Concept of Job Design

Concept of Job Design

As we know, organizations are human association for achieving goals. In an organization, different types of activities are to be performed to achieve organizational goal. Activities may be of different types and nature requiring different skills to perform it. So, to perform the activities smoothly, it should be organized or managed. The process of organizing and managing activities can be known as job design.

Job design engineer performs the test of job design. Job is the vehicles through which the organizational works are accomplished so, while designing the job the designer should meet the psychological and behavioral feeling of jobholders. Otherwise jobholder won’t be motivated towards the job.

Hence in the conclusion, job design is the overall structure of the job, that explains about the nature of job, contents of the job, skill required to perform the job, method of performing the job, so that organizational and technological requirements as well as psychological and social requirement of the job holder will be fulfilled. A well-designed job leads the organization rising in the Apex.

Basis of Job Design

The factors affecting job design are:
1. Job Analysis Factors: Job analysis forms an intensive, direct technique for identifying the crucial information regarding the job. It is the process of determining the tasks involves in the job and personnel qualities of the individuals required to perform the job. It defines duties, responsibilities and accomplish of a job. The components of job analysis are job and description and job specifications. Job analysis is used as an important input in job design to determine the contents of the job.

2. Organizational Factor: These factors are concerned with efficiency aspect in the job design. They focus on specialization. The factors are:

• Job Cycle: Job cycle is time allotted to complete every task in the job. Every task in the job are arranged to minimize the time and effort of worker on the basis of time and motion studies. Specialized jobs lead to short job cycles. Assembly lines present an example of short job cycle.
• Work Flow: The nature of the product influences work flow. Job design is based on determining the sequence of jobs and establishing balance between the jobs.
• Work Practices: They are set ways of performing jobs. They arise from tradition or the collective wishes of the employees. Job design is based on work practices.
• Ergonomics: It is the study of how human beings physically interface with their job. The job design is based on physically relationship between the worker and the work. Handling of the job is the prime consideration in job design.

3. Environmental Factors: The external environmental factors are considered for job design. The factors are:

• Employee Abilities and Availability: Efficiency considerations for job design are balanced against the abilities and availability of employees. The focus is on who will actually do the job. 
• Socio-cultural Expectations: Jobs are designed to meet the socio-cultural expectations of the workers. Expectation of worker may differ as to hours of work, holidays, attitudes, religious beliefs and management styles.

4. Behavioral Factors: Behavioral factors are concerned with satisfactions of human needs especially higher level of need. The factors are:

• Autonomy: It is having responsibility for what one does. Job design is based on autonomy factors, especially for decision making and responding to environment.
• Variety: It refers to variety in the use of different skills and abilities. Lack of variety leads to boredom. Boredom leads to fatigue. Variety is injected in job design.
• Task Identity: It refers to doing the whole piece of work to get a sense of accomplishment. Job design is done to provide task identity.
• Task Significance: It is the feeling of does anyone cares. Job design is based on task significance to give a feeling that the work has meaning to people inside and outside the organization.
• Feedback: It refers to information on performance. Job design incorporates feedback aspect to tell workers feedback aspect to tell workers how well they are doing.