3.6.3 Improving organisational design and HR flow Flashcards

Question

5 what is a regional structure

Answer 1

Like product based , however divisions in this case are geographical locations.

Answer 2

Better efficiency for division Flexible market response Improved customer communication

Answer 3

More expensive Potential conflict Low economies of scale

Answer 4

Tends to be used alongside a functional structure Employees will report into two managers Functional manager/project manager

Answer 5

Greater sharing of knowledge and expertise More motivating

Answer 6

Main drawback is having to work for two bosses Can lead to a conflict of interest

Answer 7

size of the business type of business management and leadership style the competitive environment

Answer 8

Small businesses will tend to have informal or flat hierarchical structures. Larger businesses have more complicated structures involving more layers of hierarchy, departments and functions

Answer 9

Does the business operate from just one or several locations? Is the business in the service or manufacturing sector? Does it have overseas operations or outsource any significant business activities? Is the workforce mainly unskilled, semi-skilled, highly skilled?

Answer 10

Often over-looked, but very important. An autocratic leadership style will often result in a very different structure compared with one designed by a leader who prefers to delegate responsibility

Answer 11

Organisation structures are often influenced and changed by developments in the market – for example changes in the use of distribution channels, suppliers, competitor actions

Answer 12

How are we designing our organisation? What spans of control? How many levels of hierarchy? Delegation? Centralised?

Answer 13

What is the relationship between the workers? What is the relationship between the different departments? Who has responsibility for what and for who?

Answer 14

Span of Control Hierarchy Authority/Delegation Centralisation/Decentralisation

Answer 15

Type of Job Type of Organisation Type of Employee Degree of Centralisation Availability of Management

Answer 16

Process of passing authority down the hierarchy from the manager to subordinate authority, responsibility and accountability

Answer 17

frees up management time, motivation, staff development, flexibility

Answer 18

Crisis situations, quality of staff, attitudes and approach of management

Answer 19

the action/process of reducing the number of levels in the hierarchy.

Answer 20

improves communication and decision making, reduces costs, improves flexibility

Answer 21

may cause work overload for managers, job losses, redundancy payments, reduces sense of security for employees

Answer 22

keep decision-making firmly at the top of the hierarchy (amongst the most senior management). McDonalds or Burger King

Answer 23

Easier to implement common policies and practices for the whole business Prevents other parts of the business from becoming too independent Easier to co-ordinate and control from the centre – e.g. with budgets Economies of scale and overhead savings easier to achieve Quicker decision-making (usually) – easier to show strong leadership

Answer 24

More bureaucratic – often extra layers in the hierarchy Local or junior managers are likely to much closer to customer needs Lack of authority down the hierarchy may reduce manager motivation Customer service does misses flexibility and speed of local decision-making

Answer 25

decision-making is spread out to include more junior managers in the hierarchy, as well as individual business units or trading locations. Hotel chains

Answer 26

Decisions are made closer to the customer Better able to respond to local circumstances Improved level of customer service Should improve staff motivation Good way of training and developing junior management

Answer 27

Decision-making is not necessarily “strategic” Harder to ensure consistent practices and policies at each location May be some diseconomies of scale – e.g. duplication of roles Who provides strong leadership when needed (e.g. in a crisis)? Harder to achieve tight financial control – risk of cost-overruns

Answer 28

Growth of the business means a more formal structure is appropriate Reduce costs and complexity (key) Employee motivation needs boosting Customer service and/or quality improvements

Answer 29

Manager and employee resistance Disruption and de-motivation = potential problems with staff retention Costs (e.g. redundancies) Negative impact on customer service or quality

Answer 30

Organisational Requirements Individual Needs External Environment

Answer 31

corporate objectives humane resource objectives

Answer 32

employees personal objectives and career plans

Answer 33

government legislation and policy economy educational and training institutions

Answer 34

The flow of employees through an organization inflow internal flow outflow

Answer 35

when they are recruited selection and introduction

Answer 36

what happens to them within the organization evaluation of performance/ appraisal career development promotion and demotion, transfer and redundancy training and development

Answer 37

when they eventually leave the organization. employees leaving voluntarily, dismissal, redundancy and retirement

Answer 38

1 Set HR objectives 2 Analyse current workforce 3 Forecast future requirements 4 Identify shortage or excess 5 Develop strategies to fill gaps or reduce oversupply 6 Write a workforce plan

Answer 39

Evaluating the company as a whole and deciding on what HR objectives to set for the year

Answer 40

What criteria could you use? How many workers Full/part time? Age, length of service Staff turnover, promotion and retirement rates

Answer 41

Why might a firm need new employees? short term (to cover sick or maternity leave) medium/long term (meet future growth needs)

Answer 42

Record all current resources and figure out if this is relatable to current demand procedures

Answer 43

Brain storm ideas with managers to find the most cost effective way of meeting the brief

Answer 44

the right people in the right place at the right time

Answer 45

1.Recruitment and selection requirements 2.Training and development programmes 3.Retraining and redeployment programmes 4.Redundancy plans

Answer 46

Outsourcing Training programmes , skill-up existing staff Automation – reduce need for staff Better terms and conditions – attract more applicants Increasing overtime – to meet increase in demand

Answer 47

Corporate objectives Marketing and Production plans Finance Internal Labour supply Current workforce skills and age profile Organisational Structure Technology

Answer 48

plan must meet corporate goals growth, cost cutting, redundancies if the business needs to expand, workforce plans need to recruit more staff

Answer 49

innovation may require skills training

Answer 50

quantity and quality of staff and training business can afford plans are limited by budgets, recruitment training and redundancies all have costs

Answer 51

flexibility of work force retirement flexible working

Answer 52

Must account for existing skills and identify future training needs aging workforces could prompt succession planning

Answer 53

tall would require more managers flat means more multi tasking focus

Answer 54

Automation reduces low skilled roles

Answer 55

Market conditions Labour Market trends Economy and government policy local/social factors/trends competitive environment

Answer 56

Resistance from employees cost of implementation/training needs forecasting inaccuracies operational disruptions corporate images

Answer 57

Avoid labour shortages Ensure production continues and quality Helps firms remain competitive Planning important for firms operating in changing markets support employee retention and engagement, gives flexibility and adaption

Answer 58

Poorly trained staff Can’t recruit skilled staff Morale & motivation problems as staff cover shortages Stress, absenteeism, labour turnover Increased costs reduce competitiveness

Answer 59

expansion temporary/seasonal staff/maternity cover staff leaving businesses retirement unhappiness promotion vacancy to be filled

Answer 60

a vacancy comes up job description/job analysis person specification/job profile recruit internally or externally adverts made on media application forms issued/ or CVs shortlisting interviews selection and appointment

Answer 61

Tells candidates what is expected in the job Helps the business write the job advert Job title Purpose of the job Who the job holder answers to Duties and tasks of the job Authority of the jobholder

Answer 62

Provides details of the ideal candidate by listing essential and desirable characteristics of the person It's used in short-listing and selecting the best candidate for the position

Answer 63

filling a job vacancy by choosing a person who already works for the business

Answer 64

filling a job vacancy in by choosing a person from outside of the business

Answer 65

Cheaper and quicker to recruit Provides opportunities for promotion within the business – can be motivating Business already knows the strengths and weaknesses of candidates

Answer 66

No new ideas can be introduced from outside the business May cause resentment amongst candidates not appointed Creates another vacancy which needs to be filled

Answer 67

Larger pool of workers from which to find the best candidate Outside people bring in new ideas Candidates might already have the skills required to carry out the job, avoiding the need (and cost ) of training

Answer 68

Longer process More expensive process due to advertisements and interview required Can have de-motivating effects on members of existing workforce, who may have missed out on promotion

Answer 69

promotion/transfer internal advertisement personal recommendation

Answer 70

somebody who already works for the organization has the potential to do a different, or more demanding job.

Answer 71

organization's newsletter, magazines, on notice boards or via company intranet.

Answer 72

managers/team leaders may see potential in a member of their team or department and suggests suitability for a different post

Answer 73

Media advertising: Newspapers, magazines, Radio, TV Job centres, government run organizations Recruitment agencies/head-hunters Career pages on their own websites 'Word of mouth' - full assessment is needed

Answer 74

The cost of the recruitment method The size of the recruitment budget The location and characteristics of the likely candidates time limit on vacancies number of employees needed type of job

Answer 75

An application form provides information in a standard format making it easier to pre-select candidates.

Answer 76

Curriculum Vitae CV's contain similar information, but they vary and may be difficult to compare

Answer 77

Work-related education, either on-the-job or off-the-job, involving employees being taught new skills or improving skills they already have.

Answer 78

New development and new products Restructuring firm New development and new technology Changes in procedure Customer service improvements High labour turnover Low morale Changes in legislation

Answer 79

The process of moving existing employees to a different job, or different location within the same organization

Answer 80

When an employer dismisses an employee because their job no longer exists. The business is changing what it does; doing things in a different way, changing location or closing. Can be compulsory or non-compulsory.

Answer 81

Natural wastage and recruitment freezes Stopping or reducing overtime Asking people to volunteer to retire early Retraining and redeploying Pay freezes

Answer 82

Reach performance level required Required skills, knowledge, qualifications & attributes to do their job Knowledgeable, committed workforce Improves motivation and job satisfaction Increases efficiency and productivity which Identify employee potential for promotion Reduces costs in the long term Deal with change more effectively and be more flexible Work towards the firm's goals

Answer 83

Questionnaires to assess people before and after Mystery visitors –see if the training has improved customer service Monitoring improvements in quality Reduction in labor turnover Reductions in accidents and wastage

Answer 84

Familiar with environment, equipment and people Confidence through doing Easier to assess improvements Cost effective with training normally delivered by people from within the firm at no extra cost

Answer 85

Instructions might not be to a good enough standard Bad habits may be passed on Often, lack of time means sub-standard training

Answer 86

Specialist trainers can provide higher level of knowledge Can often lead to qualifications and motivate workers Can be cheaper way of acquiring information and skills, the trained employee can feedback to work colleagues

Answer 87

Instructions might not be specific to the requirements of the individual firm Can be expensive If done during worktime can lead to loss of productivity

Answer 88

Provides staff with information that helps them to settle in Helps staff to understand the formal and informal culture within the organization Staff will have a greater understanding of their role Familiarization with Health and Safety and legal requirements

Answer 89

Costs – whilst training employees are not producing Information overload Often, less personal than training from immediate colleagues or supervisors

Answer 90

Where employees learn in the workplace how to do a job

Answer 91

any form of education that takes place outside the workplace

Answer 92

for employees who are new to the organization

3.6.3 Improving organisational design and HR flow Flashcards

(116 cards)