Lesson 10

Design of Work Systems

involves job design, work

measurement, establishment of time
standards and worker compensation

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 Job Design
Job Design involves specifying the content and methods of jobs.
The goal is to create a work system that is productive and
efficient.

To be successful, job design must:

. be carried out by personnel with proper training and
background
. consistent with the goals of the organization
. in written form
. understood and agreed to by both
management and employees

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 Decisions In Job Design
Job Structure
Who When
Mental and physical characteristics Time of day; time of occurrence in
of the work force the work flow

What Why
Tasks to be performed Organizational rationale for the job;
objectives and motivation of the
Where worker
Geographic locale of the organization;
location of work areas How
Method of performance and motivation

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 Job Design
A properly designed job

. Improves efficiency through analysis of the job’s work elements

. Improves productivity through consideration of technical and
human factors
. Increases the quality of the final product or service
. Increases worker satisfaction
. Improves the bottom line

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 Evolution of Job Design
1900s to 1960s - Scientific 1970s to 1990s - Employee
Management/Assembly Lines Participation & Involvement
Task specialization Horizontal job enlargement
Minimal worker skills Vertical job enlargement
Repetition Extensive job training
Minimal job training Job control
Mass production Training & education
Piece-rate wages Job rotation
Time as efficiency Higher skill levels
Minimal job responsibility Team problem solving
Tight supervisory control Focus on quality

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 Recent Trends In Job Design
Some of the recent trends in job design include:
. Quality control as part of the worker's job
. Increased skill & ability levels - cross-training workers to
perform multi-skilled jobs - education & training viewed as long-
term investments .
Employee involvement (responsibility & empowerment) and team
approaches to designing and organizing work (job and task flexibility
. Involving
ordinary workers through telecommunication networks and
computers . Extensive use of
temporary workers . Technology &
automation of heavy manual work . Organizational
commitment to providing meaningful and rewarding jobs (content &
remuneration) for all employees
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 Job Design
Two major approaches to job design: Efficiency, Behavioral
Efficiency - emphasizes systematic, logical approach
Behavioral - emphasizes the satisfaction of wants and needs

Considerations in Job Design

Specialization
Behavioral Approaches to Job Design
Teams
Methods Analysis
Motion Study
Working conditions
Incentive pay plans
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 Specialization
Specialization - jobs that have a very narrow scope (welder, plumber,
medical technician, real estate lawyer, assembly line worker)

Advantages
For Management For Labor
simplifies training low education requirements
high productivity minimum responsibilities
low wage costs little mental effort required

Disadvantages
For Management For Labor
difficult to motivate quality monotonous work
worker dissatisfaction limited advancement
little control over work little self-fulfillment
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 Behavioral Approaches
Behavioral Approaches to Job Design deal with improving the worker’s
attitude toward their jobs. Over the last few years advancement has
been made to empower employees by giving the worker more
responsibility for their work.

Theory X - workers do not like to work and have to be controlled

rewarded, punished) to get them to do a good job.

Theory Y - workers who enjoy their work will become committed to

doing a good job.

Theory Z - (William Ouchi) workers who are empowered to control their

work (solve problems, participate in decisions) will develop
an ownership attitude.
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 Behavioral Approaches
Job Enlargement - giving a worker a larger portion of the total task by
increasing the variety of skills

Job Rotation - workers periodically exchange jobs

Job Enrichment - increasing responsibility for planning and coordination

tasks along with other responsibilities

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 Teams
Teams - responsibility for the problems are shared among team
members - sometimes difficult to implement because of
. management issues (feeling threatened of losing control)
. people issues (getting along with each other)

Self-directed teams - empowered to make changes in their work

environment (e.g. workers doing the work are more knowledgeable)

Advantages
. higher quality
. higher level of motivation
. higher level of job satisfaction leading to lower
absenteeism, less turnover and lower costs
for training new workers
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 Successful Teams
The more successful teams have
. Common commitment to overarching purpose
. Shared leadership
. Individual and collective performance judgement
. Open-ended discussion
. Team works together
. Meaningful, well-defined direction
. Positive environment
. Clear rules for behavior
. Early successes
. Fresh ideas from outside the team
. Spend lots of time together
. Positive reinforcement

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 Components Of Job Design
Effective Job Design depends on balancing 3 critical components .
Worker . Tasks
. Environment

Worker Task
Analysis Analysis

Environmental Analysis

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 Worker Analysis
The worker analysis requires a detailed understanding the skills
necessary to perform a set of tasks (to ensure that the right workers are
assigned to the right jobs). It involves an assessment of
. Capabilities (skill level, physical abilities, motivation)
. Mental stress
. Boredom
. Number of workers required
. Level of responsibility
. Monitoring level
. Quality responsibility
. Empowerment level
. Evaluation methodology
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 Task Analysis
The task analysis consists of a detailed description of
. Tasks – where are they performed (fixed station, interaction
with equipment, interaction with other people)
. Task steps - sequence
. Function of tasks
. Frequency of tasks
. Criticality of tasks
. Task duration(s)
. Relationship with other jobs/tasks
. Error possibilities
. Requirements for performance, information, control, equipment

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 Environmental Analysis
The environmental analysis addresses physical attributes of the workplace
because they can have a dramatic affect on worker productivity
. Work place location
. Process location
. Temperature and humidity
. Lighting
. Ventilation
. Safety
. Logistics
. Space requirements
. Noise
. Vibration
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 KISS Principle Of Job Design
Human Element
. Work - simplified, rhythmic & symmetric
. Hand/arm motions - coordinated & simultaneous
. Employ full extent of physical capabilities
. Conserve energy - use machines, minimize distances
. Tasks - simple, minimal eye contact & muscular effort, no
unnecessary motions, delays or idleness
Workspace Element
. Tools, material, equipment - designated, easily accessible
. Seating & work area - comfortable & healthy
Equipment Element
. Equipment & mechanized tools enhance worker abilities
. Use foot-operated equipment to relieve hand/arm stress
. Construct & arrange equipment to fit worker use
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 Methods Analysis
Methods Analysis - focuses on how a job (existing or new) is done
beginning with general details about a job then focusing on the specific
tasks in the job

The need for methods analysis comes from:

. Changes in tools and/or equipment
. New products or changes in existing products
. Changes in materials or procedures
. Government regulations
. Contractual agreements
. Accidents
. Quality problems

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 Methods Analysis
The methods analysis procedure involves
. Gathering all pertinent information (tools, equipment,
materials, etc.) for the operation to be studied
. Discuss the job with the people who do it
. Discuss the job with the people who supervise it
. Study and use process charts to document the present
method the job is done
. Analyze the job
. Propose new methods
. Install new methods
. Follow up installation to assure improvements have been
achieved
A process flow chart is very useful to document the tasks and flow of
work in a job.
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 Process Flow Analysis

n
ent
n
FLOW PROCESS CHART

tio
ANALYST PAGE

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age
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Job Requisition of petty cash

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D. Kolb 1 of 2

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Stor
Del
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Mo
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Details of Method
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

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 Motion Study
Motion Study - is the systematic study of the human motions used to
perform an operation - the purpose is to eliminate unnecessary motions
used to perform an operation. It is very effective in improving worker
productivity and lowering costs

Motion Study Techniques

Motion study principles - guidelines for designing motion-efficient work
procedures
Analysis of therblings - basic elemental motions in a job
Micro-motion study - use of motion pictures and slow
motion to study motions that otherwise would be too
rapid to analyze
Charts
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 Work Measurement
Work Measurement - involves determining how long it should take to do
a job. Time Standards - represent the amount of time it should take a
qualified worker to complete a specified task, working at a sustainable
rate, using given methods, tools, equipment, raw materials, and
workplace environment (layout, conditions)

Job Times are important for:

. Manpower planning
. Estimating labor costs
. Planning and scheduling
. Budgeting
. Providing benchmarks for improvement
. Motivating the work force
. Designing pay incentive plans
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 Work Measurement
The most common ways to develop time standards for tasks:

. Stopwatch time study - development of a time standard by

observing the time it takes to perform a job over several
observation periods
. Historical times
. Predetermined data (many industry associations or
consultants have time standard information)
. Work Sampling

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 Job Standards – Don’t Reinvent The Wheel
Standard Elemental Times are time standards derived from the firm’s
historical time data. When setting a new job standard there is no reason
to “reinvent the wheel”. Check the files to determine job elements that
have been “measured” and apply these rates appropriately.

Predetermined Time Standards are available in many

instances through industry publications, associations,
industrial engineering associations. A commonly
used system is methods-time management (MTM)tables
created by the Methods Engineering Council.

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 Time Study
The steps in a time study are:
. Identify the task
. Inform the worker that he/she is being studied
. Time the job over several observation periods (cycles)
. Rate the worker’s performance
. Compute the time standard

The number of cycles that must be timed are a function of :

. Variability of the observed times
. Desired accuracy
. Desired level of confidence for the
Confidence
estimated job time level

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 Time Study
The number of cycles that should be timed (to within a desired %
accuracy) can be calculated by:
2
 Zs 
n=   where
 aX 
Typical Z Values
Z = number of normal standard Desired
deviations for desired confidence Confidence
s = sample standard deviaiton Level % Value
90 1.65
a = desired accuracy percentage 95 1.96
X = sample mean 95.5 2.00
98 2.33
99 2.58

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 Time Study - Example
Example 1a: A time study analyst wants to estimate the time required to
perform a certain job. A preliminary study yielded a mean of 6.4 minutes
with a standard deviation of 2.1 minutes. For a desired confidence of
95% how many cycles must be observed if the desired accuracy is
within 10% of the mean.

2 2
 Zs   1.96(2.1) 
n=   =  
 aX   .10(6.4) 
= 41.36 rounded up to 42

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 Time Study
An alternate calculation for the number of cycles, when the desired
accuracy is stated as a an actual amount (e.g. within 1 minute of the true
mean) is: 2
 Zs 
n =   where
 e 
e = accuracy or maximum acceptable error

Example 1b: For a desired confidence of 95% how many cycles must
be observed if the desired accuracy is within one-half minute?
2 2
 Zs   1.96(2.1) 
n=   =  
 e   .5 
= 67.77 rounded up to 68
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 Job Standard Time
Development of a job standard time involves computation of 3 times:
. Observed time - the average of the observed times
. Normal time - the observed time adjusted for worker
performance
. Standard time - the length of time a worker should take to
perform a job if there are no delays or interruptions
The observed time (OT) is calculated by:
 xi
OT = where
n
OT = observed time
xi = ith recorded time
n = total number of recorded times
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 Job Standard Time
If a job performance rating has been determined for an entire job, the normal
time (NT) is calculated by:
NT = OT  PR
job
NT = normal time
PR = performance rating for the entire job
job
If a job performance rating has not been determined for an entire job,
the normal time (NT) is calculated by:
NT =  x i  PR i  where
x i = average time for job element i
PR i = performance rating for job element i

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 Job Standard Time
The reason for the job adjustment factor is that the worker being
observed may be working at a rate different from the normal rate
(working at a deliberately slow rate, natural abilities differ from the norm,
working at a rate to impress the observer). Thus the observed time is
adjusted by this factor to yield a more accurate work pace.
performance rating = 1.0 indicates the worker is working at a
normal rate

performance rating = .90 indicates the worker is working at 90%

of a normal rate

performance rating = 1.10 indicates that the worker is working

10% faster than a normal rate

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 Job Standard Time
The standard time (ST) is the length of time a worker should take to
perform a job if there are no delays or interruptions. An allowance factor
(AF) is used to adjust the normal time to allow for delays, interruptions or
breaks.

The standard time (ST) is calculated by one of the following methods:

. Allowance factor for job time
. Allowance factor for time worked

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 Job Standard Time
If the allowance factor has been determined for the job time the standard
time (ST) is calculated by:

ST = NT  AF
job
AF = allowance factor for delays, interruptions, breaks
job

The allowance factor based on job time is calculated by:

AF =1+ A
job job
A = allowance percentage based on job time
job

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 Job Standard Time
If the allowance factor has been determined for the time worked (day)
the standard time (ST) is calculated by:

ST = NT  AF
day
AF = allowance factor for delays, interruptions, breaks
day

The allowance factor based on time worked (day) is calculated by:

1
AF =
day 1 - A
day
A = allowance percentage based on workday
day

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 Job Standard Time - Example
Example 3: A time study of an assembly operation yielded the following
observed times for one element of the job for which the analyst gave a
performance rating of 1.13. Using an allowance of 20% of job time,
determine the appropriate standard time for this operation.
Time
ith observation (minutes)
1 1.12
2 1.15 PR = 1.13 (job performance rating)
3 1.16 job
4 1.12
A = .20 (allowance for job time)
5 1.15 job
6 1.18
7 1.14 n = 9 (total number of recorded times)
8 1.14
9 1.19
Total 10.35

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 Job Standard Time - Example
To calculate the standard time for this operation we must calculate the
three times OT, NT and then ST

OT =
x =
i 10.35
= 1.15 minutes
n 9
NT = OT  PR job = 1.15 * 1.13 = 1.30 minutes
ST = NT * AFjob = NT * (1 + A job ) = 1.30 * 1.20 = 1.56 minutes

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 Work Sampling
Work Sampling is a technique for estimating the proportion of time that a
worker or machine spends on various activities. It involves observation
of a worker or machine where the resulting data are counts of the
number of time each activity or non-activity is performed. (e.g. secretary
typing, talking, filing, etc)

The primary use of work sampling studies is for:

. Ratio-delay information - the percentage of a workers time
involved in unavoidable delays or interruptions
. Analysis of non-repetitive jobs (e.g. maintenance
work, administrative work, etc.)
Confidence
level

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 Work Sampling
Work sampling develops a sampling proportion p  estimates the
which
p a worker spends on a job within some
true proportion of time
allowable error e.
(Observed Count)
p = n = sample size
n
For large samples (20 or so) the maximum error can be calculated by
the following formula:
p(
 1-p)

e = z where
n
z = standard deviations to achieve the desired confidence
n = sample size
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 Work Sampling
In the instance where the confidence level and maximum allowable error
are specified the following formula (which is a mathematical
simplification of the previous one) can be used to determine the sample
size necessary to obtain the desired results:

z 2
 
n =   p(  1  p)

 e
Confidence
level
The concept in work
sampling is the same as p
that learned in DSCI 232
Maximum Maximum
probable probable
error error

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 Work Sampling - Example
Example 4: The manager of a small supermarket chain wants to
estimate the proportion of time that stock clerks spend making price
changes on previously marked merchandise. The manager wants a
98% confidence level such that the resulting error will be within 5% of
the true value. What sample size should be used?
Typical Z Values
Desired
Confidence e = .05 z = 2.33
Level % Value
90 1.65 2
 z
95 1.96 n =   p(  1  p)

 e
95.5 2.00
98 2.33 We do not have an estimate of proportion,
99 2.58 so what do we do?
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 Work Sampling - Example
We must first start with a proportion estimate, let’s say
p = .50

Now we can use the formula to calculate the number of observations we

must make.

2 2
 z  2.33
n =   p(  1  p)
 =   *.5(1.5) = 542.89 or 543
 e  .05 

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 Work Sampling - Example
Suppose that after 20 observations we notice that the stock clerks only
changed prices 2 times. At that time we revise our proportion estimate
and recalculate n.
2
p = = .10
20

z 2 2.33 2
   
n =   p(  1  p)
 =   *.1(1.1) = 195.44 or 196
 e  .05 

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 Work Sampling - Example
Suppose that after 80 more observations (100 total) we notice that the
stock clerks only changed prices 11 times. At that time we revise our
proportion estimate and recalculate n.

11
p = = .11
100

z 2 2.33 2
   
n =   p(  1  p)
 =   *.11(1.11) = 212.60 or 213
 e  .05 
The manager might want to make an additional check before settling on
a final value of n.

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 Learning Curve
Job standard times (whether developed using time studies or work
sampling) are used to develop performance expectations. These can be
displayed in the form of a learning curve.
Processing Time Per Unit

Under-qualified worker

Average worker
Job Standard
Over-qualified worker

Training time
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 Compensation
. too little may make it hard to attract competent workers
. too much may limit profitability

Two basic systems for compensating employees

. Time-based systems - compensation based on time worked
(e.g. hourly pay, straight salary)
. Output-based (incentive) systems – compensation based on
output produced (e.g. piece rates, commissions)

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 Compensation
Financial incentives can be based on
. Individual and Small-Group Plans
.. Output measures
.. Quality measures
.. Productivity measures
.. Pay for knowledge
. Organization-wide Plans
.. Profit sharing
.. Gain-sharing
- Bonus based on controllable costs or units of
output
- Involve participative management
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 Compensation
Incentive Systems should be:
. Accurate
. Easy to apply
. Consistent
. Easy to understand
. Fair

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 Management Compensation
May consider many dimension of performance
. Customer Service
. Quality
. Performance

Executive management compensation is usually tied

directly to the performance of the Company or
Division for which he/she is responsible.
(e.g. Earnings per share, profitability, growth, etc.)

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 Homework
Read and understand all material in the chapter.

Discussion and Review Questions

Recreate and understand all classroom examples

Exercises on chapter web page

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