Skill formation in today's workforce is aimed at democratizing the business process. Two innovative forms of skill formation, multiskilling and broadbanding, are resulting in greater technological change, improved productivity, and flatter organizations. The implementation of these innovations creates challenges for both human resources managers and labor relations coordinators in terms of performance appraisal, compensation, career growth, and job security issues.
In the traditional organization, occupations are viewed in terms of two criteria: function and stratification. At a manufacturing plant, for instance, a distinction is made between those who assemble components and those who inspect the completed products. Distinctions between functions necessarily lead to class distinctions among employees: " . . . occupations are distinguished by their location in a hierarchy of prestige, income, power, or control over production" (Freidson, 1982, p. 42). Even the traditional organization itself is arranged by the criteria of function and stratification. According to Hammer and Champy (1993), "The basic unit of the traditional organization is the functional department, a collection of people performing similar tasks" (p. 78). In the functional company, a stratification of departments and divisions exist; typically those with the highest degree of customer contact are located at the lower end of this hierarchy while those with decisonmaking responsibility are at the higher end.
In recent decades, the groundwork has been put in place for a fundamental change in organizational structure, one which emphasizes employee empowerment to intervene in the business process for the purpose of creating value and enhancing customer satisfaction. As part of this change, jobs are evolving from narrow, single functions to multidimensional. Instead of people being scattered through different departments, working separately with incongrue...