WORK DESIGN AND ORGANIZATION

1. Lecture 13 WORK DESIGN AND ORGANIZATION

2. The nature of a job • People hold jobs, careers are made up of jobs and jobs form the basis of many stories • on television, films and in books • A collection of tasks brought together as a practical chunk of activity for people to undertake • A social construction created and adapted by people, for people

3. Work study • Scientific management • One best way • Division of labour • Work study • Method Study • Work measurement • Compliance or commitment?

4. Ergonomics • The human-machine interface • Maximal efficiency with minimal effort and stress • Athropometric profiles of human beings • Physiology and biomechanics

5. Job analysis • The systematic identification of the content of a job • Used to support activities such as: • Resourcing • Training • Career development • Payment • Performance evaluation • Equality • Two main approaches to job analysis: • Functional job analysis • Position analysis questionnaire

7. Approaches to designing jobs Simplification and job engineering Job rotation Job enlargement Job enrichment • Herzberg’s Model • Accountability • Achievement • Feedback • Workpace • Control over resources • Personal growth and development • Hackman & Oldham’s model • Skill variety • Task identity • Task significance • Autonomy • Feedback

8. Technology and work organization • Technology influences the organization of work through a number of routes: • Equipment • Administrative • Social • New activity

9. Groups and work organization • Trist and Bamforth (1951) • Impact of mechanization of coal mining • Technology can support different types of work structure • Open systems model of organization • Autonomous work groups

10. Organizational influences on work organization • Bureaucracy • Taylorism • High productivity • Standardization • Discipline at work

11. Organizational influences on work organization • Classical management view • Contingency view

12. Fordism and post-Fordism • Fordism • Combination of mechanically paced assembly lines, scientific management -based • job design and piecework payment • Goffee and Scase (1995) - weaknesses associated with Fordism • Alienation • Product change • Managing and doing distinction • Inhibition of creativity • Potential not fully realised

13. Fordism and post-Fordism • Post-Fordism - weaknesses: • Market • Methods • Management • Other pressures in environment • encourage retention of Fordist • principles: • Risk • Training • Systems • Preference

14. Flexibility, empowerment and patterns of work • Flexibility - job, location and temporal • Empowerment • Patterns of work • Annual hours • Compressed week • Overtime restrictions • Temporary and part-time working • Job sharing and homeworking • Sabbaticals and career breaks

15. Changing the design of jobs

16. Alienation, satisfaction and productivity through work organization • Job design and productivity are both organizational imperatives and management drivers • Definition of alienation has changed over the years to infer frustration and separation • Alienation forces a consideration of the design of work • A number of job design approaches attempt to incorporate satisfaction into work • There are possible links between performance and satisfaction: • Satisfaction generates performance • Performance generates satisfaction • Satisfaction and performance link indirectly

17. Quality of working life and quality circles • QWL is composed of: • A goal • A process • A philosophy • QWL activity is concentrated into eight areas of working life experience: • Compensation • Health and safety • Job design • Job security • Social integration • Protection of individual rights • Respect for non-work activities • Social relevance of work • Quality circles are aimed at continuous improvement

18. Factors that influence job design include: • Operations • Philosophy • Technology • Market • History • Creativity • Political • Profitability • Work patterns • Preference • Risk