MGTO 231Human Resources

Management

Work Flows and Job Analysis I

Dr. Kin Fai Ellick WONG

Prologue

Steps for applying HKSAR passport

1. Obtaining application form from Reception Counter

2. Giving payment at the Cashier Counter

3. Returning the form to a Collection Box

4. Calling you 20-45 minutes later

5. Meeting an Officer for information checking

6. Giving payment receipt to the officer

7. Giving you another receipt and then passing your application for further process

8. (15 working days later) dropping your receipt to another collection box

9. Calling your name

10. Getting your new passport

• An even extreme example– Hong Kong Eye Hospital

1. Initial check in at Room 12. Getting application form from Counter A3. Passing the application form to Room 24. Waiting outside5. Getting into Room 2 for vision checking6. Leaving Room 2 and waiting7. Going back to Room 2 to meet the doctor8. Going to Counter B for making next appointment9. Going to Room 3 for learning eye cares10.Going to Room 4 for surgery or treatment11.Going to Counter C to pay12.Going to Counter D to get the medicine

Question for you

• Why does such a simple task as issuing a passport need so many steps?– I hope you can get the insight at the end

of this class

Outline

• Interrelation between organizational structure, work flow, and job

• Organizational structure

• Work flow and work flow analysis

Outline

• Interrelation between organizational structure, work flow, and job

• Organizational structure

• Work flow and work flow analysis

Introduction (some key ideas)

• Duty of managers– Organizing work into departments,

teams, and jobs – Keeping work to be performed efficiently

in order to achieve the goal of organizations (providing valuable products and services for customers)

• Organizational structure– The formal or informal relationships

between people in an organization– How the units or departments in an

organization interrelated with each other– E.g., Whether all departments in HKUST

directly under Prof. Chu, or create an in-between level called school (School of Business and Management)

• Work Flow ( 工序 )– The way work is organized to meet the

organization’s production or service goals– Identify the processes through which a service

or product is produced– It can involve many steps (stages of processing)

or just one• Broken device receptionist engineer basic

check fee assessment receptionist customer fix or not

• Broken device engineer basic check and fee assessment customer fix or not

• Job analysis– The systematic process of collecting

information used to make decisions about jobs

– Identifies the tasks, duties, and responsibilities of a particular job

Interrelationship between them

• Admission of a new undergraduate student of MGTO

• U’s structure– Vice-Chancellor School MGTO

Department– Vice-Chancellor Admission

• Work flow involves two departments only – MGTO and Admission

• Job for each unit is not the same

Outline

• Interrelation between organizational structure, work flow, and job

• Organizational structure

• Work flow and work flow analysis

The simplest structure

• One man organization

• Few men organization– All by myself/ourselves– One person may need to handle multiple

tasks– Job duties may not be very specific– The concepts of units / division of labor

are very vague

Bureaucratic Organization (官僚）

• A pyramid-shaped organizational structure

• Consists of hierarchies with (relatively) many levels of management

Source: Managing Human Resources, 4th Edition, p.50

• Top-down management approach– Centralized– Many levels of management– Less flexibility on lower management– Employees have less say and influence

on decision making– 家長式

• Functional division of labor– Employees are divided based on their functions

• Work specialization– Highly specialized jobs– Narrowly specified job description– Rigid boundaries between jobs and units– Employees or individuals working independently

Evaluations

• Advantages– Best in predictable and stable

environments• Repetitive work for front-line workers enables

high efficiency

• Disadvantages– Less efficient in a dynamic environment

• Lack of flexibility and innovation

Flat Organization

• Only a few levels of management

• Emphasis on decentralization– Encourages high employee involvement

in decision making

Source: Managing Human Resources, 4th Edition, p.50

• Decentralized management approach– Horizontal career paths across functions

• Jobs become less specific– Broadly defined jobs– General job descriptions– Flexible boundaries between jobs and

units– Emphasis on teams

• Product-based business units– Hewlett-Packard (HP)– 60 different product-based units

• Color printer, Laser printer, CD-ROM, DVD, etc.

– Each unit behaves like a mini-business

• Strong focus on customers– Useful for total quality management

• Advantages– Best in rapid changing environments– Creates a culture that fosters employee

participation

• Disadvantages– Top-management has less control and

understanding what and how the lower-levels are working

Boundaryless Organization

• Enables organization to form relationships with customers, suppliers, and/or competitors

• Pool resources for mutual benefits

• Encourages co-operation in uncertain environment

Source: Managing Human Resources, 4th Edition, p.50

• Joint ventures– Sharing talented employees, intellectual

properties, financial resources– 中銀集團 (Bank of China Group)

• Share many characteristics of flat organizations– Cross boundaries– Emphasis on teams

• Boundaryless structure is used when– Adopting a total quality management

strategy– Entering foreign markets– Need to manage the risk of developing

expensive new technology• Share the risk and potential rewards with

others

Strategy and Organizational Structure

• Defender strategy– Bureaucratic organization– Top management has the key

responsibility for decision-making– Emphasis efficiency on specific jobs

• Prospector strategy– Flat or boundaryless organizations– Flexibility that enables rapid change is

the key– Innovation and customer service are

highly emphasized

Conclusion

• Why does such a simple task as issuing a passport need so many steps?

• It is related to “business” strategy and the “organizational” structure of Hong Kong Government

Question for you

• Hong Kong Government– Strategy: Defender or prospector?– Structure: Bureaucratic or flat?– Preferred work flow choices:

• Centralized, control, specific job description, narrow job variety, etc..

– It is changing to be less bureaucratic

Outline

• Interrelation between organizational structure, work flow, and job

• Organizational structure

• Work flow and work flow analysis (next lesson)

What is work flow analysis?

• The process of examining– How work creates or adds value to

ongoing processes in business– How a product or service can be

delivered to customers

• Basic processes– Input (a work) add values to other

workers

Importance of work flow analysis

• It helps identifying steps or jobs that can be combined, simplified, or even eliminated

• Re-organization of work so that teams rather than individual workers are the sources of value creation– Receptionists Customer service unit

• Improve company performance– Business process reengineering

Business process reengineering

• A fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business process

• To achieve dramatic improvement in cost, quality, service, and speed

• Reengineering is not totally equal to – Restructuring– Layoff

Source: Managing Human Resources, 4th Edition, p.53

Critics of reengineering

• May not achieve its objectives– Importance of identifying indicators for

assessment

• However, it causes frustration and disruptions to established work patterns