People in Business

Question 1

Planning your workforce

Should be monitored frequently - adapting to market needs

Answer 1

Must estimate:
>How many people you need
>What jobs they must accomplish
>What skills these require

Question 2

Recruitment and Selection

Recruitment is identifying a job and making people aware of it

Selection is finding the right person for the Job

Selection can be done through: Viewing a persons CV or Interview. Newer methods maybe be an online personality test.

Answer 2

Identifying:
>If a job exists
>What jobs exist
>What skills are needed
>What type of person is needed
>Does the business already have this person

Question 3

Job Specification + Person Specification = Job description

A sensible business would give their new employee allot of thought

Answer 3

Job specification - A detailed list of what the job role entails and potential periphery roles

Person Specification - The type of person needed for the job, personality/ appearance.

Job description - Formal document explaining these specifications

Question 4

Shortlisting - A method used for identifying potential candidates to be put through for further selection.

Removes very unsuitable people, can be seen as subjective.

Answer 4

Often done through CVs or Application forms. These require allot of effort in order to stand out the employer and make it through shortlisting stages.

Question 5

Training - Process of showing someone how to do a job, performed On or Off the job.

Answer 5

On the Job training:
The person is trained within the work place by someone who is considered an expert.
\+Saves time and money 
\+First hand experience from an expert
-Easily interrupted 
-Can be taught bad habits 

Off the Job training:
Refers to training which takes place away from the workplace. Can be expensive and this still means the employee will be new to the workplace.

Question 6

Organisation

Workforce Planning Model

Issues:

• Cost
• Time
• Scarcity of new workers

Answer 6

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Question 7

Organisational Structures - Hierarchical

Chain of command - How authority is organised in a business

Span of control - The people which a person has control over

Answer 7

Hierarchy
+Many layers of management
+Clear chain of command and spans of control
+Clear lines of progression
+People work according to their strengths

• Communication is often slow
• High dependancy on high status people
• Difficult to make up the hierarchy

Question 8

Organisational Structures - Flat

One Manager with a span of control over all employees, common among smaller businesses.

Answer 8

Flat
+Allows faster response to needed information
+Clear chain of command

• The person at the top can become under pressure if everyone is reporting to them.
• Minimal progression

Question 9

Organisational Structures - Matrix Structure

Businesses run on the basis of project teams these are given set projects managed by one central manager.

Answer 9

Matrix Structure
+Flexible working
+Teamwork enhances idea sharing and speed of tasks becomes more efficient
+Easy to see what is working out

• If not managed closely teams will follow their own objectives
• Some teams may fall behind with poor workforce

Question 10

Centralised organisations run from a central office or base.

Answer 10

Centralised
+Decisions made centrally effect overall performance of the business
+One main headquarters shows clear homebase to report to

• Focuses on corporate identity rather than specific products for customer needs
• Staff feel less involved
• Little business variation

Question 11

Decentralised organisations delegate much more of the managing responsibility to those working across the business.

Answer 11

Decentralised
+Key decisions are delegated
+Staff are empowered their opinion is relevant
+Often provide more appropriate products to suit customers

• Variation can change corporate identity
• Quality of service can suffer
• Poor management can cause poor decision making and control of budgets - pushing the business towards failure

Question 12

Motivational theories - Taylor

Answer 12

Taylor believed that people work for only one reason: money. He could best motivate a worker by offering an incentive or a threat.

Question 13

Motivational theories - Mayo

Answer 13

Mayos solution to increase motivation was to prescribe work breaks. Workers were better motivated and worked more productively under better conditions and being shown interest by their managers.

Question 14

Motivational theories - Maslow

Answer 14

He believed everyone had the same needs and these can be organised into the hierarchy of needs. These are individuals primary motivation.
>Self actualisation
>Esteem needs
>Social needs
>Safety needs
>Physical needs

Question 15

Motivational theories - Herzberg

Answer 15

Herzberg’s two factor theory consisted of Motivators: Achievement, Recognition, Responsibility, Meaningful work, Advancement and Hygiene factors: Company rules, Pay, Relationships, Working conditions, supervision.