ReplyReply to Week 2 - Discussion 2 COLLAPSE SUBDISCUSSIONJessica Bowers Jessica Bowers SundayApr 25 at 3:49pmManage Discussion Entry Job analysis is the process of defining the knowledge, skills,...

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  COLLAPSE SUBDISCUSSION
  Jessica Bowers
  

  
  Jessica Bowers
  

  SundayApr 25 at 3:49pmManage Discussion Entry
  

  Job analysis is the process of defining the knowledge, skills, abilities, as well as capabilities, and competencies that exist to design the role and subsequent tasks that will be assigned to that role (Youssef-Morgan, 2020). There are certain job design approaches that have defining features, such a mechanistic and motivational, but neither is more preferred than the other and should be chosen based on the set of outcomes expected from the job design. Mechanistic approaches to job design should be chosen when the job is highly repeatable and uncomplex, with very little training, and no need for prerequisite skills, but provide relatively little risk (Campion & Thayer, 1987). Conversely, motivational approaches to job design require more specific, and possibly lengthy training, more mental capacity, have less security, but most often provide more job satisfaction (Campion & Thayer, 1987). With these definitions, motivational design is more individual focused and mechanistic design is more organizational-focused. Organizations can be tempted to follow the mechanistic approach because it saves time in training and in salaries, but it is rarely beneficial long term for the organization.

  
  

  In terms of when it would be most appropriate to use the mechanistic approach to job design, it can be beneficial to use a mechanistic approach for assembly line jobs, entry-level service positions, and jobs that are temporary in nature, but I would argue that while those types of jobs can be designed mechanistically without much harm in the design, it is not ideal. All jobs should have an element of autonomy and self-determination, even those that are considered mechanistic, particularly as the workforce at large moves towards a more people-focused design that supports the psychology of workers.

  
  

  References:

  
  

  Campion, M. A., & Thayer, P. W. (1987). Job design: Approaches, outcomes, and trade-offs.Organizational Dynamics,15(3), 66–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/0090-2616(87)90039-8

  
  

  Youssef-Morgan, C. M., & Stark. E. (2020).
  Strategic human resource management: Concepts, controversies, and evidence-based applications
  . Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/

  
  

Tiffany Frank

Job Design is a psychological theory of motivation that is defined as the systematic and purposeful allocation of tasks to groups and individuals within an organization. The five core characteristics of job design are skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and job feedback. Job design is a core function of human resource management and it is related to the specification of contents, methods, and relationships of jobs in order to satisfy technological and organizational requirements as well as the social and personal requirements of the job (Campion, 1987).

The mechanistic approach is one of many theories which attempt to explain human behaviors. The mechanistic theory implies that human behaviors can be explained in the exact same way that mechanical and physiological processes are explained and understood. Psychologists who look at behaviors have applied theories such as mechanistic theory which assumes that processes and behaviors can ultimately be understood in the same way as machines. Based on motivational theory, the motivational method has goals of providing people with opportunities for autonomy, responsibility, completeness, and performance feedback. This most often entails reducing the complexity of the work to provide more human efficiency that is, making the work so simple that anyone can be trained quickly and easily to perform it. The Mechanistic Approach focuses on designing jobs around the concepts of task specialization, skill simplification, and repetition. Scientific management was one of the earliest and best-known styles of the Mechanistic Approach. An example of this is the Time and Motion Studies to identify the most efficient movements for workers to make. It's an approach that is well known in the US (Pam, 2013).

Motivation is the word derived from the word 'motive' which means needs, desires, wants, or drives within the individuals. It is the process of stimulating people to action to accomplish the goals. In the work goal context, the psychological factors stimulating people's behavior can be the desire for money. success. It focuses on the job characteristics that affect psychological meaning and motivational potential and it views attitudinal variables (such as satisfaction, intrinsic motivation, job involvement) and Behavioral Variables (such as performance and attendance) as the most important outcomes of a Job Design. Job Design interventions emphasizing the Motivational Approach tend to focus on increasing the meaningfulness of jobs (Campion, 1987).

References:

Pam M.S., "MECHANISTIC THEORY," in PsychologyDictionary.org, April 7, 2013, https://psychologydictionary.org/mechanistic-theory/ (accessed April 28, 2021).

Campion, M. A., & Thayer, P. W. (1987). Job design: Approaches, outcomes, and trade-offs. Organizational Dynamics, 15(3), 66–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/0090-2616(87)90039-8