JOB REDESIGN

Job Redesign



Job Redesign

Job Design

An important topic within the field of organizational behavior is the design of jobs. Job design involves not only creating the structure of the job but also identifying the mission and methods associated with the job and placing the job within the broader context of the organization as a whole. Parker & Wall provide an extensive look at both the history and current use of job design in organizations. The authors stress that the environment in which organizations exist today is substantially different from that in which job design theory evolved. Parker & Wall provide numerous examples of job design in organizations and discuss topics such as the job characteristics model, the demand-control model, and action theory. An emphasis placed on the various options available when designing jobs. They point out that such seemingly contradictory approaches as job enrichment and job simplification can both be viable options in job design. This book adequately portrays the current state of job design theory in organizations and stresses that there is no one best approach to job design. (Lyman, 2008)

Buchanan provides an excellent historical analysis of job design theory. His discussion traces job design from its origin in scientific management during the late 19th century to the relatively modern concepts of expectancy and systems theory. Buchanan reviews and integrates much of the research literature on job design and presents a discussion that manages to be both academic and easily understood. Although now somewhat dated, Buchanan is an excellent complement to later works dealing with job design and is useful in gaining an understanding of the evolution of job design theory and practice. (Cain, 2007)

Robertson & Smith discuss the design of jobs within the context of employee motivation. They argue that simply designing jobs for efficiency does not always result in improved job performance. Concepts such as job satisfaction and employee perceptions of the organization must also be taken into account. In order to motivate, jobs should be designed to interest and inspire employees. Robertson & Smith discuss the theoretical and practical implications of motivation and how these concepts can be applied to work design. Real-world examples provided, which illustrate many of the motivational issues that must be taken into account during job design.

Of increasing importance is the role of technology in today's workplace. Accordingly a number of texts wrote that deal with the influence of technology on work and job design. One of these texts is Pruijt . Pruijt discusses technology and job design within the context of scientific management or "Taylorism". One of the central themes of Taylorism is the division of labor. Under a strict division of labor managers plan and strategies while line employees only execute orders. Pruijt contends that while this approach does not make sense in today's dynamic, technology-oriented workplace it is still stringently practiced by many organizations. By analyzing over 100 "anti-Taylors" initiatives in Europe, Pruijt demonstrates how concepts such as job enrichment and worker empowerment can be used to successful compete ...