Oldham and Hackman (1975) devised a formula for identifying five factors collectively referred to as the Core Job Dimensions or characteristics.
Motivation Potential of a Job – A model
Oldham and Hackman (1975) devised
a formula for identifying five factors collectively referred to as the Core Job
Dimensions or characteristics. They developed a mathematical index describing
the degree to which a job is designed so as to motivate people, as suggested by
the jobs characteristics model. It is computed based on employees’ responses to
a questionnaire called by the two social scientists as the Job Diagnostic
Survey (JDS).
The dimensions are as follows
Skill
Variety: This dimension of job denotes the extent to which any particular
job permits and utilizes a range of skills, abilities and talents of the
employees. If a job does not permit the use of variety of skills, then this
aspect of motivation could be compensated at the personal or social lives of
the employees or in any other part time employment undertaken by a person.
Task Significance: This
refers to the importance of the impact that a job has on the lives and
prosperity of others, both inside and outside the organization. For example, a typist habituated to making
typing errors, gave an error-free output on the day when he was told the
importance of the document he was going to type.
Task Identity: It
indicates the extent to which the job involves a “whole” and identifiable piece
of work. According to this aspect, an employee needs to know the whole picture of which he is an inherent
component part.
Autonomy:
This reflects the extent to which the job provides an employee the freedom,
independence and discretion to schedule work and make decisions and formulate
procedures to get the job done without interference from others.
Feedback
(Knowledge of Results): The extent to which a person gets pointers to
success through opinions secured from others as reaction to one’s performance.
It might also indicate the extent to which the persons who are working on the
job can assess on their own, whether they are doing things right or wrong even
as they are performing.
Based on the five dimensions, a
formula for motivation potential of a job is arrived at as follows: “Motivation
Potential Score (MPS) = (1/3) X (Skill Variety + Task Significance + Task
Identity) X (Autonomy X Feedback)”. It may be seen from the above formula that
Autonomy and Feedback are two dimensions, which have a multiplier effect on
motivation, and hence a greater significance than the other three factors. If
one of the two factors is absent in a job, it will have no motivating potential
at all, whereas if the skill variety is less or task significance is less,
motivation potential of the job could be enhanced by improving the other
components to a considerable extent.
Porter
and Lawler Model of Performance Satisfaction
The model explained by Porter and
Lawler is a comprehensive description of motivation. They have viewed
motivation, satisfaction and performance as separate variables relating in
different ways. According to the model, effort, which is the force of
motivation, does not directly lead to performance but is mediated by abilities,
traits and role perceptions, followed by rewards and their perceptions. There
are four variables in the model namely, effort, performance, rewards and
satisfaction.
Effort means the energy exerted
by an individual employee for performing a given task. The effort depends on
the value of reward and perceived probability of effort-reward linkage. Efforts
mediated by traits and abilities and role perception lead to performance.
Performance refers to the results measured objectively. It depends on
the effort put up by the individual. Rewards are obtained through performance
and satisfaction is derived. Rewards may be extrinsic, that is in the form of a
secondary derivative of work, or they could be intrinsic, which are inherent in
the job itself. Satisfaction is the internal state of being contented depending
on the rewards received.
Tags : Human Resources Management - Employees’ Morale And Motivation
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