Abstract
This article provides an overview of job design and offers an experiential teaching exercise to help students develop a better comprehension of job design and redesign, as well as learn the importance and challenges of such undertakings. Understanding the core elements of job design is especially important because job design serves as the foundational block for a deeper understanding and application of other organizational phenomenon such as the job characteristics model. This exercise is intended for the introductory undergraduate and graduate-level human resource management course as well as any courses covering “staffing.” Additionally, this activity may be used in the undergraduate Principles of Management or associated introductory management class.
Employers have become critical of management educators for a purported learning gap between the management content taught in business schools and the skills needed in the post-graduation work environment (Lidon, Rebollar, & Moller, 2011; Maurer, 2016). Purportedly, many students are inadequately prepared for the challenges they will face in the workplace (Sarason & Banbury, 2004). Likewise, management educators may struggle to find innovative ways of effectively conveying important class content. One method that can be employed is to incorporate more experiential learning activities into the classroom (Finch, Peacock, Lazdowski, & Hwang, 2015). When thoughtfully included as part of a management curriculum, experiential learning may be particularly beneficial for complex topics such as job design. Although job design processes appear intuitive, students have a difficult time fully comprehending the many intricacies that must be accounted for when taught using a traditional lecture format. We have found in teaching job design that it works best when students can experience it. There are several courses during which job design may be covered, including introductory undergraduate and graduate-level human resource management as well as any courses covering “staffing.” Additionally, job design is sometimes covered in the undergraduate Principles of Management/Introduction to Management course.
Job design is the process of identifying as well as structuring tasks, duties, and responsibilities completed by employees (Ilgen & Hollenbeck, 1991). Job design is frequently cited as a core component in management curriculum and influences several important organizational outcomes such as deviant behavior and turnover (Chullen, Dunford, Angermeier, Boss, & Boss, 2010). However, management textbooks often only briefly discuss job design as a segue for a detailed discussion of the job characteristics model (JCM; Cascio, 2016; Kinicki & Williams, 2018; Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart & Wright, 2018).
Hackman and Oldham’s (1976) JCM is widely used to explain how core job dimensions (skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback) can be incorporated into jobs to improve an employee’s psychological state. In turn, the positive affect derived from experienced meaningfulness of the work, experienced responsibility for work outcomes, and knowledge of results affects an employee’s work outcomes and growth (Hackman & Oldham, 1976). There are several effective experiential exercises that focus on particular elements of JCM (Donovan & Fluegge-Woolf, 2014; Fornaciari & Dean, 2005; Smrt & Nelson, 2013). However, none were located that delineate an exercise to help students understand the fundamental elements of job design and redesign.
Failure to cover job design specifically may be problematic. Jumping from a brief conceptual discussion of job design to more tactical details of JCM may result in students lacking a more nuanced understanding of the inherent difficulties associated with designing jobs. The core elements of job design are especially important because they serve as the foundational blocks for a deeper understanding of JCM and work motivation.
Job Design Literature Review
Interest in the topic of job design itself stems from the association of job design with desirable employee behaviors and organizational outcomes (Kwoka, 1976; Pierce & Dunham, 1976). Additionally, improper job design can lead to managers’ perceptions of workers being skewed, or worse, workplace accidents (Campion & Thayer, 1987). An extreme example is the cause of the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island plant being attributed to human error and mechanical failure (The Learning Network, 2012). The control room operator’s job design did not enable one person to reasonably monitor the control devices. Thus, poor job design was likely at fault (Campion & Thayer, 1987).
During periods of considerable change, managers and human resource (HR) professionals are typically faced with job redesign challenges (Mishra & Spreitzer, 1998). Such organizational change may stem from events such as modifications in organizational goals and strategies or the adoption of new technologies. For example, in response to concerns regarding its aging workforce, BMW redesigned many manufacturing jobs. As a result of job redesign initiatives, both quality and productivity increased, while absenteeism decreased (Loch, Sting, Bauer, & Mauermann, 2010). As the rate of organizational change continues to rise exponentially (Tsoukas & Chia, 2002), it is increasingly important for management students to develop an understanding and command of foundational elements included in job design.
Learning Objectives
After completing this activity and the associated discussion, students should be able to:
Explain the job design process and the importance of job design
Identify common mistakes that may occur in the job design process
Distinguish between effective and ineffective job design practices
Defend the critical role job design plays in improving productivity and overall organizational success
Analyze a work process
Assemble a list of job specifications and essential job functions, as well as design corresponding jobs
The Exercise
This exercise requires students to work together in a team to design four jobs for their fictitious company that wraps wooden blocks with wrapping paper and ribbons. The four “employees” work together, using the material given, to wrap as many wooden blocks as they can in a designated period of time. Participating in this activity can help students understand the impact of poorly designed jobs and the potential value associated with redesigning jobs.
This exercise allows students to experience firsthand the importance of the job design process as well as its inherent complexities. Additionally, this exercise requires students to address management concerns, such as the necessity of accounting for shared limited resources when designing jobs. Concurrently, participants are required to apply their book-related knowledge to formulate a course of action. During this activity, students analyze the work processes necessary to produce an organizational product (herein a wrapped block) as well as identify the associated job specifications and essential job tasks. Students then design jobs for their four-member block wrapping “factory.”
The chosen process of wrapping blocks closely mirrors the act of wrapping presents. Most students have some experience wrapping presents, but when the wrapper cannot wrap and the curler cannot curl, it provides an excellent opportunity to have a dynamic discussion about “hiring” qualified people to fill jobs. Additionally, the use of ribbon and blocks enables instructors to have flexibility in determining the level of task complexity. By increasing the number of ribbon colors or varying block sizes, an instructor can manipulate the level of difficulty. Pictures of properly wrapped and poorly wrapped blocks are available at the end of the article.
Although seemingly simple, this activity is deceivingly complex and surprisingly challenging for students. This exercise works best in small or medium-sized classes (8-50 students). However, with minor modifications, this exercise is effective in large classes (50-200 students) if ample supplies and appropriate space are available (see Appendix A).
Timing of Exercise
Introduce the exercise (5 minutes)
Plan the job design and write job descriptions (15 minutes)
Wrap (3 minutes if all teams wrap simultaneously, 3 minutes per team if teams wrap separately)
Students individually complete post exercise reflection questions (10 minutes)
Debrief (20 minutes)
Instructions
Split students into teams of four members. Larger sized teams are not as effective because actual participation will become limited. Read the “Rules for Block Wrapping Activity” (Appendix B) document to the class after distributing copies of the “Block Wrapping Exercise Instructions” (Appendix C) student handout. Appendix C is also available as a supplemental file. Although students are provided written instructions, we have found that it is beneficial for the instructor to describe the activity orally as well as to read the rules.
After instructions have been read, give students 15 minutes to complete their handout (Appendix C), which requires them to analyze and list work processes and inputs necessary for wrapping a block as a present. Students must also identify, as well as document on the handout, corresponding essential job tasks and job specifications. After completing the initial analysis, students design the jobs of their four block wrapping “employees.” As students complete the handout, ensure supplies are ready for teams at the front of the room.
After 15 minutes, it is time to begin the block wrapping competition. Each team will now see how well they designed their jobs by filling the positions they created for each factory “employee.” If constraints such as class size or time prohibit you from allowing teams to go one at a time during the wrapping component of the activity, there are several ways to accommodate such challenges. See “Variations on the Exercise” in Appendix D.
During the block wrapping competition, keep time to ensure that all teams are given the same time period to complete the task. Remind each team before they begin that they cannot deviate from the tasks and job responsibilities they outlined for each “employee” on their student handouts. Instructors will inevitably have several teams that fail to include anything about “communicating with other team members.” If so, make sure teams understand they cannot talk during their turn. After each team takes their turn, count the number of wrapped blocks that meet a reasonable level of quality. If there is an ample supply of blocks, put the completed products as well as the wasted material on a separate desk/table for a side-by-side comparison at the end. Saving the wasted material is helpful because some teams will give no consideration to wasting wrapping supplies in an attempt to increase quantity. The pile of wasted wrapping supplies is an impactful visual as well as an important topic during the post-activity discussion. If your supply of wooden blocks is limited, unwrap the wrapped blocks so that they may be used by the next team. After all teams have completed the block wrapping challenge, award prizes to members of the winning team.
Debriefing Instructions
Once the block wrapping exercise has concluded, ask participants to go back to their seats and spend 10 minutes independently completing the “Post Exercise Reflection Questions for Students” (Appendix E). Appendix E is also available as a supplemental file. Reflection is an important component of the experiential learning model. Accordingly, give students time to independently identify what worked well and what did not, as well as the important concepts and/or practices they failed to consider, before discussing the activity as a class.
Next, instead of a traditional lecture on workflow processes and job design, facilitate a conversation about these concepts by talking through the post-activity discussion handout students have just completed. Connecting terminology to their actions and practices (or lack of) is an important step in the transfer-of-learning process. Teaching notes have been provided to guide instructors through the “Post Exercise Discussion With Students” (see Appendix F).
Since this activity is appropriate for several different management courses, instructors may choose to customize the questions on the “Post Exercise Reflection Questions for Students” (Appendix E) handout to ensure appropriate fit for course content. Use the class discussion time to ensure that students not only remember or understand job design but are also able to analyze, evaluate, and utilize the job design process in future contexts. On reflection, students are frequently stunned by how poorly they designed jobs. For example, students often neglect to account for bottlenecks in their workflow. In fact, it is common for teams to have one or more team members sitting idle for long time periods, thus wasting valuable resources. Additionally, they fail to list key job tasks such as securing wrapping paper with tape or cutting ribbons. Discuss the results of the exercise in the context of how organizational productivity interplays with human capital and what happens when important essential job functions are omitted or unclear.
Conclusion
This article provides a unique and enjoyable hands-on classroom activity for instructors who are interested in using more experiential learning activities to teach course content. In particular, this exercise will provide students with an opportunity to practice and better comprehend job design before instructors cover JCM. Student feedback (see Appendix G) supports the notion that the experiential exercise described here increases participant knowledge and skills. Furthermore, this activity has proven to be a fun and effective teaching experience for students and facilitating instructors alike.
Supplemental Material
Block_Wrapping_Exercise_Instructions_Appendix_C – Supplemental material for Wrapping Blocks: A Fun Way to Teach Job Design
Supplemental material, Block_Wrapping_Exercise_Instructions_Appendix_C for Wrapping Blocks: A Fun Way to Teach Job Design by Regina Yanson and Melissa J. Mann in Management Teaching Review
Supplemental Material
Supplemental_File_Post_Exercise_Reflection_Questions_for_Students_Appendix_E_Suppl – Supplemental material for Wrapping Blocks: A Fun Way to Teach Job Design
Supplemental material, Supplemental_File_Post_Exercise_Reflection_Questions_for_Students_Appendix_E_Suppl for Wrapping Blocks: A Fun Way to Teach Job Design by Regina Yanson and Melissa J. Mann in Management Teaching Review
Footnotes
Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C
Appendix D
Appendix E
Appendix F
Appendix G
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
References
Supplementary Material
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