4e
Nelson/Quick
Chapter 14
Jobs and the
Design of
Work
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Learning Outcomes
 Differentiate between job and work
 Discuss the traditional approaches to job design
 Identify and describe alternative approaches to job
design
 Identify and describe contemporary issues facing
organizations in the design of work
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Learning Outcome
Differentiate between job and work
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Job
 Set of specified work and task activities that engage
an individual in an organization
 Not the same as organizational position, career, and
work
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Work
 Mental or physical activity that has productive
results
 Meaning of work
 Way a person interprets and understands the value
of work as part of life
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Six Patterns of Work
Pattern A
Pattern B
Value comes from performance and for which a person is
accountable
Provides a person with positive personal affect and identity
Pattern C
Activity from which profit accrues to others by its
performance and can be done in various settings
Pattern D
Physical activity directed by others and performed in a
working place
Pattern E
Pattern F
Physically and mentally strenuous activity
Activity constrained to specific time periods that does not
bring positive affect through its performance
©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
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Learning Outcome
Discuss the traditional approaches to job
design
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Traditional Approaches to Job
Design
Scientific
Management
Job
Characteristics
Theory
Approaches
Job
Enrichment
Job Enlargement/
Job Rotation
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Scientific Management
 Emphasizes work simplification
 Work simplification: Standardization and the narrow,
explicit specification of task activities for workers
 Jobs have limited number of scientifically-designed
tasks
 Elements focus on the efficient use of labor to the
economic benefit of the firm
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Work Simplification
Pros
Cons
• Allows workers of diverse
backgrounds to work
together
• Leads to production
efficiency and to higher
profit
• Undervalues the human
capacity for thought and
ingenuity
• Dehumanizes the work
force by treating labor as
a means of production
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Job Enlargement
 Increases the number of activities in a job to
overcome the boredom of overspecialized work
 Variations
 Job rotation: Exposes a worker to a variety of
specialized job tasks over time
 Cross-training: Workers are trained in different
specialized tasks or activities
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Job Enrichment
 Designing or redesigning a job by incorporating
motivational factors into it
 Increases the amount of job responsibility through
vertical loading
 Recommends increasing the recognition,
responsibility, and opportunity for achievement
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Job Characteristics Theory
 Emphasizes the interaction between the individual
and specific attributes of the job
 Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS): Measures the
elements in the Job Characteristics Model
 Motivating Potential Score (MPS) - Indicates a job’s
potential for motivating incumbents
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Figure 14.1 - Job Characteristics Model
SOURCE: J. R. Hackman and G. R. Oldham, “The Relationship Among Core Job Dimensions, the Critical Psychological States, and On-the-Job
Outcomes,” in The Job Diagnostic Survey: An Instrument for the Diagnosis of Jobs and the Evaluation of Job Redesign Projects (New Haven,
Conn.: Department of Administrative Services, Yale University, 1974). Reprinted by permission of Greg R. Oldham.
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Job Characteristics Model
 Psychological states stimulated by the core job
dimensions
 Experienced meaningfulness of the work
 Experienced responsibility for work outcomes
 Knowledge of results
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Job Characteristics Model
 Implementing concepts used by JDS for job redesign
efforts
 Combining tasks into larger jobs
 Forming natural work teams to increase task identity
and task significance
 Establishing relationships with customers
 Loading jobs vertically with more responsibility
 Opening feedback channels for the job incumbent
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Job Characteristics Inventory (JCI)
 Measures core job characteristics
 Considers structural and individual variables
affecting the core job characteristics and the
individual
 Similarity with JDS - Person-job fit approach
 JCI versus JDS
 Variety scales have different effects on performance
 Autonomy scales have different effects on employee
satisfaction
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Engagement
 Expression of oneself as one performs in work or
other roles
 Psychological conditions affecting employees’
engagement in work
 Meaningfulness
 Safety
 Availability
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Learning Outcome
Identify and describe alternative approaches
to job design
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Social Information Processing (SIP)
Model
 Emphasizes the interpersonal aspects of work
design
 Based on following premises
 People provide cues we use to understand the work
environment
 People help us judge what is important in our jobs
 People tell us how they see our jobs
 People’s positive and negative feedback helps us
understand our feelings about our jobs
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Ergonomics
 Adapting work and working conditions to the
employee or worker
 Develops an interdisciplinary framework for the
design of work
 Allows the job designer to consider trade-offs and
alternatives among the approaches based on
desired outcomes
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Table 14.2 - Summary of Outcomes
from Various Job Design Approaches
SOURCE: Reprinted from Organizational Dynamics, 15(3), Michael A. Campion, Paul W. Thayer, “Job Design: Approaches, Outcomes, and Trade-Offs,” Winter/1987.
Copyright © 1987, with permission from Elsevier.
©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
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Table 14.2 - Summary of Outcomes
from Various Job Design Approaches
SOURCE: Reprinted from Organizational Dynamics, 15(3), Michael A. Campion, Paul W. Thayer, “Job Design: Approaches, Outcomes, and Trade-Offs,” Winter/1987.
Copyright © 1987, with permission from Elsevier.
©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
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International Perspectives on the
Design of Work
 The Japanese approach
 Emphasizes the strategic level
 Encourages collective and cooperative working
arrangements
 Emphasizes performance, accountability, and otheror self-directedness in defining work
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Lean Production and Sociotechnical
Systems
 Lean production: Using committed employees with
ever expanding responsibilities to achieve:
 Zero waste and 100 percent good product
 On time delivery every time
 Sociotechnical systems (STS): Giving equal attention
to technical and social considerations in job design
©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
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Beyond the Book:
Lean Production to the Rescue
 Manufacturing companies in the U.S. are turning to
lean production methods to stay profitable during
the recession.
 The method involves producing only what is
ordered, reducing inventory and making each part
in an uninterrupted flow.
 61% of manufacturers have adopted lean
production methods or plan to do so within the
next year.
©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
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International Perspectives on the
Design of Work
 The German approach
 Traditional approach
 Technocentric: Placing technology and engineering at
the center of job design decisions
 Recent approach
 Anthropocentric: Placing human considerations at the
center of job design decisions
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Figure 14.2 - Hierarchical Model of Criteria
for the Evaluation of Human Work
SOURCE: H. Luczak, “‘Good Work’ Design: An Ergonomic, Industrial Engineering Perspective,” in J. C. Quick, L. R. Murphy, and J. J. Hurrell, eds.,
Stress and Well-Being at Work (Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association, 1997). Copyright ©1997 by the American Psychological
Association. Reprinted with permission.
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International Perspectives on the
Design of Work
 The Scandinavian approach
 Encourages a high degree of worker control
 Encourages good social support systems for workers
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Table 14.3 - Adjusting Work Design
Parameters
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Learning Outcome
Identify and describe contemporary issues
facing organizations in the design of work
©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
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Emerging Issues in the Design of
Work
Telecommuting
• Working in other locations separate from the company’s
main location
• Helps achieve a better fit between the needs of an
employee and the organization’s task demands
Alternative work patterns
• Job sharing: More than one person perform job
• Four-day workweek
• Flextime: Enables employees to set their own daily work
schedules
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Contemporary Issues in the Design
of Work
Virtual office: Mobile platform of computer, telecommunication,
and information technology and services
• Drawbacks
• Lack of social connection
• Technostress: Stress caused by new and advancing
technologies in the workplace
Skill development
• Technical and interpersonal skills are important
• Work design must recognize the importance of incumbent skills
and abilities to meet the demands of the work
©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
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Beyond the Book:
The Work Design Questionnaire
 The Work Design Questionnaire was created to fill
gaps in existing work-characteristics assessments
and integrate their data.
 Results from the questionnaire found that both
motivational work characteristics and social support
played a strong role in predicting job satisfaction.
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Tyler Perry’s Daddy’s Little Girls
 This chapter opened with a discussion of “job” and
“work.” Apply that discussion to the film sequence.
Include in your analysis the pattern of social interaction
between Monty and Julia.
 Apply the job characteristics theory to the film
sequence. What is the level of each core job
characteristic for Monty’s job?
 Estimate the levels of each critical psychological state
for Monty. Use Figure 14.1, “The Job Characteristics
Model,” as a guide. Use “low,” “middle,” or “high” for
your estimate.
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Camp Bow Wow
 How do the tasks of managers and camp counselors
differ at Camp Bow Wow?
 How does Camp Bow Wow utilize a form of job
rotation to keep camp counselors satisfied with
their jobs?
 Using the job characteristics model, explain why the
employees of Camp Bow Wow love their jobs.
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