Unit 2 - HRM
Unit 2 - Human resource management (HRM)
Human resource management (HRM) is about the personnel of an organization. This topic covers a range of content regarding the people of an organization, such as recruitment, training, motivation, and management or leadership.
Human resources (employees, managers, executives and entrepreneurs) are vital to the success of an organization, yet human resource management is one of the most difficult and challenging roles for any manager or leader.
The IB recommended teaching hours for this Unit 2 of the IB Business Management syllabus are as follows:
- SL = 20 hours
- HL = 35 hours
The IB Business Management syllabus content for Unit 2 is outlined below. There are seven topics in Unit 2:
The topics in this section of the IB Business Management syllabus can be looked at through the four key concepts of change, ethics, sustainability, and creativity.
Human resource management and conceptual understandings (from the guide):
- People play a major role in driving organizational change
- Creative employees could be essential for business success
- Ethical human resource systems may positively affect employee performance
- Sustainable human behaviour can bring positive change in a business.
Teachers and students can download a revision poster for Unit 2 by clicking on the icon below. Many thanks to Saif Nidal Attieh and his students from the Class of 2027 at Modern Montessori School, Amman, in Jordan, for creating and sharing this with the InThinking Business Management community!
For teachers wishing to print this for classroom display, we strongly recommend printing in A3 format.
Unit 2.1 - Introduction to human resource management
This section of the syllabus covers the following assessment objectives:
- Role of human resource management (AO2)
- Internal and external factors that influence human resource planning (for example, demographic change, change in labour mobility, immigration, flexi-time, gig economy) (AO2)
- Reasons for resistance to change in the workplace (AO2)
- Human resource strategies for reducing the impact of change and resistance to change (AO3).
Unit 2.2 - Organizational structure
This section of the syllabus covers the following assessment objectives:
- The following terminology in relation to different types of organizational structures: (i) Delegation, (ii) Span of control, (iii) Levels of the hierarchy, (iv) Chain of command, (v) Bureaucracy, (vi) Centralization, (vii) Decentralization, (viii) Delayering, and (ix) Matrix structure.
- The following types of organization charts: (i) Flat or horizontal, (ii) Tall or vertical, and (iii) By product, by function or by region (AO2, AO4)
- Appropriateness of different organizational structures given a change in external factors (AO3)
- Changes in organizational structures (for example, project-based organization, Charles Handy’s “Shamrock Organization”) (HL only) (AO3).
Unit 2.3 - Leadership and management
This section of the syllabus covers the following assessment objectives:
- Scientific and intuitive thinking/management (HL only) (AO2)
- Management and leadership (AO2)
- The following leadership styles: (i) Autocratic, (ii) Paternalistic, (iii) Democratic, (iv) Laissez-faire, and (v) Situational (AO3).
Unit 2.4 - Motivation and demotivation
This section of the syllabus covers the following assessment objectives:
- The following motivation theories: Taylor, Maslow, and Herzberg (AO3)
- The following motivation theories (HL only): (i) McClelland’s acquired needs theory (HL only), (ii) Deci and Ryan’s self-determination theory (HL only), and (iii) Equity and expectancy theory (HL only) (AO3)
- Labour turnover (HL only) AO2, AO4
- The following types of appraisal (HL only): (i) Formative, (ii) Summative, (iii) 360-degree feedback, and (iv) Self-appraisal (AO2)
- Methods of recruitment (HL only) AO2
- Internal and external recruitment (HL only) AO3
- The following types of financial rewards: (i) Salary, (ii) Wages (time and piece rates), (iii) Commission, (iv) Performance-related pay (PRP), (v) Profit-related pay, (vi) Employee share ownership schemes, and (vii) Fringe payments (AO2)
- The following types of non-financial rewards: (i) Job enrichment, (ii) Job rotation, (iii) Job enlargement, (iv) Empowerment, (v) Purpose/the opportunity to make a difference, and (vi) Teamwork (AO2)
- The following types of training: (i) Induction, (ii) On the job, and (iii) Off the job (AO2).
Unit 2.5 - Organizational (corporate) culture (HL only)
This section of the syllabus covers the following assessment objectives:
- Organizational culture (HL only) (AO1)
- Types of organizational culture, for example, Charles Handy's “Gods of management” (HL only) (AO2)
- Cultural clashes when organizations change, including but not limited to, when organizations grow and merge and when leadership styles change (HL only) AO3.
This section of the syllabus covers the following assessment objectives:
- Formal and informal methods of communication for an organization in a given situation (AO3)
- Barriers to communication (AO2).
Unit 2.7 Industrial/employee relations (HL only)
This section of the syllabus covers the following assessment objectives:
- Sources of conflict in the workplace (AO2)
- Approaches to conflict in the workplace by employees: (i) collective bargaining, (ii) work-to-rule, and (iii) strike action (AO3)
- Approaches to conflict in the workplace by employers: (i) collective bargaining, (ii) threats of redundancies, (iii) changes of contract, (iv) closure, and (v) lockouts (AO3)
- The following approaches to conflict resolution: (i) Conciliation and arbitration, (ii) Employee participation and industrial democracy, (iii) No-strike agreement, and (iv) Single-union agreement (AO3).
