Work design has been researched and

applied extensively in organizations.

 Work design has been researched and applied
extensively in organizations. Recently,
organizations have tended to combine work
design with formal structure and supporting
changes in goal setting, reward systems,
work environment, and other performance
management practices. These organizational
factors can help structure and reinforce the
kinds of work behaviors associated with
specific work designs
 A. Engineering Approach
B. Socio-technical System Approach
C. The Motivational Approach
 . First, the engineering approach, which focuses
on efficiency and simplification, and results in
traditional job and work group designs.
 Second approach to work design rests on
motivational theories and attempts to enrich the
work experience. Motivational Approach
 Motivate employees through job enrichment.
 Provide meaningful jobs lead to satisfaction
 The third and most recent approach to work
design derives from socio-technical systems
methods, and seeks to optimize both the social
and the technical aspects of work systems.
 Engineering Approach It specifies the tasks to
be performed, the work methods to be used
and the work flow among individuals. It
scientifically analyzes workers' tasks to
discover those procedures that produce
maximum output with minimum input of
energies and resources. This generally results
in work designs with high levels of
specialization and specification. Such designs
allow workers to learn tasks rapidly; they
permit short work cycles so that performance
can take place with little or no mental effort
 They reduce costs because lower-skilled
people can be hired and trained easily and
paid relatively low wages. This approach
produces two kinds of work design:
traditional jobs and traditional work groups.
When the work can be completed by one
person, traditional jobs are created. These
jobs tend to be simplified, with routine and
repetitive tasks having clear specifications
concerning time & motion. When the work
requires coordination among people,
traditional work groups are developed.
 In Socio-technical System Approach, a joint
system is operating: social plus technical
system. This system is open in relation to its
environment. The social part includes the
people performing the tasks and the
relationships among them and the technical
part comprises the tools, techniques and
methods for task performance.
 The social part operates according to biological
and psycho-social laws. Whereas the technical
part functions according to mechanical and
physical laws. The word ‘system’ communicates
that this connection results in a unified whole.
As STS is composed of social and technical parts,
it will produce two kinds of outcomes: Products,
such as, goods and services and Social and
psychological consequences, such as, job
satisfaction and commitment. Socio-technical
practitioners design work and organizations so
that the social and technical parts work well
together, producing high levels of product and
human satisfaction.

Socio-technical System - Environmental
Relationship Such systems are open to their
environments. The environment provides the
STS with necessary inputs of energy, raw
materials, and information, The STS provides
the environment with products and services.
STS practitioners structure environmental
relationships both to protect the system from
external disruptions and to facilitate the
exchange of necessary resources and
information.
 Socio-technical System - S elf-managed Work
Teams The application of STS approach is
‘Self-managed Work Teams’. Self-managed
teams are responsible for a complete product
or service, or a major part of a larger
production process. They control members'
task behaviors and make decisions about task
assignments & work methods. The team sets
its own production goals and is responsible
for support services, such as, maintenance,
purchasing and quality control.
 The motivational approach to work design views the
effectiveness of organizational activities primarily as functions of
member needs and satisfaction, and seeks to improve employee
performance and satisfaction by enriching jobs. The motivational
methods provides people with opportunities for autonomy,
responsibility, closure (that is, doing a complete job), and
performance feedback,
 The motivational approach usually s associated with the research
of Herzberg and of Hackman and Oldham, Herzberg’s two-factor
theory of motivation proposed that certain attributes of work,
such as meaningfulness, responsibility, and recognition, serve as
“motivators” to increase job performance and satisfaction.
Herzberg’s motivation and hygiene factors are intuitively
appealing, However, the validity of the two factors has been
challenged based on the way that can affect whether people will
respond favorably to job enrichment were not included in his
theory, finally Herzberg’s failure to involve employees in the job
enrichment process itself does not suit most OD practitioner.
A growing business will inevitably require you
to expand your employees’ duties and
responsibilities, known as job enlargement or
horizontal job loading. While some thrive
under a heavier workload of diverse tasks,
others prefer more intensive and challenging
tasks. It’s important to understand where
your employees fall on this spectrum so you
can balance the duties and enrichment
opportunities effectively, keeping everyone
satisfied and motivated to go the extra mile.
 Establish collaborative, cross-departmental
discussions about the types of enrichment
opportunities that employees feel would be most
beneficial to them and their co-workers.
 At Underground Elephant, we hold monthly
lunches with an employee and an
 executive who don’t normally interact with each
other. Because of our flat hierarchy and
emphasis on collaboration, employees are
encouraged to ask questions about the company,
discuss career road bumps and successes and
gain new insights into the business. This
establishes a level of transparency and
accessibility for employees to understand
company decisions and gain new perspectives.
 Offering continued education, training, mentorship
and/or tuition reimbursement can be highly
beneficial to you and your employees. Employees
appreciate the opportunity to broaden their skill sets
and improve their standing in the company. And you
gain a well-trained and adaptable workforce as a
result. Plus, you’re offering a highly regarded and
desirable job benefit and could potentially qualify
for tax breaks on educational assistance costs.
 Establish guidelines for educational and training
opportunities that your company will cover.
Collaborate with local colleges or professors to set up
informational sessions to give your employees an idea
of the opportunities available to them.
 Begin a cross-functional training program
that enables employees to learn skills and
business strategies from other departments.
This will give employees a clearer
understanding of how their work fits into the
company’s broad business objectives.
Because this approach leverages talent from
within your current workforce, you
will spend less on outside recruitment to fill
vacancies, including temporary positions for
employee vacations and leaves of absence.
 When employees feel trusted and valued by their
employers, they gain an enhanced sense of
purpose, motivation and responsibility.
Demonstrate trust in your employees by stepping
away from the supervisor role, giving individuals
more responsibility over projects or departments
and training them to take on managerial duties.
 As you plan your company’s next step for
financial and physical growth, don’t neglect to
consider your team’s personal and professional
growth as well. Strike a balance between
increasing job responsibilities and job
enrichment opportunities. This is the key to
keeping your employees satisfied, motivated and
focused on success
 Organizational Factors.
 Environmental Factors.
 Behavioral Factors.
 Organizational factors that affect job design can be work nature or
characteristics, workflow, organizational practices, and ergonomics.
 Work Nature: There are various elements of a job and job design is
required to classify various tasks into a job or a coherent set of jobs. The
various tasks may be planning, executing, monitoring, controlling, etc
and all these are to be taken into consideration while designing a job.
 Ergonomics: Ergonomics aims at designing jobs in such a way that the
physical abilities and individual traits of employees are taken into
consideration so as to ensure efficiency and productivity.
 Workflow: Product and service type often determines the sequence of a
workflow. A balance is required between the various product or service
processes and a job design ensures this.
 Culture: Organizational culture determines the way tasks are carried out
at the workplaces. Practices are methods or standards laid out for
carrying out a certain task. These practices often affect the job design
especially when the practices are not aligned to the interests of the
unions.
 Environmental factors affect job design to a considerable extent.
These factors include both the internal as well as external
factors.
 They include factors like employee skills and abilities, their
availability, and their socio-economic and cultural prospects.
 Employee availability and abilities: Employee skills, abilities and
time of availability play a crucial role while designing the jobs.
The above-mentioned factors of employees who will actually
perform the job are taken into consideration. Designing a job
that is more demanding and above their skill set will lead to
decreased productivity and employee satisfaction.
 Socioeconomic and cultural expectations: Jobs are nowadays
becoming more employee-centered rather than process
centered. They are therefore designed keeping the employees
into consideration. In addition, the literacy level among the
employees is also on the rise. They now demand jobs that are to
their liking and competency and which they can perform the
best.
 Behavioral factors or human factors are those that pertain to the human
need and that need to be satisfied for ensuring productivity at the
workplace.
 They include elements like autonomy, diversity, feedback, etc. A brief
explanation of them is given below:
 Autonomy: Employees should work in an open environment rather than
one that contains fear. It promotes creativity, independence and leads to
increased efficiency.
 Feedback: Feedback should be an integral part of the work. Each
employee should receive proper feedback about his work performance.
 Diversity: Repetitive jobs often make work monotonous which leads to
boredom. A job should carry sufficient diversity and variety so that it
remains as interesting with every passing day. Job variety/diversity
should be given due importance while designing a job.
 Use of Skills and abilities: Jobs should be an employee rather than a
process centered. Though due emphasis needs to be given to the latter
but jobs should be designed in a manner such that an employee is able to
make full use of his abilities and perform the job effectively.