1.4 Approaches to staffing

Question 1

What is a hard HRM

Answer 1

When the workforce is treated as a cost
Staff often on fixed term contracts and min wage
little power - autocratic
temp contracts + 0 hours

Question 2

What is soft HRM

Answer 2

Workforce treated as an asset
Opportunities for staff development
Competetive salery
Democratic
Flexible

Question 3

Strengths of hard HRM

Answer 3

Close monterting -> ^ productivity
Lower costs
Autocratic decisions = quicker decision

Question 4

Strengths of Soft HRM

Answer 4

Staff retention
Lower absences
Attract new employees
^ motivation

Question 5

Weaknesses of Hard HRM

Answer 5

High staff turnover
Recruitment costs
Low motivtion
Industrial action
Damage firm rep

Question 6

Weakness of soft HRM

Answer 6

Expensive
Staff may abuse the extra responsibilities

Question 7

What is a flexible workforce?

Answer 7

A workforce that has many different types of staff, e.g. temp, perm, 0 hour

Question 8

What is multiskilling?

Answer 8

Training employees to do a range of tasks

Question 9

+ve of multiskilling for employer?

Answer 9

Can lead to staff retention due to motivation
Can help maintain productivity as staff can work in multiple areas

Question 10

-ve of multiskilling for employer?

Answer 10

Staff may become less specialised in one particular area
Productivity may dip as they move areas
Staff training costs increase

Question 11

+ve of multiskilling for employee?

Answer 11

Can increase motivation as workers get to experiance more
Can gain more skills

Question 12

-ve of multiskilling for the employee?

Answer 12

May be required to work in areas which they dont like
Become less specialised

Question 13

What are part time employees?

Answer 13

Employees who are contracted to work less hours
Hours can be increase to match demand

Question 14

+ve of part time for employer

Answer 14

Cheaper
Flexible

Question 15

+ve of part time for emplyee

Answer 15

Can balence other commitments
Can be less stressful

Question 16

-ve of part time for employer

Answer 16

May not be available
Staff may be less commited
Communication can be hard if hours dont line up

Question 17

-ve of part time for employee

Answer 17

less pay
may miss out on opportunities
may struggle to develop relationships
increases workload as lose momentum

Question 18

What is a temporary employee?

Answer 18

A worker who is contracted to work for a specific time
can be full time or part time
less job secuirty
often work for an agency

Question 19

+ve of temporay staff

Answer 19

helps deal with demand
cheaper
can bring in experts temporaraly
cover staff absence

Question 20

-ve of temp staff?

Answer 20

may require training
short period
not as commited
may have less experiance

Question 21

+ve of homeworking

Answer 21

Hire from anywhere
increases staff’s flexiblity
producivity can increase from no workplace distractions

Question 22

-ve of homeworking

Answer 22

Cant moniter staff
Hard to communicate
distractions at home
miss out on social interaction

Question 23

What is outsourcing

Answer 23

tasks or processes which are carried out by external staff.

Question 24

+ve of outsourcing

Answer 24

Provides flexability
Can increase capacity without high capital expenditures
Buy in experts

Question 25

-ve of outsourcing

Answer 25

quality must be maintained loss of control increased costs as provider wants profit

Question 26

Whats a dismissal

Answer 26

employee breach of contract position still exists

Question 27

whats a redundacy

Answer 27

job no longer exists have to pay off staff e.g. 2 months pay

Question 28

-ves of redundancy

Answer 28

redundancy pay e.g. 2 months lowers job security damage reputation

Question 29

Whats an individual approach?

Answer 29

Where an employee talks to employers one on one

Question 30

+ve of individual approach

Answer 30

SUited to employee needs May be better suited to fight their own corner Managers can make judjement case by case

Question 31

What is a collective responce?

Answer 31

WHere trade unions rep members through collective bargaining to achieve industial democracy and improve conditions and pay

Question 32

What do unions work to avoid?

Answer 32

Indutial action and potential disputes before they happen

Question 33

What is an industial action?

Answer 33

When employees take sanctions to try and impose pressure on the employer

Question 34

What are examples of industrial action?

Answer 34

Work to rule (doing bare minimum) Lobbying (protests and demostrations) Strikes (refuse to work)

Question 35

What is a work council

Answer 35

An internal group of people who meet regularly to discuss issues relating to the business specifically the workforce

Question 36

+ve of collective barganing?

Answer 36

want to avoid big threats so more barganing power unions have lots of experiance

Question 37

-ve of collective barganing

Answer 37

hard to please exeryone way more complicated + time consuming some employees may not be deserving