unit 2 (motivation, human resources) Flashcards
motivation
the reason why employees want to work hard and effectively for the business
why do people work?
- money (to pay for necessities and luxuries)
- security (knowing that your job and pay are safe)
- social need (feeling part of a group)
- esteem needs (feeling important, needed)
- job satisfaction
benefits of well-motivated workforce
- high output for worker
- willingness to accept change
- more willing to communicate effectively
- decreased labour turnover
- lower absenteeism
frederick taylor
- an engineer in America who conducted experiments at his steels company on how productivity can be increased
- he believed workers were quite simply motivated by money
benefits of taylor (paying based on output)
-may be more motivated = more productive, increasing efficiency for the business
drawbacks of taylor (paying based on output)
- may not necessarily be motivated by money
-if employers do not provide good working conditions and relationships employees may become demotivated - difficult to measure output in a business
wage
- paid every week
-wages can be payed in (time rate and piece rate)
time rate benefits
- easy to calculate by the company
- employees knows exactly how much they should be paid
time rate drawbacks
- good and bad workers get paid the same amount of money = demotivation of good workers
piece rate benefits
- encourages workers to work faster and produce more
piece rate drawbacks
- workers may focus on making a large amount of products and so rush their work, impacting the quality of the products
salary
- salaries are paid monthly, it is an amount of money of money paid per year and divided and paid in 12 monthly amounts.
salary benefits
- only has to be distrusted once a month so less time consuming for the HR and finance department
- employer has the money in their account for longer than if they were paying wages (weekly) - improves cashflow
salary drawbacks
- workers may prefer to be paid weekly
- no payment for extra-time work = demotivating employees
commission
payment relating to the number of sales made, the more sales an employee makes, the more money they make
commission benefits
motivates employees to sell more products, increasing sales for the business
commission drawbacks
- employees can put pressure on customer to purchase more products in order to get their commission = leading to customer dissatisfaction = damaged brand image
profit sharing
a system where a proportion of the company’s profit is paid out to the employees in addition to their wage/salary
benefits of profit sharing
motivates employees to work hard and reach their objective of profit as they will all receive a share of the profit.
drawbacks of profit sharing
- if a business makes a loss or low profits, then employees will be disappointed
- profit share is usually calculated based on a percentage of your existing salary/ wage which may mean conflict between higher and lower paid employees
fringe benefits
perks that employers give to their employees
-free lunch
-gym membership
-company car
-free accommodation
-discount on businesses products
non-financial methods of motivation
- fringe benefits
- job rotation
- job enrichment
- teamwork
-training - opportunities for promotion
job rotation
involves workers swapping around and doing each specific task for only a limited time then changing around again
job rotation benefits
- more variety of workers (not boring)
- easy to cover absents as employees are skilled for all jobs
job rotation disadvantages
-expensive (staff training)
job enrichment
- involves looking at jobs and adding tasks that require more skill and responsibility
job enrichment advantages
- make employees feel empowered and trusted=motivation
job enrichment disadvantages
-unhappy employee if extra responsibility with no pay
teamwork advantages
-better sense of belonging to the company (motivation)
teamwork disadvantages
employees may clash=arguments and distractions
training advantages
-new skills leads to a sense of achievement=motivation
training disadvantages
-expensive
opportunities for promotion advantages
employees feeling recognised and given more challenging work (Maslow’s self actualisation)
opportunities for promotion disadvantages
conflict may occur if one employee is is promoted and not the other one
organisational structure
refers to the levels of management and division of responsibilities within an organisation
hierarchy
the levels of management in any organisations from the highest to the lowest
tall structure
flat structure
- has many levels of hierarchy
-has few levels of hierarchy
chain of command
allows instructions to be passed down from senior employments to lower levels
span of control
number of subordinates working directly under a manager
delegation
assigning tasks to other workers
benefits of a tall structure
-lots of layers in hierarchy = lots of opportunities fro promotion = increase motivation
-supervisors have a small span of control = can monitor them closely= can increase subordinates productivity
drawbacks tall structure
-lots of layers and a long chain of command can mean that communication and decision making is very slow
-expensive as there are more managers and supervisors= higher salary costs
flat structure benefits
-fewer levels of hierarchy = communication and decision making is fast
-lots of delegation means that staff are given greater responsibility=increase motivation
delegation benefits
- less stress for managers if they delegate some tasks and they can now focus on other functions
- subordinates feel empowered that they have been given certain tasks and they feel trusted =motivation
delegation drawbacks
-demotivation from extra work with no pay
-subordinates may not be skilled enough to complete the work= impact on quality on product or service
functions of a manager
-planning (setting targets)
-organising (organise resources and employees)
-coordinating (teamwork, group meetings)
-controlling (measure and evaluate the work of all individuals and groups to make sure on target)
-commanding (give instructions and guidance to make sure they are keeping to targets and deadlines
autocratic leadership
-manager excepts to be in charge
-they make all the decision
-tell the employees what to do and the employees have little opportunity to add their opinion
-communication only downwards in the organisational structure
benefits of an autocratic leadership
allows for quick decision-making as only one person making the decision (good during crisis)
drawbacks of an autocratic leadership
employees feel their ideas are not listened to, which would be motivating
democratic leadership
-allows their employees to be involved in decision making process
-communication is both downwards and upwards the organisational structure
democratic leadership benefits
-employees feel their ideas are being listened to=increase motivation
-employees may have great ideas to offer = increase customer service or product quality
democratic leadership drawbacks
-decision making is slower as more people are involved= decrease efficiency, it will take longer to decide on new products/ what changes need to be made
laissez-faire leadership
-LF leaders make the broad objective known to employees
-employees are left to make their own decisions and organise their own work
LF leadership benefits
-encourages employees to show creativity = can lead to better ideas and better products/services
-makes employees feel empowered as they feel trusted to carry-out work them selves=increase motivation
LF leadership drawbacks
-if employees are young and inexperienced, they will be unsure how to carry out tasks effectively
-may cause employees to be less efficient as no strict supervision
trade union
a group employees who have joined together ensure their interests are protected
trade union benefits
- pay increase
- better working conditions
3.safer working conditions - sick pay
- better maternity or paternity pay and leave
limitations of trade unions
-costs money to be a member
benefits of trade union on employer
employees will be satisfied if they have their needs and wants met
drawbacks of trade union on employer
-paying higher wages and improving working conditions will lead to higher costs
-trade unions can organise strikes if the requests they demand are not met, this can damage the business reputation
recruitment process
- vacancy arises
- complete a job analysis
- create a job description
4.create job specification - job advertised on appropriate media
- review applications forms and short list
- carry out interviews and select the right candidate
job analysis
identifies and records the responsibilities and tasks relating to a job
job description
outlines the responsibilities and duties to be carried out by someone employed to do a specific job
function of job description
given to applicants so they know what the job entails so they don’t waste time if time
once someone is employed can allow the business to see if the job is being carried out effectively
functions of job specification
- ## a document which outlines the qualifications, expertise and requirements for a specific job
internal recruitment
when a vacancy is filled by someone who is an existing employee of the business
internal recruitment benefits
-cheaper than external recruitment
-motivation for existing employees: opportunities for promotion
-the person is already known to the business
internal recruitment drawbacks
- no new ideas or experience come into the business from external candidates
- there might be rivalry/conflict among employees if one employee is given the promotion over the other=demotivation
external recruitment
when a vacancy is filled by someone from outside the business
external recruitment benefits
- new ideas and experience are brought into the business
external recruitment drawbacks
-more expensive than internal recruitment
-skills and reliability are not know to the business
how jobs are advertised
- local and national newspapers
- recruitment agencies
- online recruitment sites
- government job centres
- the business’ website
how to choose the most suitable candidate
- work experience
- qualifications and education
3 wether internal or external recruitment is more suitable for the business
full time employees
-they will work 35+ hours a week
part-time employees
between 1 and 30-35 hours a week
part-time benefits
- can ask employees to work at busier times
- can ask employees to work only on peak hours leading to lower wage costs
part-time drawbacks
-takes longer to recruit 2 part time than one full time
-part time employees can be less committed=higher labour turnover
full time benefits
-takes less time to recruit one full time than 2 part time
-full time employees can be more committed to the business = increase in customer service and quality of good/product
full time drawbacks
-employees need to be paid regardless of peak busy times/ non-peak =higher costs
the importance of training
- improves the efficiency of the employees-leads to lower unit costs and higher output
- to introduce new process or new equipment
- improves the quality of product/ service
- reduces the chance of workplace accidents
Frederick Herzberg
- set 1: basic needs (hygiene factors)
- set 2: needs which enabled humans to grow psychologically (motivators)
-fulfilling hygiene factors will not lead to motivation but not fulfilling them will lead to demotivation
hygiene factors and there motivators
- good working conditions= recognition
- good relationship with supervisors and work colleagues= achievement
- salary/ wage=promotion
- job security= the job itself
maslows hierarchy
- psychological needs
- safety/ security needs
- social needs
- esteem needs
5 self-actualisation
