Chapter 10 Flashcards
what is Human resources management (HRM)?
Human resource management (HRM) is the strategic approach to the effective management of an organisation’s workers so that they help the business gain a competitive advantage
What is the main purpose of HRM?
The central purpose of HRM is to recruit, to train and the use the workers of an organisation in the most productive manner to assist the organisation in the achievement of it’s objectives
What are the other responsibilities of HRM?
1 Workforce planning 2 Recruitment and selection 3 Training and development 4 Preparing contracts of employment 5 Improving staff morale and welfare 6 Developing pay systems 7 Measuring and monitoring staff performance
what is Workforce planning?
Workforce planning means analysing and forecasting the numbers of workers and the skills of those workers that will be required by the organisation to achieve its objectives
what is A workforce audit ?
A workforce audit is a check on the skills and qualifications of all existing workers/managers
What is Recruiting and selecting staff?
Recruitment is the process of identifying the need for a new employee, defining the job to be filled and the type of person needed to fill it, attracting suitable candidates for the job and selecting the best one
recruitment and selection process involves several steps, what are they?
1 Establishing the job vacancy and drawing up a job description
2 Drawing up a person specification
3 Preparing a job advertisement
4 Drawing up a shortlist of applicants
5 Conducting interviews – or using other selection methods
what is job description?
A job description is a detailed list of the key points about the job to be filled – stating all its key tasks and responsibilities
what is person specification?
A person specification is a detailed list of the qualities, skills and qualifications that a successful applicant will need to have
what is Job advertisement?
A job advertisement may be placed within an organisation (to support internal recruitment) or placed outside an organisation (to support external recruitment)
Benefits of internal recruitment
1 Applicants are already known to the selection team
2 Often quicker and cheaper than external recruitment
Benefits of external recruitment
External applicants will bring in new ideas and practices to the business
They should be a wider choice of potential applicants – not just limited to internal staff
what is Drawing up a shortlist of applicants?
A small number of applicants are chosen based on their application forms and personal details, often contained in a CV (curriculum vitae) or resume
What is Conducting interview?
Interviews are conducted that will be designed to question the applicant on their skills, experience and character to see if they will both perform well and fit into the organisation
What are other selection tests?
Other selection tests might be conducted, such as aptitude tests and psychometric tests
what is On-the-job training
On-the-job training is instruction at the place of work on how a job should be carried out
what is Training?
Training is work-related education to increase workforce skills and efficiency
What is Off-the-job training ?
Off-the-job training is all training undertaken away from the business, e.g. work-related college courses
What is Induction training?
Induction training is an introductory training programme to familiarise new recruits with the systems used in the business and the layout of the business site
what is staff appraisal?
A staff appraisal is the process of assessing the effectiveness of an employee judged against pre-set objectives
what is dismissal?
A dismissal means being dismissed or sacked (fired) from a job due to incompetence or breach of discipline
what is unfair dismissal?
An unfair dismissal means ending a worker’s employment contract for a reason that the law regards as being unfair
what is redundancy?
A redundancy occurs when a job is no longer required, so the employee doing this job becomes redundant through no fault of his or her own
temporary employment contract?
A temporary employment contract is an employment contract that lasts for a fixed time period, e.g. six months
part-time employment contract?
A part-time employment contract is an employment contract that is for less than the normal full working week of, say, 40 hours, e.g. eight hours per week
flexi-time contract ?
A flexi-time contract is an employment contract that allows staff to be called in at times most convenient to employers and employees, e.g. at busy times of day
what is Outsourcing?
Outsourcing means not employing staff directly, but using an outside agency or organisation to carry out some business functions
Employment contract: full-time
Advantages
1 Available full-time to handle peaks or unexpected increases in workload
2 Easier to recruit people looking for the greater security and higher rewards of full-time work
Employment contract: full-time
Disadvantages
1 Costly if there is a downturn in business activity – full-time employees still need to be paid
2 Reduced flexibility in terms of adding skills or capacity – part-time employees provide much more flexibil
Employment contract: part-time
Advantages
1 More flexible – part-timers can work overtime if there is sufficient work to do
2 Keeps costs down – reduces the breakeven point (lower overheads)
Employment contract: part-time
Disadvantages
1 Potentially higher costs on training, induction
2 Harder to communicate with employees if they spend less time in the business
Employment contract: temporary
Advantages
1 Flexibility – temps give the employer better control over the cost of staff, bringing in more people when required and releasing them when things get quiet
2 Ideal for specific jobs, tasks and projects – e.g. installation of IT systems, handling customer calls after a promotional campaign
Employment contract: temporary
Disadvantages
1 Temps less likely to know and understand the business, or to fit in with its culture. This might be negative for customer service
2 Temps less likely to know and understand the business, or to fit in with its culture. This might be negative for customer service
What is Hard HRM?
Hard HRM is an approach to managing staff that focuses on cutting cost, e.g. temporary and part-time employment contracts, offering maximum flexibility but with minimum training costs
what is Soft HRM
Soft HRM is an approach to managing staff that focuses on developing staff so that they reach self-fulfilment and are motivated to work hard and stay with the business
