Further Human Resources

Question 1

Hard HRM

Answer 1

an approach to managing staff that involves cutting costs, such as offering part-time and temporary employment contracts, and offering maximum flexibility but with minimum training costs

Question 2

Advantages and disadvantages of Hard HRM

Answer 2

Advantages:
1. Saves money on worker costs
2. Uses this approach on peripheral workers

Disadvantages:
1. Demotivates workers due to little job security
2. Bad publicity if workers are unfairly dismissed / made redundant
3. Increase recruitment and induction costs

Question 3

Soft HRM

Answer 3

an approach to managing staff that involves developing staff to reach self fulfilment and feel motivated to work and stay in the business

Question 4

Advantages and disadvantages of Soft HRM

Answer 4

Advantages:
1. Higher employee motivation
2. Low labour turnover

Disadvantages:
1. Training costs
2. Large focus on employees can mean a lack of focus in the business’ objectives

Question 5

Part-time employment contracts

Answer 5

employment contract that is for less than a normal working week of 40 hours

Question 6

Advantages and disadvantages of part time employment contracts for the business

Answer 6

Advantages (for business)
1. Employees are only required to work at certain periods of the day
2. More staff available to fill absences
3. Can assess employee efficiency before offering full-time contract
4. Teleworking can save overheads costs
5. Zero hours contracts – no fixed costs in a worker’s pay

Disadvantages (for the business)
1. More employees to manage
2. Communication is compromised because it is impossible to hold meetings with all staff at the same time
3. Low motivation levels due to less job security

Question 7

Advantages and disadvantages of part-time employment for employees

Answer 7

Advantages (for employee)
Ideal if they do not want to work a full working week
Allows them to combine jobs with different firms

Disadvantages (for employee)
Wages are less than full-time
Paid at a lower rate than full-time
Less job security

Question 8

Temporary employment contracts

Answer 8

employment contract that lasts for a fixed period (e.g. six months)

Question 9

Advantages and disadvantages of temporary employment contracts for the business

Answer 9

Advantages (for business)
Flexibility -> Cover periods of increased demand
Ability to evaluate potential employees before hiring
Reduce overheads costs of employing staff when there may be less demand

Disadvantages (for business)
No job security hence demotivation from staff

Question 10

Flexi-time employment contracts

Answer 10

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

Question 11

Advantages and disadvantages of flexi-time contracts

Answer 11

Advantages and disadvantages: (SAME AS PART-TIME CONTRACT)

Question 12

Teleworking

Answer 12

staff working from home but keeping contact with the office by means of modern IT communications

Question 13

Zero-hours contract

Answer 13

no minimum hours of work are offered and workers are only called in and paid when work is available

Question 14

Outsourcing

Answer 14

not employing staff directly, but suing an outside agency to carry out some business functions

Question 15

Labour productivity

Answer 15

the output per worker of a given time period

Question 16

Equation for labour productivity

Answer 16

LABOUR PRODUCTIVITY = OUTPUT PER WORKER IN TIME PERIOD / TOTAL WORKERS EMPLOYED X 100%

Question 17

Increasing labour productivity

Answer 17

Staff motivation
Efficient capital equipment
Staff training
Increased worker involvement in decision making and problem solving

Question 18

Absenteeism

Answer 18

measures the rate of workforce absences as a proportion of the employee total

Question 19

Equation of absenteeism

Answer 19

ABSENTEEISM = WORKFORCE ABSENCES AT A GIVEN PERIOD / TOTAL WORKERS EMPLOYED X 100%

Question 20

Reasons to reduce absenteeism

Answer 20

Employing extra staff is expensive
Absent staff means customer service quality can decrease, hence decrease in sales

Question 21

Cause of absenteeism

Answer 21

Over supervision
Poor working conditions
Allowing days off work

Question 22

Strategies to improve employee performance

Answer 22

Training
Complete units of work
Financial incentives
MBO
More advanced technology

Question 23

MBO (management by objectives) advantages and disadvantages

Answer 23

Advantages:
Employees and managers understand their purpose in the business and will manage their time effectively
Achieve employee consistency and coordination with all departments of the business

Disadvantages:
Time consuming to divide objectives for each division, department and individual
Objectives can be outdated quickly
Setting targets do not guarantee business success

Question 24

The role of the state in industrial relations

Answer 24

Through industrial relations law
Through agencies to improve industrial relations
Through its own policies as a major employer

Question 25

Importance of labour legislation

Answer 25

To control union power
Ensure employee protection

Question 26

Types of labour management

Answer 26

1. Autocratic style
2. Bargaining between trade unions and major employers
3. Cooperation with labour and management

Question 27

Autocratic style, advantages and disadvantages

Answer 27

Very short term contracts, no job security, if worker objects to the conditions of work they are immediately sacked

Advantages:
Greatly reduce overheads costs
No objection to work, decision making is centred to the business

Disadvantages:
Low motivation
No training due to frequent job changes
No job enrichment or worker participation -> no contribution of workers to lead to better business results

Question 28

Bargaining between trade unions and major employers, advantages and disadvantages

Answer 28

Representatives of the union and national employers negotiate wage levels and working conditions

Advantages:
Workers have a voice to ask for fair working conditions -> once fair working conditions established workers can be more motivated in working and hence increase productivity

Disadvantages:
National agreements are not always suitable for smaller businesses
Strikes can cause disruption and lost output and sales

Question 29

Cooperation with labour and management, advantages and disadvantages

Answer 29

Involves workers decision making, working towards common aims and employment involvement

Advantages:
High motivation
Employee loyalty
Good ideas can be contributed to the business and push its success

Disadvantages:
Time consuming to involve every worker’s decisions

Question 30

Workforce planning

Answer 30

analysing and forecasting the numbers of workers and the skill of those workers that will be required by the organisation to achieve their objectives

Question 31

Workforce audit

Answer 31

a check on the skills and qualifications of all existing workers / managers

Question 32

Factors of workforce planning

Answer 32

1. Number of employees
   Forecast market demand
   Change in laws and legislations of labour
   Productivity levels of staff
   Labour turnover and absenteeism rates
2. Skills required
   Pace of technological change in the industry
   The need for a flexible and multi skilled workforce or not

Question 33

Role of a workforce plan

Answer 33

To calculate future staff needs
Staff needs must be coordinated with business objectives
Establishing the skills required by staff for the business’ future

Question 34

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 a trade union

Answer 35

Ability to engage in collective bargaining together in solidarity
Individual industrial action
Provide legal support
Put pressure on employers to ensure all legal requirements are met

Question 36

Advantages of a trade union

Answer 36

1. Employer would be able to negotiate conditions with a collective union which avoids workers from feeling that one worker has better condition than others
2. Unions can impose discipline on members who plan to take hasty action
3. Unions provide a channel of communication with employers

Question 37

Industrial action

Answer 37

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

Question 38

Industrial actions that a union is allowed to take

Answer 38

Negotiation
Go slow
Work to rule
Overtime bans
Strike action

Question 39

Actions that an employer is allowed to take when union takes industrial action

Answer 39

Negotiation
Public relations
Threat of redundancies
Changes of contract
Closure
Lockout

Question 40

When does the trade union have the most power when taking industrial action?

Answer 40

Most workers belong to one union
All workers agree to take industrial action
The business is busy, high demands
Industrial action can quickly cost the employer large amount of revenue / profit

Question 41

When does the employer have the most power when industrial action is happening to them?

Answer 41

Unemployment is high
Action taken by employer has quick impact on workers’ wages
Public support for the employer