Business unit 3 - People

• Human resource plan


  A plan detailing the workers a business will need i.e. how many, when, full time or part time and the skills they need
• Functions


  Different types of work that need to be done in a business i.e. Marketing, production and finance
• Human resource planning - things for a business to think about

  • The number of workers needed
  • The number of workers who will work full-time or part-time
  • The number who should be employed on zero-hour contracts
  • The number of workers to hire as contractors as and when needed
  • When workers will be needed - times of the day, days of the week
  • Where the workers will work - finance, production, marketing
  • The skills the workers will need to have
  • The need to manage and supervise some of the workers
  • The age, gender, ethnicity of the workers
  • How many staff members the business can afford to employ
• When might a business need to review its human resource needs?

  • Workers may have to be replaced i.e. because they have left, retired or been promoted
  • The business may grow or shrink so may need more or fewer workers
  • The business may change its method of production so may need more or fewer skilled workers
  • The business may decide to relocate so may have to recruit workers who live nearby - they could still take their current workforce
  • The budget available for paying staff. If the budget is decreased they will need fewer staff and vice versa
  • Changes in the law may affect employment i.e. Minimum wage which will impact on the budget
• Organisation chart


  A diagram to show how workers are organised in a business
• Authority


  The power that one person has to make decisions
• Chain of command


  The order of authority from top to bottom
• Span of control


  The number of people a manager is in charge of
• Delegation


  Giving someone else permission to make a decision
• Advantages of a tall structure

  • The span of control is likely to be narrower meaning that he does not have as many people to look after
  • There will be plenty of opportunities for workers to gain promotion which will motivate them to work harder
• Pros of verbal communication

  • Can check for understanding
  • Can emphasise points through tone and body language
  • Can use diagrams and pictures to help explain
• Cons of verbal communication

  • If lots of people not all may understand
  • Receiver may disrupt the message if they don't like it
  • No permanent record of the message
  • Some forms can be expensive
• Pros of written communication


  • There is a record of the message
  • Receiver can re-read the message multiple times
  • Can be sent to multiple people at the same time
  • Can avoid confrontation
• Cons of written communication

  • Cant check immediately if the message was understood
  • The success depends on the clarity of the message
  • Risk of computer viruses
  • Emails could go to spam
• Pros of social media


  • Huge numbers of users
  • Info can be updated regularly
  • Visual images can help explain
  • Can be cheaper to advertise
  • Customers can be involved by allowing feedback
• Cons of social media


  • There is a cost in managing and updating the information
  • Can be difficult to measure the effectiveness of the business' use of social media
• Selection


  The process of choosing between applicants for a job
• Job description


  Lists the main duties, tasks and responsibilities of a worker
• Person specification


  Lists the qualities, qualifications and knowledge that a person should have
• Interviews


  Sessions where the people making the appointment ask questions of the applicants
• Retention


  When workers choose to stay in a firm rather than move elsewhere
• Productivity


  A measure of output per working
• Financial motivation methods


  • Methods that involve paying workers money
• Non-financial motivation methods


  • Methods that do not involve paying money
• Methods of motivation

  • Fringe benefit
  • Praise
  • Award schemes
  • Working environment
  • Pay
  • Bonus
  • Profit sharing
• Development


  Long term training focused on helping a worker realise their potential
• On-the-job training

  Training while working
• Off-the-job training

  Training away from the job
• Induction training

  Training to introduce the worker to the business
• Advantages of induction training

  • Helps workers to settle quickly - get to know colleagues
  • Worker will be more productive quicker
  • Health and safety issues reduced
• Disadvantages of induction training

  • A lot of information to take in in one day
  • Costs involved - worker is paid but not producing anything
  • Costs involved - someone needs to provide the training
• Advantages of on-the-job training

  • Training is individualised to help each worker improve
  • Cheaper - no travel costs
  • Still producing products while training
• Disadvantages of on-the-job training

  • Trainer may need to stop working to help trainee
  • Quality might be poor
  • Quality of training depends on the trainer
  • No qualifications gained
• Advantages of off-the-job training

  • Experts can provide training
  • Workers enjoy the change of environment
  • Workers feel valued
• Disadvantages of off-the-job training

  • More expensive - fees, travel etc
  • Worker is not producing products when training
  • Risk of employee leaving once trained
• Discrimination

  When one worker is treated differently from another for no acceptable reason
• Contract of employment

  A legal agreement between an employer and an employee
• Calculating holiday entitlement


  No. days worked per week x 5.6 = holiday entitlement
• All workers are entitled to have 5.6 weeks holiday each year paid
• Advantages of a flat structure

  • Lines of communication are clear  -  communication will be quicker from top to bottom because there is not as many layers
  •  Fewer mistakes in communication will be made because there is fewer levels
  •  People at the bottom may be encouraged to share ideas
  •  Wider span of control means that managers can delegate work