A-Level Business - Theme 1.4

Viewing staff as a 'Cost'

Perceived negatively, will try to minimise costs wherever possible

Characteristics of staff as a cost (7)

M, N, M, Z, E, P, F

• Minimum legal employee rights

• No training

• Minimum wage

• Zero hour contracts

• Enforces penalties

• Profit maximisation

• Financial incentives to increase productivity

Benefits of staff as a cost (5)

R/M, R/I, M, C, G

• Reduces total costs/maximises profits

• Rewarding good performance/incentives = motivation = productivity

• Minimises wastage

• Competitive advantage - charge lower prices

• Greater control

Viewing staff as an 'Asset'

Perceived positively, businesses will invest to ensure staff are happy & looked after, valued

Characteristics of staff as an asset (up to 8)

F, S/C, T&D, C, P&C, C, J, C

• Flexible Working (hours/location)

• Salaries/Competitive pay

• Training & development

• Comfortable work environment

• Perks & Commodities

• CPD (Continual professional development)

• Job security

• Chances for promotion

Benefits of staff as an asset (4)

Staff…r/l = greater…

Better… (Higher…m/o/m)

Better…

Good…

• Staff relationship/loyalty increases = greater staff retention

• Better overall performance from workers (Higher motivation/output/morale)

• Better trained staff

• Good rates of customer service

Success factors of staff as an asset/cost (3)

P, P/F, E

• Production method (labour intensive = asset)

• Profit made / financial performance (able to afford it)

• External factors

Flexible workforce

Having staff on various contracts that include non-fixed tasks/locations/hours

Flexible workforce characteristics (up to 8)

A, W, P, T, C/S, S, F, J

• Annual hours contract

• Work from home

• Part time jobs

• Term time only

• Career breaks / Sabbaticals

• Shift swapping

• Flexi-time

• Job sharing

Multi-Skilling

Enhances employee skills to take on additional skills/responsibilities

Part-time Staffing

Staff hired/contracted to a set number of hours a week (<30 hours a week)

Temporary Staffing

Staff hired for a limited contracted time period

Outsourcing

Instructing other peopl/businesses to carry out work originally carried out by internal staff

Offshoring

Practise of moving production or operational / service-related functions overseas

Zero Hour Contract

Hiring workers with no guarantee of pay, set hours or benefits

Flexible Hours

Employee fulfills contractual hours outside of traditional '9-5/5 days a week'

Home Working

Worker's contract/place of work is stationed at home, can be part-time/full time and employed by a business/self employed

Benefits of working part time (6)

Can manage…, Staff get…, F, Can manage…, I, P

• Can manage work and education/home life

• Staff get downtime = better perfomance / motivation

• Flexible - can respond quickly

• Can manage cost of workforce - cheaper salaries/wages

• Improve relationship w/ staff

• Provides job opportunites

Drawbacks of working part time (4)

L, M, Staff can be…, Can lead to…

• Less output / work done

• More individual staff to manage

• Staff can be less accountable for individual productivity

• Can lead to lower staff motivation - less involvement

Benefits of multi-skilling staff (4)

F… = more…, V, Less…, A/J… -> S

• Flexible in their work - can cover other workers = more output

• Valuable assets

• Less need for staff - less personnel costs

• Avoids repetition/job rotation - staff motivation

Dismissal (2)

Contract is…

Worker is not…

• Contract is terminated for employee breaching its terms (e.g: gross-misconduct, absenteeism, theft etc)

• Worker is not entitled to a pay-out from the business

Redundancy (3)

Worker's job…l/r/n/r/r

Given a…

Not based…

• Worker's job no longer exists due to lack of business / relocating / new tech / rationalising / restructuring

• Given a pay-out based on time spent at the company

• Not based on the person, but the role of work

Voluntary Reduncancy

Staff close to retirement take a voluntary redundancy to gain a pay-out

Compulsory Reduncancy

A member of staff must leave a job, given a pay-out

Employe/Employer Relationships - Individual Bargaining/Approach

Individual employee negotiates about their own pay and working conditions, all terms negotiated internally

Collective Bargaining

A group of employees is represented by workforce representives to negotiate issues such as pay & working conditions

Types of Collective Bargaining (2)

T, W

• Trade Unions

• Work Councils

Trade Union - National (2)

External… Put…

• External national organisations that represent a whole industry

• Put pressure on the government to bring in legislation for economic & working conditions (e.g: minimum wage, redundancy payments, Pension Protection fund)

Trade Union - Internal (2)

Can take… e.g….n/r/p

• Can take place in the workplace to protect/improve work conditions

• E.g: negotiate pay & productivity bonuses, reasonable hours of work, protection against discrimination etc.

Work Councils

A group of employees/employers that met to discuss day-to-day work-related issues, meet regularly

Benefits of Employee Representation (5)

Improves…

More…

Reduces…

Employees…

Less feeling of…

• Improves communication between management and workforce

• More empowered/valued = more motivation

• Reduces conflict/disputes

• Employees kept informed

• Less feeling of ""them and us"" - less isolated"

Drawbacks of Employee Representation (4)

H (o/t/n), N, T, P

• Higher costs (opportunity costs/training/negotiations)

• Non-homogeneous employees (don't speak out)

• Trade unions cost money

• Potential Conflict

Recruitment

The process of attracting, screening, selecting and inducting a qualified person for a job

Recruitment process (9)

J, P, A, S, I, R, A, C, T

1. Job description

2. Person specification

3. Advertisement

4. Short-Listing

5. Interviews

6. References

7. Appointments

8. Contract of Employment

9. Training (induction training)

Internal Recruitment

Appointing or selecting people from within the company

Benefits of Internal Recruitment (5)

Q, C, M, R, Already…

• Quicker

• Cheaper

• More motivated workers

• Reliability of employee - aware of their skills = less risk

• Already have a strong relationship

Drawbacks of Internal Recruitment (4)

R, May lead to…, L, I

• Restricted in candidate pool

• May lead to conflict / competitiveness

• Leaving a gap in roles/work

• Inflexible culture (not seeing what ""other"" do)"

Methods of Internal Recruitment (4)

N, E, N, I

• Notice Boards

• Emails

• Newsletters

• Intranet

Why would a business use Internal Recruitment? (4)

P, P, R, N

• Promotion

• Present job may not be suitable

• Redundancy of current job

• New job created within the business