2024 – DISCUSSION BOARD DUE WEDNESDAY Enriching Jobs and Organizational Functionality This week s readings

DISCUSSION BOARD DUE WEDNESDAY

Enriching Jobs and Organizational Functionality

This week’s readings have addressed how the nature and design of an organization’s jobs can potentially influence the job satisfaction and the degree of motivation of employees, as well as impact the entire culture and productivity of the organization.

Based on your reading for this week:

Post by WEDNESDAY a 150- to 300-word statement in the Discussion thread that answers all of the following questions:

• How can managers enrich or enlarge employees’ jobs?
• What reactions, both positive and negative, might an employee have to a change in responsibilities or duties, and why?
• How might job enrichment or enlargement impact an organization’s culture, productivity, and profitability?

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ASSIGNMENT 1 DUE FRIDAY

Application: Motivating Employees

Having read this week’s assigned readings, you are now familiar with various theories and approaches to motivating employees. Consider your current job, a job you have had in the past, or one you know well, and then complete the Assignment.

Submit by FRIDAY a 300- to 500-word paper which answers all of the following questions:

• What motivational techniques, methods, or strategies does (or did) your current or past employer use to try to keep employees productive, satisfied, or motivated?
• What worked and didn’t work to keep you productive, satisfied, and/or motivated?
• What motivational theories explain why your employer’s efforts worked or didn’t work to keep their employees productive, satisfied, or motivated?
• Based on your experiences and the readings, what would you recommend that your current or past employer do to try to keep their employees productive, satisfied, and/or motivated?

RESOURCES

Jones, G. R., & George, J. M. (2017). Essentials of contemporary management (7th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

• Chapter 7, “Designing Organizational Structure” (pp. 228-260)

  This chapter addresses the different ways of structuring an organization. The authors emphasize the ways in which environmental, technology, and human factors can and should influence the choice of organizational structure. This discussion flows into an explanation of designing jobs, grouping jobs, and then forming divisions within an organization that may be based on functional, geographic, product, or market areas. The criteria and variations in global structures are also discussed. Finally the authors explain the establishment of lines of authority, communication, and collaboration. 

• Chapter 8, “Control, Change, and Entrepreneurship” (pp. 262-297)

  This chapter addresses the importance of organizational control and of designing a control process, as well as how technology and the establishment of control systems can facilitate organizational control. Two categories of control processes are examined. (1) “Output control” focuses on quantitative indicators of output, production, quality, satisfaction, and the achievement of goals, objectives, and targets. (2) “Behavior control” focuses on directing and influencing the behavior of employees and groups of employees through the use of goals, objectives, policies, procedures, rules, boundaries, and direct supervision. Lastly, control is discussed as an important element of change management and of entrepreneurship.