Characteristics of an Organization from Lean's Perspective
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Question 4
There are five work design characteristics listed by Koray, Trevor, Andre and Leandro in the article “Characteristics of an Organization from Lean's Perspective”. These are task identity, skill variety, task significance, feedback, and autonomy. A Lean approach affects each of these characteristics in a unique way.
Lean affects the skill variety in that a company with a variety of specialized workforce is more likely to minimize wastage of resources. In addition, customers will be given quality service. On the contrary, where there is no variety, it is not easy to curb operational wastage of resources.
Autonomy has to do with the freedom of workers to execute their duties as they please. In a workplace where there is autonomy, employees can invent new ways of doing their work. The pace and the order in which they will do the work are also a component of autonomy. Lean affects autonomy in that in places of work with sufficient autonomy, work-related stress is minimal, and thus wastage is reduced.
Task identity entails each worker’s awareness of the specific duty he or she is expected to perform. For instance, two workers may be assigned the same task at different times. Increased wastage and lack of satisfaction by the customers may be reported when a particular worker is on duty (Zylstra, 2012).
Feedback from the company clients, including employees and customers, is critical to the success of any organization. When there is optimal customer service, the feedback will be positive, and areas of improvement may be suggested. This will help to optimize output while minimizing the wastage of resources.
Task significance is the importance attached to a particular task. Some tasks are more important than others are, and workers who perform particular duties are more valued than the others are. Lean affects task significance because wastage and customer service are often more pronounced in some areas of operations than in others. Much attention should be paid to areas that are of more significance.