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A-Level Business Studies (WJEC) > Key words > Flashcards

Key words Flashcards

1
Q

what are human resource departments responsible for?

A

all aspects of managing the people who work in business.

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2
Q

What are the important HR objectives?

A
  • ensure HR are employed cost-effectively
  • pay rates should be competitive but not excessive
  • Achieve acceptable staff utilisation
  • minimise staff turnover
  • measure returns on investments in training
  • ensure jobs are suitable, achievable workloads
  • avoid too many under utilised or over stretched staff
  • make the best of employees’ skills.
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3
Q

What are the main activities of HR department?

A
  • recruitment and selection
  • review pay and working conditions for employees
  • organise employee training and appraisal
  • manage communication with staff
  • ensure business complies with employment-related legislation
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4
Q

What is a flexible workforce and why it may be needed?

A

designed to provide labour in the quantities required at the time that business need it. It designed to meet changing demand patterns and provide labour specifically when required.

every business has changing demands for labour, can be related to changes in economy, seasonal changes or even as demand fluctuates from day to day.

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5
Q

Types of flexible working?

A
  • part time staff
  • flexible hours
  • zero hours contract
  • home working / teleworking
  • hot desking
  • temporary staff
  • job sharing
  • multi skilling
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6
Q

What is part time working

A

As defined by Labour Market Trends published by National Statistics as ‘ people who work not more than 30 hours a week’.

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7
Q

What is flexible hours?

A

> agreed number of working hours.

> made up of core hours which must be worked, remainder of contracted hours can be worked on flexible basis.

> flexitime - working number of hours in day or week but able to choose what hours, but if short days then longer hours.

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8
Q

What is zero hours contracts?

A

> employee has to be available for work but not guaranteed any work.

> provides flexibility

> no income security as if labour demand falls.

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9
Q

Homeworking

A

> work from home
less stress of commuting
business benefit from reduction in overheads if less office space required.

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10
Q

Hot desking

A

> employees sharing communal computers and desks instead of being individually allocated a work station.

> number of employees greater than number of desks.

> e.g. British airways, Virgin media and Manchester Digital all implemented hot desking.

> there is complain about break down of workplace relationships and feel disconnected from organisation.

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11
Q

Temporary staff

A

> cover maternity leave, for short period of time.
can happen through employment agencies
temporary contracts been criticised by trade unions as offers little security or career development.

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12
Q

Job sharing

A

2 people share same job often 50/50 split.
> allows for career break.
> can last for number of years

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13
Q

Multi skilling

A

> business training their workforce to be able to work effectively across wide range of tasks.
great degree of flexibility
better motivation of employees and easier to fix problem.
can be developed through techniques like mentoring, job rotation/ job shadowing.

e.g. police, construction, management, education (teachers).

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14
Q

what is workforce planning?

A

process of calculating the number of employees a business needs in short term and the long term and matching employees to businesses requirements.

> ensures that business has labour required to achieve their objectives.

> business need to plan for their future labour requirements both in long term and short term

> in short term business needs to fulfil their immediate labour requirements i.e. filling vacancy for maternity leave.

> in long term if business planning expansion, they will need to prepare to recruit and train more people.

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15
Q

Workforce planning steps

A
  1. corporate objectives set HR needs
    (increase production, launch new products, incrase market share, open new stores, expand into new market).
  2. analyse existing workforce
    (calculating number of employees that work in that particular job, gathering info on employees age, qualifications, length of service and performance–allows business to understand their workforce better, firm should also conduct skills audit to help much existing skills with those are needed)

3.assess future needs (Demand for labour)
(Forecast type and number of employees that mean requiring the future)

  1. Identify gaps in workforce
    (skills gap or gap in employee numbers required - can be met through recruitment, promotion, training)
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16
Q

Factors affecting workforce planning

A
  • business objectives (increasing output, opening new branches = require employees)
  • Labour market changes ( implications for recruitment and retention of staff. engineers short supply, less undergraduates choosing to study discipline)
  • Demographic and social change ( i.e. ageing population affects both demand for products and services & workforce supply)
  • technological change (leading to large change in work and skills needed in job).
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17
Q

Benefits and importance of human resource planning

A
  • helps business achieve its corporate objectives by insuring business has a workforce of right size, right skills, right place.
  • Analysing current workforce and forecasting future requirement allows to identify skill gaps which can then be addressed avoiding future problems
  • Encourages manages to prepare, plan the changes than simply reacting to them.
  • Careful planning, preparation means business can ensure they have enough employees to meet
    demand, also ensure that resources are not wasted on employing more staff than needed
  • Better to handle workforce implications one significant change
  • Improve communication, decision-making process.
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18
Q

What is recruitment?

A

process of identifying the need for new employee, defining job and appropriate person for it and attracting number of suitable candidates.

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19
Q

Recruitment and selection process?

A
  1. Job analysis
    (using workforce planning to identify gap in workforce, job analysis identifies and determines requirements of jobs).
  2. job description
    (detailed document defining specific requirements of job incl: job title, place of work, responsiblities, employment conditions).
  3. person specification
    (description of skills, knowledge and experience needed)
  4. job advert
    (advertise vacancy i.e. internally: notice board/ in house web pages or externally: newspaper, recruitment agency)
  5. shortlisting
    (matching applications and person specification to narrow field of applicants)
  6. interview
    (choosing right candidate)
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20
Q

Reasons to recruit staff

A
  • business expansion
  • existing employees leave work i.e. retirement, change of job.
  • new employees with new skills needed.
  • business relocating - not every employee will move to location.
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21
Q

Job analysis

A

> systematic process of determining skills, duties, knowledge required for performing job in organisation.

> Important concept is that analysis conducted of JOB not person, to establish and document job relatedness of employment procedure i.e. training, selection, compensation and performance appraisal.

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22
Q

what are 2 outcome of job analysis?

A

Job description and person speciation.

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23
Q

Job description

A

sets out purpose of job and include:

  • job title
  • main tasks
  • reporting responsibilities
  • subordinates
  • employment conditions
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24
Q

Person specification

A

sets out details of person required for job role, elements may be desirable but others essential. May include:

  • skills required for complete job
  • qualifications necessary for job role
  • personal attributes
  • experience required for job role.
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25
Q

Internal recruitment

A

finding someone already employed by organisation to fill vacancy. involves promotion, reorganisation and transfers.

Internal vacancies may be placed on notice board, intranet, advertised in house magazine. If extra skills needed employee will be trained.

+ cheap and quick to recruit
+ people familiar with business so know how operates
+ opportunities for promotion = motivation
+ knowledge of candidates
+ cost of recruitment reduced
+ already known management

  • limits number of potential applicants
  • no new ideas introduced from outside
  • may cause resentment amongst candidates not appointed
  • creates another vacancy to be filled in.
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26
Q

external recruitment

A
  • job centres
  • job advertisements
  • recruitment agencies
  • universities
  • headhunting
  • personal recommendation

+ outside people bring new ideas.
+ larger pool of workers to find best candidate
+ people have wider range of experience

  • longer process
  • more expensive
  • selection process may not be affective.
27
Q

What are the methods of attracting candidates?

A
  • Job centres
  • Employment agencies
  • advertising
28
Q

Selection methods of recruitment

A
  • interviews
  • Testing ( psychometric: examines traits of candidate, aptitude: examines how well candidate copes with given situation, Attainment: examines individuals ability to use specific skills).
  • selection exercises (role plays, group exercises, presentations, assessment centres)
  • work trails (trying out potential employee before job offer)
  • telephone interviews.
29
Q

Training

A

process of increasing knowledge and skills of workforce to enable them to perform job effectively.

reasons for training” new legislation, technology, expand knowledge.

30
Q

Induction training

A

introduction of new employee to business and may include

  • history of organisation
  • personnel policies
  • terms of employment
  • nature of the work
  • departmental rules.
Advantages of induction training:
\+ reduce labour turnover
\+ less mistakes made
\+ less supervision required
\+ higher quality 
\+ more motivation, greater empowerment
\+ better recruitment 
\+ easier to implement change.
31
Q

Training methods

A
  • on the job training e.g. mentoring, job rotation, in house courses
  • off the job training e.g. vocational courses ( college or uni) and distance learning and e-learning (trainee controls pace and timing of own learning i.e. open uni courses, e-learning is online).
  • Apprenticeships
32
Q

What is appraisal

A

process of evaluating usefulness of employee to business. They are carried out 1 or 2 a year.

  • supervisors who work with employee will conduct appraisal
  • self appraisal, employee assess own performance; compared with supervisors assessment.
  • peer appraisal, conducted amongst fellow colleagues.
  • 360 appraisal, ratings gathered from colleagues, managers, supervisors and even customers. Provides detailed feedback on performance and rated across different stakeholders.
33
Q

What are benefits of appraisal?

A
  • can improve performance
  • identify training needs
  • identify promotion potential
  • provide info for HR planning.
34
Q

What is motivation?

A

desire or drive to complete task.

The will to work, comes from enjoyment of the work itself or from desire to achieve certain goals i.e. earn more money or achieve promotion.

2 types of motivation: financial and non-financial.

35
Q

Benefits of motivated workforce

A
  • reduces absenteeism and labour turnover
  • improves productivity
  • improves quality
  • improved industrial relations with trade union.
  • good reputation
36
Q

Financial methods of motivation

A
  • piece work (employees paid per item produced)
  • Fringe benefits (payment other than wage, i.e. medical insurance, company cars, laptops etc.)
  • performance related pay (employees paid bonus upon reaching specific target).
  • profit sharing (system where by employees receive proportion of company’s profits.
  • share ownership ( business offer possibility of purchasing shares in company).
37
Q

Advantages and disadvantages of financial motivation

A

+ workers like to earn more money, as improves their standard of living

+ motivates workers to reach certain target

+ for some, money is major motivator.
___________________________________________________________________________
- financial incentives is short term impact on motivation

  • may cause jealously
  • some may feel carrying some of their employees.
  • when target not reached, workforce may be resentful, especially if not hitting target out of their control i.e. bad management and late suppliers etc.
38
Q

Non-financial motivators

A
  • empowerment (allows employees to take responsibility for decisions within business)
  • job enlargement (giving employees more work to do of similar nature)
  • Job rotation ( employee changing tasks within different departments)
  • Job enrichment (give employees greater responsibility by extending their role)
  • Team working (employees working together to achieve shared goal.
39
Q

Motivational Theorists

A
  • Frederick TAYLOR
  • Elton MAYO
  • Abraham MASLOW
  • HERTZBERG
40
Q

Expectancy theories

A
  • Victor VROOM

- PORTER & LAWLER

41
Q

Frederick TAYLOR

A

specific management theory

made 3 assumptions about human behaviour after observation of people at work.

  1. people concerned with maximising their own economic gain
  2. people respond to individuals not as groups
  3. people can be treated in standardised fashion like machines.

Believed, money would motivate people in work place and pay should be linked to amount produced, therefore employees that produced most should be paid most.

Implementing Taylor’s theory should mean businesses should see increase in productivity as employees have incentive to produce more. Linking reward to performance is fair. However, TAYLOR overlooks fact that people work for reasons other than money.

42
Q

Elton MAYO

A

MAYO & HAWTHORNE, believed could be better motivated by having social needs met whilst at work.

He conducted series of experiments at Hawthorne factory in Chicago.

  • isolated 2 groups of women workers and studying effects of changing working conditions to their productivity.
  • improved working conditions by introducing tea breaks, shorter working weeks, improving lighting. When changed everything back productivity stayed the same.

From experiments concluded that worker best motivated by:

  1. better communication
  2. management involved
  3. working in groups or teams.
43
Q

Abraham MASLOW

A

Hierarchy of needs.

Theory has more individualistic approach to motivating employees, and classified needs of employees.

Employee starts at bottom of hierarchy and seek to satisfy basic needs, once satisfied it will fail to be motivator and then move onto next level of hierarchy.

Problem with hierarchy is that more than one need may be important and people may not move in order that Maslow offered.
Managers must consider where all workers need to have all levels satisfied.
- expensive to satisfy all needs of all employees up to and including self-actualisation.
- only realistic to satisfy basic and security needs for mass of business’s workers but concentrate on satisfying higher needs of those who are core to future of business.

44
Q

Hertzberg

A

2 factor theory, identified job attitudes of 200 accountants and engineers who were asked to recall their positive or negatove feeling at work and reason why. He put forward 2 factor theory.

Hygiene factors - leave employees feeling dissatisfied, improving hygiene factors can remove dissatisfaction but not motivate.

  • company policies and administration
  • supervision of employees
  • working conditions
  • salary
  • relationship with fellow workers.

Motivators - give employees job satisfaction:

  • personal achievement of goals
  • recognition for achievement
  • interest in work itself
  • responsibility for greater and more complex duties
  • personal growth and advancement.

Hygiene factors need need to be satisfied then motivation can happen.

45
Q

Expectancy theories explanation

A

motivation theory first proposed by V Vroom and later by Porter and Lawler.

theory suggest that individuals motivation is affected by reward they expect to receive for completing task.

46
Q

Victor VROOM

A

ET deals with motivation and management.
- suggested relationship between people’s behaviour at work and goals based on individual factors i.e. personality, skills, knowledge, experience and abilities.

for individual to be motivated need to achieve expectancy and then by achieving outcome instrumentality it would result in valence.

3 beliefs:
- expectancy diff expectations and levels o confidence of capability

  • instrumentality - perception of employees whether they get what they desire if its been promised by manager. Management must ensure promises of rewards are fulfilled and employees are aware of it.
  • Valence refers to emotional orientations people hold with respect to outcomes (rewards). depth of want of employee for extrinsic (money, promotion, time-off, benefits) or intrinsic (satisfaction) rewards. Managers must discover what employee’s value.
47
Q

Autocratic leadership

A
  • where manager sets objectives, allocates tasks and insists on obedience.
  • Group becomes dependent on him or her.
  • members of group are often dissatisfied with leader,
  • need for high levels of supervision and poor levels of motivation amongst employees.
  • theory X manager, no time of consideration of Maslow’s higher needs or Hertzberg’s motivating factors.
  • no employee involvement in decision making.
    e. g. Adolf Hitler and Gordan Ramsey.
48
Q

Bureaucratic leadership

A

process of management style that is rooted in paper based checks and counter checks on decision or actions.
- operates with hierarchal structures.
employees allowed to use discretion only within delegated limits.
- clear job descriptions which can limit employee’s ability to act in situations that are unusual or unexpected.
- each employee know what they are doing and so task are performed a lot quicker and more efficiently .
- those secure with their roles are more likely to cooperate with others.
- disadvantage is that type of leadership is discouragement of innovation and ability to adapt to change.

49
Q

Democratic leadership

A

Type of leader consults with subordinates in decision making process.

  • subordinates involved with managers in designing jobs and tasks involved.
  • ideally suited to implementation of soft HRM policies.
  • democratic leaders will need to communicate effectively with employees to consult, persuade and receive feedback.
  • can result in motivated workforce and committed to organisation and also promote creativity and better quality decisions.
    e. g. law firm
50
Q

Paternalistic

A
  • leaders make all decisions and no employee involvement.
  • paternalistic leaders may attempt to persuade employees that decisions are made in best interest of all concerned.
  • they will consider welfare of employees.

e.g. Taylor Ford

51
Q

Laissez Faire

A
  • allows employees to carry out activities freely within broad limit.
  • relaxed atmosphere, but few guidelines and directions.
  • can result in poor productivity and lack of motivation as employees have little incentive to work hard.

e.g. google

52
Q

Leadership

A

relationship through which one person influences the behaviour or actions of other people.

essential qualities:

  • courage
  • confidence
  • concentration
  • passion
  • values
  • intellectual skills
  • interpersonal skills
  • realistic aspirations
  • vision
  • communicative skills
  • creativity
  • innovation
  • commitment
  • identify and respond to changes.
53
Q

Theories of leadership

A

Fiedler’s contingency model

  • didn’t believe leaders were very good at changing or adapting their style - makes difficult to suit changing circumstances.
  • leadership style fixed
  • employees rate person who’ve least enjoyed working with.
  • high score = relationship orientated leader
  • low score = task orientated leader.
54
Q

employee performance management

A

process of establishing shared workforce understanding about whats to be achieved at organisational level.
- aligning organisational objectives withe employee’s agreed measures, skills, competency requirements, development plans and delivery of results.

55
Q

Organisational structure

A

way business is designed/structured

defines how activities like task allocation, coordination and supervison directed towards the achievement of organisational aims.

56
Q

Matrix structure

A

individuals work across teams and projects as well as within their own department or function.

Get people with particular skill together into project teams.

57
Q

dismissal

A

when employer ends employment contract

58
Q

Trade unions

A

organisation that employees pay to join to gain greater power and security at work.

Trade union is financed and run by their members.

  • represent workers
  • Unison is Uk’s largest trade union.
59
Q

Collective bargaining

A

joining together, workers have more chance of having voice and influence whereas individual worker has very little power to influence decisions.

60
Q

Why do people join trade union?

A
  • represenattion
  • negotitation of pay and conditions with employers
  • ensure high standards of health and safety
  • union members can benefit from wide range of services
  • support development of equal opportuities policies
61
Q

Role of trade unions?

A
  1. Represent
  2. Negotiate
  3. Campaign
  4. Improve job security and conditions
62
Q

ACAS

A

Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service - helps find solution acceptable for both sides.
- sets up disputes but only has a role to play when it is invited by both sides to conciliate or arbitrate.

63
Q

Capacity

A

total output which can be produced with existing resources

64
Q

capacity utilisation

A

extent to which maximum capacity of firm is being used.

A-Level Business Studies (WJEC) (10 decks)

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