Human Resources, Job Design, and Work
Measurement
Human Resource Strategy for Competitive Advantage
The objective of a human resource strategy is to manage labor and design jobs so people are
effectively and efficiently utilized
Constraints on Human Resource Strategy
Labor Planning
Labor planning is determining staffing policies that deal with (1) employment stability, (2) work
schedules, and (3) work rules.
Employment-Stability Policies
1. Employment stability deals with the number of employees maintained by an organization at
any given time. There are two very basic policies for dealing with stability:
Follow demand exactly: Following demand exactly keeps direct labor costs tied to production
but incurs other costs.
2. Hold employment constant: Holding employment levels constant maintains a trained
workforce and keeps hiring, layoff, and unemployment costs to a minimum.
Work Schedules
A popular variation is a work schedule called flextime. Flextime allows employees, within lim- its, to
determine their own schedules.
Job Classifications and Work Rules
Job Design
Job design specifies the tasks that constitute a job for an individual or a group. We examine five
components of job design: (1) job specialization, (2) job expansion, (3) psychological
components, (4) self-directed teams, and (5) motivation and incentive systems.
Labor specialization (or job specialization)
The division of labor into unique (“special”) tasks. The importance of job design as a
management variable is credited to the 18th-century economist Adam Smith. Smith suggested
that a division of labor, also known as labor specialization (or job specialization), would assist in
reducing labor costs of multi skilled artisans.
Job enlargement
The grouping of a variety of tasks about the same skill level; horizontal-enlargement.
Job rotation
A system in which an employee is moved from one specialized job to another.
Job enrichment
A method of giving an employee more responsibility that includes some of the planning and
control necessary for job accomplishment; vertical expansion.
Employee empowerment
Enlarging employee jobs so that the added responsibility and authority are moved to the lowest
level possible.
Self-directed team
A group of empowered individuals working together to reach a common goal.
Ergonomics and the Work Environment
The study of the human interface with the environment and machines.
Operator Input to Machines Operator response to machines, be they hand tools, pedals, levers,
or buttons, needs to be evaluated. Operations managers need to be sure that operators have
the strength, reflexes, perception, and mental capacity to provide necessary control.
Feedback to Operators
Feedback to operators is provided by sight, sound, and feel; it should not be left to chance.
The Work Environment
The physical environment in which employees work affects their performance, safety, and
quality of work life. Illumination, noise and vibration, temperature, humidity, and air quality are
work-environment factors under the control of the organization and the operations manager.
Methods analysis
A system that involves developing work procedures that are safe and produce quality products
efficiently.
Flow diagram
A drawing used to analyze movement of people or material.
Process chart
Graphic representations that depict a sequence of steps for a process.
Activity chart
A way of improving utilization of an operator and a machine or some combination of operators
(a crew) and machines.
Operations chart
A chart depicting right- and left- hand motions.
Visual workplace
Uses a variety of visual communication techniques to rapidly communicate information to
stake- holders.
Labor standards
The amount of time required to perform a job or part of a job.
Average observed time
The arithmetic mean of the times for each element measured, adjusted for unusual influence
for each element.
Normal time
The average observed time, adjusted for pace.
Standard time
An adjustment to the total normal time; the adjustment provides allowances for personal
needs, unavoidable work delays, and fatigue.
Predetermined time standards
A division of manual work into small basic elements that have established and widely accepted
times.
Therblings
Basic physical elements of motion.
Time measurement units (TMUs)
Units for very basic micro motions in which 1 TMU = .0006 min, or 100,000 TMUs = 1 hr.
Work sampling
An estimate, via sampling, of the percentage of the time that a worker spends on various tasks.
