People In Business

Question 0

What are the features of a flat structure with wide spans of control?

Answer 0

• Individual managers have less time for each subordinate and must delegate
• More delegation means greater responsibility, but this may lead to stress
• Vertical communication improves
• Reduced overhead costs should mean greater efficiency within the organisation

Question 1

What are the features of a tall structure with narrow spans of control?

Answer 1

• They offer more promotional opportunities because there are more levels on the career ladder
• More layers mean more staff, which in turn means higher company overheads
• There is tight control which could be beneficial for the organisation
• Important information may be lost in reporting up through the many levels of the hierarchy
• A longer chain of command decisions take longer to be made

Question 2

Name two ways in which you could improve the effectiveness of delegation

Answer 2

• Delegation must be based on mutual trust between manager and subordinate
• Delegate to most suitable person
• Tasks and responsibilities must be clearly explained
• Limitations of subordinates authority should be made clear

Question 3

Benefits of delegation

Answer 3

• Limit on amount of work managers carry out by themselves
• Delegation empowers and motivates workers
• Subordinates may have better local knowledge

Question 4

Drawbacks of delegation

Answer 4

• Small firms, owners are more reluctant to relinquish power
• Customers may want to speak to the manager, even though responsibilities have been delegated
• The leadership style in an organisation will largely dictate the extent to which responsibilities are delegated down the hierarchy
• Extent to which responsibilities are delegated is influenced by the skills of staff

Question 5

Name two processes of communication

Answer 5

• Sender/Communicator: Person or group sending the message
• The Message: The topic of the communication
• A Transmission: Mechanism by which a message is conveyed
• A Receiver: The person or group whom the message is aimed at
• Feedback: The response from the receiver

Question 6

Benefits of effective communication

Answer 6

• Enables business to make more informed decisions based based on better-quality info
• Easier to implement change
• Effective communication encourages more motivated work force
• Helps ensure good coordination and pursuit of corporate objectives
• Allows the organisation to be more competitive

Question 7

Name two problems caused by high labour turnover

Answer 7

• High recruitment and selection costs
• High induction and training costs
• Reduced productivity
• Low Morale among existing workers

Question 8

Name two ways in which labour turnover could be improved

Answer 8

• Monitoring trends and identifying problem areas
• Exit interviews
• Effective recruitment
• High-Quality Induction and training
• Career development

Question 9

Name two ways to reduce absenteeism

Answer 9

• Introducing more flexible working practices
• Ensuring jobs are interesting and challenging
• Improving working conditions
• Improving relations between employees and employers
• Introducing attendance bonuses

Question 10

Give two factors that must be taken into a account when recruiting

Answer 10

• Level of the job within the firm
• Size of the organisation
• Resources available to fund both recruitment and selection process
• Cost of any particular method used
• Cultural Factors

Question 11

Name two benefits of training

Answer 11

• Helps new employees reach the levels of performance of experienced workers
• It develops a knowledgable and committed workforce
• Increases efficiency and productivity
• Identifies employees potential
• Reduces costs and increases productivity
• Encourages employees to deal with change more effectively

Question 12

Give two drawbacks for F.W Taylor’s scientific management approach

Answer 12

• More boring
• More repetitive
• Loss of power for individual workers as a lack of skills was required

Question 13

Name two financial motivators

Answer 13

• Time Rates
• Profit Sharing
• Piece work
• Performance related pay
• Share ownership and share option
• Fringe benefits

Question 14

Benefits of Performance related pay(PRP)

Answer 14

• Makes direct link between pay and effort
• Reduces cost
• Increases productivity
• Improves quality
• Motivation is increased
• Labour Turnover and absenteeism is decreased

Question 15

Drawbacks of PRP

Answer 15

• Causes conflict among staff receiving different bonuses but doing the same job
• Effect on motivation may be negligible
• Often only introduced into jobs where it is hard to measure performance

Question 16

Benefits of profit sharing

Answer 16

• Reduces employees’ ‘them and us’ feelings
• Reduces resistance to change
• Provides incentives to keep cost down and productivity up

Question 17

Drawbacks of profit sharing

Answer 17

• Has little effect on motivation
• Can be uncertainty in financial planning if employees come to depend on bonuses
• Free riding could potentially occur(Slacking but still earning money from companies profit)

Question 18

Evaluate money as a motivator

Answer 18

Despite their widespread use and short term benefits, most evidence suggests that money is not a major motivator in the long term.

Question 19

Name two non-financial methods of motivating employees

Answer 19

• Job enlargement
• Job Enrichment
• Job Rotation
• Empowering Employees
• Working in teams

Question 20

Benefits of job enrichment

Answer 20

• Relieves boredom
• Ensures cover for staff who are absent
• Improves Motivation
• Encourages greater participation in the production process

Question 21

Drawbacks of Job enrichment

Answer 21

• Some may find process intimidating
• May place unwanted pressure on individual
• Could be viewed as a way to get more out of workers whilst paying them the same rate

Question 22

Benefits of Job Rotation

Answer 22

• Develops workers unused skills and presents them with challenges
• It allows workers to make greater contribution to decision making process
• Enhances workers promotional prospects
• Motivates workers

Question 23

Drawbacks of Job Rotation

Answer 23

• Increases training cost
• Decrease in output
• Less specialisation
• May be seen as a large number of boring tasks

Question 24

What are the links between organisational structure and the motivational techniques?

Answer 24

• Levels of hierarchy
• Lines of accountability
• Delegation and Empowerment
• Communication
• Flexible Working