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Running head: BEHAVIORAL APPROACH TO JOB DESIGN

BEHAVIORAL APPROACH TO JOB DESIGN Ashley Leers Liberty Univeristy Professor Wargo BUSI 411- Operations Management April 26, 2013

BEHAVIORAL APPROACH TO JOB DESIGN In any business operation, effectiveness and efficiency is what leads to success. If the organization is not meeting these standards, it is necessary to establish if it is an employee, the job or the matching of the two. Rees and Porter (2008, p. 135) state, when the fault is not with the job-holder, there may be uncomfortable implications for the boss. The onus may then be on them to examine the job structure or the support given to the job-holder. Factors such as job design, selection, training, pay and expectations are a few examples of reasons for poor performance. To understand and identify these factors, reasons for why people work must be established. One theory that is particularly relevant is Herzbergs two-factor theory. The distinction between intrinsic job factors relating to the job content, which can cause positive satisfaction, and external factors relating to the job context, which can cause negative job attitudes, is important and can be put to practical effect(Rees & Porter, 2008, p. 140). With

Herzbergs model, there is a matching of work with individual job requirements. If people want their job to help improve their development, then the job design should put forth challenges to meet their needs. Job design is very important to consider in the workplace. Not only is it going to make an organization more efficient and effective, the proper job design can keep employees satisfied. Stevenson (2012, p. 291) defines job design as, specifying the content and methods of jobs. The main focus of job design encompasses safety, productivity and the quality of work life. In job design, there are two approaches. Job design is a very important function that if implemented properly, can lead to many positive effects. Not only will a properly implemented job design attract potential employees, it will also help motivate them to improve productivity and profitability of the company. A good job design will incorporate the relationship with the organizational goals and values of the company. It will allow for employee input, provide proper

BEHAVIORAL APPROACH TO JOB DESIGN work and rest schedules, provide employee feedback and allow employee flexibility. There is

the efficiency approach and the behavioral approach. With job design, there are two approaches that can be taken. The efficiency approach emphasizes a systematic and logical approach to job design, whereas the behavioral approach emphasizes the satisfaction of needs and wants (Stevenson, 2012). Under the behavioral approach, there are three methods that can be implemented. The methods are job rotation, job enlargement and job enrichment. Job rotation is one approach that can be taken when considering job design. Griffin and Moorehead (2007) defines job rotation as systematically shifting workers from one job to another to sustain their motivation and interest. Each task is broken down into smaller parts and the workers are systematically rotated across the various tasks. Grensing-Pophal (2005, p.51) states, job swapping provides employees with experiences in different jobs on a regular basis and benefits management by providing more depth of experience within the workgroup. Employees learn new skills and aspects of the organization that leads to greater job satisfaction and feelings of self worth. Job rotation is used as a mechanism to reduce employee boredom and keep them interested in their job. Ortega found that job rotation has important implications for firm learning. When employees rotate, the organization gains important information about the quality of various job-employee matches (2001). Wilbur found that job rotation creates an energized workforce. New tasks will encourage a new enthusiasm in employees that was lost during the economic downturn or layoffs(1993, p. 6). It also provides greater creativity as employees assume new responsibilities allowing their minds to open to the new opportunities. He also found that job rotation creates a greater sense of pride and self-worth in individuals. Workers who learn all phases of a job increase in value to their managers and company(1993, p. 6). As employees recognize their

BEHAVIORAL APPROACH TO JOB DESIGN

value is greater to the company, their feeling of self-worth increases. This results in greater pride and increased feelings of job security, ultimately leading to higher productivity (Wilbur, 1993). How Job Rotation Can Enhance Training Effectiveness found that other benefits of job rotation include increased work-building skills, a greater systematic understanding of the business, cross-pollination of ideas and enhanced productivity (2008, p. 3). When implementing job rotation, there are a few disadvantages to consider. In certain situations, some employees may be resistant to change, as they were comfortable in their positions. Some employees may not want to give up their position for fear of failing in the next rotation. Another disadvantage to job rotation is that it will incur some costs due to training the employees in different positions. Also, some employees may not be a good fit for certain positions within the company resulting in inefficient work (Stevenson, 2012). Although there are a few disadvantages to job rotation, the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. Toyota is a perfect example of a company that successfully implements job rotation within their company. Toyota states, those who join our team find a unique environment where narrow job titles and descriptions are replaced by broader challenges that can be approached through cross training and job rotation(Toyota, n.d.). Toyota rotates their workers every two hours to another job, which utilizes different muscles as workers are performing a different set of motions. This is a benefit as workers are given the chance to perform a new set of duties and not complete the same monotonous set of actions day by day. This keeps their minds aware by paying attention to a different set of quality requirements. Miller states that job rotation keeps the workers minds nimble and bodies loose, reducing fatigue and boredom(2004, para. 3). He also found that the two-hour job rotation teaches workers different skills, enhancing cross training and allows Toyota to become more flexible as a

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company. As customer demand changes or work content shifts, trained people can be moved to where they are needed(2004, para. 4). This creates a core competency as Toyota has the freedom to move employees to different jobs and place them where each is strongest. Since Toyota places a high value on thinking in their company, job rotation is as an effective approach to job design. A second approach to behavioral job design is job enlargement. Also known as horizontal loading, job enlargement is defined as giving a worker a larger portion of the total task. This constitutes horizontal loading the additional work is on the same level of skill and responsibility as the original job(Stevenson, 2012, p. 292). The job itself remains essentially unchanged, however, there is an addition of extra similar tasks added to a job. BUSINESS: The Ultimate Resource states, The employee rarely needs to acquire new skills to perform the additional task(2009). This is just one benefit linked to job enlargement. There are many other benefits associated with job enlargement. Job enlargement is designed to give the worker more varied work content and relative autonomy. Scott states that with this, job enlargements theory contends, employee dissatisfaction should decrease and along with it such concomitants of dissatisfaction as turnover, absences and grievances(1973, p. 314). Job enlargement also boosts production. Lagemann states, job enlargement is the discovery that work is not only an economic but a psychological necessity(1954, p. 34). Job enlargement increases employee morale and productivity because when the worker feels that his boss sees him only as an instrument of production, he is likely to be a poor producer. When he feels that his boss is genuinely interested in him and entrusts more responsibility to him, he will more likely be a high producer (Lagemann, 1954). Reif and Schoderbek found that with job enlargement, the individual also gains a greater variety of knowledge and skills, and a more complete utilization

BEHAVIORAL APPROACH TO JOB DESIGN of the important cognitive and motor abilities possessed by the worker, and more freedom and responsibility in the performance of the task at hand(1966, p. 17). Job enlargement empowers employees as they are given more responsibility and freedom. When employees are completing less brain stimulating jobs:

[they] become bored, absent-minded, accident prone and hostile, or [they] retreats from reality, engulfed in a myriad of obsessive reveries. [Their] resentment is expressed in the slowdowns, the silent war against production standards and most spectacularly in the violent eruptions of wildcat strikes against speedups or changes in the timing of jobs. (Lagemann, 1954, p. 36) Job enlargement offers the worker a more meaningful work experience by introducing a greater variety of tasks and the opportunity to utilize skills and capabilities. It also allows the worker more responsibility and control over the pace and quality of work. In most instances, any direct benefit to the company in the form of lower costs, higher output, fewer clerical errors, fewer rejections, less turnover, fewer grievances, and/or better attendance records were proof of the success of enlarged jobs (Reif and Schoderbek, 1966, p. 18). Another benefit of job enlargement is the immediate tangible savings in manufacturing costs. Improving productivity: labor management approaches states Job enlargements appears to have applicability to many repetitive jobs involving batch work with idle time between operations, and material handling jobs where costs are high (1971, p. 25). By combining workstations and tasks, materials handling costs and labor costs are significantly reduced. A major disadvantage that is encountered with job enlargement is overcoming resistance to change brought forth by employees. Changes generate fears, especially if the worker is being confronted by a situation over which he has no control or which he does not fully understand(Reif & Schoderbeck, 1966, p. 21). Such fears include concern for job loss, the reduction in pay, increase in hour or intensity of labor and lowering of status position. Although

BEHAVIORAL APPROACH TO JOB DESIGN these are disadvantages to the implementation of job enlargement; there are many more benefits that offset these problems.

One company that has benefited from the use of job enlargements is Maytag. At Maytag, jobs were enlarged when work was redesigned so that workers assembled an entire water pump rather than doing each part as it reached them on the assembly line(Draft & Marcic, 2011, p. 420). Another company that had benefited from job enlargement is IBM. They became interested in developing more efficient methods of production, increase employee morale and receive the technical advantage of an improved job design (Reif & Schoderbek, 1966). Originally there were four distinct jobs in the machine shop, but through job enlargement, the four jobs were combined into one. Initially, this had increased the costs due to higher wages and the cost of additional inspection equipment; however, the costs were offset by the benefits of higher quality equipment, less idle time and an increase in job satisfaction. These benefits were the outcome of granting workers more responsibility and providing a greater variety of tasks to perform. Employees took greater pride in their work and quality improved. A third approach to job design is job enrichment. Sometime referred to as vertical loading, job enrichment is defined as an increase in the level of responsibility for planning and coordination tasks (Stevenson, 2012, p. 292). It is based on the dual-structure theory of motivation. This theory argues that workers can be motivated by positive job-related experiences such as feelings of responsibility, recognition and achievement. This relies on vertical loading, which is adding more tasks to a job but also giving the worker more control over those tasks (Griffin & Moorehead, 2007). Job enrichment also results from the work of Frederick Herzberg and his motivation-hygiene theory. Grote states, According to Herzberg, satisfaction with a job and dissatisfaction are not the extremes of a single scale; rather, there are

BEHAVIORAL APPROACH TO JOB DESIGN two scales, one running from satisfaction to no satisfaction, the other from dissatisfaction to no dissatisfaction (1972, p. 16). Elements of the job, which affect the dissatisfaction scale, are hygiene factors. These include factors such as working conditions, salary, benefits, etc. Problems arise when Herzbergs hygiene factors are used to produce motivation. Hygiene can diminish dissatisfaction with the conditions under which the job is done but cannot increase the

satisfaction the employee gets from the work itself(Grote, 1972, p. 16). To increase motivation within an employee, the focus must be directed towards the actual work that the employee performs and how he is used. Essentially, to increase motivation the strategy of job enrichment involves changing the job to provide these conditions(Grote, 1972, p. 16). There are many different types of job enrichment activities and programs. One way is through the creation of teams. By grouping employees into teams, it allows the team freedom to plan, make decision and accomplishes their goals. This creates a feeling of importance and responsibility within the organization. Satterwhite states, [teams] can help employees come up with creative ideas on ways to improve work activities by giving them the opportunity to work closely with others(2001, p. 529). Another way to implement job enrichment is through the encouragement of employees to give input on company strategies and plans. Employees usually have the best input because they are the ones performing the job and activities on a daily basis. Not only will employees feel valued and part of the organization; it will motivate them to accomplish more and take pride in their work. Holding company award ceremonies can also help to enrich jobs and motivate employees by recognizing individual employees for their contributions to the company(Satterwhite, 2001, p. 529). As with all job designs, job enrichment does have some disadvantages. First, as employees are given a greater depth of tasks, the probability that they will not be skilled or have

BEHAVIORAL APPROACH TO JOB DESIGN experience in performing the new task is high. This would result in a lack of training, which could lead to low productivity and efficiency. A second disadvantage to job enrichment is an

increased workload. Some employees may have the ability to reprioritize their time and the tasks that need to be performed, however, many employees may have difficulties adjusting to their new responsibilities. This difficulty can reduce productivity as employees could become frustrated and burned out. There is also the problem with employees who want more responsibility but have not shown that they can handle the extra responsibility. These employees may become disgruntled and bitter toward management is they are not implemented in the job enrichment process. A final disadvantage is that job enrichment could lead to poor performance. Some employees will excel while others will perform poorly due to lack of training, clarity of their new tasks or their lack on interest. This could lead to feelings of incompetence and decrease morale. Also, if the employee is not performing well, management may strip them of their new responsibilities causing embarrassment. A company that has successfully implemented job enrichment is AT&T. They had utilized job enrichment in a group of eight people whose responsibilities included preparing service orders. Turnover was high and performance was low, according to managers. After much analysis of the group, many deficiencies were revealed. Any service representative could ask these workers to prepare orders and the group worked in relative isolation. Due to this, the group had minimal responsibility and little customer contact. They also received insufficient job performance feedback. AT&T implemented a job enrichment program, which focused on creating a process team. The tasks were restructured and each team member was paired with a service representative. Prior to job enrichment, the team had ten steps to fulfill. After the job enrichment program was implemented, these steps had been reduced to three complex ones.

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Team members were also given specific feedback on their performance and their job titles were changed to reflect their greater responsibility and status. As a result of these changes, the number of orders delivered on time increased from 27 percent to 90 percent, accuracy improved, and turnover decreased significantly (Griffin & Moorehead, 2007, p. 129). With the implementation of job enrichment, AT&T improved their work environment, leading to many positive outcomes. With job design, the behavioral approach of job rotation, job enlargement and job enrichment can provide greater productivity and increase the efficiency and morale of the organization. Once employee needs have been established, management can decide to implement the best possible job design to increase production and keep employee satisfaction and motivation high. The employees are what can make or break an organization. When the interests of the employees are top priority, an organization will prosper. By taking the time and resources to implement a behavioral approach to job design; efficiency and prosperity will increase.

BEHAVIORAL APPROACH TO JOB DESIGN References

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Draft, R.L., Marcic, D. (2011). Understanding Management, (7th ed.). Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?id=xWxmFNMKXhEC&pg=PA420&dq=how+does+ma ytag+use+job+enlargement&hl=en&sa=X&ei=SWp1UfHnLJG0qQGXsYGgAQ&ved=0 CHMQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=how%20does%20maytag%20use%20job%20enlargem ent&f=false Griffin, R. W., & Moorehead, G. (2007). Organizational behavior: Managing people and organizations (8th ed.). New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. Grensing-Pophal, L. (2005). Job rotation. Credit Union Management, 28(7), 50-53. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/227742039?accountid=12085 Grote, R. C. (1972). Implementing job enrichment. California Management Review (Pre1986), 15(000001), 16-16. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/206317978?accountid=12085 How job rotation can enhance training effectiveness. (2008). Accounting Office Management & Administration Report, 08(8), 2-4. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/232940313?accountid=12085 Improving productivity: Labor and management approaches (1971). Retrieved from http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924078716242;view=1up;seq=28 Job categories and opportunities. Retrieved from http://www.toyota.com/about/careers/tmmk/jobcategories.html job enlargement. (2009). In BUSINESS: The Ultimate Resource. Retrieved from http://www.liberty.edu:2048/login?url=http://www.credoreference.com/entry/ultimatebus iness/job_enlargement Lagemann, J. K. (1954, Job enlargement boosts production. Nation's Business (Pre-1986), 42, 34-34. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/231605848?accountid=12085 Miller, J. (2004, November 5). Keeping Minds Nimble, Bodies Limber at Toyota. Gemba Panta Rei. Retrieved from http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:rxykiu1QW6oJ:www.gembapan tarei.com/2004/11/keeping_minds_nimble_bodies_li.html+&cd=7&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl= us Ortega, J. (2001). Job rotation as a learning machine. Management Science, 47(10), 1361-1370. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/213175778?accountid=12085 Rees, D., Porter, C. (2008). Skills of Management (6th ed.) London: Cengage Learning

BEHAVIORAL APPROACH TO JOB DESIGN Reif, W. E., & Schoderbek, P. P. (1966). Job enlargement: Antidote to apathy. Management of Personnel Quarterly, 5(1), 16. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1308649392?accountid=12085

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Satterwhite, M. (2001). Job Enrichment. In B. S. Kaliski (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Business and Finance (Vol. 2, pp. 527-529). New York: Macmillan Reference USA. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CCX3402700276 &v=2.1&u=vic_liberty&it=r&p=GVRL&sw=w Scott, R. D. (1973). Job enlargement--the key to increasing job satisfaction? Personnel Journal (Pre-1986), 52(000004), 313-313. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/203645988?accountid=12085 Stevenson, W. J. (2012). Operations management (11th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Wilbur, L. P. (1993). The value of on-the-job rotation. Supervisory Management, 38(11), 6-6. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/214240270?accountid=12085

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