Operations Management Chapter 7 – Work Design and Measurement – Flashcards
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process of specifying contents and methods for how work is to be done. AKA job design
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work design
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1. What will be done? 2. Who will do it? 3. How will it be done? 4. Where will it be done?
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Key questions to address during work design process
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Efficiency and behavioral
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Two basic approaches to work design
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emphasizes logical and systematic approach to work design process. focuses on labor specialization in which an employee's work is a very large part of producing a product or delivering a service
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Efficiency approach
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-From employer's perspective: 1. Simplifies training. 2. High productivity. 3. Low wage cost.
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Advantages of efficiency approach
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-Can lead to job dissatisfaction resulting in: 1. Difficulty motivating employees. 2. Absenteeism and turnover. 3. Poor attention to quality.
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Disadvantages of efficiency approach
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emphasizes satisfaction of wants and needs during design process
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Behavioral approach
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use horizontal loading to give employee a larger portion of the total task
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Job enlargement
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use cross-training to allow or require employees to periodically exchange jobs
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Job rotation
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use vertical loading to increase employee's role in task planning and coordination
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Job enrichment
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tie pay to performance by compensating employees solely based on output. A.K.A piecework
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Output-based systems
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systems still used for incentive programs for individuals or teams
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piecework
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pay employees based solely on time worked regardless of output and referred to as measured day of hourly systems
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Time-based systems
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reward employees who achieve certain educational goals that increase specific skills
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Knowledge-based systems
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1. Horizontal skills - increase variety of tasks employee can perform. 2. Vertical skills - increase process management tasks employee can perform.
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How knowledge-based systems improve employee skills
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3. Depth skills - improve employee's productivity and or quality of work
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How knowledge-based systems improve employee skills
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involves understanding interaction of human beings with other elements of a system
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Ergonomics
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considers issues such as repetitive movement, layout, health and safety
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physical ergonomics
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considers issues such as mental workload, decision-making and stress
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cognitive ergonomics
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studies teamwork, communication and work system design
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organizational ergonomics
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systematic approach to studying how work is currently done and could be done better
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methods analysis
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examine overall sequence of steps or tasks in an operation
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flow process charts
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determine portions of a work cycle during which an operator or machine are busy or idle
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worker machine charts
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systematic study of human motions used to perform an operation or task
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motion study
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Improve arrangement of workplace. Combine activities and tasks. Reduce causes of worker fatigue.
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Primary goals of motion study
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the process of determining how much time it should take to complete a task or type of work
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work measurement
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time it takes a qualified employee to complete a specified task working at a sustainable rate. only valid for specified work method, work arrangement, and combo of resources such as equipment, tools, parts or materials
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standard time
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time derived from multiple observations of one worker taken over a number of cycles
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stopwatch time study
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statistical technique for determining the proportion of time spent by workers in various defined categories of activity
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work sampling
