Job enlargement is a job design technique wherein there is an increase in the number of tasks associated with a certain job. In other words, it means increasing the scope of one’s duties and responsibilities. The increase in scope is quantitative in nature and not qualitative and at the same level. Show
Job enlargement is a horizontal restructuring method that aims at increase in the workforce flexibility and at the same time reducing monotony that may creep up over a period of time. It is also known as horizontal loading in that the responsibilities increase at the same level and not vertically. Many believe that since the enlargement is horizontal in nature there is not a great need for training! Contrary to this, job enlargement requires appropriate training especially on time and people management. Task related training is not required much since the person is already aware of the same or doing it for some time. Benefits of Job EnlargementThe following are the major benefits of Job enlargement
Job Enrichment and Job Enlargement
Job enrichment has been found to have greater impact in terms of motivation when compared to job enlargement. Since enrichment gives employee greater insights in managerial functioning and a better work profile, it is looked upon as an indicator of growth and development. The same is not true in case of job enlargement which is seen as an employer tactic to increase the workload.
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Job enrichment is a process in which an individual's skills, knowledge, or abilities are increased through learning new things. It is also called vertical expansion. Job enrichment refers to making jobs more interesting so employees enjoy their work. It has been used for decades now. Job enlargement is a process in which a person's responsibilities are expanded to include more work than they originally had. It is also called horizontal expansion. If I'm working at my current job and it becomes clear that there are other tasks that I can do for the company, then I would be expanding my responsibilities, or it will be job enlargement. If I am currently doing one task but find out that there is another task that I could do, then I would be enriching my current role, or it will be job enrichment. I think both approaches have their advantages and disadvantages. Job enrichment allows you to learn new things, expand your responsibilities, and increase your earning potential. However, it requires some extra time on your part to complete the task. On the other hand, job enlargement allows you to take on additional responsibility within the existing framework. It also might have the advantage of allowing you to earn more money. But, you may not get as much personal satisfaction from this type of change. A job enlargement program is a method of motivation that involves giving employees an increase in their responsibilities, so they feel like they're doing important work. Enrichment programs help develop new skills among workers. Usually, people take it as a reward for doing well at something. Quality Management Course FREE! Subscribe to get 52 weekly lessons. Every week you get an email that explains a quality concept, provides you with the study resources, test quizzes, tips and special discounts on our other e-learning courses. Job enlargement and job enrichment are both used as techniques for employee motivation and satisfaction. However, they differ a lot from each other. The critical difference is job enlargement is a horizontal expansion of duties and tasks across the same organizational level, whereas job enrichment is the vertical expansion of the roles, responsibilities, authority and activities along with the different hierarchical levels. Job enlargement is a technique used for motivating the semi-skilled or unskilled workers and may be misinterpreted as work overload without a good hike in salary. Job enrichment is used for development and satisfaction of the skilled employees which is usually taken as a reward of good work. Content: Difference Between Job Enlargement and Job EnrichmentDifference and Comparison
ExampleJob Enlargement A person hired to handle the reception work is responsible for handling customer enquiries, queries and calls on the front desk. She kept on doing the same work for two years and got bored. She discussed the problem with the HR manager, who planned to implement job enlargement for making her job profile interesting. Few more task were added to her job profile like interacting with the clients and making outbound calls to create new customers for the company. These added tasks reduced her monotony. Job Enrichment A human resource executive was initially responsible for maintaining the employees’ record and calling the candidates for interviews as directed by the HR manager. To add more value to the HR executive’s job profile, the manager gave him some authority related to the work already assigned to him. The new responsibilities included providing the employees’ provident fund details to the accounts department, keeping contact with the provident fund office and initial scrutinizing of the candidates for the interviews. These additional responsibilities hold authority and accountability, making the employee more efficient, confident and satisfied with the job. What is Job Enlargement?Job enlargement refers to that job design technique which integrates the various tasks performed at the same level(horizontally) to the employee’s existing job duties. Features of Job EnlargementJob enlargement is a suitable technique for companies where a centralized organizational structure is followed, and the number of employees is limited. To understand the concept in a better way, let us go through its features:
What is Job Enrichment?Job enrichment can be defined as a vertical restructuring of a job, i.e. integration of the tasks, role, responsibilities and authority across different levels in an organization, to add value to the employee’s existing job profile. Features of Job EnrichmentJob enrichment is a strategy which the organizations use to retain their employees and make them feel worthy. The following characteristics of job enrichment will help us know more about it:
Process of Job EnrichmentJob enrichment is not an immediate practice. It requires a lot of planning and proper implementation. Its step by step process is mentioned below:
Benefits of Job EnlargementJob enlargement is a short term strategy, i.e. it can be used to motivate the employees instantly but may not last for a long time. To know the various advantages of adopting job enlargement, read below: The work becomes tedious if an employee has to perform the same activities daily. Thus, the employee is allocated some different tasks in addition to the existing job profile. With the allocation of new responsibilities, the employees put in more skills, knowledge and efforts to accomplish the given task. After taking up new responsibilities, duties and tasks along with increased workload, the skills and abilities of the employees are increased. Thus, they can ask for a better salary while switching the job. The work modules formed under job enlargement are related and diversified, improving the job satisfaction of the employees. The employees have a variety of activities which reduces the monotony of performing similar tasks all the time. This makes the work more exciting and keeps the employees engaged. Benefits of Job EnrichmentJob enrichment is widely practised by many of the companies to simplify their work and reduce the level of job dissatisfaction among the employees. The following are some of the advantages of adopting the strategy of job enrichment: By performing similar tasks daily and following the superior’s instructions at every stage creates boredom and dissatisfaction. Therefore, job enrichment removes these barriers to enhance employee’s performance. The amended job profile along with the delegation of authority and responsibility leads to job satisfaction among the employees. The employees regularly performing the same work gets frustrated and finds out ways to escape work, either through absenteeism or employee turnover. Thus, job enrichment protects the organization from such situations. Job enrichment brings out leadership skills and also helps the employees in learning new work-related skills also. Job enrichment motivates the employees and boosts their morale and confidence to provide opportunities for self-realization. The employees working on a particular project hold better control and have in-depth knowledge of the work. Therefore, with the help of job enrichment, they can make their own decisions which are more beneficial to the organization. Job enrichment decreases the superiors’ control over the employees’ operations and functioning and saves their time on taking all the decisions by themselves. Limitations of Job EnlargementJob enlargement has proved to be inefficient for the large organizations where the workload is high and direct control of the management is low. The following are some of the other disadvantages of job enlargement: The practice of job enlargement adds new tasks to the existing duties, ultimately increasing the employee’s workload. Moreover, increasing the workload without increasing the workers’ compensation, decreases the employee’s morale and satisfaction. Job enlargement is assumed by employee union as worker’s exploitation, i.e. work overload at low compensation. Since the employees take time to adapt to the new tasks allocated to them, the productivity is hampered in the short run. Limitations of Job EnrichmentJob enrichment may seem to be unsuitable for the organizations where the employees are unskilled or semi-skilled. Let us understand the various disadvantages of job enrichment mentioned below: Technology sometimes hinders the application of job enrichment in the organizations since the technical functionality of the machines may not require any changes in the jobs. Job enrichment demands training of employees and restructuring of the work. All this need finance which is sometimes higher than the profits earned. At times, the employees fall short of the skills knowledge and expertise required to perform a particular task. Job enrichment is a time-consuming process, and the productivity of the organization will suffer, in the short run since the employees may take time to become comfortable and accustomed to such practice. The concept of job enrichment does not apply to all type of business organizations. Some specific organizations may not need any advancement due to a standardized system. The managers sometimes lack skills for forming effective work teams and may overload one employee with many responsibilities while the other may left idol with limited duties. Moreover, all the employees may not be able to handle the higher set of duties given to them and may feel pressurized.
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