Unit 2 - Human Resources Flashcards
absenteeism
percentage of the workforce not present at work in a given time period
accountability
extent to which a person is held responsible for the success or failure of a task
Adams equity theory
workers will only be motivated if their remuneration is seen to be fair in relation to others
appraisal
formal process of evaluating the contributions and performance of an employee
arbitration HL
use of a third party which decides on an appropriate outcome to a dispute
autocratic leader
person who makes all the decisions rather than delegating any responsibility to subordinates
bureaucracy
official administrative and formal rules of an organisation that govern business activity
centralised structures
majority of decision making is done by a very small number of people
chain of command
formal line of authority, shown in an organisation chart
collective bargaining HL
negotiation process between trade union representatives and employer representatives
communication channels
methods through which information is passed from the sender to the recipient
conciliation HL
use of a third party which encourages people to negotiate and compromise
conflict HL
disagreements that result from differences in the attitudes, beliefs, values or needs of people
conflict resolution HL
course of action taken to resolve conflict and differences in opinion, e.g. arbitration, conciliation
content theories HL
explain the factors that motivate people, thus WHAT motivates, e.g. Taylor, Maslow
contract of employment
legal agreement between an employer and an employee, detailing the terms and conditions of employment
corporate culture HL
traditions and norms within an organisation, e.g. dress code, work ethos
culture clash HL
when there is a conflict between two or more cultures within an organisation, e.g. when two firms merge
culture gap HL
difference between the existing culture of an organisation and its desired culture
deadlock or standoff HL
situation when there has been a failure to reach a satisfactory compromise in the negotiation process
decentralised structures
some decision-making authority is passed onto others
delayering
process of removing levels in the hierarchy to flatten the organisational structure
delegation
empowerment of authority of a person lower down the organisational structure
democratic leader
person who takes into account the views of others
dismissal
termination of a worker’s employment due to incompetence or a breach of contract
employment legislation HL
set of laws that govern employment practices, such as anti-discriminatory behaviour
empowerment
non-financial motivator which involves a manager giving his/her subordinates some autonomy in their job and the authority to make various decisions
external recruitment
hiring staff from outside the organisation
flat organisational structure
there are only a few layers in the formal hierarchy
flexible structures
not based on the traditional hierarchical organisation and enables a business to adapt its labour resources quickly
flexible work patterns
trend using less core staff and more peripheral workers such as part-time staff and freelancers
formal communication
official channels of communication that are established by an organisation
fringe payments
rewards received in addition to a worker’s wages or salaries, e.g. company car, subsidised meals
go-slow HL
employees working at the minimum pace allowable under their employment contract
gross misconduct
major breaches such as theft, fraud, being drunk at work and lead to instant dismissal
Herzberg’s two factor theory
looked at the factors that motivate employees (motivators) and factors that prevent dissatisfaction (hygiene factors)
human resource management
role of managers in developing the people of an organisation, such as recruitment, selection, training, development, dismissal
human resource planning
management process of forecasting an organisation’s current and future staffing needs
hygiene factors
(Herzberg) factors that do not increase job satisfaction, but prevent dissatisfaction, e.g. working conditions, reasonable wages
innovative cultures HL
exist in organisations that empower workers to make important decisions and to act on their own initiative
internal recruitment
hiring staff who already work for the firm
job description
document that outlines the nature of a job, such as roles, tasks, responsibilities
job enlargement
increasing the number of tasks that an employee performs in order to decrease monotony
job enrichment
increasing the number of tasks with varying difficulty in order to give workers more challenging jobs with more responsibilities
labour productivity
measures the output per worker
labour turnover
measures the number of workers who leave the firm per year, as a percentage of the workforce
labour union or trade union HL
organisation of worker-members who unite to protect their rights and wellbeing in the workplace
laissez-faire leader
person who sets the objectives and allows staff to make their own decision and to complete tasks in their own way
leadership
skill of getting things done through other people by inspiring, influencing and motivating them
litigation HL
(lawsuits) using the law and order system to seek a legal solution to conflict
management
practice of achieving an objective by using the available resources of the business
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
physical needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs, self-actualisation; lower level needs must be met before people progress up the hierarchy; once a need is satisfied, providing more of the same will not motivate workers
matrix structure
flexible organisation flexible organisation of representatives from different departments within an organisation temporarily working together on a particular project
motivation
inner desire or passion to do something
motivators
(Herzberg) factors that increase motivation and job satisfaction, e.g. praise, recognition
offshoring
relocating business functions and processes to another country
off-the-job training
training carried out off-site
on-the-job training
training carried out whilst at the workplace
organisation chart
diagrammatic representation of a firm’s formal structure
outsourcing
finding external people or businesses to carry out non-core functions of a business
performance-related pay
payment system that rewards people who meet et targets over a period of time
person cultures HL
exist in organisations when staff in similar positions, with similar expertise and training form groups to share their knowledge
person specification
document that gives the profile of the ideal candidate, such as skills, qualifications, experience
piece rate
payment system that rewards employees based on the amount they produce or sell
portfolio working
employee carries out different jobs
power cultures HL
exist in organisations when there is one dominant individual or group that hold decision-making power
productivity
level of output per worker
recruitment
process of hiring suitable workers
redundancies or lay-offs
occur when the employer can no longer afford to hire the worker or when the job doesn’t exist any longer
remuneration
overall package of pay and benefits offered to an employee
responsibility
refers to whom is in charge of whom
role cultures HL
exist in highly structured firms with formal rules, policies and procedures
Shamrock organisation
Charles Handy’s idea that organisations are increasingly made up of core staff that are supported by part-time workers and by outsourced staff and contractors
situational leader
not based on a single approach; best style depends on the situation it is about using the right person and the right style for the right situation
span of control
number of subordinates that are overseen by a manager
strike action HL
employees refuse to work
tall organisational structure
there are many layers in the hierarchy
task cultures HL
exist in organisations where the focus is on getting results
Taylor’s scientific management
specialisation and division of labour increases the level of productivity
teleworking
employees work in a location away from the workplace
time rate
payment system that rewards staff for the time that they put into work
training
process of providing opportunities for workers to acquire employment-related skills and knowledge
work-to-rule HL
employees do their absolute minimum required as stated in their contract
behavioural training
developing and changing behavioural issues in order to improve work performance
centralised structures
majority of decision making is done by a very small number of people
cognitive training
training and developing mental skills to improve work performance
commission
employees are paid based on a percentage of sales
employee share ownership schemes
employees may be issued shares or offered the opportunity to buy them at a discounted rate
hierarchy
refers to the organizational structure based on a ranking system
induction
training aimed at introducing new staff to the business to get familiar with practices and policies
job analysis
part of recruitment process that involves examining the different components of the job in order to determine what it requires
job rotation
form of job enlargement whereby workers are given different tasks, but of the same level of complexity
leadership style
way in which leaders tend to operate, e.g. democratic, autocratic
mobility of labour
extent to which workers are flexible enough to move to different locations or their flexibility in changing to different jobs
negotiation HL
bargaining process whereby separate parties try to achieve an acceptable outcome for everyone
no-strike agreement HL
method of conflict resolution involving members of a labour union agreeing not to strike
overtime ban HL
employees work only the number of hours as stated in their contract
Pink’s drive theory
people in modern societies are motivated by three key factors: autonomy, mastery and purposes
profit-related pay
the amount an employee receives is linked to the amount of profit that the business makes
project-based organisation
human resources are organized around particular projects, each led by a project manager, e.g. matrix structure
re-shoring
reversal of off-shoring: transfer of business operations back to its country of origin
workforce
number of employees for a particular organisation
