People in business

Maslow's hierarchy of needs, with workplace examples at each level.

Motivated workers work harder, raising output

Motivation 激励 is the drive that makes people want to work hard. A well-motivated workforce 员工队伍 — all the employees 员工 in a business — brings real benefits:

• higher productivity 生产率 — each worker produces more,
• lower absenteeism 缺勤 — fewer workers stay away from work,
• lower labour turnover 员工流动率 — fewer workers leave, so the business spends less time and money hiring and training new staff.

Motivation theories

Three thinkers explain what makes workers work hard.

Maslow's hierarchy: people meet lower needs before higher ones

Financial methods of motivation

These reward workers with money.

Worked example. A factory pays a piece rate of £3 per item. Anya makes 210 items in a week. Ben is on a time rate of £12 per hour for a 40-hour week. Who earns more, and what risk does the piece rate carry? Anya earns 210 × £3 = £630. Ben earns 40 × £12 = £480, so Anya earns £150 more. But paying for each item made tempts workers to rush, so quality may fall and more items are rejected - which is why a piece rate usually has to be paired with quality checks. Show the calculation, then judge it: a question that asks who earns more and for an evaluation gives marks for the number and for the drawback.

Non-financial methods of motivation

These motivate without extra money.

• job rotation 工作轮换 — workers switch between different tasks, so work is less boring.
• job enlargement 工作扩大化 — adding more tasks at the same level.
• job enrichment 工作丰富化 — giving more challenging tasks and more responsibility.
• autonomy 自主权 — letting workers make some of their own decisions.
• teamworking 团队合作 — working in small groups.
• training 培训 and chances for promotion 晋升 — helping workers improve and move up.

Managers organise and lead the workforce so the business meets its objectives.

Organisational charts

An organisational chart 组织结构图 is a diagram that shows how a business is organised — who reports to whom. It shows several ideas:

• hierarchy 层级 — the levels of staff, from the top down.
• chain of command 指挥链 — the line along which orders pass down from managers to workers.
• span of control 管理幅度 — the number of subordinates 下属 (people directly below) that one manager controls.
• delayering 扁平化 — removing one or more levels to cut costs and speed up messages.

A long chain of command (a "tall" structure) slows messages down. A wide span of control gives one manager many people to watch.

An organisation chart shows the chain of command and each manager's span of control

Functions of management

The five main jobs (functions) of management 管理 are:

• planning 计划 — setting aims and deciding how to reach them,
• organising 组织 — arranging people and resources,
• coordinating 协调 — making different parts work together,
• commanding 指挥 — giving instructions and guiding staff,
• controlling 控制 — checking that targets are met.

Leadership styles

A leadership style 领导风格 is the way a manager leads people.

Trade unions

A trade union 工会 is a group of workers who join together to protect their shared interests. A union can bargain for better pay and conditions, support a worker in a dispute, and push for safer work.

A business must recruit, train and motivate enough people with the right skills.

The recruitment process

Recruitment 招聘 is finding and attracting people to apply for a job. Selection 选拔 is choosing the best person from those who apply. The process starts with three documents:

• job analysis 工作分析 — studying what the job involves,
• job description 工作描述 — a list of the duties and tasks of the job,
• person specification 人员规格 — the skills, qualities and qualifications the right person needs.

The steps of recruitment and selection, from analysing the job to choosing the best person

Internal and external recruitment

• Internal recruitment 内部招聘 fills the job with someone already in the business. It is cheaper and quicker, and the person is already known, but it brings in no new ideas.
• External recruitment 外部招聘 fills the job from outside. It brings new ideas and skills, but it costs more and takes longer.

Common selection methods include the application form 申请表, the CV 简历 (a short summary of a person's education and work history), the interview 面试, and skills tests 测试.

Training

Training improves workers' skills. There are three main types.

• induction training 入职培训 — given to new workers, to learn about the business and their role.
• on-the-job training 在职培训 — learning while doing the job, beside an experienced worker.
• off-the-job training 脱产培训 — learning away from the workplace, for example at a college.

Reducing the workforce

Sometimes a business must cut staff numbers.

• Redundancy 裁员 — the job is no longer needed, for example because a machine now does it. It is not the worker's fault.
• Dismissal 解雇 — the worker is removed for a good reason, such as breaking rules or poor work.

Most countries have employment laws 劳动法 that protect workers. They cover a fair contract of employment 雇佣合同, safe conditions, fair pay, and protection from being sacked unfairly.

Why communication matters

Good communication 沟通 means information is sent, received and understood correctly. It helps workers know what to do, cuts mistakes, and makes people feel valued.

The communication process has five parts: a sender 发送者, a message 信息, a medium 媒介 (the way it is sent), a receiver 接收者, and feedback 反馈 (the receiver's reply, which shows the message was understood).

The message flows from sender to receiver, and feedback confirms it was understood

Types of communication

• One-way communication 单向沟通 — information flows in one direction only, with no reply (for example, a public notice).
• Two-way communication 双向沟通 — the receiver can reply and give feedback. It is usually better, because it checks understanding.
• Internal communication 内部沟通 — between people inside the business.
• External communication 外部沟通 — between the business and outside people, like customers 顾客 or suppliers 供应商.

Barriers to communication

A communication barrier 沟通障碍 is anything that stops a message getting through clearly. Common barriers include:

• a message that is too long or unclear,
• a poor medium, such as a weak phone line,
• language differences between sender and receiver,
• a receiver who is not paying attention.

To reduce barriers: keep messages short and clear, choose the right medium, and ask for feedback to check the message was understood.

• Link motivation to its benefits: higher productivity, lower absenteeism, and lower labour turnover.
• Match each theory: Taylor (pay / piece rate), Maslow (a hierarchy of needs — lower needs before higher), Herzberg (hygiene factors stop unhappiness; motivators drive real effort).
• Separate financial methods (wage, piece rate, salary, commission, bonus) from non-financial ones (job rotation, job enlargement, job enrichment, autonomy).
• On an organisation chart, know the chain of command (the line orders travel down) and the span of control (how many people report to one manager).
• Distinguish redundancy (the job is no longer needed — not the worker's fault) from dismissal (the worker is removed for a reason such as breaking rules).