Job Design at Pepperdine University Essay

This case study primarily focuses on the dimensions of specific roles for Pepperdine University employees. The aspect of job analysis or job reviews is an overall exploration of specific responsibilities accountabilities and duties of specific jobs. This is quite a lengthy process that requires the gathering of background information and the creation of a job specifications and descriptions. This case study highlights the roles of several employees at the Graziadio School of Business and Management at the Pepperdine University. Job design There is no definite job design that can be clearly identified at the Graziadio School of Business and Management therefore most of the observations can only be inferred from obervation of employee duties and responsibilities(Cummings & Worley, 2009). Job design is supposed to determine the manner in which specific jobs are supposed to be carried out and how this ultimately affects the individuals worker as well as the overall work place. This includes aspects such as employee authority, processes of decision making, amount of respnsibility among other criteria. It was noticed in the case study that there were three jobs that would be categorized in the same job design group and these were the program administrator, the administrative assistant and the faculty director. The roles of employees in these positions have distinct job descriptions but from their duties it is clear that they are interdependent. Another issue that is dealt with in this case study is that of employee rewards. From the example in the test, the university clearly appreciated the diligence and loyalty of the Program Administrator and for this he was to be rewarded through the enrichment of his current position. The job enrichment was partly due to the personal character of the Program Administrator because he was able to exhibit diligence and patience for 15 years. Assesment of an  employee’s persoanality is therefore key when an organization is considering formulating a formal job design model. Skill appraisal In the case of the Program Administrator, it was evident that the specific duries were very varied in nature ranging from student recruitment and supervision to advisory roles. Other aspects in this analysis include the assesment of task identity, task significance as well as job autonomy (Cummings & Worley, 2009). Planning and implementation The planning of this study was quite thorough and widely encompassing. There was a great deal of assesment and also use of diagnostic models which were associated with individuals and groups. All the models that were used were carefully structured and diagnostic in nature. They included the issues to do with design components, inputs, and output of both individual and group job specifications. The reason was doing group diagnostic was deemed necessary is because the organizational make-up is considered as a primary input that needs to be properly examined. This brings out the functions of group dynamics. However, to bring out the individual aspect of the study, the plan included an individual job level assesment to offer infomation regarding issues like individual task significance, task autonomy, identity and all the feedback that can be achieved from all this collective data. Overall the planning of the case can be considered quite thorough. Reference Cummings, T, Worley Christopher. (2009). Organizational Development & Change. South-Western CENGAGE learning, 9th Edition