Improving work design: An action research opportunity at 3LMN Ambata Trading Corporation

Action research begins with what we dont know. It is a theory in action. David Coghlan advocates Insider Action Research as a collaborative participation between the researcher and the members of the organization. With the researcher-manager as a central actor or the principal agent in the action research project, action research is gaining wide acceptance among many scholars and industry practitioners. This paper presents my accounts of insider action research at 3LMN Ambata Trading Corporation aimed at improving work design. My action research has helped our family business address the lack of clear definition of responsibilities among employees and the lack of commensurate compensation structure. Using the four chronological step framework, Value Chain Analysis and O*NET Content Model, I performed a job analysis in our organization to determine the principal duties and responsibilities of a particular position as well as the critical knowledge, abilities, skills, and other characteristics necessary to perform the tasks. I selected three common job analysis data collection methods suited for my organization namely: observation, interviews, and background records. As a result, job descriptions were created for every role, the organization was restructured and a revised compensation schedule was implemented. I found that work analysis is integral for most functional areas of HR such as recruitment, compensation, training, performance appraisal and job redesign. It provides the basic information required by management in order to create and sustain organizational capability