Objective and Social Factors as Determinants of Task Perceptions and Responses: An Integrated Perspective and Empirical Investigation

Abstract

The study of the design of work has come to occupy a prominent position in organization science over the last decade and a half. Building from the pioneering work of Turner and Lawrence (1965), Hulin and Blood (1968), and Hackman and Lawler (1971), task design researchers have focused considerable attention on task perceptions and the relationships between these perceptions and various affective and behavioral responses. Moreover, task design issues continue to be addressed in the pages of organizational science Journals with a regular frequency. At present, there are two countervailing theoretical perspectives dominating the area. One perspective, which has grown from the research cited above, is usually referred to as the task attributes model. This model suggests that task perceptions and responses are primarily determined by objective facets of the individual's Job (of., Hackman & Oldham, 1976). The alternative perspective, presented by Salancik and Pfeffer (1978), argues that task perceptions and attitudes, are instead socially-constructed realities that evolve from informational cues in the workplace. This perspective is generally called the social information processing model.The purpose of the study reported here was to test the efficacy of each of the two models as well as that of an integrated framework derived from the two divergent perspectives. First, the literature pertaining to each of the two models will be briefly reviewed. The integrated framework will then be described. The results of a complex * * .:Ui *, .

Proximal Job Characteristics, Feelings of Empowerment, and Intrinsic Motivation: A Multidimensional Model1

“…An early review of the research using the Job Diagnostic Survey revealed that high job complexity was associated with enhanced intrinsic motivation, satisfaction, and involvement, as well as diminished absenteeism, alienation, and role conflict (Aldag, Barr, & Brief, 1981). More recent investigations have found positive relations between job complexity and satisfaction (Bateman & Strasser, 1984;Ferris & Gilmore, 1984;Gardner, 1986;Griffin, Bateman, Wayne, & Head, 1987;Kelloway & Barling, 1991;Loher, Noe, Moeller, & Fitzgerald, 1985;Pierce, Gardner, Cummings, & Dunham, 1989;Zaccaro & Stone, 1988), intrinsic motivation (Pierce et al, 1989), organizational commitment (Bateman & Strasser, 1984;Dunham, Grube, Castaneda, 1994;Naumann, 1993;Pierce et al, 1989;Shore, Thornton, & McFarlane-Shore, 1990), organizational citizenship behavior (Farh, Podsakoff, & Organ, 1990), and involvement (Shore et al, 1990). Others have found negative relations between job complexity and arousal (Gardner, 1986), role stress (Bateman & Strasser, 1984), absenteeism (Mowday & Spencer,198 l), emotional exhaustion (Gaines & Jermier, 1983), and turnover intentions (Naumann, 1993;Spector & Jex, 1991).…”

Assessing the Factors Deemed to Support Individual Student Intrinsic Motivation in Technology Supported Online and Face-to-Face Discussions

“…One environmental dimension, understudied but with likely implications for individual intrinsic motivation, is the social environment. Social information processing (Salancik & Pfeffer, 1978) may affect individual attitudes and responses and has been shown, along with objective task characteristics, to influence task perceptions and task behavior (Griffin, Bateman, Wayne, & Head, 1987). Opinions of in-groups may undermine intrinsic motivation or be a source of it, perhaps with more impact in collectivistic, rather than in individualistic cultures (Iyengar & Lepper, 1999).…”

The Impact of Group Formation and Perceptions of Fairness on Organizational Citizenship Behaviors1

“…An abundant literature has documented the impact of social information processing (Bateman, Griffin, & Rubenstein, 1987;Griffin, 1983;Griffin. Bateman, Wayne, & Head, 1987;Salancik & Pfeffer, 1978;Thomas, 1986) on attitudes and behaviors.…”