HR Flashcards
1
Q
What is the role of HR managers?
A
to design, implement and maintain strategies to manage people for optimum business performance
2
Q
What is an organisational chart?
A
diagrams to show hierarchy in the business
3
Q
What is span of control?
A
number of employees for whom a manager is responsible for
4
Q
What are 2 benefits of a narrow span of control?
A
quick communication
direct communication
5
Q
What is 1 negatives of a narrow span of control?
A
less deligation
6
Q
What are 2 benefits of a wide span of control?
A
deligation
increased motivation
7
Q
What are 2 negatives of a wide span of control?
A
difficult communication
weaker relationships
8
Q
What does effectiveness of control depend on?
A
personality of manager, skills of subordinates, size of business
9
Q
What is chain of control?
A
way in which responsibility for employees is organised
10
Q
What are levels of hierarchy?
A
no. of levels or layers in a business organisation
11
Q
What is delayering?
A
reducing the number of levels in an organisation
12
Q
What are 2 + of delayering?
A
better communications
employee responsibility
13
Q
What are 2 - of delayering?
A
pressure increased for staff
feeling of threat to job
14
Q
Give 2 strategies to overcome delayering?
A
delegation and empowerment
15
Q
What is empowerment?
A
greater control over working lives is given
16
Q
Describe a tall structure?
A
- lots of layers
- small span of control
17
Q
Describe a flat structure?
A
- fewer layers
- more delegation
18
Q
Give 1 advan and 1 disadvan of flat structure?
A
+ better communication
- less promo opportunities
19
Q
Give 1 advan and 1 disadvan of tall struture?
A
+ more direct contact with manager
- slower decision making
20
Q
What is the difference between organisation by system and product?
A
system: split into specialist areas
product: each product becomes a ‘mini business’
21
Q
Give 1 + of organising by system
A
+ concentrate on what they do best
22
Q
Give 1 - of organising by product
A
- competition for resources
23
Q
Give 1 + of organising by product
A
+ see success clearly
24
Q
Give 1 - of organising by system
A
- difficult to accredit success
25
What might we call a tall structure? Give a + of it?
mechanistic
| + more direct contact with manager
26
What might we call a flat structure? Give a + of it?
organistic
| + better communication
27
What is a centralised structure?
structure where all decisions are made at the top of the hierachy
28
What is a decentralised structure?
structure where the decision making process is delegated
29
What are matrix structures?
individuals work across teams and projects as well as within their own departments
30
2 + of matrix structures?
+ can help break down barriers improving communications
| + can use individuals skills
31
2 - of matrix structures?
- no clear line for accountability
| - takes time to get acquainted with structure
32
Give 2 + of centralised structures?
+ easier to gain economies of scale
| + quicker decision making
33
Give 2 - of centralised structures?
- more bureaucratic
| - local/junior managers are likely to be closer to customer needs
34
Give 2 + of decentralised structures?
+ decisions made closer to customer
| + improved level of customer service
35
Give 2 - of decentralised structures?
- harder to ensure consistency
| - diseconomies of scale
36
What is a job description?
document describing duties of the job
37
What is a job specification?
profile of type if person needed for a job, their skills and qualities
38
What is the 1st stage in recruitment?
identify vacancy
39
Why might a position become open?
death, pregnancy, promotion, dismissal
40
What is the difference between internal and external recruitment?
internal: vacancy is filled by someone already in the business
external: vacancy is filled by someone from outside of the business
41
What are the benefits of each external and internal recruitment?
+ int: saves advertising costs
| + ext: new skills brought into business
42
What are ways of advertising jobs?
television ads, newspapers, specialist magazines, job centers, word of mouth,
43
Give 2 + of any form of advertising?
job centers: free to use, saves time for employer
44
Give 2 - of any form of advertising?
job centers: often low skilled workers,
45
What is a CV? What is included on it?
brief account of a persons education, qualifications, includes: personal details, education history, previous employment, reasons for applying
46
What is a covering letter?
letter that personalises your application
47
What is an application form? Whats included on it?
document filled out to apply for a job
| includes: personal details, availability, maths, business and personality questions
48
What are psycometric tests?
tests to identify a candidates skills, knowledge and personality,
2 parts: personality and aptitude
49
What are examples of group activities?
stranded on an island, leadership activites
50
What is scenario testing?
situation given to see applicants responses
51
What is an interview?
conversation between candidate and employee discussing skills, CV info, queries and questions
52
What is an advantage of a face-to-face interviews?
see personalities quicker and ask more personalised questions
53
Define training.
process of increasing the knowledge and skills of the workforce to enable them to perform jobs better
54
Give 2 benefits of training.
increased motivation, equips staff with skills, increases productivity
55
Give a downfall of training staff.
they may leave for better jobs with their training
56
What happens in induction training?
staff are orientated, and told their duties to perform, risk assessment etc
57
What should training aim to do?
reduce staff anxiety, shouldn't overwhelm employees
58
What is on the job training?
training that takes place in the workplace
59
What is off the job training?
training that takes place outside of the workplace
60
Give 2 examples of both on and off the job training?
on: demos, coaching, job rotation and projects
off: day release, evening, self study and sandwich course
61
What is 1 + of on the job training?
+ cheaper for business
62
What is 1 - of off the job training?
- more expensive
63
What is 1 + of off the job training?
+ wider range of skills obtained from outside experts
64
What is 1 - of on the job training?
- bad habits may be passed on
65
What are 3 other types of training methods other than on and off the job?
shadowing, e-learning, apprenticeships
66
What is an appraisal?
a formal assessment of an employees performance
67
What does an appraisal identify?
strengths, weaknesses, development areas, pay/promo opportunities,
68
What are 2 + of appraisal?
+ builds relationships,
+ boosts motivation
+ documentation is helpful
69
What are 2 - of appraisal?
- may be bias
- managers may be too negative
- needs commitment
70
What is managerial appraisal?
uses a document to discuss details, suggestions and goals
71
What is self-assessment appraisal?
employees assess themselves using tick sheet
72
What is 360 degree appraisal?
employee gets feedback from several people
73
What is peer assessment appraisal?
appraisal gets feedback from collegue
74
What are SMART targets?
targets that are: Specific, measurable, agreed, realistic and time-limited
75
Formula for labour turnover?
(no. employees leaving in year/no. employed in year) x 100
76
Formula for labour productivity?
output per year / no. of employees at work
77
Formula for absenteeism?
(no of absent shifts unauthorised over period / total days worked by force over period) x 100
78
Formula for lateness?
(total no of late arrivals / no of scheduled attendances) x 100
79
What are the costs made from absenteeism?
wages paid to those not working, high cost replacement workers
80
How can businesses establish genuineness of absenteeism?
ask for doctors note, look at patterns
81
How can a business tackle absenteeism ?
understanding causes, setting targets and monitor trends,
82
What is a high lateness % an indicator of?
low motivation
83
What is redundancy?
form of dismissal when employers need to reduce workforce
84
What is dismissal?
termination of contract of employment often as result of a disciplinary procedure
85
What is unfair dismissal?
employee is dismissed without valid resasoning
86
What is gross misconduct?
swearing, alcohol, verbal and physical abuse
87
What is gross negligence?
danger, safety
88
What is wrongful dismissal?
employer breaches obligations
89
What is whistle blowing?
dismissed for no offence (reporting suspected misconduct)
90
What is capability?
employee isn't capable to do the job and the employer proves this
91
What is ACAS?
advisory, conciliation and arbitration service
92
What do ACAS do?
suggests advice for employees and employers
| more favorable in court for following ACAS's advice
93
What is an autocratic leader?
- full control of decision making
- uses power to get others to carry out work
- employees have little or no control
94
What is a paternalistic leader?
- leader decides what is best for employees and addresses their needs
- 'father figure'
- still little delegation
95
Give 1 + and 1 - of autocratic leaders
+ high levels of control of all workers
| - low motivation within staff
96
Give 1 + and 1 - of paternalistic leaders
+ some motivation
| - can be patronising
97
What is a democratic leader?
- focus of power with the group as a whole
| - employees have a greater involvement in decision making
98
Give 1 + and 1 - of democratic leaders
+ increased motivation
| - some miscommunication
99
What is a lassiez-faire leader?
- gives employees little direction
| - employees make and solve decisions themselves
100
Give 1 + and 1 - of lassiez-faire leaders
+ higher motivation
| - potentially reduced productivity
101
How does a Theory Y leader see employees?
- employees want to work
- employees like goals
- most seek responsibility
102
How does a Theory X leader see employees?
- employees don't like to work and don't want to work
- managers need to control
- employees don't want responsibility
103
What are the 2 axis on the Blake and Mouton Grid?
concern for task and concern for people
104
What does concern for task mean?
degree to which a leader considers the needs of team members
105
What does concern for people mean?
way in which leader emphasises objectives
106
What is impoverished?
- low concern for people and task
- lassiez-faire style
- minimal effort from management
107
what is country club?
- high concern for people, low concern for task
- focus on comfortable, safe environment
- well being and feelings of team of people
108
what is produce or perish?
- low concern for people, high concern for task
- autocratic
- workers have to complete tasks and nothing else
109
What is team management?
- high concern for both task and people
- Theory Y
- what a manager should aim to be
110
What is middle of the road management?
- middle concern for both task and people
- compromises made to achieve acceptable performance
- leaders could be indecisive
111
what is formal communication?
those that take place using agreed rules and procedures
112
what is informal communication?
those that are not based upon any set measure
113
what is meant by group norms?
rules or guidelines that reflect expectations of how they should act and interact
114
what are implicit norms?
rules/guidelines that aren't always expressed or discussed
115
what are explicit norms?
rules/guidelines that are stated outright either verbally or in writing
116
what is verbal communication?
using speech
117
non verbal communication?
using gestures, body language
118
give examples of communication media.
tv, radio, face-to-face, written
119
distinguish between one way and two way
one way - no right to reply
| two-way - right to reply
120
What are the 3 barriers to communcation as identified by Shannon and Weaver?
technical - ability to recieve (to do with noise)
semantic - understand the message
effectiveness - act upon the message
121
What is meant by workforce planning?
deciding how many and what type of people to employ
122
what factors might you consider for what type of people to employ?
age, skills, physical fitness, experience, qualification
123
why is it important to get the right type and number of workers?
meet customer needs, financial efficiency, avoid high labour turnover
124
what might we consider when making a workforce plan?
```
do we have vacancies?
technology level?
changing needs of business?
unforeseen circumstances?
state of economy?
financial/budget constraints?
```
125
briefly explain Caryle and Galtons Trait Theory.
some people are born with the traits of a good leader.
it is hereditary
leaders develop from a born leader to an excellent leader
leaders have the characterisitcs: motivation, integrity, self-confidence, creative, intelligent
126
What are the 3 steps in the Caryle and Galton Trait Theory?
1. emerge as a leader
2. demonstrate excellence/effectivness
3. promotion
127
Explain Tannenbaum and Schmidt Contingency Approach
```
managers approach lies on a continuum
starts: rigid management, no control
finishes: freedom for team
as teams freedom increases, control decreases
TELLS -> SELLS -> CONSULTS -> JOINS
```
128
Explain what is meant by TELLS, SELLS, CONSULTS, JOINS.
TELLS informs employees of decision no questioning
SELLS attempts to 'sell' decision to employees
CONSULTS presents ideas for discussion
JOINS asks employees to make decision within limits
129
Explain Adairs 3 Circles
three elements an ideal leader should be
team, task, individual
balance these three elements
130
What is meant by motivation?
strong desire to act in a particular way and achieve a certain result
131
what is meant by morale?
'spirit'
132
What are the methods of motivation?
monetary, non monetary
133
give and outline 2 examples of non monetary motivation methods
job enrichment - more responsibility
job enlargement - more jobs to do
praise - encouraging good work
fear - threatening employees due to bad work
134
give and outline 2 monetary methods of motivation
commission - % of sales paid out to them for their work
profit sharing - profit is shared amongst staff
bonus payments - extra money for targets
piece rates - set amount for each item manufactured
135
List the 9 methods of motivation people
```
taylor
mayo
mcclelland
Herzberg
maslow
vroom
drucker
locke
peters
```
136
What was Taylor's theory?
scientific
piece rate payments
simple mundane tasks
137
What was Mayo's theory?
physiological factors
recognition helps employees
communication impacts productivity
138
What is McClellands theory?
three needs theory
achievement, affiliation, power
if needs identified they can be motivated properly
139
What is Herzberg's theory?
two factor theory
hygiene and motivation
hygiene stops demotivation
140
What is Maslow's theory?
```
5 S's
survival/pyscological
saftey
social
self esteem
self actualisation
need to meet one below to get one above
```
141
What is Vrooms theory?
expectancy
| instrumentality - will i get a reward?
142
what is the equation for motivation?
motivation = instrumentality x (valance x expectancy)
143
What is Drucker's Theory?
```
'King of Management Theory'
Management by objectives
people are tat the
centre
Knowledge worker
```
144
What is Locke's theory?
goal setting theory
employees like to have goals and targets
5 principles: clarity, challenge, feedback, commitment, task complexity
145
What was Peters' theory?
excellence theory
| people, customers, and action not numbers and control
146
What is meant by employee/employer relations?
the relationship between employers and employees
