DESIGN AND REDESIGN OF WORK SYSTEMS

Current and future work systems are more broadly defined and more closely related to strategic choices
made by management. Workers are becoming more involved in the design and re-engineering of their
jobs.
Cross-function teams are strategically beneficial, but also create challenges in effectively managing their
activities.
The complexity of many decisions in organizations that needs to be made make it unlikely that one
individual will have all of the knowledge and information needed to make a good decision.

Design of Work Systems

Design of Work Systems is an important component in Production and Operations Management. Design
of Work Systems forms the basis and explains the importance of work design. Design of Work Systems is
used to describe the two basic approaches to job design, the first approach focuses on Efficiency
through job specialization and the other focuses behavioral approaches to job design. Design of Work
System also entails method analysis which in turn centers on how jobs are performed. Motivation and
Trust also form an important dimension in Design of Work systems as this alone provides an opportunity
to the Organization to develop effective teams who can achieve organizations short and long term
objectives. Motivation and Trust observations also emphasizes working conditions that in turn lead to
work measurements which leads to reward and compensation of the individual working for the
organization. In short this topic of Design of Work Systems provides the perfect bridge between
Production and Operations Management with Human Resource Management.

Redesign of Work Systems

Work redesign encourages companies to review their current work processes and organizational human
resource policies to ensure that these operations and practices support the overall strategic mission of
the company. It is important to note that work redesign is more than continuous improvement. It is
more than doing things better - it is also about doing things differently. Work redesign starts from the
top, the company vision. It implores companies to revisit the fundamentals of their existence.
Companies are encouraged to re-think assumptions and seek renewal within the company. With work
redesign, companies start to think from their customers' point of view and examine if their operations
and policies allow them to satisfy customers' needs. The way things are done and the way people work
are scrutinized and improved upon; sometimes totally changed, so as to better meet customer needs
and support the company's mission. There are many ways to redesign work and for whatever method
employed, the people element is important to ensure the success of the transformation.