Job Design and Re-design Job Enlargement , Job Enrichment

Job design is the process of Work arrangement (or rearrangement) aimed at reducing or overcoming job dissatisfaction and employee alienation arising from repetitive and mechanistic tasks. Through job design, organizations try to raise productivity levels by offering non-monetary rewards such as greater satisfaction from a sense of personal achievement in meeting the increased challenge and responsibility of one’s work. Job enlargement, job enrichment, job rotation, and job simplification are the various techniques used in a job design exercise.

Although job analysis, as just described, is important for an understanding of existing jobs, organizations also must plan for new jobs and periodically consider whether they should revise existing jobs. When an organization is expanding, supervisors and human resource professionals must help plan for new or growing work units. When an organization is trying to improve quality or efficiency, a review of work units and processes may require a fresh look at how jobs are designed.

These situations call for job design, the process of defining the way work will be performed and the tasks that a given job requires, or job redesign, a similar process that involves changing an existing job design. To design jobs effectively, a person must thoroughly understand the job itself (through job analysis) and its place in the larger work unit’s work flow process (through work flow analysis). Having a detailed knowledge of the tasks performed in the work unit and in the job, a manager then has many alternative ways to design a job. As shown in Figure , the available approaches emphasize different aspects of the job: the mechanics of doing a job efficiently, the job’s impact on motivation, the use of safe work practices, and the mental demands of the job

Job design is the process of
a) Deciding the contents of the job.
b) Deciding methods to carry out the job.
c) Deciding the relationship which exists in the organization.
Job analysis helps to develop job design and job design matches the requirements of the job with the human qualities required to do the job

Job Enlargement Theory:

Job enlargement is a job design strategy that increases task elements on a horizontal level. That is, the content of the job is increased, and the worker thus performs a major work unit rather than a fragmented job. The purpose of job rotation and job enlargement is to reduce the boredom and monotony that arise from performing a fragmented job repetitively.

Job Enrichment Theory:

This theory holds that jobs should be redesigned to improve the motivators related to a job by permitting employees to attain increased level of responsibility and achievement. Employees can also be given appropriate recognition and advancement in their careers for a job well done. And certainly the work itself should be challenging, interesting, and meaningful. There are numerous techniques for improving these motivational factors and they will have to be tailored to fit specific situations.

Job Characteristics Theory:

Another approach to job design is the job characteristics model provided by JR Hackman, G.R. Oldham, R. Janson and K. Purdy (1975). This model attempts and develops objective measures of job characteristics, which can directly affect employee attitudes and work behaviour. According to this model, work motivation and satisfaction are affected

By five core job dimensions:

(1) Skill variety;

(2) Task identity;

(3) Task significance;

(4) Autonomy

(5) Feedback.