People

What People covers

People is examined in Component 01, Business 1: business activity, marketing and people. It covers the role of human resources, organisational structures and ways of working, communication in business, recruitment and selection, employee motivation and retention, training and staff development and employment law.

The 7 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

• The role of human resourcesThe tasks of the human resources function, workforce planning, skills audits, seasonal staffing, keeping to employment law, and how poor human resource management harms a business.Open →
• Organisational structures and ways of workingTall and flat structures, span of control, chain of command, authority and delegation, and full-time, part-time, flexible, temporary, home, mobile and self-employed working.Open →
• Communication in businessLetters, email, texts, phone calls, meetings and presentations, social media and websites, how digital communication and video conferencing changed business, and choosing the right method.Open →
• Recruitment and selectionSkill gaps, job descriptions and person specifications, internal and external recruitment, CVs, application forms and letters, and interviews, tests, group activities and references in selection.Open →
• Employee motivation and retentionPay, bonuses, profit sharing and fringe benefits, praise, awards and the working environment, why retention matters, and worked profit-sharing and staff turnover calculations.Open →
• Training and staff developmentInduction, on-the-job and off-the-job training, how training raises productivity, customer service and retention, vocational and academic qualifications, apprenticeships, and the costs of development.Open →
• Employment lawThe Equality Act 2010 and protected characteristics, direct and indirect discrimination, equal pay, written terms, paid holiday, the Working Time Regulations 1998 and the National Living Wage.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take People further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

• Recruitment vs Selection

  Recruitment: attracting suitable people to apply for a vacancy. Selection: choosing the best candidate from the applicants.

• Job description vs Person specification

  Job description: a document setting out a role's duties and responsibilities. Person specification: a list of the skills and qualities an ideal applicant needs.

• Tall structure vs Flat structure

  Tall structure: many layers of management with narrow spans of control. Flat structure: few layers of management with wide spans of control.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What is the purpose of the human resources function?

   Model answer

   Human resources makes sure a business has enough staff with the right skills. Staff must be in the right place at the right time.

2. 2

   Name four main tasks of a human resources department.

   Model answer

   A human resources department recruits staff, organises training, sets pay and makes sure employment law is followed.

3. 3

   What is workforce planning?

   Model answer

   Workforce planning means working out how many staff, with which skills, a business will need in future.

4. 4

   How does a business identify its human resource needs?

   Model answer

   A business compares the staff it has with the staff its plans require. Gaps appear when staff leave, the business grows or new skills are needed.

5. 5

   Why does a growing business need to plan its human resources carefully?

   Model answer

   New branches or products need extra staff who must be recruited and trained in advance. Too few staff can lead to poor service and lost sales.

6. 6

   What happens if a business employs too many staff?

   Model answer

   Wage costs are higher than necessary, which cuts profit. Staff may have too little to do and become demotivated.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

People revision questions

What does People cover in OCR GCSE Business?

7 subtopics: the role of human resources, organisational structures and ways of working, communication in business, recruitment and selection, employee motivation and retention, training and staff development and employment law. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is People organised?

By the OCR J204 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.