Business Management: Chapter 7

Business Management: Chapter 7

1. Staff performance and achieving business objectives:

   • • Employees are the most important resources for success in business. • The quality of employees can influence the ability of the business to achieve its objectives. • Human resource management covers all aspects of the employment cycle.

2. identifying staffing needs

   • • Staff planning is essential to ensure that the business is able to match the right people to each job. • Human resource planning enables the business to identify likely staffing needs.

3. Employment arrangements

   • • Employment contracts can be permanent or fixed term, full time, part time or casual. • Many employees are entitled to a set of 10 minimum employment conditions, known as the National Employment Standards, which deal with hours of work, various forms of paid and unpaid leave, flexible work for parents, provision of information in the workplace, and rights relating to notice of termination and redundancy.

4. Recruitment methods

   • • Recruitment can be internal or external. • External recruitment involves advertising a vacancy in the media, online, or through a private or government-owned agency.

5. Job analysis and job design

   • • Job analysis consists of a job description (an employee’s duties and responsibilities) and a job specification (qualifications and experience required).

6. The effect of technological development on staffing needs

   • • Developments in technology can lead to the creation of new jobs, but also make other jobs redundant. • New technology can change the nature of work and the workplace, with mobile devices leading to greater flexibility in work practices.

7. Selection methods

   • • Employee selection involves choosing the most suitable applicant. • The selection process can involve a combination of examining a written application, different types of testing, interviews and background checks.

8. Employer expectations

   • • Employers expect employees to sign employment contracts, which can be based on Awards, Enterprise Bargaining Agreements or individual contracts if the employee is paid above the high-income threshold. • Employees are expected to demonstrate loyalty to the business. • Departing employees should provide a reasonable period of notice to allow the employer to find replacement staff.

9. Employee expectations — conditions of employment, remuneration and work–life balance

   • • Many businesses try to ensure their employees have a healthy work–life balance through providing flexible working conditions, such as working from home and flexible working hours.

10. Legal obligations for staffing

    • • All employers are required by law to maintain a workplace which is safe for all employees, and for any visitors who may enter the workplace. • Worksafe Victoria administers occupational health and safety in Victoria. • Obligations on employers include taking out workers’ compensation insurance, and establishing health and safety committees. • Employers can improve safety by identifying dangers in the workplace, assessing the level of risk of each of those dangers, and eliminating or minimising dangers by changing work processes or physical aspects of the workplace.

11. Employee expectations — job security

    • • Job security is the belief that the employee will not lose their job. HR managers need to provide some stability in the employment relationship.

12. Global issues related to establishing staffing

    • • Many businesses take the opportunity to recruit employees from overseas. • Australian businesses with branches in other countries may send Australian employees to work in those branches. • Transnational corporations may open or close businesses in different countries, with employment implications in each case. • Ethical and socially responsible recruitment and selection requires that every applicant be given a fair hearing and honest feedback, and that principles of affirmative action and workplace diversity be applied. • Ethical employers will ensure they pay fair wages, provide safe and pleasant working conditions, and consult with employees on important workplace issues, as well as recognising and rewarding effort, providing fair promotion processes, and discouraging workplace bullying or sexual harassment.

13. Corporate social responsibility related to establishing staffing

    • • The ethical and socially responsible management of employment practices requires the application of moral standards, and obligations to the community. • Ethical and socially responsible recruitment and selection requires that every applicant be given a fair hearing and honest feedback, and that principles of affirmative action and workplace diversity be applied. • Ethical employers will ensure they pay fair wages, provide safe and pleasant working conditions, and consult with employees on important workplace issues, as well as recognising and rewarding effort, providing fair promotion processes, and discouraging workplace bullying or sexual harassment. • Socially responsible employers will take into consideration the balance between the demands of work and the family responsibilities of employees.

14. Employee induction

    • • Induction is the first part of the maintenance phase in the employment cycle and involves providing the employee with a good introduction to the business. Typical topics covered in induction may include the history of the business, its culture, safety and work processes.