| Budget Amount *help |
¥4,600,000 (Direct Cost: ¥4,600,000)
Fiscal Year 2000: ¥1,000,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,000,000)
Fiscal Year 1999: ¥1,800,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,800,000)
Fiscal Year 1998: ¥1,800,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,800,000)
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| Research Abstract |
The objectives of the present project is to develop methodologies on work analysis of white collar and its supporting tool. In this study, the proposed methodology as well as the tool were applied to several real jobs such as product design, R ＆ D, facility design and production control. We performed work analyses of these jobs for the purpose of job re-design to improve their productivity. The following outcomes were obtained by the present project for the last three years :
(1)A methodology for analysing white collar work was proposed specifically focused on job-relevant knowledge and job-flow. In this methodology, job-relevant knowledge is classified into six categories in terms of job requirements that are connecting to content and context of a particular work. Effectiveness of knowledge that an employee possesses is rated in five point scale from the aspect of how to work with the knowledge piece. The proposed methodology also includes analyses of knowledge dependency, i.e., what c
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ondition the knowledge depends on, and of knowledge applicability, i.e., when the knowledge is/was/will be applicable to one's job. Employing this methodology, knowledge sets relevant to a variety of jobs were identified.
(2)In-depth case studies were performed for two different jobs, i.e., facility design and production control, applying the work analysis methodology mentioned in (1). In these case studies, the proposed methodology allows us to uncover work processes and employees' knowledge for these jobs. A clear correlation was also found between knowledge effectiveness and some productivity measurements such as amount of annual treatment of design and the number of projects having leadership.
(3)A prototype of work analysis tool which supports the proposed methodology mentioned in (1) was developed using a general-purpose spreadsheet software, Excel.
(4)The above-mentioned tool was applied to several jobs to examine its usefulness in work analysis and to acquire several points for its further improvement.
(5)A questionnaire-based survey was conducted to elicit factors of violating white collar productivity. The questionnaire was distributed to all the white collar employees working within a big manufacturing firm in Japan. The factors were acquired by the principal component analysis applying responded data both on the efficiency and the job-quality questions.
(6)As a complementary approach of the methodology mentioned in (1), we presented an EMR (eye-movement recording) approach to work analysis. This approach was applied to analysis of driving task of the bullet train and of cognitive behavior during watching TV commercials (CM's). As results of these applications, we identified e.g., differences in cognitive processes between the designer's intention and the viewer's actual watching patterns. Effects of CM design parameters on the viewer's watching patterns were also uncovered employing the EMR approach. In the bullet train application, we evaluated a new interface design of train coclkpit and presented several implications of this approach to its actual design practices.
(7)As summary of the present project, we presented guidelines of job design and redesign of white collar professions based on the results obtained in this study. In particular, we proposed a user-centred approach as a new paradigm for job design, and examined this approach by a case study. Less
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