Key Term

Accountability

The obligation of an individual to account for his or her activities and to disclose results in a transparent way

Arbitration

Resolving an industrial dispute by using an independent third party to judge and recommend an appropriate solution

Autocratic leadership

A style of leadership that keeps all decision- making at the centre of the organisation

Bureaucracy

An organisational system with standardised procedures and rules

Centralisation

Keeping all of the important decision-making powers within head office or the centre of the organisation

Chain of command

This is the route through which authority is passed down an organisation – from the chief executive and the board of directors

Collective bargaining

The negotiations between employees’ representatives (trade unions) and employers and their representatives on issues of common interest

Commission

A payment to a sales person for each sale made

Communication barriers

Reasons why communication fails

Communication media

The methods used to communicate a message

Conciliation

The use of a third party in industrial disputes to encourage both employer and union to discuss an acceptable compromise solution

Contingency planning

Preparing the immediate steps to be taken by an organisation in the event of a crisis or emergency

Contract of employment

A legal document that sets out the terms and conditions governing a worker’s job

Crisis management

Steps taken by an organisation to limit the damage from a crisis by handling, retaining and resolving it

Decentralisation

Decision-making powers are passed down the organisation to empower subordinates and regional/product managers

Delayering

Removal of one or more of the levels of hierarchy from an organisational structure

Delegation

Passing authority down the organisational hierarchy

Democratic leadership

A leadership style that promotes the active participation of workers in taking decisions

Dismissal

Being removed or ‘sacked’ from a job due to incompetence or breach of discipline

Entrepreneurial culture

Encourages management and workers to take risks, to come up with new ideas and test out new business ventures

Extrinsic motivation

Comes from external rewards associated with working on a task

Formal communication networks

The official communication channels and routes used within an organisation

Flexi-time contract

Employment contract that allows staff to be called in at times most convenient to employers and employees

Geographical mobility of labour

Extent to which workers are willing and able to move geographical region to take up new jobs

Hourly wage rate

Payment to a worker made for each hour worked

Human resource management (HRM)

The strategic approach to the effective management of an organisation’s workers so that they help the business gain a competitive advantage

Human resource or workforce planning

Analysing and forecasting the numbers of workers and the skills of those workers that will be required by the organisation to achieve its objectives

Hygiene factors

Aspects of a worker’s job that have the potential to cause dissatisfaction

Induction training

Introductory training programme to familiarise new recruits with the systems used in the business and the layout of the business site

Industrial action

Measures taken by the workforce or trade union to put pressure on management to settle an industrial dispute in favour of employees

Informal communication

Unofficial channels of communication that exist between informal groups within an organisation

Informal organisation

The network of personal and social relations that develop between people within an organisation

Information overload

So much information and so many messages are received that the most important ones cannot be easily identified and quickly acted on – most likely to occur with electronic media

Intrinsic motivation

Comes from the satisfaction derived from working on and completing a task

Job description

A detailed list of the key points about the job to be filled, stating all the key tasks and responsibilities of it

Job enlargement

Attempting to increase the scope of a job by broadening or deepening the tasks undertaken

Job enrichment

Aims to use the full capabilities of workers by giving them the opportunity to do more challenging and fulfilling work

Job redesign

Involves the restructuring of a job – usually with employees’ involvement and agreement

Laissez-faire leadership

A leadership style that leaves much of the business decision-making to the workforce – a ‘hands-off’ approach and the reverse of the autocratic style

Leadership

The art of motivating a group of people towards achieving a common objective

Level of hierarchy

A stage of the organisational structure at which the personnel on it have equal status and authority

Manager

Responsible for setting objectives, organising resources and motivating staff so that the organisation’s aims are met

Matrix structure

An organisational structure that creates project teams that cut across traditional functional departments

Motivating factors (motivators)

Aspects of a worker’s job that can lead to positive job satisfaction such as achievement, recognition, meaningful and interesting work and advancement at work

Motivation

The intrinsic and extrinsic factors that stimulate people to take actions that lead to achieving a goal

Non-verbal communication

Messages sent and received without verbal information such as facial expressions, eye contact, tone of voice, body posture and gestures and position within a group

Occupational mobility of labour

Extent to which workers are willing and able to move to different jobs requiring different skills

Off-the-job training

All training undertaken away from the business

On-the-job training

Instruction at the place of work on how a job should be carried out

Organisational culture

The values, attitudes and beliefs of the people working in an organisation

Organisational structure

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

Outsourcing

Not employing staff directly, but using an outside agency or organisation to carry out some business functions

Part-time employment contract

Employment contract that is for less than the normal full working week

Performance-related pay

A bonus scheme to reward staff for above-average work performance

Person specification

A detailed list of the qualities, skills and qualifications that a successful applicant will need to have

Piece rate

A payment to a worker for each unit produced

Portfolio working

The working pattern of following several simultaneous employments at any one time

Power culture

Concentrating power among a few people

Profit-related pay

A bonus for staff based on the profits of the business (usually paid as a proportion of basic salary)

Recruitment

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

Redundancy

When a job is no longer required so the employee doing this job becomes redundant through no fault of his or her own

Role culture

Each member of staff has a clearly defined job title and role

Salary

Annual income that is usually paid on a monthly basis

Self-actualisation

A sense of self-fulfilment reached by feeling enriched and developed by what one has learned and achieved

Situational leadership

Effective leadership varies with the task in hand and situational leaders adapt their leadership style to each situation

Span of control

The number of subordinates reporting directly to a manager

Staff appraisal

The process of assessing the effectiveness of an employee judged against pre-set objectives

Task culture

Based on co-operation and team work

Team working

Production is organised so that groups of workers undertake complete units of work

Teleworking

Staff working from home but keeping contact with the office by means of modern IT communications

Temporary employment contract

Employment contract that lasts for a fixed time period

Training

Work-related education to increase workforce skills and efficiency

Trade union

An organisation of working people with the objective of improving the pay and working conditions of its members and providing them with support and legal services

Trade union recognition

When an employer formally agrees to conduct negotiations on pay and working conditions with a trade union rather than bargaining individually with each worker