Showing papers on "Job design published in 1995"

The evolution of IS job skills: a content analysis of IS job advertisements from 1970 to 1990

Abstract: Changes in the knowledge and skill requirements of information systems (IS) positions were examined by analyzing the content of advertisements for IS professionals placed in four major newspapers over the 20-year period 1970-1990 Three types of jobs were examined: programmers, systems analysts, and IS managers The analysis of the frequency of phrases in these advertisements suggests that job ads for programmers have changed very little -- technical requirements remain high, and business and systems knowledge requirements remain relatively low (although the frequency of mention of business requirements has increased somewhat) IS management positions are also relatively stable (as relected in the makeup of job ads) from the standpoint that business knowledge requirements have remained high, with technical and systems requirements specified less frequently The greatest transition in specified job requirements over this 20-year period has occurred for systems analysts Although this is perhaps not surprising, the nature of this transition is Contrary to expectations, the relative frequency and proportion of stated technical knowledge requirements in ads have increased dramatically, while the relative frequency of business and systems knowledge requirements has actually decreased slightlyThese results raise questions concerning the implicit understanding by academics and practioners alike of the need for business knowledge on the part of systems analysts and other IS professionals Various interpretations of these findings are provided, and the implications for both education and recruitment are discussed

Job scope and stress: Can job scope be too high?

Abstract: This study examined relationships among job scope, perceived fit between job demands and ability, and stress. Data on scope and stress were provided by 418 full-time employees. Ratings of job complexity from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) and the Occupational Prestige Index (OP) also measured job scope. All three job scope measures had a U-shaped curvilinear relationship with emotional exhaustion. Anxiety had a negative association with incumbent-reported job scope but none with the DOT and OP measures. Perceived demands-ability fit moderated the relationship between the DOT and OP measures and stress. People with complex jobs who perceived fit experienced less exhaustion and anxiety than those perceiving misfit. In research on job design, leading thinkers have viewed high job scope as functional for organizations and their members. Hackman and Oldham's job characteristics model (1976, 1980) exemplifies this view. Although the magnitude of the motivating potential inherent in job scope

Organizational Risk Factors for Job Stress

Abstract: Job stress and stress-related illness have reached epidemic proportions in the US and are a major concern for employer and employee alike. This edited book presents the latest research on how the structure of the organisation and attributes of the job contribute to or ameliorate stress. Major themes examined by the contributing authors include the importance of organisational culture and climate, the nature of job stress and burnout, the issue of electronic performance monitoring, the impact of particular kinds of high-risk occupations, and new methodological developments that are improving research design.

Relationships Among Job Involvement, Job Satisfaction, and Organizational Commitment for Nurses

Abstract: The relationships among a cluster of attitudes toward work and job were investigated using a sample of 171 nurses. The hypothesis was that involvement in work and job, commitment to the employing organization, and satisfaction with the job (overall, and with specific facets of the job) would be significantly correlated. The results showed that involvement was not related to overall satisfaction but only to two specific facets, satisfaction with work and promotion opportunities. In contrast, the degree of relationship between overall and various facets of satisfaction and commitment and between involvement and commitment was moderately high.

Further evidence on some new measures of job control, cognitive demand and production responsibility

Abstract: Current approaches to job design and job stress, and their application in the context of new manufacturing technologies and practices, call for new widely applicable measures of job properties. In response to this need, Jackson, Wall, Martin and Davids (1993) described the development of new scales of timing control, method control, monitoring demand, problem-solving demand and production responsibility. This article provides further evidence concerning these measures, based on the responses of nearly 1700 employees from five separate samples. The evidence includes: investigation through confirmatory factor analysis of the applicability of the underlying five-factor measurement model on two new samples; improvement of the problem-solving demand scale; a test of the replicability of the measurement model by formal factorial invariance tests across four samples; additional information on scale reliability and construct validity; and normative data for a wide range of shopfloor and related jobs.

The Quality of Friendships at Work and Job Satisfaction

Abstract: The study examines the relationship between quality of a friendship at work and job satisfaction. Faculty and staff (N = 722) at two universities completed measures of the qualities of their best friendship at work and of job satisfaction. Multiple regressions for faculty and staff and for subjects whose best friend was a peer, supervisor or subordinate revealed that the quality of one's best friendship in the workplace is predictive of job satisfaction. A negative aspect of friendship, maintenance difficulty, was related to lower satisfaction for staff (but not faculty) and for workers whose best friend at work was a peer or supervisor. Wishing to spend free time with a best friend at work (voluntary interdependence) and an exchange orientation toward the friend were also negatively related to aspects of job satisfaction. The relationships between feelings about one's best friend at work and feelings about one's job are discussed.

Job Satisfaction, Productivity, and Organizational Commitment: The Result of Leadership

Abstract: When healthcare managers use certain leadership behaviors, does it really make a difference in employee outcomes? Is there an impact on job satisfaction, productivity, and organizational commitment? The author compares the findings in two research studies conducted in different hospital settings. She then describes practical application of the findings for the nursing administrator.

Employee success prediction system

Abstract: A system for predicting potential of success of an individual for a particular job or task. Behavioral and values information is derived from the individual. This information is then analyzed and compared against standards for behavior and values previously calculated for the specific job. An evaluation can then be made of the applicant's responses to the standards to predict success of a perspective employee for the particular job, or to attempt to improve performance of a current employee for a specific job.

The relationship between job experiences and psychological distress: A structural equation approach

Abstract: Using structural equations, we estimated the relationship between employees' experiences of seven job conditions, that have been identified as potential job stressors, and psychological distress in a random sample of 504 full-time employed men and women in dual-earner couples. The seven job conditions were: skill discretion, decision authority, schedule control, job demands, pay adequacy, job security, and relations with supervisor. We found that two job conditions — skill discretion and job demands — were related to psychological distress, whereas five other conditions were not. These findings lend partial support to Karasek's job demand — job control model. In our analysis, skill discretion, one of the two components of job control (referred to jointly as decision latitude) was related to distress, however, decision authority, the second component, was not. A third aspect of control, schedule control, was also unrelated to distress. For full-time employed women and men in dual-earner couples, the additive effects of feeling concerned about having to do dull, monotonous work and having to work under pressure of time and conflicting demands were associated with psychological distress. Finally, the magnitude of the relationships between these job experiences and psychological distress did not differ between men and women.

Understanding employee commitment in the public organization: a study of the juvenile detention center

Abstract: This study examined the relationship between organizational commitment and several personal, role, professional, job and organizational factors among juvenile detention workers. The study revealed that (1) commitment is significantly correlated to role ambiguity, supervisor trust, rile matment-oriented attitude toward the detainee, job satisfaction, job involvement, and organizational trust, and (2) organizational trust, the treatment attitude. role ambiguity, and job involvement are major predictors of employee commitment to the detention center. Implications concerning the results of this study are discussed.

Staff nurses' career development relationships and self-reports of professionalism, job satisfaction, and intent to stay.

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the range of career development relationships (CDRs) experienced by staff nurses in relation to the outcomes of professionalism, job satisfaction, and intent to stay. A sample of 390 Army staff nurses completed questionnaires measuring five CDRs--precepting, peer-strategizing, coaching, sponsoring, and mentoring--and the outcome variables. Findings indicated that 61% of the sample experienced a CDR, with the predominant CDR being coaching. No CDR affected professionalism; however, job satisfaction and intent to stay may warrant further investigation in relation to CDRs. The findings suggest that if nurses perceived that an interest was taken in their career development, and felt valued by the developer, then usually staff nurses viewed the relationship as professionally important. The perception of importance often influenced intent to stay in a positive direction.

Fitting In or Making Jobs Fit: Factors Affecting Mode of Adjustment for New Hires

Abstract: This study tested a theoretical framework of work role transitions by examining the impact of individual factors (personal need for control and need for feedback), job factors (job discretion and job novelty), and organizational factors (organizational socialization tactics) on two modes of adjustment for new hires. In this study, need for control and need for feedback had a significant impact on self change as a mode of adjustment but not on job change. Job novelty and job discretion had little impact on either mode of adjustment. Investiture-divestiture organizational socialization tactics had a significant impact on self change as a mode of adjustment and fixed-variable socialization tactics had a significant impact on changing ones' job as a mode of adjustment. In general, the results of this study suggest that variables hypothesized by past theoretical work may only be moderate predictors of changing self or job as modes of adjustment for new hires.

Factors Contributing to Job Satisfaction in Higher Education

Abstract: Introduction The extensive research that has been done on levels of job satisfaction may have distinctive applications to academic faculty. This is especially true when the separation between satisfaction and dissatisfaction is viewed in relation to the intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics of academic employment. In his well known motivational model, Herzberg (1987) makes some basic distinctions between intrinsic and extrinsic factors. The differentiations are founded on needs related to prime human characteristics, the ability to achieve and through that achievement to experience psychological growth. The dual factors arise from alternate needs that spring from basic animal nature, a drive to avoid pain from the environment and all the learned drives that are built on those basic needs. For example, an extrinsic factor, the drive to earn a good salary, is built upon the basic need of hunger. However, intrinsic factors such as responsibility and the satisfaction with work itself arise from the human ability to personally advance and grow. In the educational setting, intrinsic factors involve a direct link between faculty and their day to day routine, the actual performance of the job itself. "Intrinsic to the job are: the work itself, responsibility, and growth or achievement (Herzberg, 1987)." Herzberg's extrinsic or dissatisfaction-avoidance factors include organizational policy, status, pay, benefits, and overall work conditions. These factors comprise the background of one's work, the environment setting. Extrinsic factors less immediately affect the day to day job but are always in the background. As discovered by Rosenfeld and Zdep (1971), not all aspects of a job environment can be classified exclusively as intrinsic or extrinsic. They asked six industrial psychology professors to classify criterion items as being clearly intrinsic or extrinsic. Although there was agreement by all psychologist, on several items as being clearly intrinsic or extrinsic, many items were also classified as "neutral". Reflecting this finding, a new category of variables called "neutral" variables may be defined which reflect both the content and context of the job. In the setting of higher education, an example of a "neutral" variable would be the ability to influence institutional policy, since such influence would relate not only to intrinsic job aspects such as the type of student admitted to the institution, but also to extrinsic job aspects such as the number of classes taught by each instructor. Traditionally, a single scale has been used to measure both job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction. Usually, the high end of the scale measures complete satisfaction while the low end assesses complete dissatisfaction. A value in between suggests a level of less than complete satisfaction or dissatisfaction. This type of measure is a reflection of the prevailing view that job satisfaction and dissatisfaction are determined by the same group of factors. There is a vast literature in identifying these underlying factors. Some suggest that intrinsic rewards such as professional interest, job responsibility, psychological recognition, career advancement, skill utilization and development, enjoyment of work, and autonomy in decisionmaking are important determinants of both job satisfaction and dissatisfaction (Hanson, Martin, and Tuch, 1987; Kalleberg, 1977; Mortimer, 1979; Seybolt, 1976). Other researchers suggest that extrinsic rewards and factors such as monetary income, fringe benefits, job security, administrative policy, company reputation, job supervision, working conditions, and relationships with peers and management play a critical role in determining job satisfaction (Gruenburg, 1980; Seybolt, 1976). There is also evidence that both intrinsic and extrinsic factors are heavily influenced by the socio-demographic background of the worker (Glenn and Weaver, 1982; Gruenberg, 1980; Kalleberg, 1977; Kalleberg and Loscocco, 1983; Martin and Hanson, 1985; Martin and Shehan, 1989). …

A task‐level assessment of job satisfaction

Abstract: Summary Research on job satisfaction traditionally has gathered data at the level of the overall job. But ajob consists of many distinct tasks-some of which may be enjoyable, complex, and important, and some not. Job satisfaction research so far has not assessed affective or motivational properties of individual tasks; therefore, it is not known how experiences with individual tasks contribute to global job satisfaction. To address that question, a task analysis technique was developed and used to gather detailed descriptions of the time-allocation, importance, autonomy, attention demands, complexity, and enjoyment of each individual task performed by 573 employees on a diverse sample of jobs. The task-level data allowed the examination of relationships between task experiences on the one hand, and both global and facet measures of job satisfaction on the other. Results suggested that task-level measurement assessed different psychological processes than those assessed by traditional global and facet measures. Global and facet measures of job satisfaction were found to be consistent with, but only partially predictable from, individual task properties. Task analysis is a cumbersome process; nevertheless, by complementing traditional, global measurement procedures, task-level assessment may facilitate new research into the nature of job satisfaction.

Quality management and job satisfaction: an empirical study

Abstract: Reports on the results of a survey of 220 front‐line supervisors in Hong Kong using the job descriptive index (JDI) to investigate the perceived impact of total quality management (TQM) programmes on job satisfaction. Shows that the respondents were much less satisfied with the work dimension than with other JDI dimensions such as supervision and co‐workers. TQM programmes seemed to have no impact on pay and promotion. The respondents perceived that the TQM programmes had led to a variety of changes which made their jobs more demanding, requiring greater individual skill and accuracy, but did not make their jobs more interesting and important. Discusses significance of these findings in the context of the need to provide employee satisfaction in total quality management.

Assessing expert systems impact on users' jobs

Abstract: A comprehensive list of ten major expert systems (ES) related factors likely to affect users' jobs has been defined, including problem importance, problem difficulty, developer skill, domain expert quality, user characteristics, user satisfaction, shell quality, user involvement, management support, and system usage. Impact on the job has been defined in terms of eleven items dealing with changes in job importance, amount of work, accuracy requirements, skills needed, job appeal, feed-back about performance, freedom in how to do the job, opportunity for advancement, job security, relation with peers, and job satisfaction. Data were collected on sixtynine expert systems developed through IBM's Corporate Manufacturing Expert Systems Project Center in San Jose, California. The results show that the major variables having the most impact on users' jobs are problem importance, problem difficulty, domain expert quality, user satisfaction with the ES, shell quality, and user involvement in ES development. Based on the results, recommendations are made for corporate and ES development managers to increase the likelihood that ES will have a desirable impact on users' jobs.

Employee reactions to JIT manufacturing practices: a two‐phase investigation

Abstract: Describes a two‐phase quantitative investigation of the effects of the introduction of just‐in‐time (JIT) manufacturing practices on shopfloor work. Results show that the introduction of product‐based manufacturing, incorporating strong elements of total quality management (TQM), was associated with: increases in employee autonomy; increases in some job demands; and no change in measures of social climate and employee wellbeing. The later introduction of core JIT practices and associated layout changes were associated with: no change in existing levels of employee autonomy and job demands; statistically significant increases in collective autonomy over the timing of group tasks; positive changes in group climate measures and increases in levels of job satisfaction. No change in employee strain was observed following either phase of shopfloor reorganization. Suggests that reductions in employee autonomy, increased production pressure and employee stress are not universal concomitants of JIT manufacturing.

Job Loss as Career Growth: Responses to Involuntary Career Transitions.

Abstract: The Latack-Dozier (1986) model of career growth through job loss was examined using a sample of 515 involuntarily displaced professionals. Results supported the model and identified variables most predictive of career growth for men and women. The results also partially supported the hypothesis that men and women rely on different forms of social support after job loss. The Latack-Dozier model is discussed in light of the findings. In addition, implications for dismissed workers, for career development specialists, and for practitioners are discussed. Few classes of workers are immune to the latest wave of corporate restructuring, but white-collar workers are disproportionately experiencing such involuntary career transitions (Cameron, Freeman, & Mishra, 1991). Because of this trend, researchers have called for studies examining the psychological impact of involuntary career transitions and for the proposal of counseling strategies to guide practitioners (Jepsen, 1992). This study answers that call by examining the responses and adaptations that white-collar employees, both men and women, have made to job loss. In so doing, a theoretical model of the job loss process as proposed by Latack and Dozier (1986) is used as a conceptual framework. This framework proposes factors that may moderate the stress of job loss and promote career growth, a retrospective perception of the long-term gains of the job loss experience as outweighing the losses. In addition, this framework recognizes that different forms of support (e.g., family support, support of a friend or coworker) may be fundamental in an individual's adjustment to job loss, allowing for interesting comparisons between the sexes. Unfortunately, this conceptual framework has not been empirically examined. Therefore, this study attempts to answer two broad questions: (a) Is the LatackDozier model adequate, that is, does it identify relevant variables for understanding men and women's adaptation to job loss? and (b) Do men and women differ in terms of the level and type of support received after job loss? Results should broaden our understanding of involuntary job loss and should reveal suggestions for the design of services and counseling interventions. THE LATACK-DOZIER MODEL OF CAREER GROWTH Although job loss is usually cited as a negative life event, occasionally, after a period of time, the experience may be viewed positively (Hartley, 1980; Little, 1976). This may occur because one has had the opportunity to redirect one's career goals and priorities, consider new alternatives, develop new competencies, or leave a dissatisfying or unchallenging job. Latack and Dozier (1986) conceptualized this potentially positive outcome as career growth. For job loss to lead to career growth, Latack and Dozier proposed that stress must be maintained at a moderate level, enabling the jobless to channel energy into self-assessment and an effective job search. After a comprehensive review of the stress literature, Latack and Dozier identified three factors that they believed relate to career growth: characteristics of the individual, the environment, and the transition process. Individual characteristics postulated by Latack and Dozier (1986) as leading to career growth include having had low job satisfaction at the previous job, being in the midcareer stage, and maintaining a high activity level. For example, individuals dissatisfied in their previous job may view job loss as an opportunity to remove themselves from an unpleasant work environment. The age of the worker when the job loss occurs may be another important variable. It is well documented that older workers experience longer periods of unemployment, are less likely to be retrained at another job, and face the very real possibility of age discrimination (Hepworth, 1980; Warr & Jackson, 1984). In contrast, younger workers may not have gained the experience necessary to compete for jobs in a highly volatile job market. …

Organizational Structure and Job Satisfaction Do Bureaucratic Organizations Produce more Satisfied Employees

Abstract: Popular and social scientific critiques of the bureaucratic model of organizational behavior argue that employment in highly structured, bureaucratic work organizations adversely affects worker attitudes and behavior. In particular, these critics suggest that bureaucratic structure is associated with lower employee job satisfaction. Several empirical studies, however, have yielded an unexpected positive relationship between bureaucratic structure and satisfaction. In this research, the authors argue that this paradoxical pattern is the result of these studies having used measures of organizational structure that conflate job and organizational characteristics. The authors show that among members of an emerging profession, highly structured organizational activities have a negative effect on employee satisfaction when job characteristics are controlled.

Information‐receiving and information‐giving during job transitions

Abstract: Based on social exchange theory, this research develops a typology of six strategies for exchanging information. This study explored the information‐receiving and information‐giving of both newcomers and transferred employees involved in job transitions in one organization. Results suggest that unsolicited information‐receiving is positively related to job satisfaction and organizational knowledge, in addition to being negatively related to intention to quit, and that information‐giving through modeling is also negatively associated with intention to quit. Results also indicate that transferred employees are more knowledgeable of the organization and their roles, as well as, more likely to model consciously appropriate behaviors than newcomers. Conversely, newcomers are more likely to use observations to gain information than transferees.

The high‐performance organization:

Abstract: Using a quasi‐experimental design, reports the findings of a study on the impact of high‐performance work teams on job characteristics, employee satisfaction, organization culture and quality. A naturally occurring control (n = 50) and experimental group (n = 50) were identified in one research site and questionnaires were distributed to both groups prior to and eight months into the high‐performance intervention. The results reveal a significant improvement in work variety, autonomy, satisfaction with feedback on performance, satisfaction with work allocation and suggestion/idea input. With respect to organization culture and beliefs, it was found that seven of the ten dimensions measured improved significantly. Finally, some quality gains were witnessed with only minimal extra resources.

Job Satisfaction among Newsworkers: The Influence of Professionalism, Perceptions of Organizational Structure, and Social Attributes:

Abstract: Organizations stress routinized activities that contribute to profitability. Professionalism stresses ethical performance that contributes to social responsibility. When the organization prevails, autonomy, authority, and control, the hallmarks of professionalism, weaken. This leads to a decrease in the intrinsic meaning of work and, ultimately, less job satisfaction. Using a stratified random national sample, these assumptions were explored among Canadian newsworkers. More professionalism, a less formal and smaller organization, media sector, and several social attributes lead to more job satisfaction. Newspaper workers were most satisfied due to a combination of intrinsic factors, such as autonomy, authority, and control of work, and extrinsic factors, such as job security and income.

Personality and Intelligence in Industrial and Organizational Psychology

Abstract: The discipline of industrial and organizational (I/O) psychology focuses on understanding human behavior in the context of work. Since the emergence of I/O psychology as a field of scientific inquiry in the United States at the turn of the century, I/O psychologists have been concerned with a wide variety of topics, including personnel selection and placement, job training, task design, worker motivation, organizational influences on work behavior, and procedures for optimizing job performance and worker efficiency. (For reviews of these and other I/O areas, see Dun-nette, 1976; Dunnette & Hough, 1990, 1991, 1992.) From an individual differences perspective, however, two fundamental questions may be proposed to underlie much of I/O theory and research: (a) What roles do cognitive and nonability individual differences play in the determination of job performance? (b) How may individual-difference theories and assessment measures be employed to improve predictions of the fit between an individual and a job?

Influence of Participative Decision-Making on Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment of School Principals:

Abstract: 163 school administrators were surveyed to examine the relationships among participative decision-making, over-all job satisfaction, facet job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. All associations among these variables were positive, significant, and meaningful. The findings were discussed in light of recent organizational practices toward a more decentralized management approach, characterized by empowerment of lower-level employees and increased use of teamwork.

Focus of Attention and Employee Reactions to Job Change1

Abstract: Two hundred and five telecommunications field-service technicians underwent a job change and responded to our questionnaire. The amount of time since experiencing the job change was measured for each technician. We found support for the hypothesis that the more an employee focuses on his or her job, the stronger that employee will react to a job change. Technicians who focused highly on their jobs reported fewer excused absences and were more job involved as time passed after the change, compared to technicians who focused little on their jobs. Moreover, high off-job focused technicians became less committed, less job involved, less satisfied, and more likely to leave over time. Focus also was related to perceptions of job complexity, and moderated the relationship between complexity and employee responses. These findings provide further support for hypotheses posited by Gardner, Dunham, Cummings, and Pierce (1987a, 1989) regarding employee focus of attention.