No description available.

No description available.

This research demonstrates the feasibility of modifying a Predetermined Time Standard (PTS) to model a specific worker precisely and efficiently. The Worker Profile uses the results of a half hour of testing to algebraically modify each of the work elements in the PTS. The modified system can then be used with any job that has been described in the PTS. Specific performance times can be estimated for the modeled individual on each of the described jobs. The traditional functional assessment techniques developed by medical, psychological and social care providers lack the quantitative precision of industrial engineering work descriptors. In addition to providing the rehabilitation engineer a usable assessment of the client's abilities the Worker Profile should aid in the sharing of information among the specialists on the rehabilitation team. Unlike previous efforts directed at modeling disabled workers' abilities, this study individually modifies the elements used to describe unique, specific jobs. The element by element Worker Profile approach encourages proper job selection and work station modification. The model produces a Worker Profile which can be used to predict the worker's performance on any job for which an appropriate job standard has been written. The Worker Profile Model offers the employer of assembly workers an opportunity to predict the performance of disabled workers on specific jobs without the expense and time required to train and test them on each available job. The model has several additional qualities including reduced assessment costs and extremely flexible application both in the performance of existing jobs and to the modification of jobs to optimize them to the disabled workers’ abilities. In addition to extending the Worker Profile Model this study examined the effect of practice on the work behaviors of disabled workers. Practice has been observed to affect differentially the speed and accuracy of work elements among able-bodied workers. The effects of practice were previously undocumented for disabled workers. Examination of work element performance changes as learning occurred not only identified the locus of improvement in job performance, but also, illustrated a qualitative difference in learning patterns when a tactical improvement in work method occurred. / Ph. D.

No description available.

Thesis (MComm)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Job Characteristics Model (JCM) is one of the most widely used and researched models in the field of Industrial Psychology. It has provided industry with useful solutions for its people-related business problems through the rearranging of the physical and psychological characteristics of jobs in order to address demotivation, dissatisfaction and marginal performance. The JCM has also endured a fair amount of criticism, however, specifically pertaining to the mediating role of the psychological state variables. Research findings on the model are divided into two camps. Some researchers argue that the model is empirically sound; while others believe the model should be discarded or adjusted. These studies were done circa 1990, however, when most of the advanced statistical analysis techniques utilised today were not available. Research related to the JCM has been decreasing steadily since then, and it seems that no final verdict was reached regarding the utility and validity of the model. The overarching objective of this study is to provide closure regarding this discourse by testing the three major theoretical postulations of the JCM in the South African context on a sample of 881 students with an ex post facto correlational research design. This was achieved by utilising structural equation modelling via LISREL. Three separate structural models were fitted and compared. The first model was a simplified version of the original model (Hackman & Oldham, 1980). The second model excluded the mediating psychological states proposed by Boonzaier, Ficker and Rust (2001). The final model had the same basic structure as the first model, but more causal paths were included between the job characteristics and the psychological states. The results show that more variance in the outcomes is explained with the inclusion of the psychological state variables. The psychological states are therefore a crucial component of the model. Although these findings corroborated the original model, the third model displayed superiority in terms of accounting for significant amounts of outcome variance in the dependent variables. These findings indicate that the job characteristics predict the psychological states in a more comprehensive manner than originally proposed in the literature. Job design interventions thus remain a useful tool and industry should utilise the suggested interventions. Furthermore, this study proposes preliminary equations (a Motivating Potential Score and resource allocation) that may be used to determine the relative importance attached to each job characteristic in the world of work. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die Taakeienskappe Model (Job Characteristics Model, JCM) is een van die Bedryfsielkunde-modelle wat die meeste gebruik en nagevors word. Dit het aan die bedryf bruikbare oplossings vir mensverwante besigheidsprobleme verskaf deur die herrangskikking van die fisiese en sielkundige eienskappe van werk om probleme soos demotivering, ontevredenheid en marginale prestasie aan te spreek. Die JCM is egter ook al baie gekritiseer, spesifiek rondom die bemiddelende rol van die sielkundige toestand veranderlikes. Navorsingsbevindinge oor die model word in twee groepe verdeel. Die een groep argumenteer dat die model empiries foutvry is, terwyl die ander groep glo dat dit weggedoen of aangepas moet word. Hierdie studies is egter in die 1990’s gedoen, toe die meeste van die gevorderde statistiese tegnieke wat vandag gebruik word, nie bestaan het nie. Navorsing oor die JCM het sedertdien stadig maar seker afgeneem, en geen finale besluit oor die bruikbaarheid en geldigheid van die model is al geneem nie. Die oorkoepelende doel van hierdie navorsing was om van die bogenoemde probleme te probeer oplos deur drie vername teoretiese uitgangspunte oor die JCM in die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks te toets deur middel van ‘n steekproef van 881 studente. Dit is met behulp van struktuurvergelykingsmodellering deur middel van LISREL gedoen. ‘n “Ex post facto” korrelasionele navorsings ontwerp is benut. Drie aparte strukturele modelle is gepas en vergelyk. Die eerste model was ’n vereenvoudigde weergawe van die oorspronklike een (Hackman & Oldham, 1980). Die tweede model het die bemiddelende sielkundige toestande uitgelaat wat deur Boonzaier, Ficker en Rust (2001) voorgestel is. Die finale model het dieselfde basiese struktuur as die eerste een gehad, maar nuwe oorsaaklike weë is tussen die werkseienskappe en sielkundige toestande ingesluit. Die resultate toon dat meer variansie in die uitkomstes verduidelik word wanneer die sielkundige toestand veranderlikes wel ingesluit word. Die sielkundige toestande is dus ’n kritieke komponent van die model. Hoewel hierdie bevindinge die oorspronklike model staaf, het die derde model die noemenswaardige variansie in uitkomstes van die afhanklike veranderlikes beter verklaar. Hierdie bevindinge dui daarop dat die werkseienskappe die sielkundige toestande meer omvattend voorspel as wat aanvanklik in die literatuur voorgestel is. Werksontwerp-intervensies is dus nog steeds ’n bruikbare hulpmiddel en die bedryf moet die voorgestelde intervensies gebruik. Hierdie studie stel ook voorlopige vergelykings voor (Motiverings Potensiaal Telling en hulpbrontoewysing) wat gebruik kan word om die relatiewe belangrikheid van elke werkskenmerk in die wêreld van werk te bepaal.

by Chan Ying-yee. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [31-35]). / ABSTRACT --- p.ii / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.iii / LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS --- p.iv / LIST OF TABLES --- p.v / ACKNOWLEDGEMENT --- p.vi / Chapter / Chapter I. --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Job Level Summary --- p.3 / Chapter II. --- CONCEPTUAL MODEL --- p.5 / Task Level Constructs --- p.7 / Purpose of the Present Study --- p.10 / Chapter III. --- METHODOLOGY --- p.12 / Power Analysis --- p.12 / Setting and Sample --- p.12 / Measures --- p.13 / Perceived Motivational Job --- p.13 / Characteristics Growth Need Strength --- p.16 / Job Satisfaction --- p.17 / Task-Level Affections --- p.19 / Analysis --- p.21 / Chapter IV. --- RESULTS --- p.22 / Chapter V. --- DISCUSSION --- p.28 / Limitations --- p.28 / Summary and Conclusion --- p.30 / BIBLIOGRAPHY

Due to rapid technological development and its increasing impact on our everyday life, the way we work, and the conditions under which we do so, organizations may lose their competitive edge if they do not participate in the digital transformation. Extant literature highlights individually researched areas on how digital transformation changes work design such as virtual teams or communication technologies but rarely examines the phenomenon in more general terms. However, because work design is vital for a range of outcomes including but not limited to employee cognitions and learning, productivity and innovation, job satisfaction and commitment, as well as employee health and well-being providing a broad view on how digital transformation affects work design in today’s organizations is beneficial. Therefore, this Master Thesis provides an overarching picture of the changes in work design owed to digital transformation in contemporary societies, combining previously researched change dimensions with new insights from empirical data in a comprehensive framework. Two different qualitative methods, an online qualitative expert survey conducted with 39 participants followed by three semi-structured expert interviews revealed that changes in work design owed to digital transformation can - in line with the literature reviewed prior to conducting the study though varingly strong discussed - be categorized into the following six domains: Performance measurements, higher job demands and increasing competency requirements, increasing technologization, increased influence, work-life setup, communication and collaboration. Next to that, results suggest performance measurements as another change dimension evolving from digital transformation. Moreover, this Master Thesis suggests a strong relation between changes in work design and changes in leadership owed to digital transformation, wherefore future research may aim to study the interrelations between changes in both subject areas in more depth.

Thesis. 1978. Ph.D. cn--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering. / Vita. / Bibliography: p. 208-212. / Ph.D.cn

One of the cornerstones of the R system for statistical computing is the multitude of packages contributed by numerous package authors. This makes an extremely broad range of statistical techniques and other quantitative methods freely available. So far no empirical study has investigated psychological factors that drive authors to participate in the R project. This article presents a study of R package authors, collecting data on different types of participation (number of packages, participation in mailing lists, participation in conferences), three psychological scales (types of motivation, psychological values, and work design characteristics), as well as various sociodemographic factors. The data are analyzed using item response models and subsequent generalized linear models, showing that the most important determinants for participation are a hybrid form of motivation and the social characteristics of the work design. Other factors are found to have less impact or influence only specific aspects of participation. (authors' abstract)

Computer users often suffer from poorly designed support systems that hinder them from performing their work efficiently and with satisfaction. The evidence is found in observations of users at work, interviews, evaluations of systems, and numerous reports of systems with poor usability that fail from start. Those who use the systems are proficient in their work, and those who develop systems are proficient in software engineering. These two groups have often little knowledge and understanding of each other’s worlds and their vocabularies are quite different. In systems development projects, users are often confronted with representations of their work that they hardly recognize. Systems designers compose these representations in an attempt to reduce the complexity of the work practices in a way that is appropriate for systems development. It is very difficult for users to appreciate the consequences fully on their future work situation from such representations, since they are removed from the social setting and often describe work in a fragmentized way. The unfamiliar view of their work may make the users less inclined to participate in the forthcoming design process. This thesis presents research performed to increase the usability of systems in working life and to explore conditions that facilitate the design of systems that really support the users work. The research comprises field studies in different work contexts, e.g. health care, dentistry, public service, and transportation. Information on the essentials of work has been gathered and analyzed to learn how such findings can be translated into systems design. Another goal has been to explore how to make the most of users’ experiences and skills to assure systems that better fit their work. Along with a growing awareness of the importance of user involvement in design, a participatory design process including the analysis and design of work has evolved.