FIGURE SCHEDULE - SHOP FLOOR EMPLOYEES PAGE Figure 5.2.1 All relevant stakeholders were part of the approval of. 137 Figure 5.2.28 Multiple skills increase employee motivation level 138 Figure 5.2.29 Rewards for a multi-skilled workforce are motivating.
General Problem Statement
Against this background, this thesis aimed to investigate the extent of the adoption of multiskilling by Hulett Aluminium. Labor turnover - the introduction of multi-skilling as a way to deal with the problem of labor turnover.
Background and Motivation
Boredom and job dissatisfaction - the application of multiskilling to deal with problems related to boredom and job satisfaction. It is against this background that there is an interest in the way in which Hulett Aluminum went about implementing multi-skills, against the theoretical prescriptions in this regard. It will also be interesting to determine the costs and benefits associated with multiskilling and the role it can play in filling the gap in cases of advanced technology, in cases of absenteeism, in motivating the employees, in reducing labor turnover, in the reduction of industrial conflicts, in the reduction of costs, etc.
Research Objectives
For quality, increased productivity, competitiveness, and customer satisfaction and retention, Hulett Aluminum introduced multi-skilling in 2000. To determine if there is a difference of opinion between management and shop workers regarding multi-skilling issues.
Research Hypotheses
Anticipated Contribution
Overview of the Dissertation
The main focus of this chapter is the statistical results generated from the responses given by the shop floor employees and managers at Hulett Aluminum. This chapter focuses on the discussion of the statistical results generated in the previous chapter in relation to the research objectives.
Introduction
Definition of Multiskilling
- Labour Flexibility
- Encouragement of Teamwork
- Increased Labour Productivity
- Cost Reduction
- Reduced Downtime
- Reduction in Industrial Conflict
Cohesiveness among employees increases – One of the benefits of multiskilling is that it encourages teamwork. One of the arguments in favor of multiskilling is that it increases the level of employee satisfaction at work.
Disadvantages of Multiskilling
Benchmarking
- Job Simplification
- Job Enlargement
- Job Enrichment
Job enlargement involves increasing the number and variety of tasks that each individual performs and can be seen as horizontal job enlargement. Content - the nature and purpose of the work in terms of tasks and operations to be performed and activities to be performed, i.e.
Ongoing Management
For multiskilling to be effective, there must be a compensation or reward system that is closely linked to the acquisition of complementary skills (Akhlaghi and Mahony, 1997:70). The number of points awarded for demonstrated skill acquisition depends on an assessment of the overall value of that specific skill to the organization or on an assessment of the complexity of the skills (Cordey.
Other Steps to be taken
Get public relations right - The information about multiskilling that should circulate is that which is consistent with the organization's overall goals for the program. It is therefore imperative that management ensure that public relations is the one who communicates positive information about the program.
Summary
This chapter focuses on describing Hulett Aluminum (Pty) Ltd, in which the field study was carried out. It is a description of the company's profile, organizational structure, aluminum supply chain and company's business results. The company was founded in 1946 as a subsidiary of the Alcan Aluminum Group. It is the largest manufacturer of semi-fabricated and finished aluminum products in South Africa. According to Timmerman (2005:5), Tongaat-Hulett has been a guiding force behind Hulett Aluminum since it bought it in 1973.
Furthermore, he states that approximately 10% of Hulett Aluminum's total sales are for automotive products and may be the second largest market in sales of aluminum by the end of 2005.
Organisational Structure of Hulett Aluminium
Director of Coated Products
Six shift managers report to the coating line coordinators, who are then served by approximately thirty crew members.
Director of Sheets, Plate and Coil Products
Director of Operations
A general manager, production and maintenance manager and Hulett Aluminum Fabricated Products (Hulafab) managers report to the Director of Foil Products. Reporting to the production and maintenance managers are production coordinators, maintenance technicians, craftsmen, shift leaders and foremen. Reporting to the Director of Human Resources are a Human Resources Manager, a Labor Relations Specialist, a Skills Development Specialist and a Training Specialist.
The supervisor of the physical laboratory, the supervisor of the metallurgical laboratory and the supervisor of the chemical laboratory report to the laboratory managers.
Scope of Services
- Product Range
- Safety, Health and Environment Policy
- Agreement between Management and Trade Unions
- Employment Security
- Training
- Payment of Wages
Although all departments were targeted, priority was given to the operational part of the company. When an employee is fully competent at the next higher level of knowledge, he is entitled to 15% of the salary difference between the level for the grade he is currently occupying and the grade for the grade at the next higher level. When an employee gains skills for the next higher level, they will earn 15% of the gap.
Once the employee is fully qualified in the agreed modules, they will be entitled to 20% and 25% of the difference in salary between the grade level they are currently occupying and the grade level next higher.
Summary
Introduction
Purpose of the Study
According to Cordery, multiskilling is “the process of expanding the skill repertoire of employees in such a way that enhances an employee's ability to work in more than one narrowly defined occupational specialty.” The aim of this study was therefore to investigate the extent of multiskilling adoption by the South African manufacturing industry. It was also the aim of this study to determine the benefits associated with multi-skilling and the role it could play in filling the gap in cases of high technology, absenteeism, employee demotivation, employee turnover, costs etc.
Problem Statements
Boredom and job dissatisfaction - the application of multitasking to deal with problems associated with boredom and job satisfaction. The overall aim of the research was to find out whether the theoretical questions raised by various authors about miItiskilling actually apply to Hulett Aluminium. 1. To determine the extent to which Hulett Aluminum prepares a suitable environment for the use of multiskilling.
To determine if there are differences of opinion between management and store employees regarding issues surrounding multiple skills.
Research Hypotheses
Multi-skilling empowers the workers to easily cope with the ever-changing and advancing technology and is a viable option to deal with the problems faced by the industry. Multiskilling is expensive in the short term, but it is a good investment for an organization in the long term. There is no difference between management and employees regarding their perceptions of multiskilling.
Research Method
Its scope may be limited to accommodate budgetary constraints, sacrificing the value of the findings.” The ultimate goal is to learn about a large population by examining a sample of that population; therefore, this approach is called a descriptive surveyor normative survey (Leedy and Ormrod, 2005: 183). -Smith A research design is "a specification of the most adequate operations to be performed to test a specific hypothesis, under given circumstances."
Trochim (2005:8) argues that "to say that one or the other [research methodology] is better is simply trivializing what is a far more complex subject than a dichotomous choice can resolve." He goes on to state that both qualitative and quantitative research draw on rich and diverse traditions, drawn from multiple disciplines, and both have been used.
Study Site
The researcher first used qualitative research by conducting interviews with two managers at Hulett Aluminum. Thus, the initial qualitative research helped inform the design of the quantitative research, which took the form of a questionnaire. Hulett Aluminum was chosen as a case study because, first and foremost, it is one of the largest manufacturing companies in South Africa.
Second, the company was chosen for reasons of easy accessibility, cost effectiveness and time saving on the part of the researcher.
Interviews
Third, and finally, the company was chosen because it tried to implement multiskilling in 2000, and since then it has struggled to find its footing with this program. The recommendations that the researcher ultimately develops can help this company and other manufacturing companies in their quest for successful adoption and implementation of multiple capabilities.
Sampling
- Defining the Population of Interest
- Determining Sample Size
- Developing Operational Procedures for Selecting Sample Elements
- Executing the Sampling Plan
The researcher asked two managers who had assisted him during the preparations for the questionnaire design to help distribute the questionnaires to managers and shop employees at Hulett Aluminium. For the purpose of this research, non-probability sampling was chosen due to the nature of the study and the advantages associated with the method. The reason why the researcher distributed the questionnaires to both managers and employees on the shop floor was that he wanted to determine whether these two parties shared the same understanding of the problem of multi-competence.
The managers who had helped the researcher with the distribution of the questionnaire were the ones who helped with the collection.
Questionnaire Design
So with this statement about absenteeism, he wanted to find out to what extent more skills contribute to mitigating this problem in an organization. The purpose of this statement was therefore to verify the claim that a multi-skilled workforce has a broad knowledge of the entire work of the organization. The purpose of this statement was to determine the extent to which multiskilling contributes to reducing the total costs of the organization.
The purpose of this statement was to verify the accuracy of the claim by Klein that many multi-skilled workers feel that their status has been lowered and along with it, their self-esteem.
Distribution of the Questionnaire
The purpose of this statement was to find out whether rewards do motivate the workforce or not. According to Marshall Tracking of skills learned is essential to the process [of multiskilling] and, above all, the employee must be willing and eager to multiskill." This implies that management must evaluate multiskilling to ensure that the skills acquired by employees be learned, is The statement was therefore made to establish whether the management at Hulett Aluminum does from time to time make an evaluation of multi-skills, and where necessary make improvements.
The response rate from top managers was also from middle managers and 52% from shop floor employees.
Questionnaire Collection
Data Analysis
- Validation and Editing
- Coding
- Data Entry
- Machine Cleaning Data
- Tabulation and Analysis of Survey Results
For data entry, the researcher used an electronic spreadsheet, a software program that allows a researcher to manipulate data in a table. Search - the spreadsheet made it easy for the researcher to search for the desired information. Once the data was organized into rows and columns, the researcher could specify the formulas that describe and analyze one or more groups of data.
The researcher performed a final error check to ensure that the data fire was clean and ready for tabulation and statistical analysis.
Summary
The above figure 5.2.9 and table 5.2.9 show that 45.1% of the respondents strongly agree that training is an important tool for multi-competence.
