Chapter 9: Human Resources

Question 1

What is human resources management?

Answer 1

Involves managing employees in the business to ensure that they find, keep and make the best use of the employees.

Question 2

What is manpower planning and what are it’s steps?

Answer 2

Manpower planning involves making sure that the business has enough workers with the right skills to do the jobs needed.
Steps:
1. Estimate future demand: what employees/skills needed in the future.
2. Calculate existing supply: how many employees are in the business.
Too few workers-won’t be able to meet demand-need to recruit more.
Too many workers-they will be idle-need to make some redundant.

Question 3

What are the benefits of manpower planning?

Answer 3

Minimise Understaffing: Reduces chance of being understaffed. Jobs will have enough workers to be completed on time and keep customers satisfied.
Minimise Overstaffing: Reduces chance of being overstaffed. Reduces unnecessary costs for the business.

Question 4

Explain the terms recruitment and selection.

Answer 4

Recruitment: Means finding suitable people for a job vacancy in the business and persuading them to apply for it.
Selection: Means choosing the best applicant for the vacancy from all those that applied.

Question 5

Explain the 8 steps of recruitment.

Answer 5

1. Prepare a Job Description-Made by HR manager, describes duties of the job.
2. Prepare a Person Specification-Describes qualifications of ideal candidate. This information is then used to craft an advertisement. E.g. Degree in business studies
3. Encourage suitable candidates to apply
4. Screening-HR manager reviews CV’s rejecting those that don’t meet the job description requirements. Others are shortlisted.
5. Selection Tests-Shortlisted Candidate undergo aptitude and intelligence tests.
6. Interview-a face to face conversation between the candidate and the business.
7. Check References-Contact previous employers to find out what candidate is like.
8. Job Offer-Offers the job to the chosen candidate in writing. They can accept or reject. Only when accepted is a contract drawn up.

Question 6

What are the benefits of recruitment and selection? (4)

Answer 6

Benefits of Recruitment:

• Drawing up a job description helps to choose the ideal candidate.
• Good recruitment discourages unsuitable people from applying. Saving the business time and money

Benefits of Selection:

• Choosing the right person who will fit the business will reduce the risk of industrial relations conflict.
• Choosing the right person who will do the job well will lead to increased sales and profits for the business.

Question 7

What are the advantages and disadvantages of an interview?

Answer 7

Advantages: Opportunity to learn about the candidate.
Disadvantages:
Interview Bias-may discriminate
Good interview doesn’t mean good job performance

Question 8

Differentiate between internal and external recruitment and sources of this recruitment.

Answer 8

External Recruitment: Means finding someone who does not already work for the business.
Sources: Advertising, Recruitment Agency, Headhunting.

Internal Recruitment: Means finding someone who already works for the business.
Sources: Promotion, Demotion, Transfer.

Question 9

Explain the following:

• Curriculum Vitae
• Application Form
• Cover Letter

Answer 9

Curriculum Vitae: A document prepared by an applicant for a job which summarises their qualifications and work experience. E.g. name, education, work experience, hobbies.

Application Form: A document prepared by an employer asking personal questions about education, experience and hobbies to see if the candidate is a good fit for the company.

Cover Letter: A candidate should always submit a cover letter along with their CV. This gives more information to the employer and explains why you want the job and why you would be a good fit for the company.

Question 10

What are the advantages of external recruitment?

Answer 10

• Fresh Ideas: A person from outside the business may bring fresh ideas to the business.
• Less Jealousy: Hiring an outsider may cause less jealousy among the existing employees.
• Wider Selection: By opening the job to a wider selection of people it increases the chances of getting a suitable candidate.

Question 11

What are the advantages of internal recruitment?

Answer 11

• Inside Knowledge: Existing employee already knows how the business works so will need less training
• Motivation: Hiring an insider shows a career path which could motivate employees to work harder.
• Cost Savings: Hiring an insider is cheaper; a simple staff memo instead of newspaper ads or recruitment agency.

Question 12

Explain induction training.

Answer 12

This is the first training given to all new employees. Purpose is to teach them about the aims of the business and the key people in it to help them settle in. E.g. Show them around.

Question 13

Explain On the Job Training.

Answer 13

This is teaching the employee the skills of job while in the office through practical experience and observing colleagues. E.g. As apprentice on building site

Question 14

Explain Off the Job Training.

Answer 14

This is teaching the employee the skills of job outside of the office by attending courses away from the place of the work. E.g. Accountant going to night classes.

Question 15

Explain difference between Training and Development.

Answer 15

Development teaches existing employees skills that they can use in any job in the future. E.g. teaching a McDonalds worker to cook a burger is training. Teaching a McDonalds worker how to communicate effectively is development.

Question 16

What are the three benefits of training and development?

Answer 16

• Higher Sales and Profits: good training and development teaches the employees to do a good job which will lead to higher profits.
• Flexibility: Good training and development teaches the employees a wider range of skills making them adaptable to change.
• Less Supervision: Good training and development means employees need less supervision. Managers can do more important tasks.

Question 17

What is performance appraisal and what are the steps to performance appraisal?

Answer 17

Performance appraisal involves grading each worker on how well they carried out the tasks assigned.

1. Set targets
2. Monitor the employees performance
3. Evaluate employees performance. How can they improve?
4. Discuss the Results

Question 18

What are four benefits of performance appraisal?

Answer 18

1. Improve Organisational Performance helps managers to spot employees who need additional training and improve performance.
2. Identifies Employees who are suitable for promotion-Those who do well in performance appraisal have shown that they are hardworking and deserve a promotion.
3. It helps to motivate employees-If an employee is getting graded and gets feedback from the manager, it encourages them to work harder.
4. It helps to improve employer/employee relations as it is a way for them to talk

Question 19

Give three examples of non-financial rewards used to motivate employees.

Answer 19

Improved Working Conditions-Employees may be rewarded with flexitime or more holidays. This is where employees can choose working hours, so long as they work the contracted hours.
Job Enlargement: Employees are given extra duties to do in order to relieve the boredom of work. No additional responsibility.
Job Enrichment: Employees are given extra responsibility in the business. They are given tasks to develop them.

Question 20

Explain four ways a HR manager can improve industrial relations in a business.

Answer 20

1. Regular Open Communications
   HR Manager should keep employees informed about the business.
2. Grievance Procedures
   HR Manager should agree in advance the process for dealing with conflict e.g. redundancies. This will minimize risk of poor industrial relations.
3. Training
   Managers should be taught how to deal with employees in a sensitive way and know how to deal with conflict professionally.
4. Careful Selection
   HR Manager should select employees who will fit in with the business

Question 21

What is empowerment?

Answer 21

Empowerment means placing power such as decision making and responsibility in the hands of the workers.

Question 22

What are the 4 benefits of empowerment?

Answer 22

1. Improved motivation: Employees feel valued and work harder.
2. More responsive: Employees have the authority to make changes to improve the business as the need arises. Don’t need to ask manager for permission.
3. Trained for Promotion: Employees develop decision making skills and the greater responsibility prepares them for promotion.
4. Efficient Use of Time: Managers can focus time on more important tasks.

Question 23

What are the drawbacks of empowerment?

Answer 23

1. Errors Made: If training is not provided errors could be costly.
2. Increased Stress: Some employees may be unhappy with increased responsibility.
3. Lack of Supervision: Employees may take unnecessary risks that could damage the business when without supervision.
4. Conflict: Conflict may arise between the manager and the employee over loss of control for the manager.

Question 24

Explain 7 methods of financial rewards.

Answer 24

Basic wage: employee is paid a fixed amount each week.
Hourly Rate: employee is paid per hour and higher rate for overtime.
Piece Rate: Employee paid for each item made.
Commission: employee receives a percentage of the sales that they make.
Bonus: additional payment given to an employee. I.e. perks
Profit sharing: employees gets a share of the businesses profit.
Share ownership: employees are given shares in the business as a form of bonus.