Job Enrichment and Rotation

In redesigning jobs, satisfaction and response of employees are essential components of organisational effectiveness. To make jobs more responsive and result oriented, a scheme of redesigning of jobs is pursued by job analysis or management. The options for job redesign are as follows : 

1. Job Rotation, 
2. Work Modules, 
3. Job Enlargement/Enrichment, 
4. Integrated Work Teams, and 
5. Autonomous Work Teams. 

Job Rotation 

When an employee is required to repeat the same routine everyday, he feels bored and monotonous. This leads to lowering of morale and very high labour turnover. The rotation of job improves not only the morale of the workers but also the productivity. Job rotation is possible if the diversified jobs have similar skill requirements. Rotation may also be possible if small training or exposure to new jobs will enable the employee to acquire the needed skills. 

Work Modules 

Work modules may be stated as an extremely rapid form of work rotation, the activity of the employee under this plan changes every few hours. The employee may asks for a set of modules which may ultimately constitute a days job. Work modules seek to increase diversity in jobs. They may change activities through changing modules. It is both advantages and disadvantageous to the employees. 

Advantages 

It provides diversity and the choice to select jobs according to preference. 

Disadvantages 

In terms of performance such as tasks which are undesirable and thus demoralizing to the employees. 

The demoralizing effect may be minimized by individual choice of selecting work modules of phisher choice. Inspite of this fact work modules present the same cost and disruption as job rotation. 

Job Enlargement/Enrichment 

Job enlargement in generic sense means addition of simple tasks to a job which is simple in nature. In other words, job enlargement refers to rotating jobs and additional horizontal level duties. For example, soldering three connections instead of one or putting on both the rear and the fronts of the car rather than one may be 

stated as the components of organisation. 

The large ,enlargement techniques includes the following : 

• Job Rotation  : It has already been discussed earlier. 
• Job Extension  : It can be introduced by allowing the workers "to advance up the line while working on the assembled product". 
• Additional  Horizontal Duties : It may be assigned to the workers in the form of setting up of machines and tools before operation. 

Job enlargement is a limited "version' of socio-technical approach. It seeks to overcome the problems of specialisation and routinisation of simplified task by enlarging the job content. This will provide greater satisfaction to the worker, apart from relieving him of monotony and fatigue. Consequently the workers capabilities may be utilized more effectively. 

Thus, when a job is expanded horizontally it is known as "Job Enlargement". Conversely, when it is expanded vertically it is known as "Job Enrichment". 

Job enrichment is one of the techniques of job redesigning and is adopted as a motivational device which is ultimately reflected in organisational effectiveness. Some call it an outgrowth of Herzberg's -0-factor  theory (Motivation-Hygiene Model) and a few of them view it as a technique of organisation development. Whether we call it a motivational device or a technique of organisational development, the fundamental objective is employee's satisfaction and the improvement in the quality of work life. Critical Variables for job Enrichment relate to (a) jobs, (b) the employee, and (c) the organisation as shown in Table . 

Integrated Work Team 

Since most work in the organisation is to be completed by the group, hence, integrated work teams will emerge. 

When the work is to be completed by the team, a sizable work is received by the group. Depending on the competence and suitability of each member, the sub-divided task is assigned to him. This work has to be rationally integrated by the team leader. In the work team, the work of an individual worker is supervised properly by a qualified superior. Integrated work teams are more suitable for such activities as building maintenance and constriction. 

Autonomous Work Teams 

These teams represent job enrichment at group level. The work of the team is accomplished through vertical integration. The team is assigned the goal to be achieved. It is left to the discretion of the team to determine work assignments, rest-intervals of each employee and the procedure of inspection adopted by the team. The team may select its own numbers to perform different types of activities related to the achievement of the specified goals. When tasks are distributed to the individual workers who have specialised themselves in the performance of such tasks, there is little scope for supervision. Hence, the cost of supervision reduces. Consequently, all autonomous work team is quite successful and rewarding. There are variety of jobs, dignity of work, open output, reduction in wastage, and lower absenteeism and turnover of workers in the organisation.