Chapter 15 Individual Performance and Job Design

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Chapter 15Individual Performance and Job Design

• Planning Ahead
• What is the meaning of work?
• What influences job satisfaction and performance?
• How can jobs be enriched?
• What are alternative work arrangements?
• How can job and work stress be managed?

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The Meaning of Work

• Psychological Contracts
• Informal understanding about what an individual
  gives to and receives from an organization

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The Meaning of Work

• Psychological Contracts
• Ideal work situation is one that is considered
  fair
• When contract is broken, morale problems develop

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The Meaning of Work

• Work-Life Balance
• fit between ones job and personal or family
  needs
• stress occurs if there is not balance between
  work and personal life

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Job Satisfaction and Performance

• Job
• collection of tasks performed in support of
  organizational objectives
• Job Design
• process of creating or defining jobs by assigning
  specific work tasks to individuals and groups

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Job Satisfaction and Performance

• Job Satisfaction
• degree to which an individual feels positively or
  negatively about various aspects of the job
• less turnover and absenteeism among satisfied
  workers

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Job Satisfaction and Performance

• Job Involvement
• extent to which an individual is dedicated to a
  job
• Organizational commitment
• loyalty of individual to the organization

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Job Satisfaction and Performance

• Job Performance
• quantity and quality of tasks accomplished by an
  individual or group at work
• value-added criterion

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Job Satisfaction and Performance

• High-performance equation

Performance Ability x Support x Effort
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Job Satisfaction and Performance

• Performance
• begins with ability
• requires support
• involves effort

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Job Design Issues and Alternatives

• Job Simplification
• standardizing work procedures
• employing people in well-defined tasks
• can result in boredom
• extreme form is automation

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Job Satisfaction and Performance

• Job Rotation and Job Enlargement
• Job Rotation
• increases task variety by shifting workers
  between different jobs
• regular
• periodically
• keeps managers informed about job demands

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Job Satisfaction and Performance

• Job Rotation and Job Enlargement
• Job Enlargement
• increases task variety by combining two or more
  tasks previously assigned to other workers
• horizontal loading

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Job Satisfaction and Performance

• Job Enrichment
• building more opportunities for satisfaction into
  a job
• job depth (vertical loading)

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Job Enrichment

• Job Characteristics Model
• diagnostic approach to job enrichment.
• five core job characteristics.
• job high in core characteristics is enriched.

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Job Enrichment

• Core Characteristics of Job Characteristics
  Model
• skill variety
• task identity
• task significance
• autonomy
• feedback

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Job Enrichment

• Critical Psychological States of Job
  Characteristics Model
• meaningfulness of work
• responsibilities for work outcomes
• knowledge of actual results of work activities

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Job Enrichment

• Job satisfaction is influenced by psychological
  states
• Psychological states are influenced by core job
  characteristics
• Not everyone is affected in the same way

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Job Enrichment

• Improving Core Characteristics
• form natural work units
• combine tasks
• establish client relationships
• open feedback channels
• practice vertical loading

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Job Enrichment

• Technology and Job Enrichment
• Sociotechnical Systems
• using technology to best advantage, while
  treating people with respect
• Robotics
• use of computer controlled machines to completely
  automate work tasks

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Alternative Work Arrangements

• Compressed Workweek
• schedule that allows a full-time job to be
  completed in less than standard 5 days of 8-hour
  shifts

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Alternative Work Arrangements

• 4-40 (also known as 4-10)
• employees work 4 days, 10 hours each day
• increased leisure time, lower commuting costs
• increased fatigue, family scheduling problems,
  union objections

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Alternative Work Arrangements

• Flexible Working Hours
• any work schedule which gives employees some
  choice in daily work hours
• core time - all employees must be at work
• allows employees to schedule around personal and
  family responsibilities

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Alternative Work Arrangements

• Job Sharing
• one job is split between two or more persons
• daily, weekly or monthly arrangements
• Work Sharing
• agreement between employees to cut back work
  hours to avoid layoffs or termination

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Alternative Work Arrangements

• Telecommuting
• work arrangement that allows a portion of
  scheduled work hours to be completed outside of
  the office

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Alternative Work Arrangements

• Telecommuting
• Advantages
• reduced commuting
• increase productivity
• fewer work distractions
• flexible hours

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Alternative Work Arrangements

• Telecommuting
• Disadvantages
• loss of visibility for promotion
• working too much
• difficulty separating work and personal life

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Alternative Work Arrangements

• Part-Time Work
• work less than 40 hours and does not qualify
  employee as full-time
• contingency workers
• part-timers who supplement full-time workforce,
  often on a long term basis

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Stress and Stress Management

• Stress
• state of tension experience by individuals facing
  extraordinary demands, constraints or
  opportunities

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Stress and Stress Management

• Sources of Stress
• work factors
• too high or too low task demands
• role conflicts or ambiguities
• poor interpersonal relations
• too slow or too fast career progress

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Stress and Stress Management

• Sources of Stress
• personal factors
• Type A personality
• nonwork factors
• family events
• economics
• personal affairs

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Stress and Stress Management

• Consequences of Stress
• constructive stress
• acts as a positive influence
• increased effort, creativity, productivity
• destructive
• acts as a negative influence
• increased absenteeism, turnover, errors, illness
• decreased productivity

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Stress and Stress Management

• Managers should be skilled at dealing with
  workplace stress
• humanitarianism
• productivity
• creativity
• return on investment

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Stress and Stress Management

• Personal Wellness
• pursuit of personal and mental potential though a
  personal health-promotion program
• exercise/physical fitness
• smoking control
• health risk appraisals
• nutrition education
• high blood pressure control