BUSINESS 3.6 - HR Management

What is human resource management?

activities relating to the labour of workers

What are the 6 human resource objectives?

employee engagement, talent development, training, diversity, aligning values, number/location/skill of employees

Why do managers value human resource objectives?

enhanced reputation, improves employee performance, increases customer satisfaction

What are internal influences on HR objectives?

overall objectives, attitudes of managers, type of product

What are external factors of HR objectives?

PESTLE

How do managers achieve HR objectives?

hard HR/soft HR approaches

What is hard HR management?

employees being treated as a resource and earning low pay

What is soft HR management?

employees treated as valuable assets

What is labour turnover?

the proportion of the workforce that leave within a certain time period

What is the formula for labour turnover?

number of leavers/average number of employees x 100

What are disadvantages of high labour turnover?

negative brand image, increased training costs, decreased customer service

Why is high labour turnover not always bad?

firms with seasonal demand/ firms with younger/temporary workers will have a high labour turnover

What is labour productivity?

amount of output produced by a certain amount of workers in a certain time period

why does labour productivity matter?

business performs better, higher profitability, lower unit costs, competitive advantage

What are employee costs?

how much is paid for staff

How do you calculate employee costs as a percentage of turnover?

employee costs/revenue x 100

What are influences on employee costs as a percentage of turnover?

productivity, wages, other employment costs, capacity utilisation

What is retention?

the proportion of the workforce that stays in their jobs over a certain time period

What is the formula for retention?

workers staying/total workforce x 100

Why does labour retention matter?

lower costs, increased motivation, better customer service

What is HR planning?

using staff to meet corporate objectives, working out how to use staff to achieve objectives

How do HR managers use data?

tracking absence, performance management systems

What is job design?

the way tasks and responsibilities are organised, and the relationship between job holders, subordinates, superiors and colleagues

What is a subordinate?

a lower ranking level individual

What is a superior?

a higher ranking individual

What does job design involve?

job enlargement, job rotation, job enrichment, empowerment

What is job enlargement?

giving employees extra tasks

What is job rotation?

engaging in different roles each day

What is job enrichment?

giving employees more challenging tasks

What are influences on job design?

objectives, employee performance, legal issues, customer needs, (training) resources

What is an organisational structure?

the way a business is arranged to carry out activities

What are the types of organisational structures?

functional, product based, regional, matrix structure

What is a functional structure?

businesses being organised into departments and carrying out different functions

What is a product based structure?

businesses being organised into departments with a specific function

What is a regional structure?

businesses seperated by geographic locations

What is a matrix structure?

employees reporting back to multiple managers

What are influences on organisational design?

authority, span of control, hierarchy, delegation, centralisation and decentralisation

What is centralisation?

decisions being made by senior management

What is decentralisation?

decisions being made by employees

What is a span of control?

the amount of subordinates a manager has responsibility for

Why might businesses change their organisational design?

objectives, reduced costs, competition

What is the HR flow?

The employee’s life cycle in an organisation

What does the HR flow include?

HR plan, recruitment, training, redeployment, redundancy

What is redoployment?

businesses allocating workers a different job

What are the advantages of motivation and employee engagement?

increased productivity, increased reputation, improved customer service

What was taylor’s scientific management theory?

believed that individuals are only motivated by money

What was maslow’s hierarchy of needs?

belief that individuals need to fulfil all levels of hierarchy to increase motivation

What was herzberg’s two factor theory?

belief that hygiene and motivation factors influence employee motivation

What are examples of hygiene factors?

wages, working conditions

What are examples of motivation factors?

recognition, promotion

What are financial methods of motivation?

piece rate, commission, salary scheme, performance related pay (PRP)

What is piece rate?

employees being paid for the amount they produce

What are the advantages of piece rate?

increases productivity, increases motivation

What are the disadvantages of piece rate?

may decrease quality of products

What is a salary scheme?

pension benefits (income after retirement)

What is PRP?

employees only getting paid if targets are reached

What are non-fanancial methods of motivation?

delegation, empowerment, consultation, team working, flexible working, job enrichment, job rotation

What is delegation

giving someone else the authority to carry out a task

What are advantages of delegation?

increases motivation

What are disadvantages of delegation?

can cause stress on workers

What is empowerment?

giving employees greater control over work

What is consultation?

asking for workers’ opinions

What is team working?

giving small teams of staff tasks to complete

What is flexible working?

workers can adjust their working hours

What are the types of employee representation methods?

trade unions, work councils, work committees, staff associations

What is a trade union?

organisation of employees working to protect their rights

What role do unions play in labour markets?

collective bargaining, lobbying and advocacy, provision of support and advice, education and training

What is lobbying?

workers influencing government to to support a policy/campaign

What are the impacts of unions?

power of group protest (strikes), partnerships between unions and firms

What is a work council?

an organisation representing shop floor employees which operates independently of trade unions

What do work councils do?

represent employee views in decision making

What is the difference between involvement and participation?

involvement is how much employees contribute to business choices, participation is the way employees are involved in business choices

What are legal issues in participation and involvement?

firms need to consult employees if 20 or more staff are redundant, or if the business is being bought

What are influences on employee involvement?

leadership styles, objectives, nature of work/employees, tradition, legal factors

How are employee relations managed?

no-strike agreements, single union agreements, external organisations

How are industrial disputes resolved?

arbitration, conciliation, tribunals

What is arbitration?

decision on how to solve worker disputes

What is conciliation?

individual helping both parties come to a mutual agreement

What is a tribunal?

specialist resolving worker conflict

What are benefits of good industrial relations?

better brand image, lower costs, motivated and productive workers, more competitive