Designing Work Groups, Jobs, and Work Flow (From Training to Performance in the Twenty-First Century) [Paperback]

Toni Hupp (Author), Craig Polak (Author), Odin Westgaard (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 078790063X | ISBN-13: 978-0787900632 | Publication Date: April 27, 1995

Here's an integrated approach to using the most powerful reeingineering tools to design single work units that are productive, responsive, and build participant ownership and commitment. This practical tool kit includes techniques for analyzing and designing daily work flow, group structure, and job responsibilities of intact work groups. Includes numerous checklists, reusable worksheets, and flow charts.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

"From Training to Performance in the 21st Century" is a series sponsored by the National Society for Performance and Instruction (NSPI), which provides valuable how-to resources to help trainers, human resource professionals, and human performance technologists improve performance in the workplace. This book is part of a two-volume set, Redesigning Work Processes, which is a comprehensive tool kit for reengineering key work processes, whether within one work group or across functions. The set shows how to identify, describe, analyze, and redesign processes to increase corporate competitiveness and enhance human performance. Creating jobs and indepAndent work units that can sustain high levels of performance—through leaner processes and enhanced job ownership—is one crucial, yet often ignored component to achieving the full benefits of any reengineering effort. Glorified automation, downsizing, or redrawing of political turf is not the answer. A systematically focused redesign of work processes at the grass-roots level is critical to any organization that hopes to meet customer expectations and influence tomorrow's transformed marketplace. Designing Work Groups, Jobs, and Work Flow offers an integrated approach to using the most powerful tools of reengineering to design single work units that are productive, responsive, and build participant ownership and commitment. With numerous checklists, reusable worksheets, flowcharts, and other resources, Toni Hupp and her coauthors present a tool kit of practical tools and techniques for analyzing and designing the daily work flow, group structure, and job responsibilities of intact work groups. They provide the step-by-step procedures for capturing such detailed information as who performs what function, why, when, how, and to what outcome, and offer guidelines for improving those processes. For consultants, managers, team leaders—anyone charged with improving work processes—the authors show how to gauge whethe

From the Back Cover

An integrated approach to using the most powerful tools of reengineering to design single work units that are productive, responsive, and build participant ownership and commitment. With numerous checklists, reusable worksheets, flowcharts, and other resources, Toni Hupp and her coauthors present a tool kit of practical tools and techniques for analyzing and designing the daily work flow, group structure, and job responsibilities of intact work groups. They provide the step-by-step procedures for capturing such detailed information as who performs what function, why, when, how, and to what outcome, and offer guidelines for improving those processes.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 246 pages
• Publisher: Pfeiffer (April 27, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078790063X
• ISBN-13: 978-0787900632
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,916,640 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clearly written step-by-step guide, July 6, 2001

By 

Linda Zarate "IT Ops Consultant" (Azusa, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Designing Work Groups, Jobs, and Work Flow (From Training to Performance in the Twenty-First Century) (Paperback)

This well organized book focuses on work processes and procedures for designing them. It does not address the redesign of the underlying processes. It only touches upon this area, so if you're looking for a book about process redesign I recommend Process Redesign: The Implementation Guide for Managers by Arthur R. Tenner. Instead, this book treats the subject as a project more than a development process.

The book is divided into four sections of which the first two sections cover the context and techniques, with the remaining two providing a case study and a comprehensive list of resources.

The heart of this book is Section Two, which is comprised of chapters 2-9 and devoted to techniques for designing work groups and jobs. It starts with an important chapter that steps you through defining your goals and setting the scope of a work group design or redesign. The techniques for accomplishing your goals are given in chapters 3 through 9. The techniques are: environmental analysis (identifying critical goals, demands and constraints), technical process analysis (understanding how the workgroup creates products and/or services), human systems analysis (how people do their jobs), goal design (matching workgroup goals to environmental demands), technical process design, human systems design and implementation. Section Three is a single chapter that provides a case study to reinforce the information provided in Section Two. Section Four is a collection of useful resources, such as a business environment matrix, cycle time analysis and variance analysis worksheets, and other tools that you will find invaluable.

Layout and format of this book are excellent. The good use of tables, step-charts and flow charts make this an easy-to-read and follow workbook as well as a text on workgroup design. It's a valuable addition to a process designer's reference library and a ready made project plan for a workgroup design initiative.