IGCSE Unit 2: People in Business Summary

This deck covers all of Unit 2 Business Studies according to the CIE Business Syllabus. Unit 2 looks at people and business and covers the following: 2 People in business 2.1 Motivating employees 2.1.1 The importance of a well-motivated workforce: • Why people work and what motivation means • The benefits of a well-motivated workforce: labour productivity, reduced absenteeism and labour turnover • The concept of human needs, e.g. Maslow’s hierarchy • Key motivational theories: Taylor and Herzberg • Employment contracts 2.1.2 Methods of motivation: • Financial rewards, e.g. wage, salary, bonus, commission and profit sharing • Non-financial methods, e.g. job enrichment, job rotation, teamworking, training, opportunities for promotion • Recommend and justify appropriate method(s) of motivation in given circumstances 2.2 Organisation and management 2.2.1 Draw, interpret and understand simple organisational charts: • Simple hierarchical structures: levels of hierarchy, span of control, chain of command e.g. tall/short • Roles and responsibilities of directors, managers, supervisors, other employees in an organisation and inter-relationships between them 2.2.2 The role of management: • Functions of management, e.g. planning, organising, coordinating, commanding and controlling • Importance of delegation; trust versus control 2.2.3 Leadership styles: • Features of the main leadership styles, e.g. autocratic, democratic and laissez-faire • Recommend and justify an appropriate leadership style in given circumstances 2.2.4 Trade unions: • What a trade union is and the effects of employees being union members 2.3 Recruitment, selection and training of employees 2.3.1 Recruitment and selecting employees: • Recruitment and selection methods • Difference between internal recruitment and external recruitment • Main stages in recruitment and selection of employees • Recommend and justify who to employ in given circumstances • Benefits and limitations of part-time employees and full-time employees 2.3.2 The importance of training and the methods of training: • Importance of training to a business and to employees • Benefits and limitations of induction training, on-the-job training and off-the-job training 2.3.3 Why reducing the size of the workforce might be necessary: • Difference between dismissal and redundancy with examples • Understand situations in which downsizing the workforce might be necessary, e.g. automation or reduced demand for products • Recommend and justify which employees to make redundant in given circumstances 2.3.4 Legal controls over employment issues and their impact on employers and employees: • Legal controls over employment contracts, unfair dismissal, discrimination, health and safety, legal minimum wage 2.4 Internal and external communication 2.4.1 Why effective communication is important and the methods used to achieve it: • Effective communication and its importance to business • Benefits and limitations of different communication methods including those based on information technology (IT) • Recommend and justify which communication method to use in given circumstances 2.4.2 Demonstrate an awareness of communication barriers: • How communication barriers arise and problems of ineffective communication; how communication barriers can be reduced or removed