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Business A Level > 5 > Flashcards

5 Flashcards

1
Q

What does HRM stand for

A

Human resource management

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2
Q

What does the HRM department concern

A

How people are managed by the business in order to meet the strategic objectives of the business

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3
Q

What is an organisational chart

A

A diagram that shows the hierarchy in a business, usually from top to bottom in terms of seniority, authority, responsibility or control

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4
Q

What is meant by hierarchy

A

The structure in which items are ranked according to levels of importance

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5
Q

What do organisational charts show

A
  • responsibility and authority
  • Who is a line manager of who
  • progression opportunities
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6
Q

What is meant by span of control

A

The number of employees or subordinates for whom a manager is responsible

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7
Q

What are the 2 types of span of control

A

Wide and narrow

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8
Q

Advantage of a narrow span of control

A

Manager can spend more time giving staff clear and direct instructions

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9
Q

What is a disadvantage of a narrow span of control

A

Staff may feel little trust and responsibility so are demotivated

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10
Q

What is an advantage of a wide span of control

A

Independence may be motivating for staff

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11
Q

What is a disadvantage of a wide span of control

A

Staff may perform worse if manager has less control

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12
Q

What are some factors the influence the effectiveness of the span of control

A
  • Personality it manager
  • Skills/qualities of subordinates
  • Size of business
  • Industry
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13
Q

What is meant by chain of command

A

The way in which responsibility/authority for employees is organised within a Business

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14
Q

What are the 2 types of chain of command

A

Long and short

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15
Q

What is meant by levels/layers of a hierarchy

A

Refers to the number of levels in an organisation

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16
Q

What are line relationships

A

Vertical relationships (in a hierarchy) between managers and subordinates

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17
Q

What is meant by staff relationships

A

Horizontal relationships between members of the hierarchy on the same level
May exchange info and advice

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18
Q

What is meant by authority

A

The power of a person to allocate resources, make decisions and give orders

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19
Q

What is meant by responsibility

A

The duty or obligation to complete a task or do something that has been assigned to you be a person with authority

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20
Q

What is meant by delayering

A

The process of reducing the number of levels in an organisational structure

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21
Q

What are advantages of delayering

A
  • Reduce costs
  • More employee responsibility/delegation so improve motivation
  • Faster communication and thus decisions made quickly
22
Q

What are disadvantages of delayering

A
  • Increase span of control (need for investment in training)
  • Redundancy costs
  • Damage staff morale due to loss of friends and fear of losing job
23
Q

What is meant by delegation

A

when Responsibility is authorised to a subordinate by a manager

24
Q

What is meant by empowerment

A

Giving employees the power to do their job

25
Q

What is meant by a centralised structure

A

Where authority and decision making is controlled by those at the top of the hierarchy (senior management)

26
Q

Example of a business with a centralised structure

A

McDonald’s

27
Q

What are benefits of a centralised structure

A
  • Easier to implement common policies for whole business
  • Easier to achieve EOS
  • Quicker decision making due to less consultation
  • Easier to coordinate and control eg budgeting
28
Q

Disadvantages of a centralised structure

A
  • Local/junior managers feel lack of responsibility
  • They’re more likely to be close to customers so understand they’re demands and can operate with better customer service
  • More layers so Increase costs
29
Q

What is meant by a decentralised structure

A

Decision making is spread out to include more junior managers in the hierarchy, as well as individual trading units or trading locations

30
Q

What is an example of an industry that may operate with a decentralised structure

A

Hotel chains

31
Q

Benefits of decentralised structure

A
  • Decisions made to closer to customer (more speed and understanding)
  • Flatter hierarchy (reduce costs)
  • more responsibility gives empowerment and motivation
  • Better for future promotions (development further down hierarchy)
32
Q

Drawbacks of decentralised structure

A
  • Decision making may not be strategic
  • Difficult to ensure common policies across whole business
  • Diseconomies of scale (duplication of roles in each region)
  • Lack of strong leadership
33
Q

How do most businesses operate in terms of a centralised and decentralised structure

A

A mixture of both

34
Q

What is a tall structure

A

An organisational chart with more layers

35
Q

What are characteristics of a tall structure

A
  • Narrow span of control
  • Slower communication
  • More promotion opportunity
  • Long chain of command
36
Q

What reasons are there for using a tall structure

A
  • Line of communication is clear
  • Managers know who to delegate to
  • Strong leadership + guidance
37
Q

What is a flat structure

A

An organisational chart with few layers

38
Q

What are the characteristics of flat structures

A
  • Wide span of control
  • More delegation and responsibility
  • Faster communication to the top, maybe slower communication to manager though
39
Q

Reasons for using a flat structure

A
  • Empowerment due to less controlling
  • Teamwork
  • Flexible work environment
  • Easy communication
  • Lower costs
40
Q

What is meant by organisation by function

A

The business is organised into departments/specialist areas

41
Q

What is meant by organisation by product

A

Business is organised according to the different products made
Each product department has its own functional areas

42
Q

Advantages of organisation by function

A
  • Specialists can concentrate on what they do best and share ideas with each other
  • Less duplication of departments
43
Q

Disadvantages of organisation by function

A
  • Conflict May occur
  • Slower communication due to segregation
  • Difficulty In crediting success or Blake
  • Can’t identify their outcome
44
Q

Advantages of organisation by product

A
  • Easier to see which product is performing best
  • Communication barriers for specialists broken down
  • Can see direct result of work
  • Independence of teams
45
Q

Disadvantages of organisation by product

A
  • Different products competing for resources may cause conflict
  • Duplication of departments (waste resources)
  • Less specialisation, lose sight of overall direction of business
46
Q

What is meant by organisation by division

A

Business is organised by location

47
Q

Advantages of organisation by division

A
  • Can see which area is performing best
  • Teams see direct result of work
  • Increase independence
48
Q

Disadvantages of organisation by division

A
  • Competing for Resources May cause conflict
  • Duplication of department
  • Less focus on direction of whole business
49
Q

What is meant by a matrix structure

A

An organisational system where individuals work as part of both a project and their own department
Have 2 managers
Can be temporary or permanent

50
Q

What is an example of an individual who is working within a matrix structure

A

A person from accounting working an a team launching a new product

51
Q

Advantages of a matrix structure

A
  • Allows more than one large scale project to take place at the same time
  • Teamwork with a number of people can boost morale within a workplace
52
Q

Disadvantages of a matrix structure

A
  • Confusion May occur due to conflicting orders from management
  • May be time consuming (less efficient)
  • Team members may neglect their functional responsibilities

Business A Level (16 decks)

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