Unit II Research Paper

DBA 7553, Human Resource Management 1

Course Learning Outcomes for Unit II Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

1. Appraise workflows and the role of job analysis. 1.1 Examine the organizational, environmental, and individual challenges with regard to workflow. 1.2 Explain the importance of job analysis with regard to organizational structure. 1.3 Summarize how work-flow analysis supports strategy and organizational structure.

Course/Unit Learning Outcomes

Learning Activity

1.1 Unit Lesson Unit II Research Paper

1.2 Unit Lesson Unit II Research Paper

1.3 Unit Lesson Unit II Research Paper

Reading Assignment There is no reading assignment in this unit.

Unit Lesson Managing how work is organized to meet an organization’s goals (workflow) is key for developing effective and efficient jobs that support the company’s bottom line. This starts with the organizational structure and a company’s strategy. The organizational structure is developed to establish both informal and formal relationships between employees. This includes designing useful departments, work teams, and jobs. Effective strategic human resource management contributes on an ongoing basis. Building on a good organizational structure, human resource management can partner with top leadership to help develop a long-term business strategy. The design of an organization is a critical foundation. The organizational structure must be designed in a way that will support the company’s goals. Depending on the industry and the company’s long-term goals, strategic human resource management can partner to create a bureaucratic organization, which would help a company that has adopted a defender business strategy. This type of structure uses a top-down approach and can be useful in providing efficient division structure to help employees keep a more rigid focus. Another organizational structure option is a flat organization. A company with a prospector business strategy would most likely select this. This type of an organization would have a decentralized management approach and it would be more useful for providing flexible boundaries with jobs and units. One additional organizational structure that could be considered would be a boundaryless organization. This type of structure allows a company to pool resources with other companies, customers, and/or supplies. This is done in an effort to provide mutual benefits for all involved and can help address issues in an uncertain environment. This could be something done in the form of a joint venture in which companies can share valuable resources, such as employees who have very specific knowledge points and skills that can mutually benefit both parties. Ultimately, companies that operate with a prospector business strategy and also have a fast-changing environment would select to utilize a boundaryless organization.

UNIT II STUDY GUIDE

Strategic Human Resource Management, Managing Workflows, and Conducting Job Analysis, Part II

DBA 7553, Human Resource Management 2

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Once an organizational structure is defined, workflow is examined. A work-flow analysis provides information on how work develops value to the business processes at hand. Work-flow analysis examines how the work at hand moves from customers, through the various points in the organization’s business processes, and then when the customer has the product or service at the endpoint. Understanding this workflow can help create a tight alignment for the business. Effective strategic human resource management can facilitate this work-flow analysis with the introduction of more efficient work groups. The use of self-managed teams has increased over the years and can improve quality as well as reduce costs. There is also a rise in the use of virtual teams in which employees can congregate and share needed skill sets in an online environment. Again, this can provide more efficiency for projects, as well as cost savings. Motivating employees is also a key part of managing workflow. It is critical that strategic human resource management have a solid understanding of the different motivation theories in order to ensure that the workforce feels empowered and supported, and thus, able to contribute more effectively to the company’s goals and visions. Motivation theories can focus on job design. Job design focuses on organizing work and tasks necessary to perform a particular job. In job design, there are three dimensions to consider. In the first dimension, work- flow analysis includes a mapping of work inputs, the value added there, and then the process to move the work forward in the chain. In the second dimension, there is business strategy. In the third dimension, there is organizational structure that best aligns to the business strategy. Aligning these three dimensions sets the stage for the next step when job design approaches can be considered. The job design approaches include work simplification, job enlargement, job rotation, job enrichment, and team-based. Work simplification involves breaking things down into simple tasks that can be done in a repetitive fashion. The auto assembly line is a good example of work simplification. Each part of making an auto is broken down into simple, repetitive tasks that contribute, in the end, to the final work product of the car. This seeks to maximize efficiency. Job enlargement and job rotation can be utilized to redesign jobs in order to reduce boredom or fatigue. This usually involves workers who are performing simple, yet highly specialized work. In job enlargement, a worker’s duties are expanded. An example from the auto assembly line would be if a worker had a specialized job to install tightly aligned door panels. This could be expanded to include installation of related areas, such as hoods, trunks, and bumpers, so the worker would move from one job to the next. Job rotation moves workers from one narrowly defined task to another. This is done in more of a pooled fashion. For instance, the same worker from the job enlargement example may only work on installation of those tightly aligned door panels. Then he or she would be moved to focus only on hoods, then only on trunks, then only on bumpers. The time spent on these jobs would be shorter than usual, thus, making the rotation issue more effective. Job enrichment involves making jobs more interesting and would be focused on providing more robust responsibility to a worker for a larger production of a product part or service. For instance, a company that used to break down a product into assembly, then testing, then packaging could assign one worker to handle all three areas. This worker would also have more opportunity to provide feedback on quality issues as well as having more freedom and autonomy in his or her job. Finally, there are team-based job designs. This provides a focus on having a team become responsible for the product or service work to be accomplished. These team members would be empowered to make decisions for their teamwork, and they can be cross-trained in order to strengthen the capabilities of their team. Once the work-flow analysis and job design are completed, a job analysis can be performed. This involves setting job expectations and communicating these clearly to the employees. This includes establishing a systematic process where information about jobs is gathered and organized for the analysis. Tasks, duties, and responsibilities of jobs are identified and examined. This is done by human resource management professionals and is often in conjunction with the current jobholder. The methods can include doing an interview with the job incumbent, observing the incumbent, providing questionnaires to the incumbent (this can be done with a paper survey or an online one). Additionally, job incumbents may be asked to keep a diary or log of their activities. Each of these methods provides useful information to proceed with the job analysis task.

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There are eight frequently used techniques for performing a job analysis:

 task inventory analysis,

 critical incident technique,

 position analysis questionnaire,

 functional job analysis,

 methods analysis (motion study),

 guidelines-oriented job analysis,

 management position description questionnaire, and

 the Hay Plan (Gomez-Mejia, Balkin, & Cardy, 2016). With the task inventory analysis, a questionnaire is used, ultimately providing a rating of tasks. In using the critical incident technique, an interview method is used, and a behavioral description is the final result. The position analysis questionnaire uses a survey, and the final result is a rating of 194 job elements. With the functional job analysis, a group interview and questionnaire can be used, and a rating of how the incumbent relates to data and people is the final result. The methods analysis (motion study) uses an observation process, and the final result is a time-per-unit of work figure. In using the guidelines-oriented job analysis, an interview is utilized, and the final result is a list of skills and knowledge needed for that job. With the management position description questionnaire, a questionnaire is administered, and a checklist of 197 items with regard to responsibilities is the final result. In the last item, the Hay Plan, an interview process is used, and the final results are two profiles (one long and one short) with a focus of the impact of the job on the organization. Overall, job analysis helps to measure the content of a job and the relative importance of the duties and responsibilities of the organization. This can be valuable for recruitment and selection of job candidates, performance appraisals of current employees, compensation strategies, and training and career development in any organization.

Reference Gomez-Mejia, L. R., Balkin, D. B., & Cardy, R. L. (2016). Managing human resources (8th ed.). Boston, MA:

Pearson.