Occupation: Occupation is a group of job. Eg. Accountant, cook, manager, electrician. It has a title.
Job: Job is a group of position. Job may be understood as a division of task. Manager achieve goals by getting the job done.
Position: Position is the group of task. It is one or more duties performed by a single person. Every employee has a position in the organization.
Task: Task is a distinct work activity. It has a distinct purpose. Eg. Writing a letter, preparing for examinations, painting the wall and so on.
Concept, benefits and methods of Job design:
Concept of Job design:
Concept of Job design: Job design is defined contents and the way tasks are combined to complete a job. It organizes task into a job.
According to Robbins, “Job design is the way in which job tasks are organized into a unit of work.”
Job design is a person that integrated works content (task, function, relationship) the rewards (internal and external), and the qualification required (KSA) for each job in such a way that meets the needs of employees and organizations.
Job design affects productivity, cost quality an effectiveness of the organization. It also affects the motivation and job satisfaction of employees.
Benefits of job design:
Job design is content (list of work), related task, gather information method of doing job. Job design gather information method of doing job. Job design emphasis on specialization, problem solving, productivity, motivation and QWL.
The benefits of job design are as follows:
1. Job design help to design organization: It specify the content, procedure (method), duties, responsibility, accountability then determine the structure of organization. Job design establishes culture, norms and so on.
2. Achieve organizational goals: It helps to identify the necessary task, proper arrangement of tasks (orderly) and define authority duties, responsibility, accountability.
3. Better quality work life (QWL): Job design can lead to improvements in QWL. Procedures. Methods that makes the jobs more rewarding can be considered in job design. This improves physical and mental well-being of the employees at work place.
4. Motivation: Higher motivation leads to higher productivity. Job satisfaction also increases.
5. Harmonious Labor relation: Properly designed jobs promote harmonious labor relations. Poorly designed jobs leads to grievances, indiscipline, employee turnover, absenteeism and conflicts.
6. Personal- job fit: Job design considers in terms of KSA of employees. This facilities person-job fit. Job design can be changed according to changes in time, behavior of people, environment and technology.
Methods of job design (Approaches/ Techniques)
Job design specifies the content of job and method of doing job. It is the process determining specific task to be included in the job and method.
1. Scientific management (F.W. Taylor)
This method is based on the principles of scientific management. It advocated on best method of doing a job. It is based on specialization, standardization and simplification of work and it establishes the relationship among division of work.
Advantages of scientific management method:
- Specialization in high quality
- It is cost effective, productivity increases
- Less trained and low paid employee can perform the job.
Disadvantages of scientific management method:
- High labor turnover
- Employee feel monotony
- Over specialization results in boredom (fatigue)
2. Herzberg’s method (Frederick Herzberg)
It is known as Job enrichment method of job design. It adds new source of satisfaction to jobs. Jobs are made challenging and meaningful by increasing responsibility, challenging and meaningful by increasing responsibility, autonomy and growth opportunities. More planning and control responsibilities are added to the job with less supervision. Workers gets autonomy (self control, free, independent) in planning and controlling their performance.
Steps in job enrichment are:
a. Select jobs (identify changes needed)
b. Change contents of job to provide autonomy, control, responsibility, achievement, advancement
c. Train and guide employee
d. Integrated enriched jobs into work schedule.
Advantages of Herzberg method:
- It leads to higher motivation
- Job satisfaction
- It satisfies higher level of the employee
- It provides feedback to correct performance.
Disadvantages of Herzberg method:
- Union resist job enrichment
- High cost (in training)
- It only focus on the job and ignores other variables that contribute the QWL.
3. Job characteristics method
This method specifies or defined the characteristics affect the job design. E.g. decision making character, physical labor character mental physical labor characteristics.
Characteristics are: - Skills variety, Task identity, significance, autonomy and freedom.
4. Open socio-technical method of job design:
This approach merges the technical needs of the organizational task with the social needs of employee. Also, this approach restructures job relationship with technology. It leads to radical changes in environment. It considers:
Nature of the job, Role of employees and their needs, employee should believe in technology of job.
5. Work team method of job design (self control, free):
Work teams are self-directed teams. They are a group of employees with widely defined jobs and responsibilities to achieve specific goals. They solves problems, implements solution and take full responsibility for outcomes.
Team members are highly committed, decide collectively, interact continuously, work closely, determine work assignments and working methods and practice self-supervision.
Advantages of work team method:
- Higher level of satisfaction
- Self motivated/ discipline
- Achieve high productivity
- Less turnover of employee
Disadvantages of work team method:
- Union create barriers
- Avoid new responsibility
- High cost
- Only focus on job
Concept and purpose of Job Analysis:
Concept: Job analysis is the process used to collect information about the duties and responsibility, necessary KSA, outcomes and working environment for a particular job. Job analysis identifies the competencies (KSA directly) related to performance on the job.
It is systematic procedure of gathering, documenting and analyzing information about the context, content and requirement of job. Therefore, job analysis includes:
- Nature of job
- Relationship of job with the other job.
- Academic qualification and qualification
- Types of people fit in the organization structure.
Other information also reviews in job analysis which are as follows:
-Review of responsibility
- Review interest of employee
- Review the types of job
- Review of similar job
- Analyzes the responsibilities and duties.
Advantages of job analysis:
-Help to recruit right person for right job
-Help to increase productivity and efficiency
-Help to evaluate a job
-Helps to prepare Human resource plan
-Helps to specialization and description job
In the conclusion, job analysis is the function of job description and job specialization mathematically:
Job analysis= f(JD +JS)
Purposes of Job Analysis:
1. Develop job description, job specification and job performance standards
a. Job description: It is a profile of job requirements. It is needed for recruitment, selection, appraisal and development purposes. The purposes of job description are:
- Placement of employment
- Recruitment and selection
- HR planning, HRIS
- Compensation/ salary
- Identify training and development needs
b. Job specification: It is a profile of people characteristics needed for performing the job. It is needed for recruitment and selection process/ purposes. Job specification serves the following purposes:
- Find out right candidate
- Set competency for job
- Helps to determine salary
- Helpful for HRP
- To attract qualified candidate
2. Conduct job evaluation: Job evaluation is the process of systematically determining a relative value (pay grade/ salary) of job in organization.
3. To purpose human resource plan: HRP forecasts future HR requirements. It specifies ways and means to satisfy such requirements. Job analysis provides useful inputs for preparing HRP.
4. Identify training and development needs: Job analysis information serves as a basis to identify training and development needs of employees. It is also useful for orientation of employee.
5. Job design and redesign: Job can be designed and redesigned on the basis of job analysis information. Technological advances have made job redesign important.
Collecting job analysis information (Process): It is the process of collecting information about jobs and the characteristics of job holder. The step involved in collecting job analysis information are:
a. Understand the purpose of job analysis
b. Select position for job analysis
c. Identify information need
d. Identify sources of information
e. Choose methods for collecting information
f. Collect needed information and check for accuracy.
a. Understand the purpose of job analysis: The purpose of job analysis should be clearly understood by the analyst. The purposes are :
- Human resource planning decisions
- Recruitment and selection decisions
- Employment pay grade decisions
- Preformation/ performance appraisal decisions
- Assignment of duties, responsibilities, authority
b. Select position for job analysis: The position of job analysis in the organization should be selected for collection of information, representative jobs are selected.
c. Identify information needed: The types of information needed for job analysis should be identified. They can be:
i. Work activities: - specific task/ activities
-Procedures used to perform activities
- Hazards and discomforts of job
ii. Worker oriented activities: These activities are concerned with how the job is performed.
iii. Machine and materials used. These are concerned with what the worker uses. They can be equipment, tools, plastic and so on.
iv. Job performance standards: They are concerned with performance standards. They can be Quality and quantity standards for the job.
v. Job context: It is concerned with the job context such as physical working conditions, work schedule, incentives, both financial and non-financial, etc.
vi. Personal attributes: These are education, training, skills, work experience physical strength.
d. Identify sources of information for job analysis: The sources for collecting information should be identified. They can be: a. Employees b. Supervisors c. Independent experts d. Non human resources
e. Choose methods for collecting information. Various methods are available for collecting information for job analysis. They can be :
i. Observation method: Employees doing the jobs are observed
ii. Interview method: Interview is conducted at work site.
iii. Questionnaire method: Employees fill in a questionnaire
iv. Diary method: employees record their daily activities
v. Technical conference method: Experts and technicians sit in a conference to do job analysis.
f. Collect information: The needed information is collected and processed. It is checked for accuracy.
Methods for collecting job analysis information:
1. Field observation: This method is useful for gathering useful first hand information about simple and first hand information about simple and repetitive jobs. It provides inner understanding of job requirements. This method includes:
- Direct observation: Self observation the field or work station is direct observation and observation of task, duties, responsibilities or what happening in field.
- Critical incident analysis (CIT): Collection of information about work problems, poor quality/standards for job analysis through field observation techniques.
Advantages of observation methods:
- It is simple and easy to understand.
- Accurate situation, behavior, attitudes, discipline
- Useful HR planning to solve problems
Disadvantages:
- Accuracy depend upon person of field observation
- Chance of –ve impact to top level
- Conflict/ confusion and expensive.
2. Interview
... Coming soon!!