Showing papers on "Job design published in 2004"

Employees' goal orientations, the quality of leader-member exchange, and the outcomes of job performance and job satisfaction

Abstract: As hypothesized, data from 170 employees of a Dutch firm showed that the quality of leader-member exchange mediated positive relationships between a mastery orientation and leader-rated in-role job performance, leader-rated innovative job performance, and job satisfaction. In contrast, a performance orientation was negatively related or unrelated to those outcomes. These findings suggest that employees with stronger mastery orientations are more effective on the job because they tend to establish higher-quality exchanges with their supervisors. Important and recurring questions in organizational science are why employees perform well in their jobs and why they are satisfied with their jobs. Achievement goal theory and research suggest that

Employee attitudes and job satisfaction

Abstract: This article identifies three major gaps between HR practice and the scientific research in the area of employee attitudes in general and the most focal employee attitude in particular—job satisfaction: (1) the causes of employee attitudes, (2) the results of positive or negative job satisfaction, and (3) how to measure and influence employee attitudes. Suggestions for practitioners are provided on how to close the gaps in knowledge and for evaluating implemented practices. Future research will likely focus on greater understanding of personal characteristics, such as emotion, in defining job satisfaction and how employee attitudes influence organizational performance. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Organizational citizenship behaviours in relation to job status, job insecurity, organizational commitment and identification, job satisfaction and work values

Abstract: This study investigated organizational citizenship behaviours (OCBs) in a sample of 154 school teachers from Victoria, Australia, of whom 101 were in permanent employment and 53 on fixed-term contracts. Participants completed measures of OCBs, job insecurity, organizational commitment, organizational identification, job satisfaction and work values relating to influence, variety and skill utilization. Results showed that the contract teachers reported more job insecurity and more OCBs compared to the permanent teachers. OCBs were positively related to perceived job insecurity and negatively related to opportunities to satisfy influence and skillutilization work values for the contract teachers, and positively related to organizational commitment, organizational identification and to opportunities to satisfy variety and skill-utilization work values for the permanent teachers. Results were discussed in relation to the different functions that OCBs were assumed to serve for both groups of teachers and the possibility of conceptualizing OCBs using a motivational analysis that takes account of expectations and goal structures.

Expansive learning environments : Integrating organizational and personal development

Abstract: This chapter argues that learning environments that offer employees diverse forms of participation foster learning at work Case study evidence is used to illuminate the relationship between work and learning in relation to three participatory dimensions: (1) opportunities for engaging in multiple (and overlapping) communities of practice at and beyond the workplace; (2) access to a multidimensional approach to the acquisition of expertise through the organisation of work and job design; and (3) the opportunity to pursue knowledge-based courses and qualifications relating to work Our research indicates that where organisations have created 'expansive learning environments' and practise an expansive approach to learning, they also provide the basis for the integration of personal and organisational development

Task-Specific Human Capital

Abstract: Since Gary Becker’s (1964) seminal work, the theoretical and empirical literature on human capital has focused almost exclusively on general-purpose and firm-specific human capital. In this paper we discuss the implications of a third type of human capital, which we call task-specific, and which we believe is potentially as commonplace and as important as the two classic types. By task-specific human capital we mean that some of the human capital an individual acquires on the job is specific to the tasks being performed, as opposed to being specific to the firm. In other words, task-specific human capital is the simple but plausible idea that much of the human capital accumulated on the job is due to task-specific learning by doing. The idea of task-specific human capital is closely related to occupationand industryspecific human capital. In each case, human capital is specific to the nature of the work, not specific to the firm. Hence, when capital is accumulated, multiple firms value the capital, so most (or even all) of the value of the capital will be reflected in the worker’s wage. The main difference between the idea of task-specific human capital and occupationand industryspecific human capital is in how the idea is applied. We argue that task-specific human capital has much wider applicability than suggested (so far) by the occupationand industry-specific human-capital literatures; the specific issues we address are cohort effects, job design, and promotions. Another argument in the literature closely related to ours is the classic argument of Adam Smith (1776) in the Wealth of Nations concerning returns to specialization. Smith’s argument was that, due to learning-by-doing at the level of the task, productivity can be enhanced by having each job entail fewer tasks. We believe that Smith was correct in focusing on learningby-doing at the level of the task as an important idea for thinking about organizations. The goal of our paper is to describe some of the other implications of this idea for the design and operation of organizations.

Effects of performance appraisal politics on job satisfaction and turnover intention

Abstract: There is evidence that performance ratings are often manipulated for political purposes. The present study examined the effects of employees' perceptions of political motives in performance appraisal on their job satisfaction and intention to quit using survey data from an occupationally heterogeneous sample of white‐collar employees (N=127) from various organizations. Regression analysis results indicated that when employees perceived performance ratings to be manipulated because of raters' personal bias and intent to punish subordinates they expressed reduced job satisfaction that, in turn, led to greater intentions to quit their jobs. Manipulations of ratings for motivational purposes, however, had no effect on job satisfaction and turnover intention.

Reexamining the Job Satisfaction-Performance Relationship: The Complexity of Attitudes.

Abstract: The present article argues that organizational researchers tend to adopt an overly simplistic conceptualization and operationalization of job satisfaction (and job attitudes in general). Specifically, past research has failed to examine the affective-cognitive consistency (ACC) of job attitudes and the implications this has for the strength of the attitude and its relationship with behavior (e.g., job performance). Results from Study 1 suggest ACC is a significant moderator of the job satisfaction-job performance relationship, with those employees higher in ACC showing a significantly larger correlation between job satisfaction and performance than those lower in ACC. Study 2 replicated these findings. Implications for the study of job attitudes, limitations of the current studies, and multiple avenues for future research are discussed.

Factors explaining job satisfaction among faculty

Abstract: The purpose of this descriptive-correlational study was to describe the amount of variance in faculty member’s overall level of job satisfaction explained by Herzberg, Mausner, and Snyderman’s (1959) job motivator and hygiene factors. Additionally, the study sought to investigate the suitability of a one-item versus a multi-item measure of overall job satisfaction. The faculty were generally satisfied with their jobs. However, female faculty members were less satisfied than male faculty members. The factor “work itself” was the most motivating aspect for faculty. The least motivating aspect was “working conditions.” The demographic characteristics were negligibly related to overall job satisfaction. All of the job motivator and hygiene factors were moderately or substantially related to overall job satisfaction. The factors “recognition,” “supervision,” and “relationships” explained the variability among faculty members’ overall level of job satisfaction. The one-item measure of overall job satisfaction was not different from a multi-item measure of overall job satisfaction.

The Impact of Job Characteristics on Correctional Staff Members

Abstract: The job characteristics of job stress, supervision, job variety, and job autonomy have been theorized to affect the job satisfaction and organizational commitment of correctional staff members. Most of the research to date has focused on the impact of these variables on job satisfaction, with little attention being paid to organizational commitment. To determine the effects of these job characteristics on correctional staff members’ job satisfaction and organizational commitment, data from a survey of 272 employees at a midwestern correctional facility were examined using ordinary least squares regression. All four job characteristics had significant effects on correctional staff members’ job satisfaction. Only job stress and supervision had statistically significant effects on organizational commitment. Moreover, job satisfaction had the greatest effect on correctional staff members’ organizational commitment. Additionally, the effects of the job characteristics differed among various groups of correctio...

Participation’s Influence on Job Satisfaction The Importance of Job Characteristics

Abstract: A structural equationmodel was proposed to analyze the impact of employee participation and job characteristics on job satisfaction. The current study found that participative decision making has a significant positive effect on performance feedback, task significance, and career development support. Performance feedback was positively related to job specificity and career development support. Task significance and career development support were, in turn, positively related to job satisfaction. These findings suggest that participation has an important, albeit indirect, effect on employee job satisfaction through its influence on job characteristics. The implications of these findings for public management are discussed.

Transformational leadership, goal difficulty, and job design: independent and interactive effects on employee outcomes

Abstract: A field study of 209 leader–follower dyads from 12 different organizations was conducted to test the moderating effects of job enrichment and goal difficulty on the relationship between transformational leadership and three follower outcomes: performance, affective organizational commitment, and organizational citizenship behavior. Moderated regression analyses were conducted to test for direct and moderated relationships. Transformational leadership and job enrichment each had significant main effects. In addition, we found that job enrichment substituted for the effects of transformational leadership on affective commitment, whereas goal setting enhanced relationships between transformational leadership and both affective commitment and performance.

The Relative Importance of Psychological Acceptance and Emotional Intelligence to Workplace Well-Being.

Abstract: Psychological acceptance (acceptance) and emotional intelligence (EI) are two relatively new individual characteristics that are hypothesised to affect well-being and performance at work. This study compares both of them, in terms of their ability to predict various well-being outcomes (i.e. general mental health, physical well-being, and job satisfaction). In making this comparison, the effects of job control are accounted for; this is a work organisation variable that is consistently associated with occupational health and performance. Results from 290 United Kingdom workers showed that EI did not significantly predict any of the well-being outcomes, after accounting for acceptance and job control. Acceptance predicted general mental health and physical well-being but not job satisfaction, and job control was associated with job satisfaction only. Discussion focuses on the theoretical and applied implications of these findings. These include support for the suggestion that not controlling one's thoughts...

Measuring nurse job satisfaction.

Abstract: Using the Index of Work Satisfaction and nurses' comments, a successful method has been established to provide nurse-sensitive quality indicator data and clarification of work life concerns after restructuring. Findings are being used to direct change for acute care nurses in one large regional health authority. The authors describe the job satisfaction components and their relationship to patient acuity and staff mix.

High Performance Workplace Practices and Job Satisfaction: Evidence from Europe

Abstract: Using individual data from the European Survey on Working Conditions (ESWC) covering all EU member states, this study aimed at contributing to our understanding of the effects of High Performance Workplace Organizations (HPWOs) on worker's job satisfaction. The estimation results show that a higher involvement of workers in HPWOs is associated with higher job satisfaction. This positive effect is dominated by the involvement of workers in flexible work systems, indicating that workers particularly value the opportunities associated with these systems, such as an increased autonomy over how to perform their tasks, and increased communication with co-workers. Being involved in team work and job rotations as well as supporting human resource practices appear to contribute relatively little to the increased job satisfaction from being involved in HPWOs.

Work commitment, job satisfaction, and job performance: an empirical investigation

Abstract: This study examines the relationships between joint work commitments, job satisfaction, and job performance of lawyers employed by private law firms in Israel. Based on Morrowʼs (1993) concept of five universal forms of commitment, their interrelationship was tested with respect to the commitment model of Randall and Cote (1991), which appeared to show in previous studies (Cohen, 1999, 2000) a better fit compared to other models. In addition, the study examined the relationship between the commitment model and work attitude and outcome, namely, job satisfaction and job performance. The results show that the commitment model of Randall and Cote was almost fully supported, except for the relationship between job involvement and continuance commitment. This relationship is better understood via career commitment. An interesting finding of this study is that job satisfaction has a mediating role in the relationship between joint work commitment and job performance. The article concludes with suggestions regarding further investigation of the interrelationships between work commitment constructs, and the relationship between joint commitment forms, job satisfaction, and job performance.

Personal characteristics as predictors of job satisfaction: An exploratory study of IT managers in a developing economy

Abstract: The impact of information technology (IT) on society is tremendous. Globalization of trade, the emergence of information economies, and the growth of the Internet and other global communications networks have recast the role of information systems in managing global corporations. The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which personal characteristics such as gender, age, education, income, and experience predict IT managers' job satisfaction in Nigeria. A sample of 360 IT managers selected from business organizations in Nigeria were used for this research. The results of this study suggest that IT managers were satisfied with their job, co‐workers, and supervision, whereas they were dissatisfied with their pay and the promotion system. The results of regression analyses also showed that personal characteristics were significant predictors of job satisfaction.

Organizational structure and job satisfaction in public health nursing

Abstract: The purpose of this descriptive study was to describe the characteristics and relationship of organizational structure and job satisfaction in public health nursing. A significant relationship was found between organizational structure variables and job satisfaction for public health nurses employed in down state Illinois local health departments. The findings of this study suggest that work environments in which supervisors and subordinates consult together concerning job tasks and decisions, and in which individuals are involved with peers in decision making and task definition, are positively related to job satisfaction. This information will assist nurse administrators in development of work structures that support participative decision making and enhance job satisfaction, critical to retaining and attracting a well-qualified public health nurse workforce.

Human Resource Management and Job Satisfaction in the Dutch Public Sector

Abstract: Academic research on public administration devotes relatively little attention to issues concerning human resource management (HRM) and job satisfaction. Many private sector studies suggest that investing in HRM has positive effects on worker morale. Therefore, in this study, variables measuring HRM practices were combined with an analysis of determinants of job satisfaction in the Dutch public sector. Three hypotheses were tested and confirmed. They revealed that (a) individual characteristics have a negligible effect on job satisfaction, (b) HRM practices have a positive effect, but (c) this latter effect is largely indirect and mediated by job and organizational characteristics.

Internal auditors and job stress

Abstract: This study used the Ivancevich and Matteson Stress Diagnostic Survey to gather data concerning job stress for a large national sample of internal auditors in the USA. Survey respondents indicated that the organizational job stressors in their work environment were more a source of stress than the so‐called individual job factors. Specifically, respondents would like to be paid more and participate more in the decision‐making processes relating to their jobs. Company politics and lack of training and development opportunities were other major sources of stress. Implications for the profession are clear. Internal audit managers should be aware of the job stress inherent in the nature of the work of an internal auditor and take appropriate steps to reduce organizational job stressors rather than face the risk of increased staff job turnover.

Learning and strain among newcomers: a three-wave study on the effects of job demands and job control.

Abstract: The present 3-wave longitudinal study was an examination of job-related learning and strain as a function of job demand and job control The participants were 311 newcomers to their jobs On the basis of R A Karasek and T Theorell's (1990) demand-control model, the authors predicted that high demand and high job control would lead to high levels of learning; low demand and low job control should lead to low levels of learning; high demand and low job control should lead to high levels of strain; and low demand and high job control should lead to low levels of strain The relation between strain and learning was also examined The authors tested the hypotheses using ANCOVA and structural equation modeling The results revealed that high levels of strain have an adverse effect on learning; the reverse effect was not confirmed It appears that Karasek and Theorell's model is very relevant when examining work socialization processes

Avoiding the 'McJobs': unemployed job seekers and attitudes to service work

Abstract: Service employment plays an increasingly important role in the UK economy. However, it has been suggested that some forms of service work are unattractive for many unemployed job seekers, and parti...

Self-presentation processes in job analysis: a field experiment investigating inflation in abilities, tasks, and competencies.

Abstract: Although job analysis is a widely used organizational data collection technique, little research has investigated the extent to which job analysis information is affected by self-presentation processes. This study represents the first direct test of the propositions offered by F. P. Morgeson and M. A. Campion (1997) concerning self-presentation in job analysis measurement. Using an experimental design, the authors examined job incumbent response differences across ability, task, and competency statements. Results indicated that ability statements were more subject to inflation than were task statements across all rating scales. Greater endorsement of nonessential ability statements was responsible for the differences. This produced higher endorsement of ability items but lower mean ratings. Finally, frequency and importance ratings of global competency statements were generally higher than decomposed ability and task scales, but required-at-entry judgments demonstrated the opposite relationship. Job analysis data is perhaps the most widely gathered type of organizational information for developing human resource (HR) management systems. It forms the foundation upon which many important HR management systems are built (Butler & Harvey, 1988), including selection systems, training programs, performance management programs, and compensation systems. The seemingly straightforward character of collecting information about jobs has led many to assume that job analysis methods result in reliable, valid, and unbiased information. It has recently been suggested, however, that job analysis information may be subject to numerous social and cognitive sources of inaccuracy (Morgeson & Campion, 1997). Such inaccuracies can negatively affect the HR systems that rely on job analysis. This study examined how selfpresentation processes can serve to inflate job analysis responding and represents the first direct test of the propositions outlined by

Employee Well-being in Call Centres

Abstract: Currently, call centres appear to be the bete noire of organizational types. Call centres have been labelled as ‘electronic panopticons’, ‘dark satanic mills of the 21st century’ and ‘human battery farms’ (Fernie and Metcalf, 1998; Garson, 1988; IDS, 1999). These are hardly the most positive of images. One reason for these poor images is the impact that call centre work is perceived to have on the well-being of customer service representatives (CSRs), that is, front-line phone staff. In particular, attention has focused on the possible effects that job design, performance monitoring, human resource (HR) practices and team leader support may have on employee well-being. However, although such links have been proposed, few empirical studies have examined them in any great depth. The main aim of this chapter is to examine the effects of job design, performance monitoring, HR practices and team leader support on four measures of employee well-being, namely anxiety, depression, intrinsic job satisfaction and extrinsic job satisfaction. Furthermore, given that call centre work has been highlighted as particularly stressful, it is also worth considering whether it is any more stressful than other types of work. As such, the other aim of this chapter is to compare well-being in call centre work to that in other comparable types of work.

Examining IT professionals' adaptation to technological change: the influence of gender and personal attributes

Abstract: This paper examines the challenge of adapting to technological changes in IS departments. It develops a set of hypotheses about how two personal attributes (tolerance of ambiguity and openness to experience) will be associated with IT professionals' ability to adapt to a technological innovation. It also examines the literature on gender in the IT profession, positing that women IT employees will exhibit some differences in job performance (relative to men), but no differences in terms of job satisfaction or turnover intentions. Based on a mixed-method study of two firms that were adopting client/server development, the paper first describes the different implementation strategies employed by each firm, and then analyzes employees' responses to the change. In combining the insights from both case studies and surveys, the results showed that four out of eight hypotheses were fully supported and two received partial support. Women reported lower job satisfaction on a dimension that captures job stress, and this effect was exacerbated in the firm that expected its IT employees to demonstrate considerable initiative to master the innovation. In contrast, the women at the second firm, while showing no differences in job stress (relative to their male peers), nevertheless exhibited a very different pattern of job skills and performance than the men. Finally, the personal attribute that was strongly associated with employees' job satisfaction (openness to experience) was negatively correlated with one aspect of job performance - directly opposite to what was hypothesized. The paper concludes with insights for IS researchers and managers interested in IS personnel and technology implementation.

The cognitive task analysis methods for job and task design: review and reappraisal

Abstract: This paper reviews and reappraises the current research on the cognitive task analysis methodology for job or task design and analysis. Specifically, it classifies the current cognitive task analysis methods for job or task design and analysis, sorts out commonalities and differences among all these cognitive task analysis methodology for job and task design and analysis by conducting pros and cons comparisons, and provides guidelines in selecting cognitive task analysis methods for job and task design and analysis. Moreover, based on the current literature review, a validated human-centered information-processing model for cognitive task performance was developed based on human information processing theory. This new model focuses on identifying all cognitive aspects of human performance in technical work, with the goal of assisting job (re)design to increase human job performance.