DOM 511 OPERATIONS MGT PRACTICE Design of Work

DOM 511 : - OPERATIONS MGT PRACTICE Design of Work Systems

JOB DESIGN Job design involves specifying the work activities, methods & environment of an individual or group in an organizational setting. Objective is to develop job structures that meet the requirements of the organization & its technology & that satisfy the job-holder’s personal & individual requirements. Job design decisions; What will be done Who will do the job How the job will be done Where the job will be done When the job will be done Why; organizational rationale for the job How – method of performance & motivation Ergonomics

WORKPLACE DESIGN Design & Layout of individual workplaces for maximum efficiency & effectiveness Key design Qns; Who will use the workplace – different physical characteristics of individuals How will the work be performed eg equipment, procedures etc What technology is needed? What must the employee be able to see or hear? What environmental & safety issues need to be addressed

JOB DESIGN Ergonomics is defined as the science related to man and his work, embodying the anatomic, physiologic, and mechanical principles affecting the efficient use of human energy. Eg: Safe lifting techniques, proper posture, appropriate seating position, and adaptive equipment are examples of ergonomics in the workplace.

TRENDS INFLUENCING JOB DESIGN DECISIONS Quality control as part of the worker’s job – quality at source Cross-training workers to perform multiskilled jobs, result of downsizing Employee involvement & team approaches to designing & organizing work ( center of TQM & Kaizen) – Sociotechnical systems “Informating” ordinary workers through e-mal & the internet, thereby expanding the nature of their work & their ability to do it Extensive use of temporary workers Automation of heavy manual work Organizational commitment to providing meaningful & rewarding jobs for all employees

DESIGN OF WORK SYSTEMS Behavioral Approaches to Job Design eg specialization & job enlargement/enrichment Physical considerations in job design – work physiology & ergonomics Methods Analysis Motions Study Working conditions

JOB DESIGN SUCCESS Successful Job Design must be: Carried out by experienced personnel with the necessary training and background Consistent with the goals of the organization In written form Understood and agreed to by both management and employees

SPECIALIZATION IN BUSINESS: ADVANTAGES For Management: For Labor: 1. Simplifies training 1. Low education and 2. High productivity 3. Low wage costs skill requirements 2. Minimum responsibilities 3. Little mental effort needed

DISADVANTAGES For Management: For Labor: 1. Difficult to motivate quality 1. Monotonous work 2. Limited opportunities for advancement 2. Worker dissatisfaction, possibly resulting in 3. Little control over work absenteeism, high 4. Little opportunity for turnover, disruptive self-fulfillment tactics, poor attention to quality

BEHAVIORAL APPROACHES TO JOB DESIGN Job Enlargement Giving a worker a larger portion of the total task by horizontal loading Job Rotation Workers Job periodically exchange jobs Enrichment Increasing responsibility for planning and coordination tasks, by vertical loading

METHODS ANALYSIS The need for methods analysis can come from a number of different sources: Changes in tools and equipment Changes in product design or new products Changes in materials or procedures Other factors (e. g. accidents, quality problems)

MOTION STUDY Motion study is the systematic study of the human motions used to perform an operation.

MOTION STUDY TECHNIQUES Motion study principles - guidelines for designing motion-efficient work procedures Analysis of therbligs - basic elemental motions into which a job can be broken down Micromotion study - use of motion pictures and slow motion to study motions that otherwise would be too rapid to analyze Charts

DEVELOPING WORK METHODS Eliminate unnecessary motions Combine activities Reduce fatigue Improve the arrangement of the workplace Improve the design of tools and equipment

WORKING CONDITIONS

WORKING CONDITIONS (CONT’D) Noise & Vibration Work Breaks Safety Causes of Accidents

WORK MEASUREMENT Purpose job Why To is to set time standards for a the standards; schedule work & allocate capacity To provide an objective basis for motivating the workforce & measuring workers’ performance To bid for new contracts and to evaluate performance of existing ones To provide benchmarks for improvement

WORK MEASUREMENT Stopwatch Time Study Standard Elemental Times Predetermined Time Standards Work Sampling

COMPENSATION Individual Group Incentive Plans Knowledge-Based System Management Pay Compensation

GROUP INCENTIVE PLANS Scanlon Plan Encourage reductions in labor costs by sharing gains in cost sharing Kaiser Plan – incentive pay Committees Lincoln suggest ways of reducing costs Plan Profit sharing, job enlargement, and participative management Kodak Plan Wages/bonus related to profits

FORM OF INCENTIVE PLAN Accurate Easy to apply Consistent Easy Fair to understand

VIRTUAL WORKPLACES Common in information-intensive businesses like banks, academic orgns Teleworkers work in their homes, hotel rooms, airports etc using ICT Assemble virtual teams of people located in different geo locations

VIRTUAL WORKPLACES ADS Best possible team skills & capabilities Flexible working hours Firms become more agile & flexible with quicker response time Reduces transportation costs & pollution Reduces cost of physical space, parking, conditioning etc

VIRTUAL WORKPLACES DIS Team Success is based on each member doing work on time Lack of human socialization No physical office, no job status Children at home don’t understand demands of a virtual office Privacy & security risks Difficult to control the workload per team member