Chapter 15 What Do People in Different Jobs Do?

Human Behavior in Organizations, 2 nd Edition Rodney Vandeveer and Michael Menefee © 2010 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 2 Learning Outcomes: What Do People in Different Jobs Do? Contrast line and staff positions. Discuss the necessary interpersonal skills required for success in each of the line and staff positions.

Human Behavior in Organizations, 2 nd Edition Rodney Vandeveer and Michael Menefee © 2010 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 3 What People In Different Jobs Do? Line positions are involved in the day-to-day business of the company. Staff positions play a supporting role in the business of the company.

Human Behavior in Organizations, 2 nd Edition Rodney Vandeveer and Michael Menefee © 2010 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 4 General Manager Production Sales MarketingCustomer Service Staff Positions Human Resources R & D & Engineering Accounting MIS Legal Quality Assurance Line Positions

Human Behavior in Organizations, 2 nd Edition Rodney Vandeveer and Michael Menefee © 2010 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 5 Production/Skills Needed Companies will have supervisory/leadership positions responsible for job assignments, quality, safety, changes, communication, performance evaluations, schedules, etc. Understanding organizational behavior is essential and critical. What are some other key elements of a successful supervisor/leader?

Human Behavior in Organizations, 2 nd Edition Rodney Vandeveer and Michael Menefee © 2010 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 6 Sales/Skills Needed Responsible for generating sales of the company’s products. Must represent the company with external customers. Interpersonal skills, listening and communication are critical. Sales is a very good entry level job.

Human Behavior in Organizations, 2 nd Edition Rodney Vandeveer and Michael Menefee © 2010 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 7 Marketing/Skills Needed Focuses on a group of customers. Conducts research on a product line and customer base. Must be able to understand customers’ needs and communicate these to the organization. Excellent perception skills are essential.

Human Behavior in Organizations, 2 nd Edition Rodney Vandeveer and Michael Menefee © 2010 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 8 Customer Service/Skills Needed Provides a direct link to the external customer. Represents the company to the customer. Helps solve problems and handles customers’ requests. Must have a helpful attitude and always be positive. Excellent communication skills are essential.

Human Behavior in Organizations, 2 nd Edition Rodney Vandeveer and Michael Menefee © 2010 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 9 Staff Position – Human Resources Provides customer service for internal customers. Shows leadership by developing trust and respect of the employees in the organization. Must be good at problem-solving, listening, and communication. Must know how to train.

Human Behavior in Organizations, 2 nd Edition Rodney Vandeveer and Michael Menefee © 2010 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 10 Accounting and Finance/MIS Tasks are of a more technical nature. Numerous problem-solving and interpersonal skills are necessary. While they work with numbers, they must be able to communicate what the facts and figures are telling.

Human Behavior in Organizations, 2 nd Edition Rodney Vandeveer and Michael Menefee © 2010 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 11 Research and Development Deals with internal and external customers to solve problems. Must have a desire for change, innovation, and creativity. Must know how to sell ideas if they are to be successful; therefore, excellent communication is essential.

Human Behavior in Organizations, 2 nd Edition Rodney Vandeveer and Michael Menefee © 2010 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 12 Legal Employment law Contract law Property law Patent, copyright, and trademark law Business law including criminal and civil law

Human Behavior in Organizations, 2 nd Edition Rodney Vandeveer and Michael Menefee © 2010 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 13 Management Information Systems Computer hardware Computer software Systems design Systems maintenance Information management Systems security

Human Behavior in Organizations, 2 nd Edition Rodney Vandeveer and Michael Menefee © 2010 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 14 Quality Assurance ISO certification Product inspection Quality process improvement Calibration programs Training and development of QA personnel

Human Behavior in Organizations, 2 nd Edition Rodney Vandeveer and Michael Menefee © 2010 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 15 Summary Organizations are made up with people doing many different jobs. Some jobs are line positions while others are considered staff positions. Normally, line positions are involved in the day-to-day business of the company and dealing with the external customers.

Human Behavior in Organizations, 2 nd Edition Rodney Vandeveer and Michael Menefee © 2010 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 16 Summary Staff positions perform a supportive role to the business of the organization working with the internal customers. Some may note the difference as line positions adding value to the product or service while the staff position adds cost.