UNIT 5- HR Flashcards
HR Objectives
+ definition of human resource management
Main aspects
Value of effective HR objectives
A specifically goal or target of relating to the management and performance of Human Resources
The design and implementation of strategies to manage people for optimum business performance (Workforce planning, recruitment and selection, training, motivation, developing corporate culture)
- Can connect HR activities and decision making with overall business objectives
- Link HR with customer service and quality
- Helping create an effective working environment for employees - thereby improving performance
Common HR objectives
Ensure human resources are employed cost-effectively-
- Pay rates should be competitive but not excessive, Minimise staff turnover (now many leave), Measure returns on investment in training
Make effective use of workforce potential
- ensure jobs have suitable, achieveabe workloads, avoid too many under- utilised + over-stretched staff, make best use of employees skills
Match the workforce to the business needs
Planning to ensure business has the right number of staff in the right locations with the right skills, Effective recruitment to match workforce needs, Training programmes to cover skills gaps or respond to changes in technology, processes & market
Maintain good employer / employee relations
Avoid unnecessary and costly industrial disputes, Timely and honest communication with employees and their representatives, Sensitive handling of potential problems with employees (e.g. dismissal, redundancy, major changes in the business)
Soft vs hard HRM
Hard- Treats employees simply as a resource of the business.
Strong link with corporate business planning - what resources do we need, how do we get them and how much will they cost
Minimal communication, from the top down, Pay - enough to recruit and retain enough staff (e.g. minimum wage), Little empowerment or delegation, Appraisal systems focused on making judgements (good and bad) about staff, Taller organisational structures, Suits autocratic leadership style
Soft- Treats employees as the most important resource in the business and a source of competitive advantage. Employees are treated as individuals and their needs are planned accordingly
Strategic focus on longer-term workforce planning, Strong and regular two-way communication
Competitive pay structure, with suitable performance-related rewards (e.g. profit share, share options), Employees are empowered and encouraged to seek delegation and take responsibility
Appraisal systems focused on identifying and addressing training and other employee development needs, Flatter organisational structures, Suits democratic leadership style.
Managing the Human Resources flow
- reasons to recruit staff
- modern in employee patterns
Business expansion, existing employees leaving (maternity, retirement, security etc), requirement for new skills, business relocating
- flexible working hours post Covid and with technological development, increased part-time work, increased single-parents families, ageing population
part time staff
- advantages and disadvantages
Advantages- Cheaper to employee as entitled to lessons benefits, more flexible work force (easier to change hours to suit demand), wide range of potentially recruitment (working mothers, students etc)
Disadvantages- employee less loyal and therefore less motivated, may be harder for managers to control and coordinate the work force
Recruitment methods
+ advantages and disadvantages
Internal recruitment= jobs gives to staff already employee by businesses, involved ProMotion and reorganisation
Advantages- Cheaper and quicker to recruit, People already familiar with business and how it operates, Provides opportunities for promotion with in business, Business already knows strengths and weaknesses of candidates
Disadvantages- limited number of potentially applicants, no new ideas introduced formula the outside, may cause resentment amongst candidates not appointed, creates another vacancy
External recruitment= Recruitment throughout mob centres, advertisements, recruitment agencies (on line and offline), head hunting and personal recommendations
Advantages= outside people bringing in new idealistic, larger pool of workers formula which to find the best candidate, people have a wider range of experience
Disadvantages= longer process, more expensive (adverts and interviews), selection process may not be effective enough to reveal best candidate
Training
+benefits
Induction training
The development of work related skills to improve performance. This can be on or off the mob and may lead to qualifications.
Better productivity and quality, more flexibility throughout better skills, less supervision required, improved motivation- through greater empowerment, better recruitment and employee retention, easier to implementation change in the business
Induction training= introducing new employees to the job, their new colleagues, premises, main duties and to the values and aims of business
(Length and type depends on the size and type of values, complexity and position)
On the job training
Methods
+ advantages and disadvantages
An employee receives training whilst remaining in the workplace
(Demonstration/instruction, coaching, job rotation (eg- diff departments), projects (employee joins a project team)
Advantages- the most cost-effective, employees are still productive, opportunity to learn whilst doing, training alongside real colleagues
Disadvantages- quality depends on the available staff and time available, bad habits may be passed on, learning environment may not be conductive if it is busy, potential disruption to production
Off the job training
Employee training that occurs outside of the work place
(Day or part time attendance act a college), professional development courses or conferences, o line training/ distance learning
Advantages- a wider range of skills or qualifications can be obtained, can learning formula outside specialists or experts, employees can be more confident when starting a job
Disadvantages= more expensive (transport and accommodation), lost working time and potential output from employee, employees new have new skills/ qualifications and may leave for better jobs
Why training leads to greater motivation
Why businesses neglect it
- Employees fell more loyal as business is aiding your development + spending money on you
- provides employees with more promotional opportunities
- employees achieve more at work + potentially gain more financially
They fear employees may be poached by competitors
A desired to minimise short-term costs, cannot make a justified investment case
Takes time to have the desired effect
Redeployment
+potential benefits
redundancy
+ other option
moving employees to different jobs and departments or locations within the same business
- maintain security for employee business, retains the skills and experience, labour resources are allocated more effectively and reduced costs of recruitment and selection
When an employee is dismissed because the job/role no longer exists or is required
- freeze on recruitment (simply stop recruiting)- jobs lost through natural waste, short time working or job sharing, pay cuts or overtime bands to reduce wage costs, employment, encouraging early retirement
Key measures of HR performance
Labour turnover and staff retention (percentage of staff who leave during a period) , labour productivity, absenteeism
All businesses lose staff recruitment maternity death, long-term illness, unsuitability or changes in strategy however labour turnover needs to be managed if their businesses to succeeded
Employee retention is the ability of a business to convince its employees to remain within the business
Labour turnover is the number of employees leaving in a given period /
the average number of employed X 100 (Expressed as a percentage)
Factors that effect high staff turn over
Problems of high staff turn over
Type of business, pay and other rewards, working conditional, opportunities for ProMotion, competitor actions, standard of recruitment, quality of communication, economic conditional, labour mobility (transferability of staff skills, what other jobs are available), employee loyalty
Higher costs (increased recruitment +training costs), increased pressure on remaining staff, disruption to production, harder to maintain required standard of quality and customer service, competition may receive their employees
Labour productivity
Output per employee
Labour costs are a significant part of total costs + unit costs, business efficiency and profit ability are closely linked to labour productivity
quality of fixed assets (equipment and IT systems), ability and motivation of the work force, training and support in the work force, external supplies (reliability of supplies)
Labour productivity = Output per period (units) / number of employees at work
How to improve labour productivity
+potential problems
Measure performance and set targets, stream line production process, invest in capital equipment or employee training, improve work if conditions
Potential ‘trade off’ with quality- higher output most still be of the right quality, employee may demand higher pay for their improved productivity (negates impact on labour costs per unit)
Absenteeism
+ formula
+ how to tackle its
An employees intentions or habitual absence from work
Number of staff absent during a period/ number employee during period X 100
Number of dads taken or for unauthorised absence /
Total dads worked by work force over the period X100
Understand the caused, set targets and monitor trends, have a sickness and absence policy, provide rewards for good attendance
Organisational structure
Shows the way the business is arranged to meet its objectives
shown in an organisational chart, demonstrating roles and responsibilities, the size of the business
Span of control (no. of subordinates one manager is responsible for)
WIDE = many NARROW = Few
Chain of command ( formal lines of communication in a firm)
Levels of hierarchy (a formal level of authority)
Levels of hierarchy
The number of layers of management or supervision in the organisation’s structure
- each level reflect official levels of management
- A structure with many levels of hierarchy is known as tall which (opposition being flat)
Tall have narrow spans of control, less delegation, taxes longer time for the passing of communication, more staff = higher costs
Flat have wider spans of control, more delegation, fewer opportunities for promotion, staff gives greater responsibility, less staff = lower costs
Matrix structure
+ advantages and disadvantages
A matrix structure individuals work across teens and products as well as in their own department or functions
For example, a team established develop a new product might include engineers and design specialists as well as those with marketing financial personnel and production skills
Advantages – helps to breakdown department barriers improving communication, individuals get to use their skills within a variety of context, likely to result in greater motivation across the team members, encourages sharing a good practice and ideas across departments
Disadvantages – members of a project he may have divided loyalties as they report to line managers, may not be a clear line of accountability, difficult to coordinate, team members may neglect their functional responsibilities
Factors that affect organisational structure
The size of the business small businesses will tend to have informal or flat hierarchical structures where larger businesses involve more layers of hierarchy, departments and functions
Type of business, for example, having several locations being in the service or manufacturing structure or the skills of the workforce
Management and leadership style autocratic may be taller and democratic is more likely to be flatter, and the competitive environment as it may need to be flatter or decentralised to respond quicker
Delayering
+drawbacks
Removing layers of management from the hierarchy of the organisation
Blue key staff, may lower ollie, increased workload for remaining staff, often argue that it leads to short-term higher costs and long-term benefits as the staff adjust
Delegation
+ advantages and disadvantages
Empowerment
Delegation – giving authority to others to make decisions
Advantages – reduces management stress and workload, allows senior management to focus on key tasks, empower subordinates and motivates them, gives on the job training
Disadvantages – cannot/should not delegate responsibility, depends on the quality and experience of subordinate, harder a small firm, may increase work over stress of subordinate
Empowerment is giving the subordinates the power to do their job
- Include giving authority to make decisions to frontline staff for example hotel receptionist
- Encouraging employee feedback and showing more trust in employees
Centralised decision-making
+ examples
+ advantages and disadvantages
Centralised decision-making is where decision-making lies firmly at the top of the hierarchy amongst the most senior management
An example of this are fast food businesses like Burger King Pizza Hut and McDonald’s who predominantly used centralised structure to ensure that control is maintained over their thousands of outlets the need to ensure consistency of customer experience and quality at every location with a desire to exploit economies of scale and the main reasons for this choice
Advantages – enhance control, efficient coordination, streamline decision-making, improve consistency, vision and direction, quality, communication clear
Disadvantages – slow decision-making, reduced employee motivation, potential bottlenecks (where the system is slowed due to all the decision-making power lying on a small number)
Decentralised decision-making
+ example
+ advantages and disadvantages
Decentralised decision-making is where decision-making is spread out to include more junior managers in the hierarchy, as well as individual business units or trading locations.
An example of this is hotel chains which are particularly keen on using decentralised structures so that local managers are empowered to make on the spot decisions to handle customer problems or complaints
Advantages – decisions are made closer to the customer, better able to respond to local circumstances, improve level of customer service, good way of training and developing staff management, should improve staff motivation
Disadvantages – decision-making is not necessarily strategic, harder to ensure consistent practices and policies at each location, maybe some dish economies of style for example duplication of roles, who provides strong leadership when needed for example in a crisis, harder to achieve tight financial control and risk of cost overruns
Motivation
The three classical theories of motivation
Motivation is the world from work and it comes from the enjoyment of the work itself and/or from the desire to achieve certain goals
The three classical theories of motivation are Taylors which is scientific management
Maslow’s human relations and hierarchy of needs and
Herzberg neo human relations and the two factor theory
Taylor story of motivation
+ taylor in the modern world
He argued that managers should maintain close control and supervision over their employees adopting an autocratic style of management
He believed workers should be motivated using Peice- rate payment where they are paid based on how much they’ve produce
He said that you should identify the most efficient methods of production spot the most efficient workers train the remaining workers to work in the way that works best and reward them through pay based on productivity
In the modern world Amazon has been criticised for its piece – rate approach to rewarding and managing employees in warehouses
Maslow’s theory
Human relations theory which believe that there are five levels of human needs which employees need to be fulfilled at work
Only once a lower level of need has been fully met with a worker be motivated by the opportunity of having the next need up in the hierarchy satisfied
At the bottom. physiological such as basic needs including food, water, a livable environment, clothing and shelter (achieved through pay)
safety - a safe working environment, including job security through contract
social needs - being a part of a team through break rooms away days and teamwork
Self esteem- encouragement, empowerment, promotions and authority
At the top, intellectual needs such as fulfilling potential, achieving targets, challenging work, and training
Herzberg‘s theory of motivation
Also known as the two factor theory he argued that they were
hygiene or maintenance factors which can demotivate if not present but do not actually motivate employees to work harder
for example pay, working conditions, job security, appropriate supervision and clear policies
motivators which are factors that directly motivate people to work harder
For example, giving responsibility, recognition for good work, opportunities for promotion,, meaningful and fulfilling work
Advantages and disadvantages of piece- rate payment
Advantages – requires low levels of management supervision, encourages high speed production, provides a good incentive for workers who are mainly motivated by pay disadvantages – as a focused on quantity not quality, it is repetitive for workers and can be demotivating, workers are only used to one set method of production and they resist change
Commission
A financial incentive linked to the achievement of sales usually percentage commission for pound value of sale achieved main advantage is that that there is a clear link between sales and overall money received
The main disadvantage is that sales may be influenced by factors outside of employee controls
Profit sharing
A system whereby employees receive a proportion of business profits
it creates a direct link between pay and performance create a sense of team spirit by helping remove them and us attitude
may improve an employees loyalty to the company
employees are more likely to accept changes in working practices if they can see the profits will increase overall
Share saves schemes
What employees are entitled to save money to buy shares at a below market value
However they can only purchase this over a set period of time for example 3 years this encourages them to want to perform well so share price rises and to stay in the company longer
Fringe benefits
items an employee receives in addition to their normal wage or salary for example a company car, private health insurance, free meals
 often increases loyalty to company as these benefits are not always taxed or taxed at a reduced rate and are most likely to recruit best people to the company
The main non-financial incentives
The difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivators
empowerment – delegating power to employees so they can make their own decision
Praise/recognition for good work, promotion,
job enrichment- giving employees more challenging and interesting tasks,
job enlargement- giving employees more tasks of a similar level of complexity,
job rotation- where employees undertake different tasks throughout the day,
working environment providing a safe and clean and comfortable environment to working, teamwork
intrinsic motivators are social and expressed appreciation, et cetera and extrinsic pay and standard motivators
