IB Business Management Unit 2: Human Resource Management

Vocabulary flashcards covering key definitions, theories, organizational structures, leadership styles, and conflict resolution mechanisms in IB Business Management Unit 2 (Human Resource Management).

Flexitime

The practice of giving employees a variable work schedule.

Gig economy

A labor market characterized by part-time contracting, commonly seen in companies such as Uber or food delivery apps.

Layers of hierarchy

The number of levels of formal authority that exist in a business.

Span of control

The number of employees that each manager is directly responsible for, classified as wide or narrow.

Chain of command

The pathway through which decisions and instructions get communicated from management down to junior employees.

Flat organizational structure

A business structure with few layers of hierarchy, a wider span of control, and a shorter chain of command.

Tall organizational structure

A business structure with many levels of hierarchy, a narrow span of control, and a longer chain of command.

Organization by geography

Structuring a business according to geographic location, such as dividing operations into Americas, Europe and Middle East, and Asia Pacific.

Organization by product

Structuring a business around the different goods and services it sells, such as theme parks, hotel divisions, and streaming.

Organization by function

Structuring a business around the key functional areas of an organization: marketing, HR, finance, and operations.

Project based organizational structure

A structure that organizes the firm around specific important projects, leveraging employee skill sets from different divisions.

Handy Shamrock

An organizational structure grouping a firm into three parts: the professional core (key employees), outsourced vendors, and part-time workers.

Autocratic leadership

A leadership style where the leader makes all decisions independently without consulting employees.

Paternalistic leadership

A leadership style where leaders make decisions based on what they perceive to be in the best interest of their employees.

Democratic leadership

A leadership style where leaders consider the views and inputs of others before arriving at a decision.

Laissez faire leadership

A leadership style where employees are given a high degree of autonomy in decision making.

Situational leadership

A leadership style where leaders adapt their style and approach based on the specific context or situation.

Scientific thinking and management

An approach to management where leaders make decisions based on facts or hard evidence.

Intuitive thinking and management

An approach to management where leaders make decisions based on gut feel.

Tanger's scientific management theory

A motivation theory centered on the idea that workers are primarily motivated by money, meaning higher efficiency yields more profit to pay workers more.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs

A motivation theory outlining five levels of human needs: physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self actualization.

Herzberg's two factor theory

A theory proposing that hygiene factors prevent demotivation when present, while motivators actively improve employee motivation.

Time rate wages

Base payments made to workers determined strictly by the amount of time worked.

Piece rate wages

Base payments made to workers determined by their output, or the volume of goods they produce.

Performance related pay

A financial reward given to an individual employee for meeting or exceeding specific targets.

Profit related pay

A bonus payment distributed to employees when the business performs well overall.

Commissions

A form of financial payment where workers receive a percentage of the total sales value they are responsible for generating.

Share ownership schemes (ESOS)

Financial schemes that provide employees with shares in the company they work for in order to align incentives.

Job enrichment

A non-financial reward method involving an increase in both the quantity and the difficulty of an employee's tasks.

Job enlargement

A non-financial reward method involving an increase in the quantity of tasks without changing their difficulty.

Job rotation

Moving employees across different tasks of similar difficulty to facilitate skill development.

Job empowerment

Authorizing employees to make their own decisions, demonstrating that the firm trusts them.

On the job training

Instruction conducted directly within the workplace that is relatively cheap and relevant to the employee's day to day needs.

Off the job training

Instruction conducted outside the workplace by third party specialists, allowing employees to develop a broader range of skills.

McClellan's acquired needs theory

A motivation theory identifying three individual drivers: the need for achievement, the need for power, and the need for affiliation.

Dessie and Ryan's self determination theory

A motivation theory based on the idea that humans are intrinsically motivated and need autonomy, relatedness, and competence to grow.

Adams equity theory

A motivation theory stating that employees are motivated when their inputs (time and effort) match or are lower than their outputs (pay and praise).

Vroom's expectancy theory

A motivation theory proposing that employees are only motivated if they believe they can accomplish tasks and understand their desired outcomes.

Labor turnover

The percentage of employees who leave a firm over the course of a year due to internal or external reasons.

Formative appraisals

Regular, informal performance evaluations intended to help an employee improve in their job performance.

Summative appraisal

A periodic, formal evaluation (such as an annual review) where employees are assessed against preset standards.

Three sixty degree feedback

An appraisal process collecting performance feedback from an employee's superiors, peers at their level, and subordinates.

Self appraisal

An evaluation method where employees assess their own performance against preset criteria to determine strengths and weaknesses.

Organizational culture

The norms and values that shape how a firm operates and how its employees behave.

Collective bargaining

A negotiation process where representatives of management and employees meet to discuss and resolve the causes of workplace conflict.

Work to rule

An employee industrial action tactic where staff strictly adhere to the bare minimum requirements outlined in their employment contracts.

Strike

An extreme form of industrial action where employees refuse to show up to work in protest.

Closure or lockout

An employer action where management temporarily shuts the business down, leaving workers unpaid to pressure them back to negotiations.

Conciliation

A conflict resolution process where an independent third party listens to both sides and provides non-binding recommendations.

Arbitration

A conflict resolution process where an independent third party listens to both sides and delivers legally binding decisions.

Industrial democracy

A conflict resolution approach, also known as employee participation, that allows workers to become more involved in company decision making.

Single union agreement

An arrangement where management and employees agree that one trade union represents all workers in collective bargaining.

No strike agreement

A commitment where a trade union agrees not to take strike action for a set period following concessions from management.