Slides by Jill Nicholson Job Design Slides by Jill Nicholson

Overview What is Job Design? Elements of Job Design Five Core Job Characteristics Approaches to Job Design Tools of Job Design Current Trends Summary

What is Job Design? The organization of activities to create the optimum level of performance.

Elements of Job Design Task Analysis Worker Analysis Environmental Analysis

Task Analysis Determines What tasks will be done How each task will be done How the tasks fit together to form a job

Worker Analysis Determines Capabilities the worker must possess Responsibilities the worker will have

Environmental Analysis Used to analyze physical environment including: Location Lighting Temperature Noise Ventilation

Five Core Job Characteristics Skill Variety Task Identity Task Significance Autonomy Job Feedback Skill Variety: Requirements for a variety of personal competencies to do the job. Task Identity: Doing a task from beginning to end with a visible outcome. Task Significance: Perceptions of the job having a significant impact on others’ lives Autonomy: Extent of empowerment and freedom of employees Job Feedback: Provision of direct and clear performance information as a result of doing the job which increases performance awareness

Approaches to Job Design Scientific Management Behavioral Approach Job Enlargement Job Enrichment Job Rotation Social Technical System Scientific Management involves breaking down jobs into elemental activities and simplifying job design. Encourages specialization and mass production. Tries to reduce decision making by workers. Job Enlargement expands the number of tasks being performed, often combining a series of tasks previously performed by two or more employees. Horizontal enlargement. Job Enrichment tries to improve task efficiency and satisfaction by adding more challenging and responsible work so the employee feels a greater sense of achievement. Also provide an opportunity for individual advancement and growth. Vertical enlargement. Job Rotation increases task variety by systematically moving an employee from one job to another. Sociotechnical Approach aims to design a job that is satisfying to both the technical system and the accompanying social system.

Scientific Management Advantages of specialization Simplifies training High Productivity Low wage costs Disadvantages of specialization Difficult to motivate quality Worker dissatisfaction

Job Enlargement Advantages Disadvantages Increase scope No challenge Example of increase scope sort & deliver No Challenge: 1 bad job or disliked job becomes 3 bad jobs.

Job Enrichment Advantages Lower Staff turnover Less absenteeism

Job Rotation Advantages Reduces Boredom Broadens experiences Gives broad understanding

Job Rotation continued Disadvantages Increased training costs Reduced productivity Demotivates specialists

Social Technical System Job should be reasonably demanding Employee should be able to continue learning on the job Employees need recognition in work place Employees need to relate what they produce to their social life

Tools of Job Design Process Flowchart Motion Study Work measurement Stopwatch time study Standard elemental times Work Sampling Learning Curve Process Flowchart: A chart using special symbols that documents the steps of a job including wait time and work time. Motion Study: Used to select the sequence of motions that is the most efficient sequence for the task. Work Measurement: Stopwatch time study: Use stopwatch to study a worker doing a job and then set a standard time using the results. Standard elemental times: Use accumulated data to determine standard time for a job with a built in allowance for unavoidable delays in work. Work Sampling: Estimates the amount of time an employee or machine spends on various activities Learning Curve: Is a graph that illustrates the rate of improvement of workers as they repeat a job

Process Flow Chart Exercise Divide into groups of 3 or 4 Make a flow chart for the following process

Process Flow Chart Exercise QuickCopy Store does copying jobs for walk-in customers. When a customer comes in with a copy job, a desk operator fills out a work order (name, number of copies, quality of paper, and so on) and places it in a box. An operator subsequently picks up the job, makes the copies, and returns the completed job to the cashier, where the job transaction is completed. (Russell and Taylor, Operations Management)

Answer

Current Trends in Job Design Flextime Compressed Workweek Job Sharing Telecommuting Flextime: Employees must work a set of core hours but can choose when to work flextime by coming in early or staying late Compressed Workweek: Standard 40-hour, five day workweek is compressed. Most popular form is four ten-hour days. Job Sharing: Two or more employees share and divide responsibilities Telecommuting: Employee works at home office or away form the office via personal computer, cell phone, and/or fax

Summary Job design can help your firm find the most efficient way to operate Job design can improve the quality of work life and satisfaction for your employees. This leads to a smoother running, more profitable business

Bibliography Russell, Roberta S. and Bernard W. Taylor. Operations Management. Prentice Hall, Inc., 2000. Chapter 6-Job Design. Internet http://www.pittstate.edu/mgmkt/chapter6spol.html. 3/7/2001 Job Design and Motivation. Internet http://www.shef.ac.uk/uni/companies/msmu/jobdesignmotivation.htm. 12/4/1998

Bibliography continued Job Design and Work Arrangements. Internet. http://mars.wnec.edu/~achelte/grad7outline.htm.