
ptg6843605
job − job order costing
Page 179 The Encyclopedia of Operations Management
job – (1) In a general context: Any work that needs to be done by an individual or a machine. (2) In a
manufacturing context: Work that is done to create a batch of an item in response to a customer request; also
known as an order, manufacturing order, or production order.
See job order costing, job shop, lotsize.
job design – The process of defining and combining tasks to create work for an individual or a group of individuals;
also called work design and socio-technical design.
Job design usually results in a job description, which defines the set of tasks and responsibilities for an
individual worker. Job design should consider organizational requirements, individual worker attributes, health,
safety, and ergonomics. Taylor’s scientific method tended to view job design as a pure engineering problem;
however, the human relations movement broadened the scope to consider job satisfaction, motivation, and
interpersonal issues.
Organizations can better achieve their objectives by designing work that motivates workers to achieve their
full potential. A deep understanding of job design requires an understanding of behavioral science,
organizational behavior, organizational design, psychology, human resources management, economics,
operations, and engineering.
Socio-technical design considers the interaction between people and the technological processes in which
they work. Socio-technical design is important in almost every operations management topic. For example,
visual control, a key lean manufacturing concept, is a good socio-technical design because when processes are
made more visual, workers can understand them better and be more productive.
See addition principle, cellular manufacturing, cross-training, division of labor, empowerment, ergonomics,
gainsharing, Hawthorne Effect, High Performance Work Systems (HPWS), human resources, job enlargement,
job rotation, labor grade, lean thinking, multiplication principle, New Product Development (NPD), on-the-job
training (OJT), organizational design, pay for skill, productivity, RACI Matrix, Results-Only Work Environment
(ROWE), scientific management, self-directed work team, Service Profit Chain, single point of contact,
standardized work, subtraction principle, work measurement, work simplification, workforce agility.
job enlargement – Adding more tasks to a job; increasing the range of the job duties and responsibilities.
The management literature does not have consistent definitions of the terms “job enlargement” and “job
enrichment.” However, most experts define the terms as follows:
Job enlargement – This is also called horizontal job enlargement and adds similar tasks to the job
description. In other words, the worker is assigned more of a co-worker’s job. For example, the worker who
cleans sinks also is assigned to clean the toilets.
Job enrichment – This is sometimes called vertical job enlargement and adds more decision rights and
authority to the job. In other words, the worker is assigned some of the boss’ job. For example, the worker
might be given the added responsibilities of scheduling and inspecting the bathroom cleaning process for other
workers.
Job enlargement can have many benefits for an organization. Some of these include:
Reduced cycle time – When workers have broader skills, they can be moved to where they are needed. This
reduces queue time and cycle time.
Fewer queues – When a worker is assigned to do two steps instead of one, the queue between the steps is
eliminated, and much of the associated wait time is eliminated.
Improved process improvement capability –Workers with broader experience are better able to help the
organization improve processes, which means that the organization can accelerate “learning.”
Improved worker morale and retention – Enlarged jobs are often more interesting, which improves
worker morale and retention.
See addition principle, Business Process Re-engineering (BPR), cross-training, division of labor,
empowerment, handoff, human resources, job design, job rotation, learning organization, organizational design,
pay for skill, standardized work, work simplification.
job enrichment – See job enlargement.
job order costing – A cost accounting approach that accumulates costs for a job as it passes through the system;
also known as job costing.