unit 2 human resources

Question 1

leadership

Answer 1

motivating a group of people towards achieving a particular objective

Question 2

manager

Answer 2

the role responsible for setting objectives, organising resources, and motivating employees to achieve the organisation’s aim

Question 3

what makes a good leader

Answer 3

• a desire and natural self-confidence that they will succeed to inspire employees
• good communication skills to earn the cooperation and respect of subordinates
• a creative mind to think outside the box, encouraging others to do the same
• being multitalented to tackle a wide range of topic and issues within the business

Question 4

autocratic leadership

Answer 4

a leadership style where all decision-making is at the head of the organisation without input from employees.

one-way communication, low motivation, no discussion/input from employees

Question 5

paternalistic leadership

Answer 5

type of parental style leadership where leaders make decisions that are in the best social interests of their employees, that are expected to obey decisions and instructions. Feedback is welcome but the senior management takes the final decision so there is no true participation in decision making from employees

Question 6

democratic leadership

Answer 6

leadership style that encourages employee participation in decision making. Employs a two-way communication with every opportunity for employees to engage in discussion. Gives them responsibility, but may be a slower process.

Question 7

laissez-faire leadership

Answer 7

a leadership style that leaves much of the decision-making to the workforce with little supervision and input from management. The reverse of autocratic leadership

Question 8

situational leadership

Answer 8

a leadership style that adapts to the task that needs to be completed, adjusting depending on the needs and characteristics of the workforce

Question 9

factors determining leadership style

Answer 9

• personality of manager
• amount of time available
• training and experience of workforce
• importance of issue

Question 10

extrinsic motivation

Answer 10

motivation comes from external rewards for working on a task, such as pay

Question 11

motivation

Answer 11

the factors that drive people to take actions that lead to achieving a goal

Question 12

intrinsic motivation

Answer 12

motivation that comes from the satisfaction of working on and completing a task

Question 13

labour turnover

Answer 13

the rate at which employees are leaving the organisation

Question 14

F.W taylor’s theory

Answer 14

theory of economic man states that humans are motivated by money. He developed a scientific approach to improving worker productivity:

1. select workers to perform a task
2. observe them performing it and note down the key elements of it
3. record the time taken to do steps of the task
4. identify the fastest method
5. train all workers in the fastest method with no changes to it
6. supervise them to see that the time is not being exceeded
7. pay them based on results.

piece rate method is linked to this

Question 15

piece rate

Answer 15

paying workers for each unit produced

Question 16

maslow’s hierarchy of human needs

Answer 16

1. physical needs: food, shelter, rest
2. safety needs: job security, health
3. social need: trust, friendship
4. esteem needs: status, recognition
5. self-actualisation: full potential
6. individuals start on the lowest level
7. once a level has been satisfied humans strive to achieve the next level as it no longer motivates them

• not everyone has the same needs
• difficult to measure when a level has been achieved or what level they’re at
• self-actualisation is never permanently achieved and hard to say if it can be

Question 17

herzberg’s two factor theory

Answer 17

hygiene factors prevent job dissatisfaction, but they do not actually motivate employees. Motivators motivate employees only once hygiene factors have been established.

hygiene factors:
- working conditions
- rules
- job security
- pay

motivators:
- promotion
- recognition
- responsibility
- job enrichment/ enlargement/ empowerment

Question 18

financial rewards

Answer 18

• salary
• wage
• commission
• performance-related pay
• profit-related pay
• employee share-ownership schemes
• fringe benefits

Question 19

human resource planning/workforce planning

Answer 19

analysing and forecasting the number of workers and the skills required to achieve the organisation’s objective

Question 20

workforce audit

Answer 20

checking and analysing the skills and qualifications of existing employees

Question 21

occupational mobility of labour

Answer 21

the extent to which employees are willing and able to move to different jobs that require different skills

Question 22

geographical mobility of labour

Answer 22

the extent to which workers are willing and able to move geographical regions to take up jobs

Question 22

flexi-time

Answer 22

flexible way of working that allows employees to adjust their working hours around individual needs to accommodate for other commitments outside of work

Question 23

gig economy

Answer 23

a labour market with a widespread use of freelance work rather than permanent or temporary work contracts

Question 24

change management

Answer 24

planning, implementing, and controlling the movement of an organisation from its current state to a new one

Question 25

project champion

Answer 25

a person who drives a project forward, explaining the benefits of change and assisting the workers implementing change.

Question 26

project group

Answer 26

a group of employees assigned to work on a project that requires different specialists

Question 27

delegation

Answer 27

passing authority down the organisational hierarchy

Question 28

span of control

Answer 28

the number of subordinates reporting directly to a manager

Question 29

chain of command

Answer 29

the route through which authority is passed down an organisational hierarchy

Question 30

organisational structure

Answer 30

the internal framework of a business that shows how management is organised and how authority is passed down

Question 31

bureaucracy

Answer 31

an organisational system with standardised procedures and rules that is usually described as being slow and inefficient

Question 32

centralisation

Answer 32

all important decision-making power is kept in the head office/centre of the organisation, centralised businesses maintain the same image and product range in all areas

Question 33

decentralisation

Answer 33

decision-making power is delegated to subordinates and regional managers to motivate them, decentralised businesses allow flexibility in the product range in different regions

Question 34

delayering

Answer 34

removing one or more of the hierarchy levels from an organisational structure

Question 35

matrix structure

Answer 35

a type of organisational structure that creates project teams made up of people across all departments

Question 36

different hierarchal structures

Answer 36

- flat - tall - product-based - functional-based - regional-based

Question 37

factors influencing organisational structure

Answer 37

- economic changes - legal changes - globalisation - technological changes

Question 38

job enrichment

Answer 38

giving employees more challenging and fulfilling work, encouraging them to use their full capabilities

Question 39

job empowerment

Answer 39

giving employees more autonomy over daily tasks and decision-making

Question 40

salary

Answer 40

annual based income paid on a monthly basis

Question 41

hourly wage rate

Answer 41

payment made to workers for each hour worked

Question 42

commission

Answer 42

payment made to sales staff for their sales made

Question 43

performance-related pay

Answer 43

bonus-scheme rewarding staff for good performance

Question 44

profit-related pay

Answer 44

bonus paid to employees based on the profits of the business

Question 45

job rotation

Answer 45

moving employees between different tasks to promote variety and improving different skills

Question 46

team working

Answer 46

organising production so that groups of workers complete the whole unit of work

Question 47

induction training

Answer 47

introductory training used to familiarise new recruits with the systems used by the business and its operations, usually taking place on-the-job

Question 48

on-the-job training

Answer 48

teaching new recruits how the business operates at its workplace usually by having them follow or observe existing employees

Question 49

off-the-job training

Answer 49

takes place away from the workplace, usually at a training centre, where workers learn new skills or ideas

Question 50

effective communication

Answer 50

when the message from a sender has been received, understood, and confirmed by the receiver

Question 51

formal communication

Answer 51

messages transferred between official communication channels of the business

Question 52

forms of formal communication

Answer 52

- spoken communication: phone calls, meetings, one-on-one communication, interviews - written communication: letters, memos, reports - visual communication: charts, diagrams, maps

Question 53

information overload

Answer 53

too much information and messages received meaning that the most important one cannot be identified an acted upon

Question 54

interpersonal information

Answer 54

exchanging verbal or non-verbal information between 2 or more people

Question 55

informal communication

Answer 55

transfer of unofficial messages between groups of people in an organisation

Question 56

communication barrier

Answer 56

factors preventing a message being effectively received or understood

Question 57

examples of communication barriers

Answer 57

- use of jargon - receiver not listening - excessive noise - geographical distance - lack of necessary technology - information overload - unmotivated workers

Question 58

reducing communication barriers

Answer 58

- use easily understood language and clarify jargon - ask for feedback to confirm that message has been received - select appropriate communication channel