Job Characteristic Model: An Overview

Job Characteristic Model: An Overview Hussin Jose Hejase Dean, Faculty of Business Administration Al Maaref University Lecture Series August 08, 2019

Agenda Introduction Historical Perspective Definition Purpose Components Experienced Meaningfulness of Work Explanation of the Components Critical Psychological States The JCM Framework Testing the Model for Validation Using the Model Current and Future Positive Psychology References H.J. Hejase ... Job Characteristics Model ... August 2019 2

Introduction Organizations today compete for talent in order to fulfill their needs for competencies, knowledge and attitudes. Though, to accomplish the aforementioned, a clear infrastructure of governance is needed to support a well- structured, methodological and fair system to analyze, define, create and implement organizational jobs. Here, is where the Job Characteristic Model is needed to create job descriptions matched with required job specifications. Therefore, this presentation provides a simple view of the Model. Moreover, a future outlook is presented. H.J. Hejase ... Job Characteristics Model ... August 2019 3

Historical Perspective The Job Characteristics theory incorporated the strengths of classical organizational theory, human relations theory, behavioral sciences theory and the systems approach to work design. The Job Characteristics Model is a behavioral approach, first developed in 1971 by Hackman and Lawler, expanding earlier work done by Turner and Lawrence (1965) and Hulin and Blood (1968). (Hussein, 2018, p. 354) H.J. Hejase ... Job Characteristics Model ... August 2019 4

Definition The Job Characteristics Model (JCM) proposed by Richard Hackman and Greg Oldham (1976) is very influential model of job enrichment which attempts to address how a core set of job characteristics impact a number of psychological states, leading to specific related outcomes in the work environment. The model was developed as a response to the shortcomings of Frederick Herzberg s two factor theory. H.J. Hejase ... Job Characteristics Model ... August 2019 5

Purpose JCM explains the job characteristics that strengthen employees internal work motivations, implying that, rather than being motivated by, say, the promise of rewards or the prospect of receiving (avoiding) supervisory attention, people would try to perform well simply because it felt good when they did and it felt bad when they did not. (Oldham & Hackman, 2010, p.464) H.J. Hejase ... Job Characteristics Model ... August 2019 6

Components The five core job characteristics include: Skill variety Task identity Task significance Autonomy Feedback Hackman and Oldham,1976, pp.256-258) H.J. Hejase ... Job Characteristics Model ... August 2019 7

Experienced Meaningfulness of Work According to Hackman and Oldham (1976, p. 256), experienced meaningfulness of work is the degree to which the individual experiences the job as one which is generally meaningful, valuable, and worthwhile. Finding work meaningful is an experience that reaches beyond the workplace and into the realm of the individual s wider personal life. It can be a very profound, moving, and even experience. Organizations that succeed in this are more likely to attract, retain, and motivate the employees they need to build sustainably for the future, and to create the kind of workplaces where human beings can thrive. uncomfortable Bailey & Madden, 2016 H.J. Hejase ... Job Characteristics Model ... August 2019 8

Skill Variety Hackman and Oldham (1976, p.256) define skill variety as the degree to which a job requires a variety of different activities in carrying out the work, which involve the use of a number of different skills and talents of the person. The authors argue that if employees find that they need to challenge or stretch their skills and abilities, they will find their jobs meaningful. (Park, 2017) H.J. Hejase ... Job Characteristics Model ... August 2019 9

Task Identity Hackman and Oldham (1976, p.257). define task identity as the degree to which the job requires completion of a whole and identifiable piece of work; that is, doing a job from beginning to end with a visible outcome. The authors argue that individuals who are responsible for a larger part of a whole task will consider that work more meaningful than the individuals with smaller parts (Park, 2017) H.J. Hejase ... Job Characteristics Model ... August 2019 10

Task Significance Task significance is the degree to which the job has a substantial impact on the lives or work of other people, whether in the immediate organization or in the external environment (Hackman & Oldham, 1976, p.257). Thus, the authors also stress that when an individual understands that the results of his work may have a significant effect on the well-being of other people, the meaningfulness of that work usually is enhanced. (Park, 2017) H.J. Hejase ... Job Characteristics Model ... August 2019 11

Autonomy Autonomy is the degree to which the job provides substantial freedom, independence, and discretion to the individual in scheduling the work and in determining the procedures to be used in carrying it out (Hackman & Oldham, 1976, p. 258). To the authors, a high level of autonomy means that the task s outcome is primarily determined by the individual s effort and decisions rather than the supervisor s guidance or job procedure manuals. (Park, 2017) H.J. Hejase ... Job Characteristics Model ... August 2019 12

Feedback Hackman and Oldham (1976, p.258) define feedback as the degree to which carrying out the work activities required by the job results in the individual obtaining direct and clear information about the effectiveness of his or her performance. Recently, in an updated study on the JCM, Oldham and Hackman (2010, p.468) stressed that although the JCM includes some social dimensions of work in the feedback characteristics, these social aspects have been neglected in the JCM literature. Therefore, they added that because the social dimensions of work can contribute to the motivation, performance, and well-being of jobholders, future research may want to consider incorporating social aspects into the JCM(Park, 2017). H.J. Hejase ... Job Characteristics Model ... August 2019 13

Critical Psychological States Experienced meaningfulness of the work Experienced responsibility for the outcomes of work Knowledge of the actual results of the work activity H.J. Hejase ... Job Characteristics Model ... August 2019 14

Experienced Meaningfulness of the Work This is the extent to which people believe that their job is meaningful, and that their work is valued and appreciated. Experienced Responsibility for the Outcomes of Work This is the extent to which people feel accountable for the results of their work, and for the outcomes they have produced. Knowledge of the Actual Results of the Work Activity This is the extent to which people know how well they're doing. H.J. Hejase ... Job Characteristics Model ... August 2019 15

The Job Characteristics Model Critical Psychological States Personal and Work Outcomes Core Job Dimensions Skill variety High internal work motivation Experienced meaningfulness of the work Task identify Task significance High-quality work performance Experienced responsibility for outcomes of the work Autonomy High satisfaction with the work Low absenteeism and turnover Knowledge of the actual results of the work activities Employee Growth Need Strength Feedback H.J. Hejase ... Job Characteristics Model ... August 2019 16

Testing the Model for Validation To test the Job Characteristics Model, Hackman and Oldham created a Job Diagnostic Survey that measured the key variables described in their model. They administered this survey to 658 workers, in 62 jobs, across seven industrial and service organizations. H.J. Hejase ... Job Characteristics Model ... August 2019 17

Using the Model Combine tasks. Assign larger, more significant tasks to people. Ask workers for their ideas and perceptions related to task significance. Increase participation. Open channels of communication. Share feedback from customers. H.J. Hejase ... Job Characteristics Model ... August 2019 18

Current & Future According to the Positive Psychology Center (2019), Suffering and well-being are both part of the human condition and psychology should care about each. Human strengths, excellence, and flourishing are just as authentic as human distress. People want to cultivate the best version of themselves and live a meaningful life. They want to grow their capacities for love and compassion, creativity and curiosity, work and resilience, and integrity and wisdom. When Dr. Seligman was president of the American Psychological Association in 1998, one of his presidential initiatives was the building of a field called Positive Psychology. Positive Psychology is the scientific study of the factors that enable individuals and communities to flourish. The theory of well-being then took off. PERMA Theory of Well-Being Seligman, 2018 H.J. Hejase ... Job Characteristics Model ... August 2019 19

Positive Psychology From Experienced Meaningfulness of the Work to the Theory of Wellbeing Different people will derive well-being from each of these five building blocks to varying degrees. A good life for one person is not necessarily a good life for another. There are many different routes to a flourishing life. H.J. Hejase ... Job Characteristics Model ... August 2019 20

References Bailey, Catherine, & Madden, Adrian (2016, June 01). What Makes Work Meaningful Or Meaningless. Sloan Review, Summer 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2019, from https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/what-makes-work-meaningful-or- meaningless/ Hackman, J. R., & Oldham, G. R. (1976). Motivation through the design of work: Test of a theory. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 16, 250 279. doi:10.1016/0030-5073(76)90016-7. Hussein, Ammar (2018). Test of Hackman and Oldham s Job Characteristics Model at General Media Sector. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 8(1), 352 371. DOI: 10.6007/IJARBSS/v8-i1/3813 http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v8-i1/3813 Oldham, G. R., & Hackman, J. R. (2010). Not what it was and not what it will be: The future of job design research. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 31, 463 479. doi:10.1002/job.678 H.J. Hejase ... Job Characteristics Model ... August 2019 21

References Park, Seejeen (2017). Motivating raters through work design: Applying the job characteristics model to the performance appraisal context. Cogent Psychology, 4(1). DOI: 10.1080/23311908.2017.1287320. Retrieved July 26, 2019, from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23311908.2017.1287320 Positive Psychology Center. (2019). PERMA AND PERMA WORKSHOPS. https://ppc.sas.upenn.edu/learn-more/perma-theory-well-being-and-perma- workshops THEORY OF WELL-BEING Retrieved July 14, 2019, from Seligman, Martin (2018). PERMA and the building blocks of well-being, The Journal of Positive Psychology, DOI: 10.1080/17439760.2018.1437466 Retrieved July 26, 2019, from https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2018.1437466 H.J. Hejase ... Job Characteristics Model ... August 2019 22