Job Redesign in the Public Sector: the Track Record
| Author | Russ Smith |
| Date | 01 September 1981 |
| Published date | 01 September 1981 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0734371X8100200107 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
63
JOB
REDESIGN IN
THE PUBLIC
SECTOR:
THE
TRACK
RECORD
Russ
Smith
Department
of
Political
Science
North
Texas
State
University
Abstract
Job
redesign
has
been
used
in
the
public
and
private
sectors
for
at
least
two
decades.
This
essay
examines
the
use
of
job
redesign
techniques
in
the
public
sector.
The
psychological
basis
of
job
redesign
is
briefly
reviewed,
focusing
on
motivation
theories.
Then,
several
cases
are
reviewed
il-
lustrating
the
application
of
different
techniques.
Finally,
the
utility
of
job
redesign
in
the
public
sector
is
assessed,
concluding
with
a
call
for
more
rigorous
research.
An
Appendix
lists
twenty-one
cases
of
various
job
redesign
efforts
in
the
public
sector.
Introduction
A
1971
study
of
office
workers
reported
that
the
employees
were
producing
only
fifty-five
percent
of
their
potential.
A
Gallup
Poll
in
1972
asked
mid-level
managers
if
they
thought
&dquo;they
could
produce
more
each
day
if
they
tried.&dquo;
Seventy
percent
responded
in
the
affirmative
(Golembiewski
and
Cohen,
1976:479).
Workers’
(and
managers’)
underproductive
behavior
in
the
seven-
ties,
concluded
a
special
H.E.W.
Task
Force,
may
be
due
primarily
to
the
ef-
fects
of
work
conditions
(Golembiewski
and
Cohen,
1976:480).
More
produc-
tivity
may
be
obtained
from
such
workers
if
the
relationshp
between
employee
behavior
and
work
conditions
is
better
understood.
Extensive
research
by
B. F.
Skinner
and
other
behaviorists
since
1950,
as
well
as
work
by
management
theorists
such
as
Frederick
Herzberg,
Abraham
Maslow
and
Douglas
McGregor,
has
provided
conceptual
tools
for
explaining
employee
behavior.
Patterns
of
behavior
in
a
job
situation
can
be
viewed
as
the
result
of
&dquo;the
needs
and
energies
the
person
brings
to
the
job
situation...
and
the
characteristics
of
the
job
itself&dquo;
(Hampton
and
Summer,
1973:19).
Characteristics
of
a
job
include,
for
example,
the
nature
of
the
tasks
of
the
job
or
whether
the
tasks
produce
an
identifiable
product.
1 Thus
changing
a
per-
son’s
needs
or
changing
job
characteristics
are
the
two
ways
to
induce
behavioral
changes.
For
administrators
(and
researchers
as
well),
behavioral
change
can
be
induced
more
easily
by
changing
job
characteristics
than
by
changing
a
per-
son’s needs.
Among
the
host
of
methods
available for
changing
job
characteristics,
job
redesign
offers
a
conceptually
simple
(and
potentially
64
managable)
method
for
effecting
behavior
change.
This
essay
will
first
review
the
psychological
basis
for
job
redesign,
then
will
focus
on
the
track
record
of
job
redesigning
efforts
in
the
public
sector.
Finally,
the
utility
of
job
redesign-
ing
as a
behavior
modification
method
for
public
organizations
will
be
discuss-
ed,
noting
the
effects
of
job
redesign
on
productivity
and
on
employee’s
needs,
behavior
and
career
development.
Basis
for
Job
Redesign
Most
job
redesign
techniques
try
to
increase
worker
motivation,
create
more
desirable
behaviors,
or
increase
productivity
by
changing
the
job
situation.
Motivation,
an
internal
state
of
the
employee,
can
be
sometimes
inferred
from
observed
behavior
(such
as
absenteeism,
turnover,
productivity,
complaints,
grievance,
and
so
on) or
derived
from
attitude
surveys
about
desired
job
situa-
tions
and
the
actual
job
situations.
2
Although
researchers
have
presented
at
least
seven
different
theories
(summariz-
ed
in
Table
1)
on
motivation
in
work,
not
all
have
been
tested
in
job
redesign
efforts.
Some
may
not
even
be
useful
to
managers
seeking
to
redesign
jobs.
Nonetheless, a
review
of
the
different
theories
will
show
alternative
perspec-
tives
for
redesigning
jobs
and
identify
factors
researchers
have
deemed
impor-
tant
in
understanding
the
relationship
between
job
characteristics
and
employee
behaviors
and
attitudes.
The
review
here
is
concerned
only
with
aspects
of
the
theories
that
pertain
to
job
redesign.
In a
few
cases,
the
theories
cover
other
aspects
of
behaviors
or
attitudes.
Activation
theory
is
based
on
the
physiological
or
psychological
effects
of
jobs
on
workers’
performance.
Activation,
&dquo;the
degree
of
excitation
of
the
brain
stem
reticular
formation,&dquo;
is
curvilinearly
related
to
performance
(Scott,
1966).
Very high
or
very
low
levels
of
activation
lead
to
low
performance,
while
moderate
levels
of
activation
lead
to
higher levels
of
performance.
Activation
levels
vary among
individuals,
but
repetitive
tasks
are
expected
to
lead
to
low
levels
of
activation,
yielding
low
levels
of
performance.
Increased
variety
in
tasks
is
expected
to
lead
to
moderate
levels
of
activation,
yielding
optimal
perfor-
mance
by
workers.
This
theory
focuses
on
the
importance
of
individuals’
biochemical
responses
to
job
characterstics
and,
~dr~ittedly9
is
of
little
prac-
tical
use
until
such
responses
can
be
more
easily
measured
in
the
workplace.
Also,
several
of
the
concepts
in
the
theory
have
to
be
developed
more
fully,
so
they
too
can
be measured.
The
socio-technical
systems
theory
of
Eric
Trist et
al.
(1963)
relates
the
technical
aspects
of
tasks
to
the
social
environment
of
work.
Their
work,
based
on
studies
of
coal
mining,
stresses
the
importance
of
both
tasks
and
the
social
environment
of
work
in
providing
&dquo;psychological
requisites&dquo;
to
workers.
These
requisites
include
opportunities
to
learn,
decision-making
autonomy,
social
sup-
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