jobs and the design of work · beyond the book: the work design questionnaire •the work design...

14Jobs and the

Design of Work

Copyright ©2017 Cengage Learning. Al l Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or

dupl icated, or posted to a publ icly accessible website, in whole or in part.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

2Copyright ©2017 Cengage Learning. Al l Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or dupl icated, or posted to a publ icly acce ssible website, in whole or in part. ORBG5 | CH14

1 Differentiate between job and work

2 Discuss the traditional approaches to job design

3 Identify and describe alternative approaches to job design

4 Identify and describe contemporary issues facing organizations in the design of work


Differentiate Between Job and Work

LO - 14.1


Job Versus Work

Job

• Set of specified work and task activities that engage an individual in an organization

• Not the same as organizational position, career, and work

Work

• Mental or physical activity that has productive results

• Meaning of work

• Way a person interprets and understands the value of work as part of life


Discuss the Traditional Approaches to Job

Design

LO - 14.2


Scientific Management

• Stresses on work simplification• Work simplification: Standardization and the

narrow, explicit specification of task activities for workers

• Jobs have limited number of scientifically-designed tasks

• Elements focus on the efficient use of labor to the economic benefit of the firm


Job Enlargement

• To overcome the boredom of overspecialized work and the difficulty of coordinating work

Increases the number of activities in a job

• Job rotation: Exposes a worker to a variety of specialized job tasks over time

• Cross-training: Workers are trained in different specialized tasks or activities

Variations


Job Enrichment

Designing or redesigning a job by incorporating motivational factors into it

Increases the amount of job responsibility through vertical loading

Recommends increasing the recognition, responsibility, and opportunity for achievement


Job Characteristics Theory

Person-job fit model

Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS)

Emphasizes the interaction between the individual and specific attributes of the job

Motivating Potential

Score (MPS)

Indicates a job’s potential for motivating incumbents

Measures the elements in the Job Characteristics Model

10

Figure

Copyright ©2017 Cengage Learning. Al l Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or dupl icated, or posted to a publ icly acce ssible website, in whole or in part. ORBG5 | CH14

14.1 Job Characteristics Model


Identify and Describe Alternative

Approaches to Job Design

LO - 14.3


Social Information Processing (SIP) Model

• Emphasizes the interpersonal aspects of work design

• Based on following premises: • People provide cues required to understand the

work environment

• People help judge what is important in their jobs

• People tell how they see their jobs

• People’s positive and negative feedback helps one understand their feelings about their jobs

13

Table


14.2 Summary of Outcomes from Various Job

Design Approaches


International Perspectives on the Design of

Work: The Japanese Approach

• Using committed employees with ever expanding responsibilities to achieve:

• Zero waste and 100 percent good product

• On time delivery every time

Lean production

• Giving equal attention to technical and social considerations in job design

Sociotechnical systems (STS)


Beyond the Book: Lean Production to the

Rescue

• Manufacturing companies in the U.S. are turning to lean production methods to stay profitable during the recession.

• The method involves producing only what is ordered, reducing inventory, and making each part in an uninterrupted flow.

• 61% of manufacturers have adopted lean production methods or plan to do so within the next year.



Work: The German Approach

Technocentric: Placing technology and engineering at the center of job design decisions

Traditional approach

Anthropocentric: Placing human considerations at the center of job design decisions

Recent approach



Work: The Scandinavian Approach

Encourages a high degree of worker control

Encourages good social support systems for workers

18

Table


14.3 Adjusting Work Design Parameters


Identify and Describe Contemporary Issues

Facing Organizations in the Design of Work

LO - 14.4


Emerging Issues in the Design of Work

• Working in other locations separate from the company’s main location

• Helps achieve a better fit between the needs of an employee and the organization’s task demands

Telecommuting

• Job sharing: More than one person performs the job

• Four-day workweek

• Flextime: Enables employees to set their own daily work schedules

Alternative work patterns


Contemporary Issues in the Design of Work

• Mobile platform of computer, telecommunication, and information technology and services

• Drawbacks

• Lack of social connection

• Technostress: Stress caused by new and advancing technologies in the workplace

Virtual office

• Technical and interpersonal skills are important

• Work design must recognize the importance of incumbent skills and abilities to meet the demands of the work

Skill development


Beyond the Book: The Work Design

Questionnaire

• The Work Design Questionnaire was created to fill gaps in existing work-characteristics assessments and integrate their data.

• Results from the questionnaire found that both motivational work characteristics and social support played a strong role in predicting job satisfaction.


Tyler Perry’s Daddy’s Little Girls

• This chapter opened with a discussion of “job” and “work.” Apply that discussion to the film sequence. Include in your analysis the pattern of social interaction between Monty and Julia.

• Apply the job characteristics theory to the film sequence. What is the level of each core job characteristic for Monty’s job?

• Estimate the levels of each critical psychological state for Monty. Use Figure 14.1, “The Job Characteristics Model,” as a guide. Use “low,” “middle,” or “high” for your estimate.


Camp Bow Wow

• How do the tasks of managers and camp counselors differ at Camp Bow Wow?

• How does Camp Bow Wow utilize a form of job rotation to keep camp counselors satisfied with their jobs?

• Using the job characteristics model, explain why the employees of Camp Bow Wow love their jobs.

KEY TERMS


• Anthropocentric

• Cross-training

• Engagement

• Ergonomics

• Flexitime

• Job

• Job Characteristic Model

• Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS)

• Job enlargement

• Job enrichment

• Job rotation

• Job sharing

• Lean production

• Meaning of work

• Social information-processing (SIP) model

• Sociotechnical systems (STS)

• Technocentric

• Technostress

• Virtual office

• Work

• Work simplification

SUMMARY


• Job is a set of specified work and task activities that one engages in within an organization• Work is mental or physical activity that has

productive result

• Traditional approaches to job design are:• Scientific management, job enlargement/job

rotation, job enrichment, and job characteristics theory

SUMMARY


• Alternative approaches to Job design include:• Social information processing

• Ergonomics and interdisciplinary framework

• International perspectives on the design of work

• Work design and well-being

• Contemporary issues in the designs of work• Telecommuting, alternative work patterns,

technology at work, and skill development

jobs and the design of work · beyond the book: the work design questionnaire •the work design...

Documents