Job Survey


 

Introduction

Objective: To learn how job design affects performance.

Time: About 25 minutes.

Instructions: Have each learner take the survey below. Once they have completed it, they should total their scores. Once the calss has finished, discuss the following:
Normally, persons who are in a position of leadership will have scores that are higher than their workers. Why is this?
If your employees were to take this survey today, what do you think their average scores would be? 
If possible, have them administer the survey to some of their employees and then discuss opportunities for improving the job design.
Discuss Hackman & Oldham's Five Dimensions and how they help to motivate a job holder. Ask for a few examples of how a job could be redesigned under each of the five dimensions.

 

 

Job Design Questionnaire


Directions: Listed below are some statements about your job. For
each statement, darken in your response based on how much you
agree or disagree with it? 


My job provides:   Strongly Disagree Disagree Slight Disagree Undecided Slight Agree Agree Strongly Agree
1. much variety.
 		(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)
2. allows me the opportunity to complete the work I start.
 		(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)
3. is one that may affect a lot of other people by how well the work is  performed.
 		(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)
4. lets me be left on my own to do my own work.
 		(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)
5. provides feedback on how well I am performing as I am working.
 		(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)
6. provides me with a variety of work.
 		(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)
7. is arranged so that I have a chance to  do the job from  beginning to end.
 		(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)
8. is relatively significant in the organization.
 		(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)
9. provides the opportunity for  independent thought and action.
 		(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)
10. provides me with the opportunity to  find out how well I am doing.
 		(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)
11. gives me the opportunity to do a number of different things.
 		(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)
12. is arranged so that I may see projects through to their  final completion.
 		(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)
13. is very significant in the broader scheme of things.
 		(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)
14. gives me considerable  opportunity for independence and freedom in how I do my work.
 		(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)
15. provides me with the feeling that I know whether I am performing well or poorly.
 		(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)


Scoring for job design questionnaire

The survey is designed to analyze five dimensions of the job:


Skill Variety - Total the scores for questions 1, 6, 11: _______

Task Identity - Total the scores for questions 2, 7, 12: _______

Task Significant - Total the scores for questions 3, 8, 13: _______

Autonomy - Total the scores for questions 4, 9, 14: _______

Feedback About Results - Total the scores for questions 5, 10, 15: _______

 

The lower scoring dimensions (normally, anything below 15) should be investigated to see if the job environment can be improved.

 

 

About The Survey

An analysis of job factors by Katz and Van Maanen (1977) identified three clusters that were important to workers as job satisfiers. They named these clusters "Loci of Work Satisfaction" and described them as follows:

KATZ & VAN MAANEN'S LOCI OF WORK SATISFACTION

The job itself - corresponding to intrinsic factors.
The interaction context - corresponding to contextual factors such as co-workers, supervisors, and other people in the job environment. This interaction context, is the social environment that a worker needs. Other behavioral theorists have also deemed the importance of the social environment that a worker needs on the job.
Organizational policies - corresponding to contextual factors such as pay and promotions.

Hackman and Oldham (1975) further broke the first Loci of Work Satisfaction - intrinsic factors (The job itself) into five dimensions. Any given job can be analyzed, utilizing these five dimensions for its motivating potential. The job can then be redesigned to eliminate what is bothering the workers. Listed below are the five dimensions of motivating potential: 

HACKMAN & OLDHAM'S FIVE DIMENSIONS OF MOTIVATING POTENTIAL
Skill variety - the degree to which a job requires a variety of challenging skills and abilities.
Task identity - the degree to which a job requires completion of a whole and identifiable piece of work.
Task significance - the degree to which the job has a perceivable impact on the lives of others, either within the organization or the world at large.
Autonomy - the degree to which the job gives the worker freedom and independence in scheduling work and determining how the work will be carried out.
Feedback - the degree to which the worker gets information about the effectiveness of his or her efforts, either directly from the work itself or from others.
 


Reference:

1. Katz, R. & Van Maanen, J. (1977). "The Loci of Work Satisfaction." Human Relations, 30. pp. 469-486.

2. Hackman, J. R. & Oldham, G. R. (1975). "Development of the Job Diagnostic Survey." Journal of Applied Psychology, 60, pp. 159-70.


Notes
Created March 18, 2000. Last update - March 26, 2000.
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donclark@nwlink.com
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