Job design What is job design and why

Job design What is job design and why is it important? n What are the approaches used in designing jobs? n

Job design What is a job? n What is job design? n Job design approaches n u Scientific management approaches. u Psychological approaches.

Scientific management approach A. K. A. as industrial engineering. n Focus on efficiency. n Job simplification is one method. n

Psychological approach n Motivation results from work that provides intrinsic rewards. u These rewards satisfy higher-order needs of esteem and growth. n The job characteristics model follows the psychological approach to work redesign (see Exhibit 14. 8). u Core job dimensions u Critical psychological states/outcomes u Employee growth-need strength.

Core job dimensions n Examine job traits to determine job’s motivational potential. u Skill variety u Task identity u Task significance u Autonomy u Feedback

Skill variety Number of different skills and talents required. n Job rotation is one method. n

Task identity Degree to which an employee performs a total job with a recognizable beginning and end. n Job enlargement is one method. n

Task significance Degree to which the job is perceived as important and having impact on the company or consumers. n Job enlargement can also increase task significance. n

Autonomy Degree to which the worker has freedom, discretion, and self-determination in planning and carrying out tasks. n One method that attempts to increase job autonomy is job enrichment. n

Feedback The extent to which the job provides information back to the employee about his/ her performance. n When job design itself cannot provide direct feedback, need to obtain feedback from supervisors or peers. n

Critical psychological states/outcomes n Intrinsic rewards from job traits u Skill variety, task identity, and task significance-> experienced meaningfulness of work. u Autonomy -> experienced responsibility. u Feedback -> knowledge of work results. n The psychological states leads to personal and work outcomes

Employee growth-need strength u Moderating factor: people have different needs for growth and development.