Monotony

JOB DESIGN IN ORGANIZATION

Work design is an important method managers It refers to the lack of change on the job of an
can us to enhance employee performance. When work employee that makes it boring.
design is addressed at the individual level, it is most
Boredom
commonly referred to as job design.
An employee experiences a state of being
Job Design weary and restless through lack of interes
- is defined as how an organization defines and
structure jobs. It is about understanding how to design
job for others in ways that will bring out the best in Job Characteristic Model (JCM)
them.
 JCM was developed by J. Richard Hackman
 Properly designed jobs can have a positive and Greg Oldham.
impact on the motivation performance and job  It describes any job in terms of five core job
satisfaction of those who perform them. dimensions.
 Poorly designed jobs can impair motivation,  See figure 1 in the last page.
performance and satisfaction.

Quotations:
Core Job Dimensions
1. “I love my job. You couldn’t pay me enough 1. Skill Variety
to do what I do.” The degree to which a job requires a variety of
2. “My works feeds me. I did not know I was different activities so the worker can use a number
capable of working so hard and enjoying it so of different skills and talents.
much.”
3. “I’ve been offered work at some of the top Example:
consumer good firms, but they can’t match the
excitement that surrounds my job and my The work of water refilling station owner-
unit.” operator who does refilling water, conveying
prospective clients and delivering the waters to his
Job is designed to foster excellence of the customers scores high on skill variety. The job of
employees and to have real and positive outcomes. The
a body shop worker who sprays paint 8 hours a
quotations provided above explains the big part of the
day scores low on this dimension.
rationale for why the organization should care about
how jobs are designed. 2. Task Identity
The degree to which a job requires completion of
Job Specialization a whole and identifiable piece of work.
-is the first widespread model of how an
individual work should be designed. It describes that Example:
job should be scientifically, broken down into small
components tasks and then standardized across all A cabinetmaker that designs s piece of
workers doing those jobs. furniture, selects the woods, builds the object, and
finishes it to perfection has a job that scores high
Example: on task identity. A job scoring low on this
A worker who applies safety decals to a piece dimension is a factory lathe solely to make table
of equipment as that equipment moves down an
legs.
assembly line is performing a specialized job.
3. Task Significance
 Job specialization can help improve the efficiency
of the employees, but it also promotes monotony
The degree to which a job affects the lives or
and boredom. work of the other people.

Chapter 8| Motivation: From Concept to Application 1

Example: - The employees experienced
meaningfulness of the work if skill variety,
The job of a nurse handling the diverse task identity and task significance are
needs patients in a hospital Intensive Care Unit present in the work of an individual.
(ICU) scores high on task significance, while the
job of janitors sweeping floors in a hospital scores
low. II. Experienced responsibility for work outcomes

4. Autonomy - The degree to which individuals feel

The degree to which a job provides the worker personally accountable ad responsible for the
freedom, independence and discretion in results of their work.
scheduling work and determining the produces in - The employees experienced
carrying it out. responsibility for work outcomes if
autonomy is present to the job of an
Example: employee.

A salesperson that schedules his or her

III. Knowledge of results
own work each day and decides on the most
effective sales approach for each customer -The degree to which individuals
without supervision has a highly autonomous job. continuously understand how effectively
A salesperson that is given a set of leads each day they are performing the job.
and is required to follow a standardized sales -In order for the employees to arrive on
script with each potential customer has a job low this psychological state, feedback must be
on autonomy. present on his or her job.

5. Feedback Implementing Concepts of JCM

The degree to which carrying out work activities
generates direct and clear information about the I. Combining tasks puts fractionalized tasks
employees’ performance. back together to form a new and larger
module work.
Example:

A job with high feedback is assembling II. Forming Natural Work Units makes an
iPads and testing them to see whether they operate employee’s tasks create identifiable and
properly. A factory worker that assembles iPads meaningful whole.
but then routes to a quality-control inspector for
testing and adjustments receives low feedback III. Establishing Client Relationships
from his or her activities. increases the direct relationships between
workers and their clients (clients can be
Critical Psychological States internal as well as outside the
These states are presumed to determine the organization).
extent to which characteristics of the job enhance
employee responses to the task. IV. Expanding Job Vertically gives
employees responsibilities and control
formerly reserved for management.
I. Experienced meaningfulness of the work
V. Opening Feedback Channels lets
- The degree to which the individual
employees know how well they are doing
experiences the job as generally
and whether their performance is
meaningful, valuable and worthwhile.

Chapter 8| Motivation: From Concept to Application 2

 improving, deteriorating, or remaining 4) Inserting the assembled pen into the
constant. box

 See figure 2 on the last page. One worker might perform step one,
 JCM proposes that individuals obtain internal another step two and so forth. When job rotation
rewards when they learn (knowledge of is introduced, the task themselves stay the same.
results) that they personally (experienced However, the workers who perform them are
responsibility) have performed well on task systematically rotated across the various tasks.
that they care about (experienced
meaningfulness). Example:
 The more these three psychological states are
present, the greater will be employee’s Jones, starts out with task 1 (testing ink
motivation, performance and satisfaction and cartridges). On regular basis – perhaps weekly or
lower their absenteeism and likelihood of monthly – he is systematically rotated to task 2, to
leaving. task 3, to task 4, and to task 1. Angel, who starts
 To be high on motivating potential, jobs must out on task 2 (inserting the cartridges into the
be high on at least one of the 3 factors that barrel of the pen) rotates ahead of jones to task 3,
lead to experienced meaningfulness and high 4, 1, and back to 2.
on both autonomy and feedback.
 Individuals with high growth need are more Strengths:
likely to experience the critical psychological o It reduces boredom, increases motivation,
states when their jobs are enriched – and and helps employees better understand
respond to them more positively – than are how their work contributes to the
their counterparts with low growth need. organization.
 People with strong needs for personal growth o An indirect benefit is that employees with
and development will be especially motivated a wider range of skills give management
by the 5 core job characteristics/dimensions more flexibility in scheduling work,
and vice versa. adapting changes, and filling vacancies.
Weaknesses:
Alternatives for Job Specialization o Narrowly defined, routine jobs. If a
rotation takes workers through the same
Job Rotation (Cross-training) old jobs, workers simply experience
 Involves systematically shifting several routine and boring jobs instead of
workers from one job to another to one.
sustain their motivation and interest. o Rotation may also decrease efficiency; it
Under specialization, each task is clearly sacrifices the proficiency and
broken down into small parts. expertise that grow from specialization.
o Also, training expense of the organization
Example: increases.
Assembling fine writing pens might o Creates disruption when members of the
involve four discrete steps: work group have to adjust to the new
employee.
1) Testing ink cartridge o Supervisors may also have to spend more
2) Inserting the cartridge into the barrel of time answering questions and monitoring
the pen the work of recently rotated employees.
3) Screwing the cap onto the barrel

Chapter 8| Motivation: From Concept to Application 3

Job Enlargement (Horizontal Job Loading) organizations today are experimenting with a
 Expanding a worker’s job to include variety of flexible work arrangements. These
tasks previously performed by the arrangements are generally intended to enhance
other workers. employee motivation and performance by giving
 The logic behind this change is that the workers more flexibility about how and when they
increased number of tasks in each job work.
reduces monotony and boredom.
Example: Compressed Work Schedule
If the job enlargement were introduced at  An employee following this kind of work
the factory of fine writing pens, the 4 tasks note schedule works for a full forty-hour week
above might be combined into two “larger” ones. in fewer than the traditional five days.
 More typically, this schedule involves
 One set of workers might test cartridges working ten hours a day for four days,
and then insert them into the barrels ( Old leaving an extra day off.
step 1 & 2)  Another alternative is for employees to
 Another set of workers might then attach work slightly less than ten hours a day but
caps to the barrels and put the pens into to complete the forty hours by lunch time
the boxes (Old step 3 & 4) on Friday.

Weaknesses: Weaknesses:
o If the entire production sequence consider o Everyone in the organization is off at the
consisted of simple, easy-to-master tasks, same time, the firm may have no one on
merely doing more of them did not duty to handle problems or deal with
significantly change the worker’s job. outsiders on the day off.
Example, task of putting two bolts on a o If the company staggers day off across the
piece of machinery was “enlarged” to workforce, people who don’t get the more
putting on three and connecting two wires, desirable day offs (Monday and Friday)
for example, the monotony of the original may be jealous or resentful.
job essentially remained. o When employees put in too much time in a
single day, they tend to get tired and
perform at a lower level later in the day.
Job Enrichment (Vertical Job Loading)
 Relies not only adding more tasks to a job, A popular schedule some organizations are
as in horizontal loading, but also giving beginning to use is called a “nine-eighty”
the employee more control over those schedule.
tasks. Nine-eighty Schedule

Example: - An employee works a traditional

This technique was used in janitorial jobs. schedule one week and a compressed
The company had given janitors more control over schedule the next, getting every other
their schedules and let them sequence their own Friday off. That is, they work eighty hours
cleaning jobs and purchase their own supplies. (equivalent of two weeks of full-time
work) in nine days. By alternating the
regular and compressed schedules across
FLEXIBLE WORK ARRANGEMENTS half of its workforce, the organization is
Beyond the actual redesigning of jobs and staffed at all times but still gives
the use of employee involvement, many

Chapter 8| Motivation: From Concept to Application 4

 employees two additional full days off another is high and there are efficiencies
each month. associated with having a small workforce.

Flexible Work Schedules (Flextime) Example:

 Gives employees less say about what days
they work but more personal control over KBR is a large defense contractor that
the times when they work on those days. manages U.S. military installations in
 Work day is broken down into two foreign countries. Employees handle
categories: maintenance, logistics, and
communications, as well as food, laundry,
Flexible Time and mail services among other things. The
-employees can choose their own schedule typical work schedule of the worker is 12
during this time. hours a day, 7 days a week.
Core Time
-all employees must be at their work In order to motivate employees to
stations during this time. accept and maintain this kind of schedule,
the firm pays them a compensation
Strengths: premium plus provides them with 16 days
o Workers get to tailor their workday to fit of paid vacation and an airline ticket to
their personal needs. any major destination in the world after
Example: 120-day work period.

1) A person who needs to visit the dentist Job Sharing

in the late afternoon can start work  Two-part time employees share one full-
early. time job.
2) A person who stays late at night can  An employment arrangement where
start work late next day. typically two people are retained on a part-
3) A person who needs to run some time od reduced-time basis to perform a
errands during lunch can take a longer job normally fulfilled by one person
midday break. working full-time.
 It allows an organization to draw on the
Weaknesses: talents of more than one individual in a
o More difficult to manage because others in given job it increases flexibility. It can
the organization may not be sure when a increase motivation and satisfaction for
person will be available for meeting other those to whom a 40 hour a week job is just
than during the core time. not practical.
o Expenses such as utilities will also be
higher since the organization must remain Strengths
open for a longer period each day. o For employees seeking more free time for
themselves, job sharing may be a way to
Extended Work Schedules take back control of their personal lives.
 Requires relatively long periods of work Employees who job share frequently
followed by relatively long periods of attribute their decision to “quality of life”
paid time off. issues
 This schedule is often used when the cost Weaknesses
of transitioning from one worker to o Conflicting decisions due to poor
communication between the job sharers.
Chapter 8| Motivation: From Concept to Application 5
 o There may be confusion from clients who other activities that requires face-to-face
have deal with two separate people. contact.

Telecommuting
EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT
 Allowing employees to spend part of their a participative process that uses the entire
time working off-site, usually at home. capacity of the employees and is designed to
 By using email, web interfaces and other encourage increased commitment to the
technology, many employees can maintain organization’s success.
close contact with their organization and
do as much work at home as they could in 2 TWO MAJOR FORMS
their offices.
 The increased power and sophistication of Participative Management
modern communication technology –  Subordinates share a significant degree of
laptops and smart phones, among others – decision making power with their
is making telecommuting easier and easier. immediate superiors.
 Other terms used to describe this concept
Quality Circle
are e-commuting, virtual office and
A work group of employees, who meet
working from home.
regularly to discuss the quality problems,
Strengths: investigate causes, recommend solutions, and take
corrective actions.
o Many employees like telecommuting
because it gives them added flexibility. 1or Representative Participation
2 days a week at home, they have the same  Workers participate in organizational
kind of flexibility to manage personal decision making through a small groups of
activities. representative employees.
o Employees feel that they get more work
done by staying at home because they are 2 forms of representative participation
less likely to be interrupted.
o This can reduce absenteeism and turnover I. Work Councils
since employees will need to take less -Groups of nominated employees who
“formal” time off. must be consulted when management makes
o Organization can save facilities such as decisions about personnel.
parking spaces, because fewer people will
be at work on any given day. II. Board Representative
o There is also an environmental benefit, A form of representative participation;
given that fewer cars are on the highways. employees sit on a company’s board of
directors and represent the interests of the
Weaknesses: firm’s employees.
o Some feel isolated and miss the social
interaction of the workplace. INDIVIDUAL REWARDS IN
o Other simply lack self-control and
discipline to walk away from the breakfast ORGANIZATION
table to their desk and start working. Reward system consist of all
o Managers may also encounter coordination organizational components - including people,
difficulties in scheduling meeting and processes, rules and procedures, decision-making

Chapter 8| Motivation: From Concept to Application 6

activities - involved in allocating compensation  Higher attrition rate
and benefits to employees in exchange for their
contribution to the organization. Rewards 2. How to pay: Rewarding Individual
constitute may inducements that organizations Employees through Variable Pay
provide to employees as their part of the Programs
psychological contract, for example. Rewards also
satisfy some of the needs employees attempt to  A pay plan that bases a portion of an
employee's pay on some individual and/or
meet through their choice of work-related
organizational measure of performance
behaviors.
2.1 Piece-rate pay
1. What to pay: Establishing a pay structure
 A pay plan in which workers are paid a
2. How to pay: Rewarding Individual Employees fixed sum for each unit of production
through Variable Pay Programs completed.
 Production or Factory Workers
a) Piece-rate pay  No base salary
b) Merit-based pay  Not feasible for all jobs
c) Bonuses
d) Skill-based pay 2.2 Merit-based pay:
e) Profit-sharing plans
f) Gain sharing  A pay plan based on performance
g) Employee Stock Ownership Plans appraisal ratings.

3. Flexible Benefits: Developing a Benefits Strengths:

Package
o Performers can be given bigger raises,
4. Intrinsic Rewards: Employee Recognition motivated and retained.
Program o If designed correctly, merit based plans let
individuals perceive a strong relationship
between their performance and the rewards
they receive.
1. What to pay: Establishing a Pay
Structure Weaknesses:
o They are typically based on an annual
 The process of initially setting pay levels performance appraisal, and thus are only
entails balancing internal equity and as valid as the performance ratings.
external equity. o The pay-raise fluctuates on economic or
other conditions that have very little to do
Internal Equity - The worth of the job to the with individual performance.
organization (established through job evaluation) o Unions typically resist merit-based pay
plans
External Equity - The external competitiveness
of an organization's pay relative to pay elsewhere 2.3 Bonuses
in the industry (usually established through pay
surveys)  A pay plan that rewards employees for
recent performance rather than historical
If you pay more performance.
 Better qualified employees Strengths:
 Attrition rate is lesser
 But Higher Operating Cost o The incentive effects of performance
bonuses should be higher than those of
If you pay below the market merit pay because, rather than paying for
performance years ago (that was rolled
 Lower operating cost
 Lesser qualified employees
Chapter 8| Motivation: From Concept to Application 7
 into base pay), bonuses rewards recent o Employees in a gainsharing plan can
performance. receive rewards even when the
organization isn't profitable. 。Because
Weaknesses: the benefits accrue to groups of workers,
o Pay is more vulnerable to cuts when high performing workers pressure weaker
bonuses are a large percentage of total pay performers to work harder, improving
or when employees come to take bonuses performance for the group as a whole.
for granted. 2.7 Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOP)
2.4 Skill-based pay  A company established benefits plan in
 A pay plan that sets pay levels on the basis which employees acquire stock, often at
of how many skills employees have or below market prices, as part of their
how many jobs they can do. benefits.
 。Research on ESOPs indicates they
Strengths: increase employee satisfaction
 。But their impact on performance is less
o They increase the flexibility of the
clear
workforce.
o Facilitates communication across the
organization as people gain a better
3. Flexible Benefits
understanding of each other’s' jobs.
 A benefits plan that allows each employee
Weaknesses: to put together a benefits package
individually tailored to his or her own
o People can "top out" - i.e. they can learn needs and situation.
all the skills the program offers and can  。A standardized benefits package would
get them frustrated with nothing new to be unlikely to meet the needs of both of
learn. 。The skills may not be monetizable them.
but the company may be shelling out extra
to the employees who have acquired the 3 POPULAR TYPES
new skills. 。Level of productivity is not 1. Modular plans
addressed. They deal only with whether
someone can perform the skill.  Predesigned packages or modules of
benefits, each of which meets the needs of
2.5 Profit-sharing plans specific groups of employees.
 An organization-wide program that  A module designed for single employees
distributes compensation based on some with no dependents might include only
established formula designed around a essential benefits.
company's profitability.  A module designed for single parents
 Can be direct cash outlays or for top might have additional life insurance,
managers - ESOPs disability insurance and expanded health
 Greater psychological ownership coverage.

2.6 Gainsharing 2. Core-plus plans

 A formula-based group incentive plan.  -Consist of a CORE of essential benefits

 Popular among large manufacturing and a menu-like selection of others from
companies which employees can select.
 Typically, each employee is given benefit
How is gainsharing different from credits, which allow the "purchase" of
profitsharing? additional benefits that uniquely meet his
or her needs.
o It ties reward to productivity rather than
profits 3. Flexible Spending Plans

Chapter 8| Motivation: From Concept to Application 8

  Allow employees to set aside pretax  https://www.academia.edu/9537059/Chapt
money up to the amount offered in the er_8._Motivation_From_Concept_to_Appl
plan to pay for particular benefits, such as ications
healthcare premiums.
 Take home pay is increased as taxes are  Motivation: From Concept to Application
not levied on the money spent on these (2012), Pearson Education Inc. Publishing,
heads. pp. 90-103
 Dutton J.E. (2003), Human Behavior in
4. Intrinsic Rewards: Employee Organization ,Fostering Excellence
Recognition Programs Through Motivation and Rewards,
University of Michigan, pp. 46-58
Important work rewards can be intrinsic and/or
extrinsic
Intrinsic: Employee Recognition Programs
Extrinsic: Compensation systems
 Can range from a spontaneous THANK
YOU to widely publicized formal
programs in which specific types of
behavior are encouraged and the
procedures for attaining recognition are
clearly identified.
 Some research suggests financial
incentives may be more motivating in the
short term but in the long run is non-
financial incentives.

Advantage
o Inexpensive since praise is free
o Can be applied to jobs for which
performance factors are relatively
objective, such as sales.

Disadvantage
o Susceptible to abuse
o In most jobs, the criteria for good
performance aren't self-evident, which
allows managers to manipulate the system
and recognize their favorites.

References:

 Robbins S., & Judge T. (2011).

Organizational Behavior, 14th Edition.
Person Inc.
 Griffin R., & Moorhead G. (2012) Human
Behavior in Organization , pp. 151-176

Chapter 8| Motivation: From Concept to Application 9

 Figure 1: Job Characteristic Model

Figure 2: Extended Job Characteristic Model

Chapter 8| Motivation: From Concept to Application 10