5.9 Meaningful job design  (Page 2/2)

More effective jobs can be created when specific goals are established. Goal setting theory as described by Edwin Locke mainly focuses on the motivational properties of task goals (Schermerhorn, Job Design Alternatives, 2006). Task goals can be highly motivating when set and managed properly. One of the problems with goal setting theory in job design is that individuals are more strongly motivated by establishing or setting their own personal goals. If organizations set these goals for their employees the effectiveness of this technique is diminished. Moreover, individuals are often times ineffective at setting personal goals (Godwin, Neck,&Houghton, 1999). If a company wants to implement goal setting theory with regards to job design than a reasonable job criteria and description must be established.

Current approaches to job design

Technology and the flattening of the global economy have contributed greatly to the changes we now see in jobs and job content across the world. This shift is a signal for employers to meet changing job demands and expectations (McDonald&Obenchain, 2003). We now recognize that a person presented with quality meaningful work is more likely to do that work well. Because of this insight, job design now presently takes a couple of prominent forms.

The first of which is designed around the evolution from individual work to work-groups. This job design practice is called socio-technical systems (STS) approach. This approach has the following guiding principles:

• The design of the organization must fit its goals.
• Employees must be actively involved in designing the structure of the organization.
• Control of variances in production or service must be undertaken as close to their source as possible.
• Subsystems must be designed around relatively self-contained and recognizable units of work.
• Support systems must fit in with the design of the organization.
• The design should allow for a high quality of working life.
• Changes should continue to be made as necessary to meet the changing environmental pressures (Accel Team)

Click here to read more about soci-technial systems approach to job design.

Another modern job design theory is the Job Characteristics Model ( JCM ), which maintains five important elements that motivate workers and performance: skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and job feedback. The individual elements are then proposed to lead to positive outcomes through three psychological states: experienced meaningfulness, experienced responsibility, and the knowledge of results (Parker&Turner, 2002).

A further evolution of this theory is Psychological Empowerment Theory (Spreitzer, 1995). This theory posits that there is a distinction between empowering practices and cognitive motivational states. When a person is aware of the impact that they are having, they benefit more than if they cannot relate a positive impact to any of their behaviors or practices.

There are many more iterations of job design theory that have evolved from the practices of previous generations, but one general trend can be identified among them; the move towards autonomous work teams and the importance placed upon the meaning derived from the individual.

Steps to effective job design

Key to effectively crafting a meaningful job for an employee is starting the thought process by looking at the values and strategy of the organization. By framing the job in these contexts the job design process is more likely to align potential employees with the purpose of the company. Once you have this context the following steps will ensure both meaningful and effective job design:

1. Assess skills, needs, abilities, and motivations of employees and the organization.
2. Design the job to meet those needs, abilities and motivations.
3. Implement the new job design.
4. Audit the success of the job design and begin with step one periodically as well as when problems have been identified.

How meaningful job design can impact an organization

The goal of job design is to positively affect the performance of an organization. “It (job design) affects how well employees coordinate their work, the degree to which they are committed to the goals of the organization, the extent to which their abilities are tapped, and the extent to which their psychological and ergonomic needs are met” (Beer, Spector, Lawrence, Mills,&Walton, 1984). As this quote shows, job design is the base element for producing effective work organizations, and without meaningful job design, an organization will never operate to its potential.