Motivation - Applications

Job Characteristics Model Any job can be described in terms of FIVE job dimensions: The degree to which the job requires a variety of different activities so the worker can use a number of different skills and talent. Example: owner-operator of a garage A job scoring low on this dimension would be a body shop worker who sprays paints 8 hours a day 1. SKILL VARIETY

Job Characteristics Model The degree to which the job requires completion of a whole and identifiable piece of work Example: A job scoring high in this dimension would be a cabinetmaker who designs a piece of furniture, select the wood, build the object and give finishing A job scoring low in this dimension would be a worker in furniture factory who operates a lathe 2. TASK IDENTITY

Job Characteristics Model The degree to which the job has a substantial impact on the live or work of other people. Example a nurse handling the diverse needs of patients in a hospital ICU scores high on this dimension A janitor sweeping floors in the same hospital sore less on this dimension 3. TASK SIGNIFICANCE

Job Characteristics Model The degree to which the job provides substantial freedom, independence, and discretion to the individual scheduling work and in determining the procedure to be used in carrying it out. Job Scoring High is a sales person who schedules his or her work each day and decides the most effective sales approach without supervision Job Scoring Low is a sales person who is given a set of leads each day and is required to follow a standardized sales script with each customer 4. AUTONOMY

Job Characteristics Model The degree to which carrying out the work activities required by the job results in the individual obtaining direct and clear information about the effectiveness of his/her performance. Job Scoring High is a mobile factor worker who assembles a phone and then test them to see if they operate properly Job Scoring Low is the factory worker of the same factory who route it to quality control inspector who tests it for proper operation. 5. FEEDBACK

JOB CHARACTERISTICS MODEL Core Job Dimension Core Job Dimension Critical Psychological States Personal & Work Outcomes Personal & Work Outcomes Autonomy Skill Variety Task Identity Task Significance Feedback Experienced meaningfulness of the work Experienced responsibility for the outcomes of the work Knowledge of the actual results of the work activities High internal work motivation High quality work performance High satisfaction with the work Low absenteeism and turnover Employee growth-need strength

The core dimension can be combined into a single predictive index called the Motivating Potential Score (MPS) which can be calculated as follows: Jobs that are high on motivating potential must be high on at least one of the three factors that lead to experienced meaningfulness, and they must be high on both autonomy and feedback Skill Variety + Task Identity + Task Significance 3 Autonomy x Feedback X MPS =

If the job score high on motivating potential, the model predicts that motivation, performance and satisfaction will be positively affected and that the likelihood of absence and turnover will be lessened.

How can jobs be redesigned? “Every day was the same thing”, Arjun Singh said. “Stand on the assembly line. Wait for the instrument panel to be moved into place. Unlock the mechanism and drop the panel into the Jeep Liberty as it moved by on the line. Then I plugged in the harnessing wires. I repeated that for 8 hours a day. I don’t care that they were paying me INR:780 for 8 hours. I was going crazy. I did it for almost a year and a half. Finally, I just said to my wife that this is not going to be the way I’m going to spend the rest of my life. My brain was turning to Jelly-O on that Jeep assembly line. So I quit. Now I work in a print company and I make less than INR: 600 for 8 hours. But let me tell you, the work I do is really interesting. The job changes all the time, I’, continually learning new things and the work really challenges me! I look forward every morning to going to work again.”

Ways of redesigning the job Job Rotation Job Enlargement Job Enrichment Flexi Time Job Sharing Telecommuting