Design of Work Systems and Aggregate Planning Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering key definitions and concepts from the Design of Work Systems lecture, including work system frameworks, job design, method study, motion study, work measurement methods, and aggregate planning strategies.

Work System

A system in which human participants and/or machines perform work (processes and activities) using information, technology, and other resources to produce products or services for internal or external customers.

Work System Framework

A static view representing nine core elements used to understand and evaluate a work system, consisting of four internal components (processes and activities, participants, information, technologies) and five contextual elements (customers, products/services, environment, infrastructure, strategies).

External Customers

Work system customers who are clients or buyers external to the firm.

Internal Customers

Work system customers who are employed by the firm receiving outputs from other internal work systems, such as employees using a company payroll system.

Products/Services

The combination of tangible and intangible outputs that a work system produces for customer consumption.

Infrastructure

Human, informational, and technical resources that a work system relies on which are managed outside of it and shared across other work systems.

Job Design

The process of specifying and organizing tasks, duties, methods, and relationships into a single unit of work to create a system that is productive, safe, and efficient.

Efficiency Approach to Job Design

A job design approach based on scientific principles that institutes highly specialized, logically fragmented tasks planned in advance by management.

Specialization

Work that concentrates on a narrow aspect of a product or service to maximize worker concentration and proficiency.

Behavioral Approach to Job Design

A job design approach aimed at employee satisfaction that creates a flexible workforce with a wider and more meaningful job scope.

Job Enlargement

Assigning additional work of the same skill level and responsibility to give a worker a larger portion of the total task, also called horizontal loading.

Job Rotation

Periodically shifting workers between different jobs or tasks to relieve monotony and increase skill versatility.

Job Enrichment

Giving a worker tasks with higher skill, autonomy, and responsibility—such as planning and coordination—also referred to as vertical loading.

Methods Analysis

The systematic recording and critical examination of factors and resources in doing work to develop easier, more effective methods and eliminate waste.

Flow Process Chart

A compact chart used to record every detailed step or event occurring during a process to facilitate analysis and improvement.

Operations Process Chart

A high-level process chart recording the sequential overall picture using only main operations and inspections.

Man-Machine Chart

A chart illustrating the combined activity timing of a worker and machine(s) to visualize idle versus working proportions.

Simultaneous Motion Chart (SIMO)

A chart used to simultaneously record the micro-elemental Therbligs performed by both hands of an operator on a common time scale.

Therbligs

Basic elemental subdivisions of hand or body motions used to analyze and eliminate wasteful micro-movements during manual work.

Flow Diagram

A scaled plan view diagram showing the physical layout and lines indicating paths followed by items or workers in a process.

Motion Study

A business efficiency technique that analyzes and refines body and hand movements to maximize performance and minimize ergonomic stress.

Micro Motion Study

A technique using camera recordings to measure and evaluate extremely short, highly repetitive elemental motions that cannot be timed visually.

Work Measurement

The application of specialized techniques to determine the standard time required for a qualified worker to complete a task at a defined level of performance.

Historical Data Method

A work measurement method that relies on past performance records to set time standards rapidly.

Time Study

A work measurement technique developed by Frederick Winslow Taylor using a stopwatch to establish standard times for short-cycle, repetitive tasks.

Work Sampling

A technique developed by Leonard Henry Caleb Tippett utilizing random periodic observations to estimate the proportion of time dedicated to work versus idle states.

Synthesis Method

A technique where a job is broken down into basic elements, and element times extracted from previous studies or standard data are combined.

Predetermined Motion Time System (PMTS)

A work measurement system in which standard normal times established for basic human motions are applied to set time standards across different performance levels.

Analytical Estimating

A work measurement technique used for long, non-repetitive jobs where an experienced analyst estimates missing element times using standard data and practical expertise.

Aggregate Planning

The process of setting, analyzing, and maintaining an approximate medium-range operational schedule across a $2\text{ to }12$ month (or up to $18$ month) horizon to balance demand and capacity efficiently.

Chase Strategy

An aggregate planning strategy that adjusts production capacity and workforce period-by-period to directly match fluctuating market demand.

Level Strategy

An aggregate planning strategy that maintains a constant rate of production and employment, using inventory buffers to absorb demand variation.

Mixed Strategy

An aggregate planning strategy combining elements of chase and level approaches by varying both inventory and workforce levels across periods.

Disaggregating

The breakdown of an aggregate overall operational plan into detailed, specific product family and component requirements.