The strength of any business lies within the organization. The different components make up what an organization is all about. The more structured and well-organized the different components are, the better the organization functions and produces. The concept of job design originates from breaking down tasks associated with each component in the system (Ulrich 1996). Job design was borne when rapid technological advancements at the turn of the 20th century when mass production and assembly line operations emerged. Today, jobs continue to become more sophisticated and specialized, the need for an educated and motivated workforce has become indispensable (Singapore Human Resource Institute 2006). Armstrong (2006) further suggested that companies should attempt to come up a precise and measurable job scope such that employees are better suited to the job. The purpose of this essay is essentially identify the strategies that organizations have implemented in an effort to improve job design and the quality of work life.
Job design is also known as job re-design. Drez (1999) defines job design as work arrangement (or rearrangement) aimed at reducing or overcoming job dissatisfaction and employee alienation arising from repetitive and mechanistic tasks.
Human resources professionals have discovered the traditional approach to job design can adversely affect their organization’s productivity as well as the motivation and job satisfaction of employees. Therefore, the main purpose of job design (or re-design) is to increase employee’s job satisfaction, motivation and productivity (Rush, 1971). Increased productivity can manifest itself in different forms. For example, the focal point can be that of improving quality and quantity of goods and services, reduce operation costs, and/or reduce turnover and training costs.
Before the four methods of job design are look at, we should understand that increasing employees' motivation can be achieved through increased...