Managing People

Question 1

How may an employee view their employees as a cost?

Answer 1

A
like other costs they will try to minimise it wherever possible
-paying only national minimum wage
-using zero-hour contacts
-neglecting investment in training
using financial intensives to raise productivity
-providing the minimum legal ‘employee rights’ in relation to sick leave, holidays pay and working conditions

Question 2

What is a downside to treating employees as a cost?

Answer 2

treating them like a cost may lower employment costs, but it may also be a ‘false economy’
this is because productivity might be lower due to poor motivation
Staff turnover and absenteeism mayy also be higher and there may be more conflict between staff and management.
treating staff as costs may leave workers feeling exploited, neglected., stressed and unhappy with their work

Question 3

what is a flexible workforce?

Answer 3

a workforce that can respond in quantity and type to changes in market demand

Question 4

what is Multi-skilling?

Answer 4

the process of increasing the skills of employees

Question 5

what is Outsourcing and why is it useful/not useful

Answer 5

getting other people or businesses to undertake work that was originally done in-house
keeps costs lower and lets you do more
however there is loss of control, could hold up an production process and employees may not like it as they feel their jobs are being threatened

Question 6

Zero hour contract

Answer 6

a type of employment contract between an employer and an employee. It effectively means that employers are not obliged to guarantee any working hours to a worker

Question 7

what is redundancy

Answer 7

there is no work for the person to do
as the job no longer exists in the business
some people are not covered
e.g. those coming towards the end of their contract or apprenticeship

Question 8

when can conflicts occur between employer and employee?

Answer 8

A
rate of pay
- Introduction of technology - may fear job losses or may not be confident with it
- flexible working –> zero hours are not popular
work conditions –> employees want better conditions

Question 9

what is collective bargaining?

Answer 9

A
a method of determining conditions of work and terms of employment through negotiation between employers and employee representatives

trade union represent the workers and negotiate conditions

Question 10

What is on-the-job training?

Answer 10

training while on the job through:

learning form other workers
mentoring
job rotation