Chapter 25 - Work Design And Process Management Flashcards
Affinity grouping
A technique for organizing similar ideas together in natural groupings
Benchmarking
The systematic comparison of the products, services, and outcomes of one organization with those of a similar organization; or the systematic comparison of one organization’s outcomes with regional or national standards
Business process reengineering (BPR)
The analysis and design of the workflow within and between organizations
Check sheet
A data collection tool permitting the recording and compiling of observations or occurrences; it consists of a simple listing of categories, issues, or observations on the left side of the chart and a place on the right for individuals to record checkmarks next to the item when it is observed or counted
Closed system
Systems that operate in a self-contained environment
Common cause variation
The source of variation in a process that is inherent within the process
Compressed workweek
A work schedule that permits a full-time job to be completed in less than the standard five days of eight-hour
Continuous data
In healthcare statistics, data that represent measurable quantities but are not restricted to certain specified values
Continuous quality improvement (CQI)
A management philosophy that emphasizes the importance of knowing and meeting customer expectations, reducing variation within the process, and relying on data to build knowledge for process improvement 2. A component of total quality management (QM) that emphasizes ongoing performance assessment an improvement planning
Cybernetic system
Systems that have standards, controls, and feedback mechanisms built into them
Cyclical staffing
A transitional staffing solution wherein workers are brought in for specific projects or to cover in busy times
DMAIC
A scientific methodology that involves the following steps: define, measure, analyze, improve, and control
Employee selflogging
A form of self-reporting in which the employees simply track their tasks, volume of work units, and hours worked
Ergonomics
A discipline of functional design associated with the employee in relationship to his or her work environment, including equipment, workstation, and office furniture adaption to accommodate the employee’s unique physical requirements so as to facilitate efficacy of work functions
External customers
Individuals from outside the organization who receive products or services from within the organization
Feedback control
Back-end processes that monitor and measure output and then compare it to expectations and identify variations that then must be analyzed so corrective action plans can be developed and implemented
Fishbone diagram
A performance improvement tool used to identify or classify the root causes of a problem or condition and to display the root causes graphically
Flextime
A work schedule that gives employees some choice in the pattern of their work hours, usually around a core of midday hours
Float employee
An employee who is not assigned to a particular shift, function, or unit and who may fill in as needed in cases of standard employee absence or vacation
Flowchart
A graphic tool that uses standard symbols to visually display detailed information, including time and distance, of the sequential flow of work of an individual or a product as it progresses through a process
Force-field analysis
A performance improvement tool used to identify specific drivers of, and barriers to, n organizational change so that positive factors can be reinforced and negative factors reduced
Goal
A specific description of the services or deliverable goods to be provided as the result of a business process
Histogram
A graphic technique used to display the frequency distribution of continuous data (interval or ratio data) as either numbers or percentages in a series of bars
Internal customer
Customers located within the organization
Job procedure
A structured, action-oriented list of sequential steps involved in carrying out a specific task or solving a problem
Job sharing
A work schedule in which two or more individuals share the tasks of one full-time or one full-time-equivalent position
Key indicator
Current measurement thresholds that alert a department or work unit to its existing level of service; allow managers to monitor critical service standards on a current and ongoing basis so they can make timely staffing or process adjustments to ensure that department service performance remains as expected
Lean
A management strategy in which the core idea is to maximize value while minimizing waste; basically, creating more value with fewer resources
Movement diagram
A chart depicting the location of furniture and equipment in a work area and showing the usual flow of individuals or materials as they progress through the work area
Multivoting technique
A decision-making method for determining group consensus on the prioritization of issues or solutions
Narrative
The author details the processes of the procedure in a step-by-step descriptive method; most common format for procedure writing
Nominal group technique (NGT)
A group process technique that involves the steps of silent listing, recording each participant’s list, discussing, and rank ordering the priority or importance of items; allows groups to narrow the focus of discussion or to make decisions without becoming involved in extended, circular discussions
Objective
A statement of the end result expected, stated in measurable terms, usually with a time limitation (deadline date) and often with a cost estimate or limitation
Offshoring
Outsourcing jobs to countries overseas, wherein local employees abroad perform jobs that domestic employees previously performed
Open system
A system which permits other parties to produce products that interoperate with it; a computer is an open system
Outsourcing
The hiring of an individual or a company external to an organization to perform a function either on site or off site
Parallel work division
A type of concurrent work design in which one employee does several tasks and takes the job from beginning to end
Pareto chart
A bar graph that includes bars arranged in order of descending size to show decisions on the prioritization of issues, problems, or solutions
Performance
The action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function
Performance measurement
The process of comparing the outcomes of an organization, work unit, or employee to pre-established performance standards
Playscript
This procedural documentation format describes each player in the procedure, the action of the player, and the player’s responsibility regarding the process from the start to completion of a specific task within the procedure
Preventive control
Internal controls implemented prior to an activity and designed to stop an error from happening
Procedure manual
A compilation of all the procedures used in a specific unit, department, or organization
Process redesign
The steps in which focused data are collected and analyzed, the process is changed to incorporate the knowledge gained from the data collected, the new process is implemented, and the staff is educated about the new process
Productivity
A unit of performance defined by management in quantitative standards
Qualitative standard
Service standards in the context of setting expectations for how well or how soon work or a service will be performed
Quantitative standard
Criteria that specify the level of measurable work, or productivity, expected for a specific function
Run chart
A type of graph that shows data points collected over time and identifies emerging trends or patterns
Scatter diagram
A graph that visually displays the linear relationships among factors
Serial work division
The consecutive handling of tasks or products by individuals who perform a specific function in the sequence
Service level agreement (SLA)
A contract between a customer and a service provider that records the common understanding about services priorities, responsibilities, guarantees, and other terms, especially related to availability, serviceability, performance, operation, or other attributes of the service like billing and penalties in the case of violation of the SLA
Shift differential
An increased wage paid to employees who work less desirable shifts, such as evenings, nights, and weekends
Shift rotation
The assignment of employees to different periods of service to provide coverage, as needed
Six Sigma
Disciplined and data-driven methodology for getting rid of defects in any process
Special cause variation
An unusual source of variation that occurs outside a process but affects it
Standard
A scientifically based statement of expected behavior against which structures, processes, and outcomes can be measured. 2. A model or example established by authority, custom, or general consent or a rule established by an authority as a measure of quantity, weight, extent, value, or quality. 3. Under HITECH, a technical, functional, or performance-based rule, condition, requirement, or specification that stipulates instructions, fields, codes, data, material, characteristics, or actions 4. As amended by HITECH at section 160.103, a rule, condition, or requirement: (1) Describing the following information for products, systems, services, or practices: (i) classification of components; (ii) specification of materials, performance, or operations; or (iii) delineation of procedures (2) With respect to privacy of protected health information
Statistical process control (SPC) chart
A type of run chart that includes both upper and lower control limits and indicates whether a process is stable or unstable
Swimlane diagram
Diagram that shows an entire business process from beginning to end and is especially popular because it highlights relevant variables (who, what, when) while requiring little or not training to use and understand
System
The foundations of caregiving, which include buildings (environmental services), equipment (technical services), professional staff (human resources), and appropriate policies (administrative)
Telecommuting
A work arrangement in which at least a portion of the employee’s work hours is spent outside the office (usually in the home) and the work is transmitted back to the employer via electronic means
Time ladder
A document used by the employee to record the amount of time worked on various tasks
Unit work division
Simultaneous assembly in which everyone performs a different specialized task at the same time
Use case analysis
A technique to determine how users will interact with a system. Uses the designed future (to-be) process and describes how a user will interact with the system to complete process steps and how the system will behave from the user perspective
Volume log
Sometimes used in conjunction with a time ladder to obtain information about the volume of work units received and processed in a day by simply keeping track of the number of products produced or activities done
Waste
To encompass overutilization, underutilization, or misuse of resources; anything that does not add value to a product or service from the standpoint of the customer
Work
The effort, usually described in hours, needed to complete a task
Work distribution analysis
An analysis used to determine whether a department’s current work assignments and job content are appropriate
Work distribution chart
A matrix that depicts the work being done in a particular workgroup in terms of specific tasks and activities, times spent on tasks, and the employees performing the tasks
Work measurement
The process of studying the amount of work accomplished and the amount of time it takes to accomplish it
Work sampling
A technique of work measurement that involves using statistical probability
Workflow
Any work process that must be handled by more than one person
