Ergonomics and Human Factors

On the other hand, Fernandez, & Moldogaziev, (2015) argue that employee empowerment is an effective strategy to improve employees' motivation, which assists in improving service quality, increase customer satisfaction and promote innovation. The authors further point out that empowerment practice promotes self-determination, and enhancing positive job satisfaction. In a business environment, empowerment is a business practice that involves granting a person power or granting authority to an individual to do what is necessary. Empowerment is also to entrust an employee the power to make a right choice without waiting for management approval. (Evans, 2016). The goal of empowerment is to tap the intellectual and creative energy and allow an employee to display a real leadership within their competency domain. Thus, LegoAssembly4You Company should apply the model of empowerment to motivate the full-time employee to reduce the turnover rate. The company should bring decision-making to the lower employee to improve their motivation level and morale of full-time employee, which will assist in enhancing productivity and quality service. Essentially, empowerment practice is a natural strategy to enhance employee involvements. LegoAssembly4You should motivate the full-time worker by allowing him to involve in decision-makings. If the full-time worker is allowed to make decision and responsible for the outcomes of the decision, the worker will not contemplate of quitting the company. For example, the full-time worker should be elevated to the role of a supervisor rather than serving as a co-worker with the part-time employee. Moreover, the full-time employee should be given the authority to supervise the part-time worker and delegate her roles accordingly. This empowerment strategy will make the full-time to take a leading role in the assembling of the product.

An effective strategy to motivate employees is also to change the remuneration. In a business environment, a change in an organization structure may be challenging without changing employees' reward system. When management asks an employee to assume a new responsibility, the management should change the remuneration accordingly because organizations that implement changes without changing the remuneration may not go too far. The management of LegoAssembly4You should use both the intrinsic and extrinsic rewards as methods of motivation because both the intrinsic and extrinsic rewards are critical to sustaining individual efforts. Moreover, the company should redesign the work environment, reward systems, recognition and compensation to enhance organizational effectiveness. The company should also redesign the pay structure to retain the full-time employee because he is the worker doing the bulk of the job. The compensation structure should also be tied to the acquisition of new skills and worker's competencies. Fernandez, & Moldogaziev (2013) identify the extrinsic rewards as the effective tools to increase performances, motivation, and job satisfaction. For example, the monetary rewards are significantly valued. The intrinsic rewards that involve pay per performances have also been marginally effective to improve workers' performances.

2: Job Design Approach to Suggest

The shortcomings identified in the current work design makes this document to suggest that LegoAssembly4 should redesign the work structure using the motivation work design. Parker, (2014) argues that motivational job design theory provides evidence of job satisfaction and influence job performances. Moreover, the theory of motivation influences a relationship between employee's expectancy and performances that influences different rewards for the individual employee. The overall concept of motivational work design is to allow individual worker be responsible for the job allowing them freedom of control and authority. The motivation model consists of the JCM (job characteristics model), and group work model. However, the study suggests using the JCM as opposed to the group work model currently being practice. The JCM motivation model assists individual in feeling responsible for their job outcomes. The benefits of this model are that it assists job satisfactions, and reducing employee turnover. Moreover, the JCM helps in enhancing growth satisfaction, internal work motivation and organizational commitment. The study suggests that the full-time worker should be empowered to serve as a supervisor for the part-time worker since he has already acquired skills and experiences to perform the tasks. Moreover, the empowerment will allow the full-time worker to make a decision with regards to the job responsibility.

More importantly, the remuneration of the full-time worker should be elevated more than the part-time worker's remuneration. While the part-time worker should be paid $7.75 per hour, the full-time worker should be paid $10 per hour since a monetary incentive is a critical method to motivate workers. Typically, monetary incentive boosts productivity, and improve work motivation. Moreover, the company should redesign the work environment to make the workstation more attractive. The present workstation has become outdated because it consists of an old picnic table located in the garage. The company should provide modern workstation to reduce the obstacles in the work process and assist workers in carrying out the job effectively and efficiently. The strategy will motivate the full-time worker, be committed to the organization and stay with the present job.

3.Expected Costs and Disadvantages associated with the Redesign

Despite the benefits associated with the proposed job redesign, there are still costs and disadvantages in the new job design. First, LegoAssembly4You will incur additional labor costs by increasing the remuneration of the full-time worker since the company will need to increase his pay package to make him staying with the job. The pay rise of the full-time worker will lead to an increase in the costs of production. Based on the present job design, the two workers are paid $7.75 per hour. Suppose the two workers work for 40 hours per week, the breakdown costs are calculated as follows:

Table 1: Present Labor Cost per Year

Full-time worker

Cost Per week

7.75 x40 = $310

Cost per month

310 x 4= 1240

Costs per year

1240 *12= $14,800

Full time and Part time labor costs

14,800*2= $29,760

Labor Costs after the job redesign

Full-time worker

Cost Per week

$10*40=400

Cost per month

400 x 4= 1600

Costs per year

1600 *12= $9,200

Full time and Part time labor costs

19,200+14,800 = $34,000

As being revealed in table 1, the labor costs per year for both the full time and part time workers are $29,760. However, the labor costs will increase to $34,000 after the job redesign. Moreover, the company will need to renovate the workstation to make it more conducive for both workers. The study presumes the costs of renovation to be $5,000. All these costs will add to the company costs of operations.

4. Suggestion for a Team Design

The study still supports a team work design because the part time worker has not yet mastered the work perfectly. She still requires a guidance of full-time worker. However, the full-time worker will perform a dual role of doing the assembly work and supervising the part-time worker. Parker (2014) argues that teamwork is appropriate when the workers' role is interdependence, and the work requires a collective effort to complete. The study suggests that there is still a need for individual work design after the part-time workers have mastered the work since this type of work will allow the sense of autonomy.

5.Identification of Current Problems and Work Hazard

The case reveals that the workstation consists of an old picnic table that is located in the garage. Moreover, workers are to set the picnic table as well as placing the cardboard on the table to prevent logo pieces from falling, however, the design of the current workstation can lead to work hazard. (Salvendy, 2012). Health hazard is one of the problems associated with the layout of the workstation, which can lead to hand injury such as a sprain, strain, fracture and cut from an exposure or accident of the work environment. (NTCES, 2009). The current workstation can also provoke illness of arms or fingers. The case study shows that the full-time worker is complaining of some problems such as numbness and pain in his hands, which may lead to the musculoskeletal disorder. Lor (2000) argues that a musculoskeletal disorder caused by the workplace risk factor include

"an injury or illness of soft tissues of the upper extremity such as fingers through upper arm, shoulders and neck and lower extremity from the hips to toes. It is primarily caused by workplace risk factors, such as sustained and repeated exertions or awkward postures and manipulations." (Lor, 2000 p 14).

Essentially, the job tasks at the LegoAssembly4You company involves a high rate of repetition that can make joints and muscles developing severe problems. Lor (2000) believes that the risk of injury can increase significantly when there are multiple tasks to perform. For example, tasks that involve muscle contraction should require a long period of time for the muscle to rest and recover. When the palm is continuously in contact with stressors such as sharp work surface or tools, the issue can provoke muscle fatigue and nerve compression because of obstruction or lack of blood flow. Thus, the repetitive tasks at LegoAssembly4You company can lead to a constriction of hands, arms, and wrists' small blood vessels, which can consequently damage the nerve. The case also shows that the workstation is sometimes colder in the winter because the company does not provide the heater making workers to be exposed to cold as low as 40's. However, when workers are exposed to cold less than 50 degrees Fahrenheit, the issue can impair their motor and hand sensory functions because of a decline in blood circulation leading to a decline in motor dexterity.

6: Recommendations to Improve Workstation and Work Task

The study provides the following recommendations to improve the workstation and work task. First, the company should renovate the workstation to reduce the work hazard and health related problems. The company should change the old picnic table used to assemble the product to a modern picnic table that will be convenient for workers. Moreover, the company should provide the protective arm devices for the both workers to protect their wrists and arms from getting into contact with sharp devices. Moreover, the company should install heating equipment in the workstation to increase the temperature during the winter.

"When manual assembly workstations are properly designed to fit a worker's physical stature, the result can maximize worker efficiency, safety, morale, and overall productivity." It has been estimated that for every dollar spent to improve ergonomic conditions, there was $6 in return (Lor, 2000 p 14). p 25).

The company should also consider relocating the workstation to a more spacious work environment because the present workstation is located in the garage, which may reduce workers' motivation since they may feel that they are not being treated like real workers. Thus, the study suggests relocating the workstation to a more spacious place to reduce the work hazard and improve work productivity.

Reference

Evans, J.R. (2016). Quality & Performance Excellence. Management, Organization, and Strategy (Eight Edition). Boston. Cengage Learning.

Fernandez, S. & Moldogaziev, T. (2015). Employee Empowerment and Job Satisfaction in the U.S. Federal Bureaucracy: A Self-Determination Theory Perspective. American Review of Public Administration. 45(4) 375 -- 401.

Lor, C. (2000). Potential ergonomic problems in the working environment at XYZ company. The Graduate College University of Wisconsin -- Stout Menomonie, Wisconsin.

NTCES (2009). Ergonomics Standards: Anthropometry and Biomechanics (in Chinese), China Standards Publishing House, National Technical Committee of Ergonomics Standard Beijing.

Parker, S. K. (3 January 2014). Beyond Motivation: Job and Work Design for Development, Health, Ambidexterity, and More. Annual Review of Psychology. 65 (1): 661 -- 691.

Salvendy, G. (2012). Handbook of human factors and ergonomics (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Zhang, J. Fan, Y. & Zhang, X. (2015). The role of power motivation in creativity: A moderated mediation model. Social Behavior and Personality. 43(4): 613-628.