RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JOB DESIGN, MACROERGONOMICS, AND PRODUCTIVITY

Technological advancement and human development have always shared a c lose relationship. This is especially true in manufacturing systems wi th human operators. The harmony between the manufacturing and human sy stems is emphasized in a sociotechnical systems approach. This article first presents examples of job design where human factors have been a pplied. Second, it explores the relationships between microergonomics, macroergonomics, and the concept of self-organizing systems. Finally, it demonstrates how job design and macroergonomics can be integrated to create self-organization, which leads to higher productivity. (C) 1 996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.