MGTO 231 Human Resources Management

1. MGTO 231Human Resources Management Work Flows and Job Analysis I Dr. Kin Fai Ellick WONG

2. Prologue Steps for applying HKSAR passport 1. Obtaining application form from Reception Counter 2. Giving payment at the Cashier Counter 3. Returning the form to a Collection Box 4. Calling you 20-45 minutes later 5. Meeting an Officer for information checking 6. Giving payment receipt to the officer

3. Giving you another receipt and then passing your application for further process • (15 working days later) dropping your receipt to another collection box • Calling your name • Getting your new passport

4. An even extreme example • Hong Kong Eye Hospital • Initial check in at Room 1 • Getting application form from Counter A • Passing the application form to Room 2 • Waiting outside • Getting into Room 2 for vision checking • Leaving Room 2 and waiting • Going back to Room 2 to meet the doctor • Going to Counter B for making next appointment • Going to Room 3 for learning eye cares • Going to Room 4 for surgery or treatment • Going to Counter C to pay • Going to Counter D to get the medicine

5. Question for you • Why does such a simple task as issuing a passport need so many steps? • I hope you can get the insight at the end of this class

6. Outline • Interrelation between organizational structure, work flow, and job • Organizational structure • Work flow and work flow analysis

7. Outline • Interrelation between organizational structure, work flow, and job • Organizational structure • Work flow and work flow analysis

8. Introduction (some key ideas) • Duty of managers • Organizing work into departments, teams, and jobs • Keeping work to be performed efficiently in order to achieve the goal of organizations (providing valuable products and services for customers)

9. Organizational structure • The formal or informal relationships between people in an organization • How the units or departments in an organization interrelated with each other • E.g., Whether all departments in HKUST directly under Prof. Chu, or create an in-between level called school (School of Business and Management)

10. Work Flow (工序) • The way work is organized to meet the organization’s production or service goals • Identify the processes through which a service or product is produced • It can involve many steps (stages of processing) or just one • Broken device  receptionist  engineer  basic check  fee assessment  receptionist  customer  fix or not • Broken device  engineer  basic check and fee assessment  customer  fix or not

11. Job analysis • The systematic process of collecting information used to make decisions about jobs • Identifies the tasks, duties, and responsibilities of a particular job

12. Interrelationship between them • Admission of a new undergraduate student of MGTO • U’s structure • Vice-Chancellor  School  MGTO Department • Vice-Chancellor  Admission • Work flow involves two departments only • MGTO and Admission • Job for each unit is not the same

13. Outline • Interrelation between organizational structure, work flow, and job • Organizational structure • Work flow and work flow analysis

14. The simplest structure • One man organization • Few men organization • All by myself/ourselves • One person may need to handle multiple tasks • Job duties may not be very specific • The concepts of units / division of labor are very vague

15. Bureaucratic Organization (官僚） • A pyramid-shaped organizational structure • Consists of hierarchies with (relatively) many levels of management

16. Source: Managing Human Resources, 4th Edition, p.50

17. Top-down management approach • Centralized • Many levels of management • Less flexibility on lower management • Employees have less say and influence on decision making • 家長式

18. Functional division of labor • Employees are divided based on their functions • Work specialization • Highly specialized jobs • Narrowly specified job description • Rigid boundaries between jobs and units • Employees or individuals working independently

19. Evaluations • Advantages • Best in predictable and stable environments • Repetitive work for front-line workers enables high efficiency • Disadvantages • Less efficient in a dynamic environment • Lack of flexibility and innovation

20. Flat Organization • Only a few levels of management • Emphasis on decentralization • Encourages high employee involvement in decision making

21. Source: Managing Human Resources, 4th Edition, p.50

22. Decentralized management approach • Horizontal career paths across functions • Jobs become less specific • Broadly defined jobs • General job descriptions • Flexible boundaries between jobs and units • Emphasis on teams

23. Product-based business units • Hewlett-Packard (HP) • 60 different product-based units • Color printer, Laser printer, CD-ROM, DVD, etc. • Each unit behaves like a mini-business • Strong focus on customers • Useful for total quality management

24. Advantages • Best in rapid changing environments • Creates a culture that fosters employee participation • Disadvantages • Top-management has less control and understanding what and how the lower-levels are working

25. Boundaryless Organization • Enables organization to form relationships with customers, suppliers, and/or competitors • Pool resources for mutual benefits • Encourages co-operation in uncertain environment

26. Source: Managing Human Resources, 4th Edition, p.50

27. Joint ventures • Sharing talented employees, intellectual properties, financial resources • 中銀集團 (Bank of China Group) • Share many characteristics of flat organizations • Cross boundaries • Emphasis on teams

28. Boundaryless structure is used when • Adopting a total quality management strategy • Entering foreign markets • Need to manage the risk of developing expensive new technology • Share the risk and potential rewards with others

29. Strategy and Organizational Structure • Defender strategy • Bureaucratic organization • Top management has the key responsibility for decision-making • Emphasis efficiency on specific jobs

30. Prospector strategy • Flat or boundaryless organizations • Flexibility that enables rapid change is the key • Innovation and customer service are highly emphasized

31. Conclusion • Why does such a simple task as issuing a passport need so many steps? • It is related to “business” strategy and the “organizational” structure of Hong Kong Government

32. Question for you • Hong Kong Government • Strategy: Defender or prospector? • Structure: Bureaucratic or flat? • Preferred work flow choices: • Centralized, control, specific job description, narrow job variety, etc.. • It is changing to be less bureaucratic

33. Outline • Interrelation between organizational structure, work flow, and job • Organizational structure • Work flow and work flow analysis (next lesson)

34. What is work flow analysis? • The process of examining • How work creates or adds value to ongoing processes in business • How a product or service can be delivered to customers • Basic processes • Input (a work)  add values  to other workers

35. Importance of work flow analysis • It helps identifying steps or jobs that can be combined, simplified, or even eliminated • Re-organization of work so that teams rather than individual workers are the sources of value creation • Receptionists  Customer service unit • Improve company performance • Business process reengineering

36. Business process reengineering • A fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business process • To achieve dramatic improvement in cost, quality, service, and speed • Reengineering is not totally equal to • Restructuring • Layoff

37. Source: Managing Human Resources, 4th Edition, p.53

38. Critics of reengineering • May not achieve its objectives • Importance of identifying indicators for assessment • However, it causes frustration and disruptions to established work patterns