People in business Flashcards
Motivation
The factors that influence the behavior of employees towards achieving set business goals.
Labour productivity
A measure of the efficiency of employees by calculating the output per employee.
Absenteeism
Employees’ non-attendance without a good reason.
Labour turnover
The rate at which employees leave the business.
Benefits of having a well-motivated workforce
-Low rate of labour turnover
-Low rate of absenteeism
-Good quality goods and services
-Improved productivity
-More competitive
Human needs (Maslow)
-Physical needs
-Safety needs
-Social needs
-Esteem needs
-Self-actualization
The theory of economic man (Taylor)
The view that employees are only motivated by money
Hygiene factors (Herzberg)
The factors that must be present in the workplace to prevent job satisfaction
Motivators (Herzberg)
The factors that influence a person to increase their efforts
Job dissatisfaction
How unhappy and discontent a person is with their job.
Methods of motivation
-Financial rewards
-Non-financial rewards
Financial rewards
Cash and non cash rewards paid to an employee which are used to motivate them to increase their efforts
Hourly wage rate
A payment to employees based on a fixed amount for each hour worked
Salary
A fixed annual payment to certain grades and types of staff not based on hours worked or output
Piece-rate
A payment to employees depending on the number of units produced.
Commission
A payment to sales staff based on the value of the items they sell
Bonus
An additional reward paid to employees for achieving targets set by managers
Profit sharing
An additional payment to employees based on the profits of the business
Fringe benefits
Non-cash rewards often used to recruit or to retain employees and to recognize the status of certain employees.
Non-financial rewards
Methods used to motivate employees that do not involve giving financial rewards.
Job rotation
Increasing variety in the workplace by allowing employees to switch from one task to another
Job enlargement
Increasing or widening tasks to increase variety for employees
Job enrichment
Organizing work so that employees are encouraged to use their full abilities
Job satisfaction
How happy and content a person is with their job.
Quality circles
Groups of employees who meet regularly to discuss work-related problems
Team working
Organizing production so that groups of employees complete the whole unit of work.
Delegation
Passing responsibility to perform tasks to employees lower down in the organization
Organisational structure
How responsibility and authority is shared within a business organisation.
Chain of command
The route in which authority is passed down through an organisation.
Span of control
The number of employees working directly under a manager
Hierarchy
The number of levels in an organisational structure
Functions of management
-Planning
-Organising
-Commanding
-Coordinating
-Controlling
-Delegating
Leadership styles
-Autocratic leadership
-Democratic leadership
-Laissez-faire leadership
Autocratic
A leadership style where the leader makes all the decisions
Democratic
A leadership style where employees take part in decision-making.
Laissez-faire
A leadership style where most of the decisions are left to the employees.
Trade unions
Group of workers who have joined together to ensure their interests are protected.
Internal recruitment
Filling a vacant post with someone already employed in the business
External recruitment
Filling a vacant post with someone not already employed in the business
Job description
A list of the key points about a job, job title, key duties, responsibilities and accountability.
Person specification
A list of the qualifications, skills, experience and personal qualities looked for in a successful applicant.
Shortlist
A list of candidates who are chosen from all of the applicants to be interviewed for the job.
Full time employee
-Better knowledge
-More committed
-Better communication
-Paying wages all the time
-Expensive having too many full time workers.
Part time employees
-Flexible working hours
-Cheaper than full time workers
-Have more employees during busy times
-Less trained because their work is temporary.
-Less committed
-Communication is difficult because they are not always at work.
Importance of training
-Improve the workers skills and knowledge
-Trained workers are more productive
-Decreases the amount of supervision required
-Can lead to job satisfaction
-Reduce accidents and injuries.
Induction training
A training programme to help new recruits become familiar with their workplace, the people they work with and procedures they need to follow.
On-the-job training
Training at the workplace. Watching or following an experienced employee
Off-the-job training
Training that takes place away from the workplace, eg at a college, university or specialist training providers premises.
Resignation
Termination of employment by the employee, perhaps because they have a job with a different employer
Retirement
Termination of employment due to the employee reaching an age beyond which they do not need to work
Redundancy
Termination of employment by the employer because the job is no longer needed
Dismissal
Termination by the employer because the employee has broken company rules or is nit performing work to the required standard
Communication
The exchange of information by speaking, writing or other medium
Oral communication
Communication using the spoken word.
-Faster
-Receiver can reply
-Cheaper
-Emotions are visible so can lead to issues sometimes.
-No permanent record of discussion
-Difficult for some to understand
Written communication
Written forms of communication
-Permanent record of message
-Easily sent to all people
-Feedback is harder
-Expensive
Time consuming
Visual communication
