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