Difficult topics

Question 1

what is a matrix structure?

Answer 1

where staff work in project teams in addition to their responsibilities within their own department. therefore, staff can be answerable to more than one boss.

Question 2

what are 5 financial reward systems?

Answer 2

• piecework
• commission
• bonus
• profit share
• performance related pay

Question 3

what is profit share?

Answer 3

where employees receive a share of the profit of the business

Question 4

what is performance-related pay?

Answer 4

a reward of those whose work is considered above average, can be addressed through units produced or sold

Question 5

what are 6 non-financial reward systems?

Answer 5

• delegation
• consultation
• flexible working
• empowerment
• job enrichment
• job rotation

Question 6

what is consultation?

Answer 6

asking the views of the staff you manage, taking them into account in the decisions you make

Question 7

what are autocratic managers?

Answer 7

they tell employees what to do and do not listen much to what workers themselves have to say. they take all decisions, command and control.

Question 8

what are democratic managers?

Answer 8

they like to involve workers in their decisions. communication tends to be two-way and they would regularly delete decision-making to junior staff. they ensure that people contribute to the discussion

Question 9

what are laissez-faire managers?

Answer 9

when managers are so busy or lazy that they do not take the time to ensure that junior staff know what to do or how to do it. some people may respond very well to freedom to decide how to spend their working lives whilst others may become frustrated.

Question 10

what are paternalistic managers?

Answer 10

they try to do what is best for their staff. there may be consultation to find out the views of the employees but decisions are made by the head of the ‘family’. they believe employees need direction but thinks it is important that they are supported and cared for properly.

Question 11

what is charismatic leadership?

Answer 11

people who are able to connect with an audience and who can get others to buy into their ideas

Question 12

what are 5 roles of an entrepreneur?

Answer 12

• creating and setting up a business
• running and expanding/developing a business
• innovation within a business
• barriers to entrepreneurship (lack of finance)
• anticipating risk and uncertainty in the business

Question 13

what are two financial motives of becoming an entrepreneur?

Answer 13

profit maximisation

profit satisficing

Question 14

what is profit satisficing?

Answer 14

this involves finding the right profit rather than the biggest, for small businesses especially if they are thinking in the long term then profit satisficing makes far more sense than short-term maximisation

Question 15

what are 4 non-financial motives of becoming an entrepreneur?

Answer 15

• independence
• home-working
• ethical stance
• social entrepreneurship

Question 16

explain the non-financial motive of an entrepreneur of an ethical stance

Answer 16

a principled ethical stance leads to goo publicity which encourages higher sales and therefore profits high enough to support the ethics, find it difficult to accept the ethical environment within a larger business organisation

Question 17

what are trade-offs?

Answer 17

they arise where having more of one thing potentially results in having less of another. this occurs when making decisions you may gain something such as having higher quality standards however this may lead to you having to undertake more quality control and assurance.

Question 18

what is staff turnover?

Answer 18

the number of staff leavign a company as a percentage of the number employed

Question 19

what is division of labour ?

Answer 19

subdividing a task into several activities, enabling workers to specialise and therefore become effective at completing what may be a small and repetitive task

Question 20

what are the factors to consider in dynamic markets?

Answer 20

• online retailing (some businesses have failed due to the growing competition from online retailers)
• how markets change (changes to affluence levels, different wants, more ethical products)
• innovation and market growth (innovation encourages customers to try something new and therefore boost market growth, apple with Face ID and waterproofing phones)
• adapting to change (when people are buying more of a certain type of product, firms must change and adapt rather than wait and then be forced to change)

Question 21

what are four examples of primary research?

Answer 21

• focus groups
• consumer panels
• observation
• surveys

Question 22

what are 4 examples of secondary research?

Answer 22

• annual reports
• internal data
• government sources
• trade journals

Question 23

what are three uses of ICT to support market research?

Answer 23

1) social networking (posting pictures and seeing likes, ways to interact with them)
2) websites (accessible, understand, quick and easy)
3) databases (see when and what people buy, address details)

Question 24

what are 4 types of market segmentation?

Answer 24

1) geographic
2) demographic
3) psychographic, e.g. by attitudes, personality, lifestyle
4) behaviour, e.g. when you buy a product, how the decision making takes place, brand loyalty

Question 25

explain F.W Taylor’s theory

Answer 25

• believed people only worked for one reason: money and so it was essential for managers to devise a system that would maximise efficiency to generate a higher profit to then be able to pay workers a higher wage
• workers should be given training to work efficiently
• workers should be paid by piece rate so they are encouraged to work hard
• high division of labour is necessary

Question 26

explain Elton mayo’s theory

Answer 26

• undertook experiments where 6 volunteer stage were separated and undertook a series of experiments including the use of bonus methods, rest periods, refreshments and work layout
• employees are motivated by relational factors (attention) rather than monetary rewards
• employee satisfaction improves productivity
• workers must believe their managers are interested in them ‘Hawthorne effect’
• good motivation results from better communication and greater participation from managers and more teamwork
• the greater the involvement from managers the more motivated they are

Question 27

explain Abraham Maslow’s theory

Answer 27

• believed everyone has the same needs, all which can be arranged in a hierarchy
• at the base are physical needs (food, shelter) but when employees earn enough to satisfy their needs then their new motivation becomes the level on top, moves on to job security, health
• methods of motivation vary depending on their placement on the hierarchy
• levels go from physical needs to safety needs to social needs to esteem needs and to self-actualisation

Question 28

explain herzberg’s theory

Answer 28

• he asked employees for 5 changes that would increase motivation and 5 things that would decrease motivation
• things increasing motivation are recognition for achievement, work itself, responsibility, advancements and achievements
• things decreasing motivation are working conditions, interpersonal relations, salary, supervision, company policy and administration
• a business has to provide hygiene factors otherwise employees will be dissatisfied
• he introduced job enrichment which is a way of motivating staff, varying jobs to make it more varied and challenging