8/8/2019 Development Test Task

1/13

Journal of Applied Psychology Copyrigh11991 by lhe American PsychologicalAssociation, Inc,1991, Vol. 76, No. 6, 825-837 0021-9010/91/$3.00

Deve lopm ent an d Tes t o f a Task Level Mo de l o f Mot ivat ional Job D es ignChi-Sum Wong and Michael A. CampionK r a n n e r t S c h o o l o f M a n a g e m e n tP u r d u e U n i v e rs i ty

Th e motivational value of obs was predicted fro m the motivational value of asks, task interdepen-dence, and task similarity. This model was tested on 67 jobs (188 incumbents); analysts providedtask measures an d incumbents provided job measures. Task design had positive relationships, taskinterdependence had inverted4J relationships, and task similarity ha d scattered negative relation-ships with m otivational job design. Results suggest that, to design m otivating jobs, the motiva-tional value of tasks should be increased, as should task interdependence (up to a moderate po int);low to moderate amo unts o f task similarity do not matter. Increasing similarity and interdepen-dence beyond a moderate point may lead to overly focused and specialized jobs that are lessmotivating. Also, job d esign mediated relations between task design an d affective outcomes, b uttask design and interdependence had unique effects on abili ty requirements.

J o b d e s i g n r e s e a rc h i n t h e b e h a v i o r a l s c i e n c e s h a s a d v a n c e dk n o w l e d g e a b o u t t h e r e l a ti o n s h i p b e t w e e n t h e m o t i v a t i o n a l f ea -t u r e s o f jo b s , s u c h a s a u t o n o m y a n d v a r i et y , a n d i m p o r t a n tou t co m es , such a s j ob s a t i s f ac t ion ( e .g ., F r i ed & Fe r r i s, 1987 ;H a c k m a n & L a w l e r , 1 9 7 1 ; H e r z b e r g , 1 9 6 6 ; L o h e r , N o e ,M oe l l e r , & F i t zge ra ld , 1985 ; Tu rne r & Law rence , 1965). I no t h e r w o r d s , p r e v i o u s r e s e ar c h h a s f o c u s e d o n L i n k a g e 2 i nF igu re 1 .

T h e f o c u s o f th i s s t u d y w a s o n L i n k a g e l h h o w t h e m o t i v a-t i ona l va lues o f com bina t i ons o f spec i f i c ac t i v i ti e s ( he r e ca l l edmotivational task design) r e l a t e t o t h e m o t i v a t i o n a l v a l u e s o ft o t a l j obs (he re ca l l ed motivational job design). Thi s l i nkage i sc o n c e p t u a l l y i m p o r t a n t f o r e x p l a i n i n g w h y j o b s h a v e m o t i v a -t i ona l f ea tu r e s , and i t i s p r ac t i ca l l y im por t an t f o r i nd i ca t i ngh o w t a s k s s h o u l d b e d e v e l o p e d o r c o m b i n e d t o d e s i g n j o b s w i t hm ot iva t i ona l f ea tu r e s .

T h e d i s t i n c t io n b e t w e e n a t a s k a n d a j o b i s n o t r e a d i l y a p p a r -e n t i n j o b d e s i g n r e se a r c h , a n d t h e t e r m s task design (e.g. , G rif -f i n , 1982) and work design ( e.g ., H a c k m a n & O l d h a m , 1 9 8 0 ) a r eo f t e n u s e d t o r e f e r t o t h e m o t i v a t i o n a l d e s i g n o f j o b s . T h i s i sd e s p i t e t h e f a c t t h a t t h e d i s t i n c t i o n i s i m p o r t a n t i n o t h e r r e -s e a r c h , s u c h a s r e s e a r c h o n p e r s o n n e l s e l e c t io n , c o m p e n s a t i o n ,and , i n pa r t i cu l a r , j ob ana lys i s .I n t h i s s t u d y, w e a d o p t e d d e f i n it i o n s f r o m j o b a n a l y s i s r e -

This study was the doctoral dissertation of Chi-Sum Wong, con-ducted under the supervis ion of Michael A . Cam pion a t the K ranner tSchool of Managem ent, Purdue University. Special thanks are offeredto the o ther dissertation committee members (Chris J. Berger, StephenG. Green, and E David Schoorman), the doctoral students who servedas analysts (Stella E. Anderson, Steven S. Bojan, David S. Griggs,Christopher T. Hetrick, Stephen K. Ma rkham , and Gin a J. Medsker),the m any supervisors and employees of Purdue University who partici-pated in the study, and the three an ony mo us reviewers.Correspondence c once rning this article should be addressed to ei-ther Chi-Sum W ong, who is now at the D epar tmen t of Organizationand M anagement, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N ewTerritories, Hong Kon g or Michael A. Campion, Kra nne rt School ofManagem ent, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indian a 47907.

82 5

sea rch (F ine & W i l ey , 1971 ; G ae l , 198 3 ; M cC o rm i ck , 1979 ; U .S .D e p a r t m e n t o f L a b o r , 19 7 2) . A t a s k r e p r es e n t s c e r t a i n p r o -c e s s es i n w h i c h t h e w o r k e r, t h r o u g h h i s o r h e r a c t i o n s, t r a n s -f o r m s i n p u t s i n t o o u t p u t s m e a n i n g f u l t o t h e g o a l s o f t h e j o b b yu s i n g t o o ls , e q u i p m e n t , o r w o r k a i d s. T h e a c t i o n s o f t h e t a s km a y b e p h y s ic a l , m e n t a l , o r i n t e r p e r s o n a l . O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , aj o b i s a n a g g r e g a t i o n o f t a sk s a s s i g n e d t o a w o r k e r. W h e n t h es a m e s e t o f t a s k s a re p e r f o r m e d b y m o r e t h a n o n e w o r k e r , th o s ew o r k e r s a r e s a id t o h a v e t h e s a m e j o b .

Th i s s t udy add re s se s s eve ra l de f ic i enc i e s i n t he ex i s t i ng m o t i -v a t i o n a l j o b d e s i g n l it e r a tu r e f o r u n d e r s t a n d i n g L i n k a g e 1 .F i r s t, t h e r e e x i s ts n o c o n c e p t u a l m o d e l s p e c i f y i n g t h e r e l a ti o n -s h i p b e t w e e n m o t i v a t i o n a l t a s k d e s i g n a n d m o t i v a t i o n a l j o bd e s i g n , e v e n t h o u g h t h e r e a r e a n u m b e r o f m o d e l s a d d r e s s i n gt h e r e l a ti o n s h i p b e t w e e n m o t i v a t i o n a l j o b d e s i g n a n d o u t c o m e s(e. g. , tw o - f ac to r t heo ry , t he r equ i s i t e t a sk a t t r i bu t e s m o de l , t h ej o b c h a r a c t e r i s ti c s m o d e l , a c t i v a t i o n t h e o r y , a n d o t h e r s ; S te e r s& M ow day , 1977) . I n t he p r e se n t s t udy , w e a t t em pted t o deve lopa s im p le t a sk l eve l m ode l .

S e c o n d , c u r r e n t i n s t r u m e n t s ( e.g ., t h e J o b D i a g n o s t i c S u r v e y[ J D S ] c o n s t r u c t e d b y H a c k m a n & O l d h a m , 1 9 75 ; t h e J o b C h a r -a c t e r is t i c s I n v e n t o r y c o n s t r u c t e d b y S i m s , S z i l a g y i , & K e l le r ,1 9 7 6 ) m e a s u r e e n t i r e j o b s b u t d o n o t t e ll h o w t o m e a s u r e t a s kf e a tu r e s . T h e p r e s e n t s t u d y w a s c o n d u c t e d t o d e v e l o p m e a s u r e so f t a sk l eve l a t t r i bu t e s .

T h i r d , e x i s t in g m o t i v a t i o n a l j o b r e d e s i g n a d v i c e d o e s n o t t e llh o w t a sk s s h o u l d b e m o d i f i e d o r c o m b i n e d . I n s t e a d , t h e a d v i c ee i t h e r f o c u se s o n i m p l e m e n t a t i o n i s su e s , s u c h a s u s i n g c o n f e r -e n c e s o f e m p l o y e e s t o e x a m i n e p r o b l e m j o b s ( F o r d , 1 9 6 9 ) a n dd i a g n o s i n g o r g a n i z a t i o n a l c o n t e x t v a r i a b l e s l i k e t e c h n o l o g yand l eade r sh ip (G r i f fi n , 1982) , o r t he adv i ce j u s t l og i ca l l y ex -t e n d s j o b d e s i g n f e a tu r e s, f o r e x a m p l e , i n c r e a s i n g v a r i e t y b yc o m b i n i n g t a s k s ( H a c k m a n & O l d h a m , 1 9 80 ) a n d i n c re a s in gre spons ib i l i t y by i nc r eas ing accoun t ab i l i t y (H erzbe rg , 1966) .F u r t h e r m o r e , t h e r e s u l ts o f m o t i v a t i o n a l j o b r e d e s i g n s t u d i e sa r e o f t e n u n s u c c e s s f u l ( e .g ., F r a n k & H a c k m a n , 1 9 7 5 ; L a w l e r,H a c k m a n , & K a u f m a n , 1 9 7 3 ; L o c k e , S i ro t a , & W o l f s o n , 1 9 7 6 ),s u g g e s t i n g t h a t c u r r e n t k n o w l e d g e a b o u t h o w t o c h a n g e t a sk s i s

8/8/2019 Development Test Task

2/13

826 C H I -S U M W O N G A N D M I C H A E L A . CA M P I O N(Linkag e 1) (Linkage 2)

M ot iva t iona l - M ot iva t iona l ~ Job O u tcom esTask Design Job Design (e .g . , Sat is fact ion)(C om bina t i onsof A ct ivi t ies)Figure 1. Linkages in motivational job design research.

i nadequa t e . I n t he p r e sen t s t udy , w e sough t t o p rov ide spec i f ica d v i c e a s t o h o w t a s k s s h o u l d b e f o r m e d i n t o j o b s .

F o u r t h , m u c h o f t h e e x i s t in g r e s e a r c h o n j o b d e s i g n h a s b e e nc r i ti c i z ed a s a d d r e s s i n g o n l y t h e r e l a t io n s h i p b e t w e e n i n c u m -b e n t p e r c e p t i o n s o f th e j o b a n d i n c u m b e n t r e a c t i o n s t o t h e j o b ,w i t h t h e a c c o m p a n y i n g p r o b le m s o f c o m m o n m e t h o d v a r i a n c eand ex t r ane ous ( e. g. , soc i a l ) i n f l uences ( e .g ., R ob e r t s & G l i ck ,1981 ; Sa l anc ik & Pfe ff e r, 1977 , 1978) . W e a t t em pted i n s t ead t oe x a m i n e t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n s o m e w h a t m o r e o b j e c t i v et a s k f ea t u r es a n d i n c u m b e n t p e r c e p t i o n s a n d r e a c t i o n s, a n d t ok e e p t h e m e a s u r e s o f d i f fe r e n t v a r ia b l e s m e t h o d o l o g i c a l l y s e p a -r a t ed .F i f t h , th e r e i s s o m e p r e l i m i n a r y e v i d e n c e f r o m a l a b o r a t o r ys e t ti n g t h a t t h e m o t i v a t i o n a l d e s i g n o f ta s k s a n d t h e m o t i v a -t i o n a l d e s i g n o f j o b s a r e n o t r e l a te d i n a s i m p l e f a s h i o n ( C a m -p io n & S t evens , 1989) . The re i s a l so som e r ecen t f i e ld ev iden cet h a t o v e r a l l j o b s a t i s f ac t i o n m a y b e o n l y p a r t i a l l y p r e d i c t a b l ef rom sa t i s f ac ti on w i th i nd iv idu a l t a sks (T abe r & A l l i ge r , 1991).I n t h i s s tu d y , w e a d d r e s s e d t h e r e l a t i o n s h ip b e t w e e n t h e m o t i -v a t i o n a l d e s ig n o f ta s k s a n d t h e d e s i g n o f j o b s i n m o r e d e p t h ,a n d w e u s e d a l a r g e r s c a l e f i e l d s t u d y t h a n d i d C a m p i o n a n dStevens .

T h e p u r p o s e o f t h is s t u d y w a s t o d e v e l o p a n d t e s t a m o d e l o fL i n k a g e 1 . T h e r e s e a r c h q u e s t i o n w a s d e f i n e d a s o n e o f re l a ti n gthe pa r t s ( t asks) t o t he w ho le ( j ob ) . B ased o n a r ev i ew o f a b roa dva r i e ty o f o the r l i t e r a tu r e s t ha t a l so r e l a t e pa r t s t o w ho le s , t hem o d e l p r e d i c t s m o t i v a t i o n a l j o b d e s i g n f r o m m o t i v a t i o n a l ta s kd e s i g n a n d f r o m t h e r e l a t i o n s h ip s a m o n g t a s k s . T h e r e l a t i o n -s h i p s a m o n g t a s k s a r e d e f i n e d i n t e r m s o f t a s k i n t e r d e p e n d e n c eand t a sk s im i l a r i t y . The m ode l i s p r e sen t ed i n F igu re 2 , ande a c h o f t h e c o m p o n e n t s i s d e s c r i b e d i n t h e f o l lo w i n g se c t io n s .

T a s k D e s i g nM o t i v a t i o n a l t a s k d e s ig n i s th e a m o u n t o f m o t i v a t i o n a l f e a -

t u r e s ( e .g ., va r i ety , au tono m y ) a t a sk has w h en i t i s eva lua t edi n d e p e n d e n t l y o f o t h e r t a s k s o f t h e j o b . M o t i v a t i o n a l j o b d e s i g ni s t h e a m o u n t o f m o t i v a t i o n a l f e a t u r e s a j o b h a s w h e n i t i s e v a l u-a t ed a s a t o t a l ent it y . A s an i n i t i a l expec t a t i on (H ypo thes i s 1 ) , w ep r e d i c t e d t h a t t h e r e w o u l d b e a p o s it iv e r e l a ti o n s h i p b e t w e e nm o t i v a t i o n a l j o b d e s i g n a n d t h e s u m o f th e m o t i v a t i o n a l d e si g nof i ts t a sks . Th e su m w as used t o i nc lude t he e f f ec t s o f t hen u m b e r o f t a s k s a s w e ll a s t h e a v e r a g e m o t i v a ti o n a l t a s k d e s i g n .T h e n u m b e r o f t a s k s h a s b e e n p r e v i o u s l y fo u n d t o i n f l u e n c ep e r c e p t i o n s o f v a r i e t y ( G l o b e r s o n & C r o s s m a n , 1 97 6 ).

T h i s s t u d y d e v e l o p s t h e a n a l o g o u s n o t i o n o f ta s k i n t e r d e p e n -d e n c e . B o r r o w i n g f r o m t h e d e f i n i ti o n o f i n te r d e p e n d e n c ea m o n g w o r k u n i t s u s e d b y M c C a n n a n d F e r r y (1 9 79 ), t a s k i n -t e r d e p e n d e n c e i s d e f i n e d h e r e a s t h e e x t e n t t o w h i c h t h e i n p u t s ,p r o c e s se s , o r o u t p u t s o f th e t a s k s a ff e c t o r d e p e n d o n t h e i n p u t s,p r o c e s s es , o r o u t p u t s o f o t h e r t a sk s w i t h i n t h e s a m e j o b . B e -cause i npu t s , p roces se s , and ou tpu t s a r e i nc luded , t h i s de f i n i -t i o n i s c o m p a r a b l e t o t h e d e f i n i ti o n o f a t a s k , d e s c r i b e d e a rl ie r .

A c o m m o n f i n d i n g is t h a t t h e i n t er d e p e n d e n c e o f t h e p a r t si n c r e a s es t h e c o m p l e x i t y o f t h e w h o l e . F o r e x a m p le , d u a l - t a s ki n t e r d e p e n d e n c e c a n l e a d t o i n t e r f e r e n c e w h e n t h e t a s k s a r ep e r f o r m e d t o g e t h e r (e .g ., D u n c a n , 1 9 7 9 ; F r i e d m a n & P o l s o n ,1 9 8 1 ; K r a m e r , W i c k e n s , & D o n c h i n , 1 9 8 5 ; N a v o n & G o p h e r ,1 9 7 9 ; N a v o n & M i l l e r, 1 9 8 7) . I n t e r d e p e n d e n c e a m o n g j o b s c a ni n c r e a se f e e li n g s o f r e s p o n s i b i l i ty a m o n g i n c u m b e n t s ( e.g ., K i g -g u n d u , 1 9 8 1 , 19 83 ). I n t r a g r o u p i n t e r d e p e n d e n c e c a n i n f lu e n c eg r o u p p e r f o r m a n c e , o f t e n m a k i n g i t b e t t e r o r w o r s e t h a n t h a te x p e c t e d f r o m t h e s u m o f i n d i v i d u a l a b i l i ti e s ( e.g ., H a c k m a n ,B rouss eau , & W eis s , 1976 ; R oh rbau gh , 1981 ; Sch i f l e tt , 1972 ;S t e in e r , 1 9 72 ; S t u m p f , F r e e d m a n , & Z a n d , 1 9 7 9 ; T h o m a s , 1 9 5 7 ;T z i n e r & E d e n , 1 9 85 ). I n t e r d e p a r t m e n t a l i n t e r d e p e n d e n c e c a ni n c r e a s e t h e n e e d e d l ev e l o f c o o r d i n a t i o n , t h u s i n c r e a si n g c o m -p l ex i t y w i th in t he o rgan i za t i on ( e. g. , C he ng , 1983 ; I t o & Pe t e r -s o n , 1 9 8 6 ; M c C a n n & G a l b r a i t h , 1 9 8 1 ; M i n t z b e r g , 1 9 7 9 ;T h o m p s o n , 1 9 6 7 ; V a n d e V e n & D e l b e c q , 1 9 7 6 ; V i c t o r & B l a c k -b u r n , 1 9 87 ). I n t e r o r g a n i z a t i o n a l i n t e r d e p e n d e n c e c a n i n c r e a set h e c o m p l e x i t y o f o r g a n i z a t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e s a n d p r o c e s s e s (e .g .,A ik en & H age , 1968 ; H a l l , 1982 ; P fe ff er , 1972 ; Sch e rm erho rn ,1977) . F ina l l y , a l t hou gh no t pa r t o f t he i n t e rd epen denc e l i t e r a -t u r e , r e s e a r c h o n t r a i n i n g s u g g e s t s t h a t t h e w h o l e m e t h o d o ft r a i n i n g i s b e t t e r t h a n t h e p a r t m e t h o d w h e n t a s k s a r e in t e r d e -

TaskInterdependence

+

Motivational - Motivational D Job Ou tcom esTask Design Job Design

/TaskSimilarityT a s k I n t e r d e p e n d e n c e

T h e n o t i o n o f in t e r d e p e n d e n c e i s f r e q u e n t ly d i s c u s s e d i n a r -t i cl e s t h a t a d d r e s s t h e r e l a t i o n s h ip b e t w e e n p a r t s a n d w h o l e s.

I ~ Linkage 1 ~ 1~ Link age 2 ---Figure 2. Proposed task level mod el of motivational job d esign.

8/8/2019 Development Test Task

3/13

TAS K LEVEL M O DEL OF JOB DES IGN 8 2 7pen den t (e .g. , Nay lor & Briggs, 1963; Nay lor & Dick inson ,1969).Th ese f i n d in g s su g g es t t h a t i n t e rd ep en d en ce amo n g t ask sm a y l e a d t o a m o r e c o m p l e x jo b , a n d t h e t e r m job com plexityh as o f t en b e en u sed as a sy n o n y m fo r t h e e f fec ts o f mo t iv a t i o n a ljob design (e .g ., Aldag , B arr , & B rief , 1981; Gerh ar t , 1988; Ho -gan & Martel l , 1987; Wood, 1986) . Fur thermore, in terdepen-d en ce amo n g t ask s seems l o g i ca l l y r e l a t ed t o man y mo t iv a -t i o n a l j o b d es ig n f ea tu res . F o r ex amp le , wh en t h e o u tp u t s o fso m e t ask s a re t h e i n p u t s o f o th e r t a sk s , t h e re ma y b e h ig h erin t ri n s ic j o b f eed b ack . Th a t i s, t h e q u a l i t y o f p e r fo rm an ce o nso m e t ask s is l ik e ly t o b e i n d i ca t ed wh en t h e i r o u tp u t i s n eed edto p e r fo rm o th er t a sk s . I n t e rd ep en d en t t a sk s may r eq u i re m o recoord inat ion and thus involve act iv i ties such as p lann ing , s ched-u l i n g, an d i n sp ec t in g , wh ich m ay i n c rease v a r i e ty an d sk i l lu sag e . Au to n o m y ma y i n c rease b ecau se co o rd in a t i n g t a sk s r e -q u i r es t h e wo rk er t o d ec id e a mo n g d i f f e r ent sch ed u les o r way so f co mp le t i n g a ll t h e t a sk s . I d en t i ty ma y a l so i n c rease i f t h ein t e rd ep en d en ce am o n g t h e t a sk s i n c reases t h e l i k e l ih o o d t h a tan en t i r e p i ece o f wo rk i s co m p le t ed , su ch as i f th e t a sk s a r e a l lo n t h e s a m e p r o d u c t .In ad d i t i o n , s t u d i es o f j o b r ed es ig n su g g es t t h a t ad d in g i n t e r-d ep en d en t t a sk s i n c reases emp lo y ee p e rcep t i o n s o f mo t iv a -t ional job design and feel ings o f sat i sfaction . For exam ple, su-p erv i so ry j o b s t h a t i n v o lv ed p ro d u c in g an d i n sp ec t i n g t h e sameproduct were combined (Davis & Valfer , 1965) , c ler ical jobsthat had sequent ial work-f low relat ionsh ips were combined(Orp en , 1 9 79 ), q u a l i t y co n t ro l t a sk s were ad d ed t o m an u fac tu r -i n g j o b s (Gr i f fn , 1 9 8 3 ) , n ew t ask s t h a t a f f ec t ed t h e p e r fo r -ma n ce o f ex is t i n g ta sk s were ad d ed t o r ecep t i o n i s t j o b s (Gr i f -f e th , 1 9 8 5 ) , q u a l i t y co n t ro l an d d ec i s i o n -mak in g t ask s wereadde d to b an k tel ler jobs (Grif f in , 1989) , and cler ical jobs tha th ad d i r ec t i n p u t -o u tp u t r e l a t i o n sh ip s were co mb in ed (Cam-p io n & M cCle l l an d , 1 9 9 1 ) . On t h e o th e r h an d , j o b r ed es ig ns tu d i es t h a t ad d ed i n d ep en d en t t a sk s t en d ed t o h av e n o n s ig -n i f ica n t o r negat ive ef fects on m ot ivat iona l job design a nd sat i s-f ac t io n . F o r ex am p le , te l ep h o n e o p era to r s were a l l o wed t o sh i f tf reely between tw o indep end ent jobs (Law ler et a l. , 1973), inde-p e n d e n t c o m p u t e r o p e r a t o r jo b s w e r e c o m b i n e d ( L a t a c k & F o s -t e r , 1 9 85 ), an d n ew u n re l a t ed t a sk s b ro u g h t ab o u t b y co mp u te r -i za t io n were ad d ed t o man ag er i a l j o b s (L id en , P ar so n s , & Na-gap , 1987) . F inal ly , lab orato ry s tud ies have also found a posi t ivee f f ect o f t a sk i n t e rd ep en d en ce o n i n t ri n s i c m o t iv a t i o n (Hi r s t ,1988).Th ere fo re , we p red i c t ed (H y p o th es i s 2 ) t h a t t h e re w o u ld b e ap o s i ti v e r e l a t io n sh ip b e tween t ask i n t e rd ep en d en ce an d mo t i -v a t i o n a l j o b d es ign . Th i s e f f ect was ex p ec t ed t o b e i n d ep en d e n to f mo t iv a t i o n a l t a sk d es ig n i n t h a t t a sk i n t e rd ep en d en c e wo u ldre l a te t o mo t iv a t i o n a l j o b d es ig n ev en a f t e r mo t iv a t i o n a l t a skdesign was con t ro l led .

o f t h e p a r t s decreases h e co m p lex i t y o f t h e wh o le . F o r ex am p le ,wh en t h e s t im u l i o r r eso u rces o f two t ask s a r e s imi l a r i n a d u a l -t a sk p a ra d ig m , t h e ex p ec t ed i n t e r f e r en ce may n o t o c cu r ( e.g. ,F r i ed m an & P o i so n , 1 9 81 ; Kra m er e t a l. , 19 8 5; Lo g an & Bu r -kel l , 1986) . In the in t ragroup l i teratu re, g roup homogenei ty int e rm s o f ab i li t ie s , mo t iv a t i o n , an d b ack g ro u n d c an r ed u ce i n -teract ion and d iscussion , thus reducing group effect iveness(e.g ., He we t t , O'B r ien , & Ho rn ik , 1974; Jan is , 1972; Tziner,1986; Tziner & Eden , 1985; Yet ton & Bot tger , 1983) . In terde-p ar tm en ta l sp ec i a l i za t io n i n c reases t h e r eso u rces an d ac t iv i ti e sn eed ed fo r co o rd in a t i o n ( e.g, , I t o & P e t e r so n , 1 9 86 ; M cC an n &Galb ra i t h , 1 9 8 1 ; M in t zb erg , 1 9 7 9) , b u t s im i l a r i ty am o n g d ep ar t -me n t s m ay d ecrease t h e r eq u i r ed l ev e l o f co o rd in a t i o n . F in a ll y,t h e t r a i n in g l i t e r a tu re i s ag a in r e l ev an t in t h a t wh en t h e s t imu l ian d r esp o n ses u sed i n t h e t r a i n in g s it u a t i o n an d o n t h e j o b a r es imi l a r ( as in i t ia l l y d iscu ssed i n t h e co n t ex t o f t h e t h eo ry o fi d en t i ca l e l emen t s ; Th o rn d ik e , 1 9 0 3 ; Th o rn d ik e & Wo o d -wo rth , 1901), t ransfe r o f t rain ing i s less d i fl~cul t (e.g. , Baldw in& Ford , 1988; Gic k & H olyoak , 1987).Th ese f i n d in g s su g g es t th a t s imi l a r i t y am o n g t ask s ma y l eadto a l e s s co m p lex j o b . Th ere a r e t h r ee ad d i t i o n a l r easo n s wh ytask s imi l a r i t y m ay b e n eg a t i v e ly r e l a ted t o mo t iv a t i o n a l j o bd es ig n. F i r s t , f ea tu res su ch as t a sk a n d sk i l l v a r i e t y wi l l p ro b a-b ly d ecrease as t a sk s b eco m e m o re s imi l a r . S eco n d , w h en t ask sare s imi lar , the ne ed for coord ina t ing act iv i ties, which havehigh m ot ivat iona l value (e.g. , p lan n ing a nd schedu l ing) , wouldb e r ed u ced . T h i rd , g ro u p in g t ask s in to j o b s acco rd in g t o t h e i rs imi l a r i t y i s co n s is t en t w i th t h e p r i n c ip l es o f sp ec i a l iza t i o n an ds imp l i f i ca t i o n , u sed i n t h e t r ad i t i o n a l i n d u s t r i a l en g in eer in gapp roa ch to jo b design (e .g ., Barne s , 1980; Gi lb reth , 1911; Tay-lo r , 1 9 1 1 ) . Th i s mech an i s t i c ap p ro ach t o j o b d es ig n i s n eg a-t ively related , bo th co ncep tual ly and e mpir ical ly , to the o rgan i -za t i o n a l -p sy ch o lo g y -b ased mo t iv a t i o n a l ap p ro ach t o j o b d es ig n(Ca mp ion , 1988; C am pio n & Thay er , 1985; Salvendy, 1978) thati s the focus o f th is s tudy.Th ere fo re , we p red i c t ed (H y p o th es i s 3 ) t h a t t h e re wo u ld b e an eg a t iv e r e l a ti o n sh ip b e tween t ask s imi l a r i t y an d mo t iv a t i o n a lj o b d es ig n . Th i s e f f ec t was ex p ec t ed t o b e i n d e p en d en t o f mo t i -v a t i o n a l t a sk d es ig n i n t h a t t a sk s im i l a r i ty wo u ld r e l a t e t o mo t i -v a t i o n a l j o b d e s ig n ev en a f t e r mo t iv a t i o n a l t a sk d es ig n was co n -t ro l led .

T a s k L e v e l C o n s t r u c t s a n d J o b O u t c o m e sTh e d i s t i n c t i o n b e twee n L in k ag es 1 an d 2 imp l i es t h a t t a sk

level const ructs in f luence mot ivat ional job design , which intu rn i n f lu en ces j o b o u t co m es (F ig u re 2 ) . Two ty p es o f o u t-c o m e s w e r e e x a m i n e d t o t e s t t h i s m e d i a t i n g e ff e ct o f m o t i v a -t i o n a l j o b d es ig n o n t h e r e l a t i o n sh ip b e tween t ask l ev e l mea-su res an d o u t co m es .

T a s k S i m i l a r i tyAn o th er co mmo n co n s t ru c t i n t h e p a r t -wh o le l i t e r a tu res i st h e s im i l a r it y o f p a r t s . Co m p arab l e t o t h e d e f i n i ti o n s o f ta sk san d t ask i n t e rd ep en d en ce , t a sk s im i l a r i ty i s d e f i n ed as t h e ex -

t en t t o wh ich t h e t a sk s wi th in t h e sam e j o b i n vo lv e t h e sam einputs , p rocesses , o r ou tpu ts .A co m m o n f i n d in g i n t h ese l i t e r a tu res i s t h a t t h e s imi l a r i t y

Affect ive O utcomesT h e m o s t s t u d i e d o u t c o m e s f r o m m o t i v a ti o n a l j o b d e s ig n a r eaffect ive ou tcomes, especial ly job sat i sfact ion (Fr ied & Ferr i s ,1 9 87 ; Lo h e r e t a t ., 1 9 85 ). W e p red i c t ed (Hy p o th es i s 4 ) t h a t m o -t i v a t i o n a l j o b d es ig n wo u ld med ia t e t h e r e l a t i o n sh ip b e tweenth e t a sk l ev e l measu res an d a ff ec ti ve o u t co m es o f j o b s .

8/8/2019 Development Test Task

4/13

828 C H I - S U M W O N G A N D M I C H A E L A . C A M P I O NA b i l i t y R e q u i r em e n t O u t c o m e s

O t h e r i m p o r t a n t o u t c o m e s f r o m m o t i v a t i o n a l j o b d e s i g n a r ej o b a b i l i ty r e q u i re m e n t s . T h e s e o u t c o m e s h a v e b e e n s t u d i e d s ot h a t t h e p o t e n t i a l s t a f f i n g , t r a i n i n g , a n d c o m p e n s a t i o n i m p l i -c a t i o n s o f j o b r e d e s i g n c o u l d b e a n t i c i p a t e d . P r e v i o u s r e s e a r c hh a s d e m o n s t r a t e d t h a t h i g h e r m o t i v a t i o n a l j o b d e s i g n i s r e l a te dt o h i g h e r m e n t a l a b i l it y r e q u i r e m e n t s ( C a m p i o n , 1 9 8 9 ; D u n -h a m , 1 9 7 7 ; G e r h a r t , 1 9 8 8; R o u s s e a u , 1 9 8 2; S c h n e i d e r ,R e i c h e r s , & M i t c h e l l , 1 9 8 2 ; T a b e r , B e e h r , & W a l s h , 1 9 8 5 ) . F u r -t h e r m o r e , j u s t a s m o t i v a t i o n a l jo b d e s i g n h a s b e e n u s e d t o d e -s c r i b e j o b c o m p l e x i t y , s o h a v e m e n t a l a b i l i t y r e q u i r e m e n t s ( e.g .,F l e i s h m a n & Q u a i n t a n c e , 1 9 8 4) . T h u s , w e p r e d i c t e d ( H y p o t h e -s i s 5 ) t h a t m o t i v a t i o n a l j o b d e s i g n w o u l d m e d i a t e t h e r e l a t i o n -s h i p b e t w e e n t h e t a s k l e v e l m e a s u r e s a n d t h e a b i l i t y r e q u i r e -m e n t o u t c o m e s o f jo b s .

M e t h o dO v e r v i e w

Jo b in cu mb en ts p ro v id ed th e t a sk s ta temen ts an d measu re s o f mo t i -v a t io n a l jo b d es ig n a s we l l a s o f a ffec t an d ab i l i ty o u tco mes ; in d ep en -d en t an a ly s t s p ro v id ed th e t a sk l ev e l measu re s o f mo t iv a t io n a l t a skd es ig n , in te rd ep en d en ce , an d s imi la r i ty . Th is r e sea rch s t r a teg y wasu sed fo r s ev e ral r ea so n s. F i r s t , i t a l lo wed u s to me th o d o lo g ica l ly sep a -ra te th e t a sk l ev e l measu re s a n d th e jo b lev e l measu re s . Seco n d , we fe l tth a t in cu m b en ts co u ld n o t ju d g e th e m o t iv a t io n a l v a lu es o f in d iv id u a lta sk s wi th o u t b e in g in f lu en ced b y k n o wled g e o f th e mo t iv a t io n a lv a lu e o f th e en t i r e jo b . Th i rd , i t i s r ea l i s t i c o f jo b d es ig n an d red es ig ns tu d ie s to u se an a ly st s fo r ex amin in g th e jo b an d in c u mb en ts to co l lec to u tco m e d a ta . L ik ewise , jo b s a re in i t i a l ly d e s ig n ed b y an a ly s t s ( e.g. ,man ag e rs an d en g in ee rs ) o n th e b as i s o f an ex amin a t io n o f t ask s. W h enjo b s a re in i t i a l ly d e s ig n ed , th e re a re n o ex i s t in g in cu mb en ts . Em p lo y -ees su b seq u en t ly h i red o r p laced o n th e jo b s th en p ro v id e ev a lu a t io n so f t h e j o b d e s ig n a n d o u t c o m e s .S a m p l e

Th e samp le co n s i s ted o f 1 88 emp lo y ees in 6 7 jo b s in a u n iv e r s i ty inth e m id wes te rn Un i ted Sta te s . T h e re we re 1 2 ad min is t r a t iv e o r su p e r -v i so ry jo b s , 7 p ro fe s s io n a l jo b s , 1 3 tech n ica l jo b s , 2 3 c le r ica l jo b s , an d1 2 se rv ice jo b s . Th e s ta t i s t i c a l p o w er fo r jo b lev e l an a ly se s was ap p ro x i -ma te ly 8 0% to d e tec t a co r re la t io n o f . 3 0 , o r a sq u a red mu l t ip le co r re la -t io n o f . 1 6 fo r reg re s s io n mo d e ls wi th th ree in d ep en d en t v a r iab le s (p