Human Resource Management | AQA A-Level Business (7132)

Human Resource Management

203 questions
17 subtopics
The business functions, assessed on all three papers
Paper 1, Paper 2 and Paper 3

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.

Sample questions from Human Resource Management

Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.

Human resource objectives and their value

What is the focus of training as an HR objective?

Show the answer
Improving employees' skills, knowledge and capabilities to perform their current and future roles effectively.
Calculating labour turnover and labour productivity

Calculate the labour turnover when number of leavers = 21 employees, average number employed = 330 employees.

Show the answer
Labour turnover = (21 ÷ 330) × 100 = 6.36 %.
Using and interpreting human resource data

What does a high employee costs as a percentage of turnover figure suggest about a business?

Show the answer
It suggests the business is labour-intensive.
Span of control, hierarchy and delegation

Explain the relationship between span of control and organisational height.

Show the answer
When spans of control are narrow (few subordinates per manager), more management layers are required to supervise all employees, creating a taller structure. Conversely, wider spans lead to fewer layers and a flatter structure.
The value of a motivated workforce, and Taylor

How does staff motivation affect customer service?

Show the answer
Motivated staff provide better customer service, improving customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Herzberg's two-factor theory

In Herzberg's theory, is company policy classified as a hygiene factor or a motivator?

Show the answer
Company policy is a hygiene factor.
Non-financial methods of motivation

How can team working improve motivation according to motivation theory?

Show the answer
Team working meets social needs and creates a sense of belonging and shared purpose.
Employee involvement and the influences on it

How does workforce skill level and experience affect the extent of employee involvement?

Show the answer
More skilled and experienced employees are better equipped to contribute meaningfully to decisions, so organisations are more likely to involve them in decision making.

The 17 subtopics

One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.

Subtopic	What it covers	Questions
Human resource objectives and their value	Engagement, talent development, training, diversity and alignment, and what HR objectives give a business.	9
Hard and soft human resource management	Labour as a cost against employees as an asset, and how each approach handles pay, training and planning.	16
Calculating labour turnover and labour productivity	The formula for each, the figures it needs, and how the result is expressed.	12
Employee costs as a percentage of turnover, and labour cost per unit	Calculating both, and what each reveals about how a business uses labour.	16
Using and interpreting human resource data	What causes high turnover, how to reduce labour costs, and why HR data needs context.	18
Types of organisational structure	Functional, product-based, regional and matrix structures, and what each suits.	8
Span of control, hierarchy and delegation	Wide and narrow spans, tall and flat structures, delegation, and centralisation against decentralisation.	19
Human resource flow	Human resource planning, recruitment, training, redeployment and redundancy.	8
The value of a motivated workforce, and Taylor	What motivation earns a business, and Taylor's scientific management.	9
Maslow's hierarchy of needs	The five levels, what each covers at work, and why lower needs must be met first.	18
Herzberg's two-factor theory	Hygiene factors and motivators, and what improving hygiene factors alone achieves.	9
Financial methods of motivation	Piece rate, commission, salary schemes and performance-related pay, and the drawback of each.	11
Non-financial methods of motivation	Empowerment, team working, flexible working, job enrichment and job rotation.	11
Choosing and assessing methods of motivation	What makes a method suitable, and using turnover, absenteeism and productivity to judge it.	9
Employee involvement and the influences on it	Delegation, empowerment, consultation and participation, and what shapes how far a business goes.	10
Trade unions, works councils and communication channels	What unions and works councils do, and the channels used to communicate with employees.	12
The value of good employer-employee relations	The effect on motivation, turnover, absenteeism and the business's reputation.	8

Human Resource Management is 203 of the 1,819 questions in the guide.Get the guide, £8

How the guide is worked

Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.

Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.

Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.