TOPIC 2 - human resources

• Human resource planning (workforce planning)

  The effective management of an organization's employees so that they help the business achieve its objectives
• Human resource planning


  Forecasting how many and what type of employees are needed now and in the future
• Roles of Human Resources Management (HRM)

  • Workforce planning
  • Recruitment, selection and induction of new employees
  • Training and development of staff
  • Performance management and staff appraisals
  • Reviewing pay and remuneration packages
  • Disciplinary and grievance procedures
  • Looking after the welfare (wellbeing) of employees
  • Budgeting and managing costs of employees
  • Planning for future human resource needs of the business
• Labour turnover


  The movement of employees into and out of a business in a given time period (usually a year) and is an indicator of how stable a business is
• A high labour turnover rate suggests that the business has labour problems and employees for varying reasons do not stay in the company for a long period of time
• High labour turnover suggests workers are dissatisfied with some aspect of their employment situation
• Human resource management


  The effective management of a company's organisation regarding its employees and their welfare to ensure businesses achieve their objectives
• Reasons for high labour turnover

  • Poor work-life balance
  • Dissatisfaction with some aspect of employment
• High turnover can affect employees motivation and leads to an interruption in work practices and routines
• High turnover communicates to employees that the business has a problem with some aspect of employment there
• Force field analysis


  A decision-making tool (qualitative e.g opinion/bias based) designed to help businesses decide the forces that are driving change and reducing change
• Delegation


  When a manager gives authority for a particular decision but not the responsibility or the outcome of that decision (that remains with the manager)
• Span of control


  Refers to how many subordinated are directly under the authority of a manager and whom managers are responsible for
• Levels of hierarchy


  Refers to how many level of responsibility are in a business, each level indicates a level of seniority
• Chain of command


  Formal route by which a decision must travel through the organisation, traditionally from top downwards
• Bureaucracy


  Indicates the importance of rules and procedures, a "bureaucratic" organisation has many rules and procedure and set ways of doing things
• Centralization


  When all major decision making is maintained within a small group of managers operating close to the head of the business
• Decentralization


  Senior managers may maintain core strategic decisions, but other decision making authority is delegated to middle managers
• De-layering


  Occurs when a business reduced the levels of hierarchy by removing layers of management
• Flat/horizontal organisational structure


  • Less costly, quick decisions and actions, fast and clear communication, eliminates manager salaries
  • Loose control, may limit long-term growth, not suitable for complex activities
• Tall/vertical organisational structure


  • Improves performance due to close supervision, easy control and supervision, encourages staff development
  • More costly, delays and distortion in communication, difficult to coordinate activities, less freedom for subordinates
• Hierarchical structure


  Shows which power and responsibility are clearly specified and allocated to individuals according to their standing or position in the hierarchy
• Product-based organisational structure


  • Allows focus on a single product or service, more likely to receive resources, builds common culture
  • Divisions may compete for resources, lack of coordination, duplication of developments
• Function-based organisational structure


  • Improves efficiency through specialisation, allows career progression within functions
  • One-way communication, lack of coordination between departments, tunnel vision of managers
• Region-based organisational structure


  • Direct and personal communication, encourages collaborative teams, local knowledge of managers
  • Duplication of personnel, conflict between regions, inconsistent strategies
• Project-based (matrix) organisation


  Flexible and responsive to market demands, human resources organised around projects with project managers
• Shamrock organisation


  Reduces costs and increases responsiveness by having a core of essential employees, outsourcing non-core activities, and using a flexible workforce
• Communication


  Integral to how a business functions, effective when the message has been received, understood and the sender knows it has been understood
• Language proficiency and English being the most widely known language are highly valued in business communication
• Accents can hinder communication as different pronunciations and tones can be difficult to understand
• Core managers, technicians and employees essential to the business

  The first leaf of the shamrock
• Non-core activities subcontracted out to specialist businesses

  The second leaf Handy calls the contractual fringe
• Flexible workforce made up of part-time, temporary, and seasonal workers

  The third leaf
• Communication


  Integral to how a business functions. Successful businesses communicate effectively with both their internal and their external stakeholders.
• Effective communication


  The message has been received and understood and the sender knows that it has been understood. Feedback is key to this.
• Impact of cultural differences on communication

  • Language proficiency is highly valued
  • English is the most widely known language in the business world
  • Accents can hinder communication as different pronunciations and tone of voice can cause messages to be misinterpreted or misunderstood
  • Businesses can hire bi-lingual or multi-lingual employees to allow for effective communication
  • Each national or ethnic culture has set beliefs and practices and cultural biases. Some of this may be subconscious.
• Impacts on verbal and non-verbal communication

  • High-context cultures leave much of the message unspecified, to be understood through context, non-verbal cues, and between-the-lines interpretation of what is actually said
  • Low-context cultures expect messages to be explicit and specific
  • In sequential cultures, business people give full attention to one agenda item after another
  • In synchronic cultures, the flow of time is viewed as a sort of circle, with the past, present and future all interrelated. This viewpoint influences how organisations in those cultures approach deadlines, strategic thinking, investments and the concept of 'long-term' planning.
• Impact of technological innovation on communication

  • Internet technologies have reduced the cost of domestic and international communications
  • Email - being able to transmit data to many different recipients and people can access these through smartphones and tablets
  • Mobile Devices - can be used by managers and employees who are on the go or travelling
  • Video-conferencing - Expensive, but allows meetings to take place when staff are in different locations, reducing costs and travelling time. Useful in recruiting overseas employees
  • Cloud networking - allows businesses to operate globally without sacrificing security or limiting user access. Useful for collaboration between workers on reports, programming and other document production.
• Limitations of Communication through technology

  • Impersonal communication
  • Security issues with privacy
  • Equipment and training expenses are high
  • Information overload can occur from too many messages where most important ones are not easily identified.
• Matrix Structure


  Set up purely for the purpose of a project or initiative, after is complete the structure is abandoned.