Year 10 Homework
GCSE Business Studies
Spring term 2014
Week beginning 27th January
Training - Induction Training
What is induction training?
Induction training is training given to new employees.
The purpose of the induction period (which may be a few hours or a few days) is to help a
new employee settle down quickly into the job by becoming familiar with the people, the
surroundings, the job and the business.
It is important to give a new employee a good impression on the first day of work. However,
the induction programme should not end there.
It is also important to have a systematic induction programme, spread out over several days,
to cover all the ground in the shortest effective time.
Devising an effective induction training programme
The induction programme should be drawn up in consultation with all those involved.
Depending on the size and complexity of the business this may include:
• Senior management (including directors)
• Supervisors or line managers
• Personnel officers
• Health and Safety managers
• Employee or trade union representatives
What induction training involves
Usually induction involves the new employee meeting and listening to different people talk
about aspects of the business.
Other methods include written information, audio visual aids and group discussion.
The following items should be covered in an effective induction programme:
• Introduction to the business/department and its personnel/management structure
• Layout of the buildings (factory / offices)
• Terms and conditions of employment (explaining the contract of employment)
• Relevant personnel policies, such as training, promotion and health and safety
• Business rules and procedures
• Arrangements for employee involvement and communication
• Welfare and employee benefits or facilities
You are the Human Resource Director of Big Ronald’s a vegetarian restaurant.
Due to recent expansion you have taken on 15 new part time employees in the kitchen
and also as waiting staff.
Design a two day induction programme with timings to ensure that all necessary induction
training is covered
Start:
Monday 8.30 arrive at reception
Week beginning Feb 24th
Managing People - Methods of Training at Work
On-the-job training
With on the job training, employees receive training whilst remaining in the workplace.The main
methods of one-the-job training include:

Demonstration / instruction - showing the trainee how to do the job

Coaching - a more intensive method of training that involves a close working relationship
between an experienced employee and the trainee

Job rotation - where the trainee is given several jobs in succession, to gain experience of a
wide range of activities (e.g. a graduate management trainee might spend periods in several
different departments)
The advantages and disadvantages of this form of training can be
summarised as follows:
Advantages
Disadvantages
Generally most cost-effective
Quality depends on ability of trainer and time
available
Employees are actually productive
Opportunity to learn whilst doing
Training alongside real colleagues
Bad habits might be passed on
Learning environment may not be conducive
Potential disruption to production
Off-the-job training
This occurs when employees are taken away from their place of work to be trained.
Common methods of off-the-job training include:

Day release (employee takes time off work to attend a local college or training centre)

Distance learning / evening classes

Block release courses - which may involve several weeks at a local college

Sandwich courses - where the employee spends a longer period of time at college (e.g. six
months) before returning to work

Sponsored courses in higher education

Self-study, computer-based training
The main advantages and disadvantages of this form of training can be
summarised as follows:
Advantages
Disadvantages
A wider range of skills or qualifications can be
obtained
More expensive – e.g. transport and accommodation
Can learn from outside specialists or experts
Employees can be more confident when starting
job
Lost working time and potential output from employee
New employees may still need some induction training
Employees now have new skills/qualifications and may
leave for better jobs
Training’s link to motivation
An important part of managing people is to let them know how they are performing. Various
methods of performance appraisal can be used and an important output from this process should be
an assessment of an employee’s training needs. Training programmes should be focused on
meeting those needs.
Assuming training is effective: then:

Employees feel more loyal to the business

Shows that business is taking an interest in its workers

Employees should benefit from better promotion opportunities

Employees to achieve more at work – and perhaps gaining financially from this (depending
on the remuneration structure)
Questions
1
2
3
4
5
Why is training important for a business?
What would happen to a business that decided not to do any training because it was too
expensive?
Give one example of where a firm might use on the job training and one example where
they might use off the job training. Say why.
What is the difference between induction and training?
Why is training a good way to motivate workers?
Homework task for Week beginning 3rd March:
Revision for a test on people at work done so far.
The test will be on a date determined by your teacher that week.
Some things you will need to know:
 The stages of recruitment
 The documents used
 Needs analysis, Job description, Person specification, Job advert, Letter
of application, Application form, references, Interviews, Psychometric
tests, Aptitude tests, Presentations.
 Internal and external recruitment.
 The use of recruitment or employment agencies.
 Motivation and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
 How to motivate workers
 Pay and non-pay motivation
 Payment methods (Incentives)
 Non- Pay methods
 Leadership styles
 Induction
 Training
Homework for the week beginning:
17th March 2014
Trade Unions
The article for which there is a link on the Blog is about a union called UNITE
organising industrial action.
Workers at Faslane and Coulport stage
walkout over pay
Workers walkout at the Faslane nuclear base in a dispute over pay
Hundreds of workers at the Faslane and Coulport naval bases on the Clyde have staged a
mass walkout.
Members of the Unite union began a work-to-rule and overtime ban at midnight in a dispute
over pay.
Babcock Marine said that its offer of just over 2% was a fair one and staff had been offered
above-inflation pay increases for the past three years.
Unite suspended a planned stoppage last month but revived action after most of its
members turned down the 2% offer.
The Faslane base is home to the UK's fleet of Trident nuclear submarines.
Unite said this was the first time workers at the base had gone on strike.
'Had enough'
A two-hour walkout took place at the Faslane and Coulport bases on Tuesday morning. It
will be followed by "staged stoppages" from Wednesday, as well as the work-to-rule and
overtime ban.
Unite national officer Ian Waddell said: "Quite simply workers on the Clyde have had enough
- enough of below inflation pay deals, enough of one-off pay inducements and enough of an
employer that wants to impose instead of negotiating.
"We are now in the ridiculous situation where Babcock's top four directors are sharing a £7m
bonus pot and making merry with 9% increases to their six-figure salaries yet the company
refuses to negotiate a basic, one-year deal that helps our members match the cost of living.
"The disparity is beyond a joke now for workers on the Clyde who have fallen behind their
industry's average pay rates following four years of real-terms pay cuts despite doing
everything to help this private sector giant fulfil its business objectives."
Babcock has said it was "surprised" by Unite's decision.
A spokesman said: "We have engaged with our trades unions and carefully listened to their
specific concerns.
"We have gone back to them with a new multi-year deal which significantly increases the
consolidated pay element at their request and provides an opportunity for further reward.
"Babcock is a successful organisation and this has enabled us to award pay increases in the
2011 and 2012 period. Added to the 2013 offer that we've made, our industrial workforce
would receive an increase of 8% over the three years, as well as one-off payments totalling
£650.
"We believe this to be a fair and reasonable offer and are very disappointed by the decision
to flatly refuse this offer and proceed with industrial action."
Questions
1. Why have the union organised industrial action?
2. Explain what is meant by a work to rule and an overtime ban.
3. Why would both of these sorts of industrial action cause inconvenience to the
employers.
4. Why is industrial action always used only as a last resort by unions?
5. The union has gone further and is now on strike. How do workers lose out when they
are on strike?