Chapter 7 Flashcards
(33 cards)
What is the job characteristics model?
This is a model suggesting that any job can be described in five dimensions.
What is job design?
Job design is the way in which the elements in a job are organized.
what are the five dimensions of a job characteristics model?
- Skill variety: degree to which jobs need different skills.
- Task identity: job requires completing one piece from start to end
- Task significance: impact on lives of others
- Autonomy: job provides freedom, independence and direction
- Feedback: job results in obtaining clear info about performance
What is the motivating potential skills score?
This is (skill variety + task identity + task significance)/3* Autonomy * Feedback.
What are the main ways jobs can be redesigned?
- Job rotation
- Job enrichment
- Relational job design
What is job rotation?
This is the shifting employees to other tasks periodically. This can increase job satisfaction, but it also increases costs and reduces efficiency and productivity
What is job enrichment?
This is the vertical expansion of a job, in which employees get more control in planning, execution and evaluation of work.
What is relational job design?
This focuses on how work from employees impacts the lives of those affected and how these connectinos have positive effects.
Name three alternative work arrangements.
- Flexitime
- Job sharing
- Teleworking
What is flexitime and what are it’s effects on motivation?
Flexitime means that employees have flexible work hours. This tends to reduce absenteeism and improves productivity.
This is not possible for all jobs
What is a job sharing arragement and what is its influence on employee motivation?
This is an arrangement in which two or more people share the traditional 40-hour workweek. This can be done for a variety of reasons. It can increase motivation and satisfaction, but communicating intricacies of the job is hard.
Name and explain two important types of employee involvement programmes
- Participative management: subordinates share decision-making power with immediate superiors. Not always effective
- Representative particpation: system where workers particiapte in decision making through small group of representatives. Influence is small
These programmes can increase intrinsic motivation and feelings of procedural justice
What is teleworking and what is it’s influence on employees?
Teleworking means that employees use technology to work remotely. This is suitable for information-handling tasks, mobile activities and professional knowledge-related tasks.
It increases job satisfaction but reduces supervision.
What is employee involvement?
This is a process that uses input from employees to increase employee commitment to an organization’s goals. Tries to increase motivation and commitment through autonomy.
Name two considerations in estabilishing a pay structure
- Balance interal equity (value of job to organization) and external exauity (compensation compared to competitors)
- Balancing competitive pay to attract better motivated and more talented employees while protecting profits
What is a piece-rate pay plan?
Workers get paid a total sum per produced unit.
Pure -piece-rate plan is only this commission, otherwise they have a base salary
Name some of the most common types of variable pay structures
- Piece-rate pay plan
- Merit-based
- Bonuses
- Skill-based
- Profit sharing plan
- Gainsharing
- Employee stock ownership plan
What is a merit-based pay plan?
Pay plan based on performance evaluation. This rewards high-performers.
What are the limitations of a merit-based plan?
- Pay plan is as valid as performance review
- Pay rise pool can change due to changing economic conditions
- Resistance to these plans by unions
What is a bonus pay plan?
Pay plan that bases rewards on recent performane. This is important in top jobs, but can easily be cut
What is skill-based pay?
A pay plan that determines pay on number of skills mastered. Increases workforce flexibility, communication and productivity but can be dangerous when skills are unnecessary or occurrence of skill-stacking
What is profit-sharing?
A pay plan that distributes compensation based on some profitability formula. Can be in cash and options. Appears to impact employee attitudes positively
What is gainsharing?
Group incentive plan based on a formula using increases in group productivity as central metric
What is an employee stock ownership plan?
Pay plan where employees receive stock, often below market price as compensation. Increases satisfaction and innovation if employees are psychologically involved
