MGT 430 – Spring 2016Class 5 – Chapter 4

Analyzing Work and Designing Jobs

LEPAK / GOWAN

WHY JOB ANALYSIS & DESIGN

Why does this job existHow does it enhance department/company performance

Contribution to efficient operationsCreate innovative products/servicesMaintain or improve customer service

LEPAK / GOWAN

PURPOSE OF THE PAYROLL CLERK

Paychecks delivered on timeCorrectlyMake timely payroll changesTabulate data for payroll analysisOnboarding new employeesTerminating employeesOther

LEPAK / GOWAN

JOB ANALYSIS

This is the systematic study of the tasks, duties and responsibilities that are expected to be performed in a single job.

Typically done for a new job or a greatly re-defined job

LEPAK / GOWAN

How Do We Perform a Job Analysis

• Job Information- Observation: job analyst observes and documents activities

performed while employee works- Diary: employee keeps log of tasks and activities, then prioritizes- Interview: job analyst conducts structured interviews of

jobholder and supervisor (time-consuming and may be inaccurate)

- Questionnaire: standard questionnaire administered to large number of employees performing the job (requires considerable time up-front, doesn’t offer opportunity for follow-up)

LEPAK / GOWAN

Job Analysis and Design

Systematically identifying tasks, duties and responsibilities expected to be performed in a job as well as competencies to be successful• Job descriptions — written summaries of the specific

tasks, responsibilities, and working conditions of a job

• Job specifications — specific competencies required by a jobholder to be able to perform the job successfully

LEPAK / GOWAN

LEPAK / GOWAN

Job Design

• Determining job tasks and responsibilities employees are expected to perform and how they need to interact with others to realize those contributions

• Key issues to consider:− Which tasks should be emphasized?− How simple or complex are these tasks?− How many tasks can employees realistically

perform?− How much flexibility is given to employees?− What are the necessary competencies (KSAs)

LEPAK / GOWAN

Job Design Example

Bus Driver – MEGABUS

1. What tasks must be performed2. Are they simple tasks (can be done alone) or complex

tasks (must be done with others)3. How many tasks4. Flexibility of tasks5. Necessary and desired KSAs

LEPAK / GOWAN

Megabus DriverWhat tasks must be performed

1.2.3.4.5.

LEPAK / GOWAN

Identifying value-adding tasks leading to competitive advantages

e.g. Customer service representative

1. Knowledge of product/service2. Customer focus3. Sympathetic to customer needs4. Problem resolution5. Other

LEPAK / GOWAN

Job performance

1. Job performing a limited set of taskse.g. McDonalds cook, Ford assembly line

2. Job performing a broad set to tasks, working self-managed teams, high level of interaction with co-workers

e.g. Computer service technicianConstruction workerFinancial analystSales Representative

LEPAK / GOWAN

SALES REPRESENTATIVE

Coordinates with:ProductionLogisticsFinanceCreditLegal (contracts)Etc.

LEPAK / GOWAN

Job Design: Efficiency Approach

Key goal is to maximize efficiency; emphasizes standardization of production processes• Time and motion studies• Job specialization focused on breaking jobs down into core

elements• Repetition increases skill and speed• Job simplification removed decision-making authority from

employees and placed it with a supervisor

LEPAK / GOWAN

TIME AND MOTION STUDIES Scientific Management – Frederick Taylor 1856 - 1915

Taylor's scientific management consisted of four principles:1. Replace rule-of-thumb work methods with methods based on

a scientific study of the tasks.2. Scientifically select, train, and develop each employee rather

than passively leaving them to train themselves.3. Provide "Detailed instruction and supervision of each worker

in the performance of that worker's discrete task" 4. Divide work nearly equally between managers and workers,

so that the managers apply scientific management principles to planning the work and the workers actually perform the tasks.

LEPAK / GOWAN

Taylor had precise ideas about scientific management

1. Enforced standardization of methods,2. Enforced adoption of best implements and working

conditions3. Enforced cooperation4. The successful implementation of these processes rests

with management alone.5. Workers were supposed to be incapable of

understanding what they were doing

LEPAK / GOWAN

Consider UPS in 2016

Package delivery system1. Stacking the truck2. Planning the route3. Minimize left turns against traffic4. Estimating # steps taken from truck to door5. Manage task down to the second

LEPAK / GOWAN

Mass Production Assembly Line

Henry Ford quest for efficiencies1. Single task2. Common components3. Result: Production soared; purchase price

of a car dropped4. Downside: Horribly monotonous and

boring work

LEPAK / GOWAN

Job Specialization

• The process of breaking down jobs into their simple core elements

• Repetition = mastery of job

• Carry out tasks quickly, efficiently, minimum of mistakes

• Could also become horribly boring

LEPAK / GOWAN

Elton Mayo and the touchy-feely human relations approach to job design

• Hawthorne studies

LEPAK / GOWAN

Frederick Herzberg1923 - 2000

Motivation Factors Hygiene Factors– Achievement Policies & administration– Recognition Supervision - technical– Work itself Supervision - personal– Responsibility Working conditions– Promotion & Growth Getting a good grade– Understanding and using what you’ve learned– What motivates you

The opposite of satisfaction is not dis-satisfaction, but non-satisfaction

LEPAK / GOWAN

Job Design: Motivational Approach

• Maximize employee’s drive to work as hard as possible• Focuses on making jobs more interesting, challenging

and complex

Job characteristics model — identified 5 job dimensions and 3 psychological states that affect motivation and satisfaction

LEPAK / GOWAN

Job Characteristic Model

Job Dimensions1. Skill variety2. Task Identity3. Task significance4. Autonomy5. Feedback

LEPAK / GOWAN

Three Psychological States

1. Experiences meaningfulness of the work2. Experiences responsibility for outcomes of the work3. Has knowledge of the actual results of work

activities

Designing Jobs That Motivate Flexible Work Schedules

• A scheduling policy in which full-time employees may choose starting and ending times within guidelines specified by the organization.

• A work schedule that allows time for community and family interests can be extremely motivating.

• A work option in which two part-time employees carry out the tasks associated with a single job.

• Enables an organization to attract or retain valued employees who want more time to attend school or take care of family matters.

Flextime Job Sharing

4-25

Figure 4.7: Alternatives to 8-to-5 Job

4-26

LEPAK / GOWAN

Designing Jobs That Motivate Telework / Telecommuting

The broad term for doing one’s work away from a centrally located office.• Advantages to employers include:

less need for office spacegreater flexibility to employees with special

needs• Easiest to implement for managerial, professional, or

sales jobs.• Difficult to set up for manufacturing workers.

4-27

LEPAK / GOWAN

Designing Jobs That Meet Mental Capabilities and Limitations

• Work is designed to reduce information- processing requirements of the job.

• Workers may be less likely to make mistakes or have accidents.

• Simpler jobs may be less motivating.

• Technology tools may be distracting employees from their primary task resulting in increased mistakes and accidents.

4-28

LEPAK / GOWAN

LEPAK / GOWAN

LEPAK / GOWAN

JOB ANALYSIS EXAMPLE

1. Why does this job exist (2 sentences)2. What are the principle duties and deliverables for this

job (identify 5)3. How will the incumbent be measured (identify 5 metrics

for each of the above deliverables4. What are the required and desired skills (3 required; 3

desired)5. Administration, e.g.

1. Title 4. Reports to2. FLSA category 5. Direct reports3. Salary/wage 6. Location

LEPAK / GOWAN

JOB DESCRIPTION EXAMPLE

Focus is on quantifiable metrics and less on qualitative metrics

Job: Bus Driver for MEGABUSRoute: SUNY Albany - NYC

LEPAK / GOWAN

Job Design in Practice: Organizational Considerations

• Culture, e.g. – Banking, construction, hospitality, science– Risk taking vs. risk adverse

• Employee concerns– Can I do this work in this organization– Formalization of jobs– Breath and depth of tasks

LEPAK / GOWAN

Job Design in Practice: Environmental Demands

• Labor force– Skill availability to perform tasks– Job design decisions for the aging labor force

• Technology– Technological capability & support– Virtual teams & organizational relationships

LEPAK / GOWAN

Job Design in Practice: Environmental Demands

• Globalization– Cross-cultural issues– American values vs. world-wide values– Labor market accessibility and capabilities

• Ethics/social responsibility– Concerns about types of tasks required– Attitudes toward physical conditions of job design

LEPAK / GOWAN

Job Design in Practice: Regulatory Issues

• Understanding essential and non-essential job duties

• Compliance with regulatory issues, e.g. safety, etc.

• Job design and employee safety

LEPAK / GOWAN

FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

Technology vs. manual labor

Global vs. local

Ethics vs. profit

Safety vs. efficiency

LEPAK / GOWAN

SUMMARYIn Your Job Can You:

• Describe the value that you add from the customer’s perspective

• Describe a direct line of sight between your work and the consumers of your company’s product or service

• Justify the wage/salary that you receive based upon the value you provide

• Go home at night feeling that you have done something productive and beneficial

LEPAK / GOWAN

DISCUSSION QUESTION

After you graduate from SUNY, consider your ideal first job:

1. Specifically what would you like to be doing2. What are the job characteristics that you need

to have in order to do your job successfully?3. What are the job characteristic s that motivate

you.