CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Job enrichment is a management concept that involves redesigning jobs so that they are more challenging to the employee and have less repetitive work. The concept is based on a 1968 Harvard Business Review article by psychologist Frederick Herzberg titled ‘One More Time: How Do You Motivate Employees?’ In the article, Herzberg stated that the greatest employee motivators, based on several investigations, are (in descending order); achievement, recognition, work, responsibility, advancement, and growth. To improve employee motivation and productivity, jobs should be modified to increase the motivators present for the employee. Job enrichment can be described as a medium through which management can motivate self-driven employees by assigning them additional responsibility normally reserved for higher level employees. By doing this, employees feel like their work has meaning and is important to the company. This theory is based on the premise that employees have a natural tendency to want to succeed and are eager to be trusted with a bigger role in the company. When these type of workers aren’t being challenged, they tend to slack off and not give their best effort because they view their task to be below their skill set. Conversely when an employee is given autonomy over his/her work, they tend to feel responsible for the outcome of the project and will try to put forward the best end result possible. Overall Job Enrichment is essential to the workplace because it helps prevent feelings of repetitiveness in the day-to-day operations from hindering productivity.
To enrich a position, first brainstorm a list of potential changes to the position. Once you have a list of options, Herzberg recommends using the following seven principles to review the options, and shortlist only those that invoke one or more of the following: Removing some controls while retaining accountability ;Increasing the accountability of individuals for own work giving a person a complete, natural unit of work ;Granting additional authority to employees in their activity ;Making periodic reports directly available to the workers themselves rather than to supervisors ;Introducing new and more difficult tasks not previously handled ;Assigning individuals specific or specialized tasks; enabling them to become experts .For example, you might have on your list ‘Allow staffer A to present the monthly report directly to senior management.’ When you review this option against our list above, you find that it will meet the following goals: ;Increasing the accountability of individuals for own work – by having them present directly to senior staff. ;Granting additional authority to employees in their activity – by trusting them to make a presentation to a second level manager. Advantages; Learn new skills: By having more responsibilities, the employee will have the chance to work on new tasks and therefore learn new skills. Decision making can lead to the employee to think, decide, and try new things. By having to learn new skills, the employee has the opportunity to become proficient at certain tasks and even become experts. Reduce boredom: Job enrichment focuses on giving employees more variety and responsibilities.
The target of job enrichment is to reduce the chance of boredom from the repetitive, tedious activities. Creates a better work environment: The net result of job enrichment is an overall more positive environment that promotes maximum productivity. This is simply because employees who are treated better tend to have better attitudes around the work place and tend to spread that positivism around the office. Disadvantages Lack of preparation: Because employees are given more activities and responsibilities in job enrichment, they do not necessarily have the right skills or experience for the job. Because the employee is not prepared or trained enough to do the activity, then they may not be as efficient as someone who is already trained or skilled in that particular activity. As a result, they may have a lower productivity rate.Heavier Workload: Job enrichment increases the employee’s overall workload. This requires skill in reprioritization for the employee. Some employees may not be able to quickly adjust to their new responsibilities. Employees may feel overloaded and tired, so they may have a lower productivity rate. Clash with Non-participants: Understandably, not every employee at a company can participate in job enrichment. Those who cannot join may feel disconnected from the company and not part of the team. The employees who cannot join may even feel jealous towards participants.
Poor Performance: As a result of lack of preparation and heavier workload, some employees may not perform as efficient as prior to job enrichment. These employees may actually work better in a non job-enriching environment. By not doing as well as desired, they may feel inept. Their poor performance may lead to demotions, which tends to have a negative impact on the employee’s self –confidence and motivation. Job enrichment, as a managerial activity includes a three steps technique: Turn employees’ effort into performance: Ensuring that objectives are well-defined and understood by everyone. The overall corporate mission statement should be communicated to all. Individual’s goals should also be clear. Each employee should know exactly how he/she fits into the overall process and be aware of how important their contributions are to the organization and its customers. Providing adequate resources for each employee to perform well. This includes support functions like information technology, communication technology, and personnel training and development. Creating a supportive corporate culture. This includes peer support networks, supportive management, and removing elements that foster mistrust and politicking.
Free flow of information, Eliminate secrecy. Provide enough freedom to facilitate job excellence. Encourage and reward employee initiative. Flextime or compressed hours could be offered. Provide adequate recognition, appreciation, and other motivators provide skill improvement opportunities. This could include paid education at universities or on the job training.Provide job variety. This can be done by job sharing or job rotation programmes.It may be necessary to re-engineer the job process. This could involve redesigning the physical facility, redesign processes, change technologies, simplification of procedures, elimination of repetitiveness, redesigning authority structures.Link employees performance directly to reward: Clear definition of the reward is a must.Explanation of the link between performance and reward is important.Make sure the employee gets the right reward if performs well.If reward is not given, explanation is needed.Make sure the employee wants the reward. How to find out? .Ask them. Use surveys( checklist, listing, questions). Once you know what the employees want, give them the tools they need to earn it and follow through on your word..the research therefore seek to evaluate job enrichment ,its implication and application with a case study of first bank plc
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The purpose of job enrichment is to make the position more satisfying to the employee. Overall goals for the company often include increasing employee job satisfaction, reducing turnover, and improving productivity of employees. To rephrase this: we want to enrich our staff’s positions so that they will be happier, more productive, and less likely to seek a job elsewhere. Also it Reduce repetitive work. Increase the employee’s feelings of recognition and achievement. Provide opportunities for employee advancement (i.e. promotions into jobs requiring more skills). Provide opportunities for employee growth (i.e. an increase in skills and knowledge without a job promotion). So when job enrichment is neglected a lot of this benefit is eroded. The firm faces high employee exist, redundancy,job, dissatisfaction, low productivity etc. Therefore the problem confronting this research is to provide an evaluation of job enrichment ,implication and application.
1.3 RESEARCH QUESTION
What is the nature of job enrichment, its implication and application?
What is the nature, implication and application of job enrichment in first Bank plc?
1.4 OBJECTIVE OF THE RESEARCH
To determine the nature, implication and application of job enrichment. To determine the implication and application of job enrichment in first bank plc.
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH
The research shall recommend measures to attract firms to adopt job enrichment as a necessary tool for improving staff productivity. It shall serve as a rich source of information on issues concerning job enrichment.
1.6 STATEMENT OF THE HYPOTHESIS
1. Ho: Productivity and retention rate in first bank is low.
Hi: Productivity and retention rate in first bank is high
2. Ho: Job enrichment is not significant in first Bank.
Hi: Job enrichment is significant in first Bank.
3 Ho: Impact of job enrichment in first bank is low.
Hi: Impact of job enrichment in first bank is high
1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The study focuses on the evaluation of job enrichment, implication and application with a case study of first Bank Plc.
1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS
JOB ENRICHMENT DEFINED Job enrichment is a management concept that involves redesigning jobs so that they are more challenging to the employee and have less repetitive work
JOB ROTATION Job Sharing or job rotation programmes. It may be necessary to re-engineer the job process. This could involve redesigning the physical facility, redesign processes, change technologies, simplification of procedures, elimination of repetitiveness, redesigning authority structures. Link employees performance directly to reward:
VERTICAL JOB LOADING Vertical job loading is the terminology used by Herzberg to describe his principles for enriching positions and giving employees more challenging work.
JOB ENLARGEMENT ‘Job enlargement,’ a.k.a. ‘horizontal job loading,’ which often involves giving employees more work without changing the challenge level.
MOTIVATION The actuation of employees to optimal performance
REFERENCES
Frederick Herzberg, HBR Jan 2003, One More Time: How Do You Motivate Employees? Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2003/01/one-more-time-how-do-you-motivate-employees/ar/1
Brookins, M. (n.d.).The Advantages & Disadvantages of Job Enrichment. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-disadvantages-job-enrichment-11960.html
Feder, B.J. 2000, “F.I. Herzberg, 76, Professor And Management Consultant”, New York Times, Feb 1, 2000, pg. C26. Available from: ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851–2003). [28 October 2006].
Hackman, J.R. & Oldham, G.R. 1976, ‘Motivation through the design of work: Test of a Theory”, Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, [Online], vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 250–279. Available from: Science Direct. [1 November 2006].
