Various Aspects of Job Design and Particular Emphasis on Job Design Techniques - Essay Example

Job Design Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Date Introduction Job design refers to the specifications of the relationships, contents and methods of jobs intended to meet organizational specifications and technological requirements besides satisfying the employee's personal and social needs. It entails a combination of the work method and the content of the job concerning the job performance (Durai, 2010). The concept of job design traces its origin to the early 1950s when Viteles developed the first theory of job design. The theory encompassed both job enlargement and job rotation. The reduction in the productivity and morale of the employees necessitated the development of the theory based on the two techniques. Viteles intended to enhance the productivity and morale of the employees using job enlargement and job rotation. Job specialization had yielded adverse effects to the productivity and motivation of the employees. The ill effects associated with the specialization of workplace roles include job boredom and monotony (Hsieh & Chao, 2004). The paper examines the various aspects of job design with particular emphasis on the job design techniques. Job Design Techniques According to Armstrong (2003), job design entails specifying the relationships, contents and methods of jobs so as to meet the organizational and technological requirements besides attaining the personal and social needs of the employee. It is evident that the job design should consider the wellbeing of the employees besides achieving an appropriate combination of the job's contents, methods, and relationships. It is also appropriate to consider job design as the proper arrangement of the responsibilities, duties and tasks in an organization about a particular work unit. From the definition, it is evident that job design commences with the analysis of the requirements of the task. The job requirements entail what the organization staff ought to do. It is imperative that the job design should include self-control, discretion, autonomy, and responsibility. According to Chaneta (2011), the proper criteria that organizations should take while undertaking job design entail the maximization of the specialization degree and minimizing the time required to complete the task. Moreover, it is appropriate to decrease the training/learning time and reduce the necessary level of skills to perform a task. The other pertinent criteria that the job design should consider pertains reducing the flexibility degree associated with job performance and maximizing the utility of the machines. Job design involves several techniques. The methods encompass job enlargement, the high-performance design of work, job enrichment, job rotation and self-managing teams. The other methods include participative management, job re-engineering, and the review of peer performance. Job Rotation Job rotation suffices to be one of the job design techniques included in the first theory as a result of job re-engineering. It refers to a system that rotates employees from one job to another in the organization. However, the rotation follows a predetermined approach (Durai, 2010). It is mandatory for the organization to develop an efficient job rotation system that does not place employees in inappropriate positions. Achieving the desired job rotation system requires the organization to consider the four significant factors. The factors encompass the employee's gender, the physical requirements of the position, the employee's capacities, skills and knowledge and the time required to perform other tasks (Belias & Sklikas 2013). In all the fields, it is pertinent for the job rotation system to encompass an evaluation of the capabilities of the management prior to rotating the employees in different job positions. According to Jorgensen et al. (2005), there are several advantages associated with the utility of job rotation as an employment design technique. For instance, job rotation enhances the productivity of the organization. Secondly, it provides training possibilities besides increasing the retention of the employees in the organization. In essence, job rotation increases the efficiency of the organization besides enhancing the career of the employee. The fact that the technique involves rotating an employee from one position to another allows the staff to gain an in-depth insight of the company’s operations. Enhancement of employee learning suffices to be the other advantage associated with the implementation of job rotation in an organization. Since job rotation eliminates boredom and job monotony, it is appropriate to state that it enhances the motivation of the employees thus increasing the accumulation of human capital (Bhadury and Radovilsky, 2006). The other merits of job rotation include the reduction of the absenteeism of the employees and the recruitment of disabled employees in positions that suit their capabilities and skills. It is also evident that job rotation improves the problem-solving skills of the employees (Allwood and Lee, 2004). However, the necessity for job rotation emanates from the continuous restructuring of the firms and the need to reshuffle the job assignments of the employees. Moreover, job rotation impacts positively on the job-related musculoskeletal disorders (Asensio-Cuesta et al., 2012). It also reduces the exposure of the employees to hazardous noise levels and work-related injuries. It also reduces the exposure of the workers to strenuous handling of materials. Job rotation intends to maximize the biomechanical loading of a particular part of the body for all the employees of the organization. Apparently, the primary rationale of job rotation encompass the alleviation of stress and physical fatigue for specific body muscles through employee rotations among different jobs that utilize different sets of muscles (Frazer et al. 2003). It is also important to consider the difficulties associated with the implementation of job rotation systems within an organization. For instance, the negotiation influence of the labor unions tends to impede the smooth establishment of an employment rotation system. Moreover, it is possible for the system to rotate an employee to a job position that exhibits similar risks as the previous job position. In some cases, the management does not have the necessary skills and capabilities concerning the specifications of a particular job position. Consequently, they do not understand the risks associated with the job position (Jorgensen et al. 2005). In the long run, they may end up rotating an employee to a job position that has similar job risks to the former position. Finally, the classification of certain jobs as feminine and masculine has increased the difficulty associated with the implementation of job rotation systems. It feels inappropriate to allocate a male role to a female employee with the intention of implementing the job rotation system. Job Enrichment Apparently, job enrichment is one of the techniques of job design. Increasing the morale of employees and challenging them to exhibit better performance suffice to be the fundamental objectives of job enrichment. Therefore, it is appropriate to regard job enrichment as the establishment of work practices that motivate and challenge the employees to portray better workplace performance (Grant, 2007). In essence, job enrichment entails the enhancement of the diversity of the work content at the workplace. For the employees to put up with the increased variety of the work content, they require additional capabilities and skills. Enhancing the skills and knowledge of the workers suffice is the responsibility of job enrichment technique. Therefore, the method guarantees accountability and autonomy on the part of the workers about controlling, planning and directing the individual performance. It is also evident that job enrichment yields a meaningful work experience and personal growth on the part of the employees. The important aspects of job enrichment include variety, feedback, the utility of abilities and heightening the significance of a task. The workplace practices associated with job enrichment encompass self-directed teams, information teams, job rotation and quality circles. According to Durai (2010), job enrichment targets to increase the operational efficiency and the autonomy of the employees at the workplace. The long-term effect of job enrichment is an improvement in the effectiveness of the organization. It is also evident that job enrichment impacts tremendously on the behavior of employees to seek feedback concerning their workplace practices. As a result, the technique enhances the performance of the employees thus improving the efficiency of the organization. It is also appropriate to state that job enrichment contributes towards the involvement of workers in the decision-making processes of the organization. By so doing, it decentralizes the decision-making process from the management to all the staffs of the organization. The ultimate result is the establishment of an efficient decision-making process that yields proper decisions that respond to the needs of the organization adequately (Wood & Wall, 2007). Therefore, autonomy and intrinsic motivation should form the principal focus of job enrichment. Job Enlargement It is apparent that job enlargement is one of the critical techniques of the job design processes. The method targets to include additional and different tasks to the existing jobs. Therefore, job enlargement catalyzes the employee's interest towards the organizational tasks. To achieve this, job enlargement targets to increase the attraction of the workers to the workplace jobs. It differentiates the different functions of the employees as an incentive that guarantees the motivation of the workforce. Job enlargement also targets to match the needs of the employees with the objectives of the organization to enhance employee satisfaction and the efficiency of the organization. Vertical and horizontal enlargement suffice to be the main approaches of job enlargement. The horizontal expansion entails the degree to which the job contains different tasks. It involves the addition of more tasks to the existing tasks of the job position. However, the same level of skills performs the additional functions eliminating the need for skill development (Russon & Brown, 2008). Reducing the level of boredom and specialization suffice to be the primary objectives of the horizontal job enlargement. Other targets encompass the reduction of complicated tasks in the job position and the development of new skills for the post. Apparently, horizontal job enlargement is appropriate in corporations characterized by highly structured and complex tasks. Vertical expansion refers to the level to which the employees make decisions regarding the efficient ways of performing the tasks. From the definition, it is evident that vertical enlargement targets to enhance the self-fulfillment and status requirements of the employees (Durai, 2010). Advantages and Disadvantages of Job Design The positive impact of job design on the performance functions of an organization relates to the four primary models: mechanistic, motivational, perceptual and biological. The disciplines under the mechanistic model encompass industrial and engineering. Some of the job design techniques under the model include specialization, simplification and repetition of roles. The merits associated with the job design techniques include enhanced efficiency, easier staffing, and reduced training. The demerits related to the techniques encompass decreased motivation of the employees and decreased satisfaction levels. Secondly, the motivational model applies to organizational and psychological disciplines. Enhancing the variety and autonomy of the jobs and increasing employee participation suffice to be the job design recommendations under the model. The typical benefits of the work design recommendations encompass satisfaction, intrinsic motivation, employee retention, and improved customer service. However, the organization incurs additional training costs. The techniques also subject the firm to errors made by the employees. The workers also exhibit stress at the workplace (Campion et al. 2005). The perceptual model influences human factors, experimental and psychology disciplines. Reducing the requirements of processing information suffice to be the primary job design technique employed under the model. The method yields reduced errors, fewer accidents, and less mental overload. However, boredom and monotony are the typical costs of the plan. Finally, the biological model applies to ergonomics and medical sciences. The work design recommendations encompass reducing environmental stressors and reducing physical requirements. The merits associated with the recommendations include physical comfort, reduced fatigue, and reduced physical stress. On the other side, inactivity and financial costs are the typical costs associated with the recommendations (Campion et al. 2005). Therefore, it is evident that the lack of an appropriate job design or the complete absence of a job design in an organization impacts negatively on the employee's morale at the workplace. Subsequently, the business entity cannot retain its human capital thereby incurring additional costs emanating from the recruitment and training new employees. Moreover, the high levels of employee turnover caused by the poor job design reduce the firm's efficiency due to the absence of specialization and efficiency of the employees. Job Design Case Studies Probuild Constructions Pty Ltd is one of the ASX listed companies in the construction sector that has exhibited dissatisfactory job design techniques. Long working hours suffice to be the primary complaint of the employees of the organization. The workers complain that the lengthy duration at the workplace impacts negatively on their families, wellbeing, health, and relationships. According to a survey conducted on the Victorian operations of the firm by the Center for Work + Life, the work-life balance expressed by the employees rated 3/10. However, informal flexibility was also evident in the company. It allowed some of the employees to leave the sites early enough to cater for their family needs. Minter Ellison Perth is the other Australian company that exhibited tremendous results about work-life balance. The implementation of the work-life balance initiatives in 2006 accounted for the positive performance of the firm regarding the job design indicators. The implemented actions respond to the needs of the lawyers concerning their families, studies, second careers, retirement transition, health, volunteer interests, sporting interests and house renovations (McMahon et al. 2011). Conclusion Job satisfaction, the motivation of employees and increased organizational efficiency suffice to be the advantages of job enrichment, enlargement and job rotation. In the achievement of job satisfaction, the job design should establish a system that appraises the work experience or work of an employee. Job satisfaction impacts positively on staff mobility and worker absenteeism. It reduces employee absenteeism thus decreasing the turnout of the workers at the workplace. About the motivation of the employees, an effective job design considers the five categories of the hierarchical needs model developed by Abraham Maslow. For instance, job rotation impacts positively on the physiological and biological needs of the employees. Moreover, the techniques enhance the safety of the workers at the workplace. Thirdly, the job design aspects increase love and belongingness needs of the workers. The methods meet the esteem requirements of the employees. Finally, job enlargement yields self-actualization. References Allwood, J. M., & Lee, W. L. (2004). The impact of job rotation on problem solving skills. International Journal of Production Research, 42(5), 865-881. Armstrong. M. (2003). A Handbook of Management Techniques. London: Kogan Page Limited. Asensio-Cuesta, S., Diego-Mas, J.A., Cremades-Oliver, L.V., & Gonzalez-Cruz, M.C. (2012). A method to design job rotation schedules to prevent work-related musculoskeletal disorders in repetitive work. International Journal of Production Research, 50(24), 7467-7478. Bhadury, J., & Radovilsky, Z. (2006). Job rotation using the multi-period assignment model. International Journal of Production Research, 44(20), 4431-4444. Campion, M. A., Mumford, T. V., Morgeson, F. 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