Jobs and the Design of Work Jobs and the Design of Work Chapter 14 Organizational Behavior Nelson & Quick 6th edition

Job Compared to Work Job - a set of specified work and task activities that engage an individual in an organization Organizational position – a job in relation to other parts of the organization Career – a sequence of job experiences over time 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

Six patterns used to define work A – value comes from performance. Accountability is important B – provides positive personal affect and identity Six patterns used to define work D – physical activity directed by others and performed in a workplace C – profit accrues to others by work performance –strenuous, compulsive F – activity constrained to specific time periods; no positive affect through its performance E – generally unpleasant – physically & mentally strenuous activity

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

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

different specialized tasks or activities 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 Emphasis is on recognition, responsibility, and advancement opportunity Job Enrichment

Job Characteristics Theory 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 Model Critical psychological states Core job dimensions Personal & work outcomes Skill variety Task identity Task significance High internal work motivation High-quality work performance High satisfaction with the work Low absenteeism and turnover Experienced work’s meaningfulness Experienced responsibility for work’s outcomes Autonomy Knowledge of work activities’ results Feedback 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, 1974. Reprinted by permission of Greg R. Oldham. 2

Five Core Job Characteristics Motivating Potential Score Five Core Job Characteristics Motivating Potential Score MPS = Skill variety Task identity significance x [Autonomy] x [Feedback] 3 +

Core job dimensions stimulate psychological states Employee growth-need strength The higher the growth-need strength, the more favorable response to jobs with high MPSs Core job dimensions stimulate psychological states Experienced meaningfulness of the work (degree to which employee experiences the job as worthwhile) Experienced responsibility for work outcomes (degree to which employee feels personally accountable) Knowledge of results (degree to which employee understands his/her effectiveness on the job)

Engagement - the expression of oneself as one performs in work or other roles Full engagement requires the strategic management of one’s energy in response to the environment Human spirit’s response to job characteristics and work design features Equally Important Design of work

Social Information Processing (SIP) model 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 cues 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

Interdisciplinary Approach Mechanical Perceptual Motor Motivational Ergonomics - The science of adapting work and working conditions to the employee or worker 14

Motivational 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 + Motivational Approach + Mechanistic Approach - - Lower job satisfaction Lower motivation Higher absenteeism Increased training time Lower personnel utilization Greater chance of errors Greater chance of mental overload and stress 3

Perceptual Motor Approach 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 Biological Approach Perceptual Motor Approach + + - - Lower job satisfaction Lower motivation Higher financial costs because of changes in equipment or job environment 3

International Perspectives on the Design of Work The Japanese Approach Emphasizes strategic level Encourages collective and cooperative working arrangements Emphasizes lean production Using committed employees with ever-expanding responsibilities to achieve zero waste, 100% good product, delivered on time, every time Photos courtesy of Clips Online, © 2008 Microsoft Corporation

International Perspectives on the Design of Work The German Approach Previously, Technocentric - placing technology and engineering at the center of job design decisions Recently, Anthropocentric - placing human considerations at the center of job design decisions Photos courtesy of Clips Online, © 2008 Microsoft Corporation

International Perspectives on the Design of Work The Scandinavian Approach encourages high degrees of worker control encourages good social support systems for workers Photos courtesy of Clips Online, © 2008 Microsoft Corporation

assignment to disciplines Problem areas & assignment to disciplines Technical, anthropo-metric, & psychophysical problems Technical, physiological, & medical problems Economical & sociological Sociopsychological & economic problems Levels of Evaluation of human work Practicability Endurability Acceptability Satisfaction Scientific approaches of labor sciences View from natural science Primarily oriented to individuals to groups cultural studies 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. Reprinted by permission.

Work Design and Well-Being: To increase control in work organizations Work Design and Well-Being: To increase control in work organizations Give workers the opportunity to control aspects of work & workplace Design machines and tasks with optimal response times and/or ranges Implement performance-monitoring systems as source of worker feedback

Work Design and Well-Being: To reduce uncertainty Work Design and Well-Being: To reduce uncertainty Provide employees with timely and complete work information needed Make clear and unambiguous work assignments Improve communication at shift change time Increase employee access to information sources

Work Design and Well-Being: To manage conflict Work Design and Well-Being: To manage conflict Use participative decision making to reduce conflict Use supportive supervisory styles to resolve conflict Provide sufficient resource availability to meet work demands, thus preventing conflict

Contemporary Issues in Design of Work Contemporary Issues in Design of Work Telecommuting - employees work at home or in other locations geographically separate from their company’s main location Alternative work patterns Job Sharing - an alternative work pattern in which there is more than one person occupying a single job Four day work week Flextime - an alternative work pattern that enables employees to set their own daily work schedules

Contemporary Issues in Design of Work Contemporary Issues in Design of Work Technology at work Virtual Office - a mobile platform of computer, telecommunication, and information technology and services Technostress - the stress cause by new and advancing technologies in the workplace Task Revision - the modification of incorrectly specified roles or jobs Skill development

Performance Consequences of Role Behaviors Role Characteristics Standard Role Behavior (meets expectations) Extra Role Behavior (beyond expectations) Counter Role Behavior (differs from expected) Excellent performance (organizational citizenship and prosocial behavior) Correctly Specified Role Poor performance (deviance, dissent, and grievance) Ordinary good performance Excellent performance (task revision and redirection, role innovation) Incorrectly Specified Role Very Poor Performance (bureaucratic zeal) Poor performance Counter-Role Behavior - deviant behavior in either a correctly or incorrectly defined job or role Republished with permission of Academy of Management, PO Box 3020, Briar Cliff Manor, NY 10510-8020. “Task Revision: A Neglected Form of Work Performance,” (Table), R. M. Straw & R. D. Boettger, Academy of Management Journal, 1990, Vol. 33. Reproduced by permission of the publisher via Copyright Clearance Center, Inc.0 26

The Distinguishing Feature of Job Design in the Future Flexibility Photos courtesy of Clips Online, © 2008 Microsoft Corporation

Chapter 14: Reflect & Discuss Reality Bites Video Clip What to Watch for and Ask Yourself Assess the proposed job using the core job characteristics of the Job Characteristics Model. Is each job characteristic high or low? Do you expect the job described by Wienderdude (David Spade, uncredited) to induce high levels of internal work motivation and work satisfaction? Why or why not? Would you expect the work context (working conditions, supervision, co-workers) to positively or negatively affect a person’s motivation and satisfaction? Reality Bites Four Generation X’ers meet life’s realities after their college graduation. Life’s realities play cruel tricks on them as they continue developing together. Lelaina Pierce (Winona Ryder) records their reality interactions in an almost endless documentary video. Ben Stiller, in his directorial debut with this film, tries to make penetrating observations on this generation’s growth, development, and shared life expectations. This scene from Reality Bites is the “Wienerdude” segment that appears about one-third of the way through the film. Lelaina, her class’s valedictorian, desperately seeks a job after her termination as a TV morning show production assistant. She has had three unsuccessful job interviews before the one shown in this scene at a local Wienerschnitzel. Just before this scene Lelaina asked her mother (Susan Norfleet) for a loan. Lelaina’s mother noted that times are hard and Lelaina should perhaps find a job at a fast food restaurant. The film continues with Lelaina trying to escape her depression by chain smoking cigarettes, watching mindless television programs, and talking to a psychic telephone partner (voiced by Amy Stiller). What to Watch for and Ask Yourself Assess the proposed job using the core job characteristics of the job characteristics theory. Is each job characteristic high or low? Do you expect the job described by Wienderdude (David Spade, uncredited) to induce high levels of internal work motivation and work satisfaction? Why or why not? Would you expect the work context (working conditions, supervision, co-workers) to positively or negatively affect a person’s motivation and satisfaction? 28