Foundations Of Senior Management

Managing People - A Broad View
Managing People - Core functions

Job Design

Psychological health

  • productivity
     
  • financial performance
     

Poorly designed

  • Low job satisfaction
     
  • Poor psychological health
     
    • Physical health
       
  • decreased job performance
     
  • increased abseteeism
     
  • increased staff turnover
     
  • increased accidents
     
  • lower organisational commitment
     
  • decreased motivation
     
  • clinical anxiety
     
  • depression
     

Good design

  • Potential benefits to employees
     
    • more interesting work
       
    • scope for development
       
    • more autonomy
       
    • companionship & team pride
       
    • share in any benefits to employers
       
      • e.g. higher pay
         
  • Potential benifits to management
     
    • better working methods
       
      • increased motivation
         
        • better quality
           
        • reduced abscence
           
        • lower turnover of staff
           
        • more flexibility
           
        • higher productivity
           
        • improved performance
           
  • organizational benefits
     
    • higher level of commitment to organization
       
    • improved industrial relations climate
       
    • organizational growth
       

Characteristics

  • ergonomics
     
  • Peter Warr
     
    • Kabanoff 1980
       
      • spill-over
         
        • positive carry-over
           
          • home
             
            • cheerful
               
            • emotionally available
               
            • interpersonally available
               
        • negative carry-over
           
          • displacing potential for positive family interactions
             
          • Irritability
             
          • non-responsiveness
             
          • disengagement
             
        • Piotrkowski
           
          • energy deficit
             
            • slowed down
               
            • beat
               
            • lifeless
               
            • lazy
               
            • worn dowm
               
            • dead
               
            • disconnected
               
      • compensation
         
  • Stress
     
    • strain
       
      • peoples responses
         
    • stressors
       
      • environmental features
         
      • objective
         
        • others
           
      • subjective
         
        • individual perception
           

Job characteristics & satisfaction

  • intrinsic
     
    • freedom to choose how
       
    • responsibility
       
    • skill requirements
       
    • variety
       
  • extrinsic
     
    • pay
       
    • working conditions
       
    • hours of work
       
    • industrial relations procedures
       
    • job security
       
    • etc.
       
  • Herzberg (1966)
     
    • Job satisfaction
       
      • intrinsic
         
    • Job dissatisfaction
       
      • inadequate work conditions
         
      • supervision
         
      • administrative procedures
         
      • extrinsic
         
  • Core job dimensions
     
    • skill variety
       
    • task identity
       
    • task significance
       
    • autonomy
       
    • feedback
       
  • Socio-technical systems
     
    • Trist et al
       
      • technological elements
         
        • formal task
           
        • physical conditions
           
        • layout of work equipment
           
      • social networks
         

Nine principle job features

  • Opportunity for control
     
    • autonomy
       
    • discretion
       
    • influence
       
    • power
       
    • participation in decision making
       
    • decision latitude
       
  • Opportunity for skill use
     
    • use skills
       
    • extend skills
       
  • Goals and task demands
     
    • Intrinsic job demands
       
      • externally generated goals
         
      • low level
         
        • sensory deprevation!
           
      • high level
         
        • overload
           
    • Extrinsic demands
       
      • job setting
         
    • Task identity and traction
       
      • Task identity
         
        • coherent
           
        • structure
           
        • smooth goal attainment
           
      • Traction
         
        • Pulled along by activity
           
    • Time demands
       
      • Conflict in time demands
         
      • amount
         
      • pattern
         
  • Variety
     
    • moderate
       
    • low level
       
      • irritation
         
      • less calmness
         
  • Environmental clarity
     
    • Ability to understand
       
      • predictability
         
    • Info about results of behaviour
       
      • personal control
         
      • utilisation of skills
         
      • task feedback
         
        • computer systems!
           
    • Info about future
       
      • career development
         
      • job security
         
    • Info about required behaviour
       
      • reward
         
      • punishment
         
  • Availability of money
     
    • standard of living
       
    • Needs
       
  • Physical Security
     
    • Physical threat
       
    • Working conditions
       
      • bad light
         
      • dangerous equipment
         
      • excessive heat
         
      • etc.
         
  • Opportunity for interpersonal contact
     
    • Friendship opportunities
       
    • support from co-workers
       
    • support from boss
       
    • Privacy
       
      • Personal space
         
  • Valued social position
     
    • esteem
       
    • prestige
       

Redesigning jobs

  • job rotation
     
    • increases variety
       
    • greater use of skills
       
    • wider view
       
    • can be disruptive
       
  • job enlargement
     
  • job enrichment
     
    • Herzberg (1992)
       
      • increased level of responsibility
         
      • Remove some controls while retaining accountability
         
        • Responsibility and personal achievement
           
      • Increase accountability for own work
         
        • Responsibility and recognition
           
      • Give complete natural unit of work
         
        • Responsibility, achievement and recognition
           
      • Grant additional authority
         
        • Responsibility, achievement and recognition
           
      • Make periodic reports available to worker
         
        • Internal recognition
           
      • Introduce new more difficult tasks
         
        • Growth and learning
           
      • Assign specific / specialised tasks (Experts)
         
        • Responsibility, growth and learning
           
  • Quality Circles
     
    • voluntary membership
       
    • five to ten members
       
    • selects problems to solve and how to solve them
       
    • trained
       
      • communication
         
      • problem solving
         
      • quality control
         
      • group dynamics
         
    • recomends solutions to management
       
      • may implement solutions
         
    • Mullins (1993)
       
      • commitment and support from top management
         
      • full consultation with staff
         
      • all management levels adopt particapative approach
         
      • delegation
         
        • decision making
           
        • consultation
           
        • negotiation
           
      • Trust and goodwill
         
        • within group
           
        • between group and management
           
      • support from unions / staff reps
         
      • training is effective
         
      • continuous monitoring and reviewing of results
         
  • Self managing teams
     
    • management
       
      • resources
         
      • training
         
      • strategic information
         
    • job rotation
       
    • job enlargement
       
    • job enrichment
       
    • control
       
    • social contact
       
    • middle management free to persue operational objectives
       
      • Senior management free to persue strategic objectives
         

Please send your comments to webmaster@churcher.com. This document was updated 17/11/98.