Organizational behavior chapter 7

Job design -- the process of linking specific tasks to specific jobs in deciding what techniques, equipment, and procedures should be used to perform those tasks
scientific management -- a set of principles and practices designed to increase the performance of individual employees by stressing job simplification and specialization
job simplification -- the breaking up of the work that needs to be performed an organization into the smallest identifiable tasks
job specialization -- the assignment of employees to perform small, simple tasks
time and motion studies -- studies that reveal exactly how long it takes to perform a task and the best way to perform it
job enlargement -- increasing the number of tasks employee performs a keeping all the tasks at the same level of difficulty and responsibility; also called horizontal job loading
job enrichment -- increasing an employee's responsibility and control over his or her work; also called vertical job loading
job characteristics model -- an approach to job design that aims to identify characteristics that make jobs intrinsically motivating and the consequences of those characteristics
skill variety -- the extent to which a job requires an employee to use different skills, abilities, or talents
task identity -- the extent to which a job involves performing a whole piece of work from its beginning to its end
task significance -- the extent to which a job has the impact on the lives or work of other people in or out of the organization
autonomy -- the degree to which a job allows an employee that freedom and independence to schedule work and decide how to carry it out
feedback -- the extent to which performing a job provides an employee with clear information about his or her effectiveness
motivating potential score (MPS) -- a measure of the overall potential of a job to foster intrinsic motivation
experienced meaningfulness of the work -- the degree to which employees feel their jobs are important, worthwhile, a meaningful
experienced responsibility for work outcomes -- the extent to which employees feel personally responsible or accountable for their job performance
knowledge of results -- the degree to which employees know how well they perform their jobs on a continuous basis
social information processing model -- an approach to job design based on the idea that information from other people and employees own past behaviors influence employees perceptions of and responses to the designed of their jobs
contingent workers -- employees whom organizations hire or contract on a temporary basis to fill needs for labor that change over time
organizational objectives -- the goals and purpose of an organization, what it stands for, and what it seeks to accomplish
social identity theory -- a theory that describes how individuals use the groups and organizations they are members of to define themselves
goal -- what an individual is trying to accomplish through his or her behavior and actions
goal setting theory -- a theory that focuses on identifying the types of goals that are most effective in producing high levels of motivation in performance and why goals have these effects
management by objectives (MBO) -- a goal setting process in which a manager meets with his or her supervisor to set goals and a valuing the extent to which previously set goals have been achieved

Summary
job design and goal setting are the foundations of a motivating work setting. The ways in which jobs are designed and the types of goals are set can have profound effects on employee motivation and performance in the extent to which an organization is able to achieve its goals.

One of the earliest systematic approaches to job design was scientific management, which stresses job simplification and job specialization. Scientific management focuses on extrinsic motivation and can result in an efficient production process. It also may result in high levels of job dissatisfaction.

Job enlargement and job enrichment focus, respectively, on the horizontal and vertical loading of jobs. Each attempts, by raising levels of intrinsic motivation, to overcome some of the problems that arise when jobs are designed according to the principles of scientific management.

The job characteristics model also focuses on intrinsic motivation. The model proposes that five core dimensions (skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback) lead to three critical psychological states (experienced meaningfulness of work, experienced responsibility for work outcomes, and knowledge of results) that in turn lead to several outcomes (intrinsic motivation, job performance, job satisfaction, and low absenteeism and turnover). Individual differences (growth need strength, knowledge and skills, and satisfaction with the work context) affect the key relationships in the model. Research suggests that intrinsic motivation and job satisfaction do tend result from the core characteristics and psychological states as proposed by the model; however, job performance is not necessarily affected.

The social information processing model suggests that social environment provides employees with information about which aspects of their job design and work outcomes they should pay attention to and how they should evaluate them. This information influences motivation. In addition, employees past behaviors have implications for how they view their current jobs and current levels of motivation, particularly when these past behaviors were freely chosen or entailed personal sacrifices.

Goal setting theory and research suggests that specific, difficult goals lead to higher motivation and performance than do easy goals, moderate goals, vague goals, or no goals at all. Specific, difficult goals influence motivation performance by directing employs attention toward goal relevant activities, influencing effort expenditure, influencing levels of persistence, and causing employees to develop action plans. When employees are performing very complicated and difficult tasks that require all of their attention and considerable amount of learning, specific, difficult goals should not be set until the employee has mastered the task.


Goal setting -- the manager and the supervisor me and jointly determine goals the manager will try to achieve during a specific period.
Implementation -- the manager is given the autonomy to decide how to meet the goals, but progress toward goal attainment is periodically assess and discussed by the manager and supervisor.
Evaluation -- the manager of the supervisor me to assess the extent of goal attainment, discuss with some goals have not been attained, and set goals for the next.