The analysis and design of work requires making informed decisions about how to create and link jobs. It starts with big-picture issues related to analyzing work flow and organizational structure, and turns to the more specific issues of analyzing and designing jobs. Traditionally, job analysis has emphasized the study of existing jobs in order to make decisions such as employee selection, training, and compensation. In contrast, job design has emphasized making jobs more efficient or more motivating.

Informed decisions about jobs take place in the context of the organization’s overall work flow. Through the process of work flow design, managers analyze the tasks needed to produce a product or service. With this information, they assign these tasks to specific jobs and positions. A job is a set of related duties. A position is the set of duties performed by one person. Basing these decisions on work flow design can lead to better results than the more traditional practice of looking at jobs individually.

Before designing its work flow, the organization’s planners need to analyze what work needs to be done. For each type of work, the analysis identifies the output of the process, the activities involved, and the three categories of inputs. Work flow takes requires the cooperation of individuals and groups. Ideally, the organization’s structure brings together the people who must collaborate to create the desired outputs efficiently. The structure may do this in a way that is highly centralized or decentralized. The organization may group jobs according to functions, or it may set up divisions to focus on products or customer groups.

When the goal is to empower employees, companies need to set up structures and jobs that enable broad responsibility, rather than performing a narrowly defined function. Managing a division responsible for a product or customer group tends to require more experience and cognitive (thinking) ability than managing a department that handles a particular function. Managing a functional department requires skill in managing conflicts and aligning employees’ efforts.