September mock exam - business

motivation

desire, effort and passion to achieve something

warning signs of poor motivation

- High absenteeism rates

- High labour turnover rates

- High wastage level

- Increasing numbers of customers complaints

- Low quality output

- Poor punctuality

- Increasing number of disciplinary problems

benefits of increased motivation

more satisfaction, better work place relations, lower absenteeism, lower turnover, better corporate image

Maslow hierarchy benefits and drawbacks

benefits : Higher employee satisfaction, can motivate their employees by offering incentives that align with their specific needs and desires, Employees who feel valued

drawbacks : approaches needs in linear manner, individualistic (not applicable in collectivist culture), overlooks rewards that overlap,Meeting many individual needs can be costly, difficult to measure

collectivist culture

culture that focuses on communal relationships with others such as family, friends, and community; linear

Maslow hierarchy

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is a theory of human motivation that outlines five tiers of human needs that must be met for individuals to reach their full potential

Taylor's motivational theory

theory of scientific management that assumes that employees are primarily motivated by money and that productivity could be improved by setting output and efficiency targets related to pay.

Pros and Cons of Taylor's theory

pros : increased efficiency, clear incentives, easy to implement

cons : not universally applicable, employees may feel dehumanized, reduces intrinsic motivation, stress

Herzberg two-factor theory of motivation

Herzberg's theory suggests that there are two types of factors that affect employee motivation and job satisfaction hygiene factors, their absence can cause dissatisfaction, and motivators,lead to job satisfaction

intrinsic motivation

Comes from the satisfaction derived from working on and completing a task

extrinsic motivation

Comes from external rewards associated with working on a task, for example pay and other benefits

financial rewards

salary, commission, piece rate (wages), performance related pay, profit related schemes, employee share ownership scheme, fringe payments

Salary

A fixed amount of money paid to an employee for each pay period.

commission

An amount paid to an employee based on a percentage of the employee's sales

piece rate

a method of pay where you receive payment based on the number of items produced

performance related pay

rewards employees (as individuals, teams or as a whole workforce) who meet certain goals.

employee share ownership scheme

This payment system rewards workers, managers and directors by giving them shares in the company

profit related pay

A bonus for staff based on the profits of the business - usually paid as a proportion of basic salary

fringe benefit payment

Fringe payments (also known as financial perks) are the

monetary benefits to employees in addition to their wages or salaries. Examples include health insurance, housing allowance, employer's contributions to employee retirement funds, staff discounts, subsidized meals, gym membership, paid holidays and paid sick leave.

job enrichment

gives workers more challenging jobs with

more responsibility, to make their work more rewarding and motivate them.

job rotation

Job rotation is a type of non-financial reward that involves

workers performing different tasks at the same level of

complexity in a systematic way.

job enlargement

increasing the number of different tasks in a given job by changing the division of labor, refers to broadening the number of tasks that an employee performs, although the nature of the job itself remains essentially

unchanged.

pros and cons of salary

pros : regular payment, stable, easy to calculate

cons : hard to incentivize as fixed, difficult to distinguish effort

pros and cons of commission

pros : motivates their employees, make them more productive, generate more sales

cons : high pressure, instable, reduced teamwork

pros and cons piece rate

pro : employees have an incentive to work hard to maximise their earnings, easy to calculate

con : quality problem, supervision and control needed, employee disappointment if machine failure

performance related pay pros and cons

pros Aligns employee goals with the overall objectives, motivates, helps with retention, increases accountability

cons subjective, pressure, competition

employee share ownership scheme pros and cons

pros : good for high level positions, more direct interest in the well-being of the organization, loyalty, retention

cons : amount distributed is hardly enough to sustain their level of motivation and productivity for low level, not liquid, high administrative costs

profit related pay pros and cons

pro : aligns employee objectives with business profitability, encouraged to work harder

con : unpredictable, performance can sometimes be subjective, focused on short term profit

fringe payments pros and cons

pro : help morale and loyalty, employees feel valued, helps esteem and safety needs

con : high costs, affect cash flow, requires significant time and administrative resources

job enrichment pros and cons

pros : feel valued, esteem needs met, increase commitment, help improve skills

cons : time and money to train, workload, too challenging, mistakes

pros and cons of job rotation

pros : less boredom more variety, easy to cover for absent colleagues

cons : training cost and time, workload, complex

pros and cons of job enlargement

pros :less boredom, employees feel trusted

cons : same pay more work so demotivating, stressful, demotivation

job empowerment

involves granting workers the authority to be in charge of their own jobs and to execute their own ideas to solve business problems.

giving purpose

motivated by using their work to help others thereby making a difference to the world we live in, altruistic and make positive difference

team working

Production is organised so that groups of workers undertake a specific functional area or task

job empowerment pros and cons

pros : gives sense of autonomy and ownership, reduces management burden, encourages employees to be more creative

cons : risk of error, decisions that serve personal interests,investment in training

team working pros and cons

pros : many perspective, division of labour, support and teach each other

cons : conflict, slower decisions, poor coordination, dominated by some ppl

giving purpose pros and cons

pros : more driven, more committed, better retention, brand reputation

cons : burnout due to overwork, can slow down decision making, might be dissatisfied by some business actions

training

process of instructing and teaching employees how to perform certain tasks and their job

purpose of training

To enhance the efficiency and productivity of employees.

To improve the quality of work of employees, including the

quality of customer service.

To facilitate the personal and professional development of

employees.

To help employees adapt to change (including

organizational, technological, social and legal changes).

pros of training

higher morale, less turnover, less absenteeism, maintains industry standard, more efficiency It is easier and more likely to achieve business objectives with a more skilled and flexible workforce, less wastage and re-working

induction training

type of training for new employees aimed at introducing new employees to the organization like the organizations protocol, people and culture

on-the-job training

training while at the work place typically by managers or other employees

Off-the-job training

training away from the work place by specialist trainers

pros and cons of induction training

pros : understands values and culture, settle faster work faster, employee feels welcome and motivates (commitment and satisfaction), productive asap

cons : time consuming, trainer is busy, can delay starting work, can be overwhelming

pros and cons of on the job training

pros : cheap, specific to organization, output is still produced, helps get to know other employees and culture, better employee relationships, motivating as more skilled

cons : bad habits passed on, not up to date (managers may lack skills) , trainer not productive, disrupts operations

pros and cons of off the job training

pros : up date, no distractions, good equipment and training, employees feel more confident

cons : loss of output, expensive, not specific to organization, may want to leave due to more skills

communication

exchange and transfer of info, data and ideas

objectives of communication

Inform, instruct, notify, clarify, respond, receive feedback, review

transmission mechanism

method of communication by which one party communicates with another

formal communication

uses professional/official channel, formal language, about business matters

informal communication

casual matters, unofficial channels, colloquial language

examples of formal communication

meetings, reports, emails, letters, publications, presentations, speeches, company websites

pros and cons of formal communications

pros : structured, documented, and reliable flow of information that maintains organizational hierarchy, ensures accountability, and minimizes misunderstandings

cons : slower, higher costs (formal, confidential, security management, rigid

examples of informal communication

unscheduled conversation, instant messages, cluster chain

Ageing population

demographic change that occurs when average age of popylation increases

demography

The scientific study of population characteristics.

Flexitime

system that allows workers to have a degree of autonomy to determine when they work as long as they meet deadlines

gig economy

workers work on short term temporary contracts or carry out freelance work as contractors

Homeworking

Type of flexitime where people work from home

HRM

roles of managers in planning and the developing the organisation people. (Recruitment, selection, hiring, motivation, training and development)

Mobility of labour

Extent to which workers are flexible to move countries/ change jobs

Net migration

The difference between the level of immigration and the level of emigration.

portfolio workers

People who carry out several different jobs, often for different contractors, at the same time and usually on a temporary basis.

Teleworking

working away from home using electronic communication

Workforce

No. of employees of business at a given time

Roles of HR

recruitment, selection, training, performance management, reviewing pay, discipline procedure, welfare management

HR planning

anticipating and meeting organisations current and future staffing needs

Factors when HR planning

historical trends, sales, income, labour turnover, flexibility of employees, demographic changes

Consequences of poor HR planning

recruitment problems, waste of resources, low morale, low productivity, poor reputation as cannot retain employees

Pros and cons of home working/ teleworking for employees

Pros : more opportunities, can take care of family, flexible, no commute, autonomy over hours

Cons: relaiance on tech, might overwork, less job security, feel isolated, distractions

Pros and cons of teleworking and home working for employers

Pros : reduced location costs, can adjust hours for peak times, lower absenteeism, provides flexibility for max working hours

Cons : ICT costs, have to hire self motivated ppl, management and monitoring is difficult, tech break can harm business

pros and cons of gig economy

Pros : more flexible, lower costs, can adapt workers for project

Cons : no job security or fringe benefits, may affect quality, hard to keep recruiting

Reasons for resistance to change

Self-interest, Misunderstanding and distrust, scared of change due to uncertainty, different interpretations of change potential outcome

Ways to decrease resistance to change

education and communication, involving employees in change, providing support, negotiation, manipulation, coercion

Leadership vs. Management

Leadership : sets goals, inspires, strategic decisions, more responsibilities, motivate, take risks, creative, vision oriented

Manager : helps achieve goals, directing, controlling, coordinating, task oriented, tactical decision, delegating

Leadership

Skill of getting things done through inspiring influencing and motivating to achieve organisation's goals

manager

decision making authority within business and has responsibility to problem solve in order to achieve goals

autocratic leadership

authoritarian style of leading, where leader makes all the decisions and subordinates follow

Pros/Cons of Autocratic Leadership

Pros : fast , clear, good for crisis management, good when workers are inexperienced, focused towards leaders vision

Cons : low motivation, lack of creativity, dependence of leader, limits perspective

Paternalistic leadership

treats employees like family members and acts in best perceived interest of subordinates

roles of manager

coordinating, planning, commanding, organising and controlling business operations

Pros and cons of paternalistic leadership

pros : employees feel valued, clear structure, helps employee wellbeing, builds trust

Cons: favouritism, dependence on leader, resistance to change, leader is overwhelmed, low creativity and autonomy

democratic leadership

employees are involved in decision making process, decentralised decision making

Pros/Cons of Democratic Leadership

Pros : employees feel valued, more creative, team work, many perspectives

Cons: slow, inefficient in crisis, disagreement,

laissez-faire leadership

leaders allow employees to make their own decisions and complete tasks in their own way, minimal direct input on work of employees

Pros/Cons of Laissez-faire leadership

Pros : creative, autonomy and trust, develops skills, fast decisions as no manager to consult

Cons: lack of structure and clarity,team may be inexperienced, lack coordination, confusion

Situational Leadership

style of leading depends on situational factor, different styles and used in different situations

Pros and cons of situational leadership

Pros : flexible, addressed gaps and supports employees, less rigid, employees feel understood

Cons : inconsistent,could be difficult for leaders, determining style to use wastes time,dependence on leader

organisational structure

The formal arrangement of jobs within an organisation, heirarchical arangemnt and shows formal interrelationships

Accountability

extent to which person is held responsible for success or failure of task

Bureaucracy

administrative and formal rules of an organisation that governs business activities. Involves prescribed rules and policies, strict procedures and structures

Centralisation

Majority of decisions are made by small group of people who hold decision making power and authority

Chain of command

Formal like of authority in a business through which formal communication and orders are passed down

Decentralisation

When decision making authority of responsibility are shared within organisation

Delayering

The removal of one or more of the levels of hierarchy from an organisational structure to flatten structure

Delegation

giving a subordinate the authority to perform particular tasks

flat structure

Few layers of hierarchy and managers tend to have wide span of control

levels of heirarchy

Number of level of formal authority within organisation, shown in organisational chart

Line manager

the person who is directly responsible for managing the work of someone else in a company or business, and who is one level above that person