Jobs and Job Analysis [PDF]

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Chapter I Case and Questions Jobs and Work at R. R. Donnelley



Changes in many industries are occurring in an effort to increase productivity. Redesigning jobs, integrating information technology, and increasing HR training efforts are all critical. One example illustrates what happens when jobs and work are changed. R. R. Donnelley is a leading U.S. commercial printing firm. One of its primary facilities is in Roanoke, Virginia, where 3.5 million books a month are produced with about 300 employees. To improve productivity and profitability, Donnelley focused on lowering costs, improving workplace safety, and reducing errors. Because making numerous changes was likely to increase employees’ concerns, significant time and effort were spent communicating with employees about the need for change, improvement in quality, and higher productivity. Training for all employees on quality and work flow changes was conducted that focused on specialized methods such as Six Sigma and other process improvement means. In addition, greater use was made of digital technology to receive and make printing film and plates, which changed numerous jobs at the plant and required employees to learn a number of new methods and technologies. The payoff of these changes is seen in a number of ways. The production time for printing four-color books has been cut by 50% or more. Productivity is up 20% in the past three years. In fact, the increase in productivity has been great enough that Donnelley did not have to set up an additional production line, savings millions of dollars. For Donnelley employees, their fears that the Roanoke plant might close were reduced. They have been trained in new technology, have changed jobs, and work in a highly successful plant.



Questions 1. Discuss why Donnelley had to coordinate HR activities with the changes in jobs and work. 2. Identify examples of how technology has changed jobs where you have worked and which HR activities were handled well and which poorly.



Chapter II Discussion



1. Discuss why Donnelley had to coordinate HR activities with the changes in jobs and work. The human resource department of an organization or business is entrusted with many responsibilities in the work environment; they must obtain, develop, motivate, and retain employees. The HR department administers all employee procedures and talent management. It also develops and determines the condition in which employees will work and cooperate in order to accomplish the goals of the organization. Donnelley's main goal is to make changes because he wants to increase productivity and increase profits at the printing company he leads, and to realize that he focuses on lowering costs, improving workplace safety, and reducing errors. In addition he sees that the use of digital technology is important for the effectiveness and efficiency of the company, so by reviewing the benefits of these advantages he coordinates changes in jobs and work within the company, and this relates to Donnelley's efforts to use the job analysis role of his company, so based on analysis the job he took the decision to make changes in jobs and work at R.R. Donnelley, so with a good job analysis that his decision to change has provided great benefits both for company performance and also the satisfaction and improvement of employees' ability to work.



2.



Identify examples of how technology has changed jobs where you have worked and which HR activities were handled well and which poorly. Technology changes the way HR departments contact employees, store files and analyze employee performance. Used well, technology makes HR practices more efficient. When used poorly, it can get in the way of managing the company's human resources. The existence of technology will certainly have an impact on the overall work unit of the company, which is most felt on the effectiveness of work, and of course it brings a big change in the company's work activities, but every use of technology will certainly bring overall advantages and disadvantages, here we are has compiled examples



of the application of technology that is used well and is used poorly in the company as a whole, as follows: 



Recruiting Transformed by the Internet Before the internet and email, connecting with job seekers meant phone, face time or a letter. In the 21st century, it's routine for companies to post openings online, and require job seekers to apply through an online applicant tracking system. That frees up a great deal of time that HR would have spent dealing with paper resumes or personal calls. However, HR practices don't always take into account how well the system works for the candidates. Online forms have a standardized format that often makes it hard to tell a star performer from a slacker. A badly designed system with confusing instructions and slow response times can actually turn job seekers off to applying with a firm.



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Ease of Communication With email, text and messaging apps it's easier than ever for HR staff to stay in touch with the rest of the company. If a manager wants to share a new schedule with a project team, one email with an attachment or a conversation on Slack can share the word with a dozen people at once. There's a risk of relying too much on tech as a time-saver though. Information in a two-page email may be better off delivered to the group face to face. That way everyone can ask questions and hear the answers.



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Data Analysis of Employee Performance Analyzing employee performance used to depend on personal assessments and obvious standards: Did the employee finish the task on time? Does their boss trust them? Technology makes it easier to gather and break down data on employees to get an overall picture. Which tasks do they perform best? Do they meet all the goals from last year's performance appraisal? If they fell short, was it by 12 percent, 50 percent or 75 percent? Software programs can even take over much of the work in evaluating employees.



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Too Much Data As HR makes more use of data collection and analysis, employees might feel their privacy shrinking. If, say, a company has security cameras that monitor employees every second, it can be easier to find the facts behind a harassment charge or someone drinking on the job. However, being constantly monitored can alienate employees as well. Good



HR practices involve not only knowing how much data can be gathered but also how much should be gathered. Another risk is that the HR department can end up getting more data than it can manage. After a certain point, wading through data to pick out the relevant material becomes an impossible task. It's also possible that HR will misread data or make assumptions that a face-to-face conversation could clear up.



Chapter III Conclusion