Workplace design
Workplace and job design is the definition of employee responsibility for the work carried out by him. Job descriptions are essential components of any organization. They are determined by: the area of freedom of action and the area of freedom of decision. Job design is part of a wider set of actions, which defines process of organizing.
Design approach
There are several different approaches to the job design. They can be divided into two groups: job specialization and alternatives to specialization.
Specialization
Job specialization is the extent to which the general operation of the organization will be divided into smaller components. This is a limitation of the scope of freedom of action and freedom of decision and control. Specialization applies to both operational and managerial positions. The most important benefits of specialization are:
- improved performance of actions
- elimination of counter-productive time associated with switching between different actions,
- possibility to use more specialized work tools,
- reduction in the cost of training new employees.
Beside the advantages flowing from the implementation of the specialization, there are also some disadvantages of this solution, which include:
- alienation,
- work-related fatigue,
- dissatisfaction with work,
- dispersion and difficulty with coordination.
References
- Feyen, R., Liu, Y., Chaffin, D., Jimmerson, G., & Joseph, B. (2000). Computer-aided ergonomics: a case study of incorporating ergonomics analyses into workplace design. Applied Ergonomics, 31(3), 291-300.
