BUSINESS 2.1 TEST QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS
Internal factors that affect work force planning - Answer-Structure
The way in which the business is structured affects work force planning. An
organisational chart allows the HR department to identify positions that should be
included and positions that are redundant and to plan how to address those gaps or
redundancies in the organisation.
Budget
- Number of employees needed will depend on demand
- Increased revenue will allow the business to recruit more employees
- Money should be set aside for training
Promotion
A company's policy on promoting employees internally is important in work force
planning. The HR department needs to keep track of employees leaving and to
ensure that other employees are trained so that they can be promoted to higher
positions when vacancies arise. These internal opportunities for professional growth
help to retain qualified employees.
Working practices
The HR department may decide to change the working practices in the business to
ensure more flexibility for employees. For example, it may change the working hours,
or encourage teamwork and multi-tasking. It may also create job sharing where two
people share a single job.
Common steps of the recruitment process - Answer-Job analysis
Job description
Person specification
Job evaluation
Job advertisement
Selection
Common steps in the dismissal process - Answer-Full investigation
Complete check
Provide written evidence
Meeting with the employee
Written notice
Common steps in the redundancy process - Answer-Planning the redundancy
Identifying alternatives to redundancy
Prepare a schedule
Inform employees
Redundancy selection
Individual consultations
Behavioural training - Answer-• Behavioural training deals with identifying functional
issues that could improve performance in the workplace, and then developing
behavioural change in the workforce and enabling participants to move towards this
desired change.
, • Examples of behavioural training include:
• Team building - developing team cohesiveness to improve
• Productivity.
• Ethical business practices - raising awareness of business ethics and codes of
practice.
• Emotional intelligence - identifying, assessing, and controlling the emotions of
individuals.
• Motivation training - motivating individuals, teams and the workforce.
• Conflict resolution - managing conflict in the workplace.
• Stress management - identifying and handling stress, including staff well-being.
• Anger management - understanding and controlling anger.
• Leadership skills - understanding and leading others in the organization.
• Business etiquette - organizational, regional, national and international cultural
norms.
• Supporters of behavioural training believe that such training provides people with
the necessary skills, knowledge and tools to solve work-related problems. Empirical
studies have shown that social and psychological factors play important roles in
labour productivity.
What should not be outsourced? - Answer-Strategic HR activities (with a direct
impact on organizational performance and which can provide it with a competitive
edge) should not be outsourced. They tend to be related to employee performance,
organization culture, change and innovation.
Types of on the job training - Answer-• Induction training: training aimed at
introducing new employees to the organization; it can also help new recruits to
integrate into the corporate culture of the organization
• Mentoring: a mentor (more experienced member of the staff) helps a mentee to
gain and develop specific skills and knowledge.
• Job rotation: the employee works at different positions in the company for short
periods, in order to give the employee a range of experiences in different
departments of the organization.
• Coaching: a supervisor guides the employee through the use of equipment or a
process, and provides feedback.
• Apprenticeship: trainees work under the supervision of an expert for a long period,
and may also attend classes.
• In-house courses or professional development: the company may organize its own
training courses staffed by its own workers.
Influence of Ethics on HRM - Answer-- Ethical issues for human resources managers
have emerged with the globalization of trade and the growth of increasingly large
multinational companies. In particular, the blending of languages, cultures and ways
of doing business create many challenges.
- Human resources managers must ensure the company is operating within
acceptable ethical and cultural practices in each country in which it operates. The
following are some of the ethical considerations that can arise:
- Lack of cultural awareness for employees sent to overseas destinations.
- Bribery and pervasive corruption in other countries
- Disparities in relative pay levels for each country
ANSWERS
Internal factors that affect work force planning - Answer-Structure
The way in which the business is structured affects work force planning. An
organisational chart allows the HR department to identify positions that should be
included and positions that are redundant and to plan how to address those gaps or
redundancies in the organisation.
Budget
- Number of employees needed will depend on demand
- Increased revenue will allow the business to recruit more employees
- Money should be set aside for training
Promotion
A company's policy on promoting employees internally is important in work force
planning. The HR department needs to keep track of employees leaving and to
ensure that other employees are trained so that they can be promoted to higher
positions when vacancies arise. These internal opportunities for professional growth
help to retain qualified employees.
Working practices
The HR department may decide to change the working practices in the business to
ensure more flexibility for employees. For example, it may change the working hours,
or encourage teamwork and multi-tasking. It may also create job sharing where two
people share a single job.
Common steps of the recruitment process - Answer-Job analysis
Job description
Person specification
Job evaluation
Job advertisement
Selection
Common steps in the dismissal process - Answer-Full investigation
Complete check
Provide written evidence
Meeting with the employee
Written notice
Common steps in the redundancy process - Answer-Planning the redundancy
Identifying alternatives to redundancy
Prepare a schedule
Inform employees
Redundancy selection
Individual consultations
Behavioural training - Answer-• Behavioural training deals with identifying functional
issues that could improve performance in the workplace, and then developing
behavioural change in the workforce and enabling participants to move towards this
desired change.
, • Examples of behavioural training include:
• Team building - developing team cohesiveness to improve
• Productivity.
• Ethical business practices - raising awareness of business ethics and codes of
practice.
• Emotional intelligence - identifying, assessing, and controlling the emotions of
individuals.
• Motivation training - motivating individuals, teams and the workforce.
• Conflict resolution - managing conflict in the workplace.
• Stress management - identifying and handling stress, including staff well-being.
• Anger management - understanding and controlling anger.
• Leadership skills - understanding and leading others in the organization.
• Business etiquette - organizational, regional, national and international cultural
norms.
• Supporters of behavioural training believe that such training provides people with
the necessary skills, knowledge and tools to solve work-related problems. Empirical
studies have shown that social and psychological factors play important roles in
labour productivity.
What should not be outsourced? - Answer-Strategic HR activities (with a direct
impact on organizational performance and which can provide it with a competitive
edge) should not be outsourced. They tend to be related to employee performance,
organization culture, change and innovation.
Types of on the job training - Answer-• Induction training: training aimed at
introducing new employees to the organization; it can also help new recruits to
integrate into the corporate culture of the organization
• Mentoring: a mentor (more experienced member of the staff) helps a mentee to
gain and develop specific skills and knowledge.
• Job rotation: the employee works at different positions in the company for short
periods, in order to give the employee a range of experiences in different
departments of the organization.
• Coaching: a supervisor guides the employee through the use of equipment or a
process, and provides feedback.
• Apprenticeship: trainees work under the supervision of an expert for a long period,
and may also attend classes.
• In-house courses or professional development: the company may organize its own
training courses staffed by its own workers.
Influence of Ethics on HRM - Answer-- Ethical issues for human resources managers
have emerged with the globalization of trade and the growth of increasingly large
multinational companies. In particular, the blending of languages, cultures and ways
of doing business create many challenges.
- Human resources managers must ensure the company is operating within
acceptable ethical and cultural practices in each country in which it operates. The
following are some of the ethical considerations that can arise:
- Lack of cultural awareness for employees sent to overseas destinations.
- Bribery and pervasive corruption in other countries
- Disparities in relative pay levels for each country
