Action learning review - work design - Essay Example

Action Learning Review - Work Design Observation As a socio-technical system, work design is critical in the consideration of the human factors in the workplace. The objective is to be able to create an environment were workers can achieve job satisfaction, efficiency, effectivity and be able to have access to channels for the resolution of problems. In a company that operates on flexible hours and remotely, it is important to create work designs that can be accessed 24/7. At the same time, communication and resolution of policies and issues alike must be done in real time and promptly. At the same time, there should be consideration for security, privacy and sensitivity of programs to circumvent ant limitations that may develop from the nature or structure of the organization. Analysis It was only recently, around in the early part of the 20th century that the value of human resources was given its much and due importance in the organization. Research had shown that employee commitment and satisfaction are highly correlated and this coincides with their intrinsic motivation to work and stick with the organization through its up and downs. Employees are willing to go beyond their call of duty if they have a high job commitment (Bartol & Martin, 1998). There is evidence that work designs are up to par: job satisfaction is high, there is low staff turnover and many employees have been with the company for more than two years which suggests employee commitment. In small organizations such as the one I am working in, the individual efforts are even higher in magnitude. The objectives for the design are to be able to endure that every employee will be given the opportunity and the capability to contribute fully to the company. This will be done by ensuring that work scenarios meet both the corporate and personal objectives, contribute to improving services and enhance effectivity and efficiency of processes and resources (Managing People & Organisations [MOP], 2007, p. 5). Corporate and Personal Objectives The company is in an industry that is competitive and technology oriented. Both of these factors emphasize the need to be responsive and sensitive to developments and trends not only in our main medium, online communications, but also to social trends and demographics. Therefore, the company must be able to have employees who will provide these competencies to develop. Considering this corporate objectives, the work design should afford employees the ability to deliver these needs to company (Niebel & Freivalds, 2002). At the same time, the design should be able to help the company ensure that employees reflect these needs in their work through their innovativeness and ability to deliver collaterals that support client requirements. Considering personal objectives, work design should allow employees to find a sense of fulfillment and potential in their job. There should be particular attention given to employee perceptions regarding autonomy and the challenges of such an environment (Mischel, 1968). The degree of autonomy viewed in a small organization like this is more than compared to a traditional and highly hierarchical management. The problem with too much autonomy could lead to the team inability to work cohesively with other members of the organization (Niebel & Freivalds 2002). Products and Services The company should consider the opinion of Rothwell and Sullivan (2005) who assert the value of non-traditional set ups. This can be particularly to our organization where employees work remotely and independently. In turn, there is an expected variance in the product and service development. Consider schedules alone: in a traditional set-up, people work on relatively the same schedules. In the company, since work is relatively more independent, this may not be a given condition. Therefore, there is less communication regarding products and services particularly on the evaluation phases. Clients will consider status, security, comfort and quality to be the essential requirements of selecting a product or service. Their perception of this is influenced by factors such as culture, politics, technology and economy. Work designs should support the development of products and services that are able to motivate clients to increase the services they require to on maximize profitability, reducing costs and enhancing productivity (Johansson, 2001). Effectivity and Efficiency Work simplification is the basic elements to redesign them to make the job more efficient and effective (Spector, 2006). As a final note, in developing a work design for your company you have to involve the management as well as the employees. Think of your organization as a body having different parts and systems, it is when they work together that maximum potential is realized. It is also important to remember to revisit the policies, incentives, and feedback that most assuredly can affect the efficiency and motivation of the employee responsible to the job. Although, efficiency can be attributed to a departmentalize work group could make the group interaction within the organization go down. This could become a matter of concern since job commitment research have shown that group dynamics and synergy are one of the highest rated important factors employees want to stay in the company (MOP, 2007, p. 12) Improvement Planning Robertson and Smith (1985) recommend the following strategy for analyzing existing jobs using a systematic approach that would generally involve the management and the employee as well. First, review the available literature and existing data like the employee handbook, training manuals and even old job description can prove useful. After which, an interview should be conducted with both the managers and the employees regarding the responsibilities and tasks required to do the job well. Finally, this would result in a job description detailing all your findings. As much as possible invite a third party to conduct the interviews to eliminate biases and subjectivity. It is also important to remember to revisit the policies, incentives, and feedback that most assuredly can affect the efficiency and motivation of the employee responsible to the job. Based on actual workplace surveys and studies some health complaints can be significantly reduced if individuals are given a variety of tasks, as well as some control over their work because by rearranging activities it can help alleviate fatigue or boredom (Rothwell & Sullivan, 2005) Socio-technical Enrichment To improve the current scenario in self-managing teams to systematically supervise and monitor for quality, product evaluations and development and group dynamics, there is need to develop feedback and communication systems that facilitate reflection every phases of tasks. The manner and the medium is essential in relation to developments brought by this introduced technology to operations (p. 27). For example, the supervisor should provide constructive feedback regarding employee performance. The hierarchy of command within the group should follow avenues that consider the need form, frequency and the nature of exchanges and relationships as they develop. Another notable theory is Hertzberg's Two-Hygiene Theory. It is important to note that, a person does not move in a continuum from being dissatisfied to becoming satisfied or vice versa (Rush, 1971). Labour Flexibility Working with the existing program, the flextime program seems to serve the company well this can be further used to help alleviate possible stress due to work hours. From small to big corporations an increasing number of employers are relying on these arrangements to better balance work and life obligations (MOP, 2007, p. 29). The continuation of the flexible working schedule is a significant incentive for employees and there is also an emphasis on productivity. Since flexibility schemes have already proven to be effective, other applications, such as in pay, function and numerical felxibilty (p. 27) should also be explored. Job Simplification It is important for the company to be able to streamline activities and process for employees particularly for the developers so that they can concentrate on their specific tasks which require technical concentration. Therefore the company must be able to distribute and manage tasks assignments giving them a clear idea of the specifications and requirements. At the same time, this will allow the company to better monitor and manage work in progress. These can be done by developing an interactive communication platform were work progress can be viewed in a time scale as well as by the resources, such as time, developed to the project. However, there should be caution against over-simplifying work or developing micromanagement tendencies since these can lead to dissatisfaction and boredom among employees (MOP, 2007, p. 16) Job Enlargement Through horizontal loading, there will be and increased variety in tasks and the development of multiple skills (p. 17). By doing so, the company will be able to extend employee contributions and create a venue for personal development. One avenue that can be used for this purpose is in developing peer-consultations and evaluations between employees (Rush, 1971). This will afford not only increased communication between them but also provide feedback during the development stage. Also, by allowing the "bigger picture" to be seen, the significance of a task is increased. Other strategies that can be employed include assigning leadership for focus group discussions, competitor assessment, client satisfaction survey or organizational assessment studies. The objective is to create activities where the skills of the individual can be applied or extended for other purposes. Job Rotation Job rotation may not be a strategy that can be easily used since the nature of the jobs is highly specialized and reliant on the individual skill and experience. Although, efficiency can be attributed to a departmentalize work group could make the group interaction within the organization go down (Niebel & Freivalds 2002). As mentioned earlier, self-management teams should include and expose employees to the different fields and functions to increase their appreciation of their own contribution to the organization as well that of their co-workers. With this approach allows the opportunity to increase his/her skills and knowledge about other jobs without modifying or redesigning his own. Job rotation can be most effective for new developers and employees since it is a good strategy to orient and integrate new people to the organization (MOP, 2007, p. 19). There are two main suggested programs that can be utilized: through mentoring with established employees and assignment to ad hoc committees or projects. Job Enrichment Job enrichment allows the employee to take on some responsibilities normally delegated to management. Since at the moment, the tow mangers task is more on dealing with the client. It might a good idea to let the programmers and the developers learn the clients' opinions and point of view first hand (p. 21, 23). Suggested component to factor this into work design may take the form of giving control over operations or performance to more experienced employees. Another method may be in asking an individual to have seat in administrative or corporate meetings. However, this may lead to too much responsibility and autonomy in the planning and control aspects of the job. On the other hand, the newfound control would invigorate the employee to work more effectively and even offer new insights. As with the experience of a promotion of one of the developers that proved to be problematic, there should be a careful valuation whether the method of enrichment has the potential of enhancing performance or whether it may be over extend the person. References Bartol, K. & David, C. 1998. Management. Boston: McGraw Hill Company Johansson, Johny K. 2001. Global Marketing: Foreign Entry, Local Marketing and Global Marketing, International edition. Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education Managing People & Organisations, Session 1, 2007, Unit 1 - Unit 3, AGSM MBA Executive Program Mischel, W.1968, Personality and assessment, Wiley, New York Niebel, B. and Freivalds, A. 2002. Methods, standard and work design eleventh edition. Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education Rush, H. 1971. Job design for motivation: Experiments in job enlargement and job enrichment. New York: The Conference Board. 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