Unit 6- HRM & Organisational Behaviour Flashcards
What does structure reflect?
A structure can reflect a manager’s assumptions about how best to divide & coordinate tasks, and can determine whether it adds value to resources
What does structure affect?
Structure affects performance since it clarifies expectations & enables monitoring, as well as avoids confusion & waste of poor design
What is the ‘managers span of control’?
No. of people above them in structure is called ‘managers span of control’
What are tall structures & narrow span of control?
If managers supervise very closely, they have a narrow span of control & are said to have ‘tall’ structures
What are flat structures & wide span of control?
If managers allow staff more responsibility, they have less to do , so they can manage more staff and have a wide span of control (flat structure)
How do managers organise work internally?
informal (flat, fluid design with few rules), functional (common professional or other expertise), divisional (products, customers & geography) & matrix (In functional groups, work on divisional tasks- employees are supervised by 2 different managers)
What is mechanistic structure?
specialised tasks, hierarchical structure, vertical communication & loyalty & obedience valued (stable environment)
What is organic structure?
contribute experience to common tasks, knowledge widely spread, horizontal communication & commitment to goals valued (more appropriate for unstable environments that are adaptable & flexible)
What does cost leadership & differentiation require?
Cost leadership requires efficiency- mechanistic, Differentiation requires innovation- organic
What is organisational design?
Organisational design is the process of designing an organisational’s structure to align it with the business strategy & its context (bridging the gap)
What are elements of effective communication?
built on shared sense of purpose & aligned to organisational structure, receives attention & support from senior leaders, driven by genuine dialogue, and is reviewed & assessed for effectiveness
What is HRM?
Human Resource Management refers to all those activities associated with the management of work and people in organisation e.g. compensation, recruitment/selection, performance management, organisational development, safety, wellness, benefit, motivation, communication policies, admin & training (Partly influenced by the Human Relations model)
What are the key objectives of HRM?
mobilisation of the workforce, retention of effective performers (reduce employee turnover)
What do HRM practices help to establish?
HRM practices help to establish a close relationship between business strategy, organisational structure & People. It is all about making sure an organisation has the right people, in the right place, at the right time.
What are examples of current trends?
internalisation, customer relationships, labour market trends, workforce demographics & technological change
What is the labor market?
labour market (aka employment market) is where organisations compete with one another in order to acquire the services of employees
What are the labor market conditions?
tight market =fierce competition for talent, loose market= plentiful supply of potential employees
What are workforce demographics?
Workforce demographics (trend affecting HRM): average age of working population increasing, more female employees, imminent retirement of baby boomer generation, immigration trends & changing attitudes to work, careers & employment
What is business strategy shaped by?
Business strategy must also be shaped by HR strategy because it must be informed by the availability of skills & knowledge
What is the external fit?
The link between HR strategy, the business strategy & the external environment
What is hard HRM approach?
treats employees as resources needed to help the business operate, doesn’t consider employees needs (focused on low costs)
What is soft HRM approach?
treats employees as most important assets (focused on differentiation strategy)
What does the HR function do?
The HR function adds value to the organisation by helping it to deliver its strategy & achieve business objectives through effective people management
What are the 4 roles in HR function strategy?
strategic partner- aligning HR with strategy, admin expert- running HR processes & protecting employees against ligation, change agent- building capacity for change & identifying new behaviours that will help organisation sustain competitiveness, and employee champion- dealing with staff needs, people focused role,
What is the employee lifecycle?
The employee lifecycle refers to the operation HR activities that manage the various stages that an employee will experience during their time at an organisation (recruitment & selection, training & development, managing performance, retention & reward, and separation)
What are the 3 main reasons to tackle inequality?
legal compliance (Equality Act 2010), reputation as an employer & overall cooperation reputation, and ethic/moral case
What are business benefits of diversity?
broadens talent pool, better decision making, can improve customer relations & increase market shares, better product development, and improvement in firms reputation
How have new business models & forms of employment relationships changed the traditional employment relationship?
New business models & forms of employment relationships (e.g. zero hour contracts, gig economy) have all weakened the traditional employment relationship (casual work)
What is functional flexibility?
teaches employees to perform multiple job roles in one organisation, more teamwork & flatter hierarchy (can be costly in admin costs & could be resistance from employees due to intensity of flexibility)
What is numerical flexibility?
People are employed on different forms of ‘atypical contract’ so they can be deployed where they are most needed at the times they are needed including temporary contracts, subcontractors & ‘gig’ work
What is temporal flexibility?
involves a move away from set amount of hours worked- flexitime, annual hours, zero hours & compressed (fewer & longer blocks) hours
What are criticisms of flexibility?
certain types of flexibility can lead to financial insecurity, could result in skills shortages in longer term, flexibility on employer’s terms, and ethical & social considerations
What does the employee voice refer to?
Employee voice refers to “the ability of employees to express their views, opinions, concerns & suggestions, & for these to influence matters that affect them at work”
What are the different types of employee voice?
Participation (sharing of decision-making), involvement (soliciting employee views about an issue) & consultation (tapping into employees ideas before decision is made at work)
