Job enlargement, job enhancement, job characteristics and employee works teams are the important part in job design. Discuss these points.

According to “Business dictionary.com,” (n.d.) job design will be defined as the set of opportunities and constraints structured into assigned tasks and responsibilities that affect how an employee accomplieshes and experiences work. Other than that, according to Morgeson & Humphrey; Parker & Wall (2008;1998, as cited in Grant, Fried & Juillerat) states job design is the process and outcomes of how work is structured, organized, experienced, and enacted. There are four important parts in dob design which is job enlargement, job enhancement, job characteristics and employee works teams.

            Job enlargement will be defined as expansion of the number of different tasks performed by an employee in single job (Chapter 15: Job Design, 2011). For example, one  auto mechanic switced from only changing oil to changing oil, greasing, and changing tranmission fluid. This work task have variety of services that the employee should do. This job enlargement will make the job tasks become more interesting. However, it is require more responsive to the higher level needs of employees by providing more variety in their job. The employees also always view job enlargement as just adding more routine, repetitive tasks to their already boring job.

            Job enhancement is the alternative term for job enrichment. Job enhancement will define as a job design technique that is a variation on the concept of job enlargement (Business Dictionary.com, 2011). It adds new sources of job satisfactio by increasing level of responsibility of the employee. It also refers to the empowerment of employees to assume more responsibility and accountability for planning, organizing, performing, controlling, and evaluating their own work. There are five factors for enhance jobs and motivating employees which are achievement, recognition, growth, responsibility and performance. For example, server in the dining area will take immediate action when customer have complaint about the food product or service that provided.

            Job characteristics also called as job factors. It will define as specific aspects to a job such as knowledge and skills, mental and physical demands, and working conditions that can be recognized and assessed (Business Dictionary.com, 2011). For example, to be a restaurant manager should have knowledge and skills in foodservice operation system. According to “Chapter 15 Job Design,” (2011), states job characteristics involves increasing the amounts of skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback in a job. Skill variety, task identity and task significance are influence the experienced meaningfulness of work. Autonomy increase the feelings and attitudes of the employee towards their jobs. The feedback in job will give knowledge to the employee about their performances.

            

References

Business Dictionary.com (2011). Retrieved November 1, 2011, from http://www.businessdictionary.com

Grant, A.M., Fried, Y., & Juillerat, T. (n.d.). Work matters: Job design in classic and contemporary perspectives. Retrieved from http://www.management.wharton.upenn.edu/

Chapter 15: Job Design. (2011). Retrieved November 1, 2011 from http://www.swlearning.com/management/