Chapter 14 Nelson & Quick
Jobs & the Design of Work
Job Compared to Work
Job - a set of specified work and task activities that engage an individual in an organization
Work – mental or physical activity that has productive results
Meaning of Work - the way a person interprets and understands the value of work as part of life
A - value comes from performance. accountabilityis important
B - provides personal
affect & identity
C - profit accrues to others by work performance
D - physical activity directed by others and performed in a workplace
E - generally unpleasant physically & mentally
strenuous activity
F - activity constrainedto specific time periods;no positive affect through its performance
SixPatterns of Work
TraditionalApproaches to
Job Design
ScientificManagement
JobCharacteristics
Theory
Job Enlargement/Job Rotation
JobEnrichment
Emphasizes work simplification (standardization and the narrow, explicit specification of task activities for workers)
+ Allows diverse groupsto work together+ Leads to production efficiency and higher profits
- Undervalues the humancapacity for thought andingenuity
ScientificManagement
Job Enlargement - a method of job design that increases the number of activities in a job to overcome the boredom of overspecialized work
Job Rotation - a variation of job enlargement in which workers are exposed to a variety of specialized jobs over time
Cross-Training - a variation of job enlargement in which workers are trained in different specialized tasks or activities
Job Enlargement/Job Rotation
Job Enrichment - designing or redesigning jobs by incorporating motivational factors into them
JobEnrichment
Emphasis is on recognition, responsibility, and advancement opportunity
Job Characteristics Model - a framework for understanding person-job fit
through the interaction of core job dimensions with critical psychological states within a person
Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS) - the survey instrument designed to measure the elements in the Job Characteristics Model
JobCharacteristics
Theory
Job Characteristics Model
Skill varietyTask identityTask significance
Autonomy
Feedback
Core jobdimensions
Core jobdimensions
Experienced work’s
meaningfulness
Experienced
responsibility
for work’s outcomes
Knowledge of work
activities’ results
Criticalpsychological
states
Criticalpsychological
states
High internalwork motivationHigh-qualitywork performanceHigh satisfaction with the workLow absenteeismand turnover
Personal andwork outcomes
Personal andwork outcomes
Employee growth,need,
strength J.R. Hackman and G.R. Oldham, “The Relationship Among Core Job Dimensions, theCritical Psychological States, and On-the-Job Outcomes,” The Job Diagnostic Survey: AnInstrument for the Diagnosis of Jobs and the Evaluation of Job Redesign Projects, 1974.Reprinted by permission of Greg R. Oldham.
Social Information Processing (SIP) model
SIP Model - a model that suggests that the important job factors depend in part on what others tell a person about the job
Four premises1) people provide cues to understanding the work environment2) people help us judge our jobs
3) people tell us how they see our jobs4) people’s positive & negative feedback help us understand our feelings about our jobs
No one approach can solve all performance problems caused by poorly designed jobs
Interdisciplinary Approach
Motivational
Perceptual/motor
Biological
Mechanistic
Motivational Approach
Mechanistic Approach
Outcomes of Various Job Design Approaches
+ +
Decreased training timeHigher utilization levelsLower error likelihood Less mental overloadLower stress levels
Higher job satisfactionHigher motivation
Greater job involvementHigher job performance
Lower absenteeism
Lower job satisfaction Lower motivation
Higher absenteeism
Increased training timeLower personnel utilization
Greater chance of errorsGreater chance of mental
overload and stress
- -
Outcomes of Various Job Design ApproachesLess physical effort
Less physical fatigueFewer health complaints Fewer medical incidents
Lower absenteeismHigher job satisfaction
Lower error likelihoodLower accident likelihood
Less mental stressDecreased training timeHigher utilization levels
Higher financial costs because of changes
in equipment orjob environment
Lower job satisfaction Lower motivation
Biological Approach
Perceptual Motor Approach
+
-+
-
International Perspectives on the Design of Work
The Japanese Approach Emphasizes strategic level Encourages collective and
cooperative working arrangements Emphasizes lean productionlean production
Using committed employees with ever-expanding responsibilities to achieve zero waste, 100% good product, delivered on time, every time
Lean Production
International Perspectives on the Design of Work
The German Approach Technocentric - placing technology
and engineering at the center of job design decisions (traditional German approach)
Anthropocentric - placing human considerations at the center of job design decisions (more recent German approach)
International Perspectives on the Design of Work
The Scandinavian Approach encourages high degrees of worker
control encourages good social support
systems for workers
Work Design and Well-Being:To increase control in work organizations
Give workers the opportunity to control aspects of work & workplace
Design machines and tasks with optimal response times and/or ranges
Implement performance-monitoring systems as source of worker feedback
Work Design and Well-Being:To reduce uncertainty
Provide employees with timely and complete
work information needed
Make clear and unambiguous work assignments
Improve communication at shift change time
Increase employee access to information sources
Work Design and Well-Being:To manage conflict
Use participative decision making to reduce
conflict
Use supportive supervisory styles to resolve
conflict
Provide sufficient resource availability to meet
work demands, thus preventing conflict
Emerging Issues in Design of Work
Telecommuting - employees work at home or in other locations geographically separate from their company’s main location
Alternative work patterns Job Sharing - an alternative work pattern in which
there is more than one person occupying a single job
Flextime - an alternative work pattern that enables employees to set their own daily work schedules
Emerging Issues in Design of Work
Technology at work Virtual Office - a mobile platform of computer,
telecommunication, and information technology and services
Technostress - the stress cause by new and advancing technologies in the workplace
Task Revision - the modification of incorrectly specified roles or jobs
Skill development
The Distinguishing Feature of Job Design in the Future