Chapter

1. Chapter 11 Job Design, Employee Participation and Alternative Work Arrangements

2. Introduction One of the most important concerns of managers in the past several years has been employee productivity and satisfaction. Managers, of course, have realised that an important factor influencing these areas is the type of work handled by the employee. In order to optimize performance and extract the best out of people, managers will have to design jobs taking employee expectations and changing organisational needs into account. Properly designed jobs will certainly have a positive impact on both employee satisfaction and quality of performance. Methods, often used to translate motivation into performance include: job design, employee participation, alternative work arrangements, goal setting, performance management and rewards.

3. Job Design Job design refers to the way that tasks are combined to form complete jobs.It is the planning and specification of job tasks and the work arrangements through which they are to be accomplished (Schermerhorn et.al.). The early emphasis in management was to design jobs around high specialisation and standardisation. During the last thirty years, managers have realised the importance of designing jobs in a novel, interesting way—enhancing employee satisfaction and productivity. Approaches to Job Design There are three important approaches to job design, viz., 1. Engineering approach 2. Human approach and 3. The Job characteristics approach. Cont….

4. Critical Psychological States Core JobDimension Core JobDimension Skill VarietyTask IdentityTask Significance Meaningfulness of work High internal work motivation High quality work performance Responsibility for outcomes of the work Autonomy High satisfaction with work Feedback Knowledge of the actual results of the work activities High work effectiveness Low absenteeism and turnover Employee growth need strength Job Characteristics Model

5. Techniques for Designing Jobs Job Simplification Job simplification is a design method whereby jobs are divided into smaller components and subsequently assigned to workers as whole jobs. Simplification of work requires that jobs be broken down into their smallest units and then analysed. Each resulting sub-unit typically consists of relatively few operations. Job Enlargement Job enlargement expands the job horizontally. It increases job scope; that is, it increases the number of different operations required in a job and the frequency with which the job cycle is repeated. Job Rotation Job rotation refers to the movement of an employee from one job to another. Jobs themselves are not actually changed, only the employees are rotated among various jobs. An employee who works on a routine job moves to work on another job for some hours/days/months and returns back to the first job. Cont….

6. Job Enrichment • Job enrichment has four unique aspects (Hellriegel, et al). • It changes the basic relationship between employees and their work. Interesting and challenging work, as studies have proved, can be a source of employee satisfaction. • It changes employee behaviours in way that gradually lead to more positive attitudes about the organization and a better self-image. Feelings of autonomy and personal freedom help employees view their jobs in a favourable way. • It helps the employer to bring about organisational changes easily, securing employee cooperation and commitment. • Job enrichment can humanize an organization. ‘Individuals can experience the psychological lift that comes from developing new competencies and doing a job well. Individuals are encouraged to grow and push themselves’. Cont….

7. Evaluation • Job enrichment has not always been on the credit side of the ledger. The success stories are somewhat incomplete and are based on poorly designed research surveys. Critics generally attacked the concept on the following grounds: • Job enrichment is not a social cure for workers’ discontent. Moreover, it may not be possible to give priority to social efficiency over considerations of purely economic efficiency in long-term. “The manager who pretends that the personal needs of the worker come before the objective need of the tasks is indeed a liar or a poor manager”. (Drucker) • Some jobs cannot be enriched beyond a certain point. “The prospects for humanising work are constrained by the realities of the work to be done– realities which are beyond the power of planners to control.” (Livitan, et at). • Many workers do not feel alienated from their jobs and do not desire more responsibility or involvement at their workplace.

8. Motivation through Participative Schemes • The logic behind employee participation and empowerment is quite simple-by involving workers in those divisions that affect them and by increasing their autonomy and control over their work lives, employees will become more motivated, more committed to the organisation and more productive and more satisfied with their jobs. The word ‘participation’ means sharing the decision-making power with the lower ranks of the organisation in an appropriate manner. • Forms of Participation • The term ‘workers’ participation’ in management, is generally interpreted in four different ways in India. (Mhetras; Virmani; Sheth) • It is a way of sharing informationwith workers. • It is a joint consultationprior to decision-making. • Mere sharing of information and influencing decisions through discussions in a limited way will not enhance the status of workers. • In the final analysis, workers’ participation may involve workers in all strategic, policy and operational issues, treating them as active members or even partners with equal voting rights.

9. Motivation through Empowerment Empowering Employees JW Mariott believes in giving people a chance. Says Webb: “Boundaries are not black and white; they are grey. When we move people around the business we invest in their future. It gives them a sense of belonging and confidence in their own abilities”, after they start working as early as six months to a year, employees can request to be moved to another department. The new assignments also imply that employees pick up new skills. Significantly in a sector that requires on the spot decisions, JW Mariott expects its people to make the right ones. Empowerment of the associates as the staff is high on their priority list. If there is a problem (say a customer dissatisfied with a meal), the hotel expects the employee attending to the call to judge the situation on the spot and take a decision instead of referring the matter upwards. At Gap International Sourcing (India) (popular brands like Old Navy, GAP, Banana Republic) empowerment is a way of life. Says General Manager, Sadana, “we try and set up a platform where we trust people unless they prove themselves unworthy. We get in people and say I am going to trust you”. We allow managers to decide even important sourcing strategies. We try to match people with strong presentation skills with those who lack such skills. We give them lots of freedom and flexibility at work. (Business World, 23 April 2007) At Sapient India, employees are given a lot of responsibility as well as freedom. This, in turn, helps employees to grow. The company spokesperson proudly puts it: “we look at people’s interests, what they are passionate about and then work out how we can utilise it to unlock their potential”. Business Today, 6 November 2006 Cont….

10. Conditions Necessary for Empowerment • There are four basic conditions necessary for empowerment to gain credibility and acceptance at various levels in an organisation. These are discussed below (JH Dobbs, 1993). • Participation: Workers must be encouraged to take the initiative. To this end, the bureaucratic hurdles that come in the way must be removed. • Innovation: Management must encourage employees to try out new ideas and make decisions that help in finding new and improved ways of doing things. • Information: Employees must have free access to information and resources that they need to nurture their talents. If they need additional training in putting the classified information to use, it should be offered readily. • Accountability: Empowered employees should be held accountable for results. This step is not intended to identify their black spots and single them out for punishment.

11. Alternative Approaches to Participation • Quality Circles • A quality circle is a small group of employees who meet periodically to identify, analyse and solve quality and other work related problems in their area. The main features of a quality circle are as follows: (Day; Udapa; Bernardin) • Voluntary group • Manageable size • Regular meetings • Own agenda • Exclusive focus on quality Cont….

12. Objectives • The important objectives of quality circles are: • To improve quality of service/product. • To meet the psychological needs of workers (self-expression, participation, recognition, etc.). • To utilise human talents, skills and knowledge relating to a work area. • To improve the quality of working life. • To promote better understanding and thereby create cordial industrial relations. Cont….

13. Steering Committee Facilitator Facilitator QC Leader QC Leader QC Leader QC Leader QC Leader QC Leader QC Members QC Members QC Members QC Members QC Members QC Members Structure The organisational structure of a quality circle generally consists of four levels, viz., members, leader, facilitator and steering committee. Structure of a Quality Circle Cont….

14. Quality Circles in India Quality circles originated in Japan after World War II. In order to rebuild the economy, Japanese managers gave lots of freedom to workers through quality circles. Today the idea has spread to many other countries including India. Some of the companies where the QC movement has found its way include BHEL, TELCO, Bajaj Auto, Kirlosker Oil Engines, Hindustan Aluminium, SBI, HMT, LUCAS-TVS, etc. The success stories about how their circles operate, how the companies have gained through quality circles, etc., are being published by the Quality Circle Forum of India through its journal, Quality Circle India. During the last few years, more and more companies in India have been publishing QC cases in their house magazines and newsletters as well. Inadequate Preparation and Training The concept has not been fully understood and appreciated by managers, supervisors and workers. It has been introduced without adequate preparation and training. Exposure of employees to a few QC workshops, casual approach to training, lack of team spirit, low morale of employees, autocratic leadership styles, lack of trust in the abilities of employees have all come in the way of implementing the QC movement successfully. Cont….

15. Interference • Top management should take unions into confidence before introducing Quality Circles. Any attempt to undermine its importance means inviting trouble from several quarters. This is precisely what has happened in most companies. When unions were ignored, they have often tried to interfere, actively dissuading members from giving of their best to the movement. • Structural Problems • Managers have often tried to convert QCs into task forces, picking up individuals of their choice and asking them to look into quality related problems. • Again, most managers used QCs with the sole purpose of meeting certain short-term, quantifiable goals. QCs yield benefits in the long run in the form of personal and professional growth of employees contributing to a visible change of culture within the organisation. • QC members were not able to make convincing presentations supported by concrete, viable solutions before the audience consisting of middle level and top level managers.

16. Quality of Working Life (QWL) • QWL seeks to change the climate at work so that the human-technological-organisational interface leads to a better quality of work life. QWL is a prescriptive concept; it attempts to design work environments so as to maximise concern for human welfare. It is a goal, as well as a process. The goal is the creation of more involving, satisfying and effective jobs and work environment for people at all levels of the organisation. As a process, QWL involves efforts to realise this goal through active participation. QWL, as it is understood today, includes four essential elements: • The programme seeks to promote human dignity and growth. • Employees work collaboratively. • They determine work changes participatively. • The programmes assume compatibility of people and organisational goals. Cont….

17. Major Issues in QWL • The major factors that affect the quality of work life may be stated thus: • Pay • Benefits • Job security • Alternative work schedules • Occupational stress • Worker participation • Social integration • Work and total life space • Obstacles to QWL Programme • It is not easy to implement QWL programmes. Many hurdles do crop up from time to time. These are: • Managerial attitudes • Union’s attitudes • Cost considerations Cont….

18. Improving the QWL • Employment conditions (safety, health, physical environment) • Equitable rewards (pay, incentives, benefits, services) • Job security • Enhancing the Self-esteem of people • Participative climate and team spirit • Training to employees, managers, and supervisors so that they share the vision, values and culture of the organisation • Autonomy to draw resources and deliver results • Recognition for work done, followed by rewards so as to encourage commitment and belongingness • Congenial worker-supervisor relations; offering proper feedback on results achieved • Job redesign and job enrichment • Open and transparent management style • An atmosphere of trust and open communication

19. Work Scheduling and Motivation • Another aspect of job design which has received great attention in the recent past is the scheduling of work hours. The increase in the workforce of dual-career couples with children and the increased realisation by employees that production needs may be better served by varied schedules, have been largely responsible for the shift in work week scheduling. • A manager should recognise at least five alternatives to the traditional 8-hour per day/ 5 days per week work schedule, the compressed work week, flexible working hours, job sharing and part-time work. Each of these approaches shares a common concern for making the work day and its time requirements more compatible with individual needs and non-work activities. • Compressed work-week • Flexible working hours (Flexitime) • Job sharing • Telecommuting • Part-time work