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business > unit 1.4- managing people > Flashcards

unit 1.4- managing people Flashcards

1
Q

what staff as an asset to business mean

A

something a business has that is valuable

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2
Q

what do skills and abilities of staff mean

A

they are able to add value to a product, which can be done in a number of ways

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3
Q

why should businesses treat their staff as a valued asset and invest in them

A

will help to motivate staff and increase their productivity

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4
Q

how are employees a cost to a business

A

they get remuneration (payment) for the work they do
- recruitment
- training
- staff welfare (making sure they are secure)

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5
Q

what is a wage

A

is paid to a worker based on amount of work they have done
- often used for lower-skilled or mnual workers

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6
Q

how is the national minimum wage helpful

A

protects workers from being underpaid
- legal minimum that business must pay their employees per hour
- can lead to motivated staff which could increase productivity however can also lead to increasing costs for business as the rates usually increase each year

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7
Q

what is a salary

A

fixed amount that is usually paid monthly
- unusual to be paid extra for working harder or longer
- highly skilled workers

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8
Q

what is the difference between dismissal and redundancy

A

employee can be dismissed if they have breached their contract of employment, can be referred to being fired
redundancy occurs when the employees job role is no longer required, could be due to business reducing number of staff

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9
Q

why is it good to have flexible workforce

A

it is beneficial to a firm as it is easier to match the work done by employees to the needs of the business

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10
Q

what is multiskilled

A

can perform a variety of tasks

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11
Q

full or part time contracts

A
  • full time= work at least 35 hours a week
  • part time workers work fewer hours
  • employing more part time workers can be beneficial as they have more staff to cover any absent workers
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12
Q

zero hour contracts

A
  • firm employs worker but does not offer them guaranteed hours
  • staff only work as and when they’re needed
  • employers dont waste money paying for labour when it isn’t needed
  • staff under no obligation to accept work so can be difficult to find enough staff in busy times
  • employees may prefer it as they can work around other commitments
  • little financial security
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13
Q

permanent or temporary contracts

A
  • permanent has no end date, temporary does
  • temporary could lead to long term
  • good for employers if there is maternity leave or sickness so a temporary contract can be provided to cover this time
  • permanent contracts more motivating for employees as they provide more financial security
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14
Q

shift work

A
  • used when a job role needs filling for more hours in a day that can be completed by a single worker
  • working day divided into shifts
  • necessary for 24 hour service businesses
  • irregular or night shifts can be hard for employees
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15
Q

home working

A
  • employees can work from home some or all days of the week
  • employees can save travel costs and can work around other commitments
  • can be harder or more distracting
  • employers may gain as it can free up work/office space
  • difficult to monitor performance of staff
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16
Q

flexible hours

A
  • workers complete a set number of daily/weekly/monthly hours at times that suit them
  • usually core hours in the middle of the day that all workers need to be present for
  • helps workers achieve a work life balance and improve employee motivation
  • however can be hard for employers to organise meetings
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17
Q

outsourcing

A
  • businesses can outsource some tasks to external businesses
  • advantageous to employers as they dont have to invest money in training staff for tasks that may only need doing now and then
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18
Q

why is employer-employee relationship important

A
  • it maximises cooperation and minimises potential for conflict
  • benefits both employer and employee
  • can increase motivation and productivity which can increase profits of a business
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19
Q

what is recruitment

A

finding and hiring someone for a job role that needs filling

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20
Q

what are the stages of recruitment

A
  • identify a vacancy
  • write job description and job specification
  • advertise job
  • process applications
  • shortlist most suitable candidates
  • assess most suitable candidates
  • assess most suitable candidate
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21
Q

what does a job description include

A
  • job title
  • main roles
  • responsibilities
  • salary
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22
Q

what does a job specification include

A
  • qualities and qualifications required
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23
Q

what is the difference between internal and external recruitment

A

internal is when the business recruits someone who already works for them and external recruitment is when it hires someone from outside the business

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24
Q

what are the ways in which a business can assess potential candidates

A
  • interviews
  • assessment days
  • in-tray exercises
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25
Q

why do business hire new employees with correct attitudes

A
  • means employees are more driven and may be motivated to learn new skills at a faster rate
  • more likely to work in teams better
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26
Q

why do businesses hire people with highly skills

A
  • reduces training costs
  • could lack team working skills then they may not be easy to work with and could demotivate other employees
27
Q

pros and cons on internal recruitment

A

pros
- candidates already know the business and business know the candidates
- short and cheap process
- motivates workers to go for promotion
cons
- leaves vacancy in another department

28
Q

pros and cons of external recruitment

A

pros
- brings in fresh new ideas
- brings in experience from other organisation
- larger number of applicants
cons
- long and expensive process
- candidates need longer induction process

29
Q

recruitment and training have costs for a business

A

-cost of advertising the vacant post
-may pay for recruitment agency
-training needs to be paid for

30
Q

what is labour turnover

A

the percentage of employees who leave a business over a period of time
-having high labour turnover is costly for a business as it means more money spent on recruiting and training new employees

31
Q

when is on the job training appropriate

A
  • when practical skills are being taught, in work environment
32
Q

when is off the job training appropriate

A
  • when employee needs to know general information about the business or its producers
  • useful when employee learning new skill that would be difficult to learn whilst in a real work environment
33
Q

pros and cons of on the job training

A

pros
- easy to organise
- lower cost of training
- training is job specific
cons
- trainers not fully productive during training
- bad practices passed on
- no new ideas brought to the business

34
Q

pros and cons of off the job training

A

pros
- trainers are specialist
- new ideas are brought to the business
- no job distractions
cons
- can be expensive
- no benefit to the business while training
- training might not be specific to their day to day job

35
Q

what is an organisational design

A

diagram or chart which shows the lines of authority and layers in the hierarchy of the business

36
Q

hierarchy

A
  • employees ranked due to status
  • top more important
  • seek to move up hierarchy
37
Q

chain of demand

A
  • path of communication and authority up and down the hierarchy
  • those at top have more power and are able to delegate tasks to people lower down
38
Q

span of control

A
  • number
  • employee that works as head of department
  • number of people that a manager is responsible for
  • jobs specialised
  • in a school, may have 6 teachers working for them therefore their span control is 6
39
Q

what is the difference between centralised or decentralised

A

in centralised organisations all decisions made by senior managers at the top of the business
in decentralised structures authority is shared out to more junior employees

40
Q

advantages of centralisation

A
  • business leaders have lots of experience of making business decisions
  • managers get an overview of the whole business
  • senior managers aren’t biased towards 1 departement so they can make best decisions for a business as a whole
  • senior managers can make big decisions quickly because they don’t have to consult anybody else
41
Q

disadvantages of centralisation

A
  • not many people are expert enough to make decisions about all aspects of the business
  • excluding employees from decision making can be demotivating
  • organisation reacts slowly to change allowing its competitors to get ahead
42
Q

advantages of decentralisation

A
  • involvement in decision making motivates employees
  • employees can use expert knowledge of their sector
  • day to day decisions can be made quickly
43
Q

disadvantages of decentralisation

A
  • junior employees may not have enough experience to make decisions
  • inconsistencies may develop between divisions in a business
44
Q

tall structure of organisational chart

A
  • lots of opportunities for promotion
  • info takes long time to get from top to bottom of organisation- decision making is long
  • everyone knows where they are in hierarchy so is well organised
45
Q

advantages of tall structure

A
  • supervisors usually have small span of control so they can get to know their subordinates really well
  • more opportunities available
46
Q

disadvantages of tall structure

A
  • lots of layers and long chain of demand means business is inflexible
  • communications within organisation are slow
  • expensive way to structure a business- more managers etc
47
Q

flat structure

A
  • wide span of control and a short chain of command so info flows quickly through organisation
48
Q

advantages of flat structure

A
  • fewer layers of hierarchy between bottom and top of organisation, means communication is fast
  • lots of delegations means that staff are given greater responsibility
49
Q

disadvantages of flat structure

A
  • staff can become over stretched or overworked as there is less supervision which can cause stress ad be demotivating
  • can create power struggle if manager is barely around as subordinates jostle for roles and responsibilities
50
Q

matrix structure

A
  • in a business where there is more than one product or more than one project running at a time a matrix structure is more suitable than a standard hierarchy
51
Q

advantages of the matrix structure

A
  • very flexible structure means that staff from different departments can jump in and out of different job roles
  • perfect to exploit the specific skills of staff
52
Q

disadvantages of the matrix structure

A
  • may be possible coordination problems between departments
  • employees can have conflicts of interest across projects
  • staff can become stretched across different projects, not spending time in their own departments
53
Q

why do motivated employees get more work done than non motivated employees

A

motivated work force is likely to be more productive as they are happy in their jobs and are willing to work hard for them
- more likely to be reliable
- loyal which decreases labour turnover and absences
- customer satisfaction increases

54
Q

taylor’s scientific management theory

A
  • taylor thought workers were motivated by money, believed workers would do minimum amount of work if they were left to their own devices
  • his goal was to figure out the most efficient way to do a job
  • he favoured division of labour- breaking work down into small repetitive tasks, with managers taking responsibility of the workforce
  • he believed in paying workers according to the quantity they produced, believed financial incentives would motivate workers and raise productivity
  • increased productivity meant fewer workers were needed
  • increased productivity could lead to a reduction in quality
55
Q

maslow’s hierarchy of needs

A
  • people start by meeting the needs at the bottom of the pyramid once they have sorted out those needs they move to the next level
    basic physical needs–> safety–> social needs–> self-esteem–> self actualisation
56
Q

herzberg’s two factor theory

A
  • interviewed accountants and engineers to find out what motivated and satisfied them at work, he identified 2 which influenced the motivation of workers:
    hygiene- things like good company policy, supervision, working conditions, pay, relations with fellow employees
    -they dont motivate as such but if they arent good workers get dissatisfied
    motivating- things like interesting work, personal achievement, recognition of achievement and scope for more responsibility and development
    -these do positively motivate workers
  • his theory recognises that motivation comes from the individuals’ needs and has influenced motivational techniques today
57
Q

mayo’s human relations theory of motivation

A
  • looked at motivation in hawthorne factory:
  • changed the working conditions such as break times and duration of the ladies who worked in relay assembly room at the factory
  • found that just by being studied the employees motivation increased
  • working in teams was more important than money
  • non-financial motivators were the most important
  • boring and repeitive work can be a demotivator
58
Q

mayo : ladies of the relay assembly room

A
  • everything depends on how they see each other ; employees, manager, directors
  • its about how well they communicate with each other
  • its recognition and appreciation that increase internal job satisfaction and as a result productivity is increased
  • managers must meet the workers social needs in order to improve motivation= change from taylor’s theory which suggests workers only motivated by pay
59
Q

non financial motivation

A

job enlargement- gives employee greater range of work to do at same level
job enrichment- gives more challenging work and the training they need to do it
job rotation- workers occasionally move from one task to another, workers become multiskilled
empowerment- gives control over work
consultation- between managers and employees, opinions are valued and important
delegation- gives employees more responsibility for decision making
team working- lead to job enrichment and empowerment
flexible working- can allow employees to work whilst having time for personal roles such as being a student

60
Q

financial motivation

A
  • using money to motivate employees
    piecework
  • workers paid per unit produced, can motivate workers to produce high quantity products
    commision
  • can be used by sale roles
  • money paid to workers for completing tasks which is often a bonus on top of their salary
    performance related pay
  • paid based on performance
  • determined by both individual and the business meeting targets
  • workers motivated to meet their own targets and ensure business meets objectives
  • can lead to demoralisation
    bonus schemes
  • extra pay on top of salary once an agreed target has been met
    profit sharing
  • set profit targets and share proportion of profit if these targets are met, amount of money worker receives usually depends on their salary
61
Q

when should the motivational techniques be used

A
  • non financial- long term motivation, a business and its management invest a lot of time money and effort into getting it right, more effective for permanent staff
  • organisational structure- can affect the methods of motivation a business chooses- e.g. business with flat structure might not want to introduce team working bc team leaders introduce an extra level of hierarchy, they may try motivate people through job enlargement or enrichment instead
  • financial methods- influenced by organisational structures- e.g. business with tall structure might be more inclined to use piecework or performance related pay bc there are lots of levels of authority to monitor the productivity and progress of the people below them
62
Q

what is the difference between leaders and managers

A

leaders have a vision which they share with others while pushing them in the right direction
- leaders think long term and looking to improve and innovate
managers make decisions that effect day to day running of a business
- they set objectives for their department and for people under them
- they decide work needs to be done and meet the objectives and what resources and staff they need
- they tend to focus more on meeting targets and maintaining the status quo than on innovation

63
Q

leadership styles can vary

A

autocratic
- leader makes decisions on their own
paternalistic
- similar to autocratic
- focus on employee well being and motivation
- leader consults workers before making decisions
democratic
- leader encourages workers to participate in the decision making process
- discuss issues with workers
- delegate responsibility and listen to advice
laissez faire
- very hands off
- may offer employees coaching and support but they rarely interfere in the running of the business
- appropriate for highly motivated team of able workers

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