Unit 2.1 - Introduction to Human Resource Management Flashcards

1
Q

Human Resource Management =

A

Describes overall management of an organization’s workforce. Essentially: make most efficient use of organization’s workers.

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2
Q

Roles/Functions of HRM
(RRAIDART acronym)

A

Recruitment
Retention
Absenteesim
Induction Training
Dismissal
Appraisals
Redundancies
Training & Development

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3
Q

What can effective HR do?
Why?

A

Enable organization to develop competitive advantages. Workforce more effective in achieving firm’s aims and objectives

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4
Q

What Internal Factors Influence HR Planning?

A

Size of Organization
Strategic Direction of Organization
Organizational Structure
Finances
Motivation in Workplace
Corporate Culture of Organization

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5
Q

What External Factors Influence HR Planning?

A

Demographic Change
Change in Labour Mobility
Gig Economy
Immigration
Flexi-Time

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6
Q

What is Demographic Change?

A

Refers to variations in structure of population that influence HR planning.

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7
Q

Examples of Population Development and Trends

A

Avg. age of population
Distribution of population by ethnicity
Gender distribution
Educational attainment levels
Avg. household income
Official retirement age

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8
Q

What is Labour Mobility?

A

Measures extent to which workers have ability and willingness to move between geographical locations and/or occupations for their employment

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9
Q

What does increasing and maintaining labour mobility do?

A

Ensures more efficient allocation of HR

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10
Q

What are 2 types of Labour mobility?

A

Occupational Mobility
Geographical Mobility

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11
Q

What is Occupational Mobility?

A

Refers to ability and willingness of employees to do another job or pursue different career.

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12
Q

Why does occupational immobility occur?

A

Impediments such as rules and regulations

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13
Q

How can occupational mobility be improved?

A

If employees have necessary qualifications, experience and skills to move from one job to another

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14
Q

What is Geographical Mobility?

A

Refers to ability and willingness of employees to relocate to another location or country for work reasons

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15
Q

How do business attract people to work in overseas locations?

A

Highly attractive renumeration packages

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16
Q

Why does geographical immobility occur?

A

Due to unwillingness of workers to move to another area.

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17
Q

Why can workers be unwilling to move geographically for work?

A

Family ties to geographical location, relocation costs, lower wages and salaries, fewer benefits, higher property prices, or higher costs of living in new location

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18
Q

How can labour mobility be improved?

A

Improved Pay & Benefits
Training & Development Programmes

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19
Q

What is a downside of promoting labour mobility?

A

Expensive for business

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20
Q

What are benefits of greater labour mobility?

A

Workers can find better paying jobs
Improved Standards of Living
Increase in Labour Productivity as result of improved employee morale & motivation

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21
Q

What are migrant workers?

A

People who move to other locations/countries in search of job opportunities

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22
Q

UN Migrant Workers Definition

A

Somoen who is engaged or has been engaged in a renumerated activity in a state of which they are not a national

23
Q

What business opportunities can arise from migrant workers?

A

Easing of skills shortages
Flexible work structures
Marketing opportunities
Personnel Opportunities
NET social benefits

24
Q

Explain easing of skills shortages due to migrant workers

A

Migrants take on jobs that cannot be filled by domestic workers perhaps due to lack of willingness/skill. Skill shortage prevented -> costs kept down.

25
Q

Explain flexible work structures due to migrant workers

A

Businesses bale to open longer hours due to workforce flexibility. Add to supply of staff willing to work part-time/shift work.

26
Q

Explain Marketing Opportunities due to migrant workers

A

Migrant workers likely to have different habits and tastes from mass population. Can provide niche marketing opportunites such as provision of cultural goods and services

27
Q

Explain Personnel Opportunities due to migrant workers

A

Allow business to employ flexible/dynamic workforce. May bring new ideas, experiences and ways of thinking. Skilled migrants can pose threat to less-skilled natives. This competition -> raise standard of skills in economy as domestic workers update skills to retain jobs.

28
Q

Describe NET social benefits due to migrant workers

A

Majority of migrants are working age. This means they are likely to pay income tax, also means they have income to spend on goods & services.

29
Q

Define Flexi-Time

A

Form of flexible work that enables employees to work set nº of core hours per week, often at office during peak periods of the day and/or week. Employees have flexibility to choose when they work during rest of week as long as work gets completed

30
Q

What did Professor Charles Handy discuss about flexible working practices in his shamrock organization model?

A

Suggested modern organizations would increasingly consist of three elements:
Core Workers, Contracted Specialists, Flexible Workers

31
Q

What industries have had reduced nº of full-time workers due to growth in flexible/part-time workers?

A

Retail and Fast-food industries

32
Q

What are the advantages of Flexi-Time?

A
  • Empowers workers: autonomy to complete work in own time when it best suits them
  • Flexibility in employees’ personal schedule: e.g. parents can raise children
  • Improve morale and labour mobility
33
Q

What are the disadvantages of Flexi-Time?

A
  • Potential lack of accountability/productivity
  • Cost implications if managers have to check and approve hours full-time staff claim to have worked
34
Q

What is Gig Economy? What can it be referred to as?

A

On-demand economy. Refers to labour markets in which workers are given short-term/one-off contracts (freelance work) rather than long-term/permanent contracts

35
Q

What are gig workers?

A

On-call, independent contractors who enter into formal agreements with on-demand businesses to provide services to firm’s customers (usually digital platform)

36
Q

How are gig workers paid?

A

For each individual job (gig) instead of traditional methods such as wages or salaries

37
Q

Why was trend of Gig Economy accelerated?

A

National lockdowns / safety measures post-COVID

38
Q

What are the advantages of Gig Economy?

A
  • Workers enjoy freedom/flexibility: can choose which jobs they want, as well as when and how long to work for. Ideal for those who prefer part-time employment -> better work/life balance
  • Potential to earn significant amount of income: gig workers often work for multiple businesses on job-by-job basis
  • Businesses gain from reduced COP as do not need to hire as many full-time workers (along with pay & benefits of full-time employment) and office space -> more price-competitive products to customers
39
Q

What are the disadvantages of Gig Economy?

A
  • Reduces need of full-time workers -> possibly limiting people’s potential for career development
  • No fixed employment contracts -> may lack job security and stable income
  • Set-up costs of their own for gig workers
  • Gig workers miss out on employee rights and benefits (paid sick leave, holiday pay, redundancy pay, maternity leave…)
40
Q

What are the reasons for Resistance to Change in the Workplace?

A
  • Self-Interest
  • Low Tolerance
  • Misinformation & Misunderstandings
  • Different Interpretations of Circumstances
41
Q

Explain Self-Interest as a reason for resistance to change

A
  • Employee interests > organizational interests
  • Perceived threat to job security, status/rank and financial position
  • Human nature to pursue self-interest: not always clear why organization’s goals should take priority
  • Employees often more interested/worried about implications of change for themselves rather than possible benefits to organization
  • Hence, may feel change is unnecessary and/or requires too much effort on their part
  • Reason particularly strong if employees not committed to organization
42
Q

Explain Low Tolerance as a reason for Resistance to Change

A
  • People tend to like stability/normality in personal/professional lives
  • Change often entails new policies/procedures (new ways of doing things in workplace)
  • Humans need element of security/predictablity/stability in lives
  • Hence, low tolerance of change (fearful of it). Might also worry they cannot adapt to change
43
Q

Explain Misinformation & Misunderstandings as a reason for Resistance to Change

A
  • Reasons for change not clearly/effectively communicated -> lack of understanding -> misunderstandings -> resistance to change
  • Misperceptions widesperead because of informal communications in workplace -> belief that there are no compelling reasons for change
  • Hence, may feel change iis unnecessary especially if business is not in crisis
44
Q

Explain Different Interpretations of Circumstances as a reason for reistance to change

A
  • Different people may have different interpretations of situation
  • Employees & employers may disagree on rationale/benefits of change
  • Employees may feel they have better solutions/would change things in different ways
  • Different assessments/perceptions -> conflict -> resistance to change
45
Q

What are HR strategies for reducing the impact of resistance to change according to John Paul Kotter and Leonard Schlesinger of Harvard (1979)?

A
  • Education and Communication
  • Participation and involvement
  • Facilitation and Support
  • Negotiation and Agreement
  • Maniuplation and Co-Option
  • Explicit and Implicit Coercion
46
Q

What is change management?

A

Refers to processes and techniques used to plan, implement and evaluate changes in business operations.

47
Q

Explain Education & Communication as a strategy against resistance to change

A
  • Aims to inform/educate staff (and other stakeholders) about change beforehand
  • Early communication/clarification -> help stakeholders see rationale for change and establish trust
  • Most importantly: approach reduces unsubstantiated claims/rumours about proposed change
  • Hence, helps limit misinformation & misunderstanding
48
Q

Explain Participation & Involvement as a strategy against resistance to change

A
  • Links with several motivation theorists (Frederick Herzberg) -> argue employee involvement in decision-making can motivate and improve moral amongst workforce
  • Involving employees in change process (through consultations) -> more likely to accept change
  • Greater incentive to ensure change is succesfully implemented
  • Also help prevent misunderstandings/misinterpretations for purpose of change
  • However, also time-consuming
49
Q

Explain Facilitation & Support as a strategy against resistance to change

A
  • Providing authentic support so people have skills/resources to cope with change
  • Paternalistic in style -> managers become supportive staff during difficult times -> avert potential resistance
  • Can come in numerous forms: re-training of staff, counseling workers to deal with fears/anxieties
50
Q

Explain Negotiation & Agreement as a strategy against reistance to change

A
  • Managers use bargaining incentives to remove/limit resistance
  • E.g. ‘inviting’ coworkers to accept amendments in contracts to accomodate new change
  • Alternatively, staff who resist offered early retirement or redundancy incentives
  • Other times, managers may be willing to compromise to provide incentives for employees to settle for the change
  • Negotiations with workers -> slightly different/possibly better changes than originally intended
51
Q

Explain Manipulation and Co-Option as a strategy against resistance to change

A
  • Involves bringing representative of those resisting change into change process
  • Purpose: give key influential people representation in negotiations process
  • Underlying reason: convert representative’s thinking so advantages of change can be communicated to resistors
  • Representatives (e.g. labour Union workers) given symbolic role -> their view will not affect desire of management to push for change
  • Unethical, can backfire if those resisting change find out management’s intentions
52
Q

Explain Explicit and Implicit Coercion as a strategy against resistance to change

A
  • Typically last resort
  • Coercion (bullying tactics) -> force staff into accepting change
  • Might involve threatening disciplinary action, dismissals, job losses, redeployment, not promoting employees
  • Force change even if workers do not agree
  • Often, over time (especially if change proves to be successful) people may come to accept change
  • however, employment legislation (to protect employees) which deems coercion illegal means coercion can be carried out implicitly by senior managers.
53
Q
A