EMPLOYEE COUNSELLING. In every organisation, a large number of employees work together.

Their attitudes, feelings and needs differ from each other. Such individual difference cause different problems in an enterprise. These problems may relate to the organisation, working condition, supervision, remuneration, or technical aspect. Some times these problems may result in emotional conflicts. Such conflicts may arise between employee and employee, employee and supervisor, employee and employer, supervisor and manager or between supervisor and supervisor. Such conflicts are against the interest of all, and the enterprise. So the need is to get rid of these conflicts and the best way is to counsel the concerned parties. Employee counseling is a discussion with the concerned employee on an emotional problem so that the problem may be solved. Under this technique the problem is listened carefully and the suggestions are given to him to reduce the problem. In the words of Keith Davis, counseling is defined as discussion of an emotional problem with an employee, with general objective of decreasing it. Emotional problems cause tension and confusion in the minds of an employee. He may find it difficult to discharge his duties properly due to such tensions. Emotional upsets can reduce the productivity, or it may make them leave the Co. it may lower the morale of the department they belong to. Such tensions should be removed at any cost because these adversely affect the achievement of organisational objectives. Need of counselling at workplace. Apart from their personal problems, there are various reasons which can create stress for the employees at the workplace like unrealistic targets or work-load, constant pressure to meet the deadlines, career problems, responsibility and accountability, conflicts or bad interpersonal relations with superiors and subordinates, problems in adjusting to the organizational culture. Counselling helps the employee to share and look at his problems from a new perspective, help himself and to face and deal with the problems in a better way. Counselling at workplace is a way of the organisation to care about its employees. Types of employee Counselling. The objective of counselling is to help reduce emotional problems of employees. A reduction of such problems will benefit every one- the employee, his family, supervisor and

the organisation. Basically there are three forms of counselling. 1. Directive counselling:- This is the process of hearing a persons emotional problems, deciding what he should do, and then telling and motivating him to do it. Under this method the counsellor listens to the problems of the employee very patiently and analyses this problem in his mind. Then he advises the employee, what he should do. Thus this method of counselling stresses upon the suggestions by counsellor to the employee. Directive counselling mostly accomplishes the counselling function of advise, but it may also communicate, give emotional release and to a minor extent clarify thinking. But this method is subject to certain limitations such as in understanding the problem of the employees. The counsellor may not be able to in understanding the problem of the employees The employee may or may not agree with the advise The success of this method depends upon the ability and efficiency of counsellor. 2. Non Directive Counselling:- Under this method, the counsellor listens to the problems of employees. The employee is encouraged to explain his problem in detail. This method concentrates upon the employee rather than the counsellor. Under this method the employee himself controls the direction of discussion and he himself tries to find out the solution of his problem. The counsellor does not give his suggestions. This method is more effective because the employee gets the status equal to the counsellor. He feels complete freedom, and tries to find out the solution of his problem. But this method takes more time and can be effective only when the employee have self confidence. 3. Co-operative Counselling:- This method is a combination of both directive and non directive method of counselling. Under this method, both the employee and counsellor co-operate each other finding a solution of the problem. Here both discuss their views on the problem in detail and try to find out the solutions based on mutual consent and cooperation. This form of counselling is worth a serious notice as this appears to b more practically applicable and more readily suitable to managerial attitude and temperament in Indian organisational situations than the other two.

LEADERSHIP Human beings are the most precious part of an organisation. Effective utilisation of the capacity of human resources depends upon management. Management can get the results from the people in two ways. (A)- By exercising authority and (B)- By winning the support of the people. Out of these the second method has a lasting effect over the peoples motivation. However it is only possible when a manager becomes their leader in the real sense to influence their behavior in the desired direction. Effective leadership is of great importance in an enterprise to enable to enable that organisation in achieving its objectives. Leadership is a process by which an executive directs his subordinates and influences the work and behaviour of others for the common benefit of the organisation as well as its members. An effective leader directs the activities of his followers and integrates their activities for the accomplishment of some predetermined objectives. The term leadership has been defined by many authorities. According to Keith Davis- Leadership is the ability to persuade others to seek defined objectives enthusiastically. It is the human factor which binds a group together and motivates it towards a goal. According to Bernard Leadership refers to the quality of the behaviour of the individuals where by they guide people on their activities in an organisation. Leadership is a quality which enables a person to direct other persons of the organisation and they become his followers. A leader directs and guides the activities of his followers and influence them to contribute their whole hearted efforts to achieve the common objectives of the enterprise. TYPES / STYLES OF LEADERSHIP. These are the pattern of behaviour which a leader adopts in influencing the behaviour of his followers (subordinates) in the organisational context. There are many dimensions of leadership styles. Following are the types of leadership which may be found in an enterprise. 1. Autocratic Leadership. In this style a manger centralises the decision making power in himself. He structures the complete work situation for his subordinates and they do what they are told. Autocratic leadership is based on the principle of centralisation of power. Under this type of leadership all

the important functions are performed by the autocratic leader himself, like to take decisions, to plan, to make the allotment of work etc. he wants to concentrate all the powers in himself. The subordinates are not free to take decision or to do any work on their own. Autocratic leadership is based on the assumption that the employees are not capable to take decision; and they do not want to work by their nature. They can only be compelled to work if they are closely supervised and controlled. There are 3 categories of autocratic leadership. 1. Strict Autocrat :- He follows autocratic styles in a very strict sense. His method of influencing subordinates behaviour is through negative motivation; ie, by criticising subordinates, imposing penalty etc. 2. Benevolent Autocrat .:- he also concentrates decision making power in him, but his motivation style is positive. He can be effective in getting efficiency in many situations. 3. Incompetent Autocrat :- Sometimes, superiors adopt autocratic leadership styles just to hide their incompetence.; because in other styles they may be exposed before their subordinates. However this cant be used for a long time. 2. Democratic Leadership/ participative leadership. This type of leader believes in the co-operation and coordination of the group. He permits his subordinates to participate in the process of decision making. He believes in the decentralisation of authority, two way communication and joint participation in decision making process. A democratic leader takes his decisions according to the opinion of majority and he makes his best efforts to improve the job satisfaction and morale of his followers. This is the most popular form of leadership these days and is most successful because it gets full cooperation and integration in group activities. 3. Free- rein Leadership. Under this style of leadership, the leader doesnt direct the activities of his followers. This style gives complete freedom to subordinates. In this style, manager determines policy, programmes and limitations for action and the entire process is left to subordinates. Group members perform everything and the manager usually maintains contacts with outside persons to bring the information and materials which the group needs. This type of leadership is based on he assumption that all the subordinates are competent, willing to work and self motivated. There is no need to direct their activities. It is

believed that they will perform better if they are free to decide and do on their own. 4. Personal Leader. A personal leader is a person, who becomes a leader in the enterprise on the basis of personal relations. Such leader influences his followers in his personal capacity only. This type of leader influences the followers only because of his personality, personal abilities and character. THEORIES OF LEADERSHIP. Various theories have been developed to describe, analyse and explain the leadership function. Each theory has its own contributions, limitations assumptions and frame work of analysis. TRAIT APPROACH to Leadership. This approach was one of the first attempt to explain leader behaviour, or attempts to influence subordinates. This approach focused on certain characteristics that separate leader from others. Trait approach leadership studies were quite popular between 1930s and 1950. The method of study was to select successful leaders; and their traits (characteristics) were studied. This theory assumes that such traits cause them to rise above their followers. The basic traits are ones energy, looks, knowledge, courage etc. The underlying logic of trait theory is that an individual possessing such traits is usually able to influence others. Leadership traits are of two types. They are innate qualities and acquirable qualities. Innate qualities are those which are possessed by various individuals since their birth. 1. Physical features:- Physical features of a man are determined by hereditary factors. To some extent height, weight, health and appearance are important for leadership. 2. Intelligence:- For leadership higher level of intelligence is required. Intelligence is generally expressed in terms of mental ability. Intelligence, to a very great extent, is a natural quality in the individuals because it is directly related with brain. Acquirable qualities are those which can be acquired and increased through various processes. Many of these traits can be increased through training programme. 1. Emotional stability:- A leader should have high level of emotional stability. He should be free from bias, is consistent in action, and refrains from anger. 2. Human relations:- A successful leader should have adequate knowledge of human relations. ie

how he should deal with human beings. Since an important part of a leaders job is to develop people and get their co-operation for achieving work, he should have intimate knowledge of people and their relationship to each other. 3. Objectivity:- Objectivity implies that what a leader does, should be based on relevant facts and information. He must assess these without any bias or prejudice. 4. Motivating skills:- A leader must acquire the quality to motivate his employees. Though there are many external forces which motivate a person, there is inner drive in people also for motivation to work. The leader can play active role in stimulating these inner drives. 5. Technical skill:- The leading of people requires adherence to definite principles which must be understood and followed for greater success. The ability to plan, organise, delegate, analyse, make decisions and control requires the use of important abilities which constitute technical competence of leadership. 6. Communication skill:- A successful leader knows how to communicate effectively. Communication has great force in getting the acceptance from the receivers of communication. There are some obvious limitations of the trait theory. Firstly it is very difficult to find out a particular leadership trait in the greatest leaders of the world all times. Secondly while all of the traits listed above might be desirable in leaders, none seems to be absolutely essential. There have been many people with the traits specified for leader, but they were not good leaders. BEHAVIOURAL APPROACH. Discouraged by the lack of success in identifying the universal traits, researchers turned their attention to the behaviours of leaders. Leadership according to this approach is the result of effective role behaviour. Leadership is shown by a persons act more than by his traits. Behavioural theories attempt to describe leadership in terms of what leaders do; and this approach is based on the assumption that leaders are not born, but developed. Researchers exploring leadership role have come to the conclusion that to operate effectively, groups need someone to perform two major functions; task related and group maintenance functions. Task related functions relate to providing solutions to the problems faced by the group, in performing jobs and activities. Group maintenance functions relate to actions of mediating disputes and ensuring that individuals feel valued by group. An individual who is able to perform

both roles successfully would be an effective leader. Leadership behaviour may be viewed in two ways. Functional and Dysfunctional. Functional behaviour influences followers positively and includes such functions as setting clear goals, motivating employees for achieving goals, raising the level of morale, building team spirit etc. Dysfunctional behaviour is unfavourable to the followers and denotes ineffective leadership. Such a behaviour may be inability to accept employees ideas, display of emotional immaturity, poor human relations etc. Two groups of researchers were responsible for the development of behavioural theories of leadership. 1. Ohio State Studies:- These well publicised studies were started shortly after second world war and its objectives was to investigate effect of leader behavior on employee performance and satisfaction. The Ohio State University studies identified two leadership behaviours-- Initiating structure and Consideration. Initiating structures refers to the extent to which the leaders structures and define the activities of the subordinates, so that organisational goals are achieved. It includes behaviour that attempt to organise work, work relationships and goals. Consideration refers to the ability of the leader to establish rapport, mutual respect and two-way communication with the employees. The leader is friendly, approachable and listens to the problems of employees and allows them to suggest. The studies found that consideration was positively related to low absenteeism, but was negatively related to performance. But initiating structure was positively related to performance but was associated with absenteeism and grievance. 2. Michigan studies :- About the same time the Ohio State studies were being carried out, researchers at the University of Michigan were investigating the leader behaviours associated with high performing and low performing groups. They found two different styles of leadership. Job Centred and Employee Centred. Job centred leaders emphasised the technical aspect of the job, set work standards and closely supervised workers. Employee centred leaders were interested in their subordinates as people, showed concern for their well being and encouraged worker involvement in goal setting. 3. Managerial Grid :- Robert.R.Blake and Jane.S.Moutan developed the managerial grid, which is quite popular among managers as a tool for identifying their style. This is based on the styles of concern for people and concern for production. The Grid clarifies, on two 9 point scales, how the two dimensions are related.

The grid identified five basic styles of leadership. The 9.1 leader is primarily concerned with production and has little concern for people. This person believes in getting work done at all costs. The 1.9 leader is primarily concerned with people. The 5.5 leader represents a moderate concern for both. The 9.9 leadership style demonstrates high concern for both production and people and is there fore the ideal approach to leadership. In 1.1 style of leadership the leader has minimum concern for production and people. The model is useful to managers in as much as it helps them identify their current styles and develop the most desirable styles. The behaviour approach developed various leadership styles such as autocratic, democratic etc. as per this approach a leader uses three skills. Technical, human and conceptual.- to lead his followers. Technical skill refers to a persons knowledge and proficiency in any type of process or technique. Human skill is the ability to interact effectively with he people and conceptual skill deals with ideas. Setting goals, motivating employees, raising morale, building team spirit etc are the functional behaviour for a successful leader. SITUATIONAL THEORY. The prime attention in situational theory of leadership (also known as contingency theory) is given to the situation in which leadership is exercised. Therefore effectiveness of leadership will be affected by the factors associated with the leader and factors associated with the situation.

characteristics of the environment in which the leader works" . The first major factor in Fiedler's theory is known as the leadership style. This is the consistent system of interaction that takes place between a leader and work group. "According to Fiedler, an individual's leadership style depends upon his or her personality and is, thus, fixed" . In order to classify leadership styles, Fiedlers has developed an index called the least-preferred coworker (LPC) scale. The LPC scale asks a leader to think of all the persons with whom he or she has ever worked, and then to describe the one person with whom he or she worked the least well with. This person can be someone form the past or someone he or she is currently working with. From a scale of 1 through 8, leader are asked to describe this person on a series of bipolar scales such as those shown below: Unfriendly 12345678 Uncooperative 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Hostile 12345678 Guarded 12345678 Friendly Cooperative Supportive Open

The various factors affecting leadership effectiveness may be broadly classified in to two categories; leaders behaviour and situational factors. Leaders behaviour is affected by his characteristics (like his personality, attitudes, interest motivation, age, sex, physical features etc.) and his hierarchical position. Situational factors include subordinates characteristics (same as leaders); Leaders situation (his position power and leader subordinate relation);Group factors (like group composition norms, cohesiveness etc) and Organisational factors like organisational culture, climate etc. This theory has wide implications for managers in the sense that it offers clues why a manager who is successful in one situation, fails when there is change in the situation. Contingency theories. Managerial leadership has influenced organizational activities in many ways. These influences include motivating subordinates, budgeting scarce resources, and serving as a source of communication. Over the years researchers have emphasized the influences of leadership on the activities of subordinates. These emphasis by researchers led to theories about leadership. "The first and perhaps most popular, situational theory to be advanced was the Contingency Theory of Leadership Effectiveness' developed by Fred E. Fiedler" This theory explains that group performance is a result of interaction of two factors. These factors are known as leadership style and situational favorableness. These two factors will be discussed along with other aspects of Fiedler's theory. "In Fiedler's model, leadership effectiveness is the result of interaction between the style of the leader and the

The responses to these scales (usually sixteen in total) are summed and averaged: a high LPC score suggests that the leader has a human relations orientation, while a low LPC score indicates a task orientation. Fiedler's logic is that individuals who rate their least preferred coworker in relatively favorable light on these scales derive satisfaction out of interpersonal relationship; those who rate the coworker in a relatively unfavorable light get satisfaction out of successful task performance" . This method reveals an individual's emotional reaction to people with whom he or she cannot work. It is also stressed that is not always an accurate measurement. The Path Goal Theory In the recent time, one of the most appreciated theories of leadership is the path-goal theory as offered by Robert House, which is based on the expectancy theory of motivation. According to this theory, the effectiveness of a leader depends on the following propositions: leader behaviour is acceptable and satisfying to followers to the extent that they see it as an immediate source of satisfaction or as instrumental to future satisfaction leader behaviour is motivational to the extent that (1) it makes the followers needs satisfaction contingent or dependent on effective performance, and (2) it complements the followers environment by providing the coaching, guidance, support, and rewards necessary for

realizing the linkage between the level of their performance and the attainment of the rewards available. The leader selects from any of the four styles of behaviour which is most suitable for the followers at a given point of time. These are directive, supportive, participative, and the achievement-oriented according to the need and expectations of the followers. In other words, the path-goal theory assumes that leaders adapt their behaviour and style to fit the characteristics of the followers and the environment in which they work. Actual tests of the pathgoal theory provides conflicting evidence and therefore it is premature to either fully accept or reject the theory at this point. Nevertheless the path-goal theory does have intuitive appeal and offers a number of constructive ideas for leaders who lead in a variety of followers in a variety of work environments. JOB SATISFACTION. When an employee joins an organisation and performs his duties, he wants to satisfy his economic, social and psychological needs. When he does not feel satisfied with his job, negative attitudes towards work develop in his mind. In this case he tries to change the job. On the other hand if an employee is satisfied with his job, he will perform his duties with his wholehearted efforts. He will contribute best of his efficiency and capability towards the achievement of predetermined objectives of the enterprise. Job satisfaction of an employee is the result of many attitudes and factors. According to Dale Yoder Job satisfaction is regarded as the composite of attitudes of individual employees towards their job and relationship they create. Keith Davis defines job satisfaction as a set of favourable or unfavourable feelings with which employees view their work. Job satisfaction refers to ones feelings towards job. It is often determined by how well outcomes meet or exceed expectations. High job satisfaction may lead to improved productivity, decreased turnover, improved attendance and less job stress. Factors affecting Job satisfaction. Several job elements / factors contribute to job satisfaction. These include the nature of job, working conditions, and capabilities and some specific attitudes developed by the circumstances prevailing in the enterprise. JOB FACTORS. Following are job factors which affect job satisfaction. 1. Wages :- Wages pay a significant role in influencing job satisfaction. This is because of two reasons. First money is an important instrument in fulfilling ones needs and employees often see pay as a reflection of managements

concern for them. Employees want a pay system which is simple, fair and in line with their expectations. 2. Nature of work:- Most employees prefer intellectual challenges on jobs. Employees feel dissatisfied, if they have to do the work of similar nature for a long time. If the work of an employee is of different type, and includes moderate challenges, employees experiences pleasure and job satisfaction. 3. Supervision :- There is a positive relationship between the quality of supervision and job satisfaction. Supervisors who establish a supportive relationship contribute to their employee satisfaction. Employees prefer a supervisor who helps in personal problems, does not interfere in work and is friendly. 4. Work Group :- The work group also serve as a source of satisfaction to individual employees. It provides opportunities for interaction of group members. It is well known that for many employees work fills the need for social interaction. 5. Working condition:- Working condition that provides physical comfort to the employees and that facilitate doing a good job contribute to job satisfaction. Temperature, humidity, ventilation, lighting and heating are the features which affect job satisfaction. 6. Stability of Job:- If the employees feel stability in their jobs they feel more satisfied and if they feel their job is not stable, they will remain dissatisfied. This is due to wide spread un employment, and uncertainties in the employment market. 7. Training Arrangement:- Arrangements of training also satisfy the employees because trained employees can do work easily and more efficiently. 8. Human relations in the enterprise:- If there are cordial relations in the enterprise and if the labour problems are solved in a democratic way, it increases the feeling of job satisfaction among employees. INDIVIDUAL FACTORS. Following individual factors also affect job satisfaction. 1. Level of Education:- Level of education affects the feeling of job satisfaction. It has been seen that educated employees feel more satisfied with their jobs than the uneducated. But the Indian studies have generally shown that there is a tendency for the more educated workers to be less satisfied. 2. Intelligence :- There is a direct correlation between intelligence and satisfaction. It has been the experience

that intelligent employees feel satisfied with their jobs. But the relation of intelligence to job satisfaction depends on the level and range of intelligence and challenge of the job. 3. Age :- Age also affects job satisfaction among employees. Generally it is seen that young employees do not feel satisfied with their jobs because they always try to get better job, while older employees feel more satisfied with their job. 4. Number of dependents:- Few Indian studies indicated that, the more the number of dependents one has, the less satisfaction he has with the job. It is possible that the stress of greater financial needs, and family problems due to increase in family size create greater dissatisfaction with ones job. Although the management cant control the personnel factors of employees, job factors are controllable by the management. The issue of wages, security, supervision etc may be given a serious consideration. MEASUREMENT OF JOB SATISFACTION. There are a number of ways of measuring job satisfaction. The most common way of measuring include rating scales, critical incidents and interviews. 1. RATING SCALE. The most common approach for measuring job satisfaction is the use of rating scales. These scales fall in to 2 categories. Tailor made scales, which are constructed for a particular project and Standardised scales developed to establish group norms. It is the tailor made scales which are frequently used in practice. One of the most popular standardised scales is the Job Descriptive Index (JDI) developed by Smith, Kendell and Hulin in 1969. the JDI has separate scales for satisfaction with pay, promotions, supervision, work and co- workers. Requiring only 10 to 15 minutes for administer, JDI has been widely used by behavior researchers aver the years and provides a broad picture of employee attitudes towards the major components of jobs. Another standardised scale is the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) which in its long form has 100 questions. It takes about 30 minutes to administer and gives a detailed picture of the specific satisfaction and dissatisfaction of employees. 2. CRITICAL INCIDENTS. The critical incidents approach to the measurement of job satisfaction was developed by Herzberg and his associates in their research on the two factor theory of motivation. Employees were asked to describe incidents

on their jobs, when they were particularly satisfied or dissatisfied. These incidents were then analysed to determine which aspects were closely related to positive and negative attitudes. 3. INTERVIEWS. Another method of measuring job satisfaction is the personal interview. Employees are interviewed individually and the response reveal their satisfaction or dissatisfaction. 4. USE OF EXISTING INFORMATION. Before conducting any survey, managers do well to examine two other methods of assessing employee feelings. Daily contacts and existing data. Managers are in contact with their employees through constant interaction and communication. This is a practical and timely method of determining the job satisfaction. By analysing the data relating to labour turnover, absenteeism, performance and suggestions, a manager can find out the satisfaction level of employees. 5. SURVEY. Surveys are also used for measuring the job satisfaction. Objective surveys using multiple choice questions and descriptive surveys which give answers in employees own words are used widely to measure employee satisfaction. The chief defect of objective survey is that management prepares the questionnaire and provide alternative answers. It does not give much chance to employees to express themselves in their own ways. In the case of descriptive survey, employees have a greater freedom of expression. The descriptive survey may be undertaken either through an individual interview or through a group discussion. JOB ENRICHMENT & JOB ENLARGEMENT. A job is a significant aspect of ones life. It is the primary institution through which the employees satisfies his primary needs. People in general spend a considerable amount of time working. Naturally the job has become a serious subject for social scientists and practicing managers. Attempts have been made to use jobs for motivating employees in organisations. Job enrichment is an example in that direction. JOB ENRICHMENT Job enrichment was developed by Herzberg on the basis of his studies indicating that the most effective way to motivate workers, was by focussing on higher order needs. Job enrichment gives workers more control, responsibility and discretion over how their job is performed.

Job Enrichment simply means adding a few more motivators to a job to make it more rewarding. As work become more challenging and workers responsibility increases, motivation and enthusiasm also increase. Job enrichment brings many benefits to an organisation. It encourages growth and self actualisation. The job is built in such a way that intrinsic motivation is encouraged. Because motivation is encouraged, performance should improve, thus providing both more a harmonised and a more productive job. According to Herzberg, job enrichment has following characteristics. A. Direct Feed back :- Employees should be able to get immediate knowledge of the results they are achieving. The evaluation of performance can be built in to the job or provided by a supervisor. B. Client Relationships:- An employee, who serves a client or customer directly has an enriched job. The client can be outside the firm or inside. C. Scheduling own work:-Freedom to schedule ones own work contributes to enrichment. Employees who perform creative work have more opportunity to schedule their work. D. New Learning:- An enriched job allows the worker to feel that he is growing mentally. E. Control over resources:- One approach to job enrichment is for each employee to have control over his resources and expenses. For example he must have the authority to order supplies necessary for completing the job. F. Direct Communication:- An enriched job allows the worker to communicate directly with people who use his output such as quality control managers handling a customer complaints about quality. G. Personal Accountability. An enriched job holds the worker responsible for the results. He receives praise for good work and blame for poor work. Being a direct development from Herzbergs two factor theory of motivation, job enrichment is a valuable motivational technique. A few studies conducted in US demonstrated the usefulness of job enrichment. JOB ENLARGEMENT. Job Enlargement is considered as an effective method for reducing monotony of overspecialised mass production jobs. It was realised by IBM USA, way back in 1943, that machine operators could save a lot of time and gain variety

in their jobs by setting up their own machines and checking the results of their work. This eliminated machine set up men and inspectors. Job enlargement means adding more different tasks to a specialised job to provide greater variety. It tackles dissatisfaction and reduces monotony by increasing the variety and scope of tasks. As job enrichment focuses on satisfying higher order needs, job enlargement concentrates on additional tasks to the workers job for greater variety. An enlarged job motivates workers in a number of ways. It increases the number of tasks to be performed and thus reduces the level of boredom. Frequently jobs are enlarged so that one worker completes a whole unit of work, or a major portion of it. This tends to increase the satisfaction. Although the benefits of job enlargement are several, certain disadvantages cant be lost sight of. First training costs tend to rise. Workers may require additional training for the new, enlarged tasks. Trade unions often argue for increased pay because of the increased workload. Benefits of Job Enlargement The following are the major benefits of Job enlargement Reduced Monotony: Howsoever interesting the job may appear in the beginning, sooner or later people complain of boredom and monotony. Job enlargement if planned carefully can help reduce boredom and make it more satisfying and fulfilling for the employees. 2. Increased Work Flexibility: There is an addition to the number of tasks an individual performs. There is thus an increased scope of carrying out tasks that are versatile and yet very similar in certain aspects. 3. No Skills Training Required: Since the individual has already been performing the task in the past, there is no great requirement for imparting of new skills. However people and time management interventions may be required. The job thus gets more motivational for the one performing it.
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Job Enrichment and Job Enlargement 1. The difference between job enrichment and job enlargement is essentially of quantity and quality. Whereas job enlargement means increasing the scope of job quantitatively by adding up more tasks, job enrichment means improvement in the quality of job such that employees are more satisfied and fulfilled. 2. Through job enrichment an employee finds satisfaction and contentment in his job and through

job enlargement employee feels more responsible and worthwhile in the organization. 3. Job enrichment entails the functions of planning and organizing and enlargement involves execution of the same. Both complement each other, in that job enrichment empowers and enlargement executes. 4. Job enrichment depends upon job enlargement for success and the reverse in not true. 5. Job enrichment means a vertical expansion in duties and responsibilities and span of control whereas in job enlargement the expansion is horizontal in nature. Job Rotation Job rotation involves the movement of employees through a range of jobs in order to increase interest and motivation. Job rotation can improve multi-skilling but also involves the need for greater training. In a sense, job rotation is similar to job enlargement. This approach widens the activities of a worker by switching him or her around a range of work. For example, an administrative employee might spend part of the week looking after the reception area of a business, dealing with customers and enquiries. Some time might then be spent manning the company telephone switchboard and then inputting data onto a database. Job rotation may offer the advantage of making it easier to cover for absent colleagues, but it may also reduce' productivity as workers are initially unfamiliar with a new task. Why is Job Rotation Important? Job rotation is seen as a possible solution to two significant challenges faced by business: (1) Skills shortages and skills gaps, and (2) Employee motivation Skills shortages occur when there is a lack of skilled individuals in the workforce. Skills gaps occur when there is a lack of skills in a companys existing workforce which may still be found in the labour force as a whole.