Rich or Poor Jobs!

How do you rate the jobs of Train guard, Pilot. Do you rank them as rich or poor on the basis Position, pay scale or the work content.

Job Redesign

When you do the same job day-in and day-out, it can become mundane or boring. It may seem like you show up to work, go through the motions and come back the next day to do it all over again. Sometimes it's not the type of work that needs a makeover but the tasks, responsibilities and roles that do. Job redesign looks specifically at ways to expand an employee's job by redesigning certain aspects relating to the scope and depth of what it is that an employee does and is responsible for at the organization. In doing so, the manager essentially prevents an employee from losing motivation and interest in their work. There are three ways a manager can redesign an employee's job: job enrichment, job enlargement and job rotation.

Job enrichment provides an employee with more tasks to do as a part of their job, as well as the responsibility and authority needed to complete those additional tasks. What works particularly well to increase motivation is when job enrichment includes additional tasks that match the skills, knowledge and abilities the employee already has. For example, let's say Molly works as a receptionist at a beauty salon. Her duties typically include answering the phone, setting up appointments, greeting customers and completing payment transactions after the client is finished with their stylist. However, there are times when Molly is left with nothing to do but stare out into the parking lot. Molly often complains that she is bored and has even told some of her fellow employees that she is considering looking for a new job that is more challenging.

 

If Molly's manager wanted to use job enrichment to motivate Molly, the manager might assign Molly some additional tasks that she can do in her downtime. Such tasks might include researching and developing new promotional campaigns each month to increase the amount of clients that come into the salon. Because Molly is also a marketing major at a local university, she is excited to have the opportunity to do something new at the salon while at the same time using her knowledge gained while completing her degree. Molly's manager would need to also give Molly the authority to make decisions relating to promotional campaigns so that she can see them through to completion. By using job enrichment, Molly's manager was able to provide her with the additional tasks and responsibilities of creating promotional campaigns. She was also awarded the authority to complete tasks related to the new responsibility of developing and carrying out her ideas.

Job Enlargement

Job enlargement is a job redesign strategy that increases only the tasks of a particular job. While job enlargement is limited in that it does not provide the additional responsibilities or authority that job enrichment does, it is useful in reducing some of the monotony associated with doing the same thing day-in and day-out. The belief is that once boredom is reduced, motivation to perform at higher levels of productivity increases.

 

 

For example, Jeff works as a trash man for the city. His boss might switch the routes that Jeff has to cover or may ask him to pick up the recycling routes in addition to his routine trash routes. Even though Jeff is not given an extra authority or challenge by taking these additional routes, it does provide Jeff with new tasks that can lessen the repetitiveness of his usual trash route.

Job Rotation

Job rotation is the final job redesign strategy that assigns workers to an alternate job on a temporary basis. Job rotation is useful and motivating in several ways. First, it provides employees with something new to learn and do beyond what their normal job does. Second, it provides employees with a broader perspective on how the organization operates as a whole. Third, it increases the employee's understanding of what his or her coworkers do, which leads to a higher degree of respect for what others do. Finally, it offers an employee the chance to gain additional skills, which increases their value to the organization. Essentially, job rotation is great at adding variety and encouraging respect among peers, while sparking new interest in the organization.

 

 

 

 

For example, Jane and Bob both work at a furniture store. Jane in customer service and Bob is in delivery. To help motivate Jane and Bob, as well as expose them to the dependence their individual jobs have on each other, their managers decide to have Jane switch jobs with Bob for the week. After just a few hours, the two quickly realize that the other person's job is not as easy as they used to think it was. They learn about the tasks and responsibilities the other person has to account for in their jobs. This newfound knowledge creates a new interest and enthusiasm for both Jane and Bob.

 

Organizational Structures Types

 

An organizational structure consists of activities such as task allocation, coordination and supervision, which are directed towards the achievement of organizational aims. It can also be considered as the viewing glass or perspective through which individuals see their organization and its environment.
 

Organizational structure affects organizational action in two big ways. 

a) Provides the foundation on which standard operating procedures and routines rest. 

b) Determines which individuals get to participate in which decision-making processes, and thus to what extent their views shape the organization’s actions.

 

The set organizational structure may not coincide with facts, evolving in operational action. Such divergence decreases performance, when growing. E.g., a wrong organizational structure may hamper cooperation and thus hinder the completion of orders in due time and within limits of resources and budgets. Organizational structures shall be adaptive to process requirements, aiming to optimize the ratio of effort and input to output.

 

TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES

 a) Functional Organization

 

 

 

 This type of organizational structure:

            Ø Brings together in one department everyone engaged in one activity or several related activities that are called FUNCTIONS. 

   For example: As shown, the organization is divided by functions into different departments like sales, finance, engineering, HR. A sales manager would be responsible for the sale of all the products which are manufactured by the firm.

Ø  This leads to operational efficiencies within that group. However it could also lead to a lack of communication between the functional groups within an organization, making the organization slow and inflexible.

Ø  Mainly used by the smaller firms that offer a limited line of products.

Ø  Makes supervision easier as each manager must be expert in only a narrow range of skills. It also helps to group a particular set of people with the specialized kind of skill set.

Ø  But as the organization grow and diversify, some of the problems begin to surface:

§  As each department functional managers need to report to central headquarters (President), it can be difficult to make quick decisions.

§   Harder to judge performance because which department to blame when a new product fails.

§   Difficult to coordinate the functions of members of the entire organization as each department may have difficulty working with other departments in a unified way to achieve organizational goals.
 

 b) Product/Market/Divisional Organization

  Ø  Brings together in one work unit all those involved in the production and marketing of a product or a related group of products, all those in a certain geographic area, or all those dealing with a certain type of customer.

Ø  Can follow three patterns as described below:

• DIVISION BY PRODUCT

 

 

 

 

As shown the categorization (division) has been done on the basis of broad category of products. And each category of related group of products has its own marketing, sales, purchasing and inventory manager.

 

•    DIVISION BY GEOGRAPHY

 

Geographical organization is logical when a plant must be located as close as possible to sources of raw materials, to major markets, or to specialized personnel.
 

 

 

•    DIVISION BY CUSTOMER 

 

 

c) Matrix Organization/ Multiple Command System
 

 

 

Ø  Employees have in effect 2 bosses i.e. 2 chains of command. One chain of command is functional or divisional and the second is a horizontal overlay that combines people from various divisions or functional departments into a project or business team led by a project or group manager who is an expert in the team's assigned area of specialization.

Ø  For example, many large companies have a corporate human resources division, with individual HR representatives stationed at local facilities. At the local level, the HR representative may report to the operations manager charged with responsibility for that facility. However, the operations manger does not likely have specific expertise in human resource management and is not directly involved in setting corporate HR initiatives. For that reason, the HR representative may also report to a corporate HR manager or director, resulting is a matrix structure

Ø   Bring together the diverse specialized skills required to solve a complex problem.

Ø  Problems of coordination are minimized here because the most important personnel for a project work together as a group. They come to understand the demands faced by those who have different areas of responsibility.

Ø  Gives the organization a great deal of cost-saving flexibility because each project is assigned only to the required people and unnecessary duplication is avoided.

Ø  To be effective, team members must have good interpersonal skills and flexibility and cooperation.

 Additional Business Structure Considerations: Flat vs. Tall

In addition to defining the reporting structure, businesses structures can also be described in terms of whether the organization is tall or flat. This characteristic refers to how many layers of management there are in an organization.

A tall organization is quite hierarchical, with several different levels of management. Individual managers have a narrow span of control, with a relatively small number of employees in their direct reporting line. Decision making tends to be centralized with management in tall organizations.

A flat organization is one where there are relatively few levels of management. Supervisory employees tend to have a wide span of control, which means they are likely to have a relatively large number of direct reports. Decision making is less centralized, with employees being empowered to exercise discretion in their work and having an opportunity to participate in much of the decision making that takes place.

Choosing an Organizational Structure

Choosing among the types of business organizational structures is a big decision that should not be taken lightly. It's important to look an organization's size, number of facilities located in different geographic areas, marketing strategy, business philosophy, and other factors when making this decision. Regardless of the type of structure you choose, it's important to clearly communicate expectations to employees at all levels, making sure that each member of the team is clear about his or her reporting lines.

 

Why do Organizations need structure!

Organizational Structure

 

Businesses require structure to grow and be profitable. Designing an organization structure helps top management identify talent that needs to be added to the company. Planning the structure ensures there are enough human resources within the company to accomplish the goals set forth in the company’s annual plan. It is also important that responsibilities are clearly defined. Each person has a job description that outlines duties, and each job occupies its own position on the company organization chart.

 

Communication

 

The flow of information is essential to an organization’s success. The organization structure should be designed to ensure that individuals and departments that need to coordinate their efforts have lines of communication that are built into the structure. The financial planning and analysis department might report to the Chief Financial Officer and the Senior Vice President of Marketing, because both of these members of the top management team depend on information and reports provided by financial planning.

Reporting Relationships

Reporting relationships must be clear so all members of the organization understand what their responsibilities are and know to whom they are accountable. These clear relationships make it easier for managers to supervise those in lower organization levels. Each employee benefits by knowing whom they can turn to for direction or help. In addition, managers are aware of who is outside the scope of their authority, so they do not overstep their bounds and interfere with another manager’s responsibilities.

Growth And Expansion

Companies that grow rapidly are those that make the best use of their resources, including management talent. A sound organization structure ensures that the company has the right people in the right positions. The structure may suggest weak spots or deficiencies in the company’s current management team. As the company grows, the organization structure must evolve with it. Many times more layers of management are created, when one department head has too many individuals reporting to him at one time to give each employee the attention and direction needed for the employee to succeed.

Task Completion

A well-designed organization structure facilitates the completion of projects. Project managers can better identify the human resources available to them if the scope of each department’s responsibility -- and each team member’s capabilities--are clear. A project to develop a new product would require market research. The project manager needs to know who in the organization can provide this research, and whose permission must be obtained for the research to be done.

Fits Company’s Needs

Companies in different industries require different mixes of talent and a relatively greater emphasis on certain management functions. A software company often has a large development staff. Structuring the reporting relationships within the development team so creativity and productivity are maximized, and deadlines are met, is vital to that type of company’s success. Companies often have to go through a reorganization phase in which individual positions or even whole departments are repositioned on the organization chart in an effort to better utilize the company’s human resources and make the operation run more smoothly.

What Can Go Wrong

Poorly structured organizations find that critical deadlines are not met because there were not sufficient human resources in each department to accomplish all parts of a given task, or because it was not clear whose ultimate responsibility the project was. If individuals are not sure whom they report to, they may find they are given conflicting assignments by two or more managers above them.

Valley Crossing Exercise

Let's start this post with a small musical video made at NITIE, Mumbai.

Valley crossing problem

Problem in hand

 There are three people trying to cross a valley. The gap of the valley is in the range of one foot to two feet. Assume that each of them has the same footstep. They have a rod of a convenient size and they have to cross the valley using the rod as a support. Direct jumping is considered fatal assuming the valley is fathomless.

Solution: 

The following are the steps to be followed sequentially to complete the task.

• Initially, the first person puts his leg forward and hid first foot remains in air and so he is only half safe. The remaining are fully safe. 
• The next step, the first person is totally unsafe and he has hang from the rod, which is being supported by the other two with their weight. 
• The next step, the first person puts its first foot on the other side of the valley and hence half safe again. The second person now puts his first foot in air and hence even he is half safe. 
• At the end of next step, the first person totally reaches the other end of the valley and hence is totally safe again. The second person is totally unsafe hanging in the air with the support of the rod weighted by the first and third persons. 
• Next step, the second person puts his first step on the other side of the valley and the third person puts his first step in the air and hence both are half safe.
• At the end of next step, the third person reaches the other end of the valley and hence totally safe again. The third person remains hanging in the air supported by the first two persons who have reached the other end of the valley. 
• After two more steps, even the third person reaches the other end of the valley and the mission has been accomplished.

The three member roles have been defined as follows:-

A:  A is the first person who undertakes the work. He may called as “INITIATOR” as he is the one who initiates the work.

B: Comparatively,  B’s job  is less risky compared to  A and more risky compared to  C.   

C:    C will  follow his / her  fore walkers in crossing the valley.  C’s  job  is less risky compared to  B and  A

Three wise men Crossing the valley  - Detailed task process

Persons	First Person	Second Person	Third person
Step
1	Safe	Safe	Safe
2	Half Risky,
3	Full Risky,
4	Half Risky,	Half Risky,
5		Full Risky,
6		Half Risky,	Half Risky,
7			Full Risky,
8			Half Risky,
9	Safe	Safe	Safe

The sum total of total tasks, burdens and responsibilities that are shared by the three people is equal but there are variations among the roles of A, B and C in assuming the roles. Thus the importance of TEAMWORK is being highlighted through this exercise.

Some of the other POM concepts highlighted by this task are:

 Load Sharing: This activity involves sharing of the load among the three valley crossers. This is the same scenario we face in the corporate world where load needs to be shared among the team members working towards a common goal. The roles and responsibilities have to be divided among the members by the manager. Hence the task of the manager is very critical because that will drive the final output, the project and indirectly the organization as a whole.

 Simplicity in Design: The design of this example is very elementary but of profound significance as we are seeing via discussion of these principles. This is how the design should be done in industry also - keep the design as simple as possible and work towards its implementation.

Work Planning : As a manager one need to come out with step by step plan in order to help the three members to cross the valley. In order for the three persons to cross the valley the width of the valley must be slightly larger than a single step of one person but must be smaller than two steps. Moreover few technical specifications must be taken into account i.e. strength of the pole, creating markings on pole etc. The managers needs to specify the variety of roles when the three cross the valley. 

Efficiency - usage of minimum resources: Minimum amount of resources with minimal wastage forms the core of management. In the market, scarcity of resources is always there and one should always try to minimize the resources. Then only management is actually successful and drive itself towards excellence.

Interdependent Roles: As we observed, the role of each person in this exercise is interdependent on the other person role. So the roles are actually interdependent and not disjoint.

Role Designing : Every member of the team should understand exactly what role they are fillingin the

 scheme of work. In addition, they should understand each other’s roles and how they interrelate.

 Systems of Excellence: This and many other examples are nothing but system of excellence.

         Excellence = Efficiency X Effectiveness (So both are needed for the system to achieve excellence)

Synchronization (Cohesiveness): The feet movements of each person must be synchronized. This is how the industry works. All the efforts of the team members must be in perfect sync for the achievement of the common goal.

Conceptual Skills:  Imagining the way how to cross the valley is the conceptual skill. This concept of conceptualizing the whole process of valley process is the main job of MANAGEMENT which needs to be implemented very carefully if the whole exercise need to be completed successfully.

Cooperation : Help and effort each of the members contributed to team. It is a very important quality and value that every team should posses and is demonstrated clearly in the valley crossing exercise.

Coordination:  Members cooperation are put in systematic way so that the result can be channelized in order to receive the best output. Management is more concerned with coordinating the cooperation of the individuals so that over all result is achieved.