages of internal recruitment

A
  • candidates will have experience of the business and will be familiar with its method of working
  • candidates will already have a relationship with others
  • helps motivate staff with the chance of a promotion
  • cheaper - saves on costs
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26
Q

Retention

A

Is the proportion of a business’s workforce who remain with the business over a period of time, usually one year

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27
Q

Internal recruitment

A

When a job vacancy is filled by an already existing member of a workforce

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28
Q

External recruitment

A

A job vacancy is filled by someone who is not already at the workforce e,g general public

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29
Q

Common methods of external recruitment

A
  • advertising
  • jobcentre plus
  • employment agencies
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30
Q

Advantages of external recruitment

A
  • wider choice - lead to recruiting employees with better quality
  • external candidates can bring fresh ideas and enthusiasm to a business
  • no time needs to be wasted on training if they find the right person
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31
Q

Disadvantages of external recruitment

A
  • can be very expensive

* greater chance of making a mistake as they wont know much about the candidate

32
Q

Disadvantages of internal recruitment

A
  • costly

* limited selection - e.g skills and experience they want might not be available

33
Q

What is the need for recruitment

A

• important they have the right employees because if they don’t they could get negative feedback from customers about poor quality and customer service

34
Q

Stages of the recruitment and selection process

A
  1. Business needs new employees
  2. Job description and person specifications are drawn up
  3. Job positions are advertised internally or externally
  4. Applications are received and kept until closing date
35
Q

Job analysis

A

Is the collection and interpretation of information about a job

36
Q

Job description

A

Is a document which states the information about the duties and tasks that make up a particular job

37
Q

What is included in a job description

A

. Title of job
. Hours and place of work
. Main tasks that make up the work
. Employees for whom the person will be responsible

38
Q

Person specification

A

Sets out the qualifications and skills required by an employee to fill a particular job

39
Q

Benefits of an effective recruitment and selection process

A

. Higher levels of productivity
. High quality output
. Good customer service
. Staff retention

40
Q

Contract of employment

A

Is a legal document stating the hours of work, rates of pay, duties under which a person is employed

41
Q

Full time employment

A

Occurs when a person works a certain number of hours equal to the normal working week (35-40 hours)

42
Q

Part time employment

A

Takes place when an employee works for fewer than the normal number of working hours per week

43
Q

Job share

A

Exists where 2 or more employees agree to share the responsibilities of a single job

44
Q

Zero hours contracts

A

Allows employers to hire staff without any guaranteed hours of work

45
Q

Recruitment

A

Is the process of finding and appointing new employees

46
Q

Benefits of full time employment to employers (2)

A
  • Employers may benefit from employees working throughout a normal week - This can result in better communication as employees are more likely able to speak directly to one another
  • Full time employees may be more skilled and experienced because they are at work for more hours of the week - this can improve their performance
47
Q

Benefits of full time employment to employees (2)

A
  • Employees paid for more hours each week - this can improve living standards and reduce the need to find a second job
  • More likely to get promoted being full time - as it can allow them to attend more training courses and to gain more experience
48
Q

Benefits of part time employment to employers (2)

A
  • Can help businesses to cope with busy periods during the week e.g at weekends there may be more customers - having part time employees at work can help provide good customer service
  • Some business may need employees with specialist skills but do not need them throughout the working week e,g an accountant who organises payment of employees and updates financial records might only require one or two days work each week
49
Q

Benefits of part time employment to employees (2)

A
  • Can fit work in with other commitments
  • Some older employees may not want full-time work but do not want to retire. Part time can be a halfway solution to retirement
50
Q

Motivation

A

Is the range of factors that influence people to behave certain ways

51
Q

Identify the main benefits of having a motivated workforce

A
  • Staff retention

* High productivity

52
Q

How is staff retention a benefit of a motivated workforce (2)

A
  • It avoids the cost of recruiting and selecting new employees - which can cost up to £30,000
  • Removes the need to train employees which can be costly
53
Q

How is increased productivity levels a benefit of a motivated workforce

A

Allows the business to produce goods and services relatively cheaply because the labour costs involved in producing each product is lower - hence goods or services can be sold at lower prices to be more competitive

54
Q

Financial methods of motivation (5)

A
  • Salaries
  • Wages
  • Piecework
  • Commission
  • Profit sharing
55
Q

Salaries (2)

A
  • Is the income received by an employee - stated as an annual figure
  • Employees paid in this way may be motivated by an increase in their salary
56
Q

Wages (2)

A
  • Are usually paid each week at an hourly rate

* An increase in the hourly rate may be used to motivate employees

57
Q

Piecework

A

A method of payment under which employees are paid according to the quantity of products they produce

58
Q

Commission

A

Is a payment made to an employee based on the level of sales made in a period of time

59
Q

Profit sharing (2)

A
  • Employees receive a share of the business:s profits alongside their normal wages or salaries
  • This can motivate as employees benefit directly ftom an increase in the business’s profits
60
Q

Non financial methods of motivation (4)

A
  • Job enrichment
  • Training
  • Managements styles: managers who retain authority, managers who allow junior employees freedom to make decisions
  • Fringe benefits
61
Q

Job enrichment

A

Is designing a job to give interesting and challenging tasks

62
Q

Training (2)

A
  • Shows the business owner values the employee - increasing self-esteem
  • Can also motivate employees by making the workplace safer following health and safety training
63
Q

Fringe benefits

A
  • are the ‘extras’ that employees may receive in addition to their pay e.g company car
  • Can help employees more loyal and improve retention rates
64
Q

Benefits of training employees for a business (5)

A
  • Improvements in productivity
  • Increased motivation
  • Staff retention
  • Production of high quality good
  • High levels of customer services
65
Q

How can training lead to Improvements in productivity? (2)

A
  • By teaching employees how to do their jobs as efficiently as possible - this should reduce time wasted on unnecessary tasks
  • Makes the business more attractive to potential employees - making it easier for businesses to attract the best and most productive workers
66
Q

How can training lead to increased motivation? (2)

A
  • Makes employees feel valued - more committed to the business and their jobs
  • Job enrichment - can improve their enjoyment and their experience at work
67
Q

How can training lead to increased staff retention? (2)

A
  • Employees are more loyal - less likely to leave

* Retention saves the business’ cost of recruiting and selecting new employees

68
Q

How can training lead to high quality goods?

A

Reduces the risk of faulty goods being produced as employees are less likely to make errors

69
Q

How can training lead to high levels of customer service?

A

Can give employees a clear understanding of how to meet customers’ needs and to use the business’ systems to do so

70
Q

Methods of training (3)

A
  • Off-the-job training
  • On-the-job training
  • Induction
71
Q

What is off-the-job training

A

Is training that is provided outside of the employee’s workplace

72
Q

Benefits of off-the-job training (2)

A
  • Can help bring new ideas and approaches to a business - can be valuable in computer software industries
  • Is expensive making the employee feel more motivated because they are being valued
73
Q

Drawbacks of Off-the-job training (2)

A
  • Expensive - not affordable for businesses who make only a small profit
  • Risky - as employee could leave after the training has been completed
74
Q

Benefits of on-the-job production (3)

A
  • Relatively cheap
  • Targeted to the exact needs of the business
  • e-learning - can be provided at any time relatively cheaply
75
Q

Drawbacks of on-the-job training (2)

A
  • Unlikely to bring new ideas to the business - may not lead to dramatic improvements in a business’ performance
  • Can result in more employees being unable to work within the business for a period of time
76
Q

Benefits of induction training (2)

A
  • Can help new employees integrate with existing employees and to learn how to carry out their new jobs effectively - helping them become more productive earlier on
  • Can help avoid low rates of staff retention - so it wont impact the business’ costs

Business Studies (13 decks)

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