Job Design and Description - Essay Example

? Job Design and In this competitive world, job and design has become an added competitive advantage. Adding tasks to the production workers’ jobs has made numerous companies and organizations more productive. Improving job design and description contributes to the success of a workplace in many manufacturing and service settings. Employers use a variety of job designs and work schedules to increase productivity and job satisfaction. To accomplish complex tasks such as building ships or operating a hotel, you must divide work among individuals and groups. Job description and design are tools that are used in structuring an organization. In an organization, the first stride to acquiring the appropriate person with the required skills into the right position is to get the job right. In reference to Lussier, a good description and design of job supports a manager to effectively run the organization (242). Job description arises from job design. An organization’s management should clearly state the job description and design before embarking on recruitment. Each job should have various requirements or essentials. These inherent requirements are the responsibilities and chores that should be undertaken to get the job done. These requirements stipulate achievement of the result rather than how to achieve them. For instance, an employee is obliged to take minutes in meetings. In this case, it is essential for all employees to take minutes of all the meetings within the organization. Needless to say, it is also necessary to understand that not all the tasks in a job description are integral prerequisites. For instance, though making coffee is not an essential receptionist’s task, he or she may be required to make some coffee for guests. It almost goes without saying that the job design and description is the foundation for getting the best and brightest employees. Job Design The ability of an organization to succeed in its goals depends on how well it can identify the various activities that must occur and the quality of the individuals selected to perform them. It is the responsibility of the management to ensure that both activities and personnel are appropriate. By carefully analyzing the purpose, responsibilities and qualifications of each job, the selection process can be made more efficient and fruitful (Lussier 242). Lussier defines job design as “the process of laying out job responsibilities and duties and describing how they are to be performed” (242). Designing a job requires answering such questions as “what activities are necessary to accomplish organizational goals?” Answering this simple question is apparently more complex than one might expect. It requires detailed information in order to be useful. The goal is to be as comprehensive as possible in listing the tasks. Being too brief or too broad creates more work later in the process (Lussier 243). For example, a task for a circulation service point position should be more than “check out materials.” Job design should consider organizational requirements, individual worker attributes, health, and safety. Job design is a broad concept that not only involves human relations but also job satisfaction, motivation and interpersonal issues. Organizations can best achieve their objectives by designing work that motivates workers to attain their full capability (Lussier 243). A deep understanding of job design requires an understanding of behavioral science, organizational behavior, psychology, human resources management, economics, and operations management. The process by which jobs are designed includes three sub processes: job analysis, job description and job segmentation. These subprocesses are related and their relationship is very essential in job description. Long before recruiting and selecting employees begin, the organization needs to carry out an analysis (Lussier 243). This analysis consist of “observing and studying a job to determine its proper content, duties and responsibilities, and the conditions under which the work is performed, as well as its relationship to other jobs, and the skills, training, attitudes, and abilities necessary to perform such a job” (Lussier 244). In reference to Lussier, a job analysis refers to “the process by which individual jobs are analyzed in order to determine the specific responsibilities, working conditions and requirements of the position” (244). Information can be collected through methods of gathering information such as interviews, surveys, observations and journaling. Distinctive job analysis questions consist of “what are your duties?” “What types of decisions can you make without checking with your superior?” “What processes and resources do you use in the completion of your work?” “What education skills and experiences are necessary in order to successfully carry out your responsibilities?” “What technology do you use in completion of your work?” An interactive process is “typically used in finalizing the job analysis, with input from the employee and the employee’s supervisor playing a pivotal role” (Lussier 244). The data acquired during job analysis turns into the basis for the progress of the “job description and specification document” (Lussier 243). In addition, the “information supports many important employee resourcing functions such as recruitment, selection, performance evaluation and in-performance criteria on which to assess performance” (Lussier 244). Job description details the job itself and should include job detail and location, job summary to give the prospective employee a quick but concise explanation of the job content, and comprehensive listing of job duties, “with some indication of the frequency of occurrence or percentage of time devoted to each major duty” (Lussier 244). For those jobs possessing a supervisory responsibility, an explanation of the number of people directly supervised and their job titles should be given. Lussier asserts that job specification is a statement of the human qualifications necessary to do the job (244). This generally includes education, experience, training, judgment initiative, physical effort, and skills, responsibilities, communication skills, and sensory demands, such as sight and hearing, where applicable; also, manual, dexterity, eye-hand-foot coordination , motor coordination, and color discrimination, if applicable. It is recommended that any potential hazards to life and limb related to the job should be clearly spelled out. The nature of the hazards and their probability of occurrence should be considered (Lussier 244). A job design is useful in increasing an organization’s effectiveness and productivity. It reduces the need for close supervision of employees, helps attain projected training to optimize value from training investment and improves employee satisfaction, commitment and maintenance. In addition, it creates clarity of roles and accountability among employees and team solidity because their roles and obligations are well defined (Lussier 246). Before beginning the process of job designing, the organization should consider numerous factors which include the task complexities and coordination, skill set requirements, training requirements, time requirements and legal requirements. Job Description Job description takes place after job design. It is crucial, “not only as a part of the recruitment process but also to help with training, reward systems and performance appraisals” (Lussier 244). Job descriptions must be lawful, honest and detailed. Lussier asserts that “a job description is a written summary of the major duties and responsibilities of the position” (244). Lussier denotes “job descriptions have several major components: identification information, e.g. title, department and reporting relationships; duties and responsibilities, and working conditions” (245). Job description communicates obligations and output anticipations to workers. The job summary component gives a “brief description that summarizes the overall purpose and objectives of the position and the results the employee is expected to accomplish; some include the amount and the degree of freedom or independence the employee has to act or the name of the position to which a person holding this job reports” (Lussier 245). Important functions component gives the task, “duties and responsibilities of the position that are most important to get the job done” (Lussier 245). Additional functions component gives the attractive but not totally essential facets of the job and the job responsibilities for which adjustment can sensibly be made (Lussier 245). Knowledge, expertise and capabilities are another component of job description. Knowledge is data one has acquired while skills include qualities such as problem solving and communication (Lussier 245). Lussier asserts that abilities are the “personal characteristics an employee has that may be necessary to excel on the job.” Job description may also include supervisory responsibilities component. In addition, job description has a working conditions component that details the “environment, in which the job is performed, especially any unique conditions beyond those in a normal office or library environment” (Lussier 245). Lussier denotes that designing and structuring jobs, a tool of importance is job description (245). Managers and subordinates can both make good use of job descriptions which show, in writing, the details of the design of the work. Job descriptions help superiors and subordinates arrive at a “meeting of the minds” as to the areas of work activity the employee ought to engage in. It helps prevent job structure from arbitrarily evolving. It gives permanence and stability, and helps assure that effort is properly directed. Job descriptions can be drafted from information obtained in job analysis. The job analysis questionnaire completed by employees and reviewed by supervisors offers a wealth of information about each job (Lussier 247). Drafting job descriptions is the first place to capitalize on this information. Job descriptions should be drafted and submitted to the supervisor and the human resources manager for review. It is prudent to obtain employee sign-offs as well, to ensure accuracy from their perspective as well as to promote commitment and buy-in. Consultants perform the work of writing descriptions. Alternatively, an individual from the human resources department may undertake this assignment, or it could be a function of the compensation committee. Proper effort distribution is greatly facilitated with job descriptions which tell what that effort distribution should be like (Lussier 246). If an organization requires workers to avoid spending too much time on low priority items, or avoid large amounts of time on task items that should not require large amounts of time, job description shows the design of the work with respect to duty priorities and duty time requirements. In reference to Lussier, “job descriptions provide many helpful functions, and at the same time consume a lot of time to create and once created, difficult to keep up-to-date” (206). A method of ascertaining they are repeatedly restructured is having every worker appraise “his or her own job description” early, and to come up with proposals for transformation where necessary. Lussier denotes that this ensures “that not only do the job descriptions remain current, but also that employees are reminded of their stated responsibilities and the performance standards on which their performance evaluation will be based” (246). Works Cited Lussier, Robert N. "Human Resources Management." Management Fundamentals: Concepts, Applications, Skills Development. 5th ed. Cengage Learning, 2011. 242-248. Print. Read More