1 Concept of Job Design
- Contents + methods + relationships of jobs
- Meets technological/organisational and social/personal needs
- Cuts dissatisfaction & alienation; non-monetary rewards
- Follows job analysis
- Integrates individual needs ↔ org requirements
Armstrong: contents, methods, relationships
Evolution: Industrial Revolution → Ford assembly line & Taylor → Hawthorne (Mayo) → Socio-technical → Herzberg 1960s → Hackman & Oldham 1970s → job crafting, agile
2 Engineering Approach
F.W. Taylor · tasks planned a day ahead · specialisation = hallmark
7 principles
FragmentationTechnologyStandardisation (time & motion)SpecialisationTrainingResponsibilityMonetary incentives
Walker & Guest: 5 problems
- Repetition · Mechanical pacing
- No end product · Little social interaction · No input
3 Human Approach (Herzberg)
- Design jobs around people, not processes
- Main tool: job enrichment
| Motivators | achievement, work itself, responsibility, growth |
| Hygiene | conditions, policies, salary: absence = dissatisfaction |
Clinical: Hygiene = normal K+. Nobody improves because of it, but a low one wrecks everything. Motivators are the therapy.
4 Job Characteristics (Hackman & Oldham)
Skill varietyTask identityTask significanceAutonomyFeedback
MPS = (SV + TI + TS) ÷ 3 × Autonomy × Feedback
Zero autonomy or feedback = zero MPS.
Study Notes adds: Socio-Technical Systems (social + technical), motivational approaches, job crafting, agile design
Trap: 3rd approach is Job Characteristics, not "practical". JCM has five dimensions.
5 Factors Affecting
| Organisational | work nature · ergonomics · workflow · culture |
| Environmental | employee abilities & availability (Henry Ford) · socio-economic expectations |
| Behavioural | autonomy · feedback · diversity · use of skills |
Study Notes: goals & strategy · task characteristics · employee preferences · technology · work environment · legal & ethical
6 Rotation & Simplification
Job rotation
- Move across jobs in a group; variety, multi-skill
- Downside: interruption, alienation, cost
- Linked to succession planning
Job simplification
- Split into subparts, no training · Taylor → Ford
- 5 steps · ECRS: Eliminate, Combine, Rearrange, Simplify
7 Enlargement vs Enrichment
| Enlarge | Horizontal · more tasks · breadth · boredom ↓ · more supervision · job creep |
| Enrich | Vertical · more authority · depth · challenge · self-directed |
Enrichment interventions
Natural work unitsCombining tasks (Corning +84%)Quality circles = KaizenSuggestion programsTask teams (US Navy)FeedbackAutonomyPurpose (Deci & Ryan)Client relationshipsVertical loadingHorizontal loading
Fein (1986): enrichment matters less for blue-collar workers
8 Teams · Ergonomics · Traps
Self-managed teams: autonomy, shared leadership, high accountability, continuous improvement
| Physical | posture, movement |
| Cognitive | mental workload, decisions, info presentation |
| Organisational | = sociotechnical systems |
- Enlargement = expanding tasks
- Direct feedback = enrichment
- Enlarge ≠ enrich · ergonomics ≠ physical only