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GCSE Business > Topic 4: Human Resources > Flashcards

Topic 4: Human Resources Flashcards

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1
Q

What is an organisational structure?

A

The way in which a business arranges itself internally to carry out its activities

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2
Q

What is a hierarchy?

A

Levels where people are ranked according to status, authority or power

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3
Q

What does delegate mean?

A

To give another person responsibility

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4
Q

What is a subordinate?

A

A person who is under the authority of another

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5
Q

What is a chain of command?

A

An order where instruction are passed from one person to another

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6
Q

What is a span of control?

A

The number of subordinates a manager is responsible for

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7
Q

What does a wide span of control mean?

A

That a manager has a lot of people to be in charge of

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8
Q

What does a narrow span of control mean?

A

That a manager has few people to be in charge of

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9
Q

What is authority?

A

Having the power over other employees

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10
Q

What is a line manager?

A

A manager who has direct responsibility for their employees

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11
Q

Why are organisational structures important?

A

Shows clear lines of responsibility
Shows communication routes clearly & who to report to
Enables the business to function efficiently

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12
Q

What are properties of a tall organisational structure?

A

Lots of layers of hierarchy
Narrow span of control

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13
Q

What are properties of a flat organisational structure?

A

Few lawyers of hierarchy
Wide span of control

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14
Q

What are advantages of a tall organisational structure?

A

Workload is shared
Clear chain of command
Easier to control
More promotion opportunities

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15
Q

What are disadvantages of a tall organisational structure?

A

Communication could be misunderstood or misinterpreted
Higher cost - more employees
Harder to contact the managers
Decision making is slow

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16
Q

What are advantages of a flat organisational structure?

A

More responsibility for staff - could motivate them
Cheaper - less employees
Quick communication and decision making is faster and easier
There’s more freedom - could motivate

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17
Q

What are disadvantages of a flat organisational structure?

A

Harder to control all of the employees
Quality could suffer - hard to check everyone is performing to standard
Staff has more control - may get carried away

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18
Q

What is delayering?

A

The removal of one or more levels of hierarchy from a business’s organisational structure

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19
Q

What are advantages of delayering?

A

Allows for quicker communication
Reduces costs

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20
Q

What are disadvantages of delayering?

A

Redundancy pay will have to be payed
Will make a higher workload on others

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21
Q

What is communication?

A

The exchange of information between 2 or more people

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22
Q

What are the 3 types of communication?

A
  1. Downward
  2. Upward
  3. Horizontal
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23
Q

What is downward communication?

A

When CEO and management communicate downwards to employees

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24
Q

What is upward communication?

A

Subordinates communicating upwards to seniors

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25
Q

What is horizontal communication?

A

People who are on the same level of the hierarchy communicate horizontally

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26
Q

What is centralised decision making?

A

Keeps decision making firmly at the top or in one area of the hierarchy

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27
Q

What is decentralised decision making?

A

When decision making is spread out to include more managers in the hierarchy as well as the individual business units or branches

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28
Q

What are the 2 types of decision making?

A
  1. Centralised
  2. Decentralised
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29
Q

What are advantages of centralised decision making?

A

Easier to implement policies and practices for the whole business
Easier to control and coordinate

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30
Q

What are disadvantages of centralised decision making?

A

Lack of authority down the hierarchy
Local managers are more likely to know customers needs - will make better decisions for their branch

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31
Q

What are advantages of decentralised decision making?

A

It’s allows for decisions to be better adapted to local circumstances
Decisions are made closer to the customer - better customer service - may increase retention and loyalty

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32
Q

What are disadvantages of decentralised decision making?

A

Harder to ensure consistent practices at each branch
Harder to achieve tight financial control - risk of cost overruns

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33
Q

What is internal employment?

A

Employing someone who is already within the business

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34
Q

What is external employment?

A

Employing someone who isn’t within the business

35
Q

What are the reasons to employ internally?

A

You know whether the person is loyal and trustworthy
It’s a quick process
May motivate others - they see there’s an opportunity to also be promoted
Person is aware of the expectations and how the business runs

36
Q

What are the reasons to employ externally?

A

If staff aren’t performing well - may motivate them
If more skills are needed
There’s a wider range of candidates to choose from

37
Q

What are the 8 steps of the recruitment process?

A
  1. Identify the vacancy
  2. Create job analysis
  3. Create person specification and job description
  4. Advertise the vacancy
  5. Short list applicants
  6. Interview applicants
  7. Select a candidate
  8. Create a contract
38
Q

What is a job description?

A

Written account of what a job will involve

39
Q

What does a job description include?

A

Job title
Salary
Location
Main tasks and responsibilities

40
Q

What is a person specification?

A

A description of the type of person required to do the job

41
Q

What does a person specification include?

A

Skills they should have
Qualifications
Previous experience
Personality

42
Q

What are the 3 ways to apply for a vacancy?

A
  1. CV
  2. Application form
  3. Letter of application
43
Q

What does CV stand for?

A

Curriculum Vitae

44
Q

What must a CV contain?

A

Home address
Email address and phone number
Qualifications
Skills
References

45
Q

What are the ways to select applicants in the recruitment process?

A

Interviews
Assessment centres
Psychometric tests

46
Q

What’s an interview?

A

A formal meeting in person, for the assessment of the qualifications of an applicant

47
Q

What is an assessment centre?

A

A group of participants undertake a series of job related exercises under observation, so that skills, competencies and character traits can be assessed

48
Q

What is a psychometric test?

A

A test to find out whether someone’s personality is suitable for a job

49
Q

What is a contract of employment?

A

A legal agreement between an employer and employee setting out conditions of employment e.g. hours of work, rates of pay and duties at work

50
Q

What are the 4 types of employment contracts?

A
  1. Full time
  2. Part time
  3. Job share
  4. Zero hour contract
51
Q

How many hours do you have to work a week to work ‘full time’?

A

35 hours

52
Q

Why should businesses recruit their employees full time?

A

Less money spent on training more staff
Less time and money spent on the recruitment process
Employees are more committed and may be more loyal

53
Q

Why should businesses recruit their employees part time?

A

There is increased flexibility in part time contracts
May bring in more skill sets if more people have to be recruited

54
Q

What are the advantages of employees working full time?

A

There is consistency within how much the employee works
Full time contracts have the most employment rights

55
Q

What are the advantages of employees working part time?

A

Workers are only payed for the hours they’re needed for - reduces costs
There is more flexibility
More staff needed - brings in more skills

56
Q

What is job share?

A

An arrangement where two or more people share the responsibilities of a full time job

57
Q

What are the advantages of employees doing job shares?

A

The workload is shared between them - they’re not being overworked and outcome may be higher
There are benefits - flexibility for employees and it’s often cheaper for the business

58
Q

What is a zero hour contract?

A

When the employer is not obliged to give the employee any minimum number of hours, they just use the employee as and when they’re needed

59
Q

What are the advantages of employees working a zero hour contract?

A

The employee has agreed to always be ready to work when needed - there’s always a standby just in case
They’re very flexible but controversial

60
Q

What is motivation?

A

The will to work due to the enjoyment of work itself

61
Q

What can happen if staff are motivated?

A

Productivity levels may increase - output may be higher
Higher quality products will be produced
The staff will be more loyal to the company as they’ll enjoy work

62
Q

What are the 5 financial methods of motivation?

A
  1. Wages
  2. Commission
  3. Profit sharing
  4. Bonus’s
  5. Promotion
63
Q

What are wages?

A

The money someone’s earns for the amount of work they do

64
Q

What is commission?

A

Money paid on top of a normal wage or salary - it’s influenced by the percentage of sales made by the employee - will motivate employees to make more sales

65
Q

What is profit sharing?

A

When a businesses gives employees a share of the business’s profits

66
Q

What are bonus’s?

A

A form of additional money paid for working well - motivates staff to work harder

67
Q

What is promotion? How does it motivate employees?

A

When someone is given a more senior position in the business - results in higher pay and staff may be motivated as they see that they may be able to promoted one day

68
Q

What are the 7 non financial methods of motivation?

A
  1. Fringe benefits
  2. Job rotation
  3. The working environment
  4. Praise
  5. Empowerment
  6. Management style
  7. Job enrichment
69
Q

What are fringe benefits?

A

Additional employment perks awarded to employees - motivates employees to work harder and get these benefits e.g. cars

70
Q

What is job rotation?

A

When an employee has a large amount of variety in their job - motivates as staff won’t get bored easily

71
Q

How is the working environment a method motivation?

A

The environment the staff work will impact whether they enjoy their job or not - if they do, they’ll work harder

72
Q

What is praise?

A

Expressing gratitude to employees - motivates them to work harder as their hard work is valued

73
Q

What is empowerment?

A

Giving employees more control over their work life - more freedom may mean more willingness to work harder

74
Q

How is management style a method motivation?

A

It’s the way a manager wants to achieve the businesses goals - a good manager may make the employees want to work harder to make their manager proud

75
Q

What is job enrichment?

A

Enchanting employees roles by providing them with a range of challenging task to complete

76
Q

What is training?

A

A range of activities giving employees job related skills and knowledge

77
Q

What are the benefits to having a well trained staff?

A

They will produce higher quantities of the products and in a higher quality
Will increase customer satisfaction and may better customer service
Gives the business a competitive advantage

78
Q

What are the 3 types of training?

A
  1. Induction training
  2. On the job training
  3. Off the job training
79
Q

What is induction training?

A

Training that helps familiarise recruits with the systems of the business

80
Q

What do you learn during induction training?

A

The rules and policies of the work place
Health and safety precautions
Where things are kept or where to find them

81
Q

What is on the job training?

A

Training that takes place at the work place

82
Q

What is off the job training?

A

When employees are trained away from the workplace

83
Q

What do you learn during on the job training?

A

How to do the job by an experienced employee
Teamwork with the other employees

84
Q

What do you learn during off the job training?

A

Skills from trained professionals who are experts in the industry
Teamwork

GCSE Business (6 decks)

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