Chapter 6 Jobs & the Design of Work

Job Compared to Work Job - a set of specified work and task activities that engage an individual in an organization Work – mental or physical activity that has productive results Meaning of Work - the way a person interprets and understands the value of work as part of life

A - value comes from performance; accountability is important B - provides personal affect & identity C - profit accrues to others by work performance D - physical activity directed by others and performed in a workplace E - generally unpleasant physically & mentally strenuous activity F - activity constrained to specific time periods; no positive affect through its performance Six Patterns of Work

Traditional Approaches to Job Design Scientific Management Job Characteristics Theory Job Enlargement/ Job Rotation Job Enrichment

Emphasizes work simplification (standardization and the narrow, explicit specification of task activities for workers) + Allows diverse groups to work together + Leads to production efficiency and higher profits - Undervalues the human capacity for thought and ingenuity Scientific Management

Job Enlargement - a method of job design that increases the number of activities in a job to overcome the boredom of overspecialized work Job Rotation - a variation of job enlargement in which workers are exposed to a variety of specialized jobs over time Cross-Training - a variation of job enlargement in which workers are trained in different specialized tasks or activities Job Enlargement/ Job Rotation

Job Enrichment - designing or redesigning jobs by incorporating motivational factors into them Job Enrichment Emphasis is on recognition, responsibility, and advancement opportunity

Job Characteristics Model - a framework for understanding person-job fit through the interaction of core job dimensions with critical psychological states within a person Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS) - the survey instrument designed to measure the elements in the Job Characteristics Model Job Characteristics Theory

Job Characteristics Model Skill variety Task identity Task significance Autonomy Feedback Core job dimensions Experienced work’s meaningfulness Experienced responsibility for work’s outcomes Knowledge of work activities’ results Critical psychological states High internal work motivation High-quality work performance High satisfaction with the work Low absenteeism and turnover Personal and work outcomes Employee growth,need, strength J.R. Hackman and G.R. Oldham, “The Relationship Among Core Job Dimensions, the Critical Psychological States, and On-the-Job Outcomes,” The Job Diagnostic Survey: An Instrument for the Diagnosis of Jobs and the Evaluation of Job Redesign Projects, Reprinted by permission of Greg R. Oldham.

MPS = Skill variety Task identity Task significance x [Autonomy] x [Feedback] Five Core Job Characteristics Motivating Potential Score

Social Information Processing (SIP) model SIP Model - a model that suggests that the important job factors depend in part on what others tell a person about the job Four premises: 1) people provide cue to understanding the work environment 2) people help us judge our jobs 3) people tell us how they see our jobs 4) people’s positive & negative feedback help us understand our feelings about our jobs

No one approach can solve all performance problems caused by poorly designed jobs Interdisciplinary Approach Motivational Perceptual/ motor Biological Mechanistic

Motivational Approach Mechanistic Approach Outcomes of Various Job Design Approaches ++ Decreased training time Higher utilization levels Lower error likelihood Less mental overload Lower stress levels Higher job satisfaction Higher motivation Greater job involvement Higher job performance Lower absenteeism Lower job satisfaction Lower motivation Higher absenteeism Increased training time Lower personnel utilization Greater chance of errors Greater chance of mental overload and stress - -

Outcomes of Various Job Design Approaches Less physical effort Less physical fatigue Fewer health complaints Fewer medical incidents Lower absenteeism Higher job satisfaction Lower error likelihood Lower accident likelihood Less mental stress Decreased training time Higher utilization levels Higher financial costs because of changes in equipment or job environment Lower job satisfaction Lower motivation Biological Approach Perceptual Motor Approach

Assignment#2  Power and Influence in the Workplace.  What is Power?  Sources of Power?  Information and Power?  Types of Influence ?