This chapter has four major sections: job design, quality of work life, methods analysis, and work

measurement.
As you read this chapter, note how decisions in other design areas have an impact on work design. For example, product
or service design decisions in large measure determine the kinds of activities workers will be involved with. Similarly, layout
decisions often influence work design. Process layouts tend to necessitate broader job content than product layouts. The
implication of these interrelationships is that it is essential to adopt a systems approach to design; decisions in one area must
be related to the overall system.

7.1 INTRODUCTION
The importance of work design is underscored by an organization’s dependence on LO7.1 Explain the importance
human efforts (i.e., work) to accomplish its goals. Furthermore, many of the topics of work design.
in this chapter are especially relevant for productivity improvement and continuous
improvement.

7.2 JOB DESIGN

Job design involves specifying the content and methods of jobs. Job designers focus Job design The act of specify-
on what will be done in a job, who will do the job, how the job will be done, and where ing the contents and methods of
the job will be done. The objectives of job design include productivity, safety, and jobs.
quality of work life.
Current practice in job design contains elements of two basic schools of thought.
One might be called the efficiency school because it emphasizes a systematic, logical
approach to job design; the other is called the behavioral school because it emphasizes LO7.2 Compare and contrast
satisfaction of wants and needs. the two basic approaches to
The efficiency approach, a refinement of Frederick Winslow Taylor’s scientific job design.
management concepts, received considerable emphasis in the past. The behavioral

289
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Specialization Work that
concentrates on some aspect of a
product or service.
LO7.3 Discuss the advan-
tages and disadvantages of
specialization.
Correct positioning of
equipment and tools can help
reduce fatigue and increase
employee productivity.
Here, an ergonomist from
Humantech Inc., in Ann Arbor,
Michigan, obtains workstation
measurements to ensure proper
height and accessibility for
employees.
Chapter Seven Work Design and Measurement
approach followed and has continued to make inroads into many aspects of job design. It is
noteworthy that specialization is a primary issue of disagreement between the efficiency and
behavioral approaches.
Specialization
The term specialization describes jobs that have a very narrow scope. Examples range from
assembly lines to medical specialties. College professors often specialize in teaching certain
courses, some auto mechanics specialize in transmission repair, and some bakers specialize in
wedding cakes. The main rationale for specialization is the ability to concentrate one’s efforts
and thereby become proficient at that type of work.
Sometimes the amount of knowledge or training required of a specialist and the complex-
ity of the work suggest that individuals who choose such work are very happy with their jobs.
This seems to be especially true in the “professions” (e.g., doctors, lawyers, professors). At
the other end of the scale are assembly-line workers, who are also specialists, although much
less glamorous. The advantage of these highly specialized jobs is that they yield high produc-
tivity and relatively low unit costs, and they are largely responsible for the high standard of
living that exists today in industrialized nations.
Unfortunately, many of the lower-level jobs can be described as monotonous or down-
right boring, and are the source of much of the dissatisfaction among many industrial
workers. While some workers undoubtedly prefer a job with limited requirements and
responsibility for making decisions, others are not capable of handling jobs with greater
scopes. Nonetheless, many workers are frustrated, and this manifests itself in turnover
and absenteeism. In the automotive industry, for example, absenteeism runs as high as
20 percent. Workers may also take out their frustrations through disruptive tactics such as
deliberate slowdowns.
The seriousness of these problems caused job designers and others to seek ways of alle-
viating them. Some of those approaches are discussed in the following sections. Before we
turn to them, note that the advantages and disadvantages of specialization are summarized in
Table 7.1.
 Chapter Seven Work Design and Measurement 291

TABLE 7.1
Advantages Major advantages and
For management: For employees: disadvantages of specialization
1. Simplifies training 1. Low education and skill requirements in business
2. High productivity 2. Minimum responsibilities
3. Low wage costs 3. Little mental effort needed

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

Behavioral Approaches to Job Design LO7.4 Describe behavioral

In an effort to make jobs more interesting and meaningful, job designers frequently consider approaches to job design.
job enlargement, job rotation, job enrichment, and increased use of mechanization.
Job enlargement means giving a worker a larger portion of the total task. This constitutes
horizontal loading—the additional work is on the same level of skill and responsibility as the Job enlargement Giving a
original job. The goal is to make the job more interesting by increasing the variety of skills worker a larger portion of the
required and by providing the worker with a more recognizable contribution to the overall total task, by horizontal loading.
output. For example, a production worker’s job might be expanded so that he or she is respon-
sible for a sequence of activities instead of only one activity.
Job rotation means having workers periodically exchange jobs. A firm can use this Job rotation Workers periodi-
approach to avoid having one or a few employees stuck in monotonous jobs. It works best cally exchange jobs.
when workers can be transferred to more interesting jobs; there is little advantage in hav-
ing workers exchange one boring job for another. Job rotation allows workers to broaden
their learning experience and enables them to fill in for others in the event of sickness or
absenteeism.
Job enrichment involves an increase in the level of responsibility for planning and coor- Job enrichment Increasing
dination tasks. It is sometimes referred to as vertical loading. An example of this is to have responsibility for planning and
stock clerks in supermarkets handle reordering of goods, thus increasing their responsibilities. coordination tasks, by vertical
The job enrichment approach focuses on the motivating potential of worker satisfaction. loading.
Job enlargement and job enrichment are also used in lean operations (covered in
Chapter 14), where workers are cross-trained to be able to perform a wider variety of tasks
and given more authority to manage their jobs.
The importance of these approaches to job design is that they have the potential to increase
the motivational power of jobs by increasing worker satisfaction through improvement in the
quality of work life.

Motivation
Motivation is a key factor in many aspects of work life. Not only can it influence quality and
productivity, it also contributes to the work environment. People work for a variety of reasons
in addition to compensation. Other reasons include socialization, self-actualization, status,
the physiological aspects of work, and a sense of purpose and accomplishment. Awareness
of these factors can help management to develop a motivational framework that encourages
workers to respond in a positive manner to the goals of the organization. A detailed discussion
of motivation is beyond the scope of this book, but its importance to work design should be
obvious.
Another factor that influences motivation, productivity, and employee–management
relations is trust. In an ideal work environment, there is a high level of trust between workers
292
Self-directed teams Groups
empowered to make certain
changes in their work processes.
At the Michigan International
Speedway pit stop, the Toyota
team changes four tires, fills
the gas tank, and does a
maintenance check in under
15 seconds. This is done
4-6 times during a 400-mile
NASCAR race.
Chapter Seven Work Design and Measurement
and managers. When managers trust employees, there is a greater tendency to give employees
added responsibilities. When employees trust management, they are more likely to respond
positively. Conversely, when they do not trust management, they are more likely to respond in
less desirable ways.
Teams
The efforts of business organizations to become more productive, competitive, and customer-
oriented have caused them to rethink how work is accomplished. Significant changes in the
structure of some work environments have been the increasing use of teams and the way
workers are paid, particularly in lean production systems.
In the past, nonroutine job assignments, such as dealing with customer complaints or
improving a process, were typically given to one individual or to several individuals who
reported to the same manager. More recently, nonroutine assignments are being given to
teams who develop and implement solutions to problems.
There are a number of different forms of teams. One is a short-term team formed to col-
laborate on a topic such as quality improvement, product or service design, or solving a prob-
lem. Team members may be drawn from the same functional area or from several functional
areas, depending on the scope of the problem. Other teams are more long term. One form of
long-term team that is increasingly being used, especially in lean production settings, is the
self-directed team.
Self-directed teams, sometimes referred to as self-managed teams, are designed to
achieve a higher level of teamwork and employee involvement. Although such teams are
not given absolute authority to make all decisions, they are typically empowered to make
changes in the work processes under their control. The underlying concept is that the work-
ers, who are close to the process and have the best knowledge of it, are better suited than
management to make the most effective changes to improve the process. Moreover, because
they have a vested interest and personal involvement in the changes, they tend to work
harder to ensure that the desired results are achieved than they would if management had
implemented the changes. For these teams to function properly, team members must be
trained in quality, process improvement, and teamwork. Self-directed teams have a number
of benefits. One is that fewer managers are necessary; very often one manager can handle
 Chapter Seven Work Design and Measurement 293

several teams. Also, self-directed teams can provide improved responsiveness to problems,
they have a personal stake in making the process work, and they require less time to imple-
ment improvements.
Generally, the benefits of teams include higher quality, higher productivity, and greater
worker satisfaction. Moreover, higher levels of employee satisfaction can lead to less turn-
over and absenteeism, resulting in lower costs to train new workers and less need to fill in for
absent employees. This does not mean that organizations will have no difficulties in applying
the team concept. Managers, particularly middle managers, often feel threatened as teams
assume more of the traditional functions of managers.
Moreover, among the leading problems of teams are conflicts between team members,
which can have a detrimental impact on the effectiveness of a team.
Expert Robert Bacal has a list of requirements for successful team building:1
1. Clearly stated and commonly held vision and goals.
2. Talent and skills required to meet goals.
3. Clear understanding of team members’ roles and functions.
4. Efficient and shared understanding of procedures and norms.
5. Effective and skilled interpersonal relations.
6. A system of reinforcement and celebration.
7. Clear understanding of the team’s relationship to the greater organization.

Ergonomics
Ergonomics (or human factors) is the scientific discipline concerned with the understand- Ergonomics Incorporation of
ing of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that human factors in the design of
applies theory, principles, data and methods to design in order to optimize human well-being the workplace.
and overall system performance. “Ergonomists contribute to the design and evaluation of
tasks, jobs, products, environments and systems in order to make them compatible with the
needs, abilities and limitations of people.”2 In the work environment, ergonomics also helps to
increase productivity by reducing worker discomfort and fatigue.
The International Ergonomics Association organizes ergonomics into three domains:
physical (e.g., repetitive movements, layout, health, and safety); cognitive (mental workload,
decision making, human–computer interaction, and work stress); and organizational (e.g.,
communication, teamwork, work design, and telework).3
Many examples of ergonomics applications can be found in operations management. In the
early 1900s, Frederick Winslow Taylor, known as the father of scientific management, found
that the amount of coal that workers could shovel could be increased substantially by reduc-
ing the size and weight of the shovels. Frank and Lillian Gilbreth expanded Taylor’s work,
developing a set of motion study principles intended to improve worker efficiency and reduce
injury and fatigue. Over the years since then, technological changes have broadened the scope
of ergonomics, as hand–eye coordination and decision making became more important in
the workplace. More recently, the increasing level of human–computer interfacing has again
broadened the scope of the field of ergonomics, not only in job design, but also in electronics
product design.
Poor posture can lead to fatigue, low productivity, and injuries to the back, neck, and
arm. Good posture can help avoid or minimize these problems. Figure 7.1 illustrates good
posture when using a computer.

1
Robert Bacal, “The Six Deadly Sins of Team-Building,” www.performance-appraisals.org.
2
The International Ergonomics Association (www.iea.cc).
3
Ibid.
4
Ibid.
294
FIGURE 7.1
Components of a comfortable
workstation
Source: Copyright 2007 Bennett, Coleman &
Co. Ltd. All rights reserved.
LO7.5 Discuss the impact
of working conditions on job
design.
Chapter Seven Work Design and Measurement
Document
Holder
Viewing Distance Monitor
Seat back Angle
Angle
Monitor
Arms &
Height
Wrist Angle
Mouse
Seat
Height
Keyboard
Height
7.3 QUALITY OF WORK LIFE
People work for a variety of reasons. Generally people work to earn a living. Also they may
be seeking self-realization, status, physical and mental stimulation, and socialization. Quality
of work life affects not only workers’ overall sense of well-being and contentment, but also
worker productivity. Quality of work life has several key aspects. Getting along well with
coworkers and having good managers can contribute greatly to the quality of work life. Lead-
ership style is particularly important. Also important are working conditions and compensa-
tion, which are addressed here.
Working Conditions
Working conditions are an important aspect of job design. Physical factors such as tempera-
ture, humidity, ventilation, illumination, and noise can have a significant impact on worker
performance in terms of productivity, quality of output, and accidents. In many instances,
government regulations apply.
Temperature and Humidity. Although human beings can function under a fairly wide
range of temperatures and humidity, work performance tends to be adversely affected if tem-
peratures or humidities are outside a very narrow comfort band. That comfort band depends
on how strenuous the work is; the more strenuous the work, the lower the comfort range.
Ventilation. Unpleasant and noxious odors can be distracting and dangerous to workers.
Moreover, unless smoke and dust are periodically removed, the air can quickly become stale
and annoying.
Illumination. The amount of illumination required depends largely on the type of work
being performed; the more detailed the work, the higher the level of illumination needed for
adequate performance. Other important considerations are the amount of glare and contrast.