Ch 13 Further human resource management (A Level)

Question 1

Define hard HRM

Answer 1

an approach to managing staff that focuses on cutting costs, treating employees like any other resources. E.g. call centres

Question 2

Define soft HRM

Answer 2

an approach to managing staffs that focuses on developing staff so that they rare motivated to work hard and stay with the business.

Question 3

Advantages of hard HRM

Answer 3

Staff are well monitored and also easily replaceable
Costs are minimised/ more cost effective => potential increased profitability
More standardisation of processes, reduces the risk of errors being made

Question 4

Disadvantages of hard HRM

Answer 4

Could increase recruitment and induction training costs in the long term as temporary workers have to be frequently recruited

Demotivated workers with little job security => decreased productivity => reduce efficiency and profitability

Bad publicity regarding the treatment of workers

Question 5

Advantages of soft HRM

Answer 5

Higher motivation
Greater commitment from staff
Less absenteeism
Greater productivity => competitive advantage

Question 6

Disadvantages of soft HRM

Answer 6

Increased costs for development of skills, wage increases, the support staff to work
Delaying decision-making for the synthesis of the opinions of employees, management

Question 7

Define temporary employment contract

Answer 7

employment contract that lasts for a fixed time period. E.g. six months

Question 8

Advantages of temporary contract

Answer 8

Reduce the overhead costs of employing staff when there may be less demand for them

Flexibility is important for seasonal business activities

Flexible for workers as they can have multiple of jobs => gain experience and skills

Efficiency of staff can be assessed

Question 9

Disadvantages of temporary contract

Answer 9

No employees loyalty => reduced productivity and efficiency => adds costs to the business

Little motivation to work since employees are not committed to the company
Security of employment

Question 10

Define part time employment contract

Answer 10

employment contract that is for less than the normal full working week/ for part time workers

Question 11

Define flexi time contract

Answer 11

employment contract that allows staff to be called in at times most convenient for employers and employees

Question 12

Advantages of flexi time and part time contract (to the firm)

Answer 12

Staff can be required to work at particular busy periods of the day but not during slack times => reduce overhead costs => competitive advantage

By using teleworking from home => saves costs

More staff are available to be called upon should there be sickness or other causes of absenteeism

The efficiency of a staff can be assessed before they are offered a full time contract

Question 13

Disadvantages of flexi time and part time contract (to the firm)

Answer 13

Additional administrative work and “red-tape” involved in setting up and running flexible working

The potential loss of customers if key employees reduce their working hours

Lower employee productivity
Inability to substitute for certain skills if certain employees are absent (a common concern of smaller businesses_

Managers finding it difficult to manage or administer the flexibility

Question 14

Advantages of flexi time and part time contract (to the workers)

Answer 14

Contract can be ideal for certain types of workers for example students parents with young children who do not wish to work a full week
They may he able to combine two jobs with different firms giving greater variety to their working lives

Question 15

Disadvantages of flexi time and part time contract (to the workers)

Answer 15

They will be earning less than full time workers
They may he paid at a lower rate than full time workers
The security of employment and other working conditions are often inferior to those of full time workers

Question 16

Define labour productivity

Answer 16

the output per worker in a given time period. It is calculated by - total output in time period/ total staff employed

Question 17

Define absenteeism

Answer 17

measures the rate of workforce absence as a proportion of employee total. It is calculated by: Absenteeism (%) = (no. of staff absent/total no. of staff) x 100

Question 18

Define labour turnover

Answer 18

measures the rate at which employees are leaving an organisation.
It is measured by: (number of staff leaving in one year/average number of staff employed) x 100

Question 19

Causes for poor employee performance

Answer 19

Lack of training given to the employees

Lack of resources available to allow optimisation of their work

Obstacles such as collaboration problems, communication and permission

Miscommunication leads to misinterpretation of the guidelines

No incentives to motivate the employees

No punishment for their poor work

Question 20

Consequences of poor employee performance

Answer 20

Absenteeism

Decreased efficiency and productivity

Increased overhead costs => reduced competitive advantage

Lower morale => reduced employee loyalty

Management stress

Poor output level

Poor quality of the output

Question 21

Strategies to improve performance

Answer 21

Regular appraisals of performance against agreed pre set targets
If workers fail to reach targets => establish disciplinary nature or provide training

Training

Quality circles - small groups of workers encouraged to take responsibility for identifying and suggesting solutions to work related problems

Financial incentives linked to profits of the business or offer a stake in the ownership of the company

Teamworking - encourage multi-skilling training and opportunity to take responsibility => feels valued

Question 22

Costs of high labour turnover

Answer 22

Costs of recruiting, selecting and training new staff

Poor output levels and customer service due to staff vacancies before new recruits are appointed

Difficult to establish loyalty and regular contact with consumers

Difficult to establish team spirit

Question 23

Benefits of high labour turnover

Answer 23

Low skilled and less productive staff can be replaced by more carefully selected workers

New ideas and practices are brought into the organisation

Question 24

Define management by objectives (MBO)

Answer 24

a method of coordinating and motivating all staff in an organisation by dividing its overall aim into specific targets for each department, manager and employee

Question 25

Possible benefits of MBO

Answer 25

Each manager and subordinate will know exactly what they have to do.
This will help them prioritise their time and enable them to see the importance of what they do to the whole organisation

By using the corporate objectives as the key focus to all departmental and individual objectives => everyone work to the same overall target => avoid conflict and ensure a consistent and well-coordinated approach

Managers are able to monitor everyone’s performances => measure success or failure

Question 26

Possible problems of MBO

Answer 26

Process of dividing corporate objectives can be time consuming. Best performed only after full consultation

Objectives can become outdated quickly due to changing nature/dynamics of business

Setting targets does not guarantee success. Issues such as adequate resources and staff training must also be addressed to achieve the targets

Question 27

Why do we need labour legislation?

Answer 27

Prevent exploitation of workers by powerful employers

Prevent loss of industrial output and national income from excessive use of trade union collective action

Question 28

How can the state affect industrial relations and trade unions?

Answer 28

Through industrial relations law

Through agencies set up to improve industrial relations such as arbitration councils
Through its own policies as a major employer

Question 29

Causes of conflict between employers and employees

Answer 29

Rationalisation and organisational change

Common management view: business needs to cut overheads and be flexible and adaptable to deal with competition

Common employee view:
Business change - e.g. relocation/new tech

Common management view: change is necessary to remain competitive and profitable

Common employee view: change can lead to job losses, result in retraining new skills => might not be able to cope, demands greater flexibility

Question 30

What are the 3 broad approaches to labour-management relations?

Answer 30

Autocratic management style with a ‘take it or leave it’ attitude to workers

Collective bargaining between powerful trade unions and major employers and their associations

Cooperation between labour and management, recognising that successful competitive businesses will benefit all parties

Question 31

Autocratic management style with a take it or leave it attitude

Answer 31

no labour security and low levels of motivation

staff will not have the opportunity to be trained due to frequent job changes

no common objectives established between labour and management

non-existent job enrichment and no staff involvement => no contribution

Question 32

Collective bargaining between trade unions and employers

Answer 32

national agreements were not always suitable/affordable for small businesses

strikes and other industrial action caused disruption and lost output and sales

powerful unions resisted any changes that might adversely affect their members and this led to a lack of investment in and development of key industries

Question 33

Cooperation between labour and management

Answer 33

actively involve workers in important decision making and operational issues

Question 34

Define trade union

Answer 34

an organisation of working people with the objective of improving the pay and working conditions of their members and providing them with support and legal services

Question 35

Reasons for worker joining trade union

Answer 35

power through solidarity, puts workers in stronger position

individual industrial action. e.g. one worker going on strike is not effective
provide legal support to employees who claim unfair dismissal or poor conditions of work

unions pressurise the employers to ensure all legal requirements are met

Question 36

How can negotiations be categorised?

Answer 36

national level - with employers’ associations

collective bargaining - at a business level is when a firm negotiates with union officials

plant based bargaining where each factory or administration centre agrees a deal between union officials and local management

Question 37

Define trade union recognition

Answer 37

when an employer formally agrees to conduct negotiations on pay and working conditions with a trade union rather than bargain individually with each worker

Question 38

trade union Benefits for employers

Answer 38

Employers would be able to negotiate with one officer rather than individual workers

the union system could provide an additional, useful channel of communication with the workers

• 2 way communication

unions can impose discipline on members who plan to take hasty industrial action that could disrupt business

growth of responsible, partnnership unionism => increased productivity

Question 39

Define single union agreement

Answer 39

an employer recognises just one union for purposes of collective bargaining

Question 40

Define no strike agreement

Answer 40

unions agree to sign a no-strike agreement with employers in exchange for greater involvement in decisions that affect the work force

Question 41

Reasons for no strike agreement

Answer 41

improves the image of the union as being a responsible representative body and this could encourage employees to become members

often agreed in exchange for greater union involvement in decision making process

Question 42

Define industrial action

Answer 42

measures taken by the workforce or trade union to put pressure on management to settle an industrial dispute in favour of employees

Question 43

Forms of industrial action

Answer 43

Negotiations

Go slow - workers keep working at a minimum pace as demanded by their contract of employment. Bonus payments might be lost but at busy times this action can be very disruptive

Work to rule - employees refuse to do any work outside the precise terms of employment contract

Overtime bans - refuse to work more than contracted number of hours
Strike

Question 44

Ways of settling disputes

Answer 44

Negotiations

Public relations - using media to try to gain public support for the employer’s position in the dispute

Threats of redundancies
Changes of contract
Closure
Lock outs

Question 45

Define arbitration

Answer 45

resolving an industrial dispute by using an independent third party to judge and recommend an appropriate solution

Question 46

Factors affecting the success of trade union (7)

Answer 46

Internal factors:

Union density − this is the proportion of the workforce that are members of the union in dispute with the employer. If union density is high, then the union’s negotiating position is strengthened

The importance of the job performed by union members − if the union represents key workers, then the union has a stronger bargaining position

The cost of strike action to the employer − strikes are very expensive for any industry.

The financial position of the firm − this will have to be considered in any negotiations
.
External factors:

The level of unemployment and economic activity − if jobs are scarce, the employer has a much stronger negotiating position.

Labour and trade union laws

Public opinion and media coverage − if workers are supported by the public, there will be more pressure on the employer to settle the dispute.