Action learning review - work design Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Action learning review - work design - Essay Example Considering personal objectives, work design should allow employees to find a sense of fulfillment and potential in their job. There should be particular attention given to employee perceptions regarding autonomy and the challenges of such an environmentAs a socio-technical system, work design is critical in the consideration of the human factors in the workplace. The objective is to be able to create an environment were workers can achieve job satisfaction, efficiency, effectivity and be able to have access to channels for the resolution of problems. In a company that operates on flexible hours and remotely, it is important to create work designs that can be accessed 24/7. At the same time, communication and resolution of policies and issues alike must be done in real time and promptly. At the same time, there should be consideration for security, privacy and sensitivity of programs to circumvent ant limitations that may develop from the nature or structure of the organization. It w as only recently, around in the early part of the 20th century that the value of human resources was given its much and due importance in the organization. Research had shown that employee commitment and satisfaction are highly correlated and this coincides with their intrinsic motivation to work and stick with the organization through its up and downs. Employees are willing to go beyond their call of duty if they have a high job commitment (Bartol & Martin, 1998). There is evidence that work designs are up to par: job satisfaction is high, there is low staff turnover and many employees have been with the company for more than two years which suggests employee commitment. In small organizations such as the one I am working in, the individual efforts are even higher in magnitude. The objectives for the design are to be able to endure that every employee will be given the opportunity and the capability to contribute fully to the company. This will be done by ensuring that work scenarios meet both the corporate and personal objectives, contribute to improving services and enhance effectivity and efficiency of processes and resources (Managing People & Organisations [MOP], 2007, p. 5). Corporate and Personal Objectives The company is in an industry that is competitive and technology oriented. Both of these factors emphasize the need to be responsive and sensitive to developments and trends not only in our main medium, online communications, but also to social trends and demographics. Therefore, the company must be able to have employees who will provide these competencies to develop. Considering this corporate objectives, the work design should afford employees the ability to deliver these needs to company (Niebel & Freivalds, 2002). At the same time, the design should be able to help the company ensure that employees reflect these needs in their work through their innovativeness and ability to deliver collaterals that support client requirements. Considering personal objectives, work design should allow employees to find a sense of fulfillment and potential in their job. There should be particular attention given to employee perceptions regarding autonomy and the challenges of such an environment (Mischel, 1968). The degree of autonomy viewed in a small organization like this is more than compared to a traditional and highly hierarchical management. The problem with too much autonomy could lead to the team inability to work cohesively with other members of the organization (Niebel & Freivalds 2002). Products and Services The company should consider the opinion of Rothwell and Sullivan (2005) who assert the value of non-traditional set ups. This can be particularly to our organization where employees work remotely and independently. In turn, there is an expected variance in the product and service development. Consider schedules alone: in a traditional set-up, people work on relatively the same schedules. In the company, since work is relatively more independent, this may not be a given condition. Therefore, there is less communication regarding products and services particularly on the evaluation phases. Clients will consider status, security, comfort and quality to be the essential