Human Resources and Job Design

Outline
• Global Company Profile : NASCAR
• Human Resource Strategy for Competitive Advantage
• Labor Planning
• Job Design
• Ergonomics and the Work Environment
• Methods Analysis
• The Visual Workplace
• Labor Standards
• Ethics
 Global Company Profile : NASCAR
• New century, NASCAR's
popularity soared with
increased TV and sponsorship
dollars.
• Teams, led by iconic figures
like Rusty Wallace and Jeff
Gordon, gained fame
comparable to traditional
sports teams.
 Human Resource Strategy for Competitive
Advantage
• HR strategies akin to a NASCAR team: expensive, challenging, yet
sustainably advantageous.
• Organizations like Hard Rock Cafe and Alaska Airlines have proven
the effectiveness of HR strategies.
• Emphasis on the significant payoff and difficulty for competitors
to replicate.
• Quote from London Four Seasons Hotel manager: "Our key
competitive difference is our people."
 Objective of Human Resource Strategy
• Human resource strategy aims
to manage labor and design
jobs for effective and efficient
utilization of people.
• Two key objectives:
• Efficiently utilizing people within
the constraints of other
operational decisions.
• Ensuring a reasonable quality of
work life characterized by
mutual commitment and trust.
 Quality of Work Life and Mutual Trust

Definition of reasonable quality of work

life, considering safety, equitable pay, and
meeting physical and psychological
requirements.
Emphasis on mutual commitment and
trust between management and
employees.

Genuine respect for employees enhances

the establishment of quality work life and
trust.
 Constraints on Human Resource Strategy

• Product mix impacts seasonality and stability of employment.

• Technology, equipment, and processes influence safety and job
content.
• Location decisions impact the work environment.
• Layout decisions, such as assembly line vs. work cell, influence
job content.
Constraints on Human Resource Strategy
Product strategy Process strategy
• Skills needed • Technology
• Talents needed • Machinery and
• Materials used equipment used
• Safety • Safety

Schedules
Individual
• Time of day When Who
• Time of year
HUMAN differences
RESOURCE • Strength and fatigue
(seasonal)
STRATEGY • Information
• Stability of
processing and
schedules
response

Location strategy Layout strategy

• Climate • Fixed position
• Temperature • Process
• Noise • Assembly line
• Light • Work cell
• Air quality • Product
 Constraints on Human Resource Strategy
• Product Strategy: Focuses on the skills and talents needed, materials
used, and safety considerations.
• Process Strategy: Involves the technology and machinery/equipment
used, and safety measures.
• Schedules: Considers the time of day, time of year (seasonal), and
stability of schedules.
• Individual Differences: Takes into account strength and fatigue, and
information processing and response capabilities.
• Location Strategy: Considers factors like climate, temperature, noise,
light, and air quality.
• Layout Strategy: Involves decisions about fixed position, process,
assembly line, work cell, and product.
 Impact of Technology Decisions
• Examples of job challenges imposed by technology decisions
(e.g., foundries, slaughterhouses, assembly lines, semiconductor
manufacturing).
• Highlighting the need for trade-offs and simultaneous
consideration of strategic decisions for a tolerable quality of work
life.
 Simultaneous Decision-Making
• Emphasizing the interconnectedness of decisions in HR strategy.
• Achieving a system where both individual and team performance
are enhanced through optimum job design.
• Balancing the trade-offs for a harmonious workplace.
 Three Decision Areas in HR Strategy
• Overview of the three decision areas: labor planning, job design,
and labor standards.
• Setting the stage for in-depth exploration of each decision area in
subsequent slides.
 Labor Planning
• Definition of labor planning involving staffing policies related to
employment stability, work schedules, and work rules.
• Emphasis on the strategic nature of labor planning for effective
workforce management.
 Employment Stability Policies
• Follow demand exactly
• Matches direct labor costs to production
• Incurs costs in hiring and termination, unemployment
insurance, and premium wages
• Labor is treated as a variable cost
 Employment Stability Policies
• Hold employment constant
• Maintains trained workforce
• Minimizes hiring, layoff, and unemployment costs
• Employees may be underutilized during slack periods
• Labor is treated as a fixed cost
 Work Schedules
• Standard work schedule
• Five eight-hour days
• Flextime
• Allows employees, within limits, to determine their own
schedules
• Flexible work week
• Fewer but longer days
• Part-time
• Fewer, possibly irregular, hours
 Job Classifications and Work Rules
• Specify who can do what
• Specify when they can do it
• Specify under what conditions they can do it
• Often result of union contracts
• Restricts flexibility in assignments and
consequently efficiency of production
 Job Design
• Specifying the tasks that constitute a job for an
individual or a group
1. Job specialization
2. Job expansion
3. Psychological components
4. Self-directed teams
5. Motivation and incentive systems
 The Role of Labor Specialization
• The division of labor into unique tasks
• First suggested by Adam Smith in 1776
1. Development of dexterity
2. Less loss of time
3. Development of specialized tools
• Later Charles Babbage (1832) added another
consideration
4. Wages exactly fit the required skill required
 Job Expansion
• Adding more variety to jobs
• Intended to reduce boredom associated with
labor specialization
• Job enlargement
• Job rotation
• Job enrichment
• Employee empowerment
 Job Enlargement
Enriched job
Planning
(Participate in a cross-
function quality
improvement team)

Enlarged job
Task #3 Present job Task #2
(Lock printed circuit (Manually insert and (Adhere labels
board into fixture for solder six resistors) to printed circuit
next operation) board)

Control
(Test circuits after
assembly)
 Psychological Aspects of Job Design
• Human resource strategy
requires consideration of
the psychological
components of job
design
 Hawthorne Studies
• They studied light levels, but discovered productivity
improvement was independent from lighting levels
• Introduced psychology into the workplace
• The workplace social system and distinct roles played
by individuals may be more important than physical
factors
• Individual differences may be dominant in job
expectation and contribution
 Core Job Characteristics
• Jobs should include the
following characteristics

1.Skill variety
2.Job identity
3.Job significance
4.Autonomy
5.Feedback
 Self-Directed Teams
To maximize effectiveness, managers should
• Ensure those who have legitimate
contributions are on the team
• Provide management support
• Ensure the necessary training
• Endorse clear objectives and goals
• Financial and non-financial rewards
• Supervisors must release control
 Limitations of Job Expansion
• Higher capital cost
• Individuals may prefer simple Average Annual
Training Hours/
jobs Employee

• Higher wage rates for greater U.S. 7

skills Sweden 170

Japan 200
• Smaller labor pool
• Higher training costs
 Driving Performance with Motivation
• Bonuses - cash or stock options
• Profit-sharing - profits for distribution to
employees
• Gain sharing - rewards for improvements
• Incentive plans - typically based on production
rates
• Knowledge-based systems - reward for
knowledge or skills