Abstract
Cindy Zoghi, Alec Levenson, and Michael Gibbs (2005) "Why
Are Jobs Designed the Way They Are?"
In this paper we study job design. Will an organization plan precisely how the job is
to be done ex ante, or ask workers to determine the process as they go?
We first model this decision and predict complementarity between these job
attributes: multitasking, discretion, skills, and interdependence of
tasks. We argue that characteristics of the firm and industry (e.g.,
product and technology, organizational change) can explain observed patterns
and trends in job design. We then use novel data on these job attributes
to examine these issues. As predicted, job designs tend to be 'coherent'
across these characteristics within the same job. Job designs also tend
to follow similar patterns across jobs in the same firm, and especially in the
same establishment: when one job is optimized ex ante, others are more
likely to be also. There is some evidence that firms may segregate
different types of job designs across different establishments.
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