Chapter 6-- Job Design

A major cause of effective job

performance is job design.
Job Design
 Job design – process by which managers
decide individual job tasks and authority
 Job redesign – process by which managers
reconsider what employees are expected to do

 Why? Because it increases

organization effectiveness,
efficiency and worker motivation
Initial Step--Job Analysis
 Determines:
– Job Specification: KSAs, experience,
education, i.e. qualifications
– Job Description: Tasks and
responsibilities
 Job Range
 Job Depth

 Job Relationships
Job Design and Quality of Work Life
(QWL)
 Quality of work life (QWL)
Studies
– Believed that satisfied workers would be
more productive
– Tested in the coal mines
– Attempted to enhance the dignity (physical
and emotional well-being) of all workers by
eliminating dissatisfiers
– Productivity increases were not significant.
Why??
Job Design and Quality of Work Life
(QWL)
 Indicators of quality of work life include:
– Accident rates
– Sick leave usage
– Employee turnover
– Number of grievances filed
 Improvement was noted in these indicators, but it
didn’t make the workers work harder. However,
they were more satisfied
Job Design and Quality of
Work Life (QWL)
 The continuing challenge to
management is to provide for
QWL and to improve production,
quality, and efficiency through
revitalization of business and
industry
 Conceptual Model of Job
Design and Job Performance
Social setting
Job context Job differences
Description

Perceived job Job

Job content Job analysis Job design content performance

Job Job Individual

requirements Specification differences
Job Design
 Job design attempts to:
– identify the needs of employees and the organization
– remove obstacles in the workplace that frustrate those needs
 Job range
– Number of tasks a person is expected to perform while doing a job
– The more tasks required, the greater the job range
 Job depth
– Degree of influence or discretion that an individual possesses to
choose how a job will be performed
Designing Job Range:

Job
Job Rotation
Rotation Job
Job Enlargement
Enlargement

 Moving
Moving individuals
individuals from
from oneone 
 Increasing
Increasing thethe number
number of of
job
job to
to another
another tasks
tasks for
for which
which an
an individual
individual
Individual isis responsible
responsible

 Individual completes
completes more
more
job
job activities
activities because
because eacheach 
 Increases
Increases jobjob range,
range, but
but not
not
job
job includes
includes different
different tasks
tasks depth
depth

 Involves
Involves increasing
increasing the
the
range
range ofof jobs
jobs and
and the
the
perception
perception of of variety
variety in
in job
job
content
content
Designing Job Depth:
Job Enrichment
 The practice of increasing discretion
individuals can use to select activities
and outcomes
 Increases job depth and accordingly
fulfills growth and autonomy needs
 Herzberg’s two-factor theory of
motivation is the impetus for designing
job depth (job enrichment)
Designing Job Depth:
Job Enrichment
 Managers can provide employees with greater
opportunities to exercise discretion by making
the following changes:
– Direct feedback
– New learning
– Scheduling
– Uniqueness
– Control over resources
– Personal accountability
Job Characteristic Theory

 Hackman & Oldham: How can we

design a job that motivates people?
– Asked people that were clearly motivated
by a job, what were the motivating
characteristics
– What do you think are the motivating
characteristics? Are they all equal?
The Job Characteristics Model
Job Critical Psychological States Personal and Work
Characteristics Outcomes
Skill Variety Experienced High Internal
Task Identity Meaningfulness Work Motivation
of Work
Task Significance
High-quality
Experienced Work Performance
Autonomy Responsibility for
Outcomes of Work High Satisfaction
with Work
Knowledge of
Actual Results of Low Absenteeism
Feedback and Turnover
Work Activities

Employee’s Growth
Need Strength
 Job Characteristics
Theory
Job Motivation Potential equals

Task Variety + Task Identity + Task Significance

X Autonomy X Feedback

The higher the score, the higher the

motivating potential and therefore the higher
the productivity
Key Characteristics to
Address

 Task variety. The extent to which you

or your team members are given the
opportunity to perform a variety of tasks
and use different skills
 Task significance. The degree to
which your or your team’s work is valued
and has significance for both internal and
external stakeholders of the organization
Key Characteristics to
Address
 Task identity. The degree to which
your or your team completes a whole
and separate piece of work and has
control over most of the resources
necessary to accomplish its objectives
 Autonomy. The degree to which
you or your team are allowed to make
your own decisions
Key Characteristics to
Address
 Feedback. Extend to which you or
your team receives feedback from the
job or the supervisor
 Growth Need Strength. Extend to
which an individual
Problems associated with job design

 Unless lower-level needs are satisfied, people will not

respond to opportunities to satisfy upper-level needs
 Job design programs may raise employees’
expectations beyond what is possible
 Job design may be resisted by labor unions who see
the effort as an attempt to get more work for the
same pay
 Job design efforts may not produce tangible
improvements for some time after the beginning of
the effort
 Job Design:
Key Characteristics to Address

 Self-management. Refers to the team’s

ability to:
– set its own objectives
– coordinate its own activities
– resolve its own internal conflicts
 Participation. The degree to which all members of
the team are encouraged and allowed to participate in
decisions
 How do teams provide an opportunity to improve
motivation? Hint: Use the Job Characteristics Theory
Alternative Work
Arrangements
 Flexible
Flexible work
work  Benefits
Benefits to
to
arrangements
arrangements companies
companies ofof flexible
flexible
include: work
work programs:
programs:
include: – Higher
Higher recruitment
recruitment and
and
– Job
Job sharing
sharing retention
retention rates
rates
– Flextime – Improved
Improved morale
morale
Flextime
– Lower
Lower absenteeism
absenteeism and
and
– Telecommuting
Telecommuting tardiness
tardiness
– Virtual
Virtual teams
teams – Higher
Higher levels
levels of
of
employee
employee productivity
productivity