JOB DESIGN Job design is the process of defining the way work will be performed and the tasks

that will be required in a given job. In other words job design is the process of deciding on the content of a job in terms of its duties and responsibilities; on the methods to be used in carrying out the job, in terms of techniques, systems and procedures and on the relationships that should exist between the job holder and the superiors, subordinates and colleagues.Thus job design is necessary to fulfill the following goals To !eet the organi"ational requirements such as higher productivity, operational efficiency, quality of product#service etc To satisfy the needs of the individual employees like interests, challenges, achievement or accomplishment, etc. Integrate the needs of the individual with the organi"ational requirements. APPROACHES TO JOB DESIGN The four approaches used in job design are mechanistic approach motivational approach biological approach perceptual$motor approach Mechanistic Approach It its roots in classical industrial engineering. %ocuses on designing jobs around the concepts of task speciali"ation, skill simplification, and repetition. &cientific management, one of the earliest mechanistic approaches, sought to identify the one best way to perform the job through the use of time$and$motion studies. The scientific management approach was built upon in later years and resulted in a mechanistic approach that calls for the job to be designed very simply. Bio ogica Approach 'ew employees can be trained to perform the job quickly and inexpensively. (omes primarily from the sciences of biomechanics, or the study of body movements Is referred to as ergono!ics, or the concern with examining the interface between individuals) physiological characteristics and the physical work environment. The goal of this approach is to minimi"e the physical strain on the worker by structuring the physical work environment around the way the body works. %ocuses on outcomes such as physical fatigue, aches and pains, and health complaints. Percept"a #Motor Approach *as its roots in the human$factors literature. %ocuses on human mental capabilities and limitations. The goal is to design jobs in a way that ensures that they do not exceed people)s mental capabilities. Tries to improve reliability, safety, and user reactions by designing jobs in a way that reduces the information processing requirements of the job. Moti$ationa Approach The motivational approach to job design focuses on the job characteristics that affect the psychological meaning and motivational potential of job design. + focus on increasing job complexity through job enlargement, job enrichment, and the construction of jobs around sociotechnical systems. + model of how job design affects employee reaction is the ,-ob (haracteristics !odel.. %ACTORS A%%ECTING JOB DESIGN I& Organi'ationa (actors )# /rgani"ational factors to refer to factors inside the organi"ation which affect job design they are a0 Task characteristics $ Task characteristics refer to features of the job that is depending on the type of job and the duties involved in it the organi"ation will decide, how the job design must be done. Incase the company is not in a position to appoint many people; a single job may have many duties and vice versa. b0 The process or flow of work in the organi"ation $There is a certain order in which jobs are performed in the company. Incase the

company wishes it could combine similar job and give it to one person this can be done if all the jobs come one after the other in a sequence. c0 1rgonomics $ 1rgonomics refers to matching the job with physical ability and characteristics of the individual and in providing an office environment which will help the person to complete the jobs faster and in a comfortable manner. d0 2ork practices $ 1very organi"ation has different work practices. +lthough the job may be the same the method of doing the job differs from company to company. This is called work practice and it affects job design. II& En$iron!enta (actors)# 1nvironmental factors which affect job design are as follows a0 1mployee availability and ability $ (ertain countries face the problem of lack of skilled labour. They are not able to get employees with specific education levels for jobs and have to depend on other countries due to this job design gets affected. b0 &ocial and cultural expectations $ The social and cultural conditions of every country is different so when an !'( appoints an Indian it has to take into account like festivals, auspicious time, inauspicious time, etc. to suit the Indian conditions. This applies to every country and therefore job design will change accordingly. III& Beha$iora (actors)# -ob design is affected by behavioral factors also. These factors are a0 %eedback $-ob design is normally prepared on the basis of job analysis and job analysis requires employee feedback based on this employee feedback all other activities take place. !any employees are however not interested in providing a true feedback because of fear and insecurity. This in turn affects job deign. b0 +utonomy $1very worker desires a certain level of freedom to his job effectively. This is called autonomy. Thus when we prepare a job design we must see to it that certain amount of autonomy is provided to the worker so that he carries his job effectively. c0 3ariety $2hen the same job is repeated again and again it leads to burden and monotony. This leads to lack of interest and carelessness on the job. Therefore, while preparing job design certain amount of variety must be provided to keep the person interested in the job. Methods o( *ob design There are various methods in which job design can be carried out. These methods help to analysis the job, to design the contents of the and to decide how the job must be carried out .these methods are as follows I+ Job rotation$ -ob 4otation is a management approach where employees are shifted between two or more assignments or jobs at regular intervals of time in order to expose them to all verticals of an organi"ation. It is a pre$planned approach with an objective to test the employee skills and competencies in order to place him or her at the right place. In addition to it, it reduces the monotony of the job and gives them a wider experience and helps them gain more insights. -ob rotation is a well$planned practice to reduce the boredom of doing same type of job everyday and explore the hidden potential of an employee. The process serves the purpose of both the management and the employees. It helps management in discovering the talent of employees and determining what he or she is best at. /n the other hand, it gives an individual a chance to explore his or her own interests and gain experience in different fields or operations. II+ Job en arge!ent$+ job design technique in which the number of tasks associated with a job is increased 5and appropriate training provided0 to add greater variety to activities, thus reducing monotony.-ob enlargement is considered a hori"ontal restructuring method in that the job is enlarged by adding related tasks. -ob enlargement may also result in greater workforce flexibility. III+ Job enrich!ent$+ job design technique that is a variation on the concept of job enlargement. -ob enrichment adds new sources of job satisfaction by increasing the level of responsibility of the employee. 2hile job enlargement is considered a hori"ontal

restructuring method, job enrichment is a vertical restructuring method by virtue of giving the employee additional authority, autonomy, and control over the way the job is accomplished. +lso called job enhancement or vertical job expansion.