People in Business - IGCSE Business 23/25

Motivation

The factors that influence the behaviour of employees towards achieving set business goals.

Labour Productivity

A measure of the efficiency of employees by calculating the output per employee.

Absenteeism

Employees’ non-attendance at work without good reason

Labour turnover

The rate at which the employees leave a business

The theory of economic man

The view that humans are motivated only by money

Piece-rate

Paying employees of reach unit produced

Hygiene factors

The factors that must be present in the workplace to prevent job dissatisfaction

Motivators

The factors that influence a person to increase their efforts

Job dissatisfaction

How unhappy and discontent a person is with their job.

Financial rewards

Cash and non-cash rewards paid to employees which are often used to motivate employees to increase their efforts

Non-financial methods

Methods used to motivate employees that do not involve giving any financial reward

Organizational Structure

the formal, internal framework of a business that shows how it is managed and organised

Functional departments

the main activities of a business: finance, marketing, operations, human resources and research and development

Levels of hierarchy

the number of levels in an organizational structure

Chain of command

the route through which authority is passed down through an organization

Span of control

the number of subordinates reporting to each supervisor/manager

Subordinate

an employee who is below another employee in the organisation’s hierarchy

Delayering

reducing the size of the hierarchy by removing one or more levels —most often middle manages

Centralised organisation

One where all the important decision-making power is held at head office or the centre

Decentralised organisation

One where the decision-making powers are passed down the organisation to lower levels

Delegation

passing authority down through the organisational hierarchy to a subordinate.

Autocratic leadership

a leadership style where the leader makes all the decisions

Democratic leadership

a leadership style where employees take part in decision-making

Laissez-faire leadership

a leadership style where most of the decisions are left to the employees

Trade union

an organization of employees aimed at improving pay and working conditions and providing other services, such as legal advice, for members.

Internal recruitment

filling a vacant post with someone already employed in the business

External recruitment

filling a vacant post with somebody not already employed in the business

Job description

a list of the key points about a job, job title, key duties, responsibilities and accountability

Person specification

a list of the qualifications, skills, experience and personal qualities looked for in a successful applicant.

Shortlist

a list of candidates who are chosen from all of the applicants to be interviewed for the job

Induction training

a training program to help recruits become familiar with their workplace, the people they work with, and the procedures they need to follow.

On-the-job

training at the place of work; watching or following an experienced employee

Off-the-job

training that takes place away from the workplace, for example at college, university or specialist training provider’s premises

Resignation

termination of employment by the worker, perhaps because they have found a job with a different employer

Retirement

termination of employment due to the worker reaching an age beyond which they do not need to work.

Redundancy

termination of employment by the employer because the job is no longer needed.

Dismissal

termination by the employer because the worker has broken company rules or is not performing work to the required standard

Contract of employment

A legally binding agreement between the employer and the employee

Internal communication

Communication with/between people working in the same organisation

External communication

Communication with/between people working outside the business

Communication media

the methods used to communicate a message

Feedback

the receiver’s response to a message

Effective communication

information passed between two or more people or groups, with feedback to confirm that the messages have been received and understood.

Two-way communication

the receiver is allowed to respond to the message and the sender listens to the response