Unit 2. Chapter 11. Further human resource management

Question 1

labour productivity

Answer 1

• the output per worker in a given time period.

total output in time period, e.g. 1 year/ total staff employed

Question 2

Reasons why labour productivity might increase over time:

Answer 2

1. improved staff motivation, higher levels of effort
2. more efficient and reliable capital equipment
3. better staff training
4. increased worker involvement in problem solving to speed up methods of production (kaizen, quality-circle)
5. improved internal efficiency, e.g.no waiting for new supplies of materials to arrive.

Question 3

Absenteeism

Answer 3

• measures the rate of workforce absence as a proportion of the employee total.
  absenteeism (%) = no. of staff absent/ total of staff x100

Question 4

Disadvantages of staff absenteeism

Answer 4

1. Customer has experienced poor service -> never return

2. Expensive to employ extra staff/ ask other workers to work overtime

Question 5

Labour turnover

Answer 5

• measures the rate at which employees are leaving an organisation.
  number of staff leaving in 1 year/ average number of staff employed x 100

Question 6

High labour turnover

Answer 6

1. Indicator of staff discontent
2. Low morale
3. Recruitment policy that leads to the wrong people being employed.
   - more likely in areas of low unemployment

Question 7

Costs of high labour turnover

Answer 7

1. Costs of recruiting, selecting, training new staff
2. Poor output levels and customer service due to staff vacancies before new recruits are appointed
3. Difficult to establish loyalty and regular, familiar contact with customers
4. Difficult to establish team spirit

Question 8

Potential benefits of high labour turnover

Answer 8

1. Low-skilled and less-productive staff might be leaving -> replaced with more carefully selected workers.
2. New ideas and practices by new workers
3. A business that plans to reduce staff numbers anyway - due to rationalisation - will find that high labour turnover will do this, as leaving staff will not be replaced.

Question 9

Techniques to increase employee performance:

Answer 9

1. Regular appraisal of performance against agreed pre-set targets
2. Training to increase efficiency and offering opportunities for general educational qualifications to stretch and challenge every worker.
3. Quality circles - workers are encourages to take responsibility for identifying and suggesting solutions for work-related problems
4. Cell production and autonomous, teams are given multi-skilling training and the opportunity to take responsibility for a complete section of work
5. Financial incentives linked to the profits of the business (share-option schemes)

Question 10

Management by objectives (MBO)

Answer 10

• Motivate and coordinate a workforce by dividing the organisation’s overall aim into specific targets for each division, department and individual.