1. HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
1.1. ROLE
1.1.1. (HRM) is the strategic approach to the effective management of an ORGANIZATION'S WORKER so that they help the business GAIN a competitive advantage.
1.2. PURPOSE
1.2.1. RECRUIT, TRAIN, USE the workers of an organisation in the most productive manner to assist the organisation in the achievement of it’s objectives
1.3. MAIN RESPONSIBILTY
1.3.1. • Workforce planning
1.3.1.1. means ANALYSING, FOCASTING the NUMBERS, SKILLS of those workers that will be required by the organisation to achieve its objectives
1.3.1.2. •A WORKFORCE AUDIT is a CHECK on the SKILLS, QUALIFICATIONS of all existing workers/managers
1.3.2. • Recruitment and selection
1.3.2.1. Recruitment is the PROCESS of IDENTIFYING the need for a new employee, DEFINING the job to be filled and the type of person needed to fill it, ATTRACTING suitable candidates for the job and SELECTING the best one
1.3.2.2. The recruitment and selection process involves several STEPS
1.3.2.2.1. 1.Establishing the JOB VACANCY and drawing up a JOB DESCRIPTION.
1.3.2.2.2. 2.Drawing up a PERSON SPECIFICATION.
1.3.2.2.3. 3.Preparing a JOB ADVERTISEMENT
1.3.2.2.4. 4.Drawing up a SHORTLIST of applicants
1.3.2.2.5. 5.Conducting INTERVIEWS– or using other selection methods
1.3.3. • Training and development ( TRAINING, DEVELOPING, APPRAISING staff)
1.3.3.1. •TRAINING is work-related education to increase workforce skills and efficiency
1.3.3.1.1. •ON-THE-JOB TRAINING is instruction while you are working.
1.3.3.1.2. •OFF THE JOB TRAINING is all training undertaken away from the business, e.g. Classroom Lectures, Case Studies, Role Playing
1.3.3.1.3. •INDUCTION TRAINING is an introductory training programme to FAMILIARISE NEWY RECRUITS with the systems used in the business and the layout of the business site
1.3.3.2. •A STAFF APPRAISAL is the process of assessing the effectiveness of an employee JUDGE against pre-set objectives
1.3.4. • Preparing CONTRACTS of employment
1.3.4.1. •An EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS is a legal document that sets out the TERMS, CONDITIONS governing a worker’s job
1.3.4.2. The employment contract details,
1.3.4.2.1. •Employee’s responsibilities
1.3.4.2.2. •Working hours
1.3.4.2.3. •Rate of pay
1.3.4.2.4. •Holiday entitlement
1.3.4.2.5. •The number of DAYS NOTICE that must be given by the worker or the employer
1.3.4.3. DISCIPLINE and DISMISSAL of employees
1.3.4.3.1. •A dismissal means being dismissed or sacked (FIRED) from a job due to INCOMPETENCE or breach of discipline
1.3.4.3.2. •An UNFAIR DISMISSAL means ending a worker’s employment contract for a reason that the law regards as being unfair
1.3.4.4. Staff redundancies
1.3.4.4.1. •A REDUNDANCY occurs when a job is no longer required, so the employee doing this job becomes redundant through no fault of his or her own
1.3.5. • Improving staff MORALE and WELFARE
1.3.6. Employee welfare
1.3.6.1. •Most HR departments will offer COUNSELLING and other services who are in need of support, perhaps because of family or financial problems
1.3.6.2. •When workers feel that the employer is concerned about their long-term welfare, then this is likely to lead to a much stronger sense of LOYALTY and desire to do well for the business
1.3.7. • Developing pay systems ( Employment contracts: full- or part- time, temporary or permanent? )
1.3.7.1. •A TEMPORARY employment contract is an employment contract that lasts for a fixed time period, e.g. SIX MONTHS
1.3.7.1.1. •Whether hired on fixed-term contracts or not, temporary employees are particularly useful if the business has SEASONAL PEAKS and troughs in WORKLOAD. Temporary workers also enable a business to FILL SHORT- TERM GAPS, for example caused by illness or MATERNITY LEAVE.
1.3.7.1.2. ADVANTAGES
1.3.7.1.3. DISADVANTAGES
1.3.7.2. •A PART-TIME employment contract is an employment contract that is for less than the normal full working week of, say, 40 hours, e.g. EIGHT HOURS PER WEEK
1.3.7.2.1. Part-timers might be employed on a:
1.3.7.2.2. ADVANTAGES
1.3.7.2.3. DISADVANTAGES
1.3.7.3. •A FLEXI-TIME contract is an employment contract that allows staff to be called in at times most convenient to employers and employees, e.g. AT BUSY TIME OF DAY
1.3.7.4. •OUTSOURCING means not employing staff directly, but using an OUTSIDE AGENCY or organisation to carry out some business functions
1.3.7.5. •FULL-TIME is generally taken to mean an employee working 30 hours or more each week.
1.3.7.5.1. Advantages
1.3.7.5.2. Disadvantages
1.3.8. • Measuring and monitoring staff performance (Hard or soft HRM? )
1.3.8.1. •Hard HRM is an approach to managing staff that focuses on CUTTING COST, e.g. temporary and part-time employment contracts, offering maximum flexibility but with minimum training costs•Soft HRM is an approach to managing staff that focuses on developing staff so that they reach self-fulfilment and are motivated to work hard and stay with the business
1.3.8.2. •Soft HRM is an approach to managing staff that focuses on DEVELOPING STAFF so that they reach self-fulfilment and are motivated to work hard and stay with the business
2. Organisation structure
2.1. • ORGANISATION STRUCTURE is the INTERNAL, FORMAL FRAMEWORK of a business that shows the way in which management is ORGANISED and LINKED together and how authority is passed through the organisation
2.1.1. key PRINCIPLES of organisational structure
2.1.1.1. LEVEL OF HIRARCHY
2.1.1.1.1. is a STAGE of the ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE at which the personnel on it have EQUAL STATUS and AUTHORITY
2.1.1.1.2. A TALL (or NARROW) organisational structure has a BIG NUMBER of levels of hierarchy and this creates three main problems
2.1.1.2. •Chain of command
2.1.1.2.1. The chain of command is the ROUTE through which authority is PASS DOWN an organisation
2.1.1.3. •Span of control
2.1.1.3.1. The span of control is the number of SUBORDINATES reporting directly to a manager
2.1.1.3.2. Span of control, can either be
2.1.1.4. •Delegation
2.1.1.4.1. Delegation is PASSING AUTHORITY DOWN the organisational hierarchy
2.1.1.4.2. Advantages
2.1.1.4.3. Disadvantages
2.2. Different TYPES of organisational structure
2.2.1. The hierarchal (or bureaucratic) structure
2.2.1.1. •This is one where there are different LAYERS of the organisation with fewer and fewer people on each higher level. In general terms it is often presented as a pyramid.
2.2.1.2. Advantages
2.2.1.2.1. •The ROLE of each individual will be CLEAR and WELL DEFINED
2.2.1.2.2. •There is a clearly identifiable CHAIN OF COMMAND
2.2.1.2.3. •This traditional hierarchy is most frequently used by organisations based on a ‘ROLE CULTURE’, where the importance of the role determines the position in the hierarchy
2.2.1.3. Disadvantages
2.2.1.3.1. •Such a structure tends to suggest that ONE- WAY (top downwards) COMMUNICATION is the norm – this is rarely the most efficient form
2.2.1.3.2. •There are few horizontal LINKS between the departments or the separate divisions, and this can lead to LACK OF COODINATION between them
2.2.2. THE MATRIX STRUCTURE
2.2.2.1. • is an organisational structure that creates project teams that CUT ACROSS traditional functional departments
2.2.2.1.1. Disadvantages
2.2.2.2. Advantages
2.2.2.2.1. •It ALLOWS total communication between all members of the team, cutting across traditional boundaries between departmrents in a hierarchy where only senior managers are designed to link with and talk to each other.
2.2.2.2.2. •There is less chance of people focusing on juts what is good for their department. This is replaced with a feeling of what is good for the project and the business as a whole.
2.2.2.2.3. •The crossover of ideas between people with specialist knowledge in different areas tends to create more successful solutions
2.2.3. Centralisation and decentralisation
2.2.3.1. •Centralisation
2.2.3.1.1. Centralisation means keeping all the important decision-making powers within HEAD OFFICE or the centre of the organisation
2.2.3.2. •Decentralisation
2.2.3.2.1. Decentralisation means decision-making powers are passed down the organisation to empower SUBORDINATE and regional/product managers
2.3. FACTOR INFLUENCE organization structure
2.3.1. The organisational structure will CHANGE with the SIZE and the RANGE of activities that the business is involved in. There are other factors that could determine the internal structure of a business,
2.3.1.1. •The STYLE OF MANAGER, or the CULTURE of the managers.
2.3.1.1.1. If senior managers adopted a largely Theory X approach, then small spans of control would be adopted in a hierarchical structure.
2.3.1.1.2. A Theory Y manager would adopt very few levels of hierarchy and may prefer a matrix team-based structure.
2.3.1.2. •Retrenchment caused by ECONOMIC recession or increased COMPETITION
2.3.1.2.1. might lead to DELAYERING to reduce overhead costs – this would again REDUCE LEVELS of HIERARCHY and SHORTEN the chain of command
2.3.1.3. •CORPORATE OBJECTIVES.
2.3.1.3.1. For example, if one of the long-term objectives of the business is to expand in other countries, then the organisational structure must be adapted to allow a regional market department
2.3.1.4. •ADOPTING NEW TECHNOLOGY
2.3.1.5. – especially IT – can lead to a reduced need for certain employee types, for example managers sending messages by email rather than letters typed by secretaries. In addition, central control might be easier by the flow of information through IT and this could make middle management layers less important
2.4. Important LINKS between PRINCIPLES and TYPES of organization structures
2.4.1. 1.The GREATER the number of levels of hierarchy, the LONGER the chain of command
2.4.1.1. This will have serious consequences for:
2.4.1.1.1. •COMMUNICATIION effectiveness
2.4.1.1.2. •SPANS OF CONTROLS – these are going to be smaller in tall organisations
2.4.1.1.3. •DELEGATION – where spans of control are narrow, managers are more able to control the work of the few people, so delegation is likely to be limited
2.4.1.1.4. •MOTIVATION LEVELS of junior staff – as they are so far removed from senior management, delegation will be limited
2.4.1.1.5. •BUSINESS COST– ranks of middle managers are expensive to employ and they take up very costly office administration
2.4.2. 2.The organisational problems associated with a TALL structure have forced many firms to reconsider the role and importance of MIDDLE MANAGERS
2.4.2.1. The solution many have reached is to REMOVE whole LAYERS of management to create SHORTER structures. This process is known as DELAYERING.
2.4.2.1.1. •DELAYERING
2.4.3. 3.Delegation: CONFLICTS that can arise and potential benefits
2.4.3.1. Delegation involves a manager SHOWING TRUST in a subordinate – to the extent that less control will be exercised over their work. Some managers do not like giving up control. There is a conflict between SHOWING TRUST a worker and CONTROLLING the worker’s efforts – effective delegation means slowly RELEASING management CONTROL in order to SHOW MORE TRUST. With this trust comes a greater sense of achievement for the worker when the work is done well.
2.4.4. 4.Accountability, authority and responsibility
2.4.4.1. It is important to understand the links and the differences between these concepts. Delegation gives subordinates the AUTHORITY to perform certain tasks – this means that they have the power to undertake jobs and make decisions necessary for these jobs to be completed. If this job is done poorly, then the worker is ACCOUNTABLE to his or her immediate manager – they can be held to account and be disciplined for an inadequate performance. However, the overall RESPONSIBILITY for the work of the department or section – including the PERFORMANCE of each subordinate – rests with the manager. The manager delegates AUTHORITY, but not RESPONSIBILITY, and the blame for underperformance or mistakes within the department should rest with the manager. The thinking behind this important principle is that it is the manager who chose the subordinate (or delegatee) to undertake the task, ALLOCATED RESOURCE and arranged training – and if any of these were the reasons for poor performance, the manager should, ultimately, be responsible.
2.4.5. 5.Centralisation and decentralisation
2.4.5.1. Good examples of DECENTRALISE businesses are those MULTINATIONALS that allow regional and cultural differences to be reflected in the products and services they provide. CLOTHING RETAILERS with operations in several countries often allow local managers to decide on the exact range of clothing to be sold in each country – it could be disastrous for a business to sell European winter clothes in Singapore, for example.
2.4.5.2. CENTRALISED businesses will want to maintain exactly THE SAME IMAGE and product range in all areas – perhaps because of cost savings or to retain a carefully created business identity in all markets.
2.4.5.3. Advantages of CENTRALISATION
2.4.5.3.1. •A fixed set of RULES and procedures in all areas of the firm should lead to RAPID decision making – there is little scope for discussion
2.4.5.3.2. •The business has CONSISTENT POLICIES throughout the organisation. This PREVENTS any CONFLICTS between the divisions and avoids confusion in the minds of consumers.
2.4.5.3.3. •Senior managers take decisions in the interest of the WHOLE BUSINESS– not just one division of it
2.4.5.3.4. •Senior managers at central office will be EXPERIENCED decision makers
2.4.5.4. Advantages of decentralisation
2.4.5.4.1. •More LOCAL decisions can be made that reflect different conditions – the managers who take the decisions will have LOCAL KNOWLEDGE and are likely to have CLOSER CONTACT with consumers
2.4.5.4.2. •More junior managers can develop and this prepares them for more challenging roles
2.4.5.4.3. •Delegation and empowerment are made easier and these will have positive effects on motivation
2.4.5.4.4. •Decision making in response to changes, for example in local market conditions, should be QUICKER and more FLEXIBLE as head office will not have to be involved every time
2.4.6. 6. LINE and STAFF relationships
2.4.6.1. •LINE MANAGER
2.4.6.1.1. Line managers are managers who have DIRECT AUTHORITY over people, decisions and resources within the hierarchy of an organisation
2.4.6.2. •STAFF MANAGER
2.4.6.2.1. Staff managers are managers who, as specialists, provide SUPPORT, information and assistance to line managers