Job Characteristics Theory: Motivating Workers Through Task Significance - Essay Sample

Introduction

The job characteristic model, which was developed by Greg Oldham and Richard Hackman, specifies the dimensions that play an essential role in the psychological states of employees (Oerlemans & Bakker, 2018). The primary purpose of the job characteristics theory is to motivate workers in a firm by identifying the issues that influence attitude and behavior at work. The specific job characteristics that increase motivation in workers include skill variety, feedback, autonomy, task significance, and task identity. However, the above job characteristic models do not motivate employees in the same way. Firms that provide the above job characteristics assist their workers in having more self-actualization, personal gain and achievement, and increased motivation. With such an environment, there is reduced employee turnover and absenteeism (Oerlemans & Bakker, 2018). The primary goal of this essay is to explain the jobs that strongly feature some characteristics, to identify the missing characteristics, explain the consequences, and discuss how the posts could be enriched.

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The order taker job at McDonald's features the skill variety and task identity job characteristics models. According to the model, task identity refers to the degree to which the job requires the employee to perform their duty with a visible outcome. For workers to be satisfied with task identity, they must be allowed to complete the entire process instead of being assigned a part of the work (Piccolo & Colquitt, 2006). At McDonald's, an order taker is involved in the whole order placing process and collecting payments after that. The skills required by an order taker include excellent communication skills, enthusiasm, and good customer service and organizational skills. The missing characteristic in the job of an order taker is autonomy since the workers lack a sense of independence when organizing their work. With low levels of autonomy, the employees depend on the instructions from managers leading to lack of personal responsibility for their success or failure at the firm. The job of an order taker could be enriched by providing feedback so that the workers can receive information regarding their performance and know the areas to improve.

The receptionist features the task significance characteristic more strongly. According to the job characteristic model, task significance describes the degree to which the job impacts on others in the firm or the external environment (Oerlemans & Bakker, 2018). The receptionist interacts with people at the firm, for instance, by greeting and welcoming visitors and handling incoming calls. Employees feel more meaningful while assisting others in being comfortable while at the company premises. The missing characteristic is skill variety. Receptionists do have jobs that require them to use different skills and abilities. The consequence that may occur due to the absence of the element mentioned above is that the employees may lack the motivation to improve their psychological or physical beings (Piccolo & Colquitt, 2006). A receptionist's job could be improved through training the workers to gain more skills so that they can be diverse.

The job characteristic that is mostly featured in the computer programmer is skill variety and autonomy. Duties of a computer programmer require the expert to develop several skills and abilities while working on a specific project. With diversification, programmers are not subjected to routine jobs. Therefore, there is motivation. Computer programmers also have the freedom of independence and discretion, and the outcomes of the work done are entirely dependent on the employee's effort (Piccolo & Colquitt, 2006). The missing characteristic that is missing, in this case, is task significance since the job of a computer programmer has a limited effect on other people's lives. A computer programmer's job can be improved by devising ways of making the job have an impact on others.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the primary goal of this essay is to explain the jobs that strongly feature some characteristics, to identify the missing components, explain the consequences, and discuss how the roles could be enriched. The order taker job at McDonald's features the skill variety and task identity job model characteristics. The receptionist features the task significance characteristic more strongly. The job characteristic that is mostly featured in the computer programmer is skill variety and autonomy.

References

Oerlemans, W. G., & Bakker, A. B. (2018). Motivating job characteristics and happiness at work: A multilevel perspective. Journal of Applied Psychology, 103(11), 1230.

Piccolo, R. F., & Colquitt, J. A. (2006). Transformational leadership and job behaviors: The mediating role of core job characteristics. Academy of Management journal, 49(2), 327-340.