Human Resources Flashcards
What are the 3 HR objectives
- matching the workforce to the needs of the business
- maintain employer/employee relations
- make full use of the workforces potential
what are the 3 internal influences on the HR objectives
- the corporate objectives
- that attitudes andbeliefs of senior mangers
- the type of product
what are the 4 external influences on the HR objectives
- the state of the market
- price elasticity of demand for the product
- corporate image
- employment legislation
what is the philosophy of a hard and soft strategy?
hard - employees are seen as a resource
soft - employees are seen as the most important and valuable resource
what time scale to a hard and soft strategy see?
hard - hired and fired
soft - workforce are used as efficiently as possible to achieve long term corporate objectives
what leadership style is associated with hard and soft strategies?
hard - autocratic
soft - democratic
what motivation techniques do hard and soft strategies use?
hard - pay
soft - empowerment and delegation
5 advantages and disadvantages of a hard strategy
+ managers have complete control
+ easy to adapt the business to respond to changes in the market
+ cheap as low skilled workers on minimum wage
x high labour turnover
x demotivating
5 advantages and disadvantages of a soft strategy
\+ good reputation \+ more people can contribute ideas \+ creates a more creative workforce x expensive x hard to change the workforce in response to a change
the 5 stages of a workforce plan
1) what do you want to achieve
2) look at the current workforce
3) look at what workforce is neede
4) compare them -look for any gaps
5) review plan
Internal influences on workforce plans
- corporate plans
- marketing plans
- operations plnas
- financial constraints
- the type of business
external influences on workforce plans
- sales forecasts
- demographic trends
- wage rates
- technological changes
- changes in legislation
3 issues in implementing workforce plans
- the cost
- employer employee relations
- corporate image
advantages and disadvantages of workforce plans
+ good for planning for the future
+ good for assessing whether the objectives are feasible
+ matched the workforce for the needs of the business
x expensive
x only as accurate as the info its based on
the 4 types of organisational structures
- formal
- matrix
- entrepreneurial
- informal
what is centralised an decentralised power
central - power at the top
decentral - employees have more power
advantages and disadvantages of traditional structures (6 points)
+ clear chain of command
+ clear promotion path
+ employees are loyal to their department
- this loyalty could result in competitiveness which is bad for the business
- communication only vomes down and is hard to do horizontally
- business is slow to respond to customer needs
what is a matrix structure?
organised into product teams
both a chief executive and project manager are in charge
they focus on the task in hand e.g the launch of a new product
advantages and disadvantages of matrix structures
+focuses on tasks that help with business success
+ business is flexible and responsive to customer needs
+ motivating
+ skill and ideas are shared
- conflict can occur between the 2 leaders
- staff are skilled so expensive
what are entrepreneurial structures?
- the decisions are very centralised
- only some people make the decisions and everyone else follows
advantages and disadvantages of entrepreneurial structures
+ rapid decisions can be made
- core workers have to make the right decisions
- hard to manage as the business grows
what are informal structures?
there is no obvious structure e.g doctors
advantages and disadvantages of informal structures
- lacks coordination
- not much communication
- no cleat direction of where the business is going
what 6 things affect your decision about what organisational structure to have?
- size of the business
- skills of the workforce
- culture of the organisation
- nature of the product
- the corporate objectives
- the business environment
what is delayering?
removing layers from the structure
what are the advantages and disadvantages of delayering?(9 points)
\+ reduces costs \+speeds up decision making \+ lower down workers get more work which is motivating \+ communication improves - knowledge and experience is lost -redundancies costs - loss of motivation - training - increased work which can be stressful
are temporary workers increasing or decreasing?
increasing
are part time workers increasing or decreasing?
decreasing
are the self employed increasing or decreasing?
increasing
are contractors and consultants increasing or decreasing?
increasing
are full time employees increasing or decreasing?
decreasing
what are core and peripheral workers?
core - full time, highly skilled, trained, important roles, job security
peripheral - part time, temp, self employed, hired and fired when needed
why is homeworking a good thing? (4 points)
+motivating
+ take out travelling itmes
+ less pollution
+ don’t have to pay office rent
What are the disadvantages of homeworking (3 points)
x less communication
x less social interaction
x managers can’t monitor work
What is outsourcing?
paying a person or business to do a part of the production process
what is informal and informal communication?
formal - board meetings, emails, letter, team briefings
informal - gossip
issues in communicating with employees
- it has to be a 2 way process
- the right management style is needed
- the organisational structure should make it easy
what is collective bargaining?
negotiations between management and employees representation over pay and other conditions. The employee representative argues for all employees to receive the same things
what is individual bargaining?
individuals are paid according to their contribution. This reduces labour costs and is an incentive for employees to work hard.
what is more popular nowadays, individual or collective bargaining?
individual bargaining
2 methods of employee representation
trade unions and work councils
What are trade unions?
organisation of workers that strive for good pay and working conditions
what are the 3 objectives of trade unions?
- maximising pay
- safe and secure working conditions
- job security
what are work councils?
a forum with in a business where workers and management meet to discuss issues such as working conditions, pay and training. There are employee representatives.
when is it common for work councils to be used?
when there is no trade union
what are the 6 types of industrial action?
strikes picketing work to rule go slow sit in over time ban
what is picketing
when workers stand at the entrance of the business and persuade other workers to not go in
what is work to rule
only doing what you are contracted to do
what is a no strike deal?
unions agree not to strike for a certain time period in return for a pay and conditions package
What is a single union agreement?
employees agree to be represented by one union
What does ACAS do?
prevent and resolve industrial disputes
what do ACAS provide?
arbitration and conciliation
What is arbitration?
parties agree to be bound by the decision of the arbitrator
What are the 3 types of arbitration?
non binding
binding
pendulum
what is binding and non binding arbitration?
binding - parties have to take the award of the arbitrator
non binding - a neutral third party makes an award to settle the dispute
What is pendulum arbitration?
arbitrator decided entirely for one side or the other
what is conciliation
sometimes called mediation. A third neutral party encourages the continuation of negotiations and delaying industrial action. The conciliator doesn’t make any judgement
what are employment tribunals
an informal courtroom where legal disputes or unfair dismissal is settled. They involve a chairperson, employer representative and employee representative
