Chapter 7: Design of work systems Operations Management

WORK DESIGNS Work Design is one of the oldest aspects of Operations Management. The importance of work system design is underscored by an organization’s dependence on Human efforts to accomplish its goals.

WORKING CONDITIONS 1. Temperature and Humidity: Organizations should ensure proper conditions for employees to work in. 2. Ventilation: Should be conducive for work. 3. Illumination: Ensuring proper lighting for employees to work in. 4. Noise and Vibrations: Noise should be kept to a minimum in order for employees to work effectively. 5. Work Time and Work Breaks: Reasonable and flexible work hours can provide a sense of freedom to employees and breaks are necessary to decrease boredom and fatigue; which can affect productivity and quality. 6. Occupational Health Care: Promoting the importance health for employees. 7. Safety: Essential component for organizations to provide.

CAUSES OF ACCIDENTS 1. Carelessness: Any unsafe acts are included under this heading and organizations can be held liable if they are responsible. 2. Hazards: Includes toxins, gases, vapors, misuse of equipment, lack of protective gear, and even wet floors.

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION (OSHA) 1. Was enacted in 1970 by the Federal Government, emphasizes the importance of Safety within organizations. 2. These laws are intended to ensure that workers in all organizations have healthy and safe working conditions. 3. They also provide specific safety regulations with inspectors to see that they are adhered to. 4. Inspections are carried out both at random and to investigate complaints of unsafe conditions. 5. OSHA officials are empowered to issue warnings, to impose fines, and even to invoke court-ordered shutdowns for unsafe conditions. 6. OSHA must be regarded as a major influence on operations management decisions in all areas related to worker safety.

COMPENSATION: wages paid to employees for services rendered under the agreement of employment. 1. It is important for organizations to develop suitable compensation plans for their employees if they plan to attract and keep the most qualified employees. 2. Time-based system: Compensation based on time an employee has worked during a pay period. 3. If wages are too low, that can hamper an organization. If wages are too high, this could affect pricing and profits. 4. Output-based (incentive ) systems: Compensation based on amount of output an employee produced during a pay period.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF INCENTIVES 1. Employees often prefer Time-Based systems. 2. Incentives reward workers for their output, which encourages employees to produce more. 3. Workers see the relationship between their efforts and their pay. 4. Incentives present the opportunity for employees to earn more money. 1. Incentive Systems involve a considerable amount of paperwork. 2. Computation of wages is more difficult than under Time-Based systems. 3. Output has to be measured and standards set. 4. Cost of living increases are difficult to incorporate.

COMPONENTS REQUIRED FOR MAXIMUM BENEFITS OF INCENTIVE PLANS: 1. Accuracy: Expectations should be stated. 2. Easily Applied: Employees should be able to achieve their tasks. 3. Consistency: Employees should receive equality. 4. Understandable: Incentives should be stated and written as well as the time frame for accomplishment. 5. Fair: All incentives should be equal to all concerned without any appearance of favoritism.

INCENTIVES/REWARD PLANS 1. Individual Incentive Plans: Uses a variety of plans based on what the employee deems as valuable to them. 2. Group Incentive Plans: Based on how well a Group or Team is able to effectively work together. 3. Knowledge-Based Pay Systems: An Incentive Plan used by organizations that rewards employees who undergo additional training that increases their skills. 4. Management Compensation: More executives are now being rewarded for how they maintain customer service relations and how well their dept. functions. 5. Recent Trends: Many organizations are moving toward compensation systems that emphasize flexibility, performance, and retention of good employees.

JOB DESIGN 1. Involves specifying the content and methods of jobs. Designers focus on what will be done in a job, who will do the job, how the job will be done, and where the job will be done. 2. The objective of Job Design include productivity, safety, and quality. 3. Job Design stresses Efficiency which emphasizes a systematic, logical approach. 4. Job Design also stresses a Behavioral Approach which emphasizes satisfaction.

SPECIALIZATION 1. Describes jobs that have a very narrow scope. (Ex. Assembly Lines, Medical Specialists, etc.). 2. The main rationale for Specialization is the ability to concentrate one’s efforts and thereby become proficient at that type of work.

BEHAVIORAL APPROACHES TO JOB DESIGN: 1. Job Enlargement: Means giving a worker a larger portion of the total task, by Horizontal Loading. (The additional work is on the same level of skill and responsibility as the original job). 2. Job Rotation: Means having workers periodically exchange jobs. This is used to avoid having employees stuck in monotonous jobs. 3. Job Enrichment: Involves an increase in the level of responsibility for planning and coordination tasks. 4. Benefits: Each of these approaches helps to increase employee morale and satisfaction, offers motivation, empowers, and builds trust.

BENEFITS OF MOTIVATION IN THE WORKPLACE: 1. Builds Trust and Respect among employees and employers. 2. Validates the abilities, skills, and contributions employees make to organizations. 3. Enhances Employee satisfaction of their role in the organization. 4. Increases productivity, efficiency, and loyalty. Improves Customer relationships and loyalty.

UNDERSTANDING TEAMS 1. Organizations have come to realize how important Teams can be within and for an organizations. 2. Increases Diversity amongst employees. 3. Allows for employees to experience and build long-term relationships. 4. Provides a stronger Competitive Advantage, increases productivity, provides more customer-oriented service. 5. Includes everyone in the success of meeting and sustaining organizational goals and objectives.

ROBERT BACAL’S REQUIREMENTS FOR SUCCESSFUL TEAM BUILDING 1. Clearly state vision and goals. 2. Talent and skills are required to meet goals. 3. Clear understanding of team members’ roles and functions. 4. Efficient and shared understanding of procedures and norms. 5. Effective and skilled interpersonal skills. 6. A system of reinforcement and celebration. 7. Clear understanding of the team’s relationship to the greater organization.

ERGONOMICS Defined as the incorporation of human factors in the design of the workplace. Is also known as (Human Factors) is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles, and data and methods to design in order to optimize human contributions and the overall performance of the organizational system.

METHOD ANALYSIS 1. This is often known as the analyzing and focusing on how a job is done. 2. Job Analysis most often begins with the overall operation, prior to proceeding to the next phase. 3. The job becomes more specific while focusing more on details that need to be done in order for the work to be done.

METHOD ANALYSIS AND THE NEDS FOR IT: 1. Changes in tools and equipment. 2. Changes in product design or introduction of new products. 3. Changes in materials or procedures. 4. Government regulations or contractual agreements. 5. Other factors include accidents or quality problems.

PROCEDURES IN METHODS ANALYSIS: 1. Identify the operation to be studied. 2. Discuss the job with the operator and supervisor to get their input. 3. Study and document the present method of an existing job using process jobs. 4. Analyze the job. 5. Propose new methods. 6. Install the new methods. 7. Follow up implementation to assure that improvements have been achieved.

SELECTING AN OPERATION TO STUDY: These are the suggested guidelines for selecting a job to study. 1. Have a high labor content. 2. Are done frequently. 3. Are unsafe, tiring, unpleasant, and or noisy. 4. Are designated as problems.

DOCUMENTATION OF METHODOLOGY: Methods for Documenting can include the use of charts, graphs, and verbal descriptions of how the job is going to be performed.

INSTALLATION OF IMPROVED METHODS Successful implementation of proposed method changes requires convincing management of the desirability of the new method and obtaining the cooperation of workers. If workers are consulted throughout the process, the changes are usually more easily accepted and if not the transition may be more difficult.

WORK MEASUREMENT AND STANDARD TIME: 1. WORK MEASUREMENT: this is concerned with determining the length of time it should take to complete the job. 2. STANDARD TIME: this is the amount of time it should take a qualified worker to continue a specific task, working at a sustainable rate, using given methods, tools and equipment, raw materials inputs, and workplace arrangement.

STANDARD ELEMENTAL TIMES AND PROCEDURES: STANDARD ELEMENTAL TIMES: is derived from a firm’s own historical time study time. With continued accumulation of data analysts can use these files to receive information. PROCEDURES FOR USING THIS TECHNIQUES: 1. Analyze the job to identify the standard elements. 2. Check the file for elements that have historical times and record them. 3. Modify the file times if necessary. 4. Sum the elemental times to obtain the normal time.

PREDETERMINED TIME STANDARDS AND THE ADVANTAGES PREDETERMINED TIME STANDARD: this is published data based on extensive research to determine standard elemental times. ADVANTAGES OF PREDETERMINED TIME STANDARDS: 1. They are based on large numbers of workers under controlled conditions. 2. Analysts are not required to rate performances. 3. There is no disruption of operation. 4. Standards can be established even before the job is done.

WORK SAMPLING Technique for estimating the proportion of time that a worker or machine spends on various activities and the idle time.

WORK SAMPLING COMPARED WITH STOPWATCH TIME STUDY: DISADVANTAGES ADVANTAGES 1. Observations are spread out over a period of time. 2. There is little time or no disruption of work. 3. Workers are less resentful. 4. Studies are less costly and less time-consuming. 5. Studies can be interrupted without affecting the results. 6. Many different studies can be conducted. 7. No timing device is required. 8. It is well suited for nonrepetitive tasks. 1. There is much less detail on the job. 2. Workers may alter their work pattern when they think someone is watching. 3. Often there is no record used by the worker. 4. Observers may fail to adhere to a random schedule. 5. It is not well suited for short, repetitive tasks. 6. Much time may be required to move from one workplace to another.

OPERATION STRATEGY 1. Important for Management to make design of work design systems a key element of its operation strategy. 2. Workers can be valuable source of insight and creativity because they actually perform the jobs and are closest to the problems that arise. 3. Despite the major advances in computers and operations technology, people are still the heart of the business; they can make it or break it, regardless of the technology used. Technology is important, or course, but technology alone is not enough.

REFERENCE Stevenson, W. J. (2009). Operations Management. McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. New York, NY. 10020