J
January effect Phenomenon in which companies with lower capitalization outperform large companies in the first month of the year.
Jaques, Elliott (1917–2003) Canadian psychoanalyst and organizational psychologist. He developed the notion of requisite organization from his stratified systems theory. He developed the concept of social systems as a defense against unconscious anxiety. He is also known for his concept of time-span of discretion, a measure of how much discretion an employee has. His books include The Changing Nature of a Factory: A Study of Authority and Participation in a Industrial Setting (1951), Measurement of Responsibility: A Study of Work, Payment and Individual Capacity (1956), Equitable Payment (1963), Product Analysis Pricing (1964), A General Theory of Bureaucracy (1976), Executive Leadership: A Practical Guide to Managing Complexity (1994), and Social Power and the CEO: Leadership and Trust in a Sustainable Free Enterprise System (2002).
Jargon Terminology or lingo used by a professional group, containing technical words and usage peculiar to that group.
J-curve In economics, a curve on a graph that depicts a small decrease in a variable, followed by a large increase.
JIT JUST-IN-TIME
Job 1. Discrete and identifiable piece of work with a beginning and completion, for which the worker is rewarded monetarily or otherwise. 2. Task assigned to a worker.
Job analysis Detailed study of a specific job, the tools and equipment needed, and the qualifications, experience, and aptitudes of the person best suited for it.
Jobber Distributer of goods, a middleman.
Jobbing Process by which small numbers of products are made to order, as distinguished from mass production.
Jobbing backwards Looking back on a transaction or event, weighing the alternatives not taken, and examining the deficiencies in information that resulted in problems.
Job component method In job evaluation, ranking of jobs on a hierarchical scale depending on the behavioral demands they impose.
Job description Official wording that states the title of a job, the qualifications of the job holder, its tasks and duties, the performance objectives, the reporting chain of command, remuneration, working hours, skills, and attributes required.
Job design General scope of a job from the perspective of the employer, including the competencies and personality traits required and the specific sequence of tasks. It reflects a balance between the personal needs of the employee, such as a healthy environment and work ethic, and the corporate needs of the employer, such as a well-defined responsibility, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness.
Job enlargement JOB DESIGN that focuses on the enhancement of motivation horizontally, by increasing the number and variety of tasks, and vertically, by giving the employee more autonomy and responsibility. Also JOB ENRICHMENT.
Job enrichment Change in the various component tasks of a job description so as to make the job more fulfilling and productive.
Job evaluation Assessment of the work, responsibilities, skills, and experience of workers on the basis of objective standards, with a view to setting proper and fair remuneration so that comparable tasks are rewarded comparably.
Job lock Situation in which benefits more than pay are the main attraction for an employee.
Job rotation Sequence of work that reduces boredom through the alternation of tasks, enabling workers to learn new skills and broaden their competence.
Job satisfaction Key element in personnel development and industrial relations through empowerment, motivation, and job enrichment. It also reduces accident rates and absenteeism. Objective scales are used to calibrate the subjective content of work to determine its satisfaction level, measuring teamwork and esprit de corps, as well as worker input.
Johari Window Technique created by JOSEPH LUFT and Harrington Ingham in 1955 to help people discover and understand better their relationships and environment. Subjects are given a list of 56 adjectives and asked to pick five or six that best describes their self. These adjectives are then mapped on a grid. Subjects may also plot the scores from the Personal Effectiveness Scale.
Johnson, Spencer (1940–) Physician and popular management guru. Author of One-Minute Manager and Who Moved My Cheese (1998), a parable on CHANGE MANAGEMENT.
Joint stock Shares of a public limited company that exists between a partnership and a corporation, in which shareholders pool their stock and conduct business but are liable for its debts.
Joint venture In multinational business, a strategic alliance with domestic firms with or without equity participation. Although they have a high rate of failure, joint ventures are an effective way of entering a new and untested market, especially in developing countries where local contacts are necessary, access to distribution is difficult, and there are political roadblocks. Joint ventures are symmetric by nature because one partner has political clout and the other has technological expertise.
Despite their many advantages, joint ventures suffer from serious dangers. First, they are difficult to integrate into a global strategy that involves substantial cross-border trading, especially in regard to pricing and export sources. Second, they militate against the trend toward centralized financial management, which may limit the impact of the domestic partner. Third, there could be a clash of cultures and goals, which creates conflicts in reaching normal business decisions. Fourth, the cultural clash can extend to personnel selection, especially in developing countries where nepotism and corruption are rampant. Lastly, tax laws in a developing country may inhibit the maximization of initial losses, and what is advantageous to the foreign partner may be disadvantageous to the domestic partner.
Journeyman Skilled worker who has completed a trade apprenticeship but is not yet a self-employed master craftsman.
Judgmental sampling In market research, a sample based not on statistical data but on the researcher’s personal judgment in assembling a pool of respondents.
Junior management Employees who are hierarchically subordinate to senior management.
Junk bond Bond that offers a higher rate of interest than other bonds because of its higher probability of default.
Juran, Joseph Moses (1904–2008) Romanian-born management consultant associated with quality management For many years he was in Japan where his ideas were very influential, His Juran Trilogy was an approach to cross-functional management composed of three processes: quality planning, quality control, and quality improvement. Among his books are Quality Control Handbook (1951), Management Breakthrough (1964), and Quality Planning and Analysis (1980).
Jurisdiction The scope of authority held by an official or person in power.
Just-in-time (JIT) Computer-aided manufacturing and inventory-management technique of Japanese origin, in which the raw materials needed for manufacturing are available just prior to use. This system reduces the need for large inventories, which tie up capital and can create bottlenecks in the pipeline. It gives managers the leeway to achieve quality, speed, dependability, and flexibility while bringing down costs. Setup times are reduced, efficient plant layout eliminates transit time, product designs are standardized, maintenance is preventive rather than reactive, and suppliers are integrated with the production schedules. Of necessity, the workforce is trained to be flexible and innovative. JIT also makes extensive use of robots.
In the Japanese system, decisions normally undertaken in the West by management are, instead, made by workers. Virtually everyone is involved daily as a member of QUALITY CIRCLES. Decision making is by consensus rather than confrontation and generalists get as much say as specialists. Excess capacity is jettisoned. Suppliers take responsibility for quality, so that producers do not have to. Components are standardized, as are production schedules. Control is also established by AUTOMATION, or jikoda, and production lines come to a halt at the first sign of a defect.