Human resources

• 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 part time basis
• Job Sharing


  • Allows employees to work part time, giving them time to take care of relatives or study for a qualification
  • Responsibility is split, reducing the pressure on a single employee
  • Employers gain a broader range of skills, businesses could benefit from having more ideas
• Disadvantages of Job Sharing

  • Communication between the two employees who are job sharing may break down on occasions, leading to less continuity and possible inefficiency
• Functions of HR Department

  • Recruitment and selection, ensuring that the right people are recruited to the right jobs
  • Organising training for workers, enabling employees to carry out their responsibilities effectively and make use of their potential
  • Employee Relations, 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
• Zero Hour Contracts


  Involves a situation where employers do not offer a minimum number of hours to be worked and employees do not have to accept work being offered
• Benefits of Zero Hour Contracts for employers

  • Saves the business money, it avoids them paying employees when they are not needed, employees come in only during busy periods
• Drawbacks of Zero Hour Contracts for employees


  • 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 do not have to attend a workplace every day. 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 whatever hours 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
• 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 Working Hours

  • Employees can fit work around other commitments more easily
  • Businesses can have employees available for work at different times
• Job Roles


  • Leaders, Owner or Directors
  • Managers
  • Supervisors/Team Leaders
  • Operatives/Shop Floor Workers
• Leaders, Owner or Directors

  • Establish the business' overall goals
  • Set long-term plans and targets for the business
• Managers


  • 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
• Supervisors/Team Leaders


  • Help managers to achieve their targets by reporting any problems and passing on instructions
  • Take simple decisions such as allocating jobs among different employees
• Operatives/Shop Floor Workers


  • 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
• Delegation


  The passing down of authority to more junior employees
• Span of Control


  The number of people and individual is personally responsible for in a business organisation
• 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
• 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.
• 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.
• Organisational Charts


  A plan showing the roles of, and relationships between, all the employees in a business.
• Organisational Charts


  • Show the internal structure of a business ➔ the hierarchy ➔ who is in charge of the business ➔ the chain of command ➔ the subordinates ➔ career paths identified ➔ motivates the workers
  • Show the departmental structure
  • Show the span of control ➔ the number of people an individual is responsible for improves efficiency ➔ speeds communication
  • Show who is responsible to whom ➔ employees know who to report to if there is a problem
• 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
• Flat (Horizontal) Structures


  • Involve organisational charts where there are few or no levels of middle management between staff and executives
• Tall (Hierarchical) Structures


  • Advantages: narrow spans of control ➔ can help to limit managers' workloads
  • Clear and more regular opportunities for promotion of junior employees
• Tall (Hierarchical) Structures


  • Disadvantages: 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


  • Advantages: 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
• Flat (Horizontal) Structures


  • Disadvantages: 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
• Factors to think about when deciding on which communication method to use

  • Cost
  • Speed of delivery
  • Speed of reply/response
  • Length of message
  • Detail in message
  • Confidentiality
  • Keeping record of message
• Low employee morale


  Employees do not know what is happening within the business can lead to poor productivity
• Increased absenteeism

  Poor communication can result in low level of motivation which affects decisions by employee on whether or not to go to work each day
• Reduced employee cooperation


  Employees who are not well informed about events within the business may become uncooperative making it harder for a business to implement change