Job design and leadership : an integrated model

Job design theory has " ... not kept pace" (Parker, Wall & Cordery, p. 413,2001) with the unprecedented changes and denlands to the internal external and environment of work organisations. This paper proposes an integrated theoretical lnodel of job design by integrating two traditional models, the Job Characteristics Model (JCM) (Hackman & Lawler, 1971; Hackman & Oldham, 1976) and Social Information Processing (SIP) (Salancik & Pfeffer, 1978). The JCM and a lesser degree SIP have had the greatest influence in job design research. In these traditional approaches to job design theory there are ambiguities and gaps and a lack ofbreadth. The JCMprovides a fairly narrow operationalisation of the five core job dimensions. The SIP approach takes a broader and much less precisely defined view that examines job related attributes. Separately, neither the JCM nor the SIP view of job design provides a sufficiently comprehensive framework to enable better integration or understanding of research in job design. A key variable identified in the integrated model is that social information provided by leaders is an integral part of how employees experience job content.