Unit 2: Human Resources, Organizational Structure, Leadership, and Motivation

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering Human Resource Management, organizational structures, leadership styles, and theories of motivation from Unit 2.

Human Resource Management

The process of making the most efficient use of an organization’s employees.

Personal Management

Describes the range of discrete tasks necessary to administer the human dimension of business activity.

Flexible Workforce

An organization's ability to adapt its staffing levels and working arrangements to meet changing business demands and enable response to changing organizational needs.

Organizational Work Culture

The values, attitudes, and beliefs of the people working within a business, most often with an employee wanting to learn.

Labor Mobility

The ability of people to move to jobs in different areas or in different occupations.

Geographic Mobility of Labor

The ability and willingness of people to move to jobs in different areas.

Occupational Mobility of Labor

The ability and willingness of people to move to jobs in different occupations.

Delegation

The process that passes down authority within a business.

Chain of Command

The line of communication and authority existing within a business that maps top-down reporting lines. Each extra level of hierarchy reduces communication effectiveness by $25\%$.

Bureaucracy

A system under which a business uses complex rules and procedures which can cause slow decision-making and may reduce efficiency.

Centralized Organization

An organizational structure where the majority of decisions are taken by senior managers at the top of the business.

Decentralized Organization

An organizational structure that gives greater authority to empower employees in branches, departments, or divisions of the business.

Delaying

The reduction in levels of hierarchy within an organizational structure to reduce operating costs, minimize bureaucracy, and speed up communication and decision-making.

Matrix Structure

An organizational structure combining a vertical chain of command and horizontal project or product teams.

Informal Organizational Structures

Structures commonly used by highly trained and motivated employees to organize their working lives with high independence, though unsuitable for businesses lacking managerial control.

Tall or Vertical Organization Chart

A structure where important decisions are made and passed down by senior managers and directors, requiring expensive support for all levels.

Flat or Horizontal Organization Chart

A structure that eliminates middle management by connecting frontline employees directly to executives or allowing them to self-manage.

Autocratic Leadership

A leadership style characterized by a single person at the top who controls everything, centralizes power, rarely delegates important tasks, and makes quick decisions.

Paternalistic Leadership

A leadership style with one main figure of authority who treats employees like family, prioritizes employee loyalty, and maintains strong connections with workers.

Democratic Leadership

A leadership style featuring task delegation, decentralized structure, and discussion between leaders and workers where employees have control over what they do.

Laissez-Faire Leadership

A hands-off, collaborative leadership style where leaders trust employees to understand what to do without much direct instruction.

Situational Leadership

A leadership approach where leaders switch and adapt their styles depending on the specific task at hand.

Motivation

The factor that arises, maintains, and channels behavior towards a goal; the factor that drives people to take action within their work.

Demotivation

When an individual loses the will or drive to complete tasks or pursue goals.

Taylor's Motivation Theory

A theory stating that workers are solely motivated by money, pay increases equal productivity increases, and pay is based on how much work needs to be done.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

A motivation theory outlining various levels of needs that employees attempt to meet through work, where each need must be met before advancing to the next level.

Herzburg's Motivation Theory

A theory stating that hygiene or maintenance factors influence the work environment to prevent dissatisfaction rather than motivate, but both hygiene and motivational factors are needed for productivity.

Victor Vroom’s Theory

A motivation theory represented by $\text{Motivation} = \text{Expectancy} \times \text{Instrumentality} \times \text{Valence}$, requiring positive answers to all three components for high motivation.

Expectancy

In Victor Vroom's theory, the component regarding an individual's limits and capability, addressing the question: 'Can I do it?'

Instrumentality

In Victor Vroom's theory, the component regarding the expected outcome, addressing the question: 'Will I be rewarded?'

Valence

In Victor Vroom's theory, the perceived value of the outcome, addressing the question: 'Do I care enough?'