In an effort to determine whether job satisfaction and expectations in a group of workers undergoing major change in the workplace differ from groups of workers not undergoing major change, data were collected from three groups of workers at the operator level in a major U.S. electronics manufacturing company. Two of the groups were not undergoing a major work redesign and served as control groups. A group undergoing the early stages of a major work redesign, characterized primarily by their formation into a self-managed work team, served as the experimental group. The experimental group and one control group were located at the same manufacturing plant, while the other control group was located at another plant. It was hypothesized that the group of workers undergoing change would differ in job satisfaction and that over time, the difference would grow. It was also hypothesized that the group undergoing change would have different expectations about the nature of their jobs in the future. Data were collected from members of the three groups using a modified version of Hackman and Oldham's (1980) Job Diagnostic Survey, with two administrations of the survey seven months apart. Data were analyzed using a 3 (Groups) X 2 (Perception: "Now" versus "Near Future") x 2 (Administration) factorial design, with repeated measures Oil the Perception variable. Results revealed a difference in job satisfaction between the groups, as hypothesized. Results also revealed that members of the experimental group did have a few expectations for the future not held by members of the control groups; otherwise, expectations differed very little between the groups. Explanations for these findings are offered. This study suggests that those charged with implementing major change in the workplace should keep in mind that they may not see dramatic reactions from workers asked to make major changes, at least at the earliest stages of the change.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc330706 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Cheney, Alan B. (Alan Bruce) |
| Contributors | Johnson, Douglas A., Johnson, Joe Lynn, O'Shea, Michael D., Beyerlein, Michael Martin, [Griffith, Leo] |
| Publisher | University of North Texas |
| Source Sets | University of North Texas |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | v, 151 leaves, Text |
| Rights | Public, Cheney, Alan B. (Alan Bruce), Copyright, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. |
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