Management - Vikhanskiy OS

2.5. Technology and design work

In the context of this textbook, technology in the broad sense of the word means actions, knowledge, methods and physical objects (technique) used in the work to obtain the result (products or services). The relationship between technology and design work is multifaceted. So, this attitude can be considered from the point of view of the employee's knowledge of when and where work should be performed and how to perform it, and also in terms of the interdependence of the work.

Informing the employee about when and where the work is to be performed determines the degree of freedom in making a decision about the beginning and the place of work. So, the assembler on the conveyor has a very small degree of this freedom, because he must start work with the launch of the conveyor, which is his workplace. Informing the employee about how the work should be done determines the degree of freedom in choosing the means (objects and methods) by which the desired result should be obtained. So, the designer in the design office apparently has a high degree of this freedom because he creates a new, unknown. In such a situation, experience, judgment, intuition and the ability to solve problems are usually required.

In Fig. 6.6 shows the relationship between the two above-mentioned characteristics. Each of the four quadrants of the depicted matrix includes examples of works corresponding to the degree of influence of one or another characteristic of the work on them. The introduction of changes in work and organization can move work from one quadrant of the matrix to another. For example, converting a car assembly from a conveyor to moving trolleys (Volvo's experience) moves the collector from quadrant 1 closer to the center or even to quadrant 3.

The third characteristic of technology that affects the design of work is the interdependence of the work in the organization. This characteristic determines the degree to which interaction between two or more employees (or groups of employees) is carried out, ensuring the fulfillment of the tasks assigned to them. So, during the construction of high-rise buildings requires a high degree of interaction between the operator of the crane and a team of builders.

There are four types of interdependence: folding, sequential, linked and group (Figure 6.6).

The impact of technology on the design work

Fig. 6.6. The impact of technology on the design work

The emerging interdependence appears when the individual worker is not required to interact with other employees to perform the work as a whole. A typical example of this type of interdependence is the work of a group of employees sending newsletters to customers.

Consistent interdependence implies that before one worker starts working, the other must perform a series of operations to do this. In this case, what is for one start in the work for another is the end of the work. In a mass and highly specialized production, such a consistent interdependence can turn into a long chain. A vivid example of this is the production of cars.

Associated interdependence is a situation where the end of the work of one becomes the beginning of the work of the other, and vice versa. For example, this is how the surgeon interacts with assistants during the operation, the goalkeeper with the player in the football team, groups of different levels in the decision making, etc. This type of interdependence usually requires clarity and continuity in the work.

Group interdependence is built on the simultaneous participation of all parties in this action and, as it were, includes all the previous interdependencies together. The group approach is used when there is high uncertainty in the work and requires participants to have a great deal of cooperation and interaction, effective communication and the ability to make group decisions.

In the course of designing a new job or redesigning an existing one, managers often make changes in relation to the four characteristics of technology considered. So, for example, the deepening of the developing interdependence in work leads to a decrease in the interaction between its participants, and this, in turn, weakens the consistency in work operations.

Computers have made radical changes in the work, in its nature and processes. One example of such an impact is the emergence of powerful personal computers that have profoundly affected many types of professional and managerial activities. Their wide introduction allowed to increase the degree of autonomy of work sites, widened the developing interdependence in work.