Unit6 Flashcards
What are the roles of HR?
- Job analysis
- Recruitment
- Performance management
- Training
- Reward
- Diversity
- Safety and wellbeing
What are common HR objectives?
- employee engagement
- talent development
- training
- diversity
- alignment of values
- right number, skills and location of staff
1) employee engagement- HR objectives
if employees are fully engaged and involved in the business they’re more likely to be motivated= higher productivity and quality
2) talent development - HR objectives
development and guidance of talented staff so they can contribute to the success and growth. also improves employee retention of talent
3) Training - HR objectives
development of employee skills or behaviours to carry jobs out more effectively and improve performance
4) diversity- HR objectives
recognising each employee ad an individual and welcoming employee differences
5) alignment of values- HR objectives
the sharing of common set of core values between all employees
6) right number, skills and location of staff - HR objectives
meet the needs of the business there must be the right number of staff with the right skills and the right time in the jobs
what are the internal factors affecting HR objectives?
1) Financial objectives
2) Operational objective
3) Marketing objective
4) Corporate objective
what external factors affecting HR objectives
1) market changes
2) economic changes
3) tech changes
4) social changes
5) political and legal changes
what is hard HR?
approach treats employees as just another asset or resource that must be used as efficiently as possible
what is soft HR?
approach treats employees as a valuable asset or resource that needs to be developed
what is human resource data?
quantifiable information used to measure performance of the workforce. used to make improvements on performance
what does labour productivity measure?
a measure of how efficient the workforce is in transforming inputs into outputs
how do you calculate labour productivity?
total output / number of employees
what are the key factors influencing labour productivity?
- extent and quality of fixed assets
- skills and ability and motivation
- methods of production
- training and support given
- external factors
what are the potential problems when trying to increase labour productivity?
- loss of quality with higher output
- potential employee resistance
- employees may want higher pay for higher productivity
what are ways to improve labour productivity?
- measure performance and set targets
- streamline processes
- invest in capital equipment
- employee training
- improve working conditions
what does labour cost per unit measure?
the total labour costs divided by the number of units of output.
e.g. wages, taxes, motivators
how do you calculate labour cost per unit?
total labour costs / total output
what does employee cost as a percentage of turnover measure?
the proportion of sales revenue that is spent on employee remuneration
how do you calculate employee cost as a percentage of turnover?
(employee costs / sales turnover) x 100
what does labour turnover measure?
measure of the number of employees leaving as a percentage of the average size of the workforce in a given time period
how do you calculate labour turnover?
(number of staff leaving / avg number of staff) x100
what are the consequences of high labour turnover?
- recruitment costs
- training costs
- reduced productivity
- low morale
- hard to maintain quality and customer service
what are the ways of improving labour turnover?
- improve conditions
- motivate staff
- improve wages
- communication
- training
- delegation
what does retention rate measure?
measure of the number of long- term serving staff as a percentage of the avg size of the workforce
what are the main reasons for employees leaving their jobs ?
- ineffective leadership and communication
- wages and salaries lower than other jobs
- boring
- poor working conditions
- low motivation
how do you calculate retention rate?
(number of long serving staff / avg number of staff) x 100
what examples of internal data that helps HR planning?
- labour productivity
- labour turnover
- retention
- unit labour cost
- skill
- financial performance
- corporate objectives
- level of absenteeism
what are examples of external data that helps HR planning?
- min wage
- wage paid by competitors
- market trends
- unemployment rates
- tech
- social trends
- employment laws
what is organisational structure?
the way in which the workforce within a business is organised including job roles and communication flows
what is an organisational chart?
provides a visual representation of the organisational structure
what is organisational design ?
the process of structuring an organisation so that it is in the format that enables it to deliver its objectives in short and long term. the process also structures the organisation to enable change to be managed effectively.
what is authority?
the power of an employee to instruct subordinates, make decisions and control the use of resources
what is subordinates?
a person under the authority or control of another
what is span of control?
the number of subordinates a manger is responsible for
what is chain of command?
the line of communication and authority in a a business.
what is delegation?
the passing of authority to a subordinate within a business. it is the power to undertake a task that is delegated but not the responsibility for it
what are the advantages of delegation?
- reduce manager workload
- focus on key tasks
- empowerment
- on- the- job training
what are the disadvantages of delegation?
- cannot delegate responsibility
- depends on experience of subordinates
= quality risk - increase sub workload = stress
what does it mean if a business is centralised?
keep decision making at the top of the hierarchy amongst senior management.
what are the benefits of a centralised business?
- quicker decision making
- consistency
- motivation and clear communication
what are the drawbacks of a centralised business?
- rigid = less flexible decision making
- lower motivation = low empowerment , productivity, innovation
what does it mean if a business is decentralised?
decision making is spread out to include more junior manager in the hierarchy, as well as individual business units or trading locations
what are the benefits of a decentralised business ?
- motivation = productivity and innovation
- flexible decision making
- internal recruitment = reduce costs and on the the job training
what are the drawbacks of a decentralised business?
- less consistency = quality at risk
- depends on skill and experience
- bad in crisis
what are the influences on organisational design?
- attitudes and priorities of leaders and leadership style
- skills and attitudes of workforce
- nature of decisions being made
- functional objectives
- degree of stability and confidence in the economic environment
what is hierarchy?
the structure and number of layers of management and supervision in an organisation
what is a tall structure?
large number of layers