Job Design
PEOPLE
Psychological
Contract
JOBS
=
Contributions
Inducements
A Model of Job Design
JOB DESIGN FACTORS
JOB DESIGN OUTCOMES
Job Content
Task Variety
Task Autonomy
Task Identity
Task Significance
Work Methods
Coordination
Requirements
Relationships with Others
Teamwork Requirements
Contractual Arrangements
Task Accomplishment
Productivity
Efficiency
Effectiveness
Employee Responses
Satisfaction
Absenteeism
Turnover
Historical Development of Job Design
Low
Job
Specialization
High
Job
Specialization
Employee
Response
(1880s - 1940s)
(1940s -
Contemporary
Approaches
)
(1960s -
)
Alternative
Approaches
(1970s -
)
Entrepreneur
Specialized
Crafts
Scientific
Management
Job Rotation
Job Enlargement
- Job Enrichment
- Redesign of Job
Characteristics
- Self-directed
work teams
Social Info.
processing
Alter Relationships
Alter Time @
Job Design Strategies
Job Rotation
Task Variety (different skills)
Job Enlargement
(horizontal)
Task Variety +
Task identity (whole piece of work)+
Feedback (job provides info on
performance)
Job enrichment
(vertical loading)
add planning &
control
Task Variety+Identity+Feedback+
Job autonomy (independence & selfdetermination of schedule etc)+
Task Significance (job affects others)
Redesign of Job Characteristics
Implementation
Concepts
Core Job
Characteristic
Dimensions
Critical
Psychological
States
Combining Tasks
Task Variety
Forming Natural
Work Units
Task Identity
Establishing Client
Relationships
Task Significance
Vertical Loading
Task Autonomy
Opening Feedback
Channels
Feedback
Personal
and Work
Outcomes
Experienced High internal
meaningfulness
work motivation
of the work
High quality
performance
Experienced
responsibility for
work outcomes
Knowledge of
actual results
Employee GNS
High work
satisfaction
Low absenteeism
and turnover
Practical Issues Related to Job Enrichment
• Does the job need enriching?
•Can it be meaningfully enriched?
•Is your workforce likely to desire job enrichment?
Does the job need enriching
Check outcomes associated with job enrichment for clues
Job enrichment
Job Satisfaction
(as perceived by
the employee)
Effort
Absenteeism
Turnover
Grievances
Quality of work
Productivity
Does the job need enriching?
If yes, take our cue from the Job Characteristics Model
Which of the Core Job Characteristics are deficient?
Skill Variety – (different skills)
Task identity – (whole piece of work)
Task significance – (job affects others)
Autonomy – (job offers independence &
self-determination)
Feedback – (job provides information on performance)
Answer is based on employee perceptions.
Job Diagnostic Survey
Job Diagnostic Survey
This job … (1=SD to 7=SA)
1. Provides much variety.
2. Permits me to be left on my own to do my work.
3. Is arranged so I often have the opportunity to see jobs or
projects through to completion.
4. Provides feedback on how well I am doing as I am working.
5. Is relatively significant in my organization.
6. Gives me considerable opportunity for independence and
freedom in how I do the work.
7. Provides me with different responsibilities.
8. Enables me to find out how well I am doing.
9. Is important in the broader scheme of things.
10. Provides an opportunity for independent thought & action.
JDS:
continued
11. Provides me with considerable variety of work.
12. Is arranged so that I have the opportunity to complete
the work I start
13. Provides me with the feeling that I know whether I am
performing well or poorly.
14. Is arranged so that I have the chance to do a job from
beginning to end (i.e., an chance to do the whole job).
15. Is one where a lot of other people can be affected by how
well the work gets done.
Two hypothetical jobs
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
Job A
Job B
Variety Identity Significance. Autonomy Feeedback
Motivating Potential Score (MPS)
Variety+Identity+Significance XAutonomyXFeedback
MPS=
3
Job A MPS = 250
Job B MPS = 45
Norms for Job Characteristics for all US jobs
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
Variety Identity Significance Autonomy Feedback
4.5
5.0
5.8
MPS score norm for all jobs is 132.6
Theoretical Range = 1 to 343
5.0
5.2
Can it meaningfully be enriched?
Several issues:
Cost
Ability to redesign
Change employee
(since it is based on perceptions)
Does your workforce want enrichment?
Enrichment typically introduced by management
(in response to disastrous outcomes)
Unions typically suspicious so their involvement is
critical.
Enrichment is viewed as:
a way to cut jobs
a trick to get labor to assume managerial
responsibilities
Individual differences play a huge role.
Based on perceptions
Some may seek it, others may not.
Job Design Summary
Specialization Employee Response Contemporary
Job Content
•Variety
•Identity
•Significance
•Autonomy
•Feedback
Low
Low
Low
Low
High
Medium
Some
Low
Low
High
High
High
High
High
High
Formal Org. Context
•Responsibility
Low
•Authority
Low
•Info. Flow
Downward
•Work Methods
Standardized
•Coord. Requirements
Low
Low
Low
Downward
Standardized
Medium
High
High
All Directions
Flexible
High
Informal Context
•Friendship Opportunities
•Teamwork Requirements
Theoretical Basis
-
Attempt to increase
High
but not via job design High
Traditional Human Relations Human Resources
Social Information Processing & Job Design
Job Characteristics Model
Job
Characteristics
Need
Fulfillment
Job
Attitudes
Job
Behaviors
Social Information Processing Model
Job
Attitudes
Job
Characteristics
Need
Fulfillment
Job
Behaviors
Alternative Approaches to Job Design
1. Alter Relationships With Others
Self-Managed Work Teams
2. Alter Time Spent at Work
4 Day Work Week
Flextime
Job Sharing
Telecommuting
Part-time Work
3. Automation
4. Redefinition of Work
Job Design Strategies:
Self-directed Work Teams
(job enrichment at the
group level)
continued
Task Variety+Identity+Feedback+
Job Autonomy+Task Significance
Characteristics of Self-Managed Work Teams
MEMBERS… are held accountable for results
have discretion in assigning tasks
have discretion in scheduling work
can perform multiple jobs on the team
train one another to develop multiple job skills
evaluate one another’s job performance
are responsible for personnel issues
Benefits of Alternative Work Schedules
Individual Benefits
Organizational Benefits
More leisure time
Lower absenteeism & T/O costs
Greater personal responsibility
Reduced tardiness
Greater satisfaction
Greater work commitment
Increased quality of work life
Higher performance
Less commuting time
Improved recruiting and PR
Decreased stress from home/
work demand conflicts
Adapted from: J.R. Schermerhorn, J.G. Hunt and R.N. Osborn, Managing Organizational Behavior
Redefinition of Work
•Hire the right people
•Eliminate hierarchies
•Emphasis on work needed to be done, not on jobs
•People will take work cues from the work, not from the
job description or supervisor