Ensuring that the right people are recruited to the right jobs
Organisingtrainingforworkers
Enabling employees to carry out their responsibilitieseffectively and make use of their potential
EmployeeRelations
Looking after staff welfare such as negotiations over pay and conditions, dealing with grievance procedures and disciplinary matters
Health and Safety matters
Making sure employees work in a healthy and safe environment
Workforce
The people who are working or looking for employment
Working Practice
The way that work is normally done within a particular business
Job Sharing
Means that instead of one worker doing one job on a full time basis, the work will be carried out by more than one person on a parttime basis
Possible benefits of jobsharing
Allows employees to work part time → giving them time to take care of relatives or study for a qualification
Responsibility is split reduces the pressure on a single employee
Employers gain a broader range of skills → businesses could benefit from having more ideas
Possible disadvantages of job sharing
Communication between the two employees who are job sharing may break down on occasions → leads to less continuity and possibleinefficiency
Flexible Working Hours
A working practice in which workers are no longer in their offices between two set times. Many can now work a full day within a range of hours set by the employer
Flexible Working Hours
A worker is employed to work 36 hours a week. They can work anytime between 7 and 5 per day but must be in between 10 and 4 each day
Benefits of flexible hours
Employees can fit work around other commitments more easily
Businesses can have employees available for work at different times
Zero Hour Contracts
Involves a situation where employers do not offer a minimum number of hours to be worked and employeesdonot have to acceptwork being offered
Benefits for employers of Zero Hour Contracts
Saves the business money it avoids them paying employees when they are not needed → employees come in only during busy periods
Drawbacks for employees of Zero Hour Contracts
Workers may only work occasionally → meaning that they won't have a regular income making it difficult to pay regular bills such as rent
Home Working
Means that workers donot have to attend a workplace everyday. Modern communication technology means that work can be carried out at home and can even be monitored from the workplace
Benefits of home working
Increases flexibility to the employee → they can work whateverhours suit them helps them to meet other commitments like looking after family members
Reduces costs to the employer they can avoid the costs of providing working space and furniture for the employee
Drawbacks of home working
May be more difficult to monitor and control employees the employers will not always know what the employee is doing
Employees may miss out on social interactions this could demotivate them if they are feeling isolated they miss out on the experience of learning from others
Job Roles
Leaders, Owner or Directors
Managers
Supervisors/Team Leaders
Operatives/Shop Floor Workers
Responsibilities
Establish the business' overall goals
Set long-term plans and targets for the business
Work to achieve the short and long-term targets set by the owners or directors
May be responsible for a function within the business, e.g. marketing or finance
Use employees and other resources in the best possible ways
Help managers to achieve their targets by reporting any problems and passing on instructions
Take simple decisions such as allocating jobs among different employees
Carry out the business' basic duties or activities. These could be working on a production line, serving customers in a shop or office duties
Authority
Having power or control over something
Chain of Command
The path along which orders pass within a business from the management to the shop floor
Delayering
Removing tiers of management, usually in the middle
Line Manager
The person immediately above the worker, to whom the worker is answerable
Levels of Hierarchy
The layers of authority within a business. Where each level has responsibility and authority over the levels below
Span of Control
The number of people and individual is personally responsible for in a business organisation
Delegation
The passing down of authority to more junior employees
Subordinate
A person under the authority or control of a line manager within an organisation. They take orders from their line manager and refer directly to them if they require assistance
Organisational Charts
A plan showing the roles of, and relationships between, all the employees in a business
How Organisational Charts Help
To improve communication → information can be passed on to other parts of the business
To delegate → work can be passed to others lower down the hierarchy more likely to complete tasks/less unfinished work
Possible specialisation → different departments with workers have specific skill sets
To improve motivation → workers have a clear career path with opportunities for promotion
To improve control → workers are managed/supervised to ensure tasks are completed accurately and on time
Workers know who to report to if there is a problem → workers don't all report to the same person → time isn't wasted going to the wrong person
Tall (Hierarchical) Structures
Involve organisational charts where there are many levels of hierarchy. In these organisations, there are usually many managers, and each manager has a small span of control
Advantages of Tall Structures
Narrow spans of control → can help to limit managers' workloads
Clear and more regular opportunities for promotion of junior employees
Disadvantages of Tall Structures
Communication may be more difficult as it passes through many levels of hierarchy
Decisions can be made slowly as information has to be passed through the organisation
Flat (Horizontal) Structures
Involve organisational charts where there are few or no levels of middle management between staff and executives
Advantages of Flat Structures
Fewer managers can help to reduce costs
Junior employees may be motivated by being given more authority
Communication can be quick and effective as fewer levels of hierarchy
Disadvantages of Flat Structures
Managers may have spans of control that are too wide
The business may have to spend heavily on training to give junior employees the necessary skills
Communication
The exchange of information between two or more people
Feedback
The response stage of the communication process. Criticism of an advertising campaign is an example of feedback