Unit 6- Human Resources

Question 1

What is HR and HR management?

Answer 1

Human resources- describes the department or function within an organisation that is focused on activities relating to employees
HR management- the management of people at work in order to assist the organisation in achieving its objectives

Question 2

What are the benefits and drawbacks of HR objectives?

Answer 2

Benefits- consistent decision making, motivating employees, enables effective monitoring of implementation
Problems- difficulty forecasting needs, conflicting objectives, insufficient resources, imposed objectives may lack ownership, reluctance to set realistic objectives, ambitious targets can become less meaningful

Question 3

What are the internal and external factors affecting HR objectives?

Answer 3

Internal factors- overall business aims, available finance and resources, corporate culture, organisational structure, trade unions, overall business performance
External factors- political, economic, social, technological, legislation, actions of competitors and market forces

Question 4

What is hard HR and features of it?

Answer 4

Treats employees as a resource
Monitored and used in efficient manner in order to achieve strategic objectives of the organisation
Usually autocratic management
Features- short term changes in employee numbers, minimal communication, pay enough to recruit and retain staff, little empowerment, appraisal systems focussed on judgement, taller structure

Question 5

What is soft HR and features of it?

Answer 5

Views employees as valued asset
Major source of competitive advantage
More democratic leadership
Features- focus on longer term workforce planning, two way communication, competitive pay structure, encourage delegation, flatter structure

Question 6

What are the 3 main measures of HR performance?

Answer 6

Labour turnover and retention
Labour productivity
Employee cost as a % of turnover

Question 7

What is labour turnover and retention rates?

Answer 7

Labour turnover= no of employees leaving over a given period/ average no of employees over a period x 100
- as low as possible
Retention rates= No of employees with 1 or more years/ overall workforce x 100
- high as possible
Problems- high recruitment cost, high training cost, redesigning jobs to make them easier to fill and lower staff morale

Question 8

What are the internal and external factors affecting retention?

Answer 8

internal- ineffective management and leadership, poor communications, wages and salaries lower than comparable jobs, poor selection, unchallenging jobs or poor working conditions
External- increased number of vacancies, attractive employment opportunities elsewhere

Question 9

What are improvement stratergies for labour turnover?

Answer 9

Monitoring- understanding turnover status
Exit interviews- common problems identified
Recruitment and selection- effective procedures save in the long term
Induction and training- well directed training and supervision helps integrate staff
Reducing turnover of long term workers- appropriate motivation for staff

Question 10

What is labour productivity and cost per unit and strategies to decrease labour costs?

Answer 10

Labour productivity- a measure of output per worker in a given time period
- output per period/ no of employees per period
Labour costs per unit- a measure of average labour costs involved in producing one unit of output
- total labour costs/ total units of output
Strategies- holding down wages, replacing workers with machinery, outsourcing production

Question 11

What is employee costs as a % of tunrover?

Answer 11

Employee costs as a % of turnover- the % of sales tunrover needed to cover employee or labour costs
Employee costs/ sales turnover x 100
When staff are absent the costs increase and issues related to quality, productivity and meeting deadlines

Question 12

What are strategies to decrease problems of labour turnover?

Answer 12

More flexible working practices 
Making work interesting 
Improving working conditions
Improving employee/ employer relations
Attendance bonuses

Question 13

What is job design?

Answer 13

The process of deciding on the content of a job in term of its duties and responsibilities
Other terms- methods to be used in carrying out the job, in terms of techniques, systems and procedures and on the relationships that should exists between the employee and employer
Support the purpose in the organisation

Question 14

What are organisational influences and employee related influences?

Answer 14

Organisational influences- The nature of the task
-Ergonomics or how well enabled people are to perform the task
-The quality standards in an organisation
-The speed of response required
Employee related influences- their health, wellbeing and safety
- the need for fair reward and recognition
- the need for job satisfaction
- the need for a good work life balance
- a reflection of an individuals skills and employees

Question 15

What are key areas of job design?

Answer 15

Demands- work loads, work patterns and work environment
Control- how much say the person has in their work
Support- the level of encouragement and resources provided by the organisation
Relationships- avoid contact
Role- understand role
Change- organisational change

Question 16

What is Hackman and Oldham’s job characteristic model?

Answer 16

Indicates employees will perform better when they are rewarded in 5 areas-
1. Skill variety
2. Task identity
3. Task significance
4. Autonomy
5. Feedback
High level of motivation is related to 3 phsyological states- meaningfulness of work, responsibility fir work outcomes, knowledge of work outcomes

Question 17

What is organisational design?

Answer 17

The process of shaping an organisations structure so that it meets the organisations purpose and helps to deliver its objectives

Question 18

What is organisational hierarchy?

Answer 18

The vertical decision of authority and accountability in an organisation

Question 19

What are the levels of hierarchy and span of control?

Answer 19

Levels of hierarchy- the number of different supervisory and management levels between shop floor and chief executive in an organisation
Span of control- the number of subordinates manager is required to supervise directly

Question 20

What are the main influences on the structure of a business?

Answer 20

Authority- the power assigned to a particular role to achieve organisational objectives
Accountability - the extent to which an individual is help responsible for success or failure of a task and their obligation to report formally as to how they have discharged their responsibility
Responsibility- the duty assigned to a particular position and the obligation to perform the assigned tasks

Question 21

What is delegation?

Answer 21

Frees up management time for strategic issues, enables flexible responses to change and motivates staff who in turn can develop managerial skills
Successful delegation- depends on the quality of staff and its leadership
To improve success- appropriate skills
- clear communication

Question 22

What is centralisation and the advantages and disadvantages?

Answer 22

Decision making power held firmly at the top of the hierarchy
Advantages- consistency, greater control and standardisation
- quicker decisions
- consistent decisions
- tighter financial control
- corporate view upheld
- good in times of crisis
Disadvantages- decreased output of local managers
- decreased motivation down the hierarchy
- inflexibility and longer decision process

Question 23

What is decentralisation and the advantages and disadvantages?

Answer 23

Power and authority delegated lower down the hierarchy
Advantages- empower local managers
      - improved innovation
      - local knowledge applied
      - decreased communication 
      - bosses can focus on strategy 
      - increased flexibility 
Disadvantages- decreased uniformity 
       - lack of a big picture at local level

Question 24

What are the influences on the type of structure?

Answer 24

Business objectives
The size of the organisation
Nature of the organisation
Culture and attitudes of senior management 
Skill and experience of the work force 
External environment

Question 25

What is the HR flow and a HR plan?

Answer 25

HR flow- The flow of employees through an organisation
HR plan- the process that links the HR needs of an organisation to its strategic plan to ensure staffing is sufficient, qualified and competent

Question 26

What are the stages in HR planning

Answer 26

1- setting objectives
2- assessing the current workforce
3- forecasting future demand 
4- identifying shortfall or oversupply
5- reviewing internal and external supply
6-- developing strategies

Question 27

What are the issues in implementing HR plans?

Answer 27

Employer/ employee relations- consultation is vital
Cost- successful planning needs to be well resourced
Training- Induction and training programmes help with successful implementation
Corporate image- any plan opposed by employers may lead to industrial unrest and negative PR

Question 28

What are the benefits and risks of HR plans?

Answer 28

Benefits- ensures a sufficient and skilled workforce, avoids labour shortages, supports customer demands and enables competitive advantages
RIsks- insuffieicently skilled staff and reduced morale, reactionary and poor qulaityt decision making