People in Organisations

What People in Organisations covers

People in Organisations is examined in Component 1, Business Opportunities and Functions, and can be drawn on in the synoptic Component 3. It covers the role of the human resource department, the flexible workforce, new technology and changing working patterns, workforce planning, the recruitment process, job analysis and job descriptions, internal and external recruitment, methods of selecting employees, methods of training, the value of training to a business, appraisal and its methods, measuring workforce performance, organisational structures and the chain of command and delegation, empowerment and delayering.

The 13 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

• The role of the human resource departmentHuman resource management, human resource department responsible for in a business and four functions of a human resource department.Open →
• The flexible workforceFlexible workforce, flexible hours and home working.Open →
• New technology and changing working patternsFlexible, remote and part-time working, zero-hours and temporary contracts, and what automation does to the number and the nature of the jobs that remain.Open →
• Workforce planningWorkforce planning, two sides a workforce plan has to compare and skills audit.Open →
• The recruitment process, job analysis and job descriptionsStages of the recruitment process in order, job analysis and job description.Open →
• Internal and external recruitmentInternal recruitment, external recruitment and succession planning.Open →
• Methods of selecting employeesPanel interview, telephone interview and work trial.Open →
• Methods of trainingInduction training, on-the-job training and off-the-job training.Open →
• The value of training to a businessRole of training in developing appropriate skills, poaching in the context of training and how a business can measure whether training has worked.Open →
• Appraisal and its methodsThree purposes of appraisal, superior's assessment and peer assessment.Open →
• Measuring workforce performanceWorkforce performance, labour productivity and formula for the absenteeism rate.Open →
• Organisational structures and the chain of commandOrganisational design, authority in an organisation and responsibility in an organisation.Open →
• Delegation, empowerment and delayeringPassing a task down with the authority to do it, giving lasting discretion over method, and removing a management layer altogether — with what each costs as well as gains.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take People in Organisations further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

• Recruitment vs Selection

  Recruitment: attracting a field of applicants. Selection: choosing between the applicants.

• Job description vs Person specification

  Job description: listing the duties of the post. Person specification: listing the qualities of the applicant.

• Internal recruitment vs External recruitment

  Internal recruitment: filling a vacancy from existing staff. External recruitment: bringing in someone from outside.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What is meant by human resource management?

   Model answer

   Human resource management is the planning, organisation and control of everything to do with a business's employees. The aim is to get the best from people at an acceptable cost.

2. 2

   What is the human resource department responsible for in a business?

   Model answer

   The human resource department manages the people a business employs. The work runs from recruitment and training through to pay, welfare and dismissal.

3. 3

   Name four functions of a human resource department.

   Model answer

   Four functions are workforce planning, recruitment and selection, training and development, and appraisal. Each function aims to put capable people into the right jobs.

4. 4

   Why does a growing business usually create a separate human resource department?

   Model answer

   A growing business employs too many people for line managers to handle personnel work alone. A specialist department brings consistency and legal expertise to how staff are treated.

5. 5

   Why do many small businesses have no human resource department?

   Model answer

   A small business employs few people, so the owner handles recruitment and pay personally. The cost of a specialist department cannot be justified at that size.

6. 6

   What is meant by hard human resource management?

   Model answer

   Hard human resource management treats employees as a resource to be used as efficiently as any other. Pay is kept low, contracts are short and control sits firmly with managers.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

People in Organisations revision questions

What does People in Organisations cover in Eduqas A-Level Business?

13 subtopics: the role of the human resource department, the flexible workforce, new technology and changing working patterns, workforce planning, the recruitment process, job analysis and job descriptions, internal and external recruitment, methods of selecting employees, methods of training, the value of training to a business, appraisal and its methods, measuring workforce performance, organisational structures and the chain of command and delegation, empowerment and delayering. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is People in Organisations organised?

By the Eduqas A510QS specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.