DUE TODAY - Operational excellence assignment
petrolhead123
Chapter11.pptxChapter 11
Niccole Hyatt, PhD
Chapter overview
This chapter describes the elements and objectives of work system design. Job design issues and methods analysis are described. The importance of work measurement is discussed.
This chapter explains how to do a time study, work sampling, develop standard times, and use work standards.
Finally, compensation plans and learning curves are described.
Chapter objectives
Discuss work system design.
Discuss job design.
Explain work measurement.
Describe compensation approaches.
Major components of work system design
The major components of work system design are job design, process (methods) analysis, and work measurement.
Job design determines the specific work activities of each employee or type of employee.
Process analysis focuses on the detailed steps of doing a particular job.
Work measurement determines how long it should take to do a job.
Job design objectives
The objectives of job design are support of organizational objectives, technical feasibility, economic feasibility, and behavioral feasibility.
The job must be designed to encourage and reward those meeting the organizational objectives.
It is hard to design jobs in a business setting because of the complexity of the environment and variety of factors that must be considered.
We need to ensure that job design supports the organizational goals. The organization is a complex system of relationships.
feasibility
Technical feasibility means that the job can be performed both physically and mentally.
Economic feasibility means that the value added by the job exceeds its costs.
Behavioral feasibility means that the job provides intrinsic satisfaction to the employee.
People vs. machines
People are preferable to machines when interacting with people, creative thinking is important, judgments concerning multiple criteria are needed, and complex operations is performed that may not follow linear logic.
People can express compassion or empathy when interacting with customers.
Machines are preferable to people when precision is needed, a job is dangerous, simple operations that follow linear logic is performed, and tasks are simple and repetitive.
Job specialization
The advantages of using a high level of specialization for the company are high productivity, readily available labor, lower wages, and minimal training.
The advantages for employees are minimal credentials needed, less responsibility, less mental effort, and reasonable wages.
The disadvantages for the employee are boredom, less opportunity for growth, little control, and little intrinsic satisfaction.
The disadvantages for companies are high absenteeism, turnover rates, scrap levels, and grievances filed.
Alternative workplace approach
The alternative workplace approach moves the work to the worker instead of the worker to the work.
This can be accomplished in a number of ways. These are telecommuting, using different shifts or schedules, and the sharing of desks and office space.
Work measurement techniques
Time study collects times for one worker over time to develop the standard.
Elemental time data uses time study data from the database to estimate the standard by dividing the work into its elements and adding the time study data for each element. This technique is useful for companies with their own database.
Predetermined time data uses a larger database of work unit times from many companies that have similar work elements to determine the standard.
Work sampling estimates the proportion of time spent on different work activities to decide what proportions are acceptable. This method does not provide a standard time.
Time and output-based compensation plans
Time-based compensation plans pay employees based on the time worked.
Output-based compensation plans pay employees based on the amount of work completed.
It makes sense to use time-based compensation systems when it is not reasonable to measure output per employee. This would be used for managers, support staff, and some direct labor.
It makes sense to use an output-based compensation system when we want to reward workers for the level of their output in order to motivate them to be productive.
Questions?
Niccole Hyatt, PhD
