For use with Organizational Behaviour and Managementby John Martin and Martin Fellenz

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CONTROL AND JOB DESIGNChapter 12

For use with Organizational Behaviour and Managementby John Martin and Martin Fellenz

1408018128© 2010 Cengage Learning

Control

• Control - the function of regulating events, actions, outcomes, or other relevant aspects according to preferred standards, plans, objectives, or other chosen referents

For use with Organizational Behaviour and Managementby John Martin and Martin Fellenz

1408018128© 2010 Cengage Learning

ControlFigure 12.1

• This basic model is called the negative feedback loop - because it reduces discrepancies

For use with Organizational Behaviour and Managementby John Martin and Martin Fellenz

1408018128© 2010 Cengage Learning

TOTE model Figure 12.2

For use with Organizational Behaviour and Managementby John Martin and Martin Fellenz

1408018128© 2010 Cengage Learning

TOTE model

Figure 12.3

For use with Organizational Behaviour and Managementby John Martin and Martin Fellenz

1408018128© 2010 Cengage Learning

ControlThe necessary elements of control in any context are: • The goal - desired state• Feedback - relevant information about the current state• Discrepancy detection - comparison of the desired and

actual states• Action - initiated to reduce any detected discrepancy

Discrepancy amplifying loops - positive feedback loops also exist

For use with Organizational Behaviour and Managementby John Martin and Martin Fellenz

1408018128© 2010 Cengage Learning

CONTROL IN ORGANIZATIONS

• Prospective control - proactive alignment of resources in ways that maximize the likelihood of achieving intended objectives

• Reactive control - actions taken to bring activities in line with targets and expectations

• Authority - legitimate power vested in managers based on their position and role in an organization

For use with Organizational Behaviour and Managementby John Martin and Martin Fellenz

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Control in organizationsTwo often opposing aspects to the existence of control:

• Basis of order and predictability in operational activity

• Control is restrictive, lacks flexibility, and can be manipulative and greedywith regard to the abolition of personal freedom

Huczynski and Buchanan (1991) control has a number of connotations:

• Physical

• Economic

• Psychological

A fourth connotation is that of:

• Political perspectives

For use with Organizational Behaviour and Managementby John Martin and Martin Fellenz

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APPROACHES TO ORGANIZATIONAL CONTROL

• Ouchi (1979, 1980) three organizational control strategies - bureaucratic control, market control, and clan control

• Use determine by:– performance ambiguity which refers to the ease and clarity

with which the value of activities or outcomes can be assessed– Goal incongruence, the second factor, is the degree of

alignment between individual and organizational goals• Bureaucratic control - based on bureaucratic organizational forms • Market control - used at the unit level and based on profit/cost

centres• Clan control - based on social influence on behaviour

For use with Organizational Behaviour and Managementby John Martin and Martin Fellenz

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Ouchi’s organizational control strategies

Table 12.1

For use with Organizational Behaviour and Managementby John Martin and Martin Fellenz

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Control – other perspectives

• Panoptic control - based on prison design which allows all inmates to be observed without them being aware when it actually takes place

• Concertive control - based on the social control exercised by groups on their members

• Output control - direct measurement of the outputs produced • Behavioural control - direct observation during work performance • Input control (or clan control) – used where work outcomes are not

measurable and where work performance cannot be observed • Paradox of control - control can lead to unintended consequences

particularly in ethical decision

For use with Organizational Behaviour and Managementby John Martin and Martin Fellenz

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MEANS OF ORGANIZATIONAL CONTROL

• Managerial and supervisor behaviours • Skill• Organizational structure• Hierarchy and authority• Social control and socialization• Technology• Reward, punishment and reinforcement

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Informal supervisory control behaviours

Table 12.2

For use with Organizational Behaviour and Managementby John Martin and Martin Fellenz

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MEANS OF ORGANIZATIONAL CONTROL

• Clegg and Dunkerley (1980) – Vicious cycle of control – the downward spiral of tighter control leading to negative employee behaviours leading to tighter control

Figure 12.4

For use with Organizational Behaviour and Managementby John Martin and Martin Fellenz

1408018128© 2010 Cengage Learning

Technology and controlTable 12.3

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Behaviour modification Figure 12.5

For use with Organizational Behaviour and Managementby John Martin and Martin Fellenz

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Job design

• Job design - the way in which tasks are grouped, assigned and structured in organizations at the level of individual jobs

For use with Organizational Behaviour and Managementby John Martin and Martin Fellenz

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Work study

• Scientific management

• One best way

• Division of labour •Work study

• Method Study• Work measurement

For use with Organizational Behaviour and Managementby John Martin and Martin Fellenz

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Work Study Figure 12.6

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Ergonomics

A multi-disciplinary approach to considering how people can best conduct specific work tasks, including:

• The human-machine interface

• Maximal efficiency with minimal effort and stress

• Athropometric profiles of human beings

• Physiology and biomechanics

For use with Organizational Behaviour and Managementby John Martin and Martin Fellenz

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Job analysisTwo main approaches to job analysis:

• Functional job analysis:•Employee activities relevant to data, people and other jobs.•The methods and techniques used by the worker.•The machines, tools and equipment used by the worker.•What outputs are produced by the worker.

• Position analysis questionnaire:• Sources of information necessary to the job.• Decision making associated with the job activity.• Physical aspects associated with the job.• Interpersonal and communication necessary to the job.• Working conditions and their impact on the job.• Impact of work schedules, responsibility etc.

For use with Organizational Behaviour and Managementby John Martin and Martin Fellenz

1408018128© 2010 Cengage Learning

Job analysis and job effectivenessFigure 12.7

For use with Organizational Behaviour and Managementby John Martin and Martin Fellenz

1408018128© 2010 Cengage Learning

Job analysis

• Job analysis is used to support activities such as:• Resourcing and HR planning • Training • Career development and succession planning • Payment and remuneration level• Provision of job descriptions and job evaluation

schemes • Performance evaluation

For use with Organizational Behaviour and Managementby John Martin and Martin Fellenz

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Approaches to designing jobsSimplification and job engineeringJob rotationJob enlargementJob enrichment

For use with Organizational Behaviour and Managementby John Martin and Martin Fellenz

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Job characteristics approach to job enrichment

Figure 12.8

For use with Organizational Behaviour and Managementby John Martin and Martin Fellenz

1408018128© 2010 Cengage Learning

Job DesignSocial-information processing model Salancik and Pfeffer

(1978):• Recognizes the role of socially constructed reality of work• Highlights the role of social information in determining the effects

of the design of a job on the holder• The way in which workers experience the nature of their job and

subjectively interpret information about it• Such interpretations are influenced by others as well as by the

past behaviour of the person themselves