Topic 4: Human Resources Flashcards
What is an organisational structure?
The way in which a business arranges itself internally to carry out its activities
What is a hierarchy?
Levels where people are ranked according to status, authority or power
What does delegate mean?
To give another person responsibility
What is a subordinate?
A person who is under the authority of another
What is a chain of command?
An order where instruction are passed from one person to another
What is a span of control?
The number of subordinates a manager is responsible for
What does a wide span of control mean?
That a manager has a lot of people to be in charge of
What does a narrow span of control mean?
That a manager has few people to be in charge of
What is authority?
Having the power over other employees
What is a line manager?
A manager who has direct responsibility for their employees
Why are organisational structures important?
Shows clear lines of responsibility
Shows communication routes clearly & who to report to
Enables the business to function efficiently
What are properties of a tall organisational structure?
Lots of layers of hierarchy
Narrow span of control
What are properties of a flat organisational structure?
Few lawyers of hierarchy
Wide span of control
What are advantages of a tall organisational structure?
Workload is shared
Clear chain of command
Easier to control
More promotion opportunities
What are disadvantages of a tall organisational structure?
Communication could be misunderstood or misinterpreted
Higher cost - more employees
Harder to contact the managers
Decision making is slow
What are advantages of a flat organisational structure?
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
What are disadvantages of a flat organisational structure?
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
What is delayering?
The removal of one or more levels of hierarchy from a business’s organisational structure
What are advantages of delayering?
Allows for quicker communication
Reduces costs
What are disadvantages of delayering?
Redundancy pay will have to be payed
Will make a higher workload on others
What is communication?
The exchange of information between 2 or more people
What are the 3 types of communication?
- Downward
- Upward
- Horizontal
What is downward communication?
When CEO and management communicate downwards to employees
What is upward communication?
Subordinates communicating upwards to seniors
What is horizontal communication?
People who are on the same level of the hierarchy communicate horizontally
What is centralised decision making?
Keeps decision making firmly at the top or in one area of the hierarchy
What is decentralised decision making?
When decision making is spread out to include more managers in the hierarchy as well as the individual business units or branches
What are the 2 types of decision making?
- Centralised
- Decentralised
What are advantages of centralised decision making?
Easier to implement policies and practices for the whole business
Easier to control and coordinate
What are disadvantages of centralised decision making?
Lack of authority down the hierarchy
Local managers are more likely to know customers needs - will make better decisions for their branch
What are advantages of decentralised decision making?
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
What are disadvantages of decentralised decision making?
Harder to ensure consistent practices at each branch
Harder to achieve tight financial control - risk of cost overruns
What is internal employment?
Employing someone who is already within the business
What is external employment?
Employing someone who isn’t within the business
What are the reasons to employ internally?
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
What are the reasons to employ externally?
If staff aren’t performing well - may motivate them
If more skills are needed
There’s a wider range of candidates to choose from
What are the 8 steps of the recruitment process?
- Identify the vacancy
- Create job analysis
- Create person specification and job description
- Advertise the vacancy
- Short list applicants
- Interview applicants
- Select a candidate
- Create a contract
What is a job description?
Written account of what a job will involve
What does a job description include?
Job title
Salary
Location
Main tasks and responsibilities
What is a person specification?
A description of the type of person required to do the job
What does a person specification include?
Skills they should have
Qualifications
Previous experience
Personality
What are the 3 ways to apply for a vacancy?
- CV
- Application form
- Letter of application
What does CV stand for?
Curriculum Vitae
What must a CV contain?
Home address
Email address and phone number
Qualifications
Skills
References
What are the ways to select applicants in the recruitment process?
Interviews
Assessment centres
Psychometric tests
What’s an interview?
A formal meeting in person, for the assessment of the qualifications of an applicant
What is an assessment centre?
A group of participants undertake a series of job related exercises under observation, so that skills, competencies and character traits can be assessed
What is a psychometric test?
A test to find out whether someone’s personality is suitable for a job
What is a contract of employment?
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
What are the 4 types of employment contracts?
- Full time
- Part time
- Job share
- Zero hour contract
How many hours do you have to work a week to work ‘full time’?
35 hours
Why should businesses recruit their employees full time?
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
Why should businesses recruit their employees part time?
There is increased flexibility in part time contracts
May bring in more skill sets if more people have to be recruited
What are the advantages of employees working full time?
There is consistency within how much the employee works
Full time contracts have the most employment rights
What are the advantages of employees working part time?
Workers are only payed for the hours they’re needed for - reduces costs
There is more flexibility
More staff needed - brings in more skills
What is job share?
An arrangement where two or more people share the responsibilities of a full time job
What are the advantages of employees doing job shares?
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
What is a zero hour contract?
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
What are the advantages of employees working a zero hour contract?
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
What is motivation?
The will to work due to the enjoyment of work itself
What can happen if staff are motivated?
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
What are the 5 financial methods of motivation?
- Wages
- Commission
- Profit sharing
- Bonus’s
- Promotion
What are wages?
The money someone’s earns for the amount of work they do
What is commission?
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
What is profit sharing?
When a businesses gives employees a share of the business’s profits
What are bonus’s?
A form of additional money paid for working well - motivates staff to work harder
What is promotion? How does it motivate employees?
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
What are the 7 non financial methods of motivation?
- Fringe benefits
- Job rotation
- The working environment
- Praise
- Empowerment
- Management style
- Job enrichment
What are fringe benefits?
Additional employment perks awarded to employees - motivates employees to work harder and get these benefits e.g. cars
What is job rotation?
When an employee has a large amount of variety in their job - motivates as staff won’t get bored easily
How is the working environment a method motivation?
The environment the staff work will impact whether they enjoy their job or not - if they do, they’ll work harder
What is praise?
Expressing gratitude to employees - motivates them to work harder as their hard work is valued
What is empowerment?
Giving employees more control over their work life - more freedom may mean more willingness to work harder
How is management style a method motivation?
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
What is job enrichment?
Enchanting employees roles by providing them with a range of challenging task to complete
What is training?
A range of activities giving employees job related skills and knowledge
What are the benefits to having a well trained staff?
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
What are the 3 types of training?
- Induction training
- On the job training
- Off the job training
What is induction training?
Training that helps familiarise recruits with the systems of the business
What do you learn during induction training?
The rules and policies of the work place
Health and safety precautions
Where things are kept or where to find them
What is on the job training?
Training that takes place at the work place
What is off the job training?
When employees are trained away from the workplace
What do you learn during on the job training?
How to do the job by an experienced employee
Teamwork with the other employees
What do you learn during off the job training?
Skills from trained professionals who are experts in the industry
Teamwork
