A Typology for Integrating Technology, Organization, and Job Design
- 1 March 1980
- journal article
- research article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Human Relations
- Vol. 33 (3) , 193-212
- https://doi.org/10.1177/001872678003300304
Abstract
This paper proposes a theoretical model of technology that consists of three elements: workflow predictability, task predictability, and job interdependence. Various configurations of these three elements can be formed into "cells" that describe different technologies. The different modes of managerial control and self-regulation associated with each cell are discussed. The paper then combines the technology model with Hackman and Oldham's model of job redesign to form an integrated technology/job redesign model. Various relationships between technology and job characteristics are explored. A major conclusion develops from this discussion: in order to change the job characteristics that are associated with a target work system, the unavoidable introduction of uncertainty is necessary. The amount of self-regulation and the perceived degree of autonomy are shown to be critical variables that link technology and job redesign principles.Keywords
This publication has 30 references indexed in Scilit:
- Managerial Response to Environmentally Induced Stress.The Academy of Management Journal, 1977
- Organizational Control: Two FunctionsAdministrative Science Quarterly, 1975
- Development of the Job Diagnostic Survey.Journal of Applied Psychology, 1975
- Job Technology, Supervision, and Work-Group StructureAdministrative Science Quarterly, 1974
- Participative Decision Making: An Experimental Study in a HospitalThe Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 1973
- Organizational Technology and Organizational StructureAdministrative Science Quarterly, 1971
- Employee reactions to job characteristics.Journal of Applied Psychology, 1971
- A Strategic Contingencies' Theory of Intraorganizational PowerAdministrative Science Quarterly, 1971
- Routine Technology, Social Structure, and Organization GoalsAdministrative Science Quarterly, 1969
- Professionalization and BureaucratizationAmerican Sociological Review, 1968