1
Q
how many employees does a small business have?
A
between 1 and 49 employees
2
Q
How many employees does a medium-sized business have?
A
50-249 people
3
Q
How many employees does a large business have?
A
250+
4
Q
How do employers view their staff as an asset?
A
- value their employees and have concern for their welfare
- recognise efforts will help their business to perform more effectively
- employers may try to meet their employees needs –> acceptable remuneration, reasonable holidays ,sick leave maternity/ paternity pay, chance for promotion, safe working environment
- make effort to retain them
- know employees want to be challenged, acknowledged and rewarded –> money may not be a motivator for all employees
5
Q
What did the UK government set up in 1991?
A
the organisation Investors in People (IIP)
- Its purpose was to help employers to maximise the potential of employees
- IIP encourages businesses and other organisations to improve the management and development of their employees
6
Q
How may an employee view their employees as a cost?
A
- like other costs they will try to minimise it wherever possible
-paying only national minimum wage
-using zero-hour contacts
-neglecting investment in training
using financial intensives to raise productivity
-providing the minimum legal ‘employee rights’ in relation to sick leave, holidays pay and working conditions
7
Q
What is a downside to treating employees as a cost?
A
- treating them like a cost may lower employment costs, but it may also be a ‘false economy’
- this is because productivity might be lower due to poor motivation
- Staff turnover and absenteeism mayy also be higher and there may be more conflict between staff and management.
- treating staff as costs may leave workers feeling exploited, neglected., stressed and unhappy with their work
8
Q
what is a flexible workforce?
A
a workforce that can respond in quantity and type to changes in market demand
9
Q
what is Multi-skilling?
A
the process of increasing the skills of employees
10
Q
how is having staff that are multi-skilled useful/not useful?
A
- can lead to quicker response to issues, customer queries and free up other to focus on tasks
- its goods as it can motivate, however it can add more pressure and cause mistakes if workers are not properly trained
11
Q
What is a Par-time or temporary staff?
A
- People who do not work more the 30 hours a week
- good for busy periods e.g. weekends or Christmas
- Of the population c.67m, c.30m are the working population almost half are not in full-time employment
12
Q
what are flexible hours and home working?
A
- their are different ways this can work –> shifts over 24 hours, longer days for a shorter Friday, have a 35 hour week and complete whenever you want, sabbaticals, buying extra holidays
- Positives –> it can mean you are open longer
- Zero hour contracts –> great for businesses, but no security for the worker
- home workers –> farmer, shop owners, musicians, could be full-time, could be self employed. Good to keep costs low and suits lifestyle needs, but can cause communication problems with multiple staff and difficult to monitor productivity
13
Q
what is Outsourcing and why is it useful/not useful
?
A
- getting other people or businesses to undertake work that was originally done in-house
- keeps costs lower and lets you do more
- however there is loss of control, could hold up an production process and employees may not like it as they feel their jobs are being threatened
14
Q
what is dismissal?
A
- could be misconduct or employee incapable of doing their job
- they are given a period of notice before they leave which length differs depending on how long the employee has worked for the business
15
Q
what is redundancy?
A
- there is no work for the person to do
- you are entitled to redundancy or severance pay by law
- some people are not covered e.g. those coming towards the end of their contract or apprenticeship
16
Q
when can conflicts occur between employer and employee?
A
- rate of pay
- Introduction of technology - may fear job losses or may not be confident with it
- flexible working –> zero hours are not popular
- work conditions –> employees want better conditions
17
Q
What are the three ways employees can deal with conflicts with their management?
A
In order of severity and seriousness
- Individual approach
- collective bargaining
- Industrial action
18
Q
what is individual approach?
A
- often done by owner, manager or HR
- speaks with the employee over problem e.g. pay
- The danger is the better negotiators may get a better deal
- Often people argue this method is preferred by the employer, particularly when large organisation can hire someone skilled in HR to deal with issue
19
Q
what is collective bargaining?
A
a method of determining conditions of work and terms of employment through negotiation between employers and employee representatives
- trade union represent the workers and negotiate conditions
- For collective bargaining to take place, employees must be free to join representative e.g. trade unions
- employers must recognize and agree to work with them they should negotiate on good faith and everyone should respect the outcome
20
Q
What is industrial action?
A
- strikes
- disruptive measures taken by workers to apply pressure on employers when disagreements cannot be resolved
21
Q
What are the advantages of collective bargaining?
A
- agreements are transparent and binding
- may be more cost effective to have just one set of negotiations
- rules and terms are more likely to be respected by both parties
- more equitable because power between both sides is equalized
- favoritism and victimization might be reduced at work
- employee representatives are democratically elected
22
Q
What are disadvantages of collective bargain?
A
- negotiatioin can result in more bureaucracy and take longer
- the views of individuals are not always reflected by unions
- negotiation costs can be high are usually met by businesses
- A failure to agree can have serious consequences e.g. strike action
- Owners may feel their freedom to manage is compromised
23
Q
What are the advantages of flexible workforce?
A
- business can expand and contract quickly in response to changes in demand for its product –> a workforce made up of permanent staff is difficult to slim down due to costs and legal requirements
- specialized jobs need to be done but its a waste of time for a permanent worker –> better to outsource
- cheaper to employee –> if temporary staff are treated as self-employed or subcontractors –> business saves on NIC
- temporary staff can be laid off immediately with little cost
- business may be able to pass on training costs to subcontractors of the temporary workers
- job sharing and flexible hours –> work more efficiently (open 24/7) work longer certain days of the week e.g. Friday night
24
Q
What are the disadvantages of flexible workforce?
A
- peripheral workers may have less loyalty –> only motivated by financial gains
- outsourcing may lead to poor quality and damaging their reputation with customers –> peripheral workers move on and dont take responsibility for poor work
- Communication –> workers not available when the business needs to communicate with them - although technology has made this better
- can be a costly process to hire -> lower cost but lose out on efficiency compared to permanent workers – may lead to higher costs in the long run
- some workers can be excellent and highly motivated, others can be simple workers who cant hold down a job –> no guarantee that they perform their jobs as well as normal workers
- too many peripheral workers employed alongside core workers can cause demotivation to the core workers, constant changing of temp. staff can cause disorientation
25
Who recruits staff in a business?
HR --> human resources, do this in large businesses
| - in small businesses they may o it with a informal chat
26
Why may a business need new staff?
- the business is expanding and more labour is needed
- people are leaving and they need to be replaced
- positions have become vacant due to promotion
- people are required for a given period to cover temporary staff absence, e.g. due to maternity or maternity leave
27
What are the stages of the recruitment process
- identify the type and number of staff needed
- prepare job description and person specification
- advertise the job using appropriate media
- evaluate applicants and select a shortlist for interview
- Carry out interviews
- Evaluate interviews and make appointment
- Provide feedback for unsuccessful candidates
28
What does the Job description include?
- task of the job
| - working hours
29
What does the person specification include?
- characteristics, skills and qualifications
| - Essential and desirable traits
30
What are some internal methods of recruitment?
- word of mouth
- notice boards
- Approached
- Direct application E-mail
31
What are some external methods of recruitment?
- word of mouth
- newspapers
- radio
- head hunters
- job center
- advertising
- recruitment agencies
- government funded training schemes
32
What are some costs of recruitment selection and training?
- loss of output
- induction and training
- cost of the recruitment process
- more senior position are more expensive
33
What are some recruitment and selection cost?
- identifying the vacancy --> if 50 staff are need for a new store its complex
- admin costs of updating documents
- internal/external adverts
- costs of calling applicants
- interview process is time consuming and refreshments
- they may negotiate high pay/benefits
34
What some training costs?
- health and safety training is essential, others not always
- training courses and other resources
- loss of output
- employees leaving having been trained is a loss
35
what is the object of training?
- making workers move productive by teaching them more effective ways of working
- familiarizing workers with new equipment or technology being introduced
36
what is induction training?
- training that introduces you to the business
| - on-the-job training and off-the-job training
37
What is on-the-job training?
training while on the job through:
- learning form other workers
- mentoring
- job rotation
- traditional apprenticeships
- graduate training
38
What is off-the-job training?
training at external agencies --> at colleges or could be a MBA
- can be expensive
39
What are the benefits of training?
- managers --> staff are more motivated, they can be more flexible and it help recruit better staff
- Owners --> more productivity, lower costs as you are more efficient, competitive edge
- Employees --> more satisfied, fewer mistakes, feel valued, help get a promotion
- Customers --> Better products and customer service
40
What are some advantages of on-the-job training?
- output is being produced
- relevant because trainees learn by actually doing the job
- cheaper than other forms of training
- Can be easy to organise
41
What are some disadvantages of on-the-job training?
- Out put may be lost if workers make mistakes
- May be stressful for the workers -- particularly if working with others
- Trainers may get frustrated if they are 'unpaid' trainers
- Could be a danger to others e.g. surgeon or train driviers
42
What are some advantages of off-the-job training?
- Output is not affect if mistakes are made
- Worker's learning cannot be distracted by work
- Training could take place outside work hours if necessary
- Customers and others are not put at risk
43
What are some disadvantages of off-the-job training?
- No output because employees do not contribute to work
- Some off-the-job training is expensive if provided by specialists
- Some aspects of work cannot be taught off the jobs
- Trainees may feel that some of the training is not relevant to them
- It may take time to organise
44
What are the different organisational structure?
- tall structure
- Flat structure
- Matrix structure
45
What are the implications of a tall structure?
With tall structures the span of control can be small
- this means that managers have tighter control over their subordinates --> employees are more supervised
- Many layers but shouldnt exceed 8
- clear management structure and clear path for promotion --> may help motivate staff
- management costs are high as there are more managers
- Communication is poor due to long chain of command
- can slow down decision making process as approval may be needed at each level of management
- close-quarters control may be resented by some staff and they come become demotivated
46
What are the implications of a flat structure?
- communication is better because the chain of command is generally shorter
- Communication can be quicker as there is less scope for message distortion
- management costs are lower as fewer layers of management
- decision making can be quicker as approval from several layers of management is not needed
- employees may be more motivated as they are less closely controlled --> empowerment -- more responsibility for organising work and solving problems making work more interesting
- managers may lose control of the workforce because the span of control is too wide --> discipline may be lacking -- negative impact on productivity
- co-ordination problems if managers are responsible for too many subordinates --> can become over burdened
47
What are the implications of a Matrix Structure?
- managers often argue this is the best way to organise people
- based on experience and skills of employees --> gives scope for people lower down the organisation to use their talent effectively --> allows them to specialised in different projects
- developing a new product --> draw on expertise of employees with skills in design, R&D, marketing etc
- can operate within a business that has a bureaucratic structure
- fits with motivational theories --> viewing employees in a positive light -- empowerment
- the structure improves flexibility and motivation of employees
- however the method often needs expensive support systems, extra secretarial and office staff
- there may also be problems with co-coordinating a team drawn from different departments and withe the speed of decision making
48
What is Authority?
the right to command and make decisions
49
What is Centralisation?
a type of business organisation where major decisions are made at the centre or core of the organisation and then passed down the chain of command
50
What is chain of command?
thew way authority and power is organised in an organisation
51
What is decentralisation?
a type of business organisation where decision making is pushed down the chain of command and away from the centre of the organisation
52
What is Delaying?
removing layers of management from the hierarchy of an organisation
53
What is Formal organisation?
the internal structure of a business as shown by an organisational chart
54
What is a Hierarchy?
the order or levels of responsibility in an organisation from the lowest to the highest
55
What is a Organisational Chart?
a diagram that shows the different job roles in a business and how they relate to each other
56
What is responsibility?
the duty to complete a task
57
what is Span of Control?
the number of people a person is directly responsible for in a business
58
What are subordinates?
people in the hierarchy who work under the control of a senior worker
59
What are the advantages to a Centralised organisation structure?
- Senior management has more control of the business e.g. budgets
- Procedures, such as ordering and purchasing, can be standardised through the organisation leading to EoS and lower costs
- Senior managers can make decision from the point of business as a whole --> subordinates would only do it from department or section -- allows a senior manager to balance between departments
- senior management should be more skilful and experience in decision making, in theory centralised should be of better quality that decentralised decisions made by other less experienced
- in times of crisis, a business may need strong leadership by a central group of senior managers
- Communication may improve if there are fewer decision makers
60
What are the advantages of a decentralised structure?
- it empowers and motivates workers
- reduces the stress and burden on senior management --> managers can concentrate on more important tasks
- it provides subordinates with greater job satisfaction as they have more say in decision making
- subordinates may have better knowledge of 'local' conditions affecting their area of work --> should allow them to make more informed, well-judged choices
- Delegation should allow greater flexibility and a quicker response to changes --> if problems do not have to be referred to senior management decisions will be made quicker -- as they are quicker they are easier to change in the light of unforeseen circumstances which may arise
- management can now be groomed at junior and middle areas to take over higher positions, as they are given the experience of decision making when carrying out delegated task, it makes delegation important for management development
61
What are some employee roles in a organisational hierarchy?
- Directors --> appointed by shareholders to run the business, meet as board of directors, Executive directors deal with the running of business, MD/CEO has overall responsibility
- Managers --> could be departmental
- Team leaders
- Supervisions
- Professionals
- Operatives --> skilled workers who carry out tasks
- General staff --> non-specific skilled workers
62
What are Professionals?
- These are positions for staff with high levels of qualification and experience
- the job roles are likely to involve a degree of decisions making and responsibility for ensuring the tasks are carried out effectively to a high standard
- for example doctors, Chefs, architect, stockbrokers etc.
63
What is the importance of motivation?
- all levels of employees need motivating
- Businesses have found even if employees are satisfied with pay and conditions they will still complain that their employer doesnt motivate them enough
- -Lack of motivation
- short-run --> lead to reduced effort and a lack of commitment
- long-run --> a lack of motivation may result in high levels of absenteeism, industrial disputes and falling productivity and profit for a business
64
What are the 4 motivation theories for business?
- Taylor's theory of scientific management
- Mayo's theory of human relations
- Maslow's hierarchy of needs
- Herzberg's two-factor theory
65
What was the work/shop floor like at the start of the 1900s?
- during the start of the 1900's the organisation of work on the shop floor was left in the hands of workers --> brought own tools, operators of machines decided there speed, few training programmes, job and skills were gained simply by watching more experience
colleagues
- decisions about selection, rest periods and layoffs were frequently made by foremen
66
What did Taylor say about the organisations of shop floors?
- the such arrangements were haphazard and inefficient
- management did not understand the shop floor and allowed wasteful work practices to continue
- workers on the other hand were left to their on devices --> soldiering would take place ( working more slowly together so that management did not realize worker's potential
- workers carried out tasks in the way they were used to rather than the most efficient way
67
What was Taylor's theory of Scientific Management designed for?
- the scientific principles were designed to reduce inefficiency of workers and managers
- this as to be achieved by 'objective laws' that management and workers could agree on reducing conflict between them --> couldnt argue against a system based on 'Science'
- Taylor believe his principles would create a partnership between manager and workers, based on an understanding of how job should be done and how workers are motivated
68
What did Taylor's believe motivated workers?
- Using his own method, Taylor discovered what the 'best way' was of carrying out a task
- Taylor has a very simple view of what motivates people at work --> money
- He believed that workers should receive a fair day's pay for a fair day's work --> Payment by piece rates
- if a worker didnt produce a 'fair day's work' would face a loss of earning and if it was exceeded they would gain a bonus
69
How did Taylor make the workplace more efficient?
- Pick a dozen skilled workers
- Observe them at work and note down the elements and sequence adopted in their tasks
- Time each element with a stop watch
- Eliminate any factors which appear to add nothing to the completion of the task
- Choose the quickest method discovered and fit the in their sequence
- Teach the worker this sequence --> dont allow them to deviate
- Include time for rest and the result will be the 'quickest and the best' method for the task --> all workers selected to perform the task must adopt it and meet the time allowed
- Supervise workers to ensure that these methods are carried out during the working day
70
When was Taylor Theory of Scientific Management introduced?
- Frederick W. Taylor set out a theory of scientific management in his book 'The Principles of Scientific Management' in 1911
- Many of the ideas of today's scientific management school come from the work of Taylor
71
Who was one of the first to incorporate Taylor's scientific methods?
- Bethlehem Steel Works in the USA -- 1899
- where they were responsible for raising pig iron production by almost 400 percent per many per day
- Taylor found the 'best way to do each job' and designed incentives to motivate workers
72
What are some Problems with Taylor's approach?
- does not take into account individual difference --> no guarantee that the 'best way' will suit everyone
- Taylor saw people as machines with financial needs, than humans in a social setting --> people need more than just money to motivate them --> Taylor ignored these however Maslow recognised them
73
What are some financial incentives?
- Piecework
- Commission
- Bonuses
- Profit sharing --> giving some of the profits to the workers
- Performance related pay --> targets to meet --> bonuses and a raise to next pay level
74
What are some non-financial incentives?
- Delegation
- Consultation
- Empowerment
- Team-working
- Flexible working
- Job enrichment
- Job rotation
- Job enlargement
75
What did businesses believe that worker's productivity was based on in the 1930's?
- worker's productivity was affected by work conditions, the skill of workers and financial incentives
76
What was Mayo's theory of human relations?
- The work of Elton Mayo (and Roethlisberger and Dickson in the 1930's who reported on the Hawthorne Studies
- A business aiming to maximize productivity must make sure that the 'personal satisfactions' of workers are met for workers to be motivated.
- Management must also work and communicate with informal work groups, making sure that their goals fit in with the goals of the business --> one way to do this is t allow such groups to be part of decision making
- workers are more likely to be committed to a task that they have had a say in
77
What was The Hawthorne studies?
- a group of six women assembling telephone relays
- changes were made to, rest periods, fours of work, lighting and heating
- the effect of the workers productivity was recorded
- it was found that whatever changes were made, including a return to the original conditions, output rose
- this came to be known as the Hawthorne effect
78
What did the Hawthorne Studies conclude?
- that change in conditions and financial rewards had little or no effect on productivity
- increases in output were mainly due to greater cohesion and communication which workers in group developed as they interacted and were motivate to work together
- Workers were also motivated by the interest shown in their work by the researchers
79
What were the problems with Mayo's theory of human relations?
- assumes workers and management share the same goals - this idea or workplace 'consensus' may not always exist
- assumes that communication between workers and management will break down 'barriers', it could be argued however that the knowledge of director's salaries or redundancies may lead to even more 'barriers' and unrest
- it is biased towards management, workers are manipulated into being productive by managers, it may also be seem as a way of reducing trade union poqwe
80
When was Maslow's hierarchy of needs presented?
-first classification of needs was by Abraham Maslow in his book Motivation and Personality published in 1954
81
What are the different tiers of Maslow's Hierarchy of needs?
- Physiological needs
- Safety needs
- Love and belonging (social Needs)
- Esteem needs
- Self actualisation
82
what are physiological needs?
- basic needs
| - - ability to obtain food, drinks, air ,rest and activity
83
What are Safety needs?
- physiological threats
- protection from dangerous objects/ situations
- importance of routine and familiarity
84
What is Love and Belonging (social needs)?
- acceptance
- love
- trust
- being affilated with part of a group
85
What is Esteem needs?
- gaining the esteem and respect of others
| - self-respect/ esteem. feeling complacent
86
What is Self-actualisation?
-reaching your full potential
87
When was Herzberg's two-factor theory created?
- 1966 Fredrick Herzberg attempted to find out what motivated people at work,
- he asked a group of professional engineers and accountants to describe incidents in their jobs which gave them strong feelings of satisfaction or dissatisfaction
- he then asked them to describe the causes in each case
88
What is Herzberg's Two-Factor theory?
- divided the causes into two factors
- Motivators --> these factors which give workers job satisfaction e.g. recognition for their effort, it could be argued that this makes workers more productive ( Upper half of maslow's hierarchy of needs)
- Hygiene or maintenance factors --> the can lead to workers dissatisfaction such as pay or conditions -- may not increase productivity but if not met productivity will fall (Lower half of Maslow's hierarchy of needs)
89
What are some examples of Motivators?
- Sense of achievement
- Chance of promotion
- Chance of improvement
- Recognition of effort
- Responsibility
- Nature of the job itself
90
What are some Hygiene factors?
- Pay
- Conditions
- Company policy
- relationships with higher levels of the hierarchic, such as management
- Treatment at work
- Inability to develop
- Feelings of inadequacy
91
What are Herzberg's ideas often linked with?
- Job enrichment
- This is where workers have their jobs 'expanded so that they can experience more of the production process
- this allows the workers to be more involved and motivated and have a greater sense of achievement
92
What are the Problems with Herzberg's Two Factor Theory?
- Job enrichment may be expensive for many firms --> job improvement will not be seen for a long time and that businesses will not be able to continue with such a policy in periods
- Surveys that have tried to reproduce Herzberg's results failed --> what is satisfying and not is very subjective
- things that go bad are normally blamed on external factors but if an individual feels satisfied tend to see it as their own doing
- Survey sample was too small --> only accounts and engineers
93
What is the distinction between management and leadership?
- leaders have to have management skills but managers don't need leadership
- managers need to get the job done
94
What can leaders be?
- visionaries
- need to carry out the process of change
- must be excellent motivators
- devise strategies
95
What are characteristics of leaders?
- ability to motivate others
- sense of responsibility and personal integrity
- Change direction when required
- focus on completing a job
- solve problems
- accept responsibility
- self-confident
- act decisively
- self-motivated
- vision
96
What are the 4 different leadership styles?
- Autocratic
- Paternalistic
- Democratic
- Laissez-Faire
97
What is Autocratic Leadership?
a leadership style where a manager makes all the decision without consultation
e.g. army
98
What is Paternalistic Leadership?
a leadership style where leader makes decisions but takes into account the welfare of employees
99
What is democratic leadership?
- a leadership style where managers allow others to participate in decisions making
- Persuasive --> make a decision and persuade other
- Consultative --> take into account other views before making a decision
- it is seen as more effective because politics is democratic and its more socially accepted
- people want more choice and freedom
- you can get ideas from other
- People involved are likely to be more committed and motivated
100
What is Laissez-Faire leadership?
- a leadership style where the leader encourages the employee to make their own decision within certain limits
- a 'hands off approach' it can be effective where workers are highly skilled, experienced, motivated and can work on their own
- Some people need a push otherwise they miss deadlines
Business Studies GCSE
flashcards
Decks in class (19)
# Cards
-
1.1 - Meeting Customer Needs65
-
1.2 The Market29
-
1.3 Marketing risk and Strategy86
-
1.4 Managing People100
-
1.5 Entrepreneurs and Leaders110
-
2.1 Raising Finance103
-
2.2 Financial Planning87
-
2.3 Managing Finance96
-
2.4 Resource management126
-
2.5 External Influences129
-
3.2 Business Growth73
-
3.3 Decision-Making Techniques79
-
3.4 Influences of Business Decisions128
-
3.5 Assessing Competitiveness94
-
3.6 Managing Change57
-
4.1 Globalisation92
-
4.2 Global Markets and Business Expansion73
-
4.3 Global Marketing38
-
4.4 Global Industries and Companies (Multinational Corporations)72
