Module 5 Flashcards
What are Herzberg’s Principles of job design?
- Give employees as much control over the mechanism of task completion as possible.
- Hold employees accountable for their performance.
- Within limits, let employees set their own work pace.
- Design jobs so that employees experience accomplishments.
Design jobs so that employees lean new skills and work procedures
What is job enlargement?
Job enlargement is a method of job design that increases the number of work activities in a job to decrease the extent of boredom and over-specialization.
What is job rotation?
Job rotation advanced job enlargement by exposing workers to a variety of specialized jobs over time.
What is cross training?
Cross-training is a variation of job enlargement; employees are trained in different specialized work activities.
What is job enrichment?
Job enrichment (also referred to as Herzberg’s two-factor theory) proposes that jobs should also include motivational factors. The absence of motivating factors leads to the loss of employee initiative, increased work apathy and the cessation of creativity. However, this does not mean that employees are dissatisfied with their work, but simply that the absence of motivating factors (intrinsic factors, satisfiers) means that employees have no reason to form positive work expectations.
What are hygienes?
Hygienes are those factors that maintain a condition of ‘no dissatisfaction’. They include among others: • Salary • Job security • Working conditions • Status • Company procedures • Quality of supervision • Quality of interpersonal relations
What are the core job dimensions?
Skill Variety Task Identity Task Significance Social Opportunities Autonomy Feedback
What are the critical psychological states?
Experienced meaningfulness of work
Experienced responsibilities for work outcomes
Knowledge of work activities
What are personal and work outcomes?
High Internal work motivation
High quality performance
High job satisfaction
Low absenteeism and turnover
Outline vertical loading methods?
- Employees should be provided with direct feedback on their performance
- Employees should be given an opportunity to learn new skills
- Employees should be able to influence the scheduling of work
- Each job should be given some unique qualities which differentiate it from other jobs
- Employees should have control over job resources
- Personal accountability should be increased
What problems can occur in Job Design?
- Technology (technology requires machine pacing)
- Program start-up and maintenance cost
- Failure to consider employee preference
- Managerial and union resistance
What is Socio-technology systems theory?
Socio-technical systems theory integrates two opposing forces in the design of work: the scientific management and productivity emphasis on specialization, and the human needs and interpersonal relations aspects of the behavioral sciences concerned with human development in the workplace.
What are the considerations for setting up self directed teams?
- Creation of high performance norms
- Minimizing or channeling group conflict to useful ends
- Creating satisfying interpersonal relations
- Integrating characteristics of the technical work system in to the structure of the group
What are the guidelines for self directed teams?
- Team should be relatively small (8-20 people) so that group membership is psychologically meaningful
- If teams are to receive training it should be in work skill areas or cross-training. Team centered interventions, such as sensitivity training should be avoided as it may alter the group climate and effectiveness.
- Pay system should be structured so that the individual pay is based on the group performance.
- Role of the manager should switch from vertical liaison with higher management to horizontal integrator of teams.
- Team should have an expanding job range (authority to plan, organize and control work and responsibility for quality and quantity of it’s performance)
Explain participation in decision making?
Participation in decision making is a core element of job design. From an individual’s standpoint participation has three important features:
- Psychological involvement: when employees are involved in decision making, they are often absorbed in to what they are doing (more higher order needs are satisfied).
- Motivation to contribute: Participation encourages employees to make personal contributions to their organizations. Intrinsic rewards help employees internalize the motivation to contribute.
- Acceptance of authority: When employees experience greater control through participation, they become more willing to accept delegated authority.
