Chapter Six

CHAPTER 6 NOTES (p.234-240)

Job designs have 3 characteristics; range, depth, and relationships.

Job range refers to the number of tasks an employee has. Generally, the more tasks one has, the longer a period of time it takes to complete the tasks.

In job depth, an individual has the ability to decide job activities and outcomes.

Job tasks vary by career and fall along a wide spectrum in terms of range and depth.

Job relationships are determined by the interpersonal relationships of a group as well as by the design of the given job.

The way that people do their jobs depends greatly on how they perceive and think of the said job.

Management must be aware of these differing perspectives.

Efforts have been made to measure job content .

6 area characteristics have emerged : variety, autonomy, required interaction, knowledge and skill required, and responsibility.

People will respond differently or the same related to the “Requisite Task Attribute Index.

The responses will vary based on individual differences and social setting differences.

Two areas were developed to widen job range and increase job depth. These areas are : job rotation and job enlargement.

Job rotation involves the practice of moving people around to different tasks periodically within an organization.

Job enlargement involves increasing the number of tasks an individual is committed to do in a given organization.

Both areas involve a great deal of job redesigning.

Chapter 6 Notes - Last sections Karen Sirany





VIII. Designing job depth: job enrichment (p.240)

A. Job enrichment

  1. An application of Herzberg's two-factor theory of motivation

  2. Involves designing jobs which meet individuals' needs for

     psychological growth, especially responsibility, job challenge, and

     achievement

  3. Involves designing a job that meets the job holder's needs for

     personal growth by:

     a. Direct feedback - evaluation of performance should be timely and direct

     b. New learning - a good job enables people to feel that they are

        growing. All jobs should provide opportunities to learn

     c. Scheduling - people should be able to schedule some part of their own

        work

     d. Uniqueness - each job should have some unique qualities or features

     e. Control over resources - individuals should have some control over

        their job tasks

     f. Personal accountability - people should be provided with an

        opportunity to be accountable for the job

   4. The job enrichment process

     a. Encourages employees to behave like managers in managing their jobs

     b. Designs the job to make such behavior feasible

        1) Requires manager's job be redesigned

        2) Manager's job emphasizes training and counseling of subordinates and

           de-emphasizing control and direction

   5. Positive outcomes result of increasing employees' expectations that:

      a. Efforts lead to performance

      b. These rewards have the power to satisfy needs

   6. It requires a supportive work environment to succeed



B. Job characteristics model (p243)

   1. Combines job enrichment and job enlargement approaches, and attempts

      to account for interrelationships between:

      a. Certain job characteristics

      b. Psychological states associated with motivation, satisfaction, and

         performance

      c. Job outcomes

      d. Growth need strength

   2. Core dimensions of job characteristics model include:

      a. Combining task elements

      b. Assigning whole pieces of work (i.e. work modules)

      c. Allowing discretion in selection of work methods

      d. Permitting self-paced control

      e. Opening feedback channels

   3. Implementing the job characteristics in a particular situation begins

      with a study of existing job perceptions by means of the Job Description

      Survey

   4. The positive benefits are moderated by individual differences in the

      strength of employees' growth needs 

      a. Employees with high need for self-esteem and self-actualization are

         the more likely candidates for job design

      b. Employees who are forced to participate but lack the need strength or

         ability to perform designed jobs may experience stress, anxiety,

         adjustment problems

    5. Problems associated with job design include: (p244)

       a. The program is time-consuming and costly

       b. Unless lower-level needs are satisfied, people will not respond to

          opportunities to satisfy upper-level needs.  

       c. Job design programs are intended to satisfy needs typically not

          satisfied in the workplace.  As workers are told to expect higher-order

          need satisfaction, they may raise their expectations beyond what's

          possible.  

       d. Job design may be resisted by labor unions who see the effort as an

          attempt to get more work for the same pay

       e. Job design efforts may not produce tangible performance improvements

          for some time after the beginning of the effort

    6. Efforts to improve productivity and satisfaction through job design

       a. Emphasized autonomy and feedback

       b. Less emphasis on identity, significance, and variety because these

          require enlarging the task to the point of losing the benefits of work

          simplification and standardization



C. Self-managed teams (SMT) - job redesign at group level

   1. A self-managed team is a relatively small group of individuals who

      are empowered to perform certain activities based on procedures

      established and decisions made within the group, with minimum or no

      outside direction.  

   2. Possible forms

      a. Task forces

      b. Project teams

      c. Quality circles

      d. New venture teams

   3. Team management

      a. Determine own work assignments within the team

      b. Responsible for work from start to finish

      c. May select own members

      d. May evaluate their own performances

      e. May have budgetary responsibilities

   4. Research findings, though limited, tend to support the value of SMT's

      especially in their positive affect on employee attitudes



D. Alternative work arrangements - job redesign aimed at improving the

   context of a job (p.246)

   1. New approaches

      a. Compressed workweek - working longer hours per day for fewer days

      b. Flextime - employees determine, within some limits, when they will go

         to work

      c. Job sharing - Two or more individuals share one job

      d. Telecommuting - involves working at home while being linked to the

         office via a computer &/or fax machine

    2. Research is limited, but trends indicate use of alternative work

       arrangements will continue to increase

IX. Total quality management and job design (TQM) (p. 247)



A. TQM - combines technical knowledge and human knowledge.   People must

       be empowered to with authority to make necessary decisions and must be

       enabled with knowledge to know when to exercise that authority



B. Sociotechnical theory

   1. Focuses on interactions of people doing the jobs.  Too great an

      emphasis on the technical system or on the social system will lead to

      poor job design

   2. Job design strategy - focuses on jobs in the context of individual's

      needs for economic well-being and personal growth



C. No contradiction between sociotechnical theory and TQM. They are

   quite compatible when jobs are designed to provide autonomy and variety.