Human Resources

Role of human resource management

• Human resource planning

• Talent management (recruiting and retaining high-quality employees)

• Training and development of employees (identifying the skills needs of the business and providing training courses for employees that will give them these skills)

• Reward and performance management (paying employees an appropriate level of remuneration + giving benefits)

• Employee relations

• Employee welfare (providing facilities, eg sanitation, which allow employees to perform their work in a healthy environment

• Human resource compliance (developing policies and practices to ensure employment and work practices meet all legal controls and regulations)

Internal and external factors that influence human resource planning

• demographic change: natural population growth, net migration (more immigration than emigration), ageing population

• change in labour mobility: high occupational mobility of labour (extent to which workers are willing and able to move to different jobs requiring different skills) helps a country to achieve economic efficiency, high degree of geographic mobility of labour (extent to which workers are willing and able to move geographical region to take up new jobs)

• flexi-time: flexible way of working that allows employees to fit their working hours around their individual needs to allow for other commitments outside of work

• gig economy: labour market characterised by widespread use of short-term contracts or freelance work rather than jobs with permanent contracts

Reasons for resistance to change in the workforce

• fear of the unknown

• fear of failure

• self-interest — losing something of value

• misinformation — false information about need for change

• low tolerance — lack of trust

Human resource strategies for reducing impact of change and resistance to change

• Understand what change means: evolutionary/incremental change vs dramatic/revolutionary change

• Recognise major causes of change: technological innovation (new products and processes), macroeconomic changes (fiscal policy, interest rates, fluctuations in business cycle), takeover by another business (new leadership style, different management culture)

• Understand the stages of the change process

• Lead change, do not just manage it: dynamic leaders who will shake an organisation out of its complacency and away from resistance to change

• Use project champions: people assigned to support and drive a project forward. They explain the benefits of change, and assist and support the team in putting change into practice.

• Use project groups or teams: created by an organisation to address a problem that requires input from different specialists

• Planning and promoting change

Human resource management

Strategic approach to the effective management of an organisation’s workers so that they help the business achieve its objectives and gain a competitive advantage

Human resource planning/workforce planning

Analysing and forecasting the numbers and skills of workers that will be required by the organisation to achieve its objectives

Workforce plan

Numbers of workers and skills of those workers required over a future time period

Workforce audit

Check on the skills and qualifications of all existing employees

Labour turnover

Measures the rate at which employees are leaving an organisation

Change management

Planning, implementing, controlling and reviewing the movement of an organisation from its current state to a new one

Definitions for organisational structure, leadership, financial and non-financial reward terms

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Organisational structure

Internal, formal framework of a business that shows the way in which management is organised and linked together, and how authority is passed through the organisation

Advantages of delegation

• Gives senior managers more time to focus on important, strategic roles

• Shows trust in subordinates, and this can challenge and motivate them

• Develops and trains employees for more senior positions

• Helps employees to achieve fulfilment through their work (self-actualisation)

• Encourages employees to be accountable for their work-based activities

Disadvantages of delegation

• If the task is not well defined/inadequate training is given, delegation will be unlikely to succeed

• Delegation will be unsuccessful if insufficient authority is given to the subordinate who is performing the tasks

• Managers may only delegate the boring jobs that they do not want to do, which is not motivating

• Delegation requires managers to exercise less control over the work of subordinates, and some find this difficult to accept

Tall/Vertical organisational structure

Organisational structure with many levels of hierarchy and narrow spans of control

Advantages of tall/vertical organisational structure

• Narrow span of control —> establish better command of the business, suitable if jobs are routine and not too challenging

• Motivational because there are opportunities for promotion, employees can move up the ladder through promotions

Disadvantages of tall/vertical organisational structure

• Communication through the organisation can become slow due to the many layers of hierarchy, messages can become distorted —> potential miscommunication

• Highly formal, flexible and bureaucratic in structure, with clear lines of seniority and long chains of command

• Narrow span of control due to the large number of layers in the organisational structure —> less likely to delegate, more likely to have close control of subordinates

• Greater sense of remoteness/impersonal nature among those on lower levels towards the decision-making power at the top

• Well-established and rigid, so change does not happen frequently or easily —> not useful for firms that operate in rapidly changing and dynamic environments

• Slow decision-making due to a long chain of command

Flat/Horizontal organisational structure

Organisational structure with few levels of hierarchy and wide spans of control

Advantages of flat/horizontal organisational structure

• wider spans of control —> encourage managers/supervisors to delegate more extensively

• short chain of command —> improve communication

• open and informal organisational culture —> found in start-ups, small businesses and organisations that value creativity and flexible working practices

Disadvantages of flat/horizontal organisational structure

• more difficult to control workers because managers with wide span of control have to supervise a large number of employees

Advantages of centralisation

• A fixed set of rules and procedures in all areas of the firm should lead to rapid decision-making

• Consistent policies prevent any conflicts between divisions and avoid confusion in the minds of consumers

• Senior managers make decisions in the interest of the whole business, not just one division of it

• Central buying allows greater economies of scale

• Senior managers at head office will be experienced decision-makers

Advantages of decentralisation

• More local decisions can be made, which reflect different conditions, as the managers who make the decisions will have local knowledge and likely have closer contact with consumers

• More junior managers can develop skills, preparing them for more challenging roles

• Delegation and empowerment are made easier, and these will have positive effects on motivation

• Decision-making in response to changes, e.g. in local market conditions, should be quicker and more flexible as head office will not have to be involved every time

Advantages of delayering

• Reduces business costs

• Shortens the chain of command and improves communication

• Increases span of control and opportunities for delegation

• May increase workforce motivation due to less remoteness from top management and greater chance of having more responsibility

Disadvantages of delayering

• Could be one-off costs of making managers redundant, e.g. redundancy payments

• Increased workloads for managers who remain, leading to overwork and stress

• Fear that redundancies might be used to cut costs could reduce the sense of security of the whole workforce, one of Maslow’s needs

Advantages of matrix structure

• Total communication between all members of the team, cutting across traditional boundaries between departments in a hierarchy

• Less chance of people focusing on just what is good for their department, instead focusing on what is good for the project/business

• Crossover of ideas between people with specialist knowledge in different areas creates more successful solutions

• Quick creation of new teams can respond to changing markets or technological conditions, flexible structure gets rid of bureaucracy

Disadvantages of matrix structure

• Less direct control from senior managers, authority passed down to junior employees, senior managers may feel uneasy

• Reduce bureaucratic control —> junior managers may not make the right decisions

• May have two leaders —> conflict of interest

Organisation by product

Structuring a workforce according to the goods or services sold. Each department focuses on a different product within the organisation’s overall product portfolio.

Advantages of product-based structure

• Allows team to focus on single product or service

• Having a senior execustive makes it more likely the division will receive the resources it needs from the company

• Allows product division to build a common culture and team spirit that contributes to higher morale and better knowledge of the division’s range of products (vs products managed by multiple departments throughout the organisation)

• Enables specialisation as workers focus on specific market segment related to product —> business meets needs of customers more effectively

• Encourages healthy internal competition between departments to produce ever-more appealing products

Disadvantages of product-based structure

• Product divisions may compete with each other for available financial resources, reducing cooperation between them

• Divisions can result in compartmentalisation that results in a lack of coordination or even duplication of developments (e.g. Microsoft’s own products were incompatible across internal business units)

• Difficult for executives to maintain overall control of various separate divisions of business

Organisation by function

Structuring a workforce according to business functions (finance, human resources, marketing, operations etc.)

Advantages of functional-based structure

• Roles and tasks are carried out by experts and specialists —> improve efficiency —> productivity and output are higher

• Specialists are clustered together, which promotes collaboration and opportunity for further development of professional expertise

• Employees can capitalise on their specialised skills as a means to progress in a given department

• As each department specialises in a specific function, managers train and develop employees within their unit to be proficient in their given role

Disadvantages of functional-based structure

• Departments tend to work in isolation by focusing only on their area of responsibility — few horizontal links lead to a lack of coordination

• One-way (top-down) communication is the norm, which is inefficient

• Managers can have tunnel vision, become too focused on departmental objectives and not overall corporate aims

• Inflexible and change resistant

Organisation by region

Structuring a workforce according to different geographical areas based on where the firm’s operations are

Advantages of region-based structure

• Enables businesses to focus better on the specific needs and wants of their customers in different geographical regions of the country, or around the world

• Adapt to regional differences in demand and exploit local knowledge

• Communication between representatives is more direct and personal, rather than having to establish working relationships with people on the other side of the world via email or telephone

• Encourage the formation of strong, collaborative teams that work effectively together and engage in planning and decision-making together

• Local management is completely familiar with the local business environment, culture and legal climate

• Link local culture to company culture

• Customers feel more at ease when talking to local representatives who fully understand their language and forms of expression

• Tracking the performance of individual regional markets is simplified

Disadvantages of region-based structure

• Difficulty in controlling a decentralised organisation that operates across numerous regions of a country or around the world

• Conflict and unhealthy competition for resources between regions, thereby reducing cooperation

• Divisions result in compartmentalisation, lack of coordination and duplication

• More difficult to be consistent in core company beliefs, e.g. same ethical code of practice, because of different cultures

• Inconsistent company strategies adopted

External factors influencing organisational structure

• Economic changes: long-term downturn/recession could lead to

  • delayering (reduce overhead salary and other labour-related costs, helps business remain profitable)

  • regional structure (allow for expansion in other countries that might be less affected by economic recession, revise marketing mix to successfully exploit foreign markets which might still be expanding)

• Technological changes: rapid and significant technological change could lead to

  • creation of a specialised R&D department to enhance business competitiveness

  • employment of more specialist employees experienced in IT and other developments to advise senior management

  • matrix/project-based structure to focus teams of specialists from different functional areas tasked with developing new products which embrace the latest technology —> make business more flexible and fluid

  • developments in mobile technologies create gig economy and hence flatter organisational structures as fewer people actually work for the business

  • use of big data, data analytics and data mining enable retailers to hire fewer in-house market researchers, resulting in flatter organisational structures

• Legal changes: affect responsibilities of the business in matters regarding the environment, and equality and inclusion

  • creation of a compliance unit to monitor and oversee all departments for their legal responsibilities, avoid or address risks from legal compliance

• Competitors’ actions: new competitors may frequently enter market

  • decentralised structures to introduce rapid and significant changes in strategy

  • project-based approach to provide solutions to particular aspects of market change

  • delayering or cutting size of workforce to remain competitive

• Globalisation: international marketing

  • regional structure with decentralised decision-making to allow local differences in market conditions, culture and consumer preferences to be accurately reflected in marketing mix adopted by business

• Social changes: growing demand for social media

  • creation of additional jobs for social media marketing department

What is management?

Set of processes that keep an organisation functioning

Achieving organisational objectives by using the limited resources an organisation has

Functions of management:

• Setting objectives and planning

• Organising resources to meet the objectives

• Directing and motivating employees

• Coordinating activities

• Controlling and measuring performance against targets

What is leadership?

Influencing other people to achieve a vision or goal

Characteristics of a good leader:

• Desire to succeed and natural self-confidence that they will succeed

• Ability to be creative and encourage others to do the same

• Multitalented, enabling them to understand discussions about a wide range of issues affecting their business

• Incisive mind that enables the heart of an issue to be identified rather than unnecessary details

Differences between management and leadership

• Direct and monitor others vs Motivate and inspire others

• Problem solvers vs Innovators

• Official position of responsibility in the organisation vs Stems from personal qualities or traits

• Skilled and qualified to perform a role vs Natural abilities and instincts

• Believes in doing things right vs Believe in doing the right thing

• Listened to because of status vs Respected and trusted by followers because of personality

• Accept and conform to organisational norms vs Create and develop culture of change

Types of leadership styles

• Autocratic

• Paternalistic

• Democratic

• Laissez-faire

• Situational

Autocratic leadership

Main features

• Leader makes all decisions

• Gives little information to employees

• Supervises workers closely

• Only one-way communication

Disadvantages:

• Demotivate employees who want to contribute and accept responsibility

• Decisions do not benefit from employee input

• Workers may become dependent on leaders for guidance and may not show any initiative

Applications:

• Police and armed forces where quick decisions are needed, and scope for discussion must be limited

• Times of crisis where decisive action might be needed to limit damge

Paternalistic leadership

Main features:

• Strong “parent-like” figure makes key decisions, but in the interest of employees (as perceived by management)

• Some feedback and consultation encouraged, but not participative decision making

Advantages:

• More employee loyalty and motivation than autocratic

Disadvantages:

• Low employee motivation if a loyal connection to the leader is not established

• Increasing dependency of employees on the leader, leading to more supervision required

• Employee dissatisfaction if bad decisions are made/feedback is ignored

Applications:

• Family-owned businesses where leaders still want to make decisions themselves but value employee loyalty and labour turnover

• Business with formal and hierarchal structure where creative thinking is not required of employees

Democratic leadership

Main features:

• Participation encouraged

• Two-way communication is used, which allows feedback from employees

• Workers are given information about the business to allow full employee involvement

Advantages:

• Better final decisions as employees have much to contribute and can offer valuable work experience in new situations

• Improve employee motivation, because employees are given some responsibility for the objectives and strategy of the business

• Employees will find change less threatening and more acceptable

Disadvantages:

• Consultation with employees can be time-consuming

• On occasions, quick decision-making would be required

• Level of involvement - some issues might be too sensitive or too secret

• Difficult for managers to adapt to this style, may not have the ability to discuss and persuade

Potential applications:

• Most likely to be useful in businesses that expect workers to contribute fully to the production and decision-making processes, thereby satisfying their complex human needs

• Experienced and flexible workforce

• Situations that demand a new way of thinking/new solutions

Laissez-faire leadership

Main features:

• Managers delegate virtually all authority and decision-making powers to employees

• Very broad criteria or limits might be established for employees to work within

• Very little input from management

Disadvantages:

• Lack of structure or direction leads to loss of security/confiden

• Lack of feedback may be demotivating

Potential applications:

• Managers are too busy or too lazy

• Design teams

• Scientific research institutions

Situational leadership

Main features:

• Style of leadership used depends on nature of task and group’s skills and willingness to accept responsibility

Disadvantages:

• Varying style of leadership may be difficult for some workers to accept, may become uncertain of how they will be led in different situations

Potential applications:

• Different leadership approaches can be used in different situations and with different groups of people

Motivation

Factors that stimulate people to take actions that lead to the achievement of a goal

Motivation exists when workers do something that they actually want to, rather than because they have to. (intrinsic desire to do something)

Indicators of poor employee motivation

• Absenteeism

• Lateness

• Poor performance

• Accidents

• Labour turnover

• Grievances/complaints

• Poor response rate

Taylor’s theory

• Theory of economic man: humans are motivated by money alone

• Piece rate: payment to workers for each unit produced

• Differentiated piece rate: a low rate per unit is set for the first units produced, and higher rates are paid when output targets are exceeded. Higher financial reward for more hardworking and productive workers

• Command and control approach: workers follow the orders given to them

• Introduced rest breaks: Allowed workers to recover from exhaustion, which would reduce productivity

Advantages and disadvantages of Taylor’s theory

Advantages:

• Organised and clear reward system: greater focus, increased efficiency and productivity

• Strong control over employees: can better control outcome

Disadvantages:

• Authoritarian: dehumanises employees, ethical concerns, can cause resistance, not applicable for modern business

• People cannot be effectively managed in a scientific way: different people are motivated by different things, does not suit all employees

• Qualitative factors are ignored: ignores employee satisfaction and personal development

• Focuses on short-term gain, may have negative long-term impacts

• More suited for repetitive manufacturing, not for work that requires creativity and collaboration

• No discussion or feedback: no worker participation

• Quality may be sacrificed in the pursuit of quantity, as workers want to earn more money

• Discourages workers from accepting changes at work in case they lose their pay

• In modern industries, especially service industries, it has become difficult to identify the output of individual workers

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

• People are motivated by different levels or categories of needs

• Once a need has been satisfied, it will no longer motivate individuals to take action, e.g., once material needs have been satisfied, the offer of more money will not increase productivity

• Only when one level of needs is met, then it is possible for the next level to be addressed

• Lower order needs/deficiency needs: physiological, safety, social (prevent dissatisfaction or unhappiness)

• Higher order needs/growth needs: esteem, self-actualisation (provide a sense of being completed, contented and overjoyed)

List of needs:

• Physiological needs: requirements for human survival, e.g. income

• Safety needs: make people feel safe, e.g. job security, health and safety conditions are met

• Social needs: being accepted by others e.g. teamwork, mentoring or coaching system, good communication

• Esteem needs: recognition, acknowledgement, trust and respect from others

• Self-actualisation: fulfilling one’s full potential

Advantages and Disadvantages of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

Advantages:

• Holistic approach that addresses both basic and advanced human needs

• Compatible with modern lifestyles: emphasis on work-life balance

• Comprehensive framework for motivation

Disadvantages:

• Not everyone has the same needs, as assumed by the hierarchy (e.g. some people prefer working alone rather than in teams)

• Difficult to identify the degree to which the need has been met and which level a worker is at

• Money is necessary to satisfy physical needs, but it might also play a role in satisfying other levels of needs, such as esteem

• Self-actualisation is never permanently achieved, jobs must continually offer challenges and opportunities for fulfilment

• Lack of empirical evidence

• Rigid hierarchy

• Cultural bias: Asians value collectivist culture and social belonging, while Westerners value individualism and self-actualisation

• Complicated to apply

Self-actualisation

A sense of self-fulfilment reached by feeling enriched and developed by what a person has learnt and achieved

Herzberg’s two-factor theory

• Factors are split into hygiene factors and motivating factors

• Pay and working conditions can be improved to remove dissatisfaction, but they will not create motivation on their own

• Job enrichment: aims to use the full capabilities of workers by giving them the opportunity to do more challenging and fulfilling work (assign workers complete units of work, provide feedback on performance, give workers a range of tasks)

Hygiene factors

aspects of a worker’s job that have the potential to cause dissatisfaction, such as pay, working conditions, status and over-supervision by managers

• intrinsic, intangible

• lower-level needs

• simply prevents dissatisfaction: even if they were in place, they would not create a well-motivated workforce

• these factors surround the job itself, rather than the work of the job

examples: wages and salaries, working environment

Motivating factors

aspects of a worker’s job that can lead to positive job satisfaction, such as achievement, recognition, meaningful and interesting work and advancement at work

• extrinsic, tangible

• higher level needs

• these factors surround the work of the job/nature of the job

Advantages and Disadvantages of Herzberg Two-Factor Theory

Advantages:

• Distinguishes satisfaction and dissatisfaction, goes beyond just eliminating negative factors

• Aligns with modern workplace focus of work-life balance and personal development

• Focus on long-term motivation that can enhance productivity and improve employee retention

Disadvantages:

• Over-simplification of motivation, assumes everyone seeks the same motivators e.g. responsibility

• Does not have framework

• Job enrichment may be costly

• Job satisfaction does not guarantee motivation

Financial rewards

• salary

• wages

• commission

• performance-related pay

• profit-related pay

• employee share-ownership schemes

• fringe payments

remuneration: overall financial package of a person

Differences between salaries and wages

• salary: fixed amount paid regularly, regardless of hours worked (do not receive overtime payment)

• wages: compensation paid directly for hours worked

Advantages and Disadvantages of salaries

Advantages:

• Security of income

• Status compared to time-rate or piece-rate payment systems

• Aids in costing (doesn’t vary)

• Suitable for jobs where output is not measurable

• Suitable for management positions where staff are expected to put in extra time to complete a task or assignment

Disadvantages:

• Income is not related to effort levels or productivity —> May lead to complacency

• Regular appraisal needed to assess whether worker should move up salary band

Time-based wage rate

payment to a worker made for each hour worked

disadvantage: does not reward speed, some workers may want to stretch hours to get more pay

Piece rate

payment to a worker for each unit produced

Advantages:

• increases motivation —> encourages greater effort and faster work

• encourages output

• labour cost for each unit is determined in advance, easier to set a price for the product

Disadvantages:

• requires output to be measurable and standardised, not suitable for different products

• falling quality and safety levels as workers rush to complete units

• may settle for a certain pay level, therefore unmotivated to produce more than a certain level

• provides little financial security e.g. in event of production breakdown

• creates competition and conflict between employees

Commission

Advantages:

• encourage workers to sell more products

• reduce overhead cost (since base salary is low)

Disadvantages:

• can be harmful to team cohesiveness if it encourages unhealthy competition

• promotes low quality services

• low financial security

• risk of high-pressure selling — creates bad impression on company

Performance-related pay

Bonus payable in addition to basic salary

Advantages:

• Employees are motivated to be more productive if they are seeking increases in financial rewards

• Target setting can help to give purpose and direction to the work of an individual

• Annual appraisal provides opportunities for feedback on the performance of an individual

Disadvantages:

• Fails to motivate employees if they are not driven by the need to earn additional financial rewards/no change in the nature of work

• Team spirit can be damaged by conflicts/competition

• Management favouritism can harm manager-subordinate relationships, cause employees to act in interests of managers instead of interest of company

• Bonuses are often inadequate to achieve short-term productivity gains

• Not always possible to define or measure performance in an objective way

Profit-related pay

type of financial system that remunerates workers a certain percentage of the annual profits that a business earns

on top of wages/salaries that workers earn — 13th month bonus

Advantages:

• Creates incentives for workers to be more productive and work cohesively to meet profit targets

• Used to create employee loyalty, as senior staff may earn a higher percentage of profits

Disadvantages:

• Rewards may not be closely related to individual efforts (some individuals may work harder than others)

• Costly

• Reduces profit available to owners or reinvested in the business

• Demotivating if workers narrowly miss profit targets

• Small profit share may not promote motivation

Employee share ownership scheme

giving workers shares in the company they work for

Advantages:

• aligns the interests of owners and employees as employees become part-owners of the company, creates incentives for them to earn a profit

• encourages employees to adopt changes that might not be welcome e.g. cost cutting measures

• potential conflict between employees and owners reduced

• shares may be given for performance/loyalty

• not an increase to business costs/fixed costs

Disadvantages:

• can be expensive for the company, especially in large companies

• dilute ownership and control

• (see profit-related pay)

Fringe payments/benefits/perks

non-cash forms of rewards

purpose: improve employee well-being, attract and retain talent

tax benefits: some fringe benefits are exempt from tax

helps build better corporate image

examples: company car, insurance, discounts

Non-financial rewards

• job enlargement

• job enrichment

• job rotation

• empowerment

• purpose/the opportunity to make a difference

• teamwork

Job enlargement, enrichment and rotation

Job enlargement:

• more tasks of a similar level of skill

• gives workers greater variety, reducing boredom associated with the nature of repetitive tasks

• unlikely to lead to long-term satisfaction unless principles of job enrichment are adopted

Job enrichment:

• fulfil motivating factors from Herzberg's two-factor theory

• develops employees’ full range of abilities

• build employee confidence, competence and sense of achievement in the workplace

• however, costs of training, developing and upskilling workers can be high

Job rotation:

• spreads the range of skills and expertise within the business

• creates greater variety of work, so job is less monotonous and repetitive

• workers become more flexible and adaptable

• however, it does not offer true challenge or enrichment from the work experience

• labour productivity may fall if workers must perform too many jobs

• greater demand for staff training, which can be time-consuming and expensive

Empowerment

• encourages independent decision making, taking ownership and responsibility for outcome of work

• shows that line managers have trust in subordinates, which can help to boost employee morale and job satisfaction

• senior managers focus their energies on strategic planning than on operational matters

Purpose

• people believe they do genuinely meaningful work, have opportunities to make a difference

• examples: doctors, police officers, firefighters, teachers

Teamwork

combined efforts of a group of workers to undertake complete units of work

advantages:

• greater motivation because social and esteem needs are met, and job enrichment can be achieved

• increase productivity, reduce turnover, reduce business costs

• better solutions to problems

• delayering —> reduce management costs

• complete units of work given to teams —> job enrichment

• consistently higher quality work

• teams more flexible than hierarchy

disadvantages:

• some individuals prefer working alone

• may conflict with organisation’s values and attitudes

• incur training costs, disruption to production

Differences between financial and non-financial motivation

Financial:

• Extrinsic motivation

• Driven by external and tangible rewards

• Short-term

Non-financial:

• Intrinsic motivation

• Comes from meaningful work and sense of purpose

• Long-term, more sustainable and fulfilling

Types of training

• induction

• on-the-job

• off-the-job

Training

Advantages:

• More productive

• More flexible

• Increased motivation through sense of achievement

• Prevents accidents

Disadvantages:

• Expensive

• Well-qualified staff may leave for better-paid job (poaching)

Induction training

Advantages:

• Welcome and settle new colleagues, integrate quickly, increase employee commitment

• Understand organisation’s value and culture, become as productive as fast as possible, achieve job satisfaction

Disadvantages:

• Takes time and effort to plan and execute successfully

• New staff may become overwhelmed with vast amount of new information

• Managers leading induction unable to get work done

On-the-job training

Advantages:

• Cheaper as in-house specialists are used, no need to hire venue and external specialists

• Fewer disruptions

• Focused and personalised, targeted to specific needs of employees and organisation

• Improve professional dialogue between colleagues, better working relationships

Disadvantages:

• Employees may lack the necessary expertise to run training

• Trainers cannot get work done, time-consuming

• Trainees might take shortcuts as they learn bad working habits

Off-the-job

Advantages:

• Minimises distractions

• Conducted by specialists and experts, professionally organised, may not be available within organisation

Disadvantages:

• Lost productivity while employees are away from work

• More expensive

• Not always directly related to organisation

Formal methods of communication

Information that flows through official channels of communication

• meetings

• appraisal

• reports

• emails

• letters

• publications

• presentations and speeches

• company websites

Advantages:

• more credible and reliable

• know exactly what their roles, responsibilities and expectations are, add clarity and reduce misunderstandings

• efficient flow of information

• reduces the likelihood of mistakes or errors

Disadvantages:

• slower than informal methods

• higher costs

• lack of initiative or creative ideas

• impersonal

Informal methods of communication

Information that flows through unofficial channels of communication

• gossip or rumours

• discussions during social events

• grapevine communication

• unscheduled/personal conversations

• internet-based: instant messaging, online forums, chatrooms, social media

• open channels of communication

Advantages:

• less time-consuming

• less costly

• improve transparency

• create positive relations

Disadvantages:

• not always reliable or accurate

• no authorised or official records to substantiate information

• increase miscommunication and misunderstandings

• harder to control

Differences between formal and informal communication

• designed vs organic

• documented vs undocumented

• fulfils organisational needs vs fulfils personal needs

• slower vs faster

Barriers to communication

• Language

• Cultural (differences in business etiquette, social norms)

• Physical (physical distance, time zones)

• Technological (outdated hardware, out of date software, internet connectivity)

• Organisational (chain of command)

• Psychological and perceptual (lack of trust, low staff morale, rivalry, harassment and bullying)