Engr' Mgt 211 Managing Engineering

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Engr. Mgt 211 Managing Engineering Technology

• Chapter 7
• Technology and the Design of Work Processes

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Technology Productivity

• Businesses use technology to transform inputs and
  outputs
• The term is synonymous with machinery and
  equipment that uses sophisticated electronics and
  computers
• Technology has been used to increase productivity
  by substituting machinery for human labor

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Technology Productivity

• Computerized technology ability to increase
  productivity
• Productivity outputs /(labor capital
  materials)

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Operations Technology

• Examine key issues related to operations
  technology including
• Design
• Production
• Robotics, JIT, Cycle time Reduction, Flexible
  manufacturing systems
• Customer Service
• Distribution
• Continuous Improvement Process
• Reengineering Work Processes
• Key elements, popularity, TQM

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Design

• Design technology has revolutionized product
  design
• Computer-Aided-Design (CAD) software lets
  engineers plan products, test them on-screen, and
  even design the tools to make them

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Production

• Robotics
• Just in-Time-Inventory Systems
• Flexible manufacturing Systems

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Customer Service

• Consistent with the quality movement, technology
  can revitalize customer service by tracking
  customers, monitoring levels of customer service,
  and assisting customers to specify, acquire, fix,
  or return products

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Distribution

• Traditional forms of distribution relied on sales
  agents or brokers, wholesalers and retailers.
• Multiple-distribution technologies cut costs by
  eliminating intermediaries, expediting delivers,
  and serving a diverse customer base.

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Continuous Improvement Processes

• Total Quality Management (TQM) stresses that good
  isnt good enough
• The TQM programs use continuous process
  improvement to pursue continuous variability
  reduction that yields increased uniformity,
  reduced costs, and higher quality

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Total Quality Management (TQM)

• Intense focus on the customer
• Concern for continual improvement
• Improvement in the quality of everything the
  organization does
• Accurate measurement
• Empowerment of employees

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Reengineering Work Processes

• When reengineering an organization, management
  starts with a clean sheet of paper, rethinks and
  redesigns the processes used to create value or
  complete work, and eliminates redundant operations

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Reengineering Work Processes
Identify Distinctive Competencies
Assess Core Processes
Reorganize Horizontally by Process
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Reengineering Work Processes

• Why Reengineering now?
• Changing global environment
• Competition
• Cost

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Reengineering Work Processes

• Reengineering verses TQM
• TQM seeks incremental improvements to an existing
  system
• Reengineering pursues quantum leaps in
  performance by eliminating redundant operations
  and starting over

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TQM Versus Reengineering
TQM
Reengineering

• Continuous Change
• Fixing and Improving
• Mostly As Is
• From the Bottom up

• Radical Change
• Redesigning
• Mostly What Can Be
• From the Top Down

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Information Technology

• Office work flow
• Internal Communications
• Decision Making Support

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Information Technology

• Office work flow
• Analyzing how information flows through a company
• Eliminating bottlenecks
• Rerouting information
• Installing workflow software to convey
  information instantly to the right desk

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Information Technology

• Internal communications
• Digital information combined with wireless
  networks can revolutionize internal
  communications
• No longer confined by desk-top communications,
  workers can be accessible, any time or place

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Information Technology

• Decision Making Support
• Expert systems
• Neural networks
• Groupware
• Problem-solving software

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Technology and Worker Obsolescence

• Rather than being conduits in the information
  chain, successful managers will have to be adept
  at coaching, negotiating, and building teams

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Work Design

• Defining Key Job Dimensions
• Job characteristics model (JCM)
• Skill variety
• Task identity
• Task significance
• Autonomy
• Feedback

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The Job Characteristics Model
Strength of Employee Growth Need
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Job Dimensions

• Perception or Reality?
• No two workers will evaluate the same job in
  exactly he same manner
• Social information processing (SIP)

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Work Design

• Designing jobs to maximize employee performance
• Combine tasks
• Create natural work units
• Establish client relationships
• Expand job vertically
• Open feedback channels

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Designing Jobs toMaximize Performance
Suggested Action
Core Job Dimension
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Job Dimensions

• Group based work design
• The task requires workers to use relatively
  high-level skills
• The task is a whole piece of work, with an
  identifiable outcome
• The teams outcomes have significant consequences
  for others
• Membership is moderately diverse in terms of
  talents and perspectives

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Work Schedule Options

• Flextime
• Job Sharing
• Telecommuting