Job Design

Industrial Engineering

The first to undertake job design for individuals was Frederick W. Taylor, who developed the industrial engineering or scientific management approach in 1911. Taylor's approach dictated four specifications. First, work should be studied scientifically to identify the most efficient method for accomplishing tasks and allocating them among employees. Second, employee–job fit should be optimized, so that employees should be mentally and physically capable of performing their jobs but not be overqualified. Third, employee training should be based on the scientific analysis of the work and regularly monitored to ensure optimum performance. Finally, employees should be motivated with monetary bonuses.

Advocates of the industrial engineering approach suggested that it would produce several positive outcomes for organizations, including an increased pool of job applicants capable of performing highly specialized and simplified jobs and the centralization of resources. The wage-lowering effect of this large job applicant pool would in turn reduce training costs, and resource centrality would increase the overall efficiency and productivity within the organization. As a result, by the 1950s, most manufacturing jobs were designed according to the industrial engineering approach. Additional research, however, revealed that the approach led to a number of unintended negative consequences. These consequences included dissatisfaction with routine and standardized tasks, increased tardiness, reduced motivation and productivity, and sabotage of work equipment. Thus, the gains of the industrial engineering approach were often more than offset by its negative effects. The problems associated with the industrial engineering approach led to the development of alternative approaches to job design. These new approaches focused on designing work for high productivity without the psychological costs to the employee. We discuss several of these approaches below.

Motivator-Hygiene Theory

The motivator-hygiene theory (MHT), which was developed by Frederick Herzberg and his colleagues in the 1960s, represents a significant deviation from the industrial engineering approach. Central to the theory is the distinction between motivator and hygiene factors. Motivator factors are intrinsic to the work itself and include responsibility, achievement, recognition, and personal growth in competence. Hygiene factors are associated with the job context or work setting and include relationships with peers and subordinates, quality of supervision, base wage or salary, benefits, and job security. According to MHT, motivator factors increase workers' motivation and satisfaction on the job, and hygiene factors merely prevent job dissatisfaction. High employee motivation and performance can thus be achieved by enriching jobs so that they have high levels of motivator factors. A central component of job enrichment is vertical loading, which adds planning and evaluation duties to jobs to increase responsibility, complexity, and personal growth. Herzberg's theory has inspired a plethora of research and several successful change projects that support the contribution of motivator [Page 393]factors to individual and organizational outcomes. His procedure for implementing job enrichment has also successfully guided many job redesign projects.

Nevertheless, MHT has several weaknesses. First, research has not always supported a clear distinction between motivator and hygiene factors. In particular, some job outcomes, such as pay raises, appear capable of serving as both hygiene and motivator factors. Second, the degree to which motivator factors are present in jobs is difficult to assess, given the lack of a suitable measurement technique or instrument for doing so. Finally, the theory fails to consider the impact of individual or cultural differences on motivator and hygiene factors.

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