CHAPTER 4 - ORGANISATION AND JOB DESIGN

KEY CONCEPTS AND SKILLS Organising and objectives of organisations Concepts of responsibility, delegation, authority, and accountability Types of organisation structure used in Factors affecting job design Concepts of job enlargement and job enrichment

CHAPTER OUTLINE Organising and organisational objectives Relationships Responsibility Delegation Authority Accountability Organisation structure Line organisation Line and staff organisation Functional authority organisation Project organisation Matrix organisation Job design Job enlargement Job enrichment

ORGANISATIONAL DESIGN Process where tasks to be done are organised into specific units of responsibility, called jobs Tasks performed will lead to accomplishment of organisation’s objectives As organisation grows in size, process of organising becomes complex Will require managers with specialised functions In large organisation, HR manager generally given responsibility for organisational design, subject to approval of CEO HR managers should develop skills and expertise in organisation planning and design.

ORGANISING Process of specifying relationships (responsibility, authority, and accountability) among people and resources to accomplish goals of organisation. To be effective, manager must be able to organise human resources, physical factors, and functions into patterns of interactions that will facilitate the accomplishment of goals.

ORGANISATIONAL OBJECTIVES 1. Product or service objectives 2. Personal objectives 3. Community and social obligations 4. Economy and Effectiveness of Operation

RELATIONSHIPS Organising is about relating component parts of organisation to one another and to organisation’s objective When many components, functions, personnel, and physical factors are related, co-ordination is necessary. Co-ordination is process to ensure people performing interdependent functions work together in a way that helps organisation achieve its overall objectives. For co-ordination to be effective and relationships to work well, four management concepts (responsibility, delegation, authority, and accountability) need to be understood.

Responsibility An obligation to perform work activities to the best of one’s ability in accordance with directions received.

Principles governing formal assignment of responsibility 1. Principle of functional similarity 2. No overlapping responsibilities 3. Clearly defined limits of responsibility 4. No gaps in responsibility 5. No assignment for unnecessary work

Delegation Process of assigning responsibility along with the necessary authority to carry out the assignment. Delegation does not reduce manager’s original amount of responsibility. When a manager avoids delegating, he becomes ineffective because he cannot be performing all the tasks by himself.

Authority The right to decide what should be done, the right to do it or to direct someone else to do it in achieving objectives of organisation.

Three basic characteristics of authority Authority is a right that goes with a job. Using authority involves making decisions, taking actions, or directing others. The reason authority is given is to help achieve the objectives of the organisation.

Accountability The means of ensuring that the person who is supposed to perform a task actually performs it and is answerable for his performance.

Conditions for Accountability Responsibility explained and clearly understood Qualified or able to perform Sufficient authority given

ORGANISATION STRUCTURE Line Organisation An organisation where there are only direct and vertical relationships between the different levels within the organisation.

ORGANISATION STRUCTURE Line and Staff Organisation An organisation where there are direct and vertical relationships between different levels (the lines) and also specialists (the staff people) who are responsible for advising and assisting the line people.

ORGANISATION STRUCTURE Functional Authority Organisation An organisation where the staff departments are given authority over the people in line departments in their areas of specialisation. Thus employees may be accountable to multiple superiors E.g. HR, Quality Control, or Safety can order actions in their specialist areas to be performed

ORGANISATION STRUCTURE Project Organisation A temporary organisation structure that is designed to achieve specific results by using teams of specialists from different functional areas.

ORGANISATION STRUCTURE Matrix Organisation An organisation that uses teams of specialists from different functional areas within the organisation but unlike a project organisation it is a permanent organisation with permanent product managers. Two types of managers in matrix organisation, functional managers and product managers.

JOB DESIGN Process of determining the tasks that need to be performed by a specific job, the methods of performing these tasks, and how the job relates to other jobs in the organisation. Comes within purview of HR manager Excessive specialisations with narrowly defined jobs and concentration upon pure technical efficiency have had a de-motivating effect on employees Result is higher absenteeism and turnover, as well as reduced productivity. Employees today expect more from their jobs than just salary

JOB DESIGN Traditional beliefs about jobs need to be re-examined and basic assumptions changed Some of the old assumptions that need to be challenged are: The basic nature of work cannot be changed. The design of the job depends on the process and technology available. What management should do is to concentrate on proper selection and training of workers, not try to redesign jobs.

JOB DESIGN To achieve productivity, need to unleash full potential that exists in employees Design of jobs should focus on improving employee productivity through removing boredom and monotony to make the job more interesting and challenging.

Factors that will have an affect on job design 1. Value of specialisation and repetitive operations 2. Changing technology 3. Unions policies and the collective agreement 4. Abilities of present employees 5. Availability of potential employees 6. Interaction requirements among jobs within organisation 7. Needs of human beings that can be met by the job

JOB ENLARGEMENT The changing of the scope of a job to provide a greater variety of tasks for the employee to perform, thus expanding the duties and responsibilities in a horizontal manner. As standard of living improves, there is criticism about excessive job specialisation To overcome this problem trend is to move towards enlarging content of jobs Done by providing variety through adding functions.

JOB ENRICHMENT The process of restructuring a job by changing its nature so that additional responsibilities of a vertical nature are included thereby making the job more challenging, meaningful, and interesting. Approach to job design most recommended by industrial psychologists Employee will find the work more fulfilling if: 1. the work is meaningful, 2. the employee has knowledge of the operating results, and 3. the employee is personally responsible for the results.

JOB ENRICHMENT Efforts should be based on following principles: Increasing job demands through increasing levels of difficulty and responsibility. Increasing an employee’s accountability by allowing more control and authority over the work. Providing work scheduling freedom by allowing employees to schedule their own work within general guidelines. Providing feedback, through making timely periodic reports directly to the employee. Providing new learning experiences by creating opportunities for new personal experiences and growth.

JOB ENRICHMENT Process of job enrichment can be effected through five core job dimensions: 1. Variety 2. Identity 3. Significance 4. Autonomy 5. Feedback