Test 2 - Analysis & Design of Work Flashcards
Organizational structure and job design affect
quantity and quality of a product, organization, creativity, and worker attraction, motivation, and retention
What is vital for competitiveness?
Fit between organizational environment, competitive strategy, philosophy, and job/organizational design
Work-flow design
the process of analyzing the tasks needed to make a product or provide a service
Organization structure
a structured system between different job roles that help the organization function smoothly
Why is workflow design needed?
It is needed to understand how tasks can be bundled into jobs
Why is Organization Structure needed?
to understand how jobs relate and how they can be redesigned/improved
Goal of Work-flow analysis
Understand all tasks required for the production of outputs (at specified quality and quantity) and the inputs necessary to perform those tasks
Work-flow process
INPUTS (raw inputs, equipment) –> PROCESSES (production tasks) –> OUTPUTS (products, services, info)
Goal of Organization Structure
Understand the static relationships between individuals and units that create the outputs
Dimensions of Structure
Centralization and Departmentalization
Centralization
the degree to which decision-making authority resides at the top of the organizational chart
- Centralized vs decentralized
Departmentalization
the degree to which work units are grouped based on functional similarity of workflow
- Functional similarity vs. work-flow similarity
Common structural configuration
Functional structure and divisional structure (product, geographical, client)
Functional Structures
- Jobs need to be narrow and highly specialized
- Workers tend to have little decision-making authority or responsibility for coordination
Divisional Structures
- Managers have wide autonomy
- Managers need to have relatively high degrees of experience and high cognitive ability
Job Analysis
The process of getting detailed information about jobs
Importance of job analysis
- The building block of everything HRM does
- Protection against lawsuits
- Importance to line managers
Job description
- List of the tasks, duties, and responsibilities (TDRs) that a job entails
- Essential vs. nonessential job functions
Essential vs. nonessential job functions
- Percentage of time spent on task
- Frequency of task
- Importance of task
Job Specification
List of the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs) that an individual must have to perform the job
Sources of Information
- Job incumbents
- Supervisors
- Subject-matter experts
- (Informal) social networks
- Customers and other sources
Job Analysis Methods
Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) and Occupational Information Network (O*NET)
Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ)
- Covers inputs, outputs, processes, and work context (including relationships with others)
- 194 items assessing work behaviors, work conditions, job characteristics
- Rating of tasks based on the extent of use, amount of time, the importance of the job, the possibility of occurrence, applicability, special code
Occupational Information Network (O*NET)
- Uses a common language that generalizes across jobs to describe the abilities, work styles, work activities, and work context required for about 1,000 more broadly defined occupations
Job Design
The process of defining the way work will be performed and the tasks that will be required in a given job
Job Redesign
Changing the tasks or the way work is performed in an existing job
4 Approaches of Job Design
Mechanistic, Motivational, Biological, Perceptual-motor
Mechanistic Approach
- Identify the simplest way to structure work that maximizes efficiency
- Job design around task specialization, skill simplification, repetition
- Ex: Assembly line work
Motivational Approach
- Focus on the psychological and motivational potential of a job
- Importance of attitudinal variables
- Job design around job enlargement, job enrichment, and construction of jobs around socio-technical systems
Biological Approach (ergonomics)
- Examine the interface between individuals’ psychological characteristics and the physical work environment
- Structure the physical work environment around the way the human body works
- Reduce physical demands of the job
Perceptual-motor Approach
- Focus on human mental capabilities and limitations
- Job design to reduce information-processing requirements to ensure jobs do not exceed individuals’ mental capabilities and limitations
Job Crafting
Job incumbents redesign their own work and social environment at work by making small changes to the job
Goal of Job Crafting
to make the job fit their own skills, interests, or constraints better
Importance of Job Crafting
Job crafting can improve how meaningful the employee views their work and/or how the employee defines themselves at work
- Ex: their work identity
Challenges in Job Design
- Increased use of technology can reduce job demands and errors, but also increase opportunities for error
- Information-processing errors in “hand-off” situations
- Job redesign, including changes in job description and job specifications, can have consequences for job incumbents, and lead to litigation
