2.5 Making Human Resource Decisions Flashcards

All 92 cards in this deck

What is a hierarchical organisational structure?

A structure with many layers of management and a long chain of command, where each manager has a small span of control.

What is a flat organisational structure?

A structure with few layers of management and a short chain of command, where each manager has a wide span of control.

Give one disadvantage to a business of a flat organisational structure.

One manager may be responsible for many subordinates, so they have too much work and costly mistakes may be made.
Or: employees may lack self-discipline and exploit the lack of supervision, so productivity falls.

What is the chain of command?

The route by which instructions and communications flow from the top to the bottom of a business, showing who is answerable to whom.

What is a centralised management structure?

A structure where decisions are made at the top of the business or in a head office and passed down the chain of command.

What is a decentralised management structure?

A structure where decisions are made by managers and subordinates further down the chain of command, rather than at the top.

Give one advantage of a centralised structure.

It gives consistency across the whole business and clear accountability.

Give one advantage of a decentralised structure.

Employee motivation improves and local branches can respond quickly to local changes.

True or false? A decentralised structure always makes decision-making better for a business.

False. It can reduce consistency across the business and lead to ineffective decisions by less experienced staff.

Give one impact on a business of insufficient communication with employees.

Employees are unsure what to do, so they make mistakes and the quality of the good or service falls.

Give one barrier to effective communication.

Any one of: jargon or technical language that confuses employees; too many layers in the hierarchy; noise or distance between sender and receiver; using the wrong method of communication.

Why can having too many layers in the hierarchy be a barrier to effective communication?

Messages must pass through too many employees, so the business responds slowly to change.

True or false? Giving employees too much communication can harm a business.

True. Excessive communication wastes time and employees may miss the important information, reducing efficiency.

What are flexible hours as a way of working?

An arrangement where employees' working hours vary to suit the business's demand or the employee's other commitments.

Give one benefit to a business of offering flexible hours.

It makes the business a more desirable place to work (staff can fit work around childcare), so it can attract better quality employees.

Give one advantage to a business of flexible hours rather than full-time contracts.

It can minimise wage costs by only paying staff during busy times and sending them home when it is quiet.

What is a permanent contract?

A contract with no fixed end date, so the employee stays with the business until they or the employer end it.

Give one benefit to a business of giving employees permanent contracts.

Workers feel secure and are less likely to leave, so the business saves money on recruiting and training new staff.

Give one advantage to a business of temporary contracts rather than permanent ones.

Flexibility — it can choose not to renew contracts if demand turns out to be lower than expected.

What is a freelance worker?

A self-employed person hired by a business to do specific work or projects, rather than being employed by it.

True or false? 'Freelance' is a type of organisational structure.

False. Freelance is a way of working (a type of contract); hierarchical and flat are organisational structures.

What is remote working?

Employees working away from the business's premises, usually from home, using technology to communicate.

Give one benefit to a business of allowing remote working.

It attracts talented workers who want to work flexibly and who do not live within commuting distance of the office.

Give one drawback to a business of remote working.

Any one of: communication is harder because teams are not in the same place, so mistakes or delays happen; staff may feel isolated, so motivation falls; it is harder to supervise staff.

True or false? Remote working has no set-up costs for a business.

False. Buying computer equipment and broadband access for employees can be expensive and may reduce profit.

What is a director responsible for in a business?

Setting the overall aims, objectives and strategy of the business and making the most important decisions.

What is a senior manager responsible for in a business?

Running a department or area of the business and making decisions that put the directors' strategy into practice.

What is a supervisor or team leader responsible for?

Leading and checking the day-to-day work of a small team of operational staff.

What is operational staff's role in a business?

Carrying out the day-to-day work that produces the good or delivers the service to customers.

What is support staff's role in a business?

Providing services such as administration, IT, finance or HR that help operational staff do their jobs.

Give two of the key job roles in a business.

Any two of: directors; senior managers; supervisors/team leaders; operational staff; support staff.

What is a job description?

A document produced by a business setting out the title, duties and responsibilities of a job.

What is a person specification?

A document stating the qualities, skills, qualifications and experience an employer is looking for in a new employee.

Which recruitment documents does a job applicant complete and send to the business?

The application form (produced by the business, completed by the applicant) and the CV (produced by the applicant).

What is a CV (curriculum vitae)?

A document written by an applicant summarising their personal details, qualifications, work experience and skills.

True or false? A person specification is a document produced by the job applicant.

False. The person specification is produced by the business at the start of the recruitment process.

What is internal recruitment?

Filling a job vacancy with someone who already works for the business.

What is external recruitment?

Filling a job vacancy with someone from outside the business.

Give one benefit to a business of external recruitment.

Any one of: a wider pool of applicants, so the best candidate can be chosen; recruits bring new ideas and ways of thinking, so creativity may improve.

Give one benefit to a business of internal recruitment.

It is cheaper and quicker than advertising externally, and the employee is already known to the business.

True or false? Internal recruitment still leaves the business with a vacancy to fill.

True. Promoting or moving an existing employee creates a gap in their old job.

What is formal training?

Structured training, often away from the job, delivered through courses or by a qualified trainer, which may lead to a qualification.

What is informal training?

Unstructured training on the job, such as learning by watching and being shown by a more experienced colleague.

What is self-learning as a method of training?

Employees developing their own skills and knowledge independently, for example using online materials, in their own time.

What is ongoing training?

Training that continues throughout an employee's time with the business, not just when they join.

What is a performance review?

A meeting between an employee and their line manager to discuss progress, targets and development needs.

Give one reason a business uses performance reviews.

Managers discuss whether the employee has met their targets, so the employee stays focused and is more likely to be productive.

What is target setting used for in employee development?

Giving employees clear goals to work towards, so their work is focused and progress can be measured at a review.

Give one benefit to employees of being mentored.

They feel more valued, so they are happier in their jobs.
Or: they gain more skills as the mentor passes on their expertise.

What is the link between training and employee retention?

Training gives employees new skills and makes them feel valued, so they are motivated and less likely to leave.

What is retraining?

Teaching existing employees new skills to use updated machinery, software or ways of working introduced by the business.

Why does a business retrain staff when it introduces new technology?

So employees can use it effectively and efficiently, which improves productivity and overall business performance.

Give one way retraining can improve employee motivation.

It makes the job more interesting and gives employees the chance to work in different parts of the business or develop new skills.

Give one drawback to a business of training employees.

It is costly and takes employees away from their work; trained staff may then leave for a competitor.

What is motivation in a business?

The desire or willingness of employees to work hard and do their job well.

Give one advantage to a business of having motivated employees.

Productivity rises, so the cost of producing each product falls and the profit margin rises.

How does motivation help a business retain employees?

Employees enjoy working there, so they are less likely to leave and the business avoids recruitment costs.

How can reducing the size of the workforce affect the employees who remain?

They worry about losing their jobs, so motivation and productivity fall.

How can failing to pay employees on time affect a business?

Employees become demotivated and may leave, so productivity falls and recruitment costs rise.

What is remuneration?

The total financial reward an employee receives for their work, such as wages or salary.

What is a bonus as a method of motivation?

An extra payment on top of normal pay, given for good performance or for meeting a target.

What is commission?

A payment to an employee based on a percentage of the value of the sales they make.

What are fringe benefits?

Extra rewards given to employees on top of pay, e.g. a company car, staff discount or private healthcare.

How does promotion motivate employees?

It moves an employee to a more senior job with higher pay and status, rewarding their effort and giving them something to work towards.

Give one reason a pay rise may not increase motivation.

Employees may value non-financial factors, such as interesting work or autonomy, more than pay, so the effect of a pay rise may be small or short-lived.

Give one non-financial method of motivating employees.

Any one of: job rotation; job enrichment; autonomy.

What is job rotation?

Moving employees between different tasks or jobs so their work is more varied.

What is job enrichment?

Giving employees more challenging and interesting tasks and greater responsibility in their job.

What is employee autonomy?

Giving employees the freedom to make their own decisions about how they do their work.

Give one benefit to a business of job rotation.

The workforce becomes more flexible, as employees are trained in different jobs, so production can continue if someone is absent.

True or false? A bonus is a non-financial method of motivation.

False. A bonus is a financial method; non-financial methods are job rotation, job enrichment and autonomy.

Name two ways a business could improve employee retention.

Any two of: training and development; financial rewards such as a bonus or promotion; job rotation, job enrichment or autonomy; flexible hours.

True or false? A part-time employee cannot be on a permanent contract.

False. Part-time describes the hours worked, so a part-time worker can still have a permanent contract.

True or false? A job description and a person specification contain the same information.

False. A job description states the duties and responsibilities of the job; a person specification states the qualities and skills the employer wants in the person.

True or false? Job rotation means giving an employee more challenging responsibilities.

False. That is job enrichment; job rotation means moving employees between different tasks.

What is span of control?

The number of employees who report directly to one manager.

Give one advantage to a business of a flat organisational structure.

Any one of: messages pass through fewer layers, so communication is quicker; fewer managers' salaries to pay, so costs are lower; the business can adapt more quickly to change.

Give one advantage to a business of a hierarchical organisational structure.

Any one of: each manager has a small team, so they can supervise and control it closely; the many layers give employees a clear path to promotion, which can motivate them.

Give one disadvantage of a centralised structure.

Any one of: decisions take longer because they must come from head office; local managers cannot react to their own customers' needs; staff lower down may feel less trusted, so motivation falls.

What is delayering?

Removing one or more layers of management from a business's hierarchy, often to cut costs and speed up communication.

What is a temporary contract?

An employment contract that ends on a set date, or when a particular job or season is over.

Give one drawback to a business of employing staff on temporary or flexible contracts.

Without long-term job security, staff may feel less loyal to the business, so they may work less hard or leave for a more secure job.

What is the difference between essential and desirable criteria in a person specification?

Essential criteria are what a candidate must have to be considered; desirable criteria are extras the business would like but can do without.

What is shortlisting in recruitment?

Choosing, from all the applications received, the small number of best-suited candidates to invite to interview or assessment.

Give two methods a business can use to select the best candidate for a job.

Any two of: an interview; a skills or aptitude test; a practical task; taking up references from previous employers.

How can internal recruitment motivate existing employees?

Staff see that vacancies can be filled by promoting people from within, so they have a reason to work hard to move up.

Give one advantage to a business of informal training.

Any one of: it costs less and takes less time than sending staff on a course; employees learn practical skills by doing the real job.

Give one drawback of informal training.

Any one of: the employee may be doing the job before they have all the skills needed, causing stress and mistakes; the colleague doing the coaching may pass on bad habits.

Give one advantage to a business of formal training.

Any one of: it can lead to a recognised qualification; it can be run by experts in the subject or industry, bringing in skills the business lacks.

How does motivation help a business attract employees?

A business known for having happy, well-rewarded staff gains a good reputation as an employer, so more good applicants want to work there.

Give one benefit to a business of job enrichment.

Employees gain new skills and feel trusted with more responsibility, so they are more motivated and better prepared for senior roles later.

Give one benefit to a business of giving employees autonomy.

Employees who choose how to do their work feel trusted, so their motivation rises, and they may come up with more creative ideas.