Human Resource Management

Question 1

What does organisational design mean

Answer 1

How a business is structured in terms of hierarchy, span of control, delegation and extent of centralisation.

Outlines the relationship between people and functions in an organisation

Question 2

What does authority mean

Answer 2

The power to make significant decisions and give instructions to subordinates

Question 3

What is span of control

Answer 3

The number of subordinates answerable directly to a particular manager

Question 4

What is a hierarchy

Answer 4

The management structure of an organisation showing who is accountable to whom

Question 5

What is delegation

Answer 5

Passing authority down a hierarchy; empowering subordinates to make significant decisions

Question 6

What is centralisation

Answer 6

Decision-making powers are kepy at the top of a hierarchy. Senior managers make all important decisions

Question 7

What is decentralisation

Answer 7

Decision making powers are passed down the hierarchy to empower junior managers.

Decision-making powers are shared with junior managers in branches or sections of the business

Question 8

Types of organisational structures

Answer 8

• Functional structure: An organisational design where a company is split into departments based on expertise or job roles, rather than products or projects.
• Product based structure: AKA the product-oriented structure, organizes a company’s divisions or units around its product lines or offerings.
• Regional structure: Employees are allocated to a region, with its own teams from each functional department
• Matrix structure: Combing employees from different parts of the business to work on a particular project

Question 9

What is functional structure

Answer 9

An organisational design where a company is split into departments based on expertise or job roles, rather than products or projects.

Question 10

What is product based structure

Answer 10

When employees and teams are grouped to specific products or product ranges, rather than by functional areas like marketing or finance

• the particular line of products or services they produce
• the customers they deal with
• the geographical area they serve

Question 11

Regional Structure

Answer 11

Regional structure: Employees are allocated to a region, with its own teams from each functional department

Question 12

Matrix Structure

Answer 12

Combing employees from different parts of the business to work on a particular project

Question 13

The Human Resource flow can be summarised using the 4 R’s.

What are they + define them

Answer 13

• Recruitment means appointing staff to fill an organisation’s job vacancies
• Retaining means teaching employees the skills and knowledge in order to caryr out their jobs. Can be on-the-job or off-the-job
• Redeployment means offering a worker an alternative job within the same organisation
• Redundancy: When an employee loses a job due to no longer being needed

Question 14

What is recruitment

Answer 14

Appointing staff to fill an organisation’s job vacancies

It can be internal or external

Question 15

What is retraining

Answer 15

Teaching employees the skills and knowledge in order to caryy out their jobs

It can be on the job or off the job

Question 16

What is redeployment

Answer 16

Offering a worker an alternative job within the same organisation

Question 17

What is redundancy

Answer 17

When an employee loses a job due to no longer being needed