Module 7 discussion
At this point in the course, you have many things to keep in
your mind about organizational behavior. Chapter 14 addresses job design to the
organizational behavior model.
As Chapter 14 implies, models are often oversimplified and
leave out the complicating factor of individual differences (refer back to
Figure 3.1 on page 83). Herzberg pointed out that not every job or person is a
fit for enrichment. Businesses and their strategies differ and the kinds of
skills, procedures, and behavior required on the factory floor is quite
different from those required for a leading-edge design shop. In addition,
people with the same abilities and personalities may be at different levels in
terms of satisfying their needs (e.g., Maslow’s hierarchy). It should be no
surprise to you that both job and organizational design are situational and
interdependent with many other concepts involved in the “management of human
energy.”
1. In either designing the job, or in hiring to fill the
job, does your organization consider any of the individual factors that might
influence success? Explain your answer and consider the following factors:
– Cultural
differences in the people (Chapters 1 and 2)
– Personality
factors like MBTI type, conscientiousness, locus of control, and hardiness
– Where a person
is in satisfying their higher- and lower-level needs (Chapter 5)
2. In your organization, are there any jobs that appear to
have been successfully designed (either initially or as they have “evolved”)
using ideas like those described in the textbook? Anchor your comments in the
achievement of the three critical states described on page 525, and in the
achievement of “engagement” as described on pages 526-527.
3. How would you describe the organization you work for on
each of the basic design dimensions (pages 557-558)? What changes in these
dimensions have you seen in your organization due to pressures for improved
cost/effectiveness or to meet other changes in the environment/competition?
