Working methods and job design

As organisations become more aware of the importance of motivation, a growing number are introducing new methods of working to take into account the needs of employees to enjoy their work, display their creativity, and feel a sense of achievement and responsibility. It is argued that designing jobs with workers needs in mind will increase quality, productivity and added value, and reduce production costs, absenteeism, and staff turnover.

Various methods have been devised to incorporate workers’ needs into jobs. These include:

Job enlargement. This attempts to make a job more varied by removing the boredom associated with repetitive operations. It involves extending the scope of a job by adding similar tasks, but without increasing worker responsibility. For example, instead of an employee bolting the bumpers onto a new car, s/he may also be allowed to fix doors and bonnets. Job enlargement is often criticised because it simply adds to the amount of dull tasks a worker has to perform.

Job rotation. Instead of enlarging jobs, workers can be organised into small groups and trained to carry out all the jobs in the group. Workers can then swap or rotate their jobs on a regular basis to provide variety. Job rotation is often important in the training of work supervisors or managers. However, if each of the jobs performed is equally boring, motivation is hardly likely to improve as a result.

Job enrichment. This attempts to increase the sense of challenge and achievement in a job. A job may be enriched by giving workers:

· a greater variety of tasks;

· more freedom in deciding how to plan tasks, order materials, etc.;

· regular feedback on job performance;

· more involvement in analysing and changing physical aspects of their working environment, such as temperature control, office or plant layout, lighting, etc.

However, some workers may resent an increase in their responsibility, while others may find it hard cope with the added pressure. In other cases, technology may be a constraint. For example, jobs associated with the operation of specialised machinery and assembly-line techniques can never be particularly meaningful.

Teamworking. This involves dividing the workforce into teams and giving them responsibility for areas such as the planning and execution of their work, quality control, and physical aspects of their environment such as the layout of equipment and furniture. Teamwork allows a greater range of skills and experience to be used in problem-solving and fosters co-operation, rather than competition, among team members.

Advantages of teamworking:

Disadvantages of teamworking:

· Variety of skills leads to greater efficiency · Problem-solving is easier – ‘two heads are better than one’ · Individuals feel less inhibited about making suggestions and decisions with the backing of others – ‘strength in numbers’ · Groups may develop a team spirit · Workers are motivated by team membership and committed to the achievement of group and organisational goals

· Decision-making can be slow, especially in large groups · Some members may be inhibited by dominant personalities within the team and prevented from making what could have been good suggestions · Some teams may develop norms and attitudes at odds with the organisation, for example, “Don’t work too hard – they won’t thank you for it!” · Team discussions may involve ‘too much talk and not enough action’

Дата добавления: 2015-12-08