Chapter 9

Human Resources
and Job Design

© 2006 Prentice Hall, Inc. 10 – 1

 Southwest Airlines
 Profitable for over 30 years while
United, Northwest, Delta, and
USAir lost billions
 Key strategy is human resources
 Culture of caring for people in the
totality of their lives, not just at
work
 Spends more to recruit and train
than any other airline
© 2006 Prentice Hall, Inc. 10 – 2
 Southwest Airlines

 Empowered employees
 Wages higher than industry average
 Stock options for some employees
 Employees treated like customers
 Success comes from people, not
gimmicks or special equipment

© 2006 Prentice Hall, Inc. 10 – 3

© 2006 Prentice Hall, Inc. 10 – 4
 Human Resource Strategy
The objective of a human resource
strategy is to manage labor and
design jobs so people are effectively
and efficiently utilized
1. People should be effectively utilized
within the constraints of other
operations management decisions
2. People should have a reasonable quality
of work life in an atmosphere of mutual
commitment and trust
© 2006 Prentice Hall, Inc. 10 – 5
 Constraints on Human
Resource Strategy
Product strategy Process strategy
• Skills needed • Technology
• Talents needed • Machinery and

e
W

ur
• Materials used ha

ed
equipment used
• Safety t

oc
• Safety

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

Location strategy Layout strategy

• Climate • Fixed position
re

H
he

• Temperature • Process
ow
W

• Noise • Assembly line

• Light • Work cell
• Air quality • Product
Figure 10.1
© 2006 Prentice Hall, Inc. 10 – 6
 Labor Planning
Employment Stability Policies
1. 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

© 2006 Prentice Hall, Inc. 10 – 7

 Labor Planning
Employment Stability Policies
2. Hold employment constant
 Maintains trained workforce
 Minimizes hiring, termination, and
unemployment costs
 Employees may be underutilized
during slack periods
 Labor is treated as a fixed cost

© 2006 Prentice Hall, Inc. 10 – 8

 Work Schedules
 Standard work schedule
 Five eight-hour days
 Flex-time
 Allows employees, within limits, to
determine their own schedules
 Flexible work week
 Fewer but longer days
 Part-time
 Fewer, possibly irregular, hours

© 2006 Prentice Hall, Inc. 10 – 9

 Job Classification 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 pressure
 Restricts flexibility in assignments
and consequently efficiency of
production
© 2006 Prentice Hall, Inc. 10 – 10
 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
6. Ergonomics and work methods
7. Visual workplace
© 2006 Prentice Hall, Inc. 10 – 11
 Labor Specialization
 The division of labor into unique tasks
 First suggested by Adam Smith in 1776
1. Development of dexterity and faster
learning
2. Less loss of time
3. Development of specialized tools
 Later Charles Babbage (1832) added
another consideration
4. Wages exactly fit the required skill

© 2006 Prentice Hall, Inc. 10 – 12

 Job Expansion

 Adding more variety to jobs

 Intended to reduce boredom
associated with labor specialization
 Job enlargement
 Job rotation
 Job enrichment
 Employee empowerment

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 Job Enlargement
Enriched job
Planning
(participating 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
next operation) circuit board)

Control
(Test circuits after
assembly)
Figure 10.2
© 2006 Prentice Hall, Inc. 10 – 14
 Psychological Components
of Job Design
Human resource strategy requires
consideration of the psychological
components of job design

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 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

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 Core Job Characteristics
Jobs should include the following
characteristics
 Skill variety
 Job identity
 Job significance
 Autonomy
 Feedback
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 Job Design Continuum

Self-directed
teams
Increasing
Empowerment reliance on
employee’s
Enrichment contribution
and
Enlargement increasing
responsibility
Specialization accepted by
employee

Job expansion
Figure 10.3

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 Self-Directed Teams
 Group of empowered individuals
working together to reach a
common goal
 May be organized for long-term or
short-term objectives
 Effective because
 Provide employee empowerment
 Ensure core job characteristics
 Meet individual psychological needs

© 2006 Prentice Hall, Inc. 10 – 19

 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
 Many teams have definite life cycles
© 2006 Prentice Hall, Inc. 10 – 20
 Benefits of Teams and
Expanded Job Designs
 Improved quality of work life
 Improved job satisfaction
 Increased motivation
 Allows employees to accept more
responsibility
 Improved productivity and quality
 Reduced turnover and absenteeism
© 2006 Prentice Hall, Inc. 10 – 21
 Limitations of Job
Expansion
1. Higher capital cost
2. Individuals may prefer simple jobs
3. Higher wages rates for greater skills
4. Smaller labor pool
5. Increased accident rates
6. Current technology may not lend itself
to job expansion

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 Motivation and Incentive
Systems
 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
© 2006 Prentice Hall, Inc. 10 – 23
 Ergonomics and Work
Methods

 Ergonomics is the study of the

interface between man and
machine
 Often called human factors
 Operator input to machines
 Feedback to operators

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 Ergonomics and Work
Methods

 The work environment

 Illumination
 Noise
 Temperature
 Humidity

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 Job Design and Keyboards

Figure 10.4

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 Levels of Illumination
Task Condition Type of Task Illumination Type of
or Area Level Illumination
Small detail, Sewing, inspecting 100 Overhead
extreme dark materials ceiling lights
accuracy and desk lamp
Normal detail, Reading, parts 20-50 Overhead
prolonged assembly, ceiling lights
periods general office
work
Good contrast, Recreational 5-10 Overhead
fairly large facilities ceiling lights
objects
Large objects Restaurants, 2-5 Overhead
stairways, ceiling lights
warehouses

Table 10.2
© 2006 Prentice Hall, Inc. 10 – 27
 Decibel Levels
Environment Common Noise
Noises Sources Decibels
Jet takeoff (200 ft) 120
|
Electric furnace area Pneumatic hammer 100 Very annoying
|
Printing press plant Subway train (20 ft) 90
|
Pneumatic drill (50 ft) 80 Ear protection
Inside sports car | required if
(50 mph) Vacuum cleaner (10 ft) 70 exposed for 8
Near freeway Speech (1 ft) | or more hours
60 Intrusive
Private business office |
Light traffic (100 ft) Large transformer (200 ft) 50 Quiet
|
Minimum levels, Chicago 40
residential areas at night Soft whisper (5 ft) |
Studio (speech) 30 Very quiet

Table 10.3
© 2006 Prentice Hall, Inc. 10 – 28
 Methods Analysis
 Focuses on how task is performed
 Used to analyze
1. Movement of individuals or material
 Flow diagrams
2. Activities of human and machine and
crew activity
 Activity charts
3. Body movement
 Micro-motion charts
© 2006 Prentice Hall, Inc. 10 – 29
 Flow Diagram

Welding

From
Storage bins
press
mach. Paint
shop
Mach. 3 Mach. 4
Machine 1

Mach. 2

Figure 10.5 (a)

© 2006 Prentice Hall, Inc. 10 – 30
 Flow Diagram

Machine 4 Welding
Machine 3
Paint
Machine 2 shop
Machine 1
From
press Storage
mach. bins

Figure 10.5 (b)

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 Process
Chart

Figure 10.5 (c)

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 Activity Chart

Figure 10.6

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 Operation Chart

Figure 10.7

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 The Visual Workplace
 Use low-cost visual devices to
share information quickly and
accurately
 Displays and graphs replace
printouts and paperwork
 Able to provide timely information
in a dynamic environment
 System should focus on
improvement
© 2006 Prentice Hall, Inc. 10 – 35
 The Visual Workplace
Visual signals can take many forms
and serve many functions

 Present the big picture

 Performance
 Housekeeping

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 The Visual Workplace
Visual utensil A “3-minute service”
holder encourages clock reminds employees
housekeeping of the goal

Figure 10.8
© 2006 Prentice Hall, Inc. 10 – 37
 The Visual Workplace
Visual signals at the Visual kanbans reduce
machine notify inventory and foster JIT
support personnel

Reorder
Line/machine point
stoppage

Parts/
maintenance
needed

All systems go
Part A Part B Part C
Andon
Figure 10.8
© 2006 Prentice Hall, Inc. 10 – 38
 The Visual Workplace

Quantities in bins indicate

ongoing daily requirements
and clipboards provide
information on schedule
changes
Process specifications and
operating procedures are
posted in each work area

Figure 10.8
© 2006 Prentice Hall, Inc. 10 – 39
 Ethics and the Work
Environment
 Fairness, equity, and ethics are
important constraints of job design
 Important issues may relate to equal
opportunity, equal pay for equal
work, and safe working conditions
 Helpful to work with government
agencies, trade unions, insurers,
and employees
© 2006 Prentice Hall, Inc. 10 – 40
 Labor Standards
 Effective manpower planning is
dependent on a knowledge of the
labor required
 Labor standards are the amount of
time required to perform a job or
part of a job
 Accurate labor standards help
determine labor requirements,
costs, and fair work
© 2006 Prentice Hall, Inc. 10 – 41