Showing papers on "Job design published in 1982"

Factors Affecting the Context for Motivation in Public Organizations

Abstract: A comparative framework is used to assess the present understanding of the motivational context in public organizations. Comparative public-private research on individual, job, work environment, and external variables affecting motivation is reviewed. In light of this research, the efficacy of four motivational techniques—monetary incentives, goal setting, job design, and participation—is discussed. An agenda is offered for future research, focusing on topics such as the measurability of performance, goal clarity, and job security.

Social support and managerial affective responses to job stress

Abstract: SUMMARY This research examines the moderating or buffering effects of two social support variables-support from the work group and from the supervisor-on the relationships of role conflict and ambiguity to intrinsic job satisfaction, job involvement and job anxiety. Data were collected from a sample of 89 middle-lower managerial personnel in a large, heavy equipment manufacturing firm in the Midwest. The moderated regression technique was used in data analysis. Significant interactions were obtained between the role variables and both social support variables. The results were in the predicted direction for positive work outcomes (i.e. job satisfaction and involvement) and contrary to prediction for negative work outcome (i.e. job anxiety). Implications of the findings for future research, the management of stress and leadership behaviour are discussed.

Accountants' job satisfaction: A path analysis☆

Abstract: This study analyzes job satisfaction and some of its correlates among Canadian chartered accounts (CAs). It focuses on the formulation and examination of influence paths between professional commitment, work need deprivation, organizational commitment, job satisfaction and intention to leave the organization (migrate). The empirical model with respect to the total sample mostly replicated the theoretical one. Migration tendencies of partners and sole practitioners in public practice were found unrelated to their job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Such tendencies of CAs in industry and government as well as those of employees in CA firms were related to their organizational commitment only. Professional commitment of CAs in nonprofessional organizations was found unrelated to the study variables.

Scientific management, job redesign, and work performance

Abstract: This is the latest volume in the Academic Press series on organizational and occupational psychology. The series has generally offered high-quality treatments of important topics and issues, and this volume is a good example. Kelly presents what is in my view the most thorough overview anyone has done on job design, and makes many job design issues clear and intelligible. In the first section, Kelly provides a detailed overview of &dquo;scientific management,&dquo; the time-and-motion-study approach to fractionating jobs that was developed by Frederick Taylor around the turn of the century. He shows what Taylorism was and what it was not. That is, he corrects the misconception that Taylorism created the classic, meaningless, assembly-line job consisting of repeating the same tiny task over and over. This &dquo;contribution&dquo; is reserved to Henry Ford. Kelly then critiques current theories of job design, especially Herzberg’s and the Hackman-Oldham-Lawler approach. He shows that these approaches neglect the organizational environment (overemphasizing psychological problems), overly center on personal problems (and deemphasize economic factors), focus on job dissatisfaction (with little concern that dissatisfaction is related only weakly to either performance

Office Design and Evaluation An Overview

Abstract: State-of-the-art research in the field is reviewed with emphasis on the impacts of physical environmental quality on worker satisfaction and job performance. The review focuses on three main topic ...

Employee Deviance A Response to the Perceived Quality of the Work Experience

Abstract: Inquiries into the nature of deviance in the employment setting have generally assumed (without much empirical support) that an important explanatory factor is the employee's perception regarding q...

Job Commitment and the Organizational Woman.

Abstract: The research literature suggests that women may be committed to their jobs through the same process as men, but their reactions to certain variables differ. Previous models do not include those variables. In the model presented here three independent variables are major direct influences on job commitment. These are (I) sex role conflict, (2) satisfaction of needs, and (3) work commitment Two other variables—intrinsic need strength and job circumstances—exercise direct as well as indirect influences.

Antecedents of Grievance Filing Behavior: Attitude/Behavioral Consistency and the Union Steward

Abstract: In this study the grievance behavior of stewards, unlike rank and file members, was found to vary systematically with company commitment, union commitment, and job satisfaction. In addition, the re...

Toward Enhancing Research with the Social Information Processing Approach to Job Design

Abstract: This paper suggests and discusses fundamental content and process questions within the social information processing approach in need of research. Evidence from existing social cue experiments is critically analyzed, and relevant insights from related fields of research are reviewed. These content and process questions must be addressed by researchers in order not only to provide for a fuller understanding of the social information processing approach itself, but also to understand the conditions necessary to maximize the effectiveness of job design programs.

Job satisfaction as mediated by the value congruity of supervisors and their subordinates.

Abstract: SUMMARY This study represents an attempt to individualize values and job satisfaction. Using a specifically designed Value Scale and the J.D.I., a sample of 48 supervisors and 337 subordinates in six production organizations was investigated. It was found that those subordinates who indicate high job satisfaction tend to have value structures more similar to their superiors than do subordinates who evidence lower satisfaction. The implications of this value homogeneity within work groups were advanced and further research suggested. This thrust toward individualization-not just the generalized employee but 'each employee' with his/her own personality and range of expectations-proposes that job satisfaction is a function of the extent to which a worker feels that 'needs' are fulfilled by his job (Possick, 1969). Some of the more prominent theorists in organizational psychology hold that the fulfillment of ego or higher order needs such as the needs for achievement, status, and self-actualization relate to Herzberg's (Herzberg, Mausner, and Syderman, 1959; Possick, 1969) intrinsic factors and thus to job satisfaction. Thus, the attainment of such higher order needs is the means whereby individuals achieve job satisfaction. Locke's (1976) review of a number of job satisfaction constructs suggests that 'job satisfaction results from the perception that one's job fulfills or allows the fulfillment of one's important job values, providing and to the degree that those values are congruent with one's needs' (p.1307). Research examining the relationship between higher-order need fulfillment and job satisfaction indicates that certain factors (e.g. recognition, safety, salary) are vital to job satisfaction and human needs. However, these factors are dealt with on the whole (i.e. group) and not on an individual basis (Carroll, 1973). Thus, the posited existence of each factor is an average of many individuals. It is important to

A Job Is a Job Is a Job...Or Is It

Abstract: Researchers and policy makers have treated adolescent work experience as a unidimensional phenomenon and have ignored possible differences among jobs along the very dimensions of working posited as developmentally significant: opportunities for learning, initiative and autonomy, and interaction with others. Behavioral observations support the hypothesis that different work settings expose adolescent workers to substantially different experiences. The six job types differ on all indices of opportunity for initiative and autonomy and half the indices of opportunity for social interaction. But, work settings differ little in opportunities for learining and provide few such opportunities. The implications of the place of work experience in the socialization and education of youth are discussed.

Human stress, work, and job satisfaction

Abstract: Human stress work and job satisfaction , Human stress work and job satisfaction , کتابخانه دیجیتالی دانشگاه علوم پزشکی و خدمات درمانی شهید بهشتی

Evaluation of the job characteristics theory of work attitudes and performance

Abstract: The evidence for the job characteristics theory of work attitudes and performance (Hackman & Oldham, 1975, 1980) was reviewed. This theory states that employee job satisfaction, intrinsic work motivation, and productivity are a function of the characteristics of a job. The central characteristics are skill-variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback. The theory also states that employee attitudes and performance are moderated by the employee's need for psychological growth. Employees with low growth need strength are less responsive to job characteristics than employees with high growth need strength. Results obtained from studies designed to test the theory showed that the propositions related to job satisfaction and intrinsic motivation were weakly supported. Propositions relating to productivity were not supported. Furthermore, the moderating effects of growth need strength on the relationships between job characteristics and outcome measures were overstated. It was found...

A study of higher order need strength and job satisfaction in secondary public school teachers

Abstract: It was the purpose of this study to identify areas of teacher motivation by determining teacher needs and their relationship to job satisfaction. This objective was pursued by applying the concept of higher and lower order need strength to secondary public school teachers. This concept was first developed and applied in business administration as a means of measuring worker motivation. It is based on the assumption that a match between the needs experienced by the individual and the needs fulfilled by the job bring greater job satisfaction and thus an increase in job productivity. While a predominance of higher order needs in secondary school teachers was found, the correlation of need strength and job satisfaction varied by school district. Apparently teaching in some schools is more satisfying to teachers with lower order needs while teaching in other schools is more satisfying to teachers with higher order needs.

Perceived Task Characteristics and Employee Productivity and Satisfaction

Abstract: This study tests the relationships among employee perceptions of task attributes and long-term productivity and job and overall satisfaction. Measures of perceived task attributes, individual growth need strength, and job and overall satisfaction were obtained by questionnaire from 100 randomly selected employees of a manufacturing firm. Productivity was computed as the average daily output (quantity adjustedfor quality) of each employee for a one-year period of time. Strong positive correlations were found between certain task attributes and productivity and job satisfaction. Overall satisfaction was unrelated to task attributes. Further, growth need strength was found to moderate the task attribute-job satisfaction relationships. This moderating effect was demonstrated by both subgroup and moderated regression analyses. No moderating effects were detected for either of the other two relationships. Finally, implications for future task design research are discussed.

Job perceptions when working with data, people and things

Abstract: In a national probability sample of the adult working population in the United States, 1515 Americans participated in a structured interview. This survey provided data on individual job perceptions and occupational characteristics. Occupational information was coded using the skill codes employed by the Department of Labor's Dictionary of Occupational Titles: the Data, People, and Thing hierarchies originally developed by Fine (1968). Analysis of the data indicates that perceived job characteristics are correlated with the level of data-oriented and people-oriented skills used in the job. Further, task characteristics such as autonomy and variety correlate more highly with the skill codes than do role characteristics such as conflict and ambiguity. Results also suggest that task characteristics are linearly related to data- and people-oriented skills; but non-linearly related to thing-oriented skills. Based on these results, it is concluded that the type and level of skill used on the job contribute significantly to employee work experiences.

Human Needs and Job Satisfaction: A Multidimensional Approach

Abstract: Francophone (n = 90) and Anglophone (n = 106) managers for a national consumer lending company in Canada responded to measures of human needs (Personality Research Form) and Job Satisfaction (Job Descriptive Index). Needs are transformed to remove multicollinearity and a multivariate model developed to account for variation in job satisfaction. A considerable amount of the variance in job satisfaction is accounted for by human needs that are highly independent of social desirability responding. There are differences in the explanatory variables of the two samples. Implications regarding job redesign are discussed. In particular, the normative orientation in the literature regarding appropriate needs for organizational research is questioned, and the importance of considering the multidimensional nature of need structure is stressed.

Job Difficulty as Interpreted by Incumbents: A Study of Nurses and Engineers

Abstract: Job difficulty is a concept that can play a prominent role in the application of management implemented job redesign, training, performance appraisal, and goal setting programs in organizations. Interviews, card sorting, and categorization procedures were used with randomly selected nurses and engineers to develop occupation specific job difficulty scales. The scales were then administered to 130 nurses and 159 engineers. Separate factor analyses revealed three job difficulty dimensions for nurses and three for engineers. ANOVA and stepwise multiple regression were used to examine the relationships between the dimensions and such outcomes as satisfaction, job tension, summated performance ratings, and objective performance measures. It was determined that the various job difficulty dimensions were differentially related to the outcome measures in both groups.

The effects of congruency between work values and perceived job attributes upon the job satisfaction of pharmacists

Abstract: Earlier studies have provided weak support for a congruency theory of job satisfaction which predicts that congruency or match between work values and perceived job attributes is a significant predictor of job satisfaction. One possible explanation of weak congruency effects is that previous studies failed to identify employees with large discrepancies between work values (desired job attributes) and perceived job attributes. A sample of 396 retail and hospital pharmacists was chosen to provide a better test of the congruency hypothesis as these pharmacists had relatively large discrepancies in desired and perceived work attributes. Results obtained from a mail survey showed no significant association between congruency of job attributes to desired attributes and job satisfaction when the total sample was used in the analysis. The congruency hypothesis was supported for recently qualified pharmacists for the attributes of skill-utilization and variety. In all analyses desired job attributes, eith...

Worker Productivity: Myths and Reality

Abstract: Better conditions, improved pay, better personal relations, improved training -- these are some of the things that improve worker productivity, but in a very complex, difficult to define way Macarov delves into these issues, exhorting researchers to make greater distinctions between hard work and good work, work in different jobs, and differing concepts of job satisfaction He discusses the work personality and the future of the work ethic as increased leisure time becomes a reality 'Macarov's treatment of his subject is in addition, readable, lively, and often quite provocative, and his review of several topics including work as an ethos, the deficiencies of QWL programs, and the potential significance of work personalities is comprehensive and interesting' -- Personnel Psychology, Vol 36 No 2, Summer 1983 'Macarov's study of Worker Productivity is a useful introduction to employee behaviourIt is clearly written and covers a wide range of material, dealing with such matters as work satisfaction, job design and incentives in a variety of social settings The chapter on the kibbutz is particularly interestingThere is a wealth of references in this study, often as detailed as in a monograph, so it must be taken very seriously as at least optional reading for courses on work and motivation ' -- Journal of General Management, Vol 8 No 4, Summer 1983

Women's clothing predispositions as predictors of dress at work, job satisfaction, and career advancement

Abstract: This study tested the prediction that women's clothing predispositions would be related to reported dressing practices on the job, satisfaction with job outcomes, and career advancement. Data were gathered from 300 women, representing over 200 organizations in the west, south, and midwest regions of the United States. The major result was women who were more clothing conscious dressed more conservatively on the job and were more satisfied with job outcomes. Several additional results are reported. Implications of the results are discussed in terms of organizational dress expectations and the consequences of violating such expectations.

Development of a Measure of Job Time-Demands

Abstract: To develop a scale to measure job time-demands experienced by people involved in employment and family responsibilities, job time-demands were conceptualized as the time required in employment that could coincide or conflict with time for family responsibilities. The scale was tested with samples of employed divorced mothers who had custody of a child under 13 yr. Divorced mothers were selected because they are primarily responsible for managing both employment and family responsibilities. 381 useable questionnaires were obtained. Factor analysis of responses to the 14-item scale reflected three aspects of job time-demands: Flexibility in Work Schedule, Family-Work Schedule Conflicts, and Irregular Work Demands. Those mothers who said their jobs created difficulties in management of family responsibilities had significantly higher job time-demands than those who said they did not, except in the factor of Irregular Work Demands. Occupational classification and hours worked do not appear to be adequate subs...