6.3 Improving organisational design and managing human resource flow Flashcards
What is job design
An employer’s creation and planning of a job considering the job’s aspects
Aspects of job design
- The roles and responsibilities of the job itself
- The systems and methods used by an employee to carry out their role
- The relationships between the employer and the employee, and between other managers, subordinates and stakeholders
How business objectives influence job design
All jobs within the business should contribute to the overall business objectives and they should be designed in such a way to do so
How an individual can influence job design
If employees are demotivated and there is a problem with productivity, managers may use job design to motivate employees and improve productivity
How available resources influence job design
Major changes to job design may require the additional support of resources such as labour and capital, and these resources must be available for the change to be succesful
How market research influences job design
If an HR manager is expecting there to be a change in the external environment, jobs may be designed or redesigned to reflect the demands of a changing external environment
What approaches can be done for job design to motivate and increase productivity
- Job enlargement
- Job enrichment
- Job empowerment
- Job rotation
Job enlargement
When an employer increases the number of jobs an employee is responsible for in order to increase the challenge of their role.
Additional jobs assigned to employees are usually at a level similar to their original duties
Job enrichment
An employer provides an employee with jobs which are more complex and challenging.
Jobs assigned to employees are usually at a level above their original duties in terms of complexity and challenge
Job empowerment
An employer gives an employee more control over their job, including the ability to decide the best way to fulfil their duties
Job rotation
A form of job enlargement
- Refers to an employer allowing an employee to move from one role or duty to another regularly
What does Hackman and Oldham’s Job Characteristic Model state
That there are 5 characteristics of a job which motivates employees
What are the core dimensions in the Hackman and Oldham’s model
1) Skill variety, Task identity, Task significance
2) Autonomy
3) Feedback
What are the psychological states in the Hackman and Oldham’s model
1) A sense of meaningfulness
2) Gaining responsibility
3) Knowing and understanding results
What are the results in the Hackman and Oldham’s model
1) High levels of motivation
2) High levels of job satisfaction
3) Lower levels of absenteeism & turnover
What is skill variety
Employees being given opportunities to use a range of skills as part of their normal duties and responsibilities
What is task identity
Refers to employees being given a a sense of conclusion or completion
What is task significance
Refers to employees feeling as though their duties and responsibilities contribute to the overall business sucess
What is autonomy
Refers to employees having some independence within their duties and responsibilities
What is Feedback
Refers to employees receiving feedback, whether oral, written or verbal, on the work they have completed
What is authority
Linked to delegation
- can motivate and empower and therefore increase productivity
What is Delegation
Passing authority to employees further down in the hierarchy
What is spans of control
The number of people who report directly to a supervisor or manager
Hierarchies
The levels and layers of management
What is delayering
Reducing the number of layers in the hierarchy of a business, usually by removing middle managers
Advantages of delegating
- Reduces the workload of managers, allows them to focus on their own tasks
- Can empower and motivate employees and prepare them for promotional opportunities in the future
Disadvantage of delegating
May require a business to invest in and provide employee training to ensure that they have the necessary skills to complete a task
Centralised businesses
All decisions come from one place e.g top of hierarchy
Decentralised businesses
Decision making is shared/passed onto different profit centres / departments / stores
What are HR responsible for
The recruitment and training of employees
When does HR recruit new employees
When there is a gap in the skillset of employees
Advantages of a Centralised structure
- Lower costs
- Consistent
- Quick decision making
Disadvantage of a Centralised structure
Not able to respond / tailor to local market
Advantages of a Decentralised structure
- Managers empowered / valued / motivated
Disadvantage of a Decentralised structure
- Lacks consistency
Analyse how moving from a centralised structure to a decentralised structure might affect the profit of a business
Increase - Each individual store is buying its supplies, not benefitting from economies of scale
Increase - Empowered Managers - Manage resources correctly - Less wastage with low shelf - life, AND Motivation - Low labour turnover - Low recruitment & Selection and Training Costs
Decrease - Empowering Managers - Need Training - Increase costs - Decrease Profit
