Managing People Flashcards
Identify the key features of:
TREATING STAFF AS AN ASSET
Seen as a source of competitive advantage
Employees seen as individuals and their needs are planned for accordingly;
Flatter structures;
Emphasis on training and development; Culture of empowerment and delegation; Comprehensive remuneration packages (e.g. company iPhone) to incentivize and recruit talent
Treat employees as the most important resource in the business
Identify the key features of:
TREATING STAFF AS A COST
Treat employees as simply a resource/ overhead;
Short-term/reactive changes in staff numbers (recruitment/redundancy);
Minimal investment in training and development;
Taller structures;
Little emphasis on empowerment and delegation;
Remuneration packages are enough to recruit and retain staff
Identify three methods that can be used to achieve a flexible workforce:
- Multi-skilling
- Part-time and temporary workers
- Flexible hours and home working
The value to a business of:
A FLEXIBLE WORKFORCE
cost-effective and efficient with ability to save on overheads when employees work from home or less downtime for machinery with 24/7 production; attract higher levels of skills by attracting and retaining a more diverse workforce; better morale and more motivated workers; less absenteeism, improved competitiveness
The value to a business of:
GOOD EMPLOYER AND EMPLOYEE RELATIONS
More motivated workforce; more productive employees; less conflict and industrial action; lower rates of absenteeism and staff turnover
What’s the difference between:
DISMISSAL AND REDUNDANCY
Dismissal is when an employee’s contract is terminated due to a breach of the terms of that contract by the employee, whereas redundancy is when an employee loses his/her job because the job itself is no longer needed, maybe as a result of downsizing, new technology, duplication of roles or closure
What’s the difference between:
INDIVIDUAL APPROACH AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING IN RELATION TO EMPLOYER / EMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIPS
An individual approach is when employees and employers establish a relationship on an individual level, as the terms of conditions of the employment is agreed and conflict resolved by the individual employee and the employer. Alternatively, collective bargaining occurs when a group of employee representatives with the involvement of a trade union negotiates with an employer on behalf of all employees who are members
Identify four costs associated with the recruitment, selection and training process:
1 Lost output from recruiting a new employee (lower short-term productivity) 2 Logistical cost of running the process – staff time 3 Cost of advertising 4 Cost of running assessment centres
INDUCTION TRAINING
The introductory training for employees new to an organisation; involves specific activities such as tours, how to use IT, use the intranet systems, social gatherings with new colleagues etc.
INTERNAL RECRUITMENT BENEFITS
Cheaper and quicker
Employee already familiar with culture and operating systems
INTERNAL RECRUITMENT DRAWBACKS
Lack of new ideas
Creates another vacancy to be filled
EXTERNAL RECRUITMENT BENEFITS
Larger pool of candidates from which to select Might have more specific skills/knowledge or expertise that business needs
EXTERNAL RECRUITMENT DRAWBACKS
More expensive and time-consuming
May not guarantee best candidate and cultural fit might not work
ON-THE-JOB TRAINING BENEFITS
Employees can remain productive during the process
Improving while doing – more likely to be effective
ON-THE-JOB TRAINING DRAWBACKS
Quality is dependent on the ability of the trainer Might not be a conducive environment to learn/develop
OFF-THE-JOB TRAINING BENEFITS
Wider range of skills can be obtained
Can learn from experts
OFF-THE-JOB TRAINING DRAWBACKS
More expensive
Lost working time and potential output if employee away from doing the job
HIERARCHY definition
The structure of the workforce within an organisation, often represented through an organisation chart and shows the number of management levels
CHAIN OF COMMAND
The route of communication as it travels down the levels of the hierarchy
SPAN OF CONTROL
The number of subordinates that a manager is in direct control of
A CENTRALISED STRUCTURE
In a centralized structure, decision-making remains firmly at the top of the hierarchy, with communication one-way and top-down
A DECENTRALISED STRUCTURE
In a decentralized structure the decision-making is more dispersed, passed down to more junior managers and to individual business units or regional offices. Communication is more two-way, with delegation and empowerment key features.
Identify three characteristics of a
Tall organisational structure:
Tall organisational structure:
Narrow span of control
Many layers of hierarchy
More opportunities for promotion (more management positions available)
3 characteristics of a flat organisational structure
Flat organisational structure:
Employees given more responsibility
Fewer management levels
Wide span of control
Two ways in which the organisational structure of a business can impact on business efficiency and motivation:
Too many layers might impact on cost and efficiency as communication might be slower and might lead to more errors
Depending on nature of workers, empowerment, delegation and responsibility might be key drivers for motivation and productivity – suggest need for a flatter, more decentralized structure
Two benefits to a business of employee motivation:
Higher labour productivity levels
Improved quality
What’s the difference between:
MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP
Leadership focuses on the ability of an individual to influence, motivate and enable others to contribute toward the effectiveness and success of the organisations of which they are members; whereas, management comprises directing and controlling a groups and individuals towards accomplishing a goal.
2 benefits of AUTOCRATIC LEADERSHIP
Clear who is in control
Faster communication
2 drawbacks of AUTOCRATIC LEADERSHIP
Lower morale
Less staff input/feedback
PATERNALISTIC LEADERSHIP
BENEFITS
Decisions more likely to be accepted
Genuine concern for employees
PATERNALISTIC LEADERSHIP DRAWBACKS
Less motivated employees Potential for conflict
Bad decisions from above cause major employee dissatisfaction.
The employees will become more and more dependent on the employer, which can cause an increase in necessary supervision in order to get things done in a timely and appropriate manner.
DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP
BENEFITS
More empowered staff
Better morale
DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP DRAWBACKS
Time-consuming to make decisions
Potential conflict if ideas are not followed through
LAISSEZ-FAIRE LEADERSHIP BENEFITS
More creative decision-making
Highly skilled staff might be more productive with greater autonomy
LAISSEZ-FAIRE LEADERSHIP DRAWBACKS
Potential for staff to drop output levels if unsupervised
Risk of quality issues
3 Roles of an entrepreneur
Creating and setting up a business
Running and expanding a business
Innovation within a business
3 Characteristics and skills of an entrepreneur:
Organising
Financial management
Communication
3 Barriers to entrepreneurship:
Lack of finance
Legal barriers/red tape
Fear of failure
3 Financial motives for setting up a business
Profit maximisation
Profit satisficing
Wealth creation
PROFIT SATISFICING
Satisficing behaviour is an alternative business objective to maximising profits. It means a business is making enough profit to keep shareholders happy or it’s sufficient for investors to maintain confidence in the management they appoint.
3 Non-financial motives for setting up a business
Ethical stance
Social entrepreneurship
Independence
What’s the difference between:
ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INTRAPRENEURSHIP
Entrepreneurship is about having a business idea and then putting it into action and making a success of it; whereas intrapreneurship is where individuals within an existing business create and develop new opportunities, which leads to new parts of the business or even new businesses being formed.
Five possible objectives of a business
Increase sales
Survival
Increase market share
Improve employee welfare
Increase customer satisfaction
SOLE TRADER 2 BENEFITS
Owner keeps all of the profit Owner has complete control
SOUL TRADER DRAWBACKS
Owner has unlimited liability
Owner may struggle to raise finance
PARTNERSHIP 2 BENEFITS
Easy to form with no legal formalities
Partners can specialize in their own areas of expertise
PARTNERSHIP 2 DRAWBACKS
Partners might disagree leading to conflict
Limited growth potential
PRIVATE LIMITED COMPANY 2 BENEFITS
Shareholders have limited liability
More capital can be raised by issuing shares
PRIVATE LIMITED COMPANY 2 DRAWBACKS
Must publish financial information Expensive set up costs
PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY 2 BENEFITS
Large amounts of finance can be raised to fund growth
Increased market power
PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY 2 DRAWBACKS
Threat of takeover
Greater shareholder pressure for short-term rewards
Identify four further forms of business:
Franchise
Limited partnership
Social enterprise
Private public partnership
OPPORTUNITY COST
When choosing between different alternatives, the opportunity cost is the benefit lost from the next best alternative to the one that has been chosen
TRADE-OFF
Where a decision-maker faces a compromise between two different alternatives; more of one thing leads to less of another
Difficulties from developing from an entrepreneur to a leader
1
Adapting a new mindset:
As the business grows, it requires more control to be passed on to other individuals and to trust others to do the job; a lack of trust could become a barrier to development and further growth
difficulties in developing from an entrepreneur to a leader: lack of leadership qualities
entrepreneurs are ideas people and enjoy turning concepts into reality, but as the business operates and grows the individual might lack the communication, organizational and delegation skills in order to get the most out of the rest of the employees
What is red tape?
Excessive bureaucracy or adherence to official rules and formalities.
Taylor and Maslow’s approach to motivating employees
Taylor’s approach focused on money as a motivator, that employees would work harder if they were paid piece-rate, i.e. by their level of output per unit of time; whereas Maslow’s approach focused on a group of needs that are placed in a hierarchy, whereby individuals worked to satisfy these needs in ascending order – once the more basic needs had been satisfied, only then would the individual work towards satisfying the next need in the hierarchy
5 FINANCIAL INCENTIVES
Piecework Commission Bonus Profit share Performance-related pay
NON-FINANCIAL INCENTIVES
Delegation Consultation Empowerment Team working Flexible working Job enrichment Job rotation Job enlargement
