JOB AND TEAM DESIGN

There are several major approaches to job design, each derived from a different discipline and reflecting different theoretical orientations and values. This chapter describes these approaches, their costs and benefits, and tools and procedures for developing and assessing jobs in all types of organizations. It compares the design of jobs for individuals working independently to the design of work for teams, which is an alternative to designing jobs at the level of individual workers. The chapter presents the advantages and disadvantages of designing work around individuals compared to designing work for teams and provides advice on implementing and evaluating the different work design approaches. The purpose of an evaluation study for either a job or team design is to provide an objective evaluation of success and to create a tracking and feedback system to make adjustments during the course of the design project.