8 Job Design

Dr Anurodh Godha

epgp books

 

 

1. Learning Outcome:

After completing this module, you will be able to:

  • Define Job Design.
  • Understand the basic principles for designing a Job.
  • Identify the major methods of Job Design.
  • Understand the importance of Job Simplification
  • Apply the uses of Job Rotation in your organization Know the various techniques of Job Enrichment
  • Understand the various factors affecting the job design
  • Distinguish between Job Enlargement and Job Enrichment.

2. Introduction

Job design follows job analysis i.e. it is the next step after job analysis. Job design means to decide the contents of a job. It fixes the duties and responsibilities, organize tasks for a job, it also outlines the methods and relationships between the job holder (manager) and his superiors, subordinates and colleagues that are essential for the success of a certain job.

 

Job design essentially involves integrating job responsibilities or content and certain qualifications that are required to perform the job and the reward (financial and non-financial benefits) for doing the job.. It outlines the job responsibilities very clearly and also helps in attracting the right candidates to the right job. Further it also makes the job look interesting and specialised.

 

Source: http://www.assignmentpoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Factors-affecting-Job-design.png

 

Job design is a very important function of human resource management. If the jobs are designed properly, then highly efficient human capital will join the organisation. They will be motivated to improve the productivity and profitability of the organisation. However, if the jobs are designed in a wrong manner, then it will result in absenteeism, high labour turnover, conflicts, and other labour problems. People may be motivated by designing a job properly and it may also contribute in quality of work life.

 

A job influences the moral, interest and efficiency of a human resource. Peter Drucker writes “Work is an extension of personality. It is achievement. It is one of the ways in which a person defines himself, measures his worthy and humanity. Work, we know, is both a burden and a need, a curse anda blessing”

 

3. Defining Job Design

 

Job design is of comparatively recent origin. The human resource managers have realized that the design of a job has considerable influence on the productivity and job satisfaction; poorly designed jobs often result in boredom to the employees, increased turnover, job dissatisfaction, low productivity and an increase in overall costs of the organization. All these negative consequences can be avoided with the help of proper job design.

 

 

Source: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gr2imsmVISc/UfnE08ZZn6I/AAAAAAAAAKo/PugemVXKjTA/s1600/5688960.png

 

 

According to Jon Werner and DeSimone, “Job design is the development and alteration of the components of a job (such as the tasks one performs, and the scope of one’s responsibilities) to improve productivity and the quality of the employees’ work life.”

 

Job design has been defined by Davis (1966) as: “The specification of the contents, methods, and relationships of jobs in order to satisfy technological and organizational requirements as well as the social and personal requirements of the job-holder.”

 

Milkovich and Boudreau defined job design as, “Job design integrates work content (tasks, functions, and relationships), the rewards (extrinsic and intrinsic) and the qualifications required (skills, knowledge, abilities) for each job in a way that meets the needs of employees and the organization.”

 

Michael Armstrong has defined job design as “the process of deciding on the content of a job in terms of its duties and responsibilities, on the methods to be used in carrying out the job, in terms of techniques, systems and procedures, and on the relationships that should exist between the job holder and his superiors, subordinates and colleagues.”

 

Job design is an attempt to create a match between job requirements and human attributes. It involves organizing the components of the job and the interaction patterns among the members of a work group. It helps in developing appropriate design of job to improve efficiency and satisfaction.

 

 

4. Principles of Job Design:

 

Principles are the bases of the approach used in job design. Robertson and Smith (1985) have suggested the following five principles of job design:

  • To influence skill variety, provide opportunities for people to do several tasks and combine tasks.
  • To influence task identity, combine tasks and form natural work units.
  • To influence task significance, form natural work units and inform people of the importance of their work.
  • To influence autonomy, give people responsibility for determining their own working systems.
  • To influence feedback; establish good relationship and open feedback channels.

5. Methods of Job Design

 

The various techniques of job design and redesign are discussed below:

 

Source: Created by Author

 

 

5.1 Job Simplification

 

In job simplification, the complete job is broken down into small subparts; this is done so that employee can do these jobs without much specialized training. Moreover, small operations of the job can also be performed simultaneously so that the complete operation can be done more quickly. For job simplification, generally time and motion studies are used.

 

 

Source: https://www.loyalty360.org/getattachment/6e4bfa8f-9758-4efd-bcab-8c7e9544ba0e/customers-want-simplification-in-brand-interactions

 

 

5.2 Job Rotation

 

Another technique designed to enhance employee motivation is job rotation, or periodically assigning employees to alternating jobs or tasks. For example, an employee may spend two weeks attaching bumpers to vehicles and the following two weeks making final checks of the chassis. During the next month, the same employee may be assigned to two different jobs. Therefore, the employee would be rotated among four jobs. The advantage of job rotation is that employees do not have the same routine job day after day. Job rotation only addresses the problem of assigning employees to jobs of limited scope; the depth of the job does not change. The job cycle of the actual daily work performed has not been lengthened or changed. Instead, employees are simply assigned to different jobs with different cycles.

 

 

Source: https://img.clipartfox.com/1446bc2c5b5774c01be62278d28eaeb8_cultural-differences-should-be-job-rotation-clipart_424-283.jpeg

 

Because job rotation does not change the basic nature of jobs, it is criticized as nothing more than having an employee perform several boring and monotonous jobs rather than one. Some employees dislike job rotation more than being assigned to one boring job because when they are assigned to one job they know exactly where to report and what work to expect each day. Workers quickly realize that job rotation does not increase their interest in their work.

 

Although it seldom addresses the lack of employee motivation, it give manages a means of coping with frequent absenteeism and high turnover. Thus when absenteeism or turnover occurs in the work force, managers can quickly fill the vacated position because each employee can perform several jobs.

 

Job rotation is often effectively used as a training technique for new, inexperienced employees. At higher organizational levels, rotation also helps to develop managerial generalists because it exposes them to several different operations.

 

Source: http://content.wisestep.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Job-Rotation-Advantages-Disadvantages.jpg

 

Advantage of Job Rotation Technique:

 

  • The employee experiences variety of work, workplace and peer group. Job rotation helps to broaden the knowledge and skills of an employee.
  • The main advantage of job rotation is that it relieves the employee from the boredom and monotony of doing the same job.
  • With the help of this method, people become more flexible. They are prepared to assume responsibility especially at other positions.
  • Job rotation broadens the work experience of employees and turns specialists into generalists. It is beneficial for the management also as the management gets employees who can  perform
  • a variety of tasks to meet the contingencies.
  • This method improves the self image and personal worth of the employee.

 

Disadvantage of Job Rotation Technique:

 

  • Job rotation also creates disruptions. Members of the work group have to adjust to the new employee.
  • Productivity is reduced by moving a worker into new position just when his efficiency at the prior job was creating organizational economies.
  • Training costs are increased.
  • The supervisor may also have to spend more time answering question and monitoring the work of the recently rotated employee.
  • It can demotivate intelligent and ambitious trainees who seek specific responsibilities in their chosen specialty.

5.3 Job Enlargement

 

Another means of increasing employee’s satisfaction with routine jobs is job enlargement, or increasing the number of tasks performed (i.e. increasing the scope of the job). Job enlargement, like job rotation, tries to eliminate short job cycles that create boredom. Unlike job rotation, job enlargement actually increases the job cycle. When a job is enlarged, either the tasks being performed are enlarged or several short tasks are given to one worker. Thus, the scope of the job is increased because there are many tasks to be performed by the same worker. Job enlargement programs change many methods of operation- in contrast to job rotation, in which the same work procedures are used by workers who rotate through work stations. Although job enlargement actually changes the pace of the work and the operation by reallocating tasks and responsibilities, it does not increase the depth of a job.

 

Source: https://img.clipartfest.com/68bc4c48210c1f5c02293b21398cad44_delivery-character-set-job-enlargement-clipart_400-283.jpeg

 

 

The focus of designing work for job enlargement is the exact opposite of that for job specialization. Instead of designing jobs to be divided up into the fewest of tasks per employee, a job is designed to have many tasks for the employee to perform. An enlarged job requires a longer training period because there are more tasks to be learned. Worker satisfaction should increase because is reduced as the job scope is expanded. However, job enlargement programs are successful with jobs what have increased scope; such workers are less prone to resort to absenteeism, grievances, slowdowns and other means of displaying job dissatisfaction.

Enlargement is done only on the horizontal level. Thus, the job remains the same, but becomes of a larger scale than before. In the words of Geroge Strauss and L.R. Sayles “Job enlargement implies that instead of assigning one man to each job, a group of men can be assigned to a group of jobs and then allowed to decide for themselves how to organize the work. Such changes permit more social contacts and control over the work process.”

 

 

Job enlargement has the following advantages:

  • Increase in diversity of jobs Job satisfaction
  • Provides wholeness and identity with the task and increases the knowledge necessary to perform it.
  • Provides variety of skills.
  • Reduces tension and boredom.
  • Trains and develops more versatile employees.

 

Despite these advantages this is not a completely satisfactory method of job design as it does not increase the depth of a job. Enlarged jobs require longer training period as there are more tasks to be learned.

 

5.4 Job Enrichment

 

The concept of job enrichment has been derived from Herzberg’s two-factor theory of motivation in which he has suggested that job content is one of the basic factors of motivation. If the job is designed in such a manner that it becomes more interesting and challenging to the job performer and provides him opportunities for achievement, recognition, responsibility, advancement and growth, the job itself becomes a source of motivation to the individual.

 

 

Source: http://kaizen-ux.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/job-enrichment.jpg

 

 

 

According to Richard W. Beatty and Graig Eric. Schneider, “Job enrichment is a motivational technique which emphasizes the need for challenging and interesting work. It suggests that jobs be redesigned so that intrinsic satisfaction is derived from doing the job. In its best applications it leads to a vertically enhanced job by adding function from other organizational levels, making it contain more variety and challenge and offer autonomy and pride to the employee.”

 

According to P. Robbins, “Job enrichment refers to the vertical expansion of the jobs. It increases the degree to which the worker controls the planning, execution and evaluation of his work.”

 

In the words of Robert Albanese, “Job enrichment sometimes called. “vertical job leading’ is a job redesign strategy that focuses on job depth.”

 

According to Mondy. Holmes, and Flippo, “Job enrichment refers to basic changes in the content and level of responsibility of a job so to provide for the satisfaction of the motivation needs of personnel. Rebert Ford, who was associated with designing of jobs to make them more enriched, has provided some bases (though not exhaustive) for job enrichment as shown in Table 8.1

Table 8.1 : Job Enrichment Bases

 

 

Techniques of Job Enrichment: In order to enrich the jobs. The management should adopt the following measures:

 

  • Freedom in decisions
  • Assign a natural work unit to an employee.
  • Encouraging participation
  • Allow the employee to set his own standards of performance.
  • Minimize the controls to provide freedom to the employees
  • Make an employee directly responsible for his performance.
  • Encourage participation of employees in deciding organizational goals and policies.
  • Expand job vertically
  • Introducing new, difficult and creative tasks to the employees.
  • Sense of achievement.

 

Advantages of Job Enrichment: The advantages of job enrichment are as follows:

  • It enriches the role.
  • Job enrichment is the most widely used of job design as it provides a meaningful learning to employees.
  • It makes the work interesting and employee get motivated.
  • It helps in reducing the rate of labour turnover and absenteeism.
  • It increases skills of the employees. .
  • It increases morale and performance.
  • Reduce Boredom and dissatisfaction.
  • Increase in output both qualitative and quantitative.

 

Source: http://content.wisestep.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Job-Enrichment-Advantages-Disadvantages.jpg

 

 

Disadvantages of Job Enrichment: Dunham and Newstrom state, “Even the strongest supporters of job enrichment readily admit that there are limitations in its application.” Newstrom and Keith Davis also write, “Employees are the final judges of what enriches their jobs. All that management can do is to gather information about what tends to enrich jobs, try these changes in the job system, and then determine whether employees feel that enrichment has occurred.” A few limitations of or problems with job enrichment are as follows:

  • Increase cost
  • Need more employee counseling, training, and guidance.
  • Not applicable to all jobs.
  • Negative impact on personnel. Imposed on people.
  • Objected by unions
  • Pay dissatisfaction

 

6. Job Enlargement vs. Job Enrichment

 

Job enlargement and job enrichment are both important forms of job design in order to enhance productivity and satisfaction of the employees. They differ from each other in the following respects:

 

A. Nature of Job: The major difference between job enrichment and enlargement lies in the nature of additions to the job. Enlargement involves a horizontal loading or expansion, or addition of tasks of the same nature. Enrichment involves vertical loading of tasks and responsibility of the job holder; it improves the quality of the job in terms of its intrinsic worth.

 

 

Source: https://usercontent1.hubstatic.com/12947598_f520.jpg

B. Purpose: The purpose of job enlargement is to reduce the monotony in performing repetitive jobs by lengthening the cycle of operation. On the other hand, the purpose of job enrichment is making the job lively, challenging and satisfying. It satisfies the higher level needs such as ego satisfaction, self expression, sense of achievement and advancement of Job holders.

C. Skill Requirement: Job enlargement may not necessarily require the use of additional skills which the job holder was using in performing the job before the enlargement. This is due to similarity of additional tasks. Enrichment calls for development and utilization of higher skills, initiative, and innovation on the part of the job holder in performing the job.

D. Direction and Control: Job enlargement requires direction and control from external sources, say supervisor. In fact, the job holder may require more direction and control because of enlargement of his responsibility. Enrichment does not require external direction and control as these come from the job holder himself. He requires only feedback from his supervisor.

 

 

7. Factors affecting Job Design

 

A well defined job will make the job interesting and satisfying for the employee and it results in increased performance and productivity. If a job fails to appear interesting and leads to employee dissatisfaction towards job then it means that job must be redesigned based upon the feedback from the employees.

 

Various factors that affect a job design may be classified under three heads:

1. Factors related to Organization
2. Factors related to Environment
3. Factors related to Behaviour
4. Other Factors

 

 

 

 

Source: Designed by Author

 

 

(1) Factors related to Organization

 

We can consider the following factors under this:

 

A. Nature of Work: A job contains various elements and job design is required to classify various tasks into a job. The various tasks may be planning, monitoring, executing, controlling etc and all these are to be taken into consideration while we designing a job.

B. Work Place Culture: Work culture of an organization determines the way tasks are carried out at the work places. Work practices are methods/ standards laid out for carrying out a certain task in a specific way. These practices often affect the job design especially when the practices are not aligned to the interests of the workers or unions.

C. Workflow: Product and service type often determines the sequence of work flow. A good job design ensures the balance between various product or service processes.

D. Ergonomics: Ergonomics aims at designing jobs in such a way that the physical abilities & individual traits of human resources are taken into consideration to ensure productivity and efficiency.

 

(2) Factors related to Environment

 

Both internal as well as external environmental factors affect the job design to a large extent. They include:

 

A. Employee skills, abilities and time of availability: It plays a crucial role in job design. The above economic and mentioned factors are taken into consideration for employees who are actually going to perform the job. Designing a job more than the abilities or skill set will lead to decreased productivity and employee satisfaction.

B. Cultural and social expectations: In place of process centered, the Jobs are nowadays becoming more employee centered. They are therefore designed keeping the employees in central place. In addition the literacy level among the employees and life style is also on the rise side. They now demand jobs that are of their liking and according to their competency so that they can perform the best.

 

(3) Factors related to Behaviour

Behavioural factors are those that pertain to the human need and that need to be satisfied for ensuring productivity at workplace. They include:

 

A. Autonomy: Employees need autonomy and they want to work in an open environment rather than one that contains fear or unnecessary pressure. Autonomy promotes creativity, independence and also leads to increased efficiency and productivity.

B. Diversity: A job should carry sufficient diversity and variety so that it remains as interesting with every passing day. Repetitive jobs often make work monotonous which leads to boredom. Job variety diversity should be given due importance while designing a job.

C. Feedback: Feedback should be an integral part of work; it must be taken in a positive manner. Each employee should receive proper feedback about his work performance.

D. Use of Skills and abilities: Jobs should be designed in a manner such that an employee is able to make full use of his abilities and perform the job effectively.

 

 

(4) Other Factors:

  • Proper scope of job
  • Full-time challenge of the job
  • Managerial skills
  • Organisation’s requirements
  • Individual likes and dislikes
  • Organisational structure
  • Technology

 

8. Summary

 

  • The Job design is an attempt to create a match between job requirements and job attribute.
  • Job rotation implies transfer to a job of same level and status.
  • Job simplification enables the employees to do the without much specialized training.
  • Job enlargement is the process of increasing the scope of job of a particular by adding more tasks to it. And job enrichment implies increasing the contents of a job or the deliberate upgrading of responsibility scope and challenge in work.
  • Job enlargement and job enrichment are both important forms of job design in order to enhance the productivity and satisfaction of the job holders.
  • Various factors that affect a job design may be classified under three heads: Factors related to Organization, Factors related to Environment and Factors related to Behaviour.
you can view video on Job Design

References

  • Devid A. DeCENZO, STEPHEN P. ROBBINS (2002), “Personnel/Human Resource Management”, Prentice Hall of India, New Delhi.
  • Prasad L.M., (2005), Human Resource Management,” Sultan Chand & Sons, New Delhi.
  • Dessler Gary (2010), “Human Resource Management”, Prentice Hall International Editions, New Jersey.
  • Carrell Michael R., Elbert Norbert F., Hatfield Robert D. (1999), “Human Resource Management,” Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
  • Burack, Elmer H. and Robert D. Smith (1982), “Personnel Management-A Human Resource Systems Approach” New York : John Wiley & Sons
  • Flippo, Edwarrd B. (1984), “Personnel Management”, New York : McGraw Hill
  • Mamoria C.B., Gankar S.V., (2006), “A Textbook of Human Resource Management”, Himalaya Publishing House, New Delhi.
  • Dwivedi R.S., (1997), “Personnel Management in Indian Enterprises”, Galgotia Publising Company, New Delhi.
  • Antony, William P. (1993), “Strategic Human Resource Management”, N.Y Dryden Press.
  • Beach, Dale S. (1980), “Personnel-Management of People at work”. New York : Mc Millan

Web Resources/ Links

  • http://kalyan-city.blogspot.in/2011/09/what-is-job-design-meaning-importance.html
  •  http://www.hr.admin.cam.ac.uk/pay-benefits/grading-and-job-evaluation/principlesjob-design
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Job_design
  • http://www.managementstudyguide.com/job-design.htm
  • http://www.openlearningworld.com/books/Job%20Design%20and%20Enrichment/Job%20Design%20and%20Enrichment/Approaches%20to%20Job%20Design.html
  • http://catalog.flatworldknowledge.com/bookhub/2199?e=bauer-ch06_s01
  • http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/hrm/job-design-top-4-techniques-of-job-designexplained/35248/
  • http://www.businessmanagementideas.com/job/job-design-methods-rotationsimplification-enlargement-and-enrichment-of-jobs/2517
  • http://www.allsubjects4you.com/Management-job-design.htm
  • http://study.com/academy/lesson/types-of-job-redesign-job-enrichment-enlargementrotation.html