After designing a job, activities are performed and some discrepancies are noted for several reasons, which may be widely varied in reactions to the job.
Employees have different levels of satisfaction. The specific goals of an organization may not be achieved. The management has to reveal the causes of variations in job objectives, designs and performances.
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There is need for reengineering of the job to achieve corporate objectives and employees’ satisfaction, which are dependent on the reengineering of the job, individual experience, performance, satisfaction and their combined functions.
Reengineering of a job is done considering the job nature, individual features and experiences of employees, job performances and satisfaction.
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The form of reengineering depends on different levels and the nature of the job. Achievement and autonomy are needed for proper performances.
Job reengineering varies from person to person, job to job and company to company. For example, high performers and enthusiastic persons are needed for salesmanship, technically trained and experienced workers are required for production purposes.
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Job re-engineering is needed to suit different requirements of employees. Different levels of employees need to be satisfied with the reengineering of the job.
Maslow’s need hierarchy, has been used for satisfying different cadres of employee’s basic and safety needs for class III and lower employees, security and social needs for middle-level managers.
Edward E. Lawler III has given expression to job engineering. “Organizations must recognize the importance of treating people differently and placing them in environments and work situations that fit their unique needs, skills and abilities.”
This statement suggests that redesigning of jobs satisfy different needs of individual employees and helps in motivation that improves performance.
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Reengineering should satisfy individual and organizational objectives through the proper reallocation of jobs and satisfying individual needs.
Many employees prefer out of job work. They should be assigned jobs according to their interests.
Reengineering of jobs enrich jobs, as employees preferring routine jobs are given routine jobs. Low skilled employees are given low skilled jobs.
Job preferences depend on numerous factors such as the nature of jobs, pay, complexities, working conditions and attitudes of management, nearness to home, job security, and physical functions and so on.
Nearness to home has been a very influential factor in the case of bank employees in India. Many prefer to be class III employees, as promotion to officer rank involves transfers to other places. While reengineering jobs, all these factors are thoroughly considered.
Scientific management for specialization, job enrichment for vertical movement, and job enlargement for horizontal expansion has also been considered under job reengineering.
Under job reengineering, a higher order of needs is to be fulfilled, as many employees prefer higher standards of living.
Redesigned jobs should be worthwhile and meaningful to employees. A job is meaningful when an employee considers that the accomplishment is the result of his personal effort. He is assigned responsibility for the success and failure of the performance.
It is a case of job autonomy wherein employees have freedom to perform jobs for accomplishment demonstration.
Higher need oriented people prefer job autonomy to job routines? Apart from this, the internal worthiness of the job is essential.
This is known as task identity, where employees should be well aware of all the relevant components of a job so that job accomplishment is easily achieved. Too much specialization and limiting of job design hampers the performance.
If workers have knowledge of machine operation, maintenance and repair, they feel satisfied as they are recognized on these jobs. This is task variety which provides satisfaction to employees.
The employees should also perceive that the task is socially and organizationally significant. The task significance makes employees feels satisfied about the worthiness of the job.
Employees assign meaningfulness to the job when the job provides feedback about accomplishment.
Satisfaction will not be obtained unless some form of feedback is provided to the management by the employee’s, coworkers, supervisors and customers.
Thus task identity, variety significance; autonomy, feedback and job autonomy have significant roles in job reengineering.
While redesigning jobs, all these factors are considered. Michael Hammer has defined reengineering as “the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes by application of variety of tools and techniques focusing on related customer oriented core business process to achieve dramatic improvements in critical, contemporary measures of performance, such as cost, quality, service and speed.”
The concept of reengineering can be applied to any level of management, but Michel Hammer has considered custom-oriented designing and reengineering as more important for the survival and growth of a company.
Customer service in banks has drawn considerable attention. Many banks in India have started reengineering jobs.
Reengineering is not restructuring, as reengineering aims at redesigning the process and finding radically different ways of carrying out the existing process.
Restructuring aims at organization structure. Reengineering is a series of activities, whereas restructuring is the reforming of organizational structure.
Reengineering has improved customer service with the use of computers in different areas of service and industry.
Reengineering involves new technology and change in process of working. It helps increasing growth opportunities, quick decisions, learning of skills, early accomplishment of tasks, effective interaction and inter-communication.
The drawbacks of reengineering, i.e. retrenchment and layoffs, personal discomfort and other mechanical problems can be reduced by proper and adequate training.
Motivation based on performances helps to achieve the objectives of reengineering. Wide changes and internationalization have necessitated reengineering of jobs as the successful redesigning of managerial practices as well as consequential restructuring of an organization adds value to the product, services and money. Reengineering dispenses with the traditional forms of work process.