Granth Respond to Two Colleagues W5D1

Work Systems

This week we will discuss the importance of proper design and redesign of work systems.  Job duties and characteristics are considered when jobs are designed.  Environmental and organizational change can serve as a catalyst to redesigning work systems.  Organizational change can be difficult, and may be resisted by some, but must be managed effectively to facilitate organizational performance.  Outsourcing of some HR functions can make sense for organizations and can bring a higher profile to HR managers as they assume less operational and more strategic duties.  Certain critical HR functions should remain internal to the organization.

Assignment: -

Respond to two or more colleagues, “See listed below” in the following way:

· Propose two suggestions on something your colleague can do in the future to positively change the behavior they identified.

· Provide a rationale for your suggestions based on your experience and the Learning Resources for the week.

· 3 – 4 paragraphs

· No plagiarism

· APA citing

1st Colleagues – Tammy Grider

Tammy Grider 

Week 5

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Question B

The critical factors to consider in the design of a work system is the implications of an organizations future plans on how tasks and responsibilities should be assigned to individuals and groups within the organization and decide how to redesign existing work systems. There are some work systems that need to be revamped where as some systems do not need to be touched at all. In the Army, for the Reserve Soldiers I work with, the system for pay and submitting orders has changed and it is allot more helpful and beneficial than the old way. Before the new system was designed Soldiers had to submit pay documents to their pay official through email, which we all know that emails sometimes get lost in cyber space and they sometimes get overlooked. So now the system has been designed where they have to submit their pay documents through a system called SRTS which stands for service request tracking system. This system generates an email to all of the pay officials that a document has been submitted for action and once the action is complete another email is generated stating the action is complete and whom it was completed by. 

Technology plays an important role in the design of the work system because the world has changed allot and are getting away from the old way of doing things manually and is using electronics to complete all work actions. The use of technology allows employees to work at home during this pandemic and still be able to attend meetings and connect with others through Google Meets, Teams and Zoom just to name a few. Technology has also allowed other countries to communicate with us and vice versa. Technology and the advancement in technology has allowed us alternate ways to work and conduct business that would have been impossible do ten years ago.

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2nd Colleagues – Gregory Pace

Gregory Pace

Discussion Week 5: 

Question B

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Hello All,

     There are three critical factors to consider in the design of a work system.  The first of these factors is what workers do.  A primary consideration within this factor is to "ensure that employees are not overwhelmed by their jobs yet at the same time ensure that employees have sufficient work to keep them both productive and motivated" (Mello, 2015).  In order to do this, those designated to design work systems "need to fully assess the skills, knowledge, and abilities required by the organization both currently and in the future and consider both existing and possible future technologies" (Mello, 2015).  Along with the design of work systems, these same systems will have to be constantly "assessed and evaluated to ensure that the organization has assigned workers tasks and responsibilities that assist in achieving organizational objectives" (Mello, 2015).  Some strategies that can be used in regard to this factor include job enlargement, job rotation, job enrichment, and vertical loading.

     The second critical factor to consider in the design of a work system is what workers need.  Although all workers do not "work for the same reasons nor do they expect the same things from their employers," there are some universal "considerations in designing work systems to ensure that workers are motivated, productive, and happy" (Mello, 2015).  One of these considerations is the "changing demographics and lifestyles of the labor market" (Mello, 2015).  The labor market is much more diverse than it was in times past and "organizations need to realize that employees no longer have generic needs" (Mello, 2015).  Gone are the days when the overwhelming majority of workers were married white males.  Because of the ever-changing workforce, "employees need to remain free from bias or prejudice in hiring, treatment, performance management, compensation, and advancement decisions and programs" (Mello, 2015).  Another consideration is work-life balance.  When designed work systems fail to provide employees "to have the balance they desire in their life activities will find workers who not only are less committed to the organization but who may also suffer from burnout and perform at less-than-optimal levels" (Mello, 2015).  Some strategies that can be used during this factor of designing work systems include flexible work schedules and stress management programs.

The third factor to consider in the design of a work system is how jobs interface with other jobs.  This factor refers to "how individual jobs may have interdependencies with other jobs as well as how individual jobs can or should interface with others" (Mello, 2015).  Within this factor are three "types of task interdependence: pooled, sequential, and reciprocal" (Mello, 2015).  The first task interdependence, pooled, refers to "where individual employees can work independently of each other in performing their tasks but utilize some coordination of their activities" (Mello, 2015).  This work system is utilized by those in the bank loan industry.  The second task interdependence, sequential, refers to "work that flows from one individual to another, where one individual depends on the timely completion of quality work from another coworker" (Mello, 2015).  An example of this work system includes assembly line workers.  The third task interdependence, reciprocal, refers to when the "workflow is not linear but random" (Mello, 2015).  An example of this work system would be a sports team.  The main priority when developing a work system in reference to this factor is to "allow as efficient a flow as possible" when "the work of one employee interfaces with another" (Mello, 2015).

The role that technology plays in work design is critical.  Due to the constantly changing environment of technology, "organizations are under increased competitive pressure to implement, if not develop on their own, more efficient means of operations" (Mello, 2015).  In addition to constantly updating technology, organizations must also either hire new employees with the skillset to manage these new technologies, or train current employees in order to remain competitive.  One example of how technology plays a significant role in the design of work systems is Wal-Mart's development of what it calls SmartLife.  This new technology allows Wal-Mart associates to demonstrate "any number of digital products - from computers and smartphones to baby monitors and digital thermostats" from a large tablet-like computer built into a counter-top (How Walmart is Harnessing Technology to Create the Next-Gen Superstore, n.d.).  This technology will change how Wal-Mart presents products to consumers and will change the current display methods at Wal-Mart, which are limited to physical displays, typically without power to truly see how the item works.

References

How Walmart is Harnessing Technology to Create the Next-Gen Superstore. (n.d.). Retrieved from Future Stores: https://futurestoreseast.wbresearch.com/walmart-harnessing-technology-to-create-next-gen -superstore-ty-u

Mello, J. (2015). Strategic Human Resource Management. Stamford: Cengage Learning.

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