Managing People Flashcards

1
Q

What does it mean if staff are an asset?

A

The staff are developed and seen as a benefit to the business
-Staff will receive training
-Staff are more involved in decision making

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2
Q

What does it mean if staff are a cost?

A

The staff are seen as a cost rather than adding value to the business

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3
Q

What is multiskilling?

A

Having a workforce who can be moved around from one job to another

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4
Q

What is part time work?

A

Working less than 35 hours per week

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5
Q

What is temporary work?

A

Employees are employed for a fixed amount of time e.g six months

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6
Q

What is flexible work?

A

Employers allow flexibility in the hours that workers must be at the business or allowing work to be done at home

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7
Q

What is home working?

A

When people work from home or from other premises that is not their workplace

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8
Q

What is a zero hour contract?

A

Employees are given no set guaranteed hours

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9
Q

What is outsourcing?

A

Paying a specialist business to carry out a specific task for the business

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10
Q

What is redundancy?

A

A reduction in the size of the workforce due to mergers or closures of a business due to new technology or relocation
-Voluntary = staff close to retirement take voluntary redundancy to get a pay out
-Compulsory = where a member of staff must leave their job

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11
Q

What is dismissal?

A

An employee being fired
e.g for gross misconduct, long term illness

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12
Q

What is the difference between dismissal and redundancy?

A

People who are dismissed will receive no compensation, no reference, no help with finding a new job

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13
Q

What is individual bargaining?

A

The worker and manager sit face to face and discuss the terms and conditions of the workers contract

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14
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages of individual bargaining?

A

-There is no compromise because only the views of one worker are being discussed
However:
-The manager might not take any action following the discussion because it is only one worker

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15
Q

What is collective bargaining?

A

Involves a representative of all the workers meeting with the manger to discuss the terms and conditions of their employees

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16
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages of collective bargaining?

A

-The representatives who speak for the workforce have greater power to get action
However:
-It can lead to strikes or industrial action

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17
Q

What are the stages of recruitment?

A

Job analysis, job description, person specification, advertise the job, shortlist applications, interviews, ask for references, make the job offer and send letters of regret

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18
Q

What are costs of recruitment?

A

-Advertisement costs
-Recruitment agent costs
-Reduces productivity when the new employee is introduced
-Loss of management time during the recruitment process

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19
Q

What is internal recruitment?

A

Workers already in the business can apply for a new position
-advertisements include: newsletters, noticeboards

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20
Q

What is external recruitment?

A

Workers outside of the business can apply for the position
-advertisements include: job centres, recruitment agencies

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21
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages of internal recruitment?

A

-Candidates are loyal to the business
-Candidates already know the company culture
-Less expensive without advertising
However:
-Tension with those who aren’t selected
-Limits the number of applicants
-Brings no new ideas to the business

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22
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages of external recruitment?

A

-Fresh ideas and enthusiasm are brought into the business
-Brings experience to the business
-Larger skills pool
However:
-More costly to recruit
-Longer process
-Training time will reduce productivity within the business

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23
Q

What is on the job training?

A

Coaching or mentoring while doing the job, assistance and advice is provided by those more experienced

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24
Q

What is off the job training?

A

Involves work at home or at courses allowing employees to learn through demonstrations, talks and lectures

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25
Q

What is induction training?

A

A form of introduction for new starters in order to enable them to do work in a new profession or job role within the business

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26
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages of induction training?

A

-Provides employees with all the information they need
-Helps employees understand company culture
However:
-Must be planned effectively to ensure the business makes a good first impression
-Takes time to plan

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27
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages of off the job training?

A

-Wider range of skills are gained
-Learn from specialists and experts
However:
-More expensive
-Makes employees more likely to be poached

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28
Q

What are advantages and disadvantages of on the job training?

A

-More cost effective
-Employees are contributing to the business
However:
-Bad habits may be passed on
-May disrupt production with mistakes

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29
Q

What does chain of command mean?

A

The order in which authority and power in an organisation is wielded and delegated from the top management level to every employee within the business

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30
Q

What does hierarchy mean?

A

The ‘formal structure’ diagram showing the relationships between the people working in the business and the lines of communication

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31
Q

What does span of control mean?

A

The number of employees a manager has working for them

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32
Q

What does delegation mean?

A

Giving authority for certain decisions to those below the mangers

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33
Q

What does delayering mean?

A

When a whole layer of the organisation structure is removed

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34
Q

What are the positives of a good organisation structure?

A

-Improve communication
-Increase productivity
-Inspire innovation

35
Q

What are the negatives of a poor organisation structure?

A

-Confusion
-Lack of coordination
-Failure to share ideas

36
Q

What is an organisation structure?

A

Shows the levels of management and which employees report to whom

37
Q

What is a flat structure of organisation?

A

An organisational structure in which most middle management levels and their functions have been eliminated

38
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a flat structure?

A

-Greater communication
-Less bureaucracy and easier, quicker decision making
-Lower costs due to less management
However:
-May limit the growth of the organisation
-Structure is limited to small organisations

39
Q

What is a tall organisation structure?

A

A pyramid type of organisation that has relatively large numbers of levels in its hierarchy of authority

40
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a tall structure?

A

-Narrow span of control allows close supervision
However:
-Higher management costs
-Slower decision making
-Poor communication

41
Q

What are the three factors to think about when deciding on an organisation structure?

A

-Business size
-Industry
-Capability of employees

42
Q

What are the benefits and drawbacks of hierarchy?

A

-Clearly defines authority and responsibility
-Shows promotion paths
-Employees are loyal to their department
However:
-Departments can make decisions which only suit them rather than the whole business
-Can cause poor communication

43
Q

Why do some businesses need more complex structures?

A

-Growth
-Changes in technology
-Dynamic market
-Growing into multinational companies

44
Q

What does matrix mean?

A

A company structure in which the reporting relationships are set up as a grid rather than in the traditional hierarchy

45
Q

What does centralised mean?

A

An organisation structure where decision making power is held firmly at the top of the hierarchy amongst senior management

46
Q

What does decentralised mean?

A

An organisation structure where decision making power is spread out to include managers lower down in the hierarchy and in different locations

47
Q

What does organisation by function meaning?

A

The organisation is divided into smaller groups based on specialised functional areas
e.g finance or marketing

48
Q

What is organisation by project?

A

The organisation is divided into teams or workers with different skills who focus on one product or project

49
Q

What does a matrix structure involve?

A

Combining the traditional departments seen in functional structures with project teams, the individuals work across teams and projects as well as in their own departments

50
Q

What are the advantages of a matrix structure?

A

-Can break down traditional department barriers to improve communication
-Allows individuals to use skills in many different contexts
-Reduces costs and improves coordination as departments do not need to meet regularly

51
Q

What are the disadvantages of a matrix structure?

A

-May not be clear lines of accountability
-Hard to coordinate
-Takes time to adapt to the structure

52
Q

What are the advantages of a centralised structure?

A

-Ensures consistency of customer experience
-Easier to coordinate activities
-Easier to make changes across the whole business

53
Q

What are the disadvantages of a centralised structure?

A

-Less flexibility
-Reduces manager motivation
-Doesn’t take different locations and cultures into account

54
Q

What are the advantages of a decentralised structure?

A

-Decisions are made closer to customers
-Improved customer care
-Local managers have more authority which is good for motivation

55
Q

What are the disadvantages of a decentralised structure?

A

-Harder to keep financial control
-Less consistent levels of service across different locations

56
Q

What is motivation?

A

The ‘willingness to work’ it is the enjoyment of the work itself and the desire to achieve goals

57
Q

What is the purpose of financial motivators?

A

They are designed to motivate employees extrinsically where employees gain a monetary reward for good performance

58
Q

What is the purpose of non financial methods?

A

Intrinsic rewards aiming to inspire and engage employees in a way that money cannot

59
Q

What is a bonus and what the advantages and disadvantages?

A

A sum paid on top of a salary or wage
-Improves productivity
-Increases motivation
However:
-Costly
-May lead to jealously

60
Q

What is piecework and what are the advantages and disadvantages?

A

Employees are paid per finished item
-Workers will work longer hours to get the work done
-An incentive to do the work
However:
-May reduce quality if employees rush
-Slow workers may fall under minimum wage

61
Q

What is commission and what are the advantages and disadvantages?

A

Employees own a percentage of the sales they make
-Skilled sales people can make a lot of money
-Motivates employees to earn more
However:
-Pressuring
-Employees are selling rather than meeting customer needs

62
Q

What is profit share and what are the advantages and disadvantages?

A

The businesses profits are divided up into a percentage and given to employees
-Encourages teamwork
-Employees will try to reduce costs to earn more
However:
-Higher employees are receiving more
-People are paid regardless of their contribution

63
Q

What is performance related pay?

A

A financial reward to employees whose work is considered to have reached a required standard

64
Q

What is a consultation and what the advantages and disadvantages?

A

Giving employees a chance to be a part of the decision making process
-Allows workers to make suggestions about ways to solve problems
-Empowers workers
However:
-Time consuming process and cannot consult on all decisions

65
Q

What is empowerment and what are the advantages and disadvantages?

A

Giving people greater control over their work
-Gives control and trust
However:
-Can be seen as a cost cutting measure as delayering or making redundancies

66
Q

What is job enrichment and what are the advantages and disadvantages?

A

Attempts to give employers more responsibility by increasing the complexity of their tasks
-Learn new skills
-Reduces boredom
However:
-Increases workload leading to poor performance

67
Q

What is job rotation and what are the advantages and disadvantages?

A

The movement of employees through a range of jobs to increase interest and motivation
-Easier to cover for absent colleagues
However:
-Reduces productivity
-Requires extra training

68
Q

What is job enlargement and what are the advantages and disadvantages?

A

Involves adding extra similar tasks
-Less repetition
However:
-Basic nature of jobs is the same which reduces motivation
-Doing more for the same pay

69
Q

What is delegation and what are the advantages and disadvantages?

A

Allocating tasks to employees and giving them responsibility
-Gives managers self confidence
-Empowers managers to make decisions
However:
-May increase the workload and stress of subordinates

70
Q

What was Taylor’s theory?

A

-‘Fair days pay for a fair day’s work’
-Believed that employees would do the bare minimum if not supervised
-Argued that the main form of motivation is higher wages
-Said workers should be paid accordingly (piece rate)

71
Q

What was Mayo’s theory?

A

-Teamwork is more important than money
-Non financial motivators are most important
-Boring and repetitive work can be a demotivator

72
Q

What was Maslow’s theory?

A

-Hierarchy of needs (physiological, safety, belonging, esteem, self-actualisation)
-Once these needs are met we work at our best potential

73
Q

What was Herzberg’s theory?

A

-There are motivating factors including: interesting work, responsibility, development and achievement
-There are hygiene factors including: good pay, relationships and working conditions
-If they both are not met employees will not develop or be satisfied

74
Q

What is leadership?

A

-Skill to motivate and inspire people
-They are innovators who encourage others to accept change
-Changes the direction and business strategy

75
Q

What is management?

A

-An official position or responsibility
-They direct and manage others
-They plan and organise

76
Q

What is autocratic leadership?

A

They are leaders with full control of decision making and the employees have little to no input

77
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages of autocratic leadership?

A

-Gets things done quickly
-Good in crisis or emergency situations
-Employees feel secure as they are told what to do so require no thinking
However:
-Requires fast decision making
-Staff may feel unimportant
-Demotivating as staff cannot express their ideas

78
Q

What is democratic leadership?

A

Leadership which encourages employees participation in decision making and thinks that teamwork and communication are important

79
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages of democratic leadership?

A

-Workers are motivated as their ideas are used
-Greater freedom and input into decisions
-Employees trust their leaders more
However:
-Can be demotivating if leaders take credit for workers ideas
-Staff aren’t paid as much as managers but do the same tasks
-Slow decision making

80
Q

What is paternalistic leadership?

A

When decisions are made in a ‘father’ like style with the best interest of workers in mind, the leader makes the decisions and they shouldn’t be questioned

81
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages of paternalistic leadership?

A

-Focus is on employee welfare which improves morale
-Employee feels that the business cares for them
However:
-Creates dependency on the leader
-Subordinates have no power over decision making

82
Q

What is laissez faire leadership?

A

Gives employees as much freedom as possible, the leaders communicate the goals to employees but allows them to choose how to complete their objectives

83
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages of laissez faire leadership?

A

-Freedom for employees to make decisions
-Effective in group situations as the groups knowledge may be more useful that the leaders
However:
-Poorly defined roles in the group
-Leaders are seen as uninvolved and withdrawn
-Workers are demotivated to set their own deadlines