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Date Submitted: 03/24/2009 06:07 AM
13 JOBS AND THE DESIGN OF WORK
key terms
Chapter 13 introduces the following key terms:
job
work
meaning of work
work simplification
job enlargement
job rotation
cross-training
job enrichment
Job Characteristics Model
Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS)
social information-processing (SIP) model
lean production
sociotechnical systems (STS)
technocentric
anthropocentric
job sharing
flextime
virtual office
technostress
task revision
counter-role-behavior
I. WORK IN ORGANIZATIONS
Work is effortful, productive activity that results in a product or service. Work plays an important role in connecting people to reality. Work is organized into jobs, and people get work done through sets of task and authority relationships that make up organizations.
A. The Meaning of Work
The meaning of work differs from person to person, and from culture to culture. One recent study found six patterns people follow in defining work that help explain the cultural differences in people’s motivation to work. Nevertheless, people in many cultures seem to make a similar distinction between the nature of their work and the context in which they perform the work.
B. Jobs in Organizations
Jobs are the basic building block of the task and authority relationships that define an organization's structure. Differentiation is the process of subdividing organizational work into jobs. Integration is the process of connecting jobs into a coordinated, cohesive whole. Jobs are interdependent and require careful planning and design.
II. TRADITIONAL APPROACHES TO JOB DESIGN
Failure to differentiate, integrate, or both may result in poorly designed jobs, which may lead to performance problems. In contrast, well-designed jobs improve productivity and enhance employee satisfaction. Four approaches to job design developed during the twentieth century include scientific management, job enlargement/job rotation, job enrichment, and the job...