- Code
T.37253
- Credits
3
In Organization Theory 1 the individual level will be addressed. Problems in organizations will be related to the concept of ‘Quality of Working Life (QWL)’. This term is used to describe the broader job-related experience an individual has (Wikipedia, 2013). Organizations may encounter problems with employees who are not motivated anymore to do their job, are not involved in their work and are increasingly dissatisfied with the quality of their working life. If this is the case, it is important to investigate the primary process: how the work is organized, how tasks are designed and divided and what the working conditions are. This course will give students an overview of the different perspectives in the history of management science that have contributed to the design of work, based on industrial/ organizational psychology and sociology. What are the essential elements of a job that gives satisfaction and a feeling of general well-being, a minimal amount of work-related stress and a balanced home–work interface?
As John Budd (2011) states: ‘It is hard work to make work fulfilling’
Based on the foundations for motivation laid by Frederick Herzberg and the Job Characteristics Model (JCM) by Hackman and Oldham, we will also look at more recent ideas about job design and revisions to this model. The factors that contribute to a well–designed job on individual level will be investigated. Furthermore, we will investigate contrasting ways of work design in organizations. We will use the automobile manufacturing sector as a continuous example in various cases, to illustrate and contrast human centered and lean approaches.
Recent analyses of the nature of jobs has revealed that more factors are important to Quality of Working Life than work design. Students will get acquainted with the Work-Related Quality of Life scale (WRQoL). This scale assumes that QoWL consists of a number of factors, related to job and career satisfaction, general well being, life-work interface, stress at work, control at work and working conditions. As Easton & Van Laar (2012) are stating: “there is increasing evidence to support the proposition that attention to the psychosocial needs of staff can have benefits for both employees and employers. Attention to QoWL is important for employers who have a legal duty of care for the health and safety of their employees.’
| Test Form | Digitaal/Digital (D) |
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Test criteria
The course will be evaluated and graded as follows:
- theoretical assessment: 70 % of the grade
- group learning tasks in workbook (conditional to receiving the final grade): 30 % of the grade, depending on participation/presentation:
- participation of at least 80 % in work sessions twice a week is conditional to receiving the grade for the workbook
- participation in the presentation in week 8 is conditional to receiving the grade for the workbook
- the teacher may decide that students who do not participate sufficiently in preparing the workbook do not receive the 30% grade
The final mark will be calculated as a weighted average. The final mark for the course has to be 5.5 or higher in order to pass.
- Describe the 'main schools of thought' in the history of Management Science
- Explain how schools of thought and personalities are linked and understand the significance of these in relation to the structuring process within contemporary organisations
- Describe and contrast the common approaches to job design such as job rotation, job enlargement and job enrichment • Explain the Job Characteristics Model (JCM) and its relationship to work motivation
- Describe the socio-technical systems model and its relationship to organisational effectiveness
- Suggest four ways in which theory and research about the motivational features of jobs has moved beyond the JCM
- Explain the concept of psychological ownership
- Describe key features of Lean Manufacturing
- Contrast the diversity of work organisation on different aspects of human-centred and lean elements, depending on industrial relations, training systems and job market conditions
- Define QoWL and show how it can be measured by the WRQoL-questionnaire