Business Management

• Elements of HRM


  • HR Planning
  • Recruitment and Selection
  • Training and Development
  • The Role of Human Resources
  • Record Keeping/Maintenance of Personal Records
  • Legislation
  • Development and monitoring of policies and procedures
  • Employee Relations/Grievance and Discipline
• Workforce Planning


  • Planning internal and external supply of staff- promotions vs labour available
  • Analysing skills of current staff
  • Forecasting staffing required to meet demand
  • Review current labour available (check for shortages)
  • Consider appropriate training to plug skill gaps
  • Consider flexible working patterns
• Benefits of Workforce Planning

  • Reduces recruitment costs
  • Reduced risk of understaffing - continuity of production and customer deadlines
  • Workload spread appropriately- reducing stress of existing staff
  • Planning means managers are not reacting to changes, so less rash decisions are made
  • Aids forecasting for periods of high demand, restructuring etc - so outsourcing/job enlargement etc can be organised in advance
  • Training kept up-to-date can increase the flexibility
  • Skilled staff produced better quality work which makes the firm more competitive
• Internal Recruitment Advantages


  • Less expensive than external advertising
  • Employer already knows the candidates' abilities
  • Employee is already familiar with the company and has received training
  • Emphasises promotion routes raising motivation of employees
• Internal Recruitment Disadvantages


  • Does not allow fresh talent to enter the company
  • Favouritism can occur and rivalry between employees
  • Limited pool of candidates
• External Recruitment Advantages


  • Wider pool of candidates and therefore a better chance of getting the best person
  • Introduces new skills and fresh ideas to the organisation
  • Can target specialist sources for the specific type of candidate needed
• External Recruitment Disadvantages


  • May be more expensive for adverts and the use of job centres
  • New employee will need more training and a longer induction
  • May upset existing employees
• Selection Process


  1. Read application forms/CVS completed by applicants

  2. Choose long-leet

  3. Interview Applicants/testing/assessment centres

  4. Short-leet

  5. Interview Applicants/testing/assessment centres

  6. Offer Post/Inform Unsuccessful Applicant(s)
• Application Forms


  • The most common notification of interest in a post
  • All applicants given the same questions and opportunities to describe themselves. Easier to compare information than CVs
  • Compared against the Person Specification. The HRM department will then decide which applicants to reject at this stage
  • From the applications that appear to be suitable, a decision is made on how many should be interviewed and references sought from existing or previous employers
• Interview Formats


  • one-to-one interview
  • Successive interviews
  • Panel interviews
• Other Selection Techniques


  • Intelligence (IQ) test
  • Aptitude test
  • Attainment test
  • Psychometric (personality) test
  • Medical test
• Because of the problems of interviews, other selection techniques have been devised
• Autocratic leadership style


  • The manager would direct workers in all activities
  • There will be very close supervision of the workers
  • There will be clear divisions between Managers/Directors and the workers
  • There will be little or no consultation or participation in any decision making by the workers
  • Used in workplace situations when there is no time for group discussions
  • Where workers are low skilled
• Democratic leadership style


  • The managers will share the decision making with the workers
  • The workers will be consulted and their input into decision making will be valued
  • This will increase the motivation and morale of the workforce as they feel valued
  • This can lead to better ideas and more creativity within the workforce
  • Employees are more likely to be highly skilled and personally motivated
• Laissez-faire leadership style


  • Managers will give full power of decision making in certain situations to the workers
  • Managers will delegate tasks to the workers and leave them to complete the task
  • A high degree of autonomy exists
  • Works well when employees are highly skilled and experienced in their jobs
  • Employees will have a pride in their work and a personal drive to succeed
• Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

  • Physiological needs
  • Safety needs
  • Social/love needs
  • Esteem needs
  • Self-actualisation needs
• Hygiene factors (Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory)


  Factors that cause dissatisfaction
• Motivating factors (Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory)


  Factors that result in satisfaction
• Hygiene factors


  • Company policy
  • Work relationships
  • Security/safe working conditions
  • Fair Pay eq NWW/Living Wage required by law
  • Working conditions
• Motivating factors


  • Achievement/Recognition
  • Flexible working
  • Target setting
  • Promotion opportunities
  • Profit sharing/Bonus schemes
  • Empowerment
  • Challenging/Interesting work
  • Working Machinery
• Trade union


  An organisation that represents employees' interests in negotiations
• Trade union


  • Represent employees with regard to pay, working conditions, dismissal, grievance, contracts etc
  • Participate in collective bargaining on behalf of employees power in numbers strong negotiating position. Agreement can be reached on a national level
  • Will organise Industrial action eg strikes if necessary
  • Supports equality and harassment claims
  • Gives legal advice to employees
  • Are totally independent of employers during negotiations
  • Will discuss the viewpoint of employers with its members
• Quality circles


  Participative management
• How an organisation can encourage positive employee relations

  • Empowerment, job enlargement and rotation
  • Regular appraisals/one to one meetings- set targets. Financial rewards and promotion opportunities
  • Regular team meetings
  • Recognise and work with Trade unions
  • Survey staff to gather feedback
  • Have an open door policy
  • Strive for awards
• Positive employee relations


  • Can reduce staff turnover meaning reduced costs of recruitment and selection
  • Reduced spending of training on new staff
  • Employees will feel motivated and more secure in the workplace as effective communication gives opportunities to discuss changes
  • Increases productivity
  • Can improve quality if standard of work improves
  • Less likely to resist changes
  • Disputes are less likely to arise as workers are consulted regularly
  • Regular team meetings allow opportunities to raise concerns to minimise stress as they feel supported
  • Can reduce the likelihood of employees taking industrial action by working with Trade unions
  • Regular appraisals/one to one meetings means targets can be set and training and development needs can be identified to support staff
  • Gaining awards for employee relations may attract new staff to the business due to the positive image
  • Awards may reduce the likelihood of discrimination in the workplace
• Role of the Human Resource department in employee relations

  • Recognition of trade unions
  • (Written) procedures for dealing with staff complaints
  • (Written) terms and conditions for all staff
  • Make use of worker directors
  • Use of works councils to allow employees and managers to discuss any suggestions for change and changes being introduced before being implemented
  • Ensure employees are aware of the goals and objectives of the organisation
  • To participate in the role of appraisal of staff within the organisation
  • Work with ACAS and take part in collective bargaining process
  • Take part in conciliation process
  • Take part in arbitration process
• Policies used by the Human Resources department

  • Grievance
  • Absenteeism
  • Dismissal
  • Redundancy
  • Discipline
• Grievance policy


  Outlines the steps an employee can take if they wish to make a complaint regarding a work-related issue
• Absenteeism policy


  A process for monitoring employee absences so that action can be taken against poor attendance
• Dismissal policy


  The process for legally terminating an employee's contract
• Redundancy policy


  A form of dismissal when employers need to reduce their workforce. Legal procedures to follow when making staff redundant and must usually make redundancy payments to those people being laid off
• Discipline policy


  Outlines actions which can be taken by employers if there are concerns about an employee's work
• Disciplinary actions


  • Verbal warning
  • Written warning
  • Suspension
  • Demotion
  • Referral to police
  • Dismissal
• Video-conferencing


  • Allows the candidate to demonstrate in a presentation
  • Body language and facial expressions can aid communication
  • Saves the organisation (or candidate) funding travel and accommodation
  • Inexpensive method as it can be carried out using a tablet or smartphone
  • Can interview candidates abroad who otherwise may not have applied
  • Can access a large worldwide audience online means a wider pool of candidates can apply
• Websites for job advertising

  • Advertising online eg through own website reduces advertising expenses not paying external companies
  • Can use specialised websites to attract the right calibre of candidate
  • Website requires constant updating - may need to hire IT staff
• Online application forms


  • May save on printing and postage costs if done electronically
  • Avoids handwritten application forms which can be illegible
  • Can be accessed anywhere from the internet which is convenient for the HR Manager
  • Candidate details can be compared electronically initially to reduce time for selection
• Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)

  • Employees can access training remotely so more likely to complete it
  • May simulate scenarios online which is cheaper than recreating them in person
  • Lack of supervision in the training mean employees may feel unsupported
  • Saves on hiring a member of staff to train employees in person
• You must list the key features of the HR technology activities carried out in the HR department
• Do not provide generic answers, focus on the use of technology
• Impact of Employment Legislation