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CHAPTER 3

ANALYZING THE WORK ENVIRONMENT

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OBJECTIVES:Discuss the concepts of job analysis, job

specification and job descriptionExplain the importance of analyzing the

work environment in devising the HR budget.

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WAYS TO LOOK THE CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENT

ORGANIZATIONAL PERSPECTIVEGROUP PERSPECTIVEINDIVIDUAL PERSPECTIVE

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ORGANIZATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

WORKFLOW refers to the way work is organized to meet the organization’s production or service goals.

3 GENERAL TYPES OF ORGANIZATION IN TERMS OF STRUCTURE

a.Bureaucratic organizationb.Flat organizationc.Boundaryless organization

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BUREAUCRATIC ORGANIZATION

Typically resembles pyramid which uses a top-down or “command-and-control approach management.

Based on a functional division of labor.

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FLAT ORGANIZATION

Has only few levels of managers and employees and emphasizes decentralization.

Example, a bartender may be allowed to cross-train in housekeeping to enable him to become flexible and more useful to the company.

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BOUNDARYLESS ORGANIZATIONEnables company to form

relationships with customers, suppliers and/or competitors, either to pool organizational resources for mutual benefit or to encourage cooperation in an uncertain environment.

Example, an accountant in KL hotel can be transferred to its Cairo affiliate hotel for several months.

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GROUP PERSPECTIVE

TEAM small number of people with complementary skills who work toward common goals for which they hold themselves mutually accountable.

SEVERAL TYPES OF TEAMSa.Self Managed teams (SMTs)b.Problem-solving teamc.Special-purpose teamd.Virtual team

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SELF-MANAGED TEAMS (SMTs)Responsible for producing

an entire product, a component, or an ongoing service.

The primary motivation in implementing such work teams in organizations is to improve quality and productivity, and to reduced operating costs.

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PROBLEM-SOLVING TEAMConsists of volunteers

from a unit or department who meet one or two hours per week to discuss quality improvement, cost reduction or improvement in the work environment.

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SPECIAL PURPOSE TEAMTask force consists of members

who span functional or organizational boundaries and whose purpose is to examine complex issues like introduction of new technology, improving the quality of a work process that spans several functional units, or encouraging cooperation between labor and management in a unionized setting.

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VIRTUAL-TEAMUses interactive computer

technologies such as the internet, groupware and computer-based video conferencing to work together despite being separated by physical distance.

Similar to problem-solving team except that the members interact only electronically instead of face-to-face.

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INDIVIDUAL PERSPECTIVE

MOTIVATION impetus that energizes, directs and sustains human behavior. Person’s desire to do the best possible job or to exert the maximum effort to perform assigned tasks.

MOTIVATION THEORIESa.Two-Factor Theoryb.Hierarchy of Needs Theoryc.Work Adjustment Theoryd.Goal-Setting Theorye.Job Characteristics Theory

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TWO-FACTOR THEORYFrederick HerzbergEmployees find satisfying or

dissatisfying about their jobs.Implications:1. Job should be designed to provide as

many motivators as possible.2. Making external changes in hygiene

factors such as pay or working conditions is not likely to sustain improvements in employee motivation over the long run unless internal changes are also made in the work itself.

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HIERARCHY OF NEEDSAbraham MaslowEvery human has 5 basic needs.

Implications:1. The company should provide eaningful work and

activities for the employees to realize higher level needs.

2. The survival needs (safety and physiological needs) should always be addressed first.

3. The development needs ( belongingness, esteem and self actualization needs) will be addressed in time based on opportunities presented to employees and their willingness to pursue higher level needs.

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WORK ADJUSTMENT THEORYRene Dawis and Lloyd LofquistEmployees’ motivation levels and

job satisfaction depend on the fit between their needs and abilities and the characteristics of the job and organization.

Implications:1. A job design that an employee finds challenging

and motivating may not motivate another employee.

2. Not all employees want to be involved in decision-making tasks.

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GOAL-SETTING THEORYEdwin LockeEmployees’ goal help to explain motivation and job

performance.Implications:1. Employees will be more motivated to perform when they have clear and

specific goals.2. Employees will be more motivated to accomplish difficult goals, provided

they are attainable, than easy goals.3. In many cases, goals that employees participate in creating for themselves

are more motivating than goals that are simply assigned by managers.4. Employees who receive frequent feedback on their progress toward

reaching their goals sustain higher levels of motivation and performance than employees who receive sporadic or no feedback.

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JOB CHARACTERISTICS THEORYRichard Hackman and Greg OldhamEmployees will be more motivated to work

and more satisfied with their jobs if their jobs contain certain core characteristics.

5 core job characteristics1.Skill variety2.Task identity3.Task significance4.Autonomy5.Feedback

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1. SKILL VARIETY the degree to which the job requires the person to do different things and involves the use of a number of different skills, abilities ad talent.

2. TASK IDENTITY the degree to which a person can do the job from beginning to end with visible outcome.

3. TASK SIGNIFICANCE the degree to which the job has significant impact on others both inside and outside the organization.

4. AUTONOMY the amount of freedom, independence, and discretion the employee has in areas such as scheduling the work, making decisions and determining how to do job

5. FEEDBACK the degree to which the job provides the employee with clear and direct information about job outcomes and performance.

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JOB DESIGN

The process of organizing work into the task required to perform a specific job.

3 influences on job design1.Workflow analysis2.Business strategy3.Organizational structure

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JOB DESIGN

5 approaches to job design

1.Work simplification2.Job enlargement3. Job rotation4. Job enrichment5. Team-based job design

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1. WORK SIMPLIFICATION enables work to be broken down in simple, repetitive tasks that maximize efficiency.

2. JOB ENLARGEMENT expands a job’s duties. Additional tasks are added to an employee’s current tasks list.

3. JOB ROTATION rotates workers among different narrowly defined tasks without disrupting the workflow.

4. JOB ENRICHMENT is an approach to job design that directly applies job characteristics to make jobs more interesting and to improve employee motivation.

5. TEAM-BASED job design focuses on giving a team, rather than an individual a whole and meaningful piece of work to do.

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JOB ANALYSIS

Systematic gathering and organization of information concerning jobs. It puts job of position title under scrutiny to reveal important details about the job.

TASK basic element of work that is logical and necessary step in performing a job duty.

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JOB DESCRIPTION

Summary statement of the information collected in the job analysis process which identifies, defines, and describe a job n terms of its duties, responsibilities, working conditions and specifications.

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JOB SPECIFICATION

Refers to a list of desirable characteristics of a position in a company.

Characteristics pertains to qualification (education, work experience, license if applicable and training) KSAs (knowledge, skills and attitudes) and personality (appearance, height, weight and health condition)