Chapter 4: Job Analysis and Job Design

Employee team --> process improvement team

a group made up of experienced people from different departments or functions. The group is charged with improving quality, decreasing waste, or enhancing the productivity of processes that affect all departments or function.s

Employee team --> cross-functional

a group staffed by a mix of employees from an organization's different departments formed to accomplish a specific objective

skills

things you have learned to do

Goal of job enrichment

to enrich a job so that it is intrinsically motivating versus extrinsically motivating

knowledge

what you know

synergy

when the outcome of team members is greater than the sum of their individual efforts -- this does not happen automatically, it must be nurtured in the team environment.

abilities

your innate apititudes

other attributes

your personality, values, etc like helpfulness, predisposition to teamwork

Critical incident method

A job analysis method by which critical job tasks are identified for job success **teaches the analyst to focus on employee behaviors critical to job success

Job description

A statement of the tasks, duties, and the responsibilities of a job to be performed **These are known as TDRs (tasks, duties, responsibilities)

Ergonomics

A top-down approach that focuses on the process of studying and designing equipment and systems that are easy and efficient for employees to use **this is used to protect the health and productivity of employees

Industrial engineering

A top-down job design approach that is a field of study concerned with analyzing work methods in order to reduce the time needed to complete the work cycle -- it concludes with the establishment of time standards. **You establish the the time standard after you record the time required to complete each element of work

Job enrichment

Enhancing a job by adding more meaningful tasks and duties to make the work more rewarding and satisfying

Flextime

Flexible working hours that permit employees the option of choosing daily starting and quitting times, provided they work a certain number of hours per day or week

Employee team --> self-directed team

Groups of highly trained individuals performing a a set of interdependent job tasks within a natural work unit. The team members rely on a consensus-type decision making to perform their work duties, solve problems, or deal with internal or external customers.

Compressed workweek

Process of shortening days in the workweek by lengthening the hours of work per day Example: 4/10 or 4/40 four day, 40-hour week

Virtual teams

Teams that utilize telecommunications technology to link team members who are geographically dispersed -- often worldwide across cultures and across time zones

Difference between a task inventory analysis and a position analysis questionnaire

The difference between the TIA and PAQ is that PAQ uses the same standardized form, the TIA can be tailored for a specific organization

Employee team --> project team

a group formed specifically to design a new product or service. Members are assigned by their managers on the basis of their ability to contribute to the team's success. Group disbands after the task is completed.

When is employee empowerment successful?

employee empowerment is successful when the culture of an organization is open and receptive to change

Sources of job analysis info: Diaries

employees are asked to keep diaries of their work activities for an entire work cycle -these are filled out at specific times of the work shift and maintained for a two to four-week period

Sources of job analysis info: Interviews

job analyst interviews individual employees and their managers about the parameters of the job

Sources of job analysis info: Questionnaires

job analysts circulate questionnaires to be filled out individually by employees without assistance

Sources of job analysis info: Observation

job analysts learns about the job by observing and recording the activities associated on a standardized form

Compentency-based approach

looks into the competencies or capabilities and adaptability to new job challenges **how the work is done becomes more of a focus than just what work is done

job duties

-arranged in order of importance in statements covering them -employers need to show that the job criteria relates to the duties of the job in selecting employees

job identification

-contains administrative information -distinguishes the job from other jobs in the organization

Job title

-provides status to employee -indicates what the duties of the job entail

What two major pieces of information come out of a job analysis?

1. job description 2. job specifications

Employee empowerment

A bottom-up approach that grants employees the power to initiate change,thereby encouraging them to take charge of what they do -- this gives them more control and autonomous decision making abilities Ex. Ways to empower employees include (1) participation, (2) innovation, (3) access to information, and (4) accountability

Employee team --> task force team

A group formed by management to immediately resolve a major problem

Employee team

A group of employees working together towards a common purpose, in which members have complementary skills, members' work is mutually dependent, and the group has discretion over tasks performed

Job characteristics model

A job design theory that proposes that three psychological states of a jobholder -- (1) experiencing meaningfulness of the work performed, (2) responsibility of the work outcomes, and (3) knowledge of the results of the work performed -- result in improved performance, internal motivation, and lower absenteeism and turnover

Functional job analysis (FJA)

A job-analysis approach that utilizes an inventory of the various types of work activities that can constitute any job Example: O-Net

Job crafting

A naturally occurring phenomenon whereby employees mold their tasks to fit their individual strengths, passions, and motives better

Dejobbing

A process of structuring organizations not around jobs but around projects that are constantly changing and have different team members

Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ)

A questionnaire identifying approximately 200 different worker tasks that, by means of a five-point scale; seeks to determine the degree to which different tasks are involved in performing a job **The results of the PAQ are quantitative **PAQ should be administered by a job analyst, not taken alone **Not free, firms must pay for it. **employees must have a high level of reading ability

Employee engagement

A situation which workers are enthusiastic and immersed in their work to the degree that it improves the performance of their companies **Job crafting can result in significantly more employee engagement

Job specifications

A statement of the specific knowledge, skills, and abilities of a person who is to perform a job needs -- also known as qualifications

Job

An activity people do for which they get paid, particularly as apart of the trade or occupation that they occupy

Job sharing

An arrangement whereby two part-time employees perform a job that otherwise would be held by one full-time employee

Task inventory analysis

An organization-specific list of tasks and their descriptions used as a basis to identify components of jobs The goal of a task inventory analysis is to produce a comprehensive list of task statements applicable to all jobs. The difference between the TIA and PAQ is that PAQ uses the same standardized form, the TIA can be tailored for a specific organization

Job design

An outgrowth of job analysis that restructures jobs through technological and human considerations in order to enhance organization efficiency and employee job satisfaction

Job enlargement

The process of adding greater variety of tasks to a job

Job rotation

The process whereby employees rotate in and out of different jobs

Job analysis

The systematic process of collecting information about jobs by determining their duties, tasks, or activities

Telecommuting

The use of smartphones, personal computers, networks, and other communications technology to do work in the home that is traditionally done in the workplace **Some advantages of telecommuting include: increased flexibility of employees (better work-life balance), reduced absenteeism, retention of valued employees who might otherwise quit, and increased productivity (reduced wasted office time)

TDRs

tasks, duties, responsibilities

Recall: what are the five job characteristics that produce the states of experiencing meaningfulness of work performed, responsibility of work outcomes, and knowledge of the results of the work performed?

the five job characteristics that produce these states are task variety, identity, significance, autonomy, and feedback