Work Schedules and Job Design to put Over few years ago, it took 20 to 20 craftsmen together each Louis Vuitton Reade tote 52g es the course of about eight days, individual workers Would sew together leather panels, gue in inings, 2nd attach handles. Later on, inspired by car maker Toyota Cor Poration and egged on by management consul wom McKinsey & Company, the venerable Frenct house discovered efficiency. Today, teams of 6 to 12 work- ers, each performing several tasks, can assemble the $680 shiny, LV-4ogo bags in a single day. The factory floor changes are part by Louis Vuitton to serve customers better by k boutiques fully stocked with popular merct landise— ate, in other words, more like a success supply-chain overhaul includes changes ry-gooes ‘tem and to the way salespeople sen stores. ‘or years, high-end fashion ho: known for its expensive br More attention to product lage than to the mechanics When new designs caught- our = UL and the Cor 4 distribution, "9 wary E Chie bur "0" tl Prepared to speed up production “NIC but age ae "S-Oxpongi, : ek, Peri ‘auhion labels such as Zara and H&M have ; a no quickly and filling shelves with new products ®Y do bus a : nines, p, . higher-end rivals to rethink how om < Art of 1 NV s\ a ‘ane dis he overhaul by Louis Vuitton to stay competi- a ” Manuta Ctui a "ING Process more flexible, borrawing tech- Y Car makers PN Vuittoy,® 294 Consumer-electronics companies ® production poses a risk to the brand's ® Of dollars for its logo canvas bags, for Y have bought into the notion that skilled ® old-fashioned way, Although the company has Some time, its reputation for high-quality | to its success "Y format is called Pégase (Pegasus in English), after the ged horse and a Vuitton folling suitcase. Under the new System, it takes less time to assemble bags, in part because they no lon- ger sit around on carts waiting to be mi fr k: t another. That enables Ig Ye Mover fom one workstation to '@ company to ship fresh collections to its bou- tiques every six weeks—more than twice as frequently as in the past. “It's about finding the best ratio between quality and speed,” says Patrick-Louis Vuitton, a fifth-generation member of the company's found- ing family, who is in charge of special orders.’ The Louis Vuitton story illustrates how modifying job design is a major part of helping a company stay competitive. By adding tasks to the pro- duction workers’ jobs, the workers became more productive to the point that the tote bag could be produced in one day. (Yet the company does not want to lose the benefits of workers having expertise.) Improving job design can contribute to the success of a workplace in many manufactur. ing and service settings. Employers use a variety of job designs and work schedules to increase productivity and job satisfaction. Modifying job design and giving workers more control over schedules are the two major topics of this chapter. To accomplish complex tasks, such as building ships or. operat Tampering wit image. ¢ ‘98. Customers Pay hundreds cts is still vita ga hotel, you must divide work among individuals and groups. Subdividing230 cHarten 7 ed in two primary ways shed by individuals and oe welders, metal Work rors. In addition the overall tasks of an enterprise ‘One way is 10 design specific jobs to be accomP Groups. A shipbuilding company must design JOPS Pa ers, engineers, purchasing agents, and conwact BOM sy tor produc workers may be assigned to teams that 255 ‘work assigns tasks tivity and quality. The other primary way of SUBDMIIING ME visions, to units within the organization—units such a5 deparimens Fo oc, 3. This chapter will explain basic concepts relating 10 j0D CPST making jobs more challenging and giving employees MONS their working hours and place of work. We also look 2 1° often shape their own jobs, the importance of ergonomics, SN designs for highpertormance work systems. The next chapt describe how work is divided throughout an organization. oases FOUR MAJOR DIMENSIONS OF JOB DESIGN Explain the four PLUS JOB SPECIALIZATION AND JOB ‘major dimensions. DESCRIPTION of job design plus job specialization A useful starting point in understanding job design is to examine the major and job dimensions or components of jobs. Job design is the process of laying out job descriptions. responsibilities and duties and describing how they are to be performed. The different ways in which work can be designed has been studied for a long time. Frederick P. Morgeson and Stephen E. Humphrey have integrated this information, added a study of their own '540 job holders, and arrived at a new understanding of job dimensions and the nature of work Each of the four dimensions has several components. Almost any job, from door person to CEO, can be described according to how much of each Ge to wnnwcongage, dimension and sub-dimension is contained in the job. Because the dimen- Geis the Ges ter sions mgfer to what an incumbent actually does on the job, understanding Chapter 7. What type ; nsions leads to an understanding of the nature of work. f workforce does this fimensions and sub-dimensions are described next, and outlined in pany have, and In this section we explain job specialization and job descriptions v does that create are a logical follow-up to knowing job dimensions. The various songet e job design described in this chapter contain similar dimen- ioe new’ framework includes many previous findings about job Go to www cengage. sign 16s of layingOur Major Dimensir Description 239 » Specialization and Job PNT hie The Four Jc a Task Characteristics Social Characteristics Social support Initiated interdependence Received interdependence Interaction outside organization Feedback from others Work-scheduling autonomy Decision-making autonomy Work-methods autonomy Task variety Task significance Task identity Feedback from the job Contextual Characteristics Ergonomics Physical demands Work conditions Equipment use Knowledge Characteristics Job complexity Information processing Problem solving Skill variety Specialization Source: Nbr trom Frederick P. Morgeson and Stepien E. Huphvey, “The Work Design Questionnaire (WDO}: Developing and Vala: ing a Compuchensive Measure for Assessing the Job Design and the Nature of Work,” Journal of Applied Pavchology, November 2006, p. 1327, Task Characteristics 7 Task characteristics focus on how the work itself is accomplished and the range and nature of the tasks associated with a particular job. A task char- acteristic for a manager at a steel mill might be using a spreadsheet to make a time-series analysis of the demand for recycled steel by manufacturers of washing machines. {uronomy in general refers to how much freedom and independence the incumbent has to carry out his or her work assignment, The freedom aspect includes (a) work scheduling, (b) decision making, and (c) work methods. A steel manager with high autonomy might decide when to do the forecast, make decisions based on the forecast, and choose the method for making the forecast (maybe not using a spreadsheet), Task variety refers to the degree to which the job requires the worker to use a wide range of tasks, such as the steel-mill manager making forecasts, lecting employees, and motivating workers, Task significance indicates the extent to which s the lives or work of others, whether inside or outside the organization, Because the steel our manager helps produce is contained in the vehicles and home appliances of many people, the man- ager’s job has high task significance. Task identity reflects the extent to which a job involves a whole piece of work that can readily be identified. An audiologist who administers hearing tests to customers in a shopping mall has high task identity. A businessee eee 232 CHAPTER 7 Work Schedules and Job Design il larger contributes to a larg analyst who performs financial analysis that only : job provides direct Feedback from job refers to the extent to which the oP prov es direct and clear information about task performance: The et installer directly from the job itself, as opposed to fe ee ees of satellite TV has considerable feedback because aeeey the potential fray! mer’s home, he or shé knows if the rig is working. s not know right away if trations in a manager's job is that the manager a ae cena he or she has done any good, such as in attempting to report has low task identity. Knowledge Characteristics a An obvious job dimension is the demand for knowledge, skill, and ability Placed on a job holder because of the activities built into the job. The secu- rity person at the door of a bar must know the difference between a valid ID. card and a fake ILD. card. A chief financial officer must understand the various ways in which profits might be stated. ob complexity refers to the degree to which the job tasks are complex jing difficult to perform. Work that involves complex tasks requires high- ‘evel skills and is mentally demanding and challenging. Even some basic Jobs, such as a production technician's, have become more complex because of the math and computer skills required to carry out these jobs. Most man- 2gerial positions involve high complexity, including the many skills described in Chapter | and throughout this book.Four Major Dimensions of Job Design Plus Job Speciaizaion and Job Description 238 Specialization refers to the extent to which a job involves performing spe- cialized tasks or possessing specialized knowledge and skills. Depth of knowl- edge and skill is required to be an effective municipal-bond analyst or brain surgeon. A manager’s job is typically that of a generalist rather than a special ist, yet the manager is most likely a specialist on the way to becoming a man- ager. A basic example would be a purchasing specialist later becoming a purchasing manager. Later, we add a few more comments about job speciali- zation to highlight its importance in defining jobs and careers. Social Characteristics Social characteristics relate to the interpersonal aspects of a job or the extent to which the job requires interaction with others. Social support refers to the degree to which a job involves the opportunity for advice and assistance from others in the workplace. Social support often contributes to the job holder's well-being, as in being able to turn to coworkers for technical assistance. Interdependence reflects the degree to which the job depends on others— and others depend on the job—to accomplish the task. Visualize a team put- ting together a proposal for a large government contract to build an airplane The various team members must provide input about manufacturing time and cost figures, such as the quality of a particular component being some- what dependent on how much money is available for its manufacture. Interaction outside the organization refers to how much the job requires the employee to interact and communicate with people outside the organiza- tion. Customer-contact workers obviously interact with outsiders, and so do C-level managers such as a CFO speaking with Wall Street financial ana- lysis, Feedback from others refers to the extent to which other workers in the organization provide information about performance. Supervisors and coworkers are typical sources of feedback, yet feedback can also be received from those outside the immediate work area. For example, a senior manager might encounter a specialist in the hallway and say, “Jackie, I heard you're doing a great job for us. Keep up the good work.” Contextual Characteristics Contextual characteristics refer to the setting or environment of the job, such as working in extreme temperatures. Ergonomics indicates the degree to which a job allows correct posture or movement. A chicken cutter in a poul- try factory might suffer from tendonitis as a result of the repetitive move- ments, whereas most managerial jobs do not risk ergonomics problems except for too much keyboarding and mouse utilization. Physical demands refer to the level of physical activity or effort required for the job, particularly with respect to physical strength, endurance, effort, and activity. The job of a furniture mover obviously has high physical demands; however, many managerial positions have heavier physical demands than outsiders imagine. Among these demands can be travelling a pola ae SC ae234 chapTER 7 job specialization er and A0cesso- ours sing a heavY HPCE ing 108 Mk is Pe i ch tne» and clean- Work Schedules and Job D259 ance, use! lot, which requires endurance, Mee ne ‘standing To one ROU 2 othe em emPeTNT goes MOTE Vk condos ete tet grands. BO ng Ste On er on 3 working rac Gas? ontextual char formed. including the Pre 2 A projet MARAE 2 Tiness of the workplace if ‘environmental challeng than doe: a “Equipment use is 3 P d comple! er ters. printers. coffee Pos. climate-controlled office. Oe variety 3 jb. Although Ma of comput and even © aetenstcs that reflects the va ment incorporated. into the jo ie Fae i ore rrnent operators, wey one! we Sonsidered el a iglepbones pocket Coeur personal digital assistants, t - etween professional an Job Dimension Differences b 9 occupational Nonprofessional Jobs As we described the dimensions, we made S879" 2 yi ymphrey collected jferences 10 the dimensions. Mors categories of differences with regard to the dimensions ss pecupational categories of a ces betw sions of oft data on differences between the dimensions of the CTE) ang nonprofes abservice providers). professionals (such as managers, accountants. onals (such as food preparation specialists and person Professionals scored Nonprofessional jobs required more physical demands. Professs nal significantly higher on several work characteristics: several references © + Job complexity * Information processing * Problem solving + Skill variety + Work-scheduling autonomy * Decision-making autonomy * Work-methods autonomy — * Work conditions (more favorable) Another analysis within the study compared the job demands of occupations that were human-life focused (such as a A career suggestion here: If y i gg = If you think the sions i: rst ec tg 2 lt occupying a professional job rather than a nonprofescione1 ee a job. Job Specialization and Job Design aupervisor. ad by the s ative) OF rovided hapten aly or hed when a employes ha tially emtjent is inside oF OULSIEE | er that Tost people than per 4. Direct feedback, Employees should receive ! work, This feedback can be built i closing a sale gives a sales represen 2. Client relationships. A job is automa a client or customer to serve, wheth irm. Serving a client is more satisfying t0 ™° work solely for a manager 3. New learning. An ent Df edge. The learning can stem from job experienc grams associated with the job. i 4. Control over method. When a worker has some control over which faa to choose to accomplish a task, his or her task motivation 8 f ae creases, An office manager, for example, might be told to decrease build- ing energy costs by 10 percent, She would be deemed to have control over method if empowered to decide how to decrease costs, for example, by adjusting the thermostat or finding a lower-cost energy supplier. 5. Control over scheduling. The ability to schedule one’s work contributes to job enrichment. Scheduling includes the authority to decide when to tackle which assignment and having some say in setting working hours. 6. Unique Perence An enriched job exhibits unique qualities or features. relations assistant i il a erates 1, for example, has the opportunity to interact, 7. spel over resources, Another contribution to enrichment comes from ig some control over resources such as money, material. 8. Direct communication authority. An entiched job, pena pe y iy. An enriched job provides worker: s the > acquire new knowl : allows its holder to ; hed job allows its holder (© ae ining pro- ing client relationships, 9. Personal accountability, In an enriched job, work their results. They accept credit for a job done done poorly, well and bI i. A tahy enriched job with all nine characterist; ler an opportunity to satisfy hi self-fulfillment. Sometime: js Ses i t Si s, the jobs of much responsibility and too many tks A jee, ieee ran Ould be moderately enriched. An impoverigger mati veehncogy workers are another occupational gor MS ROME. Infor- advanced level may ae cal with computers and? (ett MAY suffer | \ ealthy job eni software 3 working directly with information technology mene for many worker Person direg e t feedback,job characteristics model A method of job enrichment that focuses on the task and interpersonal dimensions of a job. Job Enrichment and the Job Characters new learning, and personal accountability. However, many other computer workers feel stressed by the complexity of information technology, the amount of continuous learning involved, and frequent hardware and soft- ware breakdowns beyond the control of the worker. The Job Characteristics Model of Job Enrichment Expanding the concept of job enrichment creates the job characteristics model, a method of job enrichment that focuses on the task and interpersonal dimensions of a job.” As Exhibit 7-4 shows, five measurable characteristics improve employee motivation, satisfaction, and performance. All five char- acteristics have been incorporated into the four major dimensions of job design and were defined previously ‘As Exhibit 7-4 reports, these core job characteristics relate to critical psy- chological states or key mental attitudes. Skill variety, task identity, and task significance lead to a feeling that the work is meaningful. The task dimension of autonomy leads quite logically to a feeling of responsibility for work out- comes. The feedback dimension leads to knowledge of results. According to the model, a redesigned job must lead to these three psychological states in Job enrichment can be made more precise and scientific by fol- lowing the model presented here. Coe | Critical Core Job n Characteristios eee = Eel Eins Toi a Did Po ue eae cr a Tae inh satisfaction Pe Tee coor) Gained knawiedge is of actual resuts ey Sey = ars era Cd =)240 CHAPTER 7 Work Schedules an Jot . internal Terformance LEARNING OBJECTIVE Describe job involvement, enlargement, and rotation, job involvement The degree to which individuals identify psychologically with their work. job enlargement Increasing the number and variety of tasks within a job. 3 of chieve the ovteoMe’ “ay, quali 1d absentecis™, workers so that they jon, low turnovel satisfac ing a Job Guidelines for Implementing 2 wth needs provides | ie im 10" r out- Enrichment a 7-4, strength of employe characteristics © ee The notation in Exhibit 7-4, tween the jol i ws for managers. The link betwes elop- her the rin mae I and Se we Me | comes strengthens @ rs want 10 707 ; am of job enrichment, @ rd ‘variety, " grow ployees ing a pro srployee ely enrich the challenge a Jer to avoi | for pint 5 The brains! and perhaps ? changes can jient contac or want more respon Gmployees already have jobs that are adequat path want an enriched job because they PF stress of responsibility. Brainstorming is usel will enrich jobs for those who want enrichmen’. would be composed of job incumbents, supeh*O trial engineer. The workers’ participation in planhlte Workers may suggest, for example, how to increa they could self-schedule some tasks. JOB INVOLVEMENT, ENLARGEMENT, AND ROTATION ‘ re- Job enrichment, including the job characteristics model, requires @ ene hensive program. Managers can improve the motivational aspects o! J design through less complicated procedures: job involvement, job enlarge- ment, and job rotation. All three processes are built into the more compre- t or how hensive job enrichment program. Job involvement is the degree to which individuals identify psychologi- cally with their work. It also refers to the importance of work to a person’s total self-image. If an insurance claims examiner regards his job as a major part of his identity, he experiences high job involvement. For example, at a social gathering the claims examiner would inform people shortly after meet. ing them, “I'm a claims examiner with Nationwide.” ‘The employee. involvement groups in quality management are based on job involvement By making decisions about quality improvement, team members ideally iden- tify psychologically with their work. Exhibit 7-5 gives you an opporticn think about job involvement as it applies to you. y to Job enlargement refers to increasing the nu i within a job. The technique was developed to help werk Seiarbecen Because the tasks are approximately at the same level of Es Shee enlargement is also referred to as horizontal job loading eet: job enrichment is referred to as vertical job loading, because Ke jee 0b on higher-level job responsibility. The claims examiner wera oot takes ‘ould experience job “J, Barton Cunningham and Ted Eberle “A Guid sonnel, February 1990, p. 59. Ms 'e Job Enrichment and Redesign,” Per-ae m1 ED Indicate how strongly You agree with below the appropriate heading. Ds re olowing sate sage b, the job you Ds - My work is the biggest contri ee pac ntributor to my 1 Work is only a way of Dr getting othe i in life that | want oe 5 44 3 2 1 3. The most meaningful things . tome involve my work. 2 "ot happen Pe mae 4. often concentrate so hard on my work that 12) 3 2 ''m unaware of what is going on around me 5. If linherited enough money, | would spend ae 3 : ' the rest of my life in leisure activities 8. | attempt to minimize interruptions in my 1 2 3 4 : work, such as shifting my attention to 2 Web site unrelated to the task at hand 7. am very much emotionally involved 2 3 4 5 personally in my work. 8. Most things in life are more important 5 4 3 2 1 than work. 9. Working full time blocks me from doing S46 3 2 1 a lot of things in life | would prefer to do. 10. My work is usually the most exciting part Pa 3 4 5 of my day Score Scoring and interpretation. interpretation Total the numbers circled, and then 45-50 Your highly to productivity and sat 2844 You st 1udes suggest a moderate degree of job involvement. level of productivity, you would need to work toward becom your work. 10-27 Your attit ides suggest a low degree of job involvement successful, professional career with heme sale stems from Myrve GaNe an! Frank Daneel nance Bass ond Papohangs, Winter 198, p. 163 enlargement if he were given additional responsibilities such claims for boats and motorcycles as well as automobiles. As responsibilities expand in job enlargement, jobholders usually themselves juggling multiple priorities. Two, three. four, or even242 CHAPTER 7 Work Schedules and Job Design b rotation y multiple approach to handling Frets demands might be facing the worker. In one aPPFOSEY ing then tackles -@ Jobholder ranks them in order of imPer ot prior Pee important one first. With this approac! ich, the jobholder fi pt may be neglected. In a more recommended ¢ PPinly to all other tasks. TOP the top-priority task and then moves immediately t tasks have been com- Priority items can be tackled again after the lesser specific task must be pleted. If the manager or team leader insists that @ eet task first. Some done immediately, it is good office politics to work on ig avoid falling catch-up time at night or on weekends might then be inves! behind on other projects panics A new approach to job enlargement has surfaced as a yay for col a pias to reduce compensation costs when new positions are filled. In eae of this approach, a mid-level position is combined with a junior po: riation Position is then advertised and offered at a lower salary. In enone is s of job enlargement, senior people who are hired later find that they are sponsible for performing their own work as well as tasks that were for- erly the responsibility of subordinates. A specific example of adding Tesponsibilities to a position to save compensation costs relates to hiring. For example, a new chief marketing officer might be expected to also handle ordinary media tasks such as negotiating rates for advertising.” Job rotation is a temporary switching of job assignments. Formal pro- Seas 1 Job rotation usually last about one year."” In this way, employees develop new skills and learn about how other aspects of the unit or organi- job rotation helps prevent workers from fallin, : bored. In addition to leaning new skills, job ToEibet aveal See Opportunity to learn more about how the Organization operat ra ners an ine specialist who was rotated into a finaae® Position for six wag ¥ market- mented. “Now I really understand firsthand hee every penny wonths com. the company is attempting to obtain a good Fetum on invesne cous When Job enlargement and job rotation offer similar advantages sn : iz in disadvan. Job rotation, workers develop a broader wc of ska AP enlargement and ‘aluable and flexible. Pushed to extremes, however. ne them more