Managing Human Capital Flashcards
Review definitions or descriptions for Section B in E1 CIMA exams. as CIMA wants from you.
Definition of natural wastage
A reduction in the number of employees or participants that occurs when people leave because they resign, retire, etc., and are not replaced due to normal turnover.
Definition of motivation (Mullins)
Motivation has been defined as “the driving force within individuals by which they attempt to achieve some goal in order to fulfill some need or expectation” (Mullins, 2007)
Concept of organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB)
The efforts of those who voluntarily undertake innovative, spontaneous tasks that go beyond their normal job role. Organ (1988) describes such behaviour as “…discretionary, not directly or explicitly recognised by the formal rewards system and that in aggregate promote effective functioning of an organisation”. Clearly such behaviour is most apparent in organisations that have positive inclusive cultures that value team work and adopt supportive management approaches.
Cultural Differences - The Power Distance Relationship
Power distance refers to the way in which power is distributed and the extent to which the less powerful accept that power is distributed unequally. Put simply, people in some cultures accept a higher degree of unequally distributed power than do people in other cultures. When in a high power distance culture the relationship between bosses and subordinates is one of dependence. When in a low power distance society the relationship between bosses and subordiantes is one of interdependence.
Australia, for example, is a low power distance country while Asian countries such as Hong Kong are at the high power distance side of the spectrum. People in high distance countries tend to believe that power and authority are facts of life. Both consciously and unconsciously, these cultures teach their members that people are not equal in this world and that everybody has a rightful place, which is clearly marked by countless vertical arrangements.
On the other hand, in lower power distance countries there is a preference for consultation and subordinates will quite readily approach and contradict their bosses. If they cannot come to a satisfactory conclusion, they may choose to involve a mediator.
The bottom line is that if you are coming from a low power distance culture and having to deal with someone in a high power distance culture nothing is going to happen without the boss’s say so… so make sure you are talking to the right person or recognise that the channels that your proposal is going to go through may take a lot longer than you originally anticipated.
An individual employee’s productivity level is influenced by a number of factors including those within the control of the organisation and those unique to a particular individual.
Describe briefly FIVE factors unique to a particular individual that are likely to influence an employee’s productivity.
Responsiveness to reward systems: an individual worker’s productivity level will depend upon the degree to which he or she is influenced by financial incentives and pay for performance rewards offered by the organisation.
Training: a worker’s productivity will vary according to how much successful relevant training has been undertaken in the past.
Work ethic: an individual’s personal work ethic and attitude to the organisation, managers and work mates will impact on productivity.
Days at work: total productive days worked and the degree of absence through ill-health, etc. will over a period have a bearing on productivity levels.
Ability and experience: inevitably past experience and innate ability will lead to varying levels of productivity between workers. For instance, some may work harder but be less productive than a colleague who instinctively works in ‘smarter’ ways.
(Other answers might include performance and motivation in response to non-financial rewards offered by the organisation).
Human resources management
acquisition, motivation, development and management of an organisation’s human resources
Hard HRM
treats employees as a resource like machinery and building
Soft HRM
treats employees as an important resource and a source of competitive advantage
Human resource planning
define and close gap between demand for labour and supply of labour
looks forward 3-5 years and is a cyclical process
HRP stages
1 strategic analysis 2 Internal analysis 3 identify the gap between demand and supply 4 put plans in place to close gap 5 review
Stage 4 of HR plan
recruitment plan training plan redevelopment plan productivity plan redundancy plan retention plan
HR cycle
1 recruitment 2 selection 3 induction 4 appraisal and training 5 motivation and retention 6 termination
Recruitment plan
agree vacancy job analysis job description person specification source candidate
Job analysis
Analyse job content
Uses of analysis are;
calculating headcount, criteria for selection, goals for training and development, job redesign, basis for recruitment adverts
Competency frameworks
attempt to identify all competencies that are required by anyone taking on a particular role
