3.6.3 Making human resource decisions: improving organisational design and managing the human resource flow

Influences on job design

Job Design = the process of deciding on the content of the 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 in the relationships that should exist between the job holder and his superiors, subordinates and colleagues

Hackman and Oldham’s Job Characteristic Model = a model based in the belief that the task itself is the key to employee motivation

Skill Variety:

How many different skills and talents does the job require of a person?
Are they asked to do a lot of different things, or is it a monotonous, repetitive job?
It seems reasonable to conclude that a job that involves a variety of activists and perhaps stretches an employees to develop their skills, is more likely to be motivating than menial and monotonous work each day

Task Identity:

Is there a clearly defined beginning, middle, and end to a given task?
Dow a worker know what they are supposed to be doing, and when they have successfully completed the task?
There is no better felling at work than having completed a task successfully – a clearly-defined task is merely likely to create opportunities for employees to enjoy the positive feelings of achievement

Task Significance:

Does the job have a substantial impact?
Will it matter to people, either within the organisation or to the society?
Is the job/given task meaningful?
It can be very demotivating at work if you feel your work has little or no meaning/ significance

Autonomy:

How much freedom does an individual have to accomplish their tasks?
Does this freedom include the ability to schedule work as well as figuring out how to get the tasks done?

Job Feedback:

Is an employee kept in the loop about their performance?
Are they being told when they are going well and when they’re not?

Influences on organisational design

Organisational influences:

Machinery
Money/finance
Existing skills
Nature, range, and volume of tasks for employees required to complete
Physical capabilities
The way work is organised/carried out
Quality standards
Time frame required for products to be completed

External environment influences:

Technological developments
Levels of education
Social changes

Employee related influences:

Autonomy
Range of skills
Feedback
Variety of jobs

Authority = the rights of permission assigned to a particular role in an organisation in order to achieve organisational objectives

Chain of Command = the order of authority and delegation within a business

Delegation = the process of passing authority down the hierarchy from a manager to a subordinate

Centralisation / Decentralisation = the degree to which authority is delegated within the organisation. A centralised structure has a greater degree of central control, while and decentralised structure involves a greater degree of delegated authority to the subordinates

Span of Control = the number of subordinates for whom a manager is directly responsible

External influences on organisational design:

Objectives – expansion/growth
Sources of finance
Leadership type

Internal influences on organisational design:

Levels of education in society
State of economy
Technological developments

Influences on delegation, centralisation, and decentralisation

Influences on delegation, centralisation, and decentralisation:

History and nature of the organisation – centralisation or decentralisation of authority depends on the manner, in which the organisation has built up over time i.e. history of the organisation
Size of the organisation – in a large organisation, numerous decisions have to be taken at different places – therefore it becomes difficult to coordinate the functions of different departments. To avoid slow decision-making and to bring down the costs associated with managing a large organisation, authority should be decentralised. Decentralisation means the firms can operate as a group of small independent units
Availability of competent managers – decentralisation of authority may not be possible if the managers of the organisation are not talented enough, and if they can’t handle the problems of decentralised units
Time frame of decisions – in order to survive in a highly competitive environment, every organisation has to capitalise on the available opportunities. In a decentralised organisation, the authority to make decisions lies with the head of that particular unit – therefore, decisions can be made faster. The decisions are made closer to the scene of action, and are therefore, timely and accurate.
The importance of a decision – generally, decisions, which involve high risks and costs, are made by the top management, while the decisions involving routine and low-risk activities are delegated to the subordinates
Environmental influence – government regulation of private business is the most important factor, which affects the extent of decentralisation

The value of changing job and organisational design

Organisational structure types:

Functional – the traditional organisational structure where firms are divided into departments such as HR, marketing etc
Geographical – organised based on location
Product line based – organised according to the different products made by the firm
Customer/market based – the organisation is split by who it sells its products to
Matrix: hierarchical and functional approaches are combined and it usually used for specific projects within a firm

How managing the human resource flow helps meet human resource objectives

Human Resource Flow = the flow of people in and out of the business

What is included in the human resource flow:

Inflow
- Recruitment and selection
- Induction
Internal flow
- Evaluation of performance/appraisal
- Career development
- Promotion and demotion, transfers, and redeployment
- Training and development
Outflow
- Employees leaving voluntarily, dismissal, redundancy, retirement