Annotated Bibliography 1
Impact of Technology on Job Design (Annotated Bibliography)
Emmanuel Morris
School of Business, Liberty University
Annotated Bibliography 2
Annotated Bibliography
Waschull, S. etal. Impact of technology on work: Technical functionalities that give
rise to new job design in industry 4.0. Springer 2017
The article reflects on the rapid progress that aligns with industry 4.0 technologies via
firms. It reveals how this has resulted in diverse perspectives on its capability implications for
employees. Different authors support the notion that technologies that connect to manufacturing
structures are structurally different contrasted to the present techniques of production. It implies
that the impact of technology on manufacturing jobs is different across various industries.
Apparently, authors reveal that to this date, changes in work result in technical functionalities
that escalate modern job designs. The purpose of this article is to synthesize the diverging
perceptions on the effect of industry 4.0 on workers’ responsibilities. Findings enable readers to
comprehend the technical changes and ways they transform the cyber physical structure in
productions. The source is useful when authors articulate technology connection to changes in
job design contrasted to other sources in the paper. It is relevant in my literature review when it
links technical functionalities to job creation.
Gibbs, M. B. (2022). How is new technology changing job design?.0IZA World of Labor.
According to this reading, the IT revolution has had dramatic effects on jobs and the
labor market. Many routine manual and cognitive tasks have been automated, replacing workers.
By contrast, new technologies complement and create new non-routine cognitive and social
tasks, making work in such tasks more productive, and creating new jobs. This has polarized
labor markets: while low-skill jobs stagnated, there are fewer and lower-paid jobs for middle-
skill workers, and higher pay for high-skill workers, increasing wage inequality. Advances in AI
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may accelerate computers’ ability to perform cognitive tasks, heightening concerns about future
automation of even high-skill jobs. Findings indicate that ttechnology facilitates automation of
routine tasks, creating fewer and less motivating middle-skill jobs. Conversely, it complements
social and innovation tasks, creating more interesting low- and high-skill jobs. Compared to
other sources, the item is useful when it exhibits ways that machines, and particularly computers,
often generate large economies of scale. The source is relevant in my literature review when it
reflects on the approaches that firms can avoid the complexities of managing employees,
including conflict, incentive problems, and absenteeism.
Slocum Jr, J. W., & Sims Jr, H. P. (1980). A typology for integrating technology,
organization, and job design.0Human Relations,033(3), 193-212.
This paper proposes a theoretical model of technology that consists of three elements:
workflow predictability, task predictability, and job interdependence. Various configurations of
these three elements can be formed into "cells" that describe different technologies. The different
modes of managerial control and self-regulation associated with each cell are discussed. The
paper then combines the technology model with Hackman and Oldham's model of job redesign
to form an integrated technology/job redesign model. Findings indicate that various relationships
between technology and job characteristics should be explored. The reading is useful compared
to others order to change the job characteristics that are associated with a target work system, the
unavoidable introduction of uncertainty is necessary. It is relevant in my literature review when it
explains critical variables that link technology and job redesign principles.
Oldham, G. R., & Fried, Y. (2016). Job design research and theory: Past, present and
future.0Organizational behavior and human decision processes,0136, 20-35.
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This article reviews the research and theory that have focused on the design of jobs in
organizations. We begin by summarizing some of the earliest work on this topic and then move
to a discussion of several approaches to job design that attempted to address the shortcomings of
this work. It discusses several streams of contemporary research that have expanded the scope or
deepened our understanding of job design. Findings show that job crafting has effects of new
work arrangements on the design of jobs. The item is useful when it highlights generational
differences and reactions to job design, and cultural differences. It is relevant in my literature
review when it discusses the impact of job design on organizational structures and employees’
personal characteristics.
Kelley, M. R. (1990). New process technology, job design, and work organization: A
contingency model.0American Sociological Review, 191-208.
The introduction of programmable machines into blue-collar machining occupations
affords an opportunity to study the conditions under which occupational skill upgrading occurs
with technological change. How do workplaces that permit blue-collar occupations to take on
programming responsibilities differ from those that do not? This paper presents a contingency
model explaining how this choice of job design is mediated by four types of factors: techno-
economic forces, internal labor market structures, institutional mechanisms for governing the
labor-management relationship, and the organizational context. The data are from a 1986-87
national survey of production managers in a size-stratified random sample of manufacturing
establishments in 21 industries. A multivariate logistic regression analysis reveals that the
technology and product market alone do not determine job design. The least complex
organizations (small plant, small firm) tend to offer the greatest opportunities for skill upgrading,
Annotated Bibliography 5
independent of techno-economic conditions--a finding at variance with current labor market
segmentation theory.
Korunka, C. (2017). Challenges for job design.0Job Demands in a Changing World of Work:
Impact on Workers' Health and Performance and Implications for Research and Practice,
131-151.
The article shares ways that employees are arising from a changing world of work. These
new job demands have the potential to exert both positive and negative effects on employees and
organizational outcomes, resulting in new challenges for job design measures. Findings indicate
that there are new challenges and discuss consequences and recommendations for job design
approaches. New demands may evoke complex patterns of positive effects, challenges, and
negative effects, requiring framework models that are able to deal with such complexity. The
source is different from others when it indicates various design measures ranging from
improvements in knowledge management concepts to improved social support measures. Such
measures are of particular importance in the design of flexible work and new office concepts. I
will apply this source in my literature review because its emphases on the level of the individual
worker, strategies for self- and time management.
Erez, M. (2010). Culture and job design.0Journal of Organizational Behavior,031(2/3), 389-
400.
Journal of Organizational Behaviour aims to report and review the growing research in
the industrial/organizational psychology and organizational behaviour fields throughout the
world. The journal is focused on research and theory in all the topics associated with
occupational/organizational behaviour. Findings show that motivation, work performance, equal
Annotated Bibliography 6
opportunities at work, job design, career processes, occupational stress, quality of work life, job
satisfaction, are topics that apply to job design. The source is different from others because it
entails steps like personnel selection, training, organizational change, and research methodology
in occupational/organizational behaviourr. I will use it in my literature review because the
reading emphasizes employment, job analysis, behavioural aspects of industrial relations,
managerial behaviour, organizational structure and climate, leadership, and power.
Hemmer, T. (1995). On the interrelation between production technology, job design, and
incentives.0Journal of Accounting and Economics,019(2-3), 209-245.
According to this article, as technology improves, the assembly line becomes dominating
while continued improvements eventually makes it optimal to abandon the assembly line again
in favor of the team approach. When such switches in job design occur, the optimal investment in
technology exhibits positive jumps. Findings show that When attention paid to quality at the
initial stage affects the final-stage task, the team approach is optimal for unsophisticated
production technology. The source is different from others because it reflects the connection
between job design and production technology. I will use this article in my literature review to
emphasize how technology connects to incentives and job design.
Kompier, M. (2003). Job design and well-being.0The handbook of work and health
psychology,02, 429-54.
Based on this reading, Workplace health is now recognized as having major legal,
financial and efficiency implications for organizations. Psychologists are increasingly called on
as consultants or in house facilitators to help design work processes, assess and counsel
individuals and advise on change management. Findings show that an unrivalled source of
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knowledge and references in the field is relevant for students and academics. This edition also
reflects the need tolerate research to effective and realistic interventions in the workplace.
The source is different from others when it focuses on the applied aspects of work and health
psychology. I will apply this source in my literature review to depict the significance of work and
health and its contribution to job design and employees’ welfare.
Torkzadeh, G., Chang, J. C. J., & Hardin, A. M. (2011). Usage and impact of technology
enabled job learning.0European Journal of Information Systems,020(1), 69-86.
In this article, authors reveal that Individuals use technology to experiment with new
ways of carrying out their tasks and in doing so they learn more about their jobs. The current
study examines the role of technology enabled job learning as a key component in the complex
relationship between information systems use and technology outcomes. Findings indicate that
Technology enabled job learning was conceptualized in terms of how computer applications
helped individuals learn and better perform their jobs. System use was conceptualized in terms of
decision support, work integration, and customer service. Results suggest that systems use has a
significant, positive effect on job learning, and that job learning has a significant, positive effect
on technology outcomes. The research is different from others because it imposes a greater
understanding of how patterns of systems use influence organizationally relevant outcomes
through technology-enabled job learning. I will incorporate in my literature review to show how
Technology outcomes were conceptualized in terms of management control, task innovation, task
productivity, and customer satisfaction.
Annotated Bibliography 8
Parker, S., & Wall, T. D. (1998).0Job and work design: Organizing work to promote well-
being and effectiveness0(Vol. 4). Sage.
Reflecting on the article, job design refers to the actual structure of jobs that employees
perform. Thus, job design focuses squarely on the work itself—on the tasks or activities that
employees complete for their organizations on a daily basis. The earliest work on the topic of job
design can be traced to the writings of Babbage (1835) and Smith (1850) who argued that if jobs
were specialized and simplified to the greatest extent practicable, employees would be able to
hone their job-related
Findings indicate that the mixed and inconsistent results obtained in early studies testing
JCT and other approaches served to stimulate interest in new areas of research that focused on
enhancing our understanding of the design of jobs. Findings depict the earliest work on the topic
of job design and some of the research streams that refined this work. The article is useful when
it focuseds on contemporary research, suggesting several ways that work might be extended and
developed. It is applicable in my literature review in discussing several new areas of research
that we believe warrant attention. I will incorporate this source in my literature review as Job
design creates substantial attention from researchers and practitioners alike.
Tims, M., & Bakker, A. B. (2013). Job design and employee engagement. In0Employee
engagement in theory and practice0(pp. 131-148). Routledge.
A well-designed job may foster employee well-being. job characteristics contribute to
employee well-being and engagement, and which are likely to increase job stress. Together, the
characteristics of the job comprise the design of the job.
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Findings show that leaders play a pivotal role in creating the environment within which
employees can engage with their work. However, the processes by which leaders achieve
engagement have received relatively little direct attention. The source is useful compared to
others when it examines how leaders can stimulate and promote engagement by considering
leaders as individuals embedded within a social organizational context. The article applies in my
literature review by revealing that there is a wealth of theoretical and empirical research. It
further demonstrates associations between strong leadership and a range of desirable outcomes
such as high performance, commitment, creativity, and well-being.
Wang, B., Liu, Y., & Parker, S. K. (2020). How does the use of information communication
technology affect individuals? A work design perspective.0Academy of Management
Annals,014(2), 695-725.
Based on the article, People design and use technology for work. In return, technology
shapes work and people. As information communication technology (ICT) becomes ever more
embedded in today’s increasingly digital organizations, the nature of our jobs and employees’
work experiences are strongly affected by ICT use. This cross-disciplinary review focuses on
work design as a central explanatory vehicle for exploring how individual ICT usage influences
employees’ effectiveness and well-being. The source evaluated 83 empirical studies. Findings
show that ICT use affects employees through shaping three key work design aspects: job
demands, job autonomy, and relational aspects. The usefulness of this article compared to other
sources is the moderate effects of ICT use on work design: user-technology fit factors and social-
technology fit factors. It is relevant in my literature review when the review fosters an
intellectual conversation across different disciplines, including organizational behavior,
management information systems, and computer-mediated communication.
Annotated Bibliography 10
Foss, N. J., Minbaeva, D. B., Pedersen, T., & Reinholt, M. (2009). Encouraging knowledge
sharing among employees: How job design matters.0Human resource management,048(6),
871-893.
Job design is one of the most frequently researched practices in the Human Resource
Management (HRM) literature, and knowledge sharing has become an important and heavily
researched managerial practice. The links between these practices, however, have received little
attention in the literature. Authors argue that job design matters to knowledge sharing for
motivational reasons. Specifically, jobs contain characteristics that stimulate different kinds of
motivation toward knowledge sharing, which have different effects on individual knowledge
sharing behavior. Findings confirm that job characteristics, such as autonomy, task identity, and
feedback, determine different motivations to share knowledge, which in turn predict employees'
knowledge sharing behaviors. The source is unique compared to others because it articulates on
the managerial aspects. It applies in my literature review when it links management practices to
technology-based firms.
Sainfort, P. A. (1990). Job design predictors of stress in automated offices.0Behaviour &
Information Technology,09(1), 3-16.
In this article, authors argue that the effects of job control, job content, demands and
career/future concerns on stress outcomes were tested in a population of video display terminal
(VDT) users that were categorized as clericals, managers/supervisors, and professionals.
Findings show that career/future concerns were consistent contributors to stress outcomes across
job categories, but job control - which was hypothesized as a central stressor - did not contribute
to the stress outcomes. Analyses performed within each of the three job categories demonstrated
Annotated Bibliography 11
that different job elements contributed to the stress outcomes. A proposed model that denned job
control as the central job element through which other job features like job content produced
stress outcomes was verified in only one of the four analyses for mood disturbances among
professional VDT users.
The main findings are that performance is affected by menu structure, the depth of the
menu system, the presence of escape facilities, the structure of the alternatives within the menu,
some methods of informative support and certain personality characteristics. The source is
different from other sources when it incorporates expensive support facilities and is found to
have no effect. I will apply the source to my literature review because it entails findings on job
design which are discussed in relation to problems of menu interface design.
Billings, R. S., Klimoski, R. J., & Breaugh, J. A. (1977). The impact of a change in
technology on job characteristics: A quasi-experiment.0Administrative Science Quarterly,
318-339.
The article reflects on a change in technology from batch to mass production in a hospital
dietary department is examined using a time-series analysis of structured interview data.
Closeness to the change, as rated by management, is used as a moderator variable, with the
prediction that the technological change would affect the work and social structure, satisfaction,
and absenteeism of the close group, but not of the comparison group. As expected, the
comparison group is virtually unaffected, while several characteristics of the work change in the
close group. Contrary to expectations, findings indicate that social structure, satisfaction, and
absenteeism of the close group are not affected. These findings are contrasted with previous
research and theory. Compared to other articles, the usefulness of the time-series design is
RFE
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demonstrated. The article is relevant in my literature review because it highlights technology
transformation on job characteristics.
