Job Design

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Job Design
PEOPLE JOBS
Psychological Contract
Contributions Inducements

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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
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Historical Development of Job Design
Job Specialization
Employee Response
Contemporary Approaches
Alternative Approaches
(1880s - 1940s) (1940s - )
(1960s - ) (1970s - )
Entrepreneur Specialized Crafts Scientific
Management
Low High
Job Speciali- zation
- Job Enrichment - Redesign of Job
Characteristics - Self-directed
work teams
Job Rotation Job Enlargement
Social Info. processing
Alter Relation- ships Alter Time _at_
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Job Design Strategies
Job Rotation Task Variety (different
skills) Job Enlargement Task Variety
(horizontal) Task identity (whole piece of
work) Feedback (job provides info
on performance) Job enrichment Task
VarietyIdentityFeedback (vertical loading) Job
autonomy (independence self- add planning
determination of schedule etc) control Task
Significance (job affects others)
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Redesign of Job Characteristics
Implementation Core Job
Critical Personal Concepts
Characteristic Psychological and
Work Dimensions States
Outcomes
Combining Tasks Task Variety
Experienced High internal
meaningfulness work motivation Forming Natural
Task Identity of the
work Work Units Establishing Client
Task Significance High quality Relationships
performance Experienced Vertical
Loading Task Autonomy
responsibility for High work
work outcomes satisfaction Opening Feedback
Feedback Knowledge of Low
absenteeism Channels actual
results and turnover
Employee GNS
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Practical Issues Related to Job Enrichment

• Does the job need enriching?
• Can it be meaningfully enriched?
• Is your workforce likely to desire job enrichment?

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Does the job need enriching
Check outcomes associated with job enrichment for
clues
Effort Absenteeism Turnover Grievances Quality of
work Productivity
Job enrichment Job Satisfaction (as perceived
by the employee)
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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
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Job Diagnostic Survey

• This job (1SD to 7SA)
• Provides much variety.
• Permits me to be left on my own to do my work.
• Is arranged so I often have the opportunity to
  see jobs or
• projects through to completion.
• Provides feedback on how well I am doing as I am
  working.
• Is relatively significant in my organization.
• Gives me considerable opportunity for
  independence and
• freedom in how I do the work.
• Provides me with different responsibilities.
• Enables me to find out how well I am doing.
• Is important in the broader scheme of things.
• Provides an opportunity for independent thought
  action.

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JDS continued

• 11. Provides me with considerable variety of
  work.
• Is arranged so that I have the opportunity to
  complete
• the work I start
• Provides me with the feeling that I know
  whether I am
• performing well or poorly.
• 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).
• Is one where a lot of other people can be
  affected by how
• well the work gets done.

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Two hypothetical jobs
7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Job A
Job B
Variety Identity Significance. Autonomy
Feeedback
Motivating Potential Score (MPS) VarietyIdentity
Significance 3
XAutonomyXFeedback
MPS
Job A MPS 250 Job B MPS 45
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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
5.0 5.2
MPS score norm for all jobs is 132.6 Theoretical
Range 1 to 343
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Can it meaningfully be enriched?
Several issues Cost Ability to
redesign Change employee (since it is based
on perceptions)
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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.
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Job Design Summary
Specialization Employee Response Contemporary

• Job Content
• Variety Low Medium High
• Identity Low Some High
• Significance Low Low High
• Autonomy Low Low High
• Feedback High High High

• Formal Org. Context
• Responsibility Low Low
  High
• Authority Low Low High
• Info. Flow Downward Downward All
  Directions
• Work Methods Standardized Standardized
  Flexible
• Coord. Requirements Low Medium
  High

• Informal Context
• Friendship Opportunities - Attempt to
  increase High
• Teamwork Requirements - but not via job
  design High

Theoretical Basis Traditional Human
Relations Human Resources
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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
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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
• Automation
• Redefinition of Work

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Job Design Strategies continued
Self-directed Work Teams Task
VarietyIdentityFeedback (job enrichment at
the Job AutonomyTask Significance
group level)
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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 anothers job
performance are responsible for personnel
issues
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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
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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