IP 348 Ch8

Job design

suggests that the way elements in a job are organised can influence employee effort

Job Characteristics Model

posits that any job can be systematically described across five core job dimensions.

How the five core job dimensions drive personal and organisational outcomes

the dimensions interact with cognitive and psychological processes to produce critical psychological states

Five core job dimensions

skill variety

task identity

task significance

autonomy

feedback

Critical psychological state produced from skill variety, task identity, and task significance

experienced meaningfulness of the work

Personal and work outcomes

high internal work motivation

high-quality work performance

high satisfaction with the work

low absenteeism and turnover

Critical psychological state produced by autonomy

experienced responsibility for outcomes of the work

Critical psychological state produced by feedback

knowledge of the actual result of the work activities

Skill variety

the degree to which a job requires different activities and multiple skills, talents, and capabilities

Task identity

the degree to which a job involves completing a whole, identifiable piece of work from beginning to end

Task significance

the degree to which a job has a substantial impact on other people’s lives, health, and safety or well-being

Autonomy

the degree to which an employee has independence and freedom to schedule, prioritise, and decide how to perform tasks

Feedback

the degree to which performing a job provides clear, direct information about the quality and effectiveness of one’s performance

Job Redesign methods

job rotation

job enrichment

relational job design

Job rotation

periodically moving employees between different tasks with similar skill requirements at the same organisational level

Job redesign

changing job structure to improve employee motivation when work is repetitive, standardised, or micromanaged

Advantages of job rotation

reduces monotony and boredom

increases intrinsic motivation

improve operational flexibility through cross-training

gives employees broader insight into organisational processes

Disadvantages of job rotation

productivity may temporarily decrease while employees learn new task procedures

managers spend additional time answering questions and monitoring employees learning new tasks

frequent task changes require team adjustments and safety retraining

Job enrichment

vertical job expansion that adds higher-level responsibilities, planning, evaluation, and managerial oversight

Job enrichment vs job enlargement

enrichment adds greater responsibility, discretion, and control, and enlargement adds more tasks of similar complexity

Advantage of job enrichment

increases ownership and professional growth

reduced turnover intentions

improves job satisfaction

Relational job design

structuring work so employees connect directly with the people who benefit from their work

Advantages of relational job design

shifts employes’ focus toward the positive impact of their work

face-to-face contact or authentic beneficiary stories make people’s needs more vivid and concrete

seeing the real-world impact of work encourages empathy, perspective-taking, and affective commitment

Alternative work arrangements

work arrangements designed to increase autonomy, accommodate diverse employee needs, and improve work-life integration

Examples of alternative work arrangements

flextime

job sharing

telecommuting

Flextime

allows employees to choose their daily arrival and departure times while completing the required total weekly hours

Core hours

the hours when all employees must be present or online for meetings and collaboration

Flexibility band

the time windows surrounding core hours when employees choose their start and finish times

Benefits of flextime

reduces absenteeism and tardiness

increases productivity and employee morale

extends organisational operating hours

accommodates individual circadian rhythms

Limitations of flextime

unsuitable for job requiring coverage, such as retail, assembly lines, and emergency services

may cause boundary management problems due to unpredictable work habits

Job sharing

two or more part-time employees share one traditional full-time job, dividing hours across shifts or days

Benefits of job sharing

attracts skilled people unable to work full-time, such as parents, students. and semi-retirees

retains organisational knowledge

provides additional coverage during peak demand

Limitations of job sharing

high coordination costs

difficulty finding compatible pairs

higher administrative expenses

Telecommuting

working from home or another location outside the traditional office using communication technology

Assess-Create-Support framework

a framework for structuring telecommuting practices through assessing employee needs, creating policies, and providing ongoing support

Assess

evaluate employees’ remote work needs, technological capabilities, and sustainability of their job tasks

Create

establish clear policies, communication norms, and practices that maintain boundaries between work and home

Support

maintain remote-work alignment through supervisory encouragement, leadership role-modelling, digital tools, and empathetic monitoring

Employer advantages of telecommuting

access to global talent pool

reduced office-space costs

increased workforce productivity

reduced corporate carbon footprint

Employee advantages of telecommuting

no commuting time or travel costs

greater autonomy and scheduling flexibility

better work-family conflict management

freedom in work environment and attire

Disadvantages of telecommuting for employers

difficulty evaluating non-quantitative performance

coordination barriers in complex teamwork

potential loss of corporate culture and cohesion

increased risk of social loafing

Disadvantages of telecommuting for employees

professional and social isolation

weaker co-worker relationships

reduced promotion visibility

blurred work-home boundaries

Employee Involvement and Participation (EIP)

a participative process that uses input from workers to increase their commitment to organisational success

Participative management

involves joint decision-making where subordinates share a significant degree of decision-making authority with their immediate line superiors

Operational methods of participative management

operate formally through feedback sessions, goal-setting meetings, and surveys, or informally through daily consultations

Advantages of participative management

demonstrates managerial trust, respect, and confidence in employee expertise, increasing employee motivation

reduces negative psychological effects of job insecurity on employee satisfaction and turnover

can modestly improve labour productivity, employee retention, and organisational returns

Participative management - prerequisites for success

employees must trust and have confidence in their leaders

leaders must avoid coercion, communicate organisational objectives clearly, and provide periodic feedback

Representative participation

redistributes organisational decision-making power by allowing a small group of employee representatives to represent workers’ interests

Primary forms of representative participation

Works councils

Board representatives

Works councils

groups nominated or elected employees who must be consulted on major decisions involving personnel changes, plant closures, working hours, or safety policies

Board representatives

employee representatives who hold seats on the Board of Directors to represent workers’ interests directly to executive leadership

Establishing a pay structure requires balancing two types of equity

internal and external equity

Internal equity

the worth of a specific job to the organisation, established through systematic job evaluation

External equity

the external competitiveness of an organisation’s pay relative to prevailing market rates in its industry, established through salary benchmarking surveys

Strategic trade-offs when deciding what to pay

paying above-market or lagging the market

Paying above-market advantages

attracts top-tier talent

boosts morale

reduces turnover

Lagging the market benefit

reduces payroll expenses

Paying above-market disadvantage

elevates overall operating costs

Lagging the market disadvantages

risks high turnover

lower job applicant quality

employee dissatisfaction

How to pay

Piece-rate pay plans

Merit-based pay plans

Bonuses

Profit-sharing plans

Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs)

Piece-rate pay plans

employees receive a fixed amount for each unit of output they produce

Pure piece-rate pay

employees receive no base salary, all earnings depend on output

Benefits of piece-rate pay

creates strong link between effort and rewards

encouraging higher individual effort, productivity, and output

Drawbacks of piece-rate pay

increases employees’ financial risk

risk-averse employees may avoid

team plans can encourage social loafing by lower-performing members

Merit-based pay plans

individual salary increases are based on performance appraisal ratings and periodic supervisory evaluations

Limitations of merit-based pay

merit increases usually come from small budgets

can be weakened by supervisor bias

inflated ratings

delays between performance and rewards

Bonuses

annual or periodic cash payments that reward recent, short-term performance rather than length of service

Benefits of bonuses

motivate employees by rewarding current achievements without permanently increasing base salaries

increasingly offered to lower-level operational employees

Drawback of bonuses

employers may begin to expect bonuses as part of their regular income causing morale to drop sharply when bonuses decrease during market downturns

Profit-sharing plans

organisation-wide programmes that distribute cash or stick based on company profitability

Benefit of profit-sharing plans

align employees with organisational success

encourage commitment, psychological ownership, and procedural justice

Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs)

company benefit plans that allow employees to acquire company shares, often at below-market prices, as part of their compensation

ESOPs and employee performance

can improve firm performance, satisfaction, and innovation when employees feel genuine ownership and have information and a voice in business decisions

Executive ESOPs

can align executives with long-term shareholder value and reduce unethical manipulation of short-term earnings

Pay secrecy

restricting employees from discussing individual salaries with the intention of preventing pay jealousy

Disadvantages of pay secrecy

damages trust

weakens perceived link between performance and rewards

increases feelings of disruptive injustice

Pay transparency

openly sharing salary band, pay scales, or individual compensation

Advantages of pay transparency

improves perceptions of organisational justice and strengthen the link between performance and rewards when pay criteria are clear, objective, and fair

Intrinsic rewards

tap into individuals’ internal desire for recognition, personal growth, and self-worth

Employee recognition programmes

a plan to encourage specific employee behaviours by formally appreciating specific employee contributions

Benefit of recognition programmes

inexpensive because praise is free, yet highly effective in reinforcing desired behaviours

Criticism of recognition programmes

can be easily manipulated by managers to reward favourites rather than objective top performers

recognition perceived as arbitrary or insincere can create cynicism, undermine trust, and demotivate employees

Flexible benefits

individualise rewards by allowing each employee to choose the compensation package that best satisfies their current needs and situation

Advantages of flexible benefits

accommodates differences in employee needs based on age, marital status, spouses’ benefit status, and number and age of dependents