Job Design - An important process in every management activity.

Job design is the process of organizing work into the tasks required to perform a specific job. Job design involves the conscious efforts to organize tasks, duties and responsibilities into a unit of work to achieve certain objectives.Basically any activity in an organisation be it short-term or long term,simple or complex can be termed as job. And to break down this job into various tasks, involves job design. 

Thus it involves relation between job, job holder and its overall contribution in organisation. While designing a job,following questions are asked : 

1.What tasks are involved in the job? 

2.What resources are allocated to the job? 

3.Who should do the job? 

4. And How should the job be done? 

Any Job should be designed in such a way that, the firm’s objectives are effectively completed as well as employees are satisfied. 

Job Design is done on the basis of : 

1.Ergonomics 

2.Task characteristics 

3.Work Practices 

4.Corporate culture  

And 5.Technological environment. 

Components of Job Design are: 

A. Job Enrichment: 

Job enrichment is a common motivational technique used by organizations to give an employee greater satisfaction in his work. It means giving an employee additional responsibilities previously reserved for his manager or other higher-ranking positions. Ways to Enrich a Job : 

1. Various Skills 

2. Entire Job 

3. Autonomy 

4. Employee Significance 

5. Innovation and new skills 

6. Share Information 

7. Strengthen Communication 

8. Adequate recognition 

9. Constant Feedback 

10. Encourage and make believe

B. Self Managing Teams: 

A self-managed team is a self-organised, semi-autonomous group of employees. They can also be called a self-directed team or a self-managed natural work team. A manager sets the overall direction of a project or task and provides the tools and training, and then the members of the team determine, plan, and manage their daily activities and duties under reduced or no supervision. A self-managed team is responsible and accountable for all or most aspects of making a product and/or delivering it.Requirements for self-managing teams are as follows: 

1.Work mapping.

2. Determining the size of the team. 

3. Leadership development. 

4. Fixing the team norms 

C. Job Rotation : 

Job rotation refers to moving employees from one job to another in a predetermined way. This enables an employee to perform diverse roles and gain exposure to the techniques and challenges of doing several jobs. Two ways of job rotation - first by transfer or promotion and second during training of employee. 

Helps in - Horizontal and vertical movement in organisation, Identify skills and deficits, improves interests and satisfaction, reduces boredom, identify latest talents. 

D. Job reengineering : 

Job reengineering is the process of streamlining jobs to make it a smooth process. Involves broadly 3 functions: 

1. Combining - Few jobs into one, 

2.Redistributing-- the tasks are shuffled among various jobs, 

3.Reallocating resources. 

The fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements is reengineering. It reduces costs, delays, absenteeism and conflicts. Makes organisation more competitive in the market. Reengineering involves the following: Pattern breaking, Realigning with corporate goals, Abolishing the power structure, Redesigning the work flow, Enhancing IT applications, Redefining titles and positions, Establishing a learning organization, Redesigning performance-based incentives and rewards. 

E. Job enlargement : 

As the name suggests, job enlargement means increasing job size by including more and more interesting tasks in it. It makes job attractive in such a way that interests of both management and employees are satisfied. Types of jog enlargement. 

1.horizontal enlargements, 2.verticle enlargements. 

F. Participative management : 

It allows employees to get involved in decision making process. Participative management is considered to be the solution for all the ailments of an organization. Brainstorming sessions are held. Innovations are invited from employees. 

G.Peer performance review : 

Here employees of the same rank evaluates and rate each other. It develops mutual trust and respect and motivates the employees. 

H.High performance work design: 

Effective work groups are created in an organization through this technique to achieve a high level of performance.Certainly, a high performance system can produce the desired effects on the organizational productivity and performance. It can also achieve the required employee satisfaction and involvement.

Merits of Job Design: 

1. A competent, dynamic and responsive workforce. 

2. High-quality goods and services. 

3. Cost reduction. 

4. Eliminating accidents. 

5. Enhances the employees’ satisfaction, motivation, involvement and commit ment levels. 

6. Offers wide opportunities to the employees. 

7. Training and Upgrade the skills. 

Limitations of Job Design: 

1. Some job design are difficult for employees and may require advanced machinery. 

2. Job Enrichment - ie adding more tasks can cause mental tiredness and stress. 3. Enriched jobs have more challenges - complaints by employees. 4. Reduced autonomy and loss of individual identity. 

5. High cost of implementing job design programmes.