OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

JOB DESIGN AND WORK

ORGANIZATION
 JOB DESIGN

What is that?

 It is a combination of role allocation,

performance, operating technology and
environment within the workplace.
 6 Key Elements
 Environmental Conditions-- concerns with the
immediate surroundings
– How does the light, noise affect the working
conditions?
– The area in which they work. Clean, ventilated
properly, safe.
 Tasks and Roles – labour allocation
– The division of tasks must be given to people who can
perform them.
– Different tasks require different levels of skill.
 You would not have both accounting and HR doing
the same task.
 Methods of Job Performance – methods for each job or task
– An operating method will be established for each job
– This will be the best method to increase production and eliminate
wasted time
– The best method to produce the best results of the product
 An example is the Assembly Line found in most auto makers.
Each person has a particular role along the line, it is efficient
and eliminates the need for people to do more then one task.
 Time Allocation —estimation of time to accomplish the task
– Once you understand the amount of time it will take to do a
particular task or job you can estimate the number of people
needed to perform the task to completion.
– Example: Construction Developments have Project Managers who
estimate the needed hours to complete the building. They then
know how many people they will need to employ and how long it
will take to complete the project.
 Staff Commitment – subjective
necessities for the staff
– Staff motivation and commitment to the job
– Benefits, promotions, salaries, extras
– These are matters which have to do with
keeping the staff happy and part of the team.
 Enables employees to feel empowered within the
workplace, therefore leading to a deeper
commitment
 Ergonomics of the Environment – workplace design
– The workplace is designed to offer the best and most compatible
environment to the required job and staff
– The lighting, noise, colours, machinery used, heat, air conditioning
– There are scientific studies which show that a particular level of
light influences the level or efficiency of the work being done.
– Noise cannot be so loud as to disturb the function or distract the
work being done.
 In a factory it is usually very loud, this is normal. However the noise
can sometimes be dangerous so employers must offer methods to
decrease this to the employees.
 If the workplace is an office, loud noise will disrupt the normal flow of
the work environment.
 In Western countries a workplace must legally ensure that noise levels
do not damage the hearing of employees. If the work environment
includes working in noisy surroundings they are required to supply ear
plugs to reduce this.
– Machinery must be suitable, safe and efficient.
– Even the colours within the environment must be suitable and
beneficial to the workplace.
 Let’s Look more closely at a few of
these mentioned above:
 Task Allocation: to better understand this let’s look
at an example.
– A Plumber is responsible for connecting water pipes through the
new building. He must ensure that the pipes are the correct
measurements, type and structure for the specific task. In some
areas through the building he will use plastic, aluminium, copper
or black pipe. Should he be responsible for allocating all the
correct pipes, measuring them and cutting them as well as fitting,
soldering and sweating them?
 Usually installing the plumbing in a new building has different tasks
allocated to different people.
 The plumber will have an assistant.
 The assistant will find the required pipes, measure and cut them and
then bring to the plumber.
 If the connection of the pipes must be soldered, this will
be done by someone else who is specially equipped to
solder
– Why?
 The job gets done faster
 People who are experienced with the particular
task do them more efficiently.
 Less wasted time doing complex jobs while
each person has a focus for a particular step in
the completion process.
– The downside of Task allocation:
 Can be monotonous and boring, leaving the
employee tired and distracted.
 Can cause physical injury doing a repetitive
motion daily for many hours.
 Minimises flexibility with employees not cross-
trained to do other jobs.
 Job Method Design: this is basically
estimating, or deciding what is the best method
to do a particular job?
– A simple example is this: In the morning we decide to
have cereal for breakfast. Maybe we want some fruit
in the bowl with the cereal, and we want a cup of
coffee with our breakfast.
– We identify what we need to do to have this:
 Get the cereal out, get a bowl.
 Get milk
 Get the fruit
 Find our coffee, get a cup
 Get the filters, put water in the coffee machine.
– The question before us is this: How do we do all
of this in the best method or sequence of steps to
accomplish it quickly and most efficiently?
 Would you get the bowl, then get the cereal…
pour cereal in the bowl, pour the milk and then
cut the fruit and put in the bowl?
 Or, would you cut the fruit first. Get the bowl,
put cereal in, then fruit, then milk. Pour water in
the coffee machine, pour coffee in the filter then
start the machine?
– The above example is a simple understanding of
what is done when Job Design is created.
 They look at the required task and try to decide
the best method in performing that task.
– Typical Steps in Job Design include:
 select the work/task to be studied
 record relevant facts of the present
method
 examine the facts
 develop economic practical and effective
method
 install the new method
 monitor the new method for efficiency
 Time Allocation: how long will it take for a
particular task? How many people do I need
to perform this task?
– This is the process of establishing time for a
qualified worker, at a defined standard
performance, to carry out a specific job.
 A ‘qualified worker’ is someone with the necessary skills
to perform the task at a high standard of acceptance,
quality and quantity.
 A ‘standard performance’ is the rate of output which the
qualified worker will achieve without over-exertion as an
average. Example: Auto assembly line one worker has
a specific job to attach mirrors on average, without
over-exertion, he can attach 200 mirrors daily over an 8
hour work day.
Let’s summarize the above before moving on
– Some of the steps we need to do to figure out how to task, allocate
time and working methods are listed here:
 When trying to figure out how to find working methods for a
task:
– Work should be arranged for the natural rhythm of the body.
– Movements should be in cooperation with natural
movements, right to left or left to right, up down or down
up?
– Use all capabilities of the body, both hands, sitting and
standing.
– Work should be at a level which does not over burden the
body. If the worker stands at an assembly line to fill bread
bags, the line should be at a level that he can reach the
products easily and quickly.
– The task should be simplified as much as possible with the
least amount of individual movements needed.
– Any tools, materials or controls should be located in defined
places.
– Mechanical devices needed for the task should be located
and fitted for human use.
 Job Commitment: the approach to job Design in relation to
commitment of the employees involves two stages.
– How do the characteristics of the job affect the workers
motivation.
– How worker motivation towards the job affects their performance.
 The problem with most work places is simple in that the
employees are both happy and motivated, or they are not.
Some of the ways to resolve lack of motivation have nothing
to do with wage or salary.
– Some Reasons workers are not motivated:
 Lack of involvement, isolated jobs
 Lack of (assumed) appreciation from management
 Lack of responsibility
 Boredom, no potential, no challenge, no flexibility
 Working hours
– How do we resolve these problems?
 Empowerment allowing the employee some
degree of control over their jobs, hours and more
– Allow employees to:
 Make suggestions for changes
 Be involved with decisions about working conditions,
hours, benefits, etc.
 Flexible Working allows people to change or adapt working
hours to suit the changing lives.
– Over the past 50 years working time, home life and families
have changed.
– This is a method to assist the workers to balance busy
lives.
 Example: A single father has two children, 8 and 12,
and must bring them to school and pick them up at
1500. If he were made to work from 0800 to 1700 every
day he would be in a difficult position to care for his
children.
 With a flexible working environment he could change
his hours, or negotiate a later start time and use his
lunch time to pick up his children.
 Example: A worker is also a University student, he
cannot work a full day. Perhaps he can job-share,
which means he shares a full-time job with one other
person. The other person works the hours he does not.
 Skills Flexibility A workforce which is cross-
trained, flexible and able to adapt to changes is
more beneficial.
– Multi-skills means having a workforce who are trained
in several different tasks.
– Beneficial in allowing to fill tasks as they are needed.
– It also assists to eliminate job boredom, non
challenge.
– It also allows employees to feel valued.