Human Resource Management

What Human Resource Management covers

Human resource management can be examined on any of the three papers. It covers what a business wants from its workforce, the data used to judge it, how the organisation is designed, and the theory and practice of motivating people.

The 17 subtopics

Each one has its own page. AQA AS Business students sit this topic in the first year.

• Human resource objectives and their valueEngagement, talent development, training, diversity and alignment, and what HR objectives give a business.Open →
• Hard and soft human resource managementLabour as a cost against employees as an asset, and how each approach handles pay, training and planning.Open →
• Calculating labour turnover and labour productivityThe formula for each, the figures it needs, and how the result is expressed.Open →
• Employee costs as a percentage of turnover, and labour cost per unitCalculating both, and what each reveals about how a business uses labour.Open →
• Using and interpreting human resource dataWhat causes high turnover, how to reduce labour costs, and why HR data needs context.Open →
• Types of organisational structureFunctional, product-based, regional and matrix structures, and what each suits.Open →
• Span of control, hierarchy and delegationWide and narrow spans, tall and flat structures, delegation, and centralisation against decentralisation.Open →
• Human resource flowHuman resource planning, recruitment, training, redeployment and redundancy.Open →
• The value of a motivated workforce, and TaylorWhat motivation earns a business, and Taylor's scientific management.Open →
• Maslow's hierarchy of needsThe five levels, what each covers at work, and why lower needs must be met first.Open →
• Herzberg's two-factor theoryHygiene factors and motivators, and what improving hygiene factors alone achieves.Open →
• Financial methods of motivationPiece rate, commission, salary schemes and performance-related pay, and the drawback of each.Open →
• Non-financial methods of motivationEmpowerment, team working, flexible working, job enrichment and job rotation.Open →
• Choosing and assessing methods of motivationWhat makes a method suitable, and using turnover, absenteeism and productivity to judge it.Open →
• Employee involvement and the influences on itDelegation, empowerment, consultation and participation, and what shapes how far a business goes.Open →
• Trade unions, works councils and communication channelsWhat unions and works councils do, and the channels used to communicate with employees.Open →
• The value of good employer-employee relationsThe effect on motivation, turnover, absenteeism and the business's reputation.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take Human Resource Management further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

• Recruitment vs Selection

  Recruitment: attracting people to apply for roles. Selection: choosing suitable applicants for roles.

• Training vs Development

  Training: developing skills for a current role. Development: preparing broader capability for future responsibilities.

• Dismissal vs Redundancy

  Dismissal: employment ended for conduct or capability. Redundancy: a role removed because it is no longer required.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What are human resource objectives?

   Model answer

   Specific goals set by an organisation relating to the management and development of its workforce.

2. 2

   Define employee engagement as an HR objective.

   Model answer

   The level of commitment, motivation and emotional connection employees have towards their work and organisation.

3. 3

   What does talent development mean as an HR objective?

   Model answer

   Identifying and nurturing employees with high potential to take on greater responsibilities and leadership roles.

4. 4

   What is the focus of training as an HR objective?

   Model answer

   Improving employees' skills, knowledge and capabilities to perform their current and future roles effectively.

5. 5

   Define diversity as an HR objective.

   Model answer

   Creating a workforce that reflects a range of backgrounds, perspectives, characteristics and experiences.

6. 6

   What does alignment of employee and employer values mean as an HR objective?

   Model answer

   Ensuring workers share and support the organisation's mission, culture and ethical standards.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

Human Resource Management revision questions

Is Human Resource Management examined at AS in AQA Business?

Yes. It sits in Papers 1, 2 and 3, which you take in the first year, so it is on the AS paper as well as counting towards the full A level.

What does Human Resource Management cover in AQA AS-Level Business?

17 subtopics: human resource objectives and their value, hard and soft human resource management, calculating labour turnover and labour productivity, employee costs as a percentage of turnover, and labour cost per unit, using and interpreting human resource data, types of organisational structure, span of control, hierarchy and delegation, human resource flow, the value of a motivated workforce, and taylor, maslow's hierarchy of needs, herzberg's two-factor theory, financial methods of motivation, non-financial methods of motivation, choosing and assessing methods of motivation, employee involvement and the influences on it, trade unions, works councils and communication channels and the value of good employer-employee relations. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is Human Resource Management organised?

By the AQA 7132 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.