Introduction
You may be wondering what we mean by jobs design. Well, let’s begin by defining it. It is the process of deciding on what makes up the job. Jobs design articulates the responsibilities and duties of the job, methodologies of executing the job, and how the job holder relates to his colleagues.
There are many factors affecting jobs design and it is crucial that we name them so as to create a better understanding of what this entire exercise is about.
Defining the scope of work: This is the first thing in jobs design. To what extent is an employee supposed to in performing a task. They shouldn’t overstep their scope and overlap and duplicate another department’s job. Neither should the scope be so narrow that the task is not challenging to the employee. A balance should this be struck.
History
Secondly we need to look at the requirements of the organization. The job in question should be designed in line with the organizations rules and regulations or modus operandi. Nor should the tasks contravene with any of the ethical restrictions of the organization or code of conduct. A similar job in a different organization may be done differently, hence this consideration.
Our third determinant is the organizational structure. A small organization may have a less complex structure than a big organization. Due to this, an individual’s job must fit into the structure of organization in question, and not vice versa. For instance, organizations with many mid level managers have different jobs design from that which have only top managers followed by junior employees.
Features
A fourth factor to consider in the job design is the level of skill of the manager in question. How qualified is the person for the job. Do they have all the skills or will they need to be trained a bit before they catch on, is it a seasoned manager or a manager in transition. Here, also the level of experience determines the jobs design in relation to skill levels.
Last but definitely not the least, is the technology to be used in executing that job assignment. The technological advancement of an organization may call for a tailoring of the job to rhyme with the existing level of technology. A highly technological company will design its jobs differently from a company with low level of technological sophistication, even if it is a similar job. This is very true of computer intensive tasks in certain organizations that still use partially manual systems.
Tips and comments
So many factors surround jobs design and influence how it is done. Not all of them have been captured in this article, since factors affecting job design will most often vary for different working situations. It is however important to note the pointers given above so as to have a rough idea while designing a job. Some organizations go as far as looking into the individual’s likes and dislikes, this way they can allocate the employee a job that they naturally enjoy, and with a belief they will perform it best.
