4 – Job Design

Introduction

Job design is the next logical step after job analysis. Managers have been concerned with work design for many years, but Frederick Taylor advocated the scientific design of a job in 1911. Productivity was projected to rise as a result of time and motion research. Besides ensuring that the human aspect was sufficiently managed and supervised, little attention was paid to the human factor. When the human aspect is not recognised, organisations realise that there is often a significant price in absenteeism, turnover, apathy, poor job quality, or even sabotage. The current tendency is to restructure jobs to boost employee satisfaction and productivity. However, there are no easy ways to redesign employment because there are too many variables: the worker, the nature of the task, the organisational atmosphere, and the styles of the managers.

4.1 Definition of Job Design

Job design is defined as the process of deciding on the content of a job in terms of its duties and responsibilities, the methods to be used in carrying out the job, such as techniques, systems, and procedures, and the relationships that should exist between the job holder and his superiors, subordinates, and colleagues.

The following are two significant job design goals:

1. To meet organisational criteria such as increased productivity, operational efficiency, and product/service quality.
2. To meet individual personnel’s interests, challenges, achievements, and accomplishments.

4.2 Process of Job Design

The job design process must begin by determining what activities must be completed to meet organisational objectives. Techniques such as work-study, process planning, organizational methodologies, and organizational analysis are required.

Job design encourages people to work more efficiently and productively while increasing job happiness. The specification should be incorporated into the job design to meet employees’ requirements for accomplishment, acknowledgement, and psychological growth: job simplification, job rotation, job enlargement, and other personnel departments.

It aligns work content (tasks, functions, and relationships), rewards (extrinsic and intrinsic), and qualification requirements (skills, knowledge, and talents) for each position to fulfil the demands of individuals and the business.

4.2.1Job Simplification

Job simplification is a design technique in which jobs are broken down into smaller components and then assigned to workers as a whole. Work must be broken down into minor units and then analysed to simplify it. Each resulting sub-unit usually has a small number of processes. The personnel are then given these subunits as part of their overall duty.

Many fast-food businesses, including McDonald’s, Burger King, and Nirula’s, use simplicity because staff can learn jobs quickly, short work cycles allow task performance with little or no mental effort, and low-skilled and low-paid personnel can be hired and trained quickly.

Conversely, job simplicity leads to boredom, dissatisfaction, alienation, a lack of drive, and low job satisfaction among employees. As a result, there is a decrease in production and an increase in cost. Most of today’s competitive problems necessitate a dedicated and engaged workforce capable of making decisions and experimenting with new approaches. Many people seek professions that give them more freedom and a significant challenge. To put it another way, developing employment with the requirements of employees in mind necessitates an entirely different method known as job enrichment, which entails adjusting job specifications to extend and challenge the duties necessary.

4.2.2 Job Rotation

It entails employees moving from one job to another. Jobs are unaffected. A given employee rotates among various tasks, all of which are more or less similar. On the plus side, job rotation is likely to boost a job’s intrinsic reward potential due to the diverse skills and abilities required to do it. Workers become competent in multiple occupations rather than just one, which benefits the company. Knowing various jobs boosts a worker’s self-image, allows for personal growth, and increases their value to the company.

On the negative side, job rotation may not significantly impact staff motivation and efficiency. According to Herzberg, job rotation is just “substituting one zero for another zero.” When employees are moved from one position to another, they feel alienated.

4.2.3 Job Enlargement

It entails increasing the tasks or responsibilities allotted to a specific job. Work simplification is the polar opposite of this. Adding more tasks or duties to a job does not necessitate acquiring new skills and talents. A more significant job requires a longer training period because there are more tasks to learn.

Horizontal growth is present. “Adding zero to zero” is what it is. Employees, on the whole, are opposed to it. It is supposed to boost staff motivation; however, no scientific evidence has been found to support this claim. Job expansion programmes will be successful only if people are happier with occupations that have more responsibilities.

4.2.4 Job Enrichment

Even though the job enrichment movement of the 1960s is no longer well-known, Frederick Herzberg’s research and writings served as a significant source of inspiration and planning for it.

The goal of job enrichment is to increase employee interest and challenge in their work by presenting them with jobs that meet the following criteria:

1. They are full works in that the workers can identify actions or activities that culminate in an identifiable and definable product or service.
2. They provide employees with as much variety, decision-making responsibility, and influence over their work as is feasible.
3. They provide direct and immediate feedback on how well employees perform their duties through the work.

It aims to boost job efficiency and employee happiness by providing more challenging and responsible work and opportunities for personal improvement and growth. An enriched job has more responsibility and autonomy (vertical enrichment), a wider range of responsibilities (horizontal enrichment), and more prospects for advancement.

It also improves motivation, performance, satisfaction, job involvement, and absenteeism and satisfies employees’ specific psychological demands.

Techniques  of Job Enrichment

1. Increasing the activity’s accountability.
2. Giving the piece a broader scope, greater sequence, and a faster tempo.
3. Providing work freedom by reducing controls when employees are held accountable for achieving set objectives.
4. Assigning a natural unit of work to an individual or a group.
5. Allowing employees to define their criteria or goals is number five.
6. Giving staff new, challenging, and innovative responsibilities.
7. Encouraging employee involvement in planning, inventions, and creations.

Steps  in Job Enrichment

1. Choosing employment that allows for a close link between motivation and job performance.
2. Using a pilot system as a basis for implementation.
3. Begin by assuming that these positions are interchangeable.
4. Making a list of modifications that could improve the jobs.
5. Emphasising motivational variables like achievement, responsibility, and self-control.
6. Attempting to alter the job’s content rather than removing employees from their positions.
7. Providing sufficient instruction, direction, encouragement, and assistance.
8. Introduce with caution, as employee resistance to job enrichment programmes is possible.
9. Create specific programmes for each project and ensure control information is available to track progress.

4.3 Self-Motivation

Intrinsic Motivation and Its Importance

Intrinsic motivation is the self-regulatory mechanisms that cause people to act in specific ways or progress in certain directions. The task itself, which gives benefits directly under the worker’s control, can boost intrinsic motivation. This relates to the basic idea that people are motivated when given the tools to attain their objectives. Money is a powerful motivator because it is necessary to meet these requirements. Because it is not imposed from the outside, intrinsic motivation has a longer-lasting effect.

If a job is to provide intrinsic motivation, it must have the following characteristics:

1. Integration: In terms of planning, implementation, and control, the task should be integrated.
2. Autonomy: Workers should be given as much autonomy as possible regarding choosing goals, exercising discretion, accountability, and self-control.
3. Task Importance: Workers or teams must believe their task is essential and worthwhile.
4. Abilities Use and Development: Employees should believe that the employment will allow them to use and improve their skills. The art should reflect who they are and what they can become.
5. Variety: The greater the variety of duties performed, the better.
6. Feedback: Employees should be able to receive feedback on their performance and development requirements. They should also be able to track and evaluate their performance against targets and standards that they helped to set.