schedule G Flashcards
Internal influences on HR objectives: corporate objective of market growth (3 points)
- employees will need training
- employees may need better working conditions to increase motivation
- increase the number of employees
Internal influences on HR objectives: the finance department has demanded that budgets are cut (3 points)
- freeze hiring
- reduce the amount of training available
- increase talent development
Internal influences on HR objectives: the operations and marketing department believe the business needs to be more innovative (3 points)
- change leadership style to more democratic
- training
- hire more innovative people
Internal influences on HR objectives: shareholder returns need to be maximised (2 points)
- make redundancies to cut costs
- increase labour productivity to maximise profit
External influences on HR objectives: Technological change (3 points)
- train staff to be able to use new tech
- increase diversity
- make roles redundant as tech can do it
External influences on HR objectives: The economic environment (2 points)
- in decline make roles redundant
- in expansion hire more staff and increase training
External influence on HR objectives: political and legal factors (1 point)
- can’t wrongfully terminate employees without solid grounds
External influences on HR objectives: social factors (2 points)
- working conditions
- diversity of workforce
soft HRM (2 points)
- employees are seen as strategic assets
- most important assets the business has
concerns with soft HRM (2 points)
- focus on training = high costs and less competitive prices
- issues with delegation and decentralisation (employee may not do the job they were told to do)
Hard HRM (2 points)
- employees are seen as a tactical resource
- viewed in the same way as machines
Concerns with hard HRM (2 points)
- Absenteeism/turnover issues
- high turnover = high costs
high employee morale =
high productivity
hackman and Oldham’s model: a well designed job may lead to (3 points)
- increased productivity
- decreased absenteeism
- increased staff retention rates
main aspects of Hackman and Oldham’s model (3 points)
- skill variety
task identity
task significance - autonomy
- feedback
factors leading to high labour turnover (5 points)
- high labour intensity
- long hours
- low pay
- repetitive work
- tech advancements
how can HR use data for decision making and planning (5 points)
- help appropriate future staffing levels
- implement rewards or sanctions
- compare branches or production lines to each other
- help with trade union negotiations
- help when considering staff redundancies
appropriately designed jobs can lead to (4 points)
- higher motivation
- higher quality
- higher satisfaction
- lower absenteeism and turnover
what is the idea behind growth need strength
if an individual wants and desires a well enriched job, their motivating potential is higher than that of an employee who doesn’t want to grow
job enrichment
increasing the level of responsibility that an employee has
job enlargement
increasing the number of responsibilities that an employee has
job rotation
varying the tasks that an employee has to complete
job empowerment
giving the employees more control over their working lives
authority
the power of an employee to instruct subordinates
subordinates
a person under the authority of control of another
hierarchy
a system in which members are ranked according to authority
span of control
shows the number of subordinates that a manager or supervisor is responsible for
delegation
passing authority down the hierarchy
tall and thin leadership structure characteristics (4 points)
- each manager has very few subordinates
- Hard HRM
- lots of managers to supervise lowly skilled workers
- ridged, communication takes a long time
wide and flat leadership structure characteristics (3 points)
- each manager has many subordinates; requires careful delegation but can achieve quick communication
- Soft HRM
- Fewer managers to organise highly skilled workers as they don’t need as much/any supervision
advantages of delegation (3 points)
- subordinates may feel empowered by gaining authority
- fosters a culture of internal recruitment
- managers are fully focused n more complex tasks
disadvantages of delegation (2 points)
- subordinates may be demotivated because of increased workload
- decreased motivation means an increased risk of employees leaving
advantages of centralised structures (4 points)
- quicker decision making: fewer staff
- consistency: aims, vision and culture of the business
- motivation: clear role/job to do
- Budgets: higher layers of management more likely to know and stick to budgets
disadvantages of centralised structures (3 points)
- Rigid: miss opportunities, always having to check with top level
- middle managers lack motivation due to little authority
- lack of productivity
Advantages of decentralised structures (3 points)
- increased motivation
- flexible decision making
- internal recruitment
disadvantages of decentralised structures (3 points)
- less consistency in decision making
- it depends upon: employee skill/experience
- ‘crisis’ suits centralised
stages of Taylors theory of motivation (5 points)
motivated by money (piece rates)
1. watch the workers
2. develop the best way to complete task
3. define clear procedures for employees
4. managers provide training based on step 3
5. calculate a realistic output per day target
what does Taylor suggest for a worker who produces less output than others
give them extra training
what does Taylor suggest for a worker who produces more output than others
give them a financial bonus
advantages of Taylors theory of motivation (3 points)
- low skilled jobs
- mass production
- aligns with division of labour
Disadvantages of Taylors theory of motivation (3 points)
- too crude and only considers money
- doesn’t consider the knowledge economy which favours creativity/innovation
- makes boring and tedious jobs
levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (5 points)
- physiological needs (wages to pay bills)
- safety needs (job security and safe working conditions)
- love and belonging (canteens and social gatherings)
- esteem (promotion, bonuses and rewards)
- self-actualisation (up-skilling in new areas and training)
disadvantages of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (2 points)
- had to judge exactly where worker is
- is the order correct
what is the idea behind Herzberg’s two factor theory
different aspects of work have different impacts on motivation
hygiene factors (2 points)
- prevent workers from being dissatisfied
- workers will not be motivated if present
e.g. having heating in office
motivating factors
- if present workers will be motivated
e.g. training and development
Financial methods of motivation (6 points)
- Zero hours: usually for ‘piece work’ or ‘on call’ work
- piece rate: payment based on number of units sold
- salary statements: a set annual sum, paid in monthly instruments
- performance related pay: employees receive a bonus based on performance
- shared ownership: discount on shares for employees
- profit sharing: employees receive a share of profit
Non financial methods of motivation: Job rotation pros and cons
pros: less repetitive, workforce becomes multi skilled in long term, flexibility
cons: initially unskilled, possibly demotivating, reduces productivity
Non financial methods of motivation: Job enrichment pros and cons
(giving employees additional responsibility)
pros: increased motivation, increase productivity, increase retention rates
cons: depends on employee, could = lower quality and output
Non financial methods of motivation: Autonomy pros and cons
(giving employees more independence to make decisions)
pros: increased freedom, quicker decisions
cons: depend on employee, lead to bad decisions, might become detached from business aims
human inflow
recruitment into business
internal human flow
movement of employees in and around the business
human outflow
movement of employees out the business
internal recruitment advantages (3 points)
- cheaper (no hiring costs)
- more informed process (increases retention)
- faster process (person is already familiar with culture)
external recruitment advantages (2 points)
- larger pool of ‘potential’ workers (more likely going to find best fit)
- new ideas (increase innovation)
what are the HR benefits of training (2 points)
- increased motivation
- increased retention
types of training (2 points)
- induction (at the start)
- on the job
what do employers gain from training (4 points)
- quality goods/services…increased sales
- increased quantity produced…increased labour productivity
- stay ahead of rivals…keep up to date with tech
- increased retention…lower costs
what to employees gain from training (2 points)
- increased job satisfaction…increased motivation
- increased promotion chances…increased responsibility
workers councils
represents all employees - internal
typical agenda of a workers council (4 points)
- business objectives and performance
- workforce planning issues (recruitment and staffing levels)
- employee welfare issues
- training and development programs
trade union
represents members - external help
what do trade unions help to do (2 points)
- negotiate wages and employment terms
- agree acceptable output
benefits of trade unions to employees
- collective bargaining - power in numbers
benefits of trade unions to employers (2 points)
- formal communication between managers and workers
- more productive than talking to individuals
examples of industrial action (3 points)
- refuse to do overtime
- bare minimum
- strikes
