New Perspectives in Job and Organization Design

Job and organization design are increasingly important variables when one takes into consideration the two key objectives sought by most organizations: organizational effectiveness (productivity) and member welfare (job satisfaction). Job design is most relevant at the microergonomic level where the focus is upon human-machine and work station factors. Organization design is, of course, more concerned with the macroergonomic aspects of systems and their structures. The panel will address both of these areas of interest, and will present different perspectives and new directions in both job and organization design. Dr. Griffin, in his presentation entitled “Individual, Work-Related, and Social System Factors in Job Design/Redesign”, will discuss how a considerable amount of research over the last several years has demonstrated the complexities involved in how individuals develop their perceptions of their jobs and how they subsequently respond to their jobs. One category of variables which affects perceptions and reactions is the individual. Elements such as experiences, aspirations, and abilities all come into play. The work-related factors which have received the most attention include the objective job itself and the physical setting in which it is performed. Finally, social system variables such as the immediate work group, organizational culture, and occupational status also affect how people perceive and respond to their jobs. This portion of the discussion will summarize each of these perspectives, suggest avenues for potential integration, and identify major implications for organizations. Dr. Hendrick will address the topic of systems design from the macroergonomic perspective. Dr. Keller will present design considerations from both micro- and macro-points of view. Dr. Laughery discuss design considerations as they relate to safety and accidents. Each participant will also address other design issues. A discussion of some theoretical foundations of job and organization design will also be presented and current applications will be discussed. A model of job design will be put forth which includes current knowledge and components of managerial approaches to job design/redesign. The redesign of core job characteristic dimensions approach will also be discussed, as will the importance of need strength in job design. And finally, application of a sociotechnical systems approach to organization design is advocated so that organizations are designed to operate in the most effective possible way to achieve increased organizational effectiveness and quality of work life through an integration and joint optimization of psychosocial, cultural, and technological factors with human-machine performance interface factors.