Theories of job design, the motivation to work and organizational Essay

Theories of job design, the motivation to work and organizational commitment - Essay Example Theories of Job Design have led a lot of organizations in the management of their personnel. The dominant perspective in the Job Design theory is the Job characteristics model offered by Hackman and Oldham (1976) which identifies five job characteristics that influence the motivation of the job-holder which has an effect on his or her job performance and well being. These characteristics are: skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy and feedback. In sum, the Job Characteristics Model identifies the three psychological states of employees affected by the job characteristics namely: knowledge of results, meaningfulness of work and personal feelings of responsibility for results. Increases in these psychological states result in increased motivation, performance and job satisfaction (Hackman and Oldham, 1976). The Job design theory has its applications in the workplace in various forms. One is job rotation, characterized by periodic shifting of a worker from one task to another. Being exposed to a variety of tasks leads to an increase in skill variety. One example is the practice implemented by Pepsi-Cola Company, and known as the best leadership-development program. The company regularly assessed future leaders with its standardized â€Å"Pepsi Success Factors†.