Unit 6 Human Resources Flashcards
What is HR
Implementation of strategies to manage people for optimum business performance
Roles of HR
selection, hiring, firing
motivation, retention, training
redundancy and career planning
Employee engagement
The level of commitment an employee shows to their work and the business as a whole
Employee involvement
The amount of contributions an employee provides to their working practices and decision making
Benefits of high engagement and involvement
Higher productivity, lower turnover
Talent development
Business identifying those individuals who have potential to help improve the business in the future
Training
Process of equipping employees with the skills and knowledge to carry out their jobs effectively
diversity
recognising all employees are different however making sure these differences aren’t discriminated against
Alignment of values
Pulling values of employees together to focus on achieving one common aim
What is soft Human resource management
Where employees are treated as the most important part of the business, where they provide a competitive advantage
What is hard HRM
Treats employees simply as a resource - cost focused
features of soft HRM
strong communication, competitive pay structure, appraisal systems, empowered employees
features of hard HRM
high labour turnover, minimal pay, one way communication, little empowerment
Influences on HRM
Type of business, industry
Leadership style
Finances available
Skillset of staff
Labour productivity calc
Output/number of employees
Labour cost per unit
Total labour costs/output
Employee costs as a percentage of turnover
(Total labour costs/ revenue) x100
What is labour turnover
The percentage of employees who leave a business over a period of time
Labour turnover calc
(number of employees who leave the business/total staff employed) x100
Which type of businesses experience high turnover of labour
- Seasonal businesses
- Low paying jobs
What are the negative consequences of high labour turnover
- High costs of re-selecting staff and re-training
- Loss of experience
- Lower productivity
- Low motivation
How to reduce high turnover
Better pay, soft HRM, better motivation methods, more promotion and careers development opportunities
What does a business structure show
Individual job titles and roles, authority and responsibility
Chain of command
Describes the lines of authority within a business
Span of control
The number of employees a manager is responsible for
What is a functional organisational structure
Organisation is divided into specialist departments - marketing, operations, finance, HR
Positive of a functional structure
Promotes specialisation and expertise
Increases efficiency and productivity
Negative of a functional structure
Minimal collaberating between function
Less flexibility
What is a product based organisational structure
Organisations are divided according to the products it produces
Positives of a product based org. structure
Clear product focus - encouraging innovation
Negative of a product based org. structure
Duplication of efforts due to multiple teams - increasing costs
What is a regional org. structure
When an organisation is divided based on geographical locations
Positive of regional
Allows for a localised approach - so consumer needs are better met
What is a matrix org. structure
When an organisation is both functional and product based
What are the positives of matrix structure
Best of functional and product pros
What are the negatives of matrix structure
Complicated and confusing
Influences on span of control
Type of job - how much supervision
How much input is needed from managers
Can staff be trusted
Benefits of a wide span of control - flat structure
Fast communication, flexibility to delegate, lower costs
Benefits of narrow span of control
- tall structure
More direct communication, higher productivity, more promotion opportunities
What is delegation
Passing authority and tasks to a subordinate
What is a centralised structure
When authority rests with senior management at the top of the business
Advantages of centralised structure
- Consistency of g/s produced
- Centralised purchasing - EoS
- Quick decisions
- Control
Disadvantages of centralised
- Products are too generic
- Products aren’t specialised to local needs
- Minimal flexibility and autonomy
Decentralised structure
When authority is passed further down the hierarchy
Advantages of decentralised
Products adapted to local market
Local suppliers
Higher motivation
Disadvantages of decentralised
Duplication of roles
Longer decision making
Only works if staff are skilled
No consistency over products
Influences on organisational design
Customer expectations on consistency of g/s
Leadership style
Workforce ability to make decisions
Delayering
Removing one or more layers of a heirarchy
Motivation
Initiates goal orientated behaviour
Benefits of a highly motivated workforce
Higher productivity, lower absenteeism, lower turnover, improved workplace relations
Taylor’s motivational theory
People are motivated by money - performance should be linked to a financial reward - piece rate
Herzberg’s motivational theory
Employees motivation is relient on two factors: hygiene and motivating factors
What are hygiene factors
Salary (base pay), working conditions, workplace relations.
These decrease job satisfaction when not in place
What are motivating factors
Recognition and achievement, these make employees more productive and committed
Maslow’s motivating theory
Employees are working to fulfil specific needs. Employees are motivated by these needs which follow a hierarchy
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Self actualisation, self-esteem, social, safety, physiological
Human resource flow
The hiring (inflow), movement (internal flow) and dispersing of staff (outflow)
Workforce planning
Identifying future workforce needs and then taking action - training, recruitment, redundancies
Recruitment
Process of gathering potential employees for the selection process
Internal recruitment
Recruiting from within the business
External recruitment
Recruiting from outside the business
Selection
Process of narrowing down candidates in order to decide who is best for the job
Selection methods
Interviews, CV, application forms, tests, references, group activities
Training
Improving skills and knowledge of employees
Benefits of training
Improved human resource performance measure: productivity, turnover
Less supervision
Quality
Redeployment
Moving an employee to a different job role, department or location
Reasons for redeployment
Changing structure of business
Avoid redundancies
Difference between redundancy and dismissal
Dismissal is due to performance or disciplinary reasons
Redundancy is when the job is no longer needed
Which motivational theorist emphasised pay
Taylor
What did maslow and herzberg belief about financial motivators
They are a basic requirement
Methods of financial motivation
Piece rate, commission, performance related pay (bonus)
Advantages of financial methods of motivation
Linked to efficiency - productivity gains
Save costs e.g. from turnover by motivating financially
Disadvantage of financial motivators
-focus on quantity rather than quality
- No guaranteed income - safety need not fufilled
Examples of non financial motivators
Praise, empowerment, working conditions, promotion
What can poor industrial relations leads to
Industrial disputes (conflicts) and industrial action (strikes)
Consequences of poor industrial relations
Increased absenteeism and turnover
Reduced reputation, productivity and customer service
Employee representation
Involving employees in the decision making process
Employee representatives
Where the views of employees are represented by a smaller group. Occurs in large businesses due to the inability to manage all employees views
Trade union
External organisations that represent employees in an occupation
Collective bargaining
Used by trade unions. Its the way trade unions negotiate with employers on the behalf of their members
Reasons for a decline in trade unions
More people self employed
Better conditions
High cost
People aren’t prepared to strike
