1. Job Design and Work Measurement

2. Southwest Airlines Human Resources Strategy:
Culture of caring for people in the totality of their lives, not just at work.
Spends more to recruit and train than any other airline
Empowered employees
Wages higher than industry average
Stock options for some employees

3. Southwest Airlines Employees treated like customers
Everybody understands what everybody else’s problems are
No gimmicks!
Profitable for 26 years while United, Northwest,and USAir lost billions.

4. Objective of Human Resource Strategy
To manage labor and design jobs so people are effectively and efficiently utilized
As the objective of human resources strategy is stated, what do the words “effectively” and “efficiently” mean? How does this relate to workers’ need for a reasonable quality of life? What does it say about the employment of people to perform jobs embodying significant risk?

5. People and Work System Goals
Use people efficiently within constraints
Provide reasonable quality of work life
© 1995 Corel Corp.
Students should be asked to consider:
- If one is a manager of a firm the goal of which is to make a profit, does he/she look upon these goals as being in some way incompatible?
- How does the increased use of information technology (pagers, computers, cellular phones, etc.) impact an individual’s quality of life?

6. Constraints on Human Resource Strategy
Product strategy
- Skills needed
- Talents needed
- Materials used
- Safety
Location strategy
- Climate
- Temperature
- Noise
- Light
- Air quality
Schedule
- Time of day
- Time of year
(seasonal)
- Stability of schedules
Individual differences
- Strength and fatigue
- Information processing
and response
Layout strategy
- Fixed position
- Process
- Assembly line
- Work cell
- Product
Process strategy
- Technology
- Machinery and
equipment used
Human Resource Strategy
What
Where
How
Who
Procedure
When
This slide lists some of the constraints within which operations managers must develop human resource policy. One should point out to the students that while these constraints “sound” industrial, they apply to service operations as well.

7. What is Job Design? Job Design involves:
specifying the content of jobs (what will be done?)
specifying the methods of doing the jobs (how will be done?)
designing the work environment (where will be done?)
Students may find it obvious that job design involve “what” is to be done, and “how” it is to be done, but why do we need to know the reason (why) the job is being done?
You might also ask students how they believe job descriptions will change in the future. (There are those who argue that job descriptions in the future will be more outcome-, and less task- or behavior-based; and that one will have a greater role in writing his/her job description.)

8. What is the Objective of Job Design?
The objective of job design is to develop jobs
that meet the requirements of the organization
and its technology and that satisfy the
jobholder’s personal and individual
requirements

9. Job Design Decisions Ultimate Job Structure How Why When Where What
Who
Mental and
physical
characteristics
of the
work force
Tasks to be
performed
Geographic
locale of the
organization;
location of
work areas
Time of day;
time of
occurrence in
the work flow
Organizational
rationale for
the job,
objectives and
motivation of
the worker
Method
Ultimate
Job
Structure

10. Trends in Job Design Quality control as part of the worker's job
Cross-training workers to perform multi-skilled jobs.
Employee involvement and team approaches to designing and organizing work
"Informating" ordinary workers

11. Trends in Job Design (Continued)
Extensive use of temporary workers
Automation of heavy manual work
Organizational commitment to providing meaningful and rewarding jobs for all employees

12. Specification of the Job Content

13. Old Story
Two stonecutters were asked what they were doing. The first said, ‘I’m cutting this stone into blocks.’ The second one replied, ‘I’m on a team that’s building a cathedral.’
Church of the Holy Family (Barcelona)
© 1995 Corel Corp.

14. Job Specialization Involves First noted by Adam Smith (1776)
Breaking jobs into small component parts
Assigning specialists to do each part
First noted by Adam Smith (1776)
Observed how workers in pin factory divided tasks into smaller components
Found in manufacturing & service industries
Job specialization certainly has some benefits. As students to suggest some of the drawbacks?
© 1995 Corel Corp.

15. Job Specialization Often Reduces Cost
Greater dexterity & faster learning
Less lost time changing jobs or tools
Use of more specialized tools
Pay only for needed skills
The benefits of job specialization may be obvious - students should be asked about the drawbacks. Under what conditions is job specialization the most useful?

16. Specialization in Business: Advantages
For
Management:
1. Simplifies training
2. High productivity
3. Low wage costs
Labor: 1 .
Low education and
skill requirements 2.
Minimum
responsibilities 3.
Little mental effort
needed

17. Disadvantages For Management: Labor: 1. 1. Monotonous work
Difficult to motivate
quality
2. Worker dissatisfaction,
possibly resulting in
absenteeism, high
turnover, disruptive
tactics, poor attention
to quality
Labor:
1. Monotonous work
2. Limited opportunities
for advancement
3. Little control over work
4. Little opportunity for
self-fulfillment

18. Job Expansion Process of adding more variety to jobs
Intended to reduce boredom associated with labor specialization
Methods
Job enlargement
Job enrichment
Job rotation
Employee empowerment
In discussing job expansion with your students, it is important to distinguish between boredom from performing the same task in the same way over and over again with the same results, and a general lack of challenge. Job enlargement and job rotation attack the boredom; job enrichment and employee empowerment attack the general lack of challenge.

19. Job Enlargement: Giving a worker a larger portion of the total task by horizontal loading
Job Enrichment: Increasing responsibility for planning, coordination and control by vertical loading

20. Job Enlargement/Job Enrichment
Present Job
Control
Planning
Enriched Job
Task #3
Task #2
Enlarged Job
Students should be asked which they would prefer - job enlargement or job enrichment - and why. They should also be asked to identify and discuss the negative aspects of the less preferred approach.

21. Job Enlargement/Job Enrichment
Present job
Manually insert and solder six resistors
Task #3
Lock printed circuit into fixture for next operation
Task #2
Adhere labels to printed circuit board
Control
Test circuits after assembly
Planning
Participate in a cross-function quality-improvement team
Enriched job
Enlarged job
Students should be asked which they would prefer - job enlargement or job enrichment - and why. They should also be asked to identify and discuss the negative aspects of the less preferred approach.

22. Limitations to Job Enlargement/Job Enrichment
Higher capital cost
Many individuals prefer simple jobs
Higher wages are required since the worker must utilize a higher level of skill
A smaller labor pool exists of persons able and willing to perform enriched or enlarged jobs
Increased accident rates may occur
Current technology in some industries does not lend itself to job enlargement and enrichment

23. Job Rotation Pediatrics Maternity Geriatrics
© 1995 Corel Corp.
Pediatrics
Maternity
© Corel Corp.
Students should be asked to discuss both the advantages and limitations of job rotation. How is job rotation related to job specialization? Is this another case which suggests that policies or practices which appear to benefit the workers are detrimental to high productivity?
Students should be asked to consider the impact of job enrichment/enlargement on necessary employee skills.

24. Employee Empowerment Employee Empowerment Decision-Making Control
Planning
As previously noted, employee empowerment is one of the basic tenets of process reengineering. It implies moving decision making power as close to the problem as possible. Students should be asked about the benefits of this practice.
Students should also be asked to consider under what conditions employee empowerment is not only helpful, but necessary.
Finally, what are the pitfalls?

25. Self-Directed Teams
Group of empowered individuals working together for a common goal. They are empowered to make certain changes in their work process
May be organized for short-term or long-term objectives
Reasons for effectiveness
Provide employee empowerment
Provide core job characteristics
Meet psychological needs (e.g., belonging)
Since self-directed teams are gaining in popularity, they do merit some discussion. You might ask students what conditions they believe to be required for the success of such teams.

26. Benefits of Teams Higher quality Higher productivity
Greater worker satisfaction

27. Job Design Continuum Self-directed Teams
Increasing reliance on employees’ contribution and increasing acceptance of responsibility by employee
Specialization
Enlargement
Enrichment
Empowerment
Self-directed Teams
Job Expansion
This slide can be used to summarize some of the important issues raised so far in the job design discussion.

28. Core Job Characteristics
Skill variety
Job identify
Job significance
Autonomy
Feedback

29. Sociotechnical Systems
Consistent with the job enrichment philosophy but focusing more on the interaction between technology and the work group is the sociotechnical systems approach
Attempts to develop jobs that adjust the needs of the production process technology to the needs of the worker and work group.

30. Sociotechnical Systems
Focuses on the interaction between technology and the work group by looking at….
Task Variety Skill Variety Feedback Task Identity Task Autonomy
Process Technology Needs
Worker/Group Needs

31. Specification of the Work Methods

32. Methods Analysis Focuses on how task is performed
Is done for both existing jobs and new jobs
Used to analyze
Movement of body, people, or material
Activities of people & machines

33. Methods Analysis
The need for methods analysis can come from a number of different sources:
Changes in tools and equipment
Changes in product design or new products
Changes in materials or procedures
Other factors (e.g. accidents, quality problems)

34. Methods Analysis Procedure
Identify the operation to be studied
If any, study and document current method
Analyze the job
Propose new methods
Install new methods
Follow-up to ensure improvements have been achieved

35. Tools of Methods Analysis
Process charts
Flow diagrams
Activity (worker-machine) charts
Operations charts (right-hand, left-hand charts)

36. Process Chart SUBJECT: Request tool purchase Dist (ft) Time (min)
 = operation;  = transport;  = inspect; D = delay;  = storage
SUBJECT: Request tool purchase
Dist (ft)
Time (min)
Symbol
Description
Write order
On desk 75
To buyer
Examine    D 

37. Details of Method FLOW PROCESS CHART ANALYST D. Kolb PAGE 1 of 2
Job Requisition of petty cash
Details of Method
ANALYST
D. Kolb
PAGE
1 of 2
Operation
Movement
Inspection
Delay
Storage
Requisition made by department head
Put in “pick-up” basket
To accounting department
Account and signature verified
Amount approved by treasurer
Amount counted by cashier
Amount recorded by bookkeeper
Petty cash sealed in envelope
Petty cash carried to department
Petty cash checked against requisition
Receipt signed
Petty cash stored in safety box

38. Flow Diagram
Buyer
You
75 ft.

39. Flow Diagram and Process Chart of Axle-Stand Production Line

40. Activity Chart for Two-Person Oil-Change Crew

41. Operations Chart (Left Hand/Right Hand)

42. Activity Chart Subject: Semi-Auto Machine Operator Machine Time 1 2 34 5 6
Load machine
Being loaded
Idle
Run
Unload
Being Unloaded
Present

43. Motion Study Motion study is the systematic
study of the human motions used
to perform an operation.

44. Developing Work Methods
By eliminating unnecessary motions
By combining activities
By the rearrangement of the work place
By the redesign of tools and equipment

45. The Visual Workplace
Uses low-cost visual devices to share information quickly and accurately.
Displays and graphs replace paper
Provides real-time information
System should focus on improvement, not merely monitoring
Can provide both production and financial data

46. The Visual Workplace

47. Designing the Work Environment

48. Working Conditions

49. Working Conditions (cont’d)
Noise & Vibration
Causes of Accidents
Safety
Work Breaks

50. Ergonomics is a term used to describe the study of the physical arrangement of the work space together with tools used to perform a task. Fit the work to the body rather than forcing the body to conform to the work.
Do Not Forget: Worker performance depends on Working Conditions

51. Ergonomics Study of work Also called ‘human factors’
Involves human-machine interface
Examples
Mouse
Keyboard

52. Setting Time Standards
Work Measurement:
Setting Time Standards

53. What is Work Measurement?
Work Measurement is a process of analyzing jobs for the purpose of setting time standards
Provides labor standards
Target amount of time required to perform a job under normal working conditions
Work measurement is covered in much greater detail in the Supplement 10.

54. Standard time
Standard time: The amount of time it should take a qualified worker to complete a specific task, working at a sustainable rate, using given methods, tools and equipment, raw materials, and workplace arrangement.

55. Uses of Labor Standards
Costing labor content of products
Planning staffing needs
Estimating cost & time for bids
Scheduling production
Measuring and evaluating performance
Providing benchmarks
Basing wage incentive plans

56. Sources of Labor Standards
Historical experience
(Stopwatch)Time studies
Predetermined time standards
Work sampling
You might discuss the conditions which suggest the use of one or another of these techniques.

57. Labor Standards - Historical Experience
Labor standards are based on how many labor-hours were needed in past
Least preferred method
Advantages
Easy and inexpensive to obtain standard
Disadvantages
Unknown accuracy due to unusual occurrences, unknown pace etc.

58. Time Study (steps of)
Define the task to be studied (after work methods analysis is conducted)
Divide the task into precise elements
Decide how many times to measure the task (the number of cycles or samples needed)
Time and record elemental times and ratings of performance

59. Time Study (steps of)- Contd.
Compute the average observed cycle time
Determine performance rating
Compute the normal time for each element
Add the normal times for each element to develop a total normal time for the task
Compute the standard time

60. Time Study Normal Time Formulas
Normal time(NT)=Observed performance time per unit x (Performance rating)*
*The Performance Rating is usually expressed in decimal form in these formulas. So a person working 10% faster than normal would have a Performance Rating of 1.10 or 110% of normal time. Working 10% slower, 0.90 or 90% of normal.
NT= Time worked _ x (Performance rating)* Number of units produced 17

61. Time Study Standard Time Formulas
Standard time = Normal time (Allowances x Normal times)
Standard time = NT(1 + Allowances)
Standard time = NT
1 - Allowances 17

62. Time Study Example Problem
You want to determine the standard time for a job. The employee selected for the time study has produced 20 units of product in an 8 hour day. Your observations made the employee nervous and you estimate that the employee worked about 10 percent faster than what is a normal pace for the job. Allowances for the job represent 25 percent of the normal time.
Question: What are the normal and standard times for this job? 17

63. Time Study Example Solution
Normal time = Time worked x (Performance rating) Number of units produced
= (480 minutes/20) x (1.10)
= 26.4 minutes
Standard time = NT
1 – Allowances
= (26.4)/(1-0.25)
= 35.2 minutes 17

64. Compensation Time-based system
Compensation based on time an employee has worked during a pay period
Output-based (incentive) system
Compensation based on the amount of output an employee produces during a pay period

65. Form of Incentive Plan Accurate Easy to apply Consistent
Easy to understand
Fair

66. Compensation Individual Incentive Plans Group Incentive Plans
Knowledge-Based Pay System
Management Compensation