Concept of Job Design
What is job design? As we just explained, job analysis provides job-related data as well as the skills and knowledge required for the incumbent to perform the job. A better job performance also requires deciding on sequence of job contents. This is called 'job design'. Job design is a logical sequence to job analysis. In other words, job design involves specifying the contents of a job, the work methods used in its performance and how the job relates to other jobs in the organisation.
A few definitions on job design are produced here with a view to help you understand the meaning of job design in a better manner. Michael Armstrong11 has defined job design as "the process of deciding on the contents of a job in terms of its duties and responsibilities, on the methods to be used in carrying out the job, in terms of techniques, systems and procedures, and on the relationships that should exist between the job holder and his superiors, subordinates and colleagues".
Mathis and Jackson I2 have defined job analysis as "a process that integrates work content (tasks, functions, relationships), the rewards(extrinsic and intrinsic), and the qualifications required (skills, knowledge, abilities) for each job in a way that meets the needs of employees and organisations."
Popplewell and Wildsmith13 define job design in these words: "......involves conscious efforts to organise tasks, duties, and responsibilities into a unit of work to achieve certain objectives".
Having gone through the above definitions of job design, it can now be described as a deliberate attempt made to structure both technical and social aspects of the job to attain a fit between the individual (job holder) and the job. The very idea is that job should be designed in such a way as to enable employees to control over the aspects of their work. The underlying justification being that by doing this, it enhances the quality of the work life, harnesses the potential of the workers in a more effective manner and thereby improves employee performance.
Read more about this topic: Job Evaluation
Famous quotes containing the words concept of, concept and/or job:
“Modern man, if he dared to be articulate about his concept of heaven, would describe a vision which would look like the biggest department store in the world, showing new things and gadgets, and himself having plenty of money with which to buy them. He would wander around open-mouthed in this heaven of gadgets and commodities, provided only that there were ever more and newer things to buy, and perhaps that his neighbors were just a little less privileged than he.”
—Erich Fromm (19001980)
“It is impossible to dissociate language from science or science from language, because every natural science always involves three things: the sequence of phenomena on which the science is based; the abstract concepts which call these phenomena to mind; and the words in which the concepts are expressed. To call forth a concept, a word is needed; to portray a phenomenon, a concept is needed. All three mirror one and the same reality.”
—Antoine Lavoisier (17431794)
“In Washington, the first thing people tell you is what their job is. In Los Angeles you learn their star sign. In Houston youre told how rich they are. And in New York they tell you what their rent is.”
—Simon Hoggart (b. 1946)