2 - People in Business

Choose by audience and purpose: required speed, need for feedback, complexity, confidentiality, permanent record, audience size/location, accessibility, reliability and cost. Important communication often combines methods—for example, a meeting for explanation followed by a written record.

Good communication → clearer tasks/expectations → fewer errors and better coordination → higher productivity, service and stakeholder trust. Ineffective communication can reverse the chain: confusion or exclusion → mistakes/delay/demotivation → higher costs, lower productivity, lost customers or damaged supplier relationships.

There is no universally best method. A fast app may suit repeat booking customers but be wasteful for one-off users; a slower private letter may suit a formal employment decision. Judge the method against the actual recipient, message and consequence of error.

Use barrier → distortion/delay → business consequence → matched remedy. Example: a long chain changes a stock instruction → stores order the wrong quantity → waste and lost sales rise → send the approved instruction directly to responsible managers and require confirmation.

Feedback closes the communication loop. Ask the recipient to confirm the required action, deadline or meaning; monitor whether the intended behaviour/result follows. A read receipt proves delivery, not understanding.

Prioritise barriers by the cost of error, urgency, number of recipients and sensitivity of the message. A translation check may matter most in multilingual customer service, while a shorter chain may matter most for fast operational decisions.

Match demand pattern → coverage required → employment type → cost, continuity and flexibility effect. Stable year-round skilled work often favours full-time employment; a harvest peak favours seasonal work; covering a fixed absence favours temporary work.

Consider demand predictability, duration, skill/training needs, service continuity, employee preferences and total employment cost. Flexible staffing can control cost, but excessive turnover or handover can reduce quality and productivity.

Define the work in the job description → derive the required person specification → collect evidence through application forms and/or CVs → compare evidence with criteria → shortlist.

Criteria must be relevant to the job. Application evidence may be incomplete or exaggerated, so the business can verify qualifications/references and use interview evidence before appointment.

Choose internal or external recruitment by the available internal talent, need for new skills/ideas, urgency, cost and importance of business knowledge. Interviews add evidence but can be biased or rehearsed, so structured criteria and more than one evidence source improve selection.

Trace law → required change → cost/people/market effect → business response. Example: minimum wage rises → hourly labour cost rises → the firm may train for higher productivity or raise prices → the final effect depends on labour intensity and ability to pass on cost.

Equal opportunity means candidates and employees are judged using relevant, consistent criteria—not that every person must receive the same outcome regardless of role, evidence or need. Appropriate support can be necessary to remove an unfair disadvantage.

Effects vary with current pay levels, workforce size, labour intensity, margins, productivity and customer price sensitivity. Paying above the minimum can support recruitment and retention, but it raises cost unless offset by productivity or other gains.

Health-and-safety training identifies hazards, required procedures, equipment use, protective measures and emergency actions. It helps the business comply with applicable law and can reduce accidents, absence, disruption, claims and harm to employees/customers.

Training → greater skill/knowledge/confidence → fewer errors or better quality/service/productivity → possible higher sales, lower waste/cost and employee motivation/retention. These gains occur only if learning is relevant and applied.

Training has opportunity costs: fees, materials, trainer time and employee time away from output. Employees may leave after training, and inconsistent or outdated instruction can waste resources or spread poor practice.

Choose by task specificity, expertise available, safety risk, cost, employee experience and urgency. Methods can combine: induction establishes safe entry, on-the-job practice builds business-specific performance, and off-the-job learning adds specialist capability.

Attraction: valued pay, conditions and development widen the applicant pool. Retention: satisfaction and fair reward reduce turnover, recruitment and training costs. Productivity: motivated employees may apply greater effort and care, but skills, equipment, processes and demand also constrain output.

Use worker need/theory → business method → employee response → business outcome. Example: greater responsibility (Herzberg motivator) → stronger achievement/ownership → more initiative and service quality → repeat custom may rise.

Theories are lenses, not guaranteed formulas. Select the best explanation for the workforce, task, pay level, culture and evidence; combine acceptable basic conditions with rewards and meaningful work where appropriate.

Match employee/task → method → behaviour → outcome → cost/risk. Financial methods may matter when pay or measurable output dominates; non-financial methods may better address boredom, achievement, responsibility or professional independence. A combination can work best.

Assess employee preferences, measurability, teamwork, affordability, task quality/safety and time horizon. A commission may suit individual selling; autonomy may suit skilled staff; job rotation may support coverage but not satisfy a worker seeking responsibility.

Judge fit by business size, geographic spread, manager capability, need for consistency, speed of market change and risk. A global chain may centralise brand standards while decentralising local staffing or promotion decisions.

Delegation transfers authority to act, not the manager's ultimate accountability for ensuring the task is assigned appropriately and monitored. The employee is accountable for carrying out the delegated work within the agreed authority.

Clear roles specify who must follow policies, laws and procedures and who checks compliance. Use role → authority → action → reporting/check. Ambiguity can cause duplicated work, omitted controls or blame without responsibility.

Choose span and delegation by task complexity, employee experience, risk, location and manager capacity. A wide span may empower skilled staff but overload a manager supervising complex or safety-critical work.

Example: marketing identifies demand for a redesigned product → production assesses design, capacity, quality and stock → finance sets the budget and checks cash impact → human resources recruits or trains the required employees. A weak link can prevent the plan succeeding.

Classify by the primary responsibility, then explain links. Paying wages is finance; recruiting and handling employee grievances is human resources; public relations and pricing are marketing; quality and stock control are production.