THEME 2.5 - Making Human Resource Decisions

KEY TERMS

Organisation Charts

A diagram that shows the internal structure of an organisation.

Hierarchy

The levels in the organisation

Delegate

Where a worker is given responsibility to do a job that isn't part of their usual role.

Flat structures

An organisation with few levels of hierarchy. Managers may have larger spans of control.

Hierarchical / Tall structures

An organisation with many levels of hierarchy. This means a tall organisational structure

Centralised Organisation

All decisions are made at the Head Office and so branch managers have very little say eg McDonalds

Decentralised Organisation

Branch managers are given power to make decisions meaning they can satisfy their customers more effectively eg Waterstones stocking local authors.

Barriers to Communication

Something that prevents the flow of communication eg incompatible technology

Jargon

Technical language that can be difficult to understand.

Insufficient Communication

Too little communication which might leave some staff under-informed and demotivated.

Excessive Communication

Too much communication causing overload for staff.

Full-time work

A job that requires you to work between 35 and 40 hours a week.

Part-time work

A job that requires you to work fewer than 35 hours per week

Flexible work

A job where the hours won't be specified. Could be a zero hours contract

Permanent contract

A continuous contract of employment.

Temporary contract

An employment contract that ends after a fixed term eg Christmas workers.

Freelance contract

An agreement between a company and a self-employed worker where they will come in to complete a specific job eg design a software system.

Remote working

Working away from the office, often at home.

Directors

The people who have overall responsibility for managing the company's business activities and make strategic decisions.

Senior Managers

They direct and coordinates the overall business. Allocating jobs to managers

Supervisors / Team Leader

Responsible for making sure shop floor workers do exactly what is asked of them.

Operational Staff

These are the staff that take care of the day to day tasks of running the business eg mechanic in a garage.

Support Staff

Carry out a specific role which helps the business to run or the organisation to function eg cleaning

Job Description

An outline of what will be expected in a job eg main role, hours

Person Specification

An outline of the type of person who would best fit the job eg character, experience

Application Form

A form to use when applying for a job that includes personal information, job experience, and reference

CV

This sets out the person's qualifications, experience and other relevant facts.

Interview

Where applicants are invited to the business to discuss their application for a position.

Internal Recruitment

Appointing workers from within the existing staff.

External Recruitment

Appointing workers from outside the existing staff.

Training

The action of teaching an employee a skill or type of behaviour eg training cashiers to use tills.

Formal training

Official training programme put on by the business eg lockdown procedures.

Informal training

Unplanned training that might come from demonstrations from colleagues.

Self Learning

Teaching yourself, sometimes after encountering a problem.

On-going training

Regular training for all staff.

Performance review

Discussion sessions between a worker and their boss to see how they are working towards their targets.

Retention

Ability to keep your staff.

Productivity

A measure of efficiency, usually output per person over a period of time.

Financial Motivators

Motivators that are linked directly or indirectly to money.

Remuneration

All the financial rewards received from work eg salary, pension, gym membership

Bonus

An extra payment over your basic wage/salary, usually for meeting a target.

Commission

Being paid a percentage of the value of a sale eg 10%

Fringe Benefits

Rewards you get from work other than pay eg company car.

Non-financial Motivators

Rewards that are linked more to the employee and their ability to develop their skills.

Job Rotation

Giving a worker several tasks to do at work to help relieve boredom.

Job enrichment

Giving a worker a range of activities and responsibilities that help the worker learn and grow.

Autonomy

Giving workers the power to decide what they are going to do at work or the order they will do it in.