A Structural Examination of the Model of Work Unit Design.

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Abstract
A structural comparison is made of the work units in the Task Contingent Model of Work Unit Design presented by Van de Ven and Delbecq at last year's Academy of Management Conference. When task difficulty and task variability are placed on a two-dimensional continua, the model predicts that a taxonomy of alternative work unit structures can be derived: (1) a systematized mode, consisting of routine and technical system units; (2) a service mode which includes routine, technical, and intensive service units; and (3) a group mode for design task units. The six work units were empirically compared using a randomized block design on the following structural dimensions: personnel expertise; standardization of work procedures; and supervisory, personal, colleagial, and expert decision-making. On these dimensions, clearly different structural patterns were found to exist between the work units in a large state employment security agency, as predicted by the model. The data also suggests that: 1. The main effects of task difficulty on unit structure are variations in unit personnel expertise and non-supervisory personal decision-making. 2. The main effects of task variability on unit structure are variations in standardization of work procedures and colleagial decision-making. 3. The interaction effects of task difficulty and task variability on unit structure are the amounts of supervisory and expert decision-making.

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