Both division of labour and scientific management are clearly influences on job design practice at NUMMI; with the important addition that the operators perform these tasks themselves. But, in addition to this, they appear to have some real (if limited) control over the way they do their jobs (i.e., some degree of empowerment). They also have the stimulation and interest of measuring themselves and analyzing their jobs in teams, and even debating with other teams about which tasks should be standardized (thus reaping the benefits of teamwork). This in turn can lead to job rotation (normally considered part of the behavioural approach to job design).
Indeed, job rotation can also imply some degree of multi-skilling (skills flexibility).
McDonald’s lets families share job
Why would a scheme help McDonalds to cut absenteeism and improve staff retention?
This type of scheme gives considerably more flexibility to employees who may want to work for less than a full week at a time. More importantly, it also gives the ability to employ people who may have unpredictable demands on their time such as caring for an elderly relative or young child. This significantly increases the potential labour pool from which McDonalds can recruit staff.
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© Nigel Slack, Stuart Chambers & Robert Johnston 2007 What are the prerequisites for such a scheme to work successfully?
This scheme would only work where everyone who could turn up for work has been appropriately trained and where they work sufficiently frequently to maintain the necessary skills. It would also be necessary to ensure that all family members have been processed through conventional human resource recruitment stages, not only training, but checks on their entitlement to work in the area, criminal record and so on.
What do you think are the dangers of this type of scheme for McDonalds?
First, there will be some extended employment costs for McDonalds. The extra personnel, and administrative processing together with the extra training, will cost more than employing a single person. Further, there may not be as much commitment when the responsibility to do a satisfactory job is shared between several people. There may also be potential for disputes to arise between family members if they have different views of how work should be performed.
Even if disputes between family members did not have their origin at work, any falling out would affect the efficiency of the scheme.
BA at Waterside
How might this way of working improve quality and flexibility?
Quality may be improved by the pleasant nature of the environment. A feeling that all facilities are on site and that the company cares sufficiently about staff welfare to provide such a facility may improve commitment to the job. The flexibility of working is also improved because staff can move about between different departments and even come in from working ‘in the field’, yet still have access to a desk and a full range of communication and computing facilities.
How might processing costs be affected?
From one perspective, because of the significant investment in such a facility, processing costs are increased. Yet the payback should come from reduced staff turnover, and higher productivity because of the improved working environment.
What do you think might be the disadvantages of this type of working?
Hot desking is not always universally popular. Especially for people who value a quiet and peaceful atmosphere, such an arrangement might not be ideal. Also, because most needs are catered to within the complex, one may miss being able to escape from the building!
C H A P T E R 1 0
The nature of planning and control Teaching guide
Introduction
This chapter is very much an introductory chapter to the whole of the planning and control section. At the same time it tries to explain some of the more commonly used terms in planning and control such as scheduling, sequencing and so on. Sometimes we teach this chapter as a stand-alone lesson, but often we combine it with the material in later chapters (especially the ERP chapter). More than most topics it does benefit from a very practical approach. Students, especially those without much experience, find it difficult to understand the real complexity involved in planning and control. There is limited benefit in telling such students just how complex the process is. They will never fully understand it until they have done it. Therefore, it is worthwhile either devising exercises that enable them to experience the complexity, or alternatively, use a simple example to prompt discussion during which time extra layers of complexity can be introduced.
Key teaching objectives
• To make clear the separate but related nature of planning and control.
• To distinguish planning and control from the design activities which have been treated hitherto.
• To emphasize the ubiquitous nature of the planning and control activity – all operations have to do it, but those in more turbulent environments find it more difficult than those in stable environments.
Exercises/discussion points
Again, there are several cases in the companion volume to this book (Johnston, R. et al, 3rd edition, ISBN 0273 65531-0), which can be used to support this lesson. The ‘I’ll phone you back' case, can be used for this topic.
• Exercise – In-tray exercises can be useful in this topic. Set up a simple case where jobs have to be scheduled through four or five processes. Load some of the jobs onto the processes as decisions already made, and give the students a number of further jobs to schedule. This could be done in the form of a very simple Gantt chart using pieces of coloured paper. Periodically issue information to the student groups changing the priorities of jobs.
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• Teaching tip – Discuss the nature of planning and control in very different operations. For example, contrast an electricity power station with a fast food restaurant and debate the nature of loading, sequencing, scheduling, planning and control and so on.
• Teaching tip – Base a discussion around Figure 10.17. This figure points out the obvious but important fact that control is easier in some operations than in others. It identifies four dimensions on which the degree of control difficulty can be measured. A sensitive and political operation such as childcare services is clearly more difficult to control than a simple mass production operation such as food manufacture. Debate where a university or a hospital is on these four scales.
• Exercise – The case exercise at the end of the chapter is useful in promoting a discussion to investigate the consequences of planning and control going wrong.
• Teaching tip – Both the opening examples at the beginning of the chapter are useful in promoting debate. Try asking what Joanne has to do to be an effective resource planner and controller. Write these on the board in groups that relate to some model of the elements of planning and control systems. One that is not used in this book, but may nevertheless be useful, involves the following:
• A customer interface that forms a two-way information link between the operation’s activities and its customers.
• A supply interface that does the same thing for the operation’s suppliers.
• A set of overlapping ‘core’ mechanisms that perform basic tasks such as loading, sequencing, scheduling and monitoring and control.
• A decision mechanism involving both operations staff and information systems that makes or confirms planning and control decisions.
• Only then write the headings above the points. Explain what each means. And then ask the class what the equivalent activities in the Air France case are.
Case study teaching notes
Air traffic control: a world-class juggling act
The case describes three sets of controllers who are in charge of the incoming and outgoing aircraft in the New York triangle. This triangle is formed from the three airports of John F Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark, within 15 miles of each other. The problems of the controllers together with issues of volume and timing are emphasized.
This case exercise is best used as an introduction to control. In fact, it is not a particularly representative example of planning and control in most operations. However, it does have drama and it is useful to illustrate the consequences of losing control. Furthermore, it also illustrates the idea of coordinating three sequential operations – TRACON controllers planning and controlling the air space, tower controllers planning and controlling take-off and landing, and ground controllers planning and controlling movement on the ground.
Asking students to speculate on other issues may also extend this exercise. For example:
How does technology help the planning and control task in this example?
What are the job designs issues, which you think need to be addressed by air traffic control?
Some notes on the Air Traffic Control case exercise