Designing Work Groups, Jobs, and Work Flow (Jossey Bass Business & Management Series)

By Odin Westgaard and Toni Hupp

Book Overview

Here's an integrated approach to using the most powerful reeingineering tools to design single work units that are productive, responsive, and build participant ownership and commitment. This practical tool kit includes techniques for analyzing and designing daily work flow, group structure, and job responsibilities of intact work groups. Includes numerous checklists, reusable worksheets, and flow charts.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 078790063X
• ISBN13: 9780787900632
• Release Date: April 1995
• Publisher: Pfeiffer
• Length: 246 Pages
• Weight: 1.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 11.0" x 1.2" x 5.1"

Customer Reviews

Clearly written step-by-step guide

This well organized book focuses on work processes and procedures for designing them. It does not address the redesign of the underlying processes. It only touches upon this area, so if you're looking for a book about process redesign I recommend Process Redesign: The Implementation Guide for Managers by Arthur R. Tenner. Instead, this book treats the subject as a project more than a development process.The book is divided into four sections of which the first two sections cover the context and techniques, with the remaining two providing a case study and a comprehensive list of resources.The heart of this book is Section Two, which is comprised of chapters 2-9 and devoted to techniques for designing work groups and jobs. It starts with an important chapter that steps you through defining your goals and setting the scope of a work group design or redesign. The techniques for accomplishing your goals are given in chapters 3 through 9. The techniques are: environmental analysis (identifying critical goals, demands and constraints), technical process analysis (understanding how the workgroup creates products and/or services), human systems analysis (how people do their jobs), goal design (matching workgroup goals to environmental demands), technical process design, human systems design and implementation. Section Three is a single chapter that provides a case study to reinforce the information provided in Section Two. Section Four is a collection of useful resources, such as a business environment matrix, cycle time analysis and variance analysis worksheets, and other tools that you will find invaluable.Layout and format of this book are excellent. The good use of tables, step-charts and flow charts make this an easy-to-read and follow workbook as well as a text on workgroup design. It's a valuable addition to a process designer's reference library and a ready made project plan for a workgroup design initiative.