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Category: Performance Consequences

  • Managerial implications of the discussion on work design

    In the last byte, we looked at counter-role behavior. In today’s byte we look at the managerial implications in the changing nature of work.

    In addition to the managerial expertise, it is important that manager have to have a wide range of nontechnical skills to be effective in their work. The following thought would be extremely important. 
    Work forms an important aspect of a healthy life – it satisfies two central needs in human nature – engaging in productive work and forming healthy relationship with others. Given that the meaning of work means different things depending on the culture; the design of jobs mus be done with a sensitivity to cultural values and beliefs.
     
    Managers would need to craft work tasks and assignments that fit the jobs to people who are doing them. There is no universally accepted way of designing work. The changing nature of work mandates that managers find new ways to define work and design jobs.
    Flexibility is crucial in job design in the modern era. Dramatic global, economic and organizational changes dictate the managers to be flexible in job/work design in organizations.
     
    Another important aspect to make note of is the role technology that has evolved since the nature of work has changed.

  • Counter Role Behavior and Task Revision

    In the last byte, we began looking at the concept of task revision. We continue the discussion in today’s byte with a short discussion on counter role behavior. 

    Counter Role Behavior often happens when the incumbent acts contrary to the expectations of the role or exhibits deviant behavior. This raises an issue if the role is correctly defined – lets take an example to understand the same.
     
    Lets take the example of a nursing supervisor who displays counter-role behavior. Imagine a scenario where the nursing supervisor decides to simply trust the nurses and not verify the medication that the in charge nurse is expected to provide and this results in a fatality!
    Clearly when a role or task is correctly and properly defined, counter-role behavior leads to poor performance if not a fatality as indicated in the above example.
     
    Task-revision is a counter-role behavior in an incorrectly specified role, and is a useful way to correct the problem in any role specification. Task revision thus is a form or role innovation that could help long-term adaptation when the current role specification is no longer applicable. 

  • Performance Consequences

    In the last byte, we looked at work design and well-being. In today’s byte, we look at task revision.

    Task revision refers to the modification of incorrectly specified roles or jobs. It assumes that the organizational roles and job expectations may be correctly or incorrectly defined. Note that the person’s behavior is a work place has very different performance consequences depending on whether the role is currently  or incorrectly defined.

    The following table summarizes the performance consequences of Role Behavior: