Operations Management

SUMMARY: Productivity is vital for any organization. However, operations managers should take care that the process of productivity improvement does not dehumanize jobs. Dehumanization of jobs could lead to degradation of workers’ performance in the long-term.

The objective of job design is to develop work assignments that satisfy the needs and requirements of both the organization and its workers. Managers try to design jobs in such a way that they are technically, behaviorally and economically feasible for workers as well as the organization. Job design decisions are based on elements like job content, degree of specialization required, and work environment in the organization.

Job design helps managers carry out job analysis and develop job specifications. These in turn help managers conduct activities like recruitment and selection,