job enlargement and job enrichment

Difference between Job Enlargement and Job Enrichment

In this we’re going to understand Job Enlargement and Job Enrichment and their differences. We are all aware that the main function of the Human Resource Manager is to assign a job which is best suited for the employee, For this reason, HR managers are required to design the activities of job which is called as ‘Job Design’.

Job Design is the process which determines the duties and responsibilities of an employee who is performing a specific job. There exist various techniques of a job design, most common of them are as follows:

⦿ Job Simplification
⦿ Job Rotation
⦿ Job Enlargement
⦿ Job Enrichment

Job Enlargement and Job Enrichment are the most confused terms and people usually assume both are same and very often use both these terms interchangeably, but there exist major differences between these two terms. In this article, we are going to learn the differences between these two terms in a detailed way.

Difference between Job Enlargement and Job Enrichment

JOB ENLARGEMENT

Job Enlargement is defined as the process of assigning some extra duties to the job of a particular employee. It is the process of increasing the activities of an employee by adding more tasks to the job of an employee.

The extra duties which are assigned to the job usually do not require special skills or new skills, they can be performed with the same skills as before. Job Enlargement is the horizontal expansion of the job, which means the job remains the same but the duties and tasks of the job become more.

ADVANTAGES OF JOB ENLARGEMENT

There are many advantages which are associated with job enlargement, some of them are as follows:

⦿ The Job Enlargement helps to decrease the boredom of the employee.
⦿ It helps the employee to learn the new skills and tasks.
⦿ It helps the organization to increase the workplace productivity.
⦿ Job Enlargement makes the employee relate wholly with the task and provides identity to the employee for performing the task.

JOB ENRICHMENT

Job Enrichment can be defined as the process which allows the employee to perform higher responsibilities at a higher level. It provides the opportunity for achievement, recognition, responsibility to the employee.

Job Enrichment enables the employee to plan, control and evaluate their own performance by themselves without the involvement of the management or higher authorities of the organization. Job Enrichment is a motivational technique which gives importance to the need for challenging and interesting work for the employee.

ADVANTAGES OF JOB ENRICHMENT

Job Enrichment has many advantages for both the employee and the organization also, they are as follows:

⦿ Job Enrichment makes the work more interesting to the employee.
⦿ It provides a meaningful work experience and learning opportunities to the employee.
⦿ It helps the organization to reduce the labour turnover and attrition rate.
⦿ It increases the self-actualization, Self- respect and Self-satisfaction of the employee.

Difference between Job Enlargement and Job Enrichment:

JOB ENLARGEMENT JOB ENRICHMENT
Job Enlargement is defined as the process of aligning various tasks and extra duties to the job of the employee. Job Enrichment is defined as increasing the responsibility, scope, and challenge of the job of the employee.
Nature
Job Enlargement is a horizontal expansion of a job, which means the addition of extra duties and tasks to the same job. Job Enrichment is a vertical expansion of a job, which means it involves an expansion of functions and responsibilities of the employee.
Usefulness
Job Enlargement helps in reducing the boredom which employees get by performing the same task. Job Enrichment helps in making the job more challenging, satisfying to the employee.
Higher Skills
Job Enlargement does not require the employee to learn new higher level skills to perform the job. Job Enrichment demands the employee to attain and utilize some specialized higher skills to perform the job.
Supervision
In Job Enlargement, the employee requires supervision from superiors or from the management. In Job Enrichment, the employee requires less supervision from higher authority or from the management.
Training
Sometimes, the enlarged jobs need more training, as there are more tasks to be learned. Sometimes, Job Enrichment may make the work more difficult, for this reason, the enriched employee need proper training.
Cost
Job Enlargement is a cheaper process because more duties are performed by a single person and also less cost for training. Job Enrichment proves to be a costly process because training costs are more than the productivity gained.
Role
Job Enlargement has an important role in positively influencing the employee productivity. Job Enrichment has an important role in motivating the employee and also positively influences the performance of the task.

CONCLUSION:

Job Enlargement and job Enrichment are the important steps used to make the employees feel that the organization is actually owning them and help in boosting their performance on the job. These two techniques have more impact on employee job satisfaction level in the organization which increases the productivity of the employee as well as the organization.

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