Unit 3 AOS 2: Managing Employees

Question 1

Relationship between managing employees and business objectives

Answer 1

• It is the employee’s that work to achieve business objectives
• Without employee input, objectives cannot be achieved
  e. g. if a business wants to increase sales the marketing employees need to create promotional material

Question 2

What are the levels of Maslow’s hierarchy?

Answer 2

• Self actualisation
• Self esteem
• Social
• Safety
• Physiological

Question 3

Maslows: physiological needs

Answer 3

• Basic needs such as food, water and other physical requirements
• To help employee’s reach this need they could provide the employee with a job and give payment for job

Question 4

Maslows: safety needs

Answer 4

• Security and protection from physical and emotional harm
• To help an employee reach this need you could create job security and ensure the employee has safe and healthy work conditions

Question 5

Maslows: social need

Answer 5

• Affection, acceptance and friendship in peer groups

- Relevance to employees could be having friendly work associates and organising employee activities

Question 6

Maslows: self-esteem needs

Answer 6

• Respect and self accomplishment

- Could reach this need by offer promotions and giving rewards (bonuses) for good work

Question 7

Maslows: self-actualisation

Answer 7

• Is the ultimate need
• Refers to personal fulfilment, reaching full potential
• Could reach this need by using participative management style and issuing challenging work for employee creativity

Question 8

Locke and Latham’s goal-setting theory

Answer 8

Specific goals: goals need to be clear and specific

Challenging goals: goals need to be challenging but achievable

Question 9

Locke and Latham: moderator variables

Answer 9

• Have the ability to strengthen or weaken the effects possible from goal-setting
• Ability: employee’s should have the ability to achieve goals
• Performance feedback: feedback is essential to increase performance
• Goal commitment: success is only possible if the individual is committed to achieving the goal
• Task complexity: the task must be straightforward so people feel as if they can complete the goal
• Situational resources: people need appropriate information and materials to complete tasks

Question 10

Lawrence and Nohria Four Drive Theory

Answer 10

• Acquire
• Bond
• Comprehend
• Defend

Question 11

Lawrence and Nohria: Acquire

Answer 11

• Relates to an individuals desire to acquire goods and services in life
  Business setting,
• Creating incentives to drive performance, remuneration

Question 12

Lawrence and Nohria: Bond

Answer 12

• Relates to an individual desire to form long-term relationships
  Business setting,
• Having social interactions, team building tasks, celebrations

Question 13

Lawrence and Nohria: Learn

Answer 13

• Relates to an individuals desire to continuously learn new things
  Business setting,
• Having mentors, training and development programs to learn new things and potentially advance to new jobs

Question 14

Lawrence and Nohria: Defend

Answer 14

• Relates to an individuals desire to defend themselves and who they care about
  Business setting,
• Defending the company in general, taking pride in the values/beliefs of the business

Question 15

Motivation strategies

Answer 15

• Performance related pay
• Career advancement
• Investment in training
• Support and sanction

Question 16

Motivation strategy: performance related pay

Answer 16

• Salary/wages system on how well an employee works

- Greater production, or greater number of sales = greater the income

Question 17

Motivation strategy: Career advancement

Answer 17

• Opportunity of developing your career through being promoted/taking on new roles

Question 18

Motivation strategy: Investment in training

Answer 18

• Business paying for training programs to develop the employees skills and knowledge
• Makes them more efficient and effective in their role

Question 19

Motivation strategy: support

Answer 19

• Manager instilling belief in the employee

- Mentors to help overcome problems and seize opportunities

Question 20

Motivation strategy: sanction

Answer 20

• Refers to punishments for failure to meet or comply with business objectives

Question 21

Advantage/disadvantage of performance related pay

Answer 21

Advantage:
- Very goal focused
Disadvantages:
- Becomes very competitive and potentially conflicting/selfish

Question 22

Advantage/disadvantage of career advancement

Answer 22

Advantage:
- Very personal goal focused
Disadvantage:
- Hard to focus on team goals

Question 23

Advantage/disadvantage of investment in training

Answer 23

Advantage:
- Usually targeted at business objectives e.g. a specific area of improvement
Disadvantage:
- Can be financially expensive

Question 24

Advantage/disadvantage of support

Answer 24

Advantage:
- Employees feel valued and respected
Disadvantage:
- May take a long time to see benefits develop

Question 25

Advantage/disadvantage of sanction

Answer 25

Advantage:
- Can lead to focused and hopefully predictable responses
Disadvantage:
- Builds negative fearful culture