Overview
This lecture reviews all key concepts from IB Business Management Unit 2: Human Resource Management, covering HR roles, organizational structures, leadership, motivation, recruitment, appraisal, organizational culture, communication, and conflict resolution.
2.1 The HR Department and Change Management
- HR is responsible for training, recruitment, employee relations, and forecasting staffing needs.
- Internal and external factors affecting HR include demographics, immigration, labor mobility, flexi-time, and the gig economy.
- Employees may resist change due to self-interest, low tolerance, misinformation, or differing interpretations.
- Diagnose reasons for resistance before proposing solutions.
2.2 Organizational Structures
- Layers of hierarchy define the number of management levels.
- Span of control is the number of employees per manager (wide or narrow).
- Chain of command describes the flow of communication (long or short).
- Flat structures have fewer layers, wide spans, and short chain of command, increasing autonomy but reducing management supervision.
- Tall structures have more layers, narrow spans, and long chain of command, offering promotion opportunities but slower response to change.
- Organizations can also structure by geography, product, or function.
- HL: Project-based structures focus on projects; Handy Shamrock model divides staff into core, outsourced, and part-time.
2.3 Management and Leadership
- Managers focus on objectives and current processes; leaders motivate and influence others.
- Five leadership styles: autocratic, paternalistic, democratic, laissez-faire, and situational.
- HL: Leaders may decide scientifically (evidence) or intuitively (gut feel).
2.4 Motivation and Rewards
- Taylor: workers motivated by money; efficiency leads to higher pay.
- Maslow: hierarchy of needs—physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem, self-actualization.
- Herzberg: hygiene factors prevent demotivation; motivators drive motivation.
- Financial rewards: salaries, fringe benefits, wages (time/peace rate), bonuses (performance/profit), commissions, and share ownership.
- Non-financial rewards: job enrichment, enlargement, rotation, empowerment, purpose, and teamwork.
- Training improves motivation through skill development (on/off the job).
2.5 Organizational Culture
- Organizational culture: norms and values shaping behavior, driven by senior management and society.
- Subcultures can create clashes due to low cultural understanding, conflicting leadership, poor communication, or mergers.
2.6 Communication
- Communication can be formal (meetings, emails) or informal (gossip, social media).
2.7 Conflict in the Workplace (HL only)
- Causes: power imbalances, differing needs/Wants.
- Employee actions: collective bargaining, work to rule, striking.
- Employer actions: collective bargaining, redundancies, changing contracts, lockouts.
- Resolution: conciliation, arbitration (binding), industrial democracy, single union agreement, no strike agreement.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Layers of hierarchy — number of management levels in an organization.
- Span of control — number of subordinates per manager.
- Chain of command — path of authority and communication.
- Motivation — reasons driving employee actions.
- Appraisal — evaluation of employee performance.
- Labor turnover — percentage of employees leaving annually.
- Organizational culture — shared values and behaviors within a firm.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Review organizational structures, motivation theories, and reward systems in depth.
- Practice case studies by topic or full unit.
- Take a full-length mock exam and review mark schemes and exemplar responses.
- Refer to diploma.org for detailed reviews and question structures.