Work System and People
There are two basic ways in which work is organized. The first relates to the flow of authority and is known as organizational structure of merely organization. The second relates to the flow of work itself from one operation to another and is known as procedure. Other names are “method,” “system,” and “work flow.” People usually recognize the human side or organizational structure because of the superior-subordinate relationship that it establishes, but more often than not they ignore or overlook the human  side of work flow. They see work flow as an engineering factor that is separate from human factors. In the usual case, however, work flow has many behavioral effects because it sets people in interaction as they perform their work. Initiation of Action: One important point about a work system is that it determines who will “initiate” an activity and who will “receive” it. At each step in Continue reading