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SKILL FORMATION.
Term Paper ID:23617
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Essay Subject:
Examines workplace innovations of multiskilling & broadbanding. Definitions, benefits, organizational changes, decision making, engineering, productivity, compensation.... More...
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11 Pages / 2475 Words
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Paper Abstract:
Examines workplace innovations of multiskilling & broadbanding. Definitions, benefits, organizational changes, decision making, engineering, productivity, compensation.
Paper Introduction:
Skill formation in today's workforce is aimed at democratizing the business process. Two innovative forms of skill formation, multiskilling and broadbanding, are resulting in greater technological change, improved productivity, and flatter organizations. The implementation of these innovations creates challenges for both human resources managers and labor relations coordinators in terms of performance appraisal, compensation, career growth, and job security issues.
In the traditional organization, occupations are viewed in terms of two criteria: function and stratification. At a manufacturing plant, for instance, a distinction is made between those who assemble components and those who inspect the completed products. Distinctions between functions necessarily lead to class distinctions among employees: " . . . occupations are
Text of the Paper:
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Broadbandingconsolidates many pay grades into a few wide bands. Broadbanding, on the other hand, encourages lateralprofessional growth by placing "individuals in broad salary bands based onthe overall types of outputs they produce" (Jamieson and O'Mara, 1991, p.68). 314). Multiskilledworkers often know more about the details of production than the managersor owners of an organizations. Thisexplains why a country like Japan, where multiskill firms are common,graduates more engineers than the United States. In the traditional organizational structure, promotions are commonlypresented as rewards for outstanding performance. Broadbanding is amechanism for greater flexibility in employee payment systems because itallows workers to accept broader job responsibilities. A career center provides workers withthe staff and resources to enhance their employability. At a manufacturing plant, forinstance, a distinction is made between those who assemble components andthose who inspect the completed products. Freidson, E. American unions have made attempts in recent decades to break downthe adversarial barriers between union and management, but with onlylimited success. 78). Managing diversity. This system allows employees to work in areas that they may nothave formal training in and thus develop new skills (Leibowitz, Farren, andKaye, 1986, p. 142-16 . The single skilled workers are viewed as "temporary"employees while the multiskilled workers are considered "permanent"employees: "Wages of permanent workers are 'attached to the worker' ratherthan to the job, while those of temporary workers reflect the job they arein" (Carmichael and MacLeod, 1993, p. The Economic Journal, pp. The emphasis in traditional organizations has usually beenon pay grade progress. The timing of the monitoring process for a multiskill program shouldbe continuous. Strategic planning teams in many American companies nowinclude line managers, staff managers, and even junior staff members whohave exhibited the ability to think creatively. Job rotation generally occurs within a work group as opposed totransfer between work groups. Strategic planning. People Management, p. Workers tend toresist such cooperation whenever employment levels decline or continuedcutbacks in wages result. (1996, August 26). Information should be supplied which would not only allowfor short-term (e.g., daily) management but for information that would leadto direction setting over the long-term (e.g., a period of two to threeyears). Variations ofmultiskilling in Japanese and European models of employment exist under anumber of different names, including autonomous work teams, qualitycircles, or quality-of-work-life teams. When viewed in terms of getting the job done, experienceand education are artificial requirements. 76). References Albrecht, Jr. Such companies stress education over training: "Trainingincreases skills and competence and teaches employees the 'how' of a job.Education increases their insight and understanding and teaches the 'why'"(Hammer and Champy, 1993, p. (1993). Multiskilling is concerned with the process, attitude, and approachto work moreso than with a defined set of skills for each worker.Multiskilled workers have the freedom to perform any job which they possessthe competency for, even those jobs outside of their primary skill areas.Work can be performed either as teams or as individuals. Employees then bid on the workposted. Skill formation for the 9 s is increasingly aimed at putting power inthe hands of the employee for his or her own career development. Organizations can, however, offer working environments whereteamwork, increased equality, and optimal career development thrive. and Harding, N. For example, a typical cabletelevision company might have multiple levels of industry jobs such asInstaller I, II, III or Customer Service Representative I, II, III, etc.Each level has a higher pay grade. .occupations are distinguished by their location in a hierarchy of prestige,income, power, or control over production" (Freidson, 1982, p. The only limitingfactors . As Hammer and Champy (1993) contend: "In companiesthat have reengineered, performance is measured by value created andcompensation should be set accordingly" (p. One means of expanding an employee's educational options is throughthe establishment of career centers. Hammer, M. The hallmark of multiskilled work is responsibility. Performance standards list what is satisfactory performance ineach area of the job. In contrast, multiskillingallows the worker to take on a task based on his or her responsibleapproach to work: "This process transcends age, ethnicity, culture,disabilities, gender, values, and even formal qualifications. SanFrancisco: Jossey-Bass. 76-79.----------------------- 1 In the past, animplied contract existed between employees and corporations: in exchangefor their specialized skills employees could expect further training and aviable career path. The ideal corporation is one which developsits employees in a "holistic and continual manner" while taking "a broaderview of development than sending people on training courses" (Macaulay andHarding, 1996, pp. An advantage of the Western model of single skill workis that tasks are well-defined and easy to monitor. Drawing up a newcareers contract. Gardenswartz, L. Designing careerdevelopment systems. (1996, August). 48-49). The integration of engineering into operating roles encourages cost-saving innovations and technological change. Two innovative forms of skill formation, multiskillingand broadbanding, are resulting in greater technological change, improvedproductivity, and flatter organizations. Monitoring worker performance in a multiskilled workenvironment is more difficult because it is based on a team-centeredapproach. American firms are finding multiskilling particularly advantageousgiven the increasing diversity of the workforce. Managing workforce 2 . Workers areempowered to progress tasks as far as they can. A company might use such a system to provide managerswith additional assistance during peak periods. Multiskilling is a work process that has found greater acceptanceamong foreign firms than with firms in the United States. . Another approach to compensation that is characteristic of flatterorganizational structures is the award of bonuses in lieu of pay raises.Base salaries in companies where skill formation has been restructured tendto be relatively flat. (1996, April 4). NewYork: Irwin. In the traditional organization, occupations are viewed in terms oftwo criteria: function and stratification. 74). (1986). (1982). Job rotation facilitates the ability ofworkers to learn the entire production process: "Permanent workers on agiven shop floor will rotate among the various tasks to be done (as oftenas twice a day)" (Carmichael and MacLeod, 1993, p. Although such participation programs haveresulted in improved company performance for some firms, the success ofother collaborative efforts have dwindled over time. Japan is onecountry where multiskilling has existed in the workplace for years. 88). Such descriptions not only identify theabilities and competencies related to the worker's own job, he or she canexamine job descriptions throughout the organization and assess theirreadiness to move up the corporate ladder. 158). An increasing number of American firms are experimenting with theconcept of multiskilling. Such teamworkrequires employees who possess the ability to shepherd a particular processfrom start to finish, i.e., multiskilled employees. In multiskilled firms, general mathematical andengineering training (often referred to as "innovation skills") aredistributed more widely among workers than in single skill firms. Companies are opening upthe planning process, and involving thousands of employees, both young andold, thus increasing the organization's odds of predicting critical changesin the business climate (Byrne, 1996, p. 46-51. Reengineering the corporation.New York: HarperBusiness. O'Neil, S. In a traditionalsystem, for example, it would not make sense for an employee to move toanother function within the company if that would mean leaving a higher paygrade for a lower one. This is known as a performanceappraisal. . It is to theadvantage of companies to retain multiskilled workers because of theaccumulation of knowledge that they gather as a result of the job rotationprocess. One of the challenges of the multiskill work program is themonitoring process. 1 5-1 8. American labor and management will likelyremained locked in their adversarial roles unless significant restructuringof skill formation occurs. Throughinnovations such as multiskilling and broadbanding, the employee is nolonger blocked in making advanced career moves. One method uses project assignment programposting systems. Still another benefit of multiskilling is improved customer service.The focus of modern business is the creation of value, and the true test ofvalue is customer satisfaction. Although job security formultiskilled workers can never be totally guaranteed, these workersgenerally experience less turnover and greater company loyalty than singleskilled workers. In the traditional organization, decisions are made solely at themanagement level, typically after extensive rounds of meetings. 7 ). Instead of people being scattered through differentdepartments, working separately with incongruent goals, workers are beingrearranged and integrated, often into process teams. In turn, management provides jobsecurity guarantees to union workers. Byrne, J. workers, most workers in Japanese firms arecooperative with technological change and often volunteer ideas aimed atimproving productivity. Those days are past. 46). Personnel Management, pp. Assistance is solicited from colleagues andsuperiors wherever needed, but the multiskilled worker, being moreknowledgeable about the overall production process than the single-skilledworker, generally is more self-sufficient and less dependent on theoversight of management. Many managers who lamentthe difficulty of hiring a culturally diverse staff are realizing thatmultiskilling is a creative way to find talent (Gardenswartz and Rowe,1993, p. Multiskilling requires adaptability, courage, andconfidence. Since labor tends to be closer to thecustomer than management, company executives are increasingly inviting theinput of their employees as an additional means to keep "close to therealities of markets" (Byrne, 1996, p. Likewise, workers asked totest a new production process by management are likely to reserve positiveappraisals if the new process could lead to the reduction or elimination ofdemand for existing skills. This benefits the companyas well as the worker. (1991). Multiskilling,technical change and the Japanese firm. (1993, January). Aligning pay with business strategy.HRMagazine, pp. Continuing education is importantbecause of the current climate of corporate downsizing. Because it is unrealistic that all workers in a firm would bemultiskilled, this form of skill formation results in the creation of twoclasses of workers. 34-35. HRMagazine, pp. (1991, March). Themultiskilled environment is characterized by a dynamic, open social system. Single skilledworkers, on the other hand, must be retrained, usually at a cost that wouldbe higher than simply hiring outsiders who already possess the appropriateskills. Often promotions arehanded out because they are the only mechanisms available to provide salaryincreases. 44-49. (1993). Skill centers provide coaching support andencouragement for employees who are mired in the traditional corporatestructure and find themselves reluctant to tackle the challenges of skillformation restructuring: "Using centers to support employees in theircareer development is one of the most effective ways employers cancommunicate the message that employees are in charge of their own careers"(Albrecht, Jr., 1996, p. 156). Monitoring is performed by aJoint Review Board (JRB) made up of shop stewards, managers, and twofacilitators. Business Week,pp. In Phyllis Stewart and Muriel Cantor (Eds.) Varieties of Work,pp. 1 8). 52). Carmichael, H. The following ten items are reviewed every six to eightweeks: attitudes, efficient operations, service to operations, workingpractices, training, representation, consultation, contractors, overtime,and costs. and MacLeod, W. . The relevantfactor is the individual's ability--regardless of where or how it wasacquired--to do the job" (Jamieson and O'Mara, 1991, p. Such centers are apart of the business trend of providing a learning and development culturewithin the organization. and Rowe, A. One of the means of achieving multiskilling in Japanese firms is jobrotation. As part of thischange, jobs are evolving from narrow, single functions tomultidimensional. Western firms have lessdemand for engineering skills in the production process due to thesegmentation of workers into single skill occupations (Carmichael andMacLeod, 1993, p. Withmultiskilling, workers are empowered to employ their own critical thinkingskills: "As management invests teams with the responsibility of completingan entire process, it must also give them the authority to make thedecisions needed to get it done" (Hammer and Champy, 1993, p. Japanese workers enjoy the freedom to cooperatebecause they know that it is to the benefit of management to transfermultiskilled workers to other jobs than to hire outsiders. As Cross (1991)describes it, "Multiskilling is a form of working which seeks to promotethe exchange, sharing and a common ownership of tasks. Eventhe traditional organization itself is arranged by the criteria of functionand stratification. Distinctions between functionsnecessarily lead to class distinctions among employees: " . For example, some manufacturing plants have set up labor-management participation teams. Skill formation in today's workforce is aimed at democratizing thebusiness process. (1993, August). Occupational autonomy and labor marketshelters. In contrast with U.S. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications. An example of a successful monitoring program involves the Shellchemical company's United Kingdom division. Where tasks arenarrowly defined, it makes sense to compensate workers based on theperformance of single tasks, but where people perform cross-functionalduties, alternative means of compensation are warranted. Upward mobility in single skill firms is based on a comparison, bythe employee's supervisor of what the employee is supposed to be doing towhat the person actually has done. Cross, M. 42). Management wants to ensure theeconomic survival of the company while unions want to ensure job securityfor their workers. In the functional company, astratification of departments and divisions exist; typically those with thehighest degree of customer contact are located at the lower end of thishierarchy while those with decisonmaking responsibility are at the higherend. Theless employees have to rely on management for decisonmaking, the flatterthe organizational structure. People are paid based on job rank or seniority, orsimply due to the passage of another year. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Monitoring multiskilling: The way toguarantee long-term change. are safety, time and ability" (p. and Champy, J. 34-35). 44). Multiskilled workers are even becoming involved in the strategicplanning function of business, once the exclusive domain of executivemanagement. and O'Mara, J. Another benefit of multiskilling is the integration of engineeringinto operating roles. The result might be a company with 45pay grades with ten percent progressions in pay between grades. One of the benefits of multiskilling is reduced management hierarchybecause the management function becomes an integral part of the businessprocess. Thismode of work is also common on the continent of Europe. 144). In today's progressive companies, career paths are undergoing changesas well. According to Hammer and Champy (1993), "The basic unitof the traditional organization is the functional department, a collectionof people performing similar tasks" (p. Most organizations have not realized that rewards foroutstanding performance can take place through a process of dual careerladders, and that there is no rule that says that a subordinate cannot earnmore than his or her boss. Multiskilling promotes the full utilization of thecapabilities of the work force. The findings of this case study are that joint measurementand management are necessary to the success of any multiskilling program(Cross, 1991, pp. In single skill firms aworker with an idea to improve production processes may sometimes concludethat it is prudent not to reveal the idea to management if it could resultin a reduction of demand for worker skills. Compartmentalized jobdescriptions, however, often succeed in encouraging divisions and indiscouraging upward mobility among certain employees. Suchfragmented pay grades, however, often prove limiting to employees: "Careergrowth [is] within a specific functional area and only by movement up theorganizational pay structure" (O'Neil, 1993, p. Managers post part-timeassignments on their company bulletin boards. Organizations can no longer offer the certainty oflifetime employment opportunities given the uncertainty of a globaleconomy. 71). Often the collective bargaining that follows results inunion agreement to reduce or freeze its wages and benefits and to changework rules that impede productivity. C. Career centers promoteemployability. One alternative compensation structure is broadbanding. Another challenge to the success of any multiskilling programs iscompensation. Leibowitz, A., Farren, C., and Kaye, B. Major reviews of training and working practices were performedevery quarter. The implementation of theseinnovations creates challenges for both human resources managers and laborrelations coordinators in terms of performance appraisal, compensation,career growth, and job security issues. These assignments typicallyinvolve 6 to 12 hours work per week. Macaulay, S. 155). Jamieson, D. 39-54. Employeesmight expect to progress to a higher pay grade every 18 months or so. Now corporations must educatetheir workers with an eye toward their finding employment outside theorganization, if necessary. In recent decades, the groundwork has been put in place for afundamental change in organizational structure, one which emphasizesemployee empowerment to intervene in the business process for the purposeof creating value and enhancing customer satisfaction. This adversarial relationship between laborand management is notorious in the West. In the traditionalWestern firm job descriptions specify in written form the tasks, duties,and responsibilities of a job. Headroom is given for theworkers themselves to make short- and long-term improvements in processes,a responsibility formerly the exclusive domain of management.
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