Human Resources

Question 1

Describe a tall organisational structure

Answer 1

Long chain of command, Many layers of management, Each manger has a narrow span of control

Question 2

Describe a flat organisational structure

Answer 2

Short chain of command, each manager has a narrow span of control

Question 3

Describe a centralised organisation

Answer 3

Major decisions are made by one person or a few senior managers at the top of the hierarchy

Question 4

Describe a decentralised organisation

Answer 4

Authority to make most decisions is shared out / delegated to regional manager or to more junior employees

Question 5

Give a + and - of organising by function

Answer 5

+ Specialists can focus on their particular job

- Different departments may not work well together

Question 6

Give a + and - of organising by product

Answer 6

+ Managers can make decisions relevant to each product sector
- Wasteful duplication of resources

Question 7

What is in a contract of employment?

Answer 7

Job title, Starting date, hours, wage, date of payment, where the employees working, holidays

Question 8

How many hours do full-time staff work weekly?

Answer 8

About 35-40 hours

Question 9

How many do part-time staff work weekly?

Answer 9

About 10-30 hours

Question 10

What is job sharing?

Answer 10

When two employees share the work and pay of one full-time job

Question 11

What is a zero-hour contract

Answer 11

The employer doesn’t have to offer any work. Nor does the employee have to accept any work

Question 12

What is internal recruitment?

Answer 12

Recruiting current employees into new roles

Question 13

+ and - of internal recruitment

Answer 13

+ Cheap

- No new ideas, leaves a vacancy to fill

Question 14

What is external recruitment?

Answer 14

Recruiting from outside the business

Question 15

+ and - of external recruitment

Answer 15

+ Job advert will be seen by more people

- Expensive to advertise

Question 16

What effect does picking good recruits have?

Answer 16

High productivity, high quality output, good customer service, staff retention

Question 17

What is induction training?

Answer 17

Introduces new employees to their workplace and makes them feel welcome

Question 18

What is on-the-job training?

Answer 18

The employee is shown how to do their job and then they practice.

Question 19

What is off-the-job training?

Answer 19

Staff learn away from their workplace.

Question 20

Benefits of training

Answer 20

More skilled workers, increased job satisfaction, more motivated staff.

Question 21

What does motivated staff mean for the business?

Answer 21

The staff are more productive leading to lower unit costs and a higher profit margin.

Question 22

Define commision

Answer 22

Paid to sales staff for every item they sell, it is given to them on top of a small salary

Question 23

Define profit sharing

Answer 23

A percentage of the company’s profits are shared with workers

Question 24

What is a fringe benefit?

Answer 24

A reward that isn’t part of a worker’s main income such as a company car or discounts on the company’s products or services.