Discuss the factors that affect a person’s perception of a job’s objective characteristics. What implications do you see for a job redesign strategy? Discuss examples from your work experiences.

AFFECTING PERCEPTIONS OF OBJECTIVE JOB CHARACTERISTICS

The job characteristics theory has not always been clear on whether the core job characteristics are the “objective” characteristics of the job or those perceived by the job incumbent. The social context of a person doing a job affects his perception of the job’s objective features. Therefore, a person’s perceptions of job characteristics are not necessarily an accurate picture of the job’s objective features. As Chapter 5, “Perception, Attitudes, and Personality,” described, perceptions can strongly affect people’s behavior.

Social information processing theory is an alternative to the job characteristics theory. This view holds that interactions with other people affect a person’s perceptions of job characteristics. For example, social interactions with coworkers and supervisors can lead a person to cognitively develop a view of a job’s characteristics. Informational cues about the task can come from either present or previous coworkers. They may describe the job in positive or negative terms, affecting the current incumbent’s perception of the job. This socially constructed view might not be the same as the “objective” features of the job. The social information processing view of task design has the following implications for those considering job redesign:

• Participation in the job design process might produce feelings of high satisfaction independent of any job design changes.
• Using the JDS, or any other questionnaire, before changing the design of jobs can sensitize people to certain job characteristics they had not previously noticed.
• Perceptions of job characteristics can be manipulated by the social information made available to employees by managers and coworkers in the organization.

Research focused on social information processing theory has produced mixed results. Some early studies supported the theory’s predictions while others did not. Other research shows that employee perceptions accurately represent objective job characteristics.

A conservative conclusion points to social information processing theory as a complement to job characteristics theory. The largest change in perceptions of job characteristics and satisfaction can occur in the presence of both changes in the objective job characteristics (job redesign) and oral cues by supervisors. Information given to employees about the design of their jobs, and the favorable effects of that information on their task perceptions, can be important elements in a job redesign activity.