Human Resource

Human resource management

The strategic approach to the effective management of an organisation's workers so that they help the business gain a competitive advantage

Human resource of workforce planning

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

Human resource or workforce plan

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

Workforce audit

A check on the skills and qualifications of all existing employees

Labour turnover

Measures the rate at which employees are leaving an organisation

Number of employees leaving in 1 year/average number of people employed x 100

Occupational mobility of labour

Extent to which workers are willing and able to move to different jobs requiring different skills

Geographical mobility of labour

Extent to which workers are willing and able to move geographical region to take up new jobs

Recruitment

The process of identifying the need for a new employee, defining the job to be filed and the type of person needed to fill it, attracting suitable candidates for the job and selecting the best one

Job description

A detailed list of the key points about the job to be filled, starting all the key tasks and responsibilities of it

Person specification

A detailed list of the qualities, skills and qualifications that a successful applicant will need to have

Training

Work-related education to increase workforce skills and efficiency

On-the-job training

Instruction at the place of work on how a job should be carried out

Induction training

introductory training program to familiarise new recruits with the systems used in the business and the layout of the business site

Off-the-job training

All training undertaken away from the business

Cognitive training

Exercises designed to improve a person's ability to understand and learn information

Behavioural skills training

Is designed to improve an individual's ability to communicate and interact with others both inside and external to the organisation

Employee appraisal

The process of assessing the effectiveness of an employee judged against preset objectives

Contract of employemnt

A legal document that sets out the terms and conditions governing a worker's job

Dismissal

Being removed or 'sacked' from a job due to incompetence or breach of discipline

Unfair dismissal

Ending a worker's employment contract for a reason that the law regards as being unfair

Redundancy

When a job is no longer required so the employee doing this job becomes redundant through no fault of his or her own

Teleworking

Staff working from home keeping contact with the office by means of modern IT communications

Portfolio working

The working pattern of following several simultaneous employments at any one time

Outsourcing

Using another business to undertake a part of the production process rather than doing it within the business using the firm's own employees

Flexi-time contract

Employment contract that allows staff to be called in at times most convenient to employers and employees

Temporary employment

Employment contract that lasts for a fixed time period

Part-time employment

Employment contract that is for less than normal full working week

Offshoring

The relocation of a business process done in one country to the same or another company in another country

Re-shoring

Reversal of offshoring, the transfer of a business process or operation back to its country of origin

Hard HRM

An approach to managing staff that focuses on cutting costs

Soft HRM

An approach to managing staff that focuses on developing staff so that they reach self-fulfillment and are motivated to work hard and stay with the business

Organisational structure

The 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

Level or hierarchy

A stage of the organisational structure at which the personnel on it have equal status and authority

Tall (vertical) structure

One with many levels of hierarchy and, usually, narrow spans of control

Flat (horizontal) structure

One with few levels of hierarchy and wide spans of control

Span of control

The number of subordinates reporting directly to a manager

Chain of command

This is the route through which authority is passed down an organisation

Delegation

Passing authority down the organisational hierarchy

Accountability

The obligation of an individual to account for his or her activities and to disclose results in a transparent way

Delayering

Removal of one or more of the levels of hierarchy from an organisational structure

Bureaucracy

An organisational system with standardised procedures and rules

Centralisation

Keeping all of the important decision-making powers within head office or the centre of the organisation

Decentralisation

Decision-making powers are passed down the organisation to empower subordinates and regional/product managers

Hierarchial structure

A structure on which power and responsibility are clearly specified and allocated to their standing or position in the hierarchy

Matrix structure

An organisational structure that creates project teams that cut across traditional functional departments.

Effective communication

The exchange of information between people or groups, with feedback

Feedback

The response to a message by the reciever

Intranet

Internal computer networks built on internet technologies

Information overload

So much information and so many messages are received that the most important ones cannot be easily identified and quickly acted on

Manager

Responsible for setting objectives, organising resources and motivating staff so that the organisation's aims are met

Leadership

The art of motivating a group of people towards achieving a common objective

Autocratic leadership

A style of leadership that keeps all decision-making at the centre of the organisation

Paternalistic leadership

A type of fatherly style typically used by dominant males where their power is used to control and protect subordinate employees who are expected to be loyal and obedient

Democratic leadership

A leadership style that promotes the active participation of workers in taking decisions

Laissez-faire leadership

A leadership style that leaves much of the business decision-making to the workforce

Situational leadership

Effective leadership varies with the task in hand and situational leaders adapt their leadership style to each situation

Ethical leadership

Leading by knowing and doing what is 'right'

Extrinsic motivation

Comes from external rewards associated with working on a task

Motivation

The intrinsic and extrinsic factors that stimulate people to take actions that lead to achieving a goal

Intrinsic motivation

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

Self-actualisation

A sense of self-fulfilment reached by feeling enriched and developed by what one has learned and achieved

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

Hygiene factors

Aspects of a worker's job that have the potential to cause dissatisfaction

Job enrichment

Aims to use the full capabilities of workers by giving them the opportunity to do more challenging and fulfilling work

Salary

Annual income that is usually paid on a monthly basis

Hourly wage rate

Payment to a worker made for each hour worked

Piece rate

A payment to a worker for each unit produced

Commission

A payment to a sales person for each sale made

Performance-related pay

A bonus scheme to reward staff for above-average work performance

Profit-related pay

A bonus for staff based on the profits of the business

Job enlargement

Attempting to increase the scope of a job by broadening or deepening the tasks undertaken

Job enrichment

Attempting to motivate employees by giving them opportunities to use the full range of their abilities

Cell production

A lean method of producing similar products using cells, or groups of team members to facilitate operations by eliminating setup time between operations

Job redesign

Involves the restructuring of a job to make work more interesting, satisfying and challenging

Job rotation

The practice of moving employees between different tasks to promote experience and variety

Team working

Production is organised so that groups of workers undertake complete units of work

Organisational (corporate) culture

The shared values, attitudes and beliefs of the people working in an organisation that control the way they interact with each other and with external stakeholder groups

Power culture

Concentrating power among a few people

Role culture

Each member of staff has a clearly defined job title and role

Task culture

Based on cooperation and teamwork

Person culture

When individuals are given freedom to express themselves and make decisions

Entrepreneurial culture

Encourages management and workers to take risks, to come up with new ideas and test out new business ventures

Trade union (labour union)

An organisation of working people with the objective of improving the pay and working conditions of its members and providing them with support and legal services

Industrial action

Measures taken by the workforce or trade union to put pressure on management to settle an industrial dispute in favour of employees

Trade union recognition

When an employer formally agrees to conduct negotiations on pay and working conditions with a trade union rather than bargaining individually with each worker

Collective bargianing

The negotiations between employees' representatives and employers and their representatives on issues of common interest such as pay and conditions of work

Single-union agreement

An employer recognises just one union for purposes of collective bargaining

No-strike agreement

Unions sign an agreement with employers not to strike in exchange for greater involvement in decisions that affect the workforce

Conciliation

The use of a third party in industrial disputes to encourage both employer and union to discuss an acceptable compromise solution

Arbitration

Resolving an industrial dispute by using an independent third party to judge and recommend an appropriate solution

Change management

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

Project champion

A person assigned to support and drive a project forward and who explains the benefits of change and assists and supports the team putting change into practice

Project groups

These are created by an organisation to address a problem that requires input from different specialists