HR

Question 1

HR objectives

Answer 1

Matching workforce to business needs
Helping employees reach full potential
Supporting employee/employer relations

Question 2

Hard HRM

Answer 2

employees are seen as a resource
short term basis
training is only done to meet production needs

Question 3

ADV of hard HRM

Answer 3

helps manager keep control of workforce,
leading to mistakes being minimised
and easy to replace staff

Question 4

Cons of Hard HRM

Answer 4

don’t use employees to full potential so could be missing out on chances to increase profits
Boring repetitive jobs can make employees feel unwanted

Question 5

Soft HRM

Answer 5

Employees are seen as the most important resource
Long term basis
training is done to meet development needs

Question 6

ADV of Soft HRM

Answer 6

staff morale better as employees feel valued
- easier to retain staff
benefit from skills and experience of its staff
productivity increase whilst turnover decreases

Question 7

Benefits of high staff turnover

Answer 7

Constant stream of new ideas-innovative
recruit staff who have been trained by competitors
If sales fall, firm can reduce workforce through natural wastage rather than cost redundancy

Question 8

Cons of high staff turnover

Answer 8

lack of loyal staff
Recruitment costs are high
Productivity drops whilst new staff are being trained

Question 9

Tall structure

Answer 9

Lots of levels
Long chains of command so decisions take a lot of time to be make - lots of paperwork
Narrow spans of control allowing managers to manage employees closely

Question 10

Flat structures

Answer 10

Not man levels
Short chains of command
wide spans of control so managers sometimes get overwhelmed

Question 11

Delayering

Answer 11

removing parts of hierarchy
creates flatter structure with wider spans of control
Leads to lower costs as cutting middle management jobs saves money and gives junior employees advanced roles

Question 12

Delegation

Answer 12

giving responsibility to people below you
- makes employees feel valued

Question 13

Functional structure

Answer 13

organized by department
each department has its own culture so there needs to be strong communication

Question 14

product based structure

Answer 14

allows different divisions to have different objectives but may be an unnecessary duplication of roles

Question 15

Regional structure

Answer 15

allows for different market requirements eg Samsung has headquarters in Korea and Uk

Question 16

Matrix structures

Answer 16

organised by projects and functions
ensures staff are pursuing clearly defined objectives and encourages departments such as finance and HR to build relationhsips with eachother
although it can lead to conflict

Question 17

Centralised structures

Answer 17

all decisions are made by senior managers at the top of the business

Question 18

ADV of centralised structures

Answer 18

business leaders have a lot of experience of making business decisions
Senior managers arent biased towards one department
Decisions can be made quickly

Question 19

DISADV of centralised structures

Answer 19

Excluding employees from decision making can be demotivating

Question 20

Decentralised structures

Answer 20

Shares authority to more junior employees eg multinational firms decentralise decision making to regional managers

Question 21

ADV of decentralisation

Answer 21

Motivates employees as they use expert knowledge of their sector
Day-to-day decisions can be made quickly without consulting senior managers

Question 22

DISADV of decentralisation

Answer 22

Junior employees may not have enough experience to make decisions and may not be able to see overrall situation of the business.

Question 23

ADV of internal recruitment

Answer 23

motivates employees to go for promotion
Short and cheap process ad candidates already know the business

Question 24

DISADV of internal recruitment

Answer 24

Leaves a vacancy in another department
Can cause resentment amongst employees who aren’t selected

Question 25

ADV of external recruitment

Answer 25

Bring in fresh new ideas Larger number of applicants

Question 26

DISADV of external recruitment

Answer 26

Long and expensive process Candidates will need a longer induction process

Question 27

ADV of on the job training

Answer 27

Easy to organise Lower cost of the training Is job specific

Question 28

ADV of off-the-job training

Answer 28

Trainers are specialists New ideas are brought to the business

Question 29

DISADV of on-the-job training

Answer 29

May not be productive during training Bad practices are passed on

Question 30

DISADV of off-the-job training

Answer 30

Can be expensive No benefit to business whilst training

Question 31

internal factors affecting HR plans

Answer 31

Corporate, marketing and production plans eg if production is expanding they will need to recruit more staff Changes in production style may lead to retraining, recruitment or redeployment

Question 32

external factors affecting HR plans

Answer 32

employment leglislation protects employees rights and restricts companies ability to dismiss or transfer workers Labour market trends eg ageing population and migration

Question 33

Taylor and Scientific management

Answer 33

Taylor though employees were motivated by money he favoured division of labour Believed in paying workers according to the quantity they produced, the most productive workers get a better rate He believed that financial incentives would motivate workers and raise productivity

Question 34

Maslow's hierarchy of needs

Answer 34

Maslow said that people start by meeting the needs at the bottom of the pyramid. Once they have sorted out those needs, they can move up to the next level

Question 35

Maslow levels in order from bottom

Answer 35

Basic physical needs - food,water,shelter - business needs pay workers enough Safety - safe working environment with job security - health and safety policies and secure employment contracts social needs- friendship - teamworking and social outgoings self esteem -achievement - business gives employees recognition and promotion self actualisation - meeting potential -develop new skills and take responsibility

Question 36

Herzberg's hygiene and motivating factors

Answer 36

1 Hygiene factors - working conditions,pay,supervision 2 Motivating factors - interesting work, personal achievement, personal development opportunities recognises that motivation comes from individual needs

Question 37

Piece rate

Answer 37

Workers are paid per unit produced company with tall structure will use this as lots of levels of authority to monitor the productivity

Question 38

Performance related pay/commision

Answer 38

paid based on performances and bonuses etc

Question 39

Advantages of flexible working

Answer 39

improves motivation so employee productivity should improve suits families

Question 40

Cons of flexible working

Answer 40

can be impratical for businesses Remote workers may get distracted at home

Question 41

Job enlargement

Answer 41

gives employee more work flat structure may use

Question 42

job enrichment

Answer 42

gives workers more challenging work and training flat structure may use

Question 43

job rotation

Answer 43

move between different roles in an organisation Helps motivate employees by reducing boredom and giving them opportunities to develop additional skills

Question 44

empowerement

Answer 44

gives them greater control over work and decision making common in businesses with flat structures as communication is easier

Question 45

ADV of employee representation

Answer 45

collective bargaining can help achieve long term aims Effective to approach an organisation as a group as they have a larger influence

Question 46

DIS ADV of employee representation

Answer 46

Can lead to industrial action eg decreased productivity or strikes - lost profits