AQA GCSE Business - Operations and HR

Layers within a staff hierachy

1. Directors - decide business strategy

2. Managers - carry out directors strategy

3. Supervisors - look after specific projects

4. Operatives - not responsible for any other staff

Tall Organisational structures

• Long chain of command

• Each manager only has a narrow span of control

  • (less employees to manage)

  • can make a firm more effective as each manager can focus more on subordinates

• slower communication

Flat organisational structures

• short chain of command

• Each manager only has a wide span of control

  • must manage many employees at once

    • can be difficult

• Faster communication

Centralised Organisations

• all major descisions made at the top

• people at the top tend to be experienced

• uniform policies throughout the business

• slower descision making

Decentralised Organisations

• Authority to make descisions is shared out

  • power may be delegated to regional managers

• Employees can use expert knowledge of their sector

• inconsistensies may develop between departments or regions

Businesses organised by Function

• common in limited companies

• each Functional area does one part of the business

• specialists can concentrate on their particular job

• different departments may not be coherent

Businesses organised by Product

• Common with lareg manufacturer

• product based structures split the organisation into sectors

• Managers can makedescisions that are relevant to each product sector

• could be a wasteful duplication of resources between sectors

Businesses organised by Region

• common for MNC’s

• divisions may be regional or national

• spreading management between regions makes day-to-day controll easier

• could be a wasteful duplication of resources between regions

Part time employees

• usually 10 to 30 hours a week

• earn less pay than full time employees

• good for businesses which are only busy during certain periods

Full-Time employees

• 35 to 40 hours a week

• earn more than Part-Time employees

• Good if there is always enough work for them to do

Job share

• two people share the pay and hours of a Full-Time job

• good for employees who only want to work part time Hours

• Good for employers if the two people have different strengths

• Responsibilities of each employee in a job share need to be very clear

Zero Hour Contract

• employer doesnt have to offer any work

• employee doesnt need to accept any work

• good in businesses with fluctuating demands

• cheap form of labour - only paid when doing work

• appeal to people who want extra cash but are restricted by time, e.g. students

Recruitnment

the process of finding the best person to do a job using three processes

• job analysis - firm thinks in depth about the details of the job

• advertisement - Job description and Person Specification posted

• selection - The business goes through the cabdudates that apply and select the best one

Internal recruitment

• recruiting current employees into new roles

• much cheaper and the post can be filled faster

• no new idea and the employees old vacancy wil have to be filled

External recruitment

• rcruiting from outside the business

• more likely to find someone really suited to the job

• advertising externally can be expensive

On-The-Job training

• most common form of training, employee learns by being shown

• most suitable when practical skills are being taught

• cost effective - working and learning go on at the same time

• training given by colleagues so bad working practices can be passed on

Off-The-Job Training

• staff learn away from their workplace

• happen when an employee needs to know general information or are learning a new skill that isnt related to a specific task

Benefits of training for employers

• trained staff should be better at their jobs

• training cn help staff stay up to date with changes in the business

• training is likely to make staff feel motivated

Benefits of training for employees

• employees with up to date knowledge / skills often have higher job satisfaction and motivation

• gainng new skills may mean they can be promoted and get better pay

Payment methods - Wages

• Wages - paid weekly or monthly, calculated using either a time rate or number of units produced (piece rate

Payment methods - Salary

• Salary - fixed amount paid every month, doesnt change based on hours worked or output

• doesnt link pay to performance so employees arent encouraged to work harder

Financial Methods Of Boosting Motivation

• Comission - paid to sales staff for ever item they sell ontop of a basic salary

• Profit Sharing - a percentage of the company’s profits is divided between employers

Non-Financial Methods Of Boosting Motivation

• training

  • being good at a job may increase self esteem

• Management styles

  • higher motivation if workers can give their input on descisions

• Fringe benefits

  • small perk that come with the job

Styles of management

• Authoritarian - managers make descisions alone

• Paternalistic - managers make descisions after consulting workers

• Democratic - workforce is allowed some influence over descisions

• Laissez-faire - managers allow workers to perform tasks as they see fit, offering help if needed

Fringe benefit

• any reward that isnt part of a worker’s main income

• e.g. staff discount, health insurance or a gym membership

Business Operations

the day to day operations needed for a businesses function

Supply chain

the group of firms that are involved in the process of making a finished product

Factors affecting choice of supplier

• Price

  • speed of delivery and quality have an effect on prices

• Quality

  • its easy for customers to shop elsewhere so quality is important

• Reliability

  • if a supplier lets a firm down it may have a knock on effect on the firm

Procurement

finding and buying things that a firm needs from external suppliers

Logistics

getting goods or services from one part of the supply chain to another

effect of efficient procurement and logistics

having efficient procurement and logistics systems improve the efficiency of a business as the make sure the business will have the supplies it needs when it needs them

Positives of managing a supply chain effectively

• Good relationship with suppliers

• Get best value for money

• Reduce waste and unnecessary costs

Job Production

• unique/specialised products

• high quality

• high levels of customisation

• more expensive

• require highly skilled labour

• e.g ships, bridges, tailored clothing

Flow Production

• identical products

• only require low skill labour

• often lower quality

• e.g mobile phones

Lean Production

a strategy businesses can use to make production more efficient in an effort to waste as few resources as possible

JIT Production

• a form of lean production

• only begin production when an order comes through

• requires very reliable suppliers

JIT Stock control

• reduces cost of storage

• lose out on purchasing economies of scale

• requires very reliable suppliers

JIC Stock control

• extra stocks of items held at every stage

• if there is a problem with suppliers production can go on

• expensive to store

Benefits of setting high quality standards

• Customers prepared to pay more for product

• higher chance of repeat purchases

• better reputation

How to measure quality

• does the final product meet the specifications (e.g weight color height etc…)

• how manu products get returned and for what reason

• carry out customer surveys

Total Quality Management

• TQM aims to make quality the responsibilty of every employee

• emphasis on quality of after sales service as well as production

• takes a long time to introduce and can lead to demotivation of workers

Ways to provide a good sales process

• know lots about the product

• engage well with the customer

• Offer post sales service

Websites and E-Commerce (Customer service)

• 24 Hour ordering

• Provide FAQs and or live chat features

• online accounts to access services on the web

Social Media (Customer service)

• can communicate with customers about things like opening times

• easy for customers to contact buiness if they have a query

Benefts of good customer service

• High levels of customer satisfaction

• higher chance of gaining loyal customers who make repeat purchases and spend more

Dangers of poor customer service

• dissatisfied customers

• bad reputation