Organizational Performance measures the actual result or output of organizations

actions in comparison to the inputs which the organization put into it and whether
they were able to reach their intended goals or targets. Organizational performance
can be reached in a lot of ways but our concern here is to see the impact of
modifying the characteristics of a job on a businesss overall performance.
Modifying the characteristics of a job may mean changing the job description of a
certain position. It may be done by increasing or decreasing the span of work of a
particular position or by completely changes the dynamics of it.
The rapid change in the job description of managers is due to the boost of
technology. The rapid changing nature of technology has made managerial positions
susceptible to changes. Also it attracts people with a diverse skill base. Diversity
here means;
Valuing an individuals qualities personality, skill, knowledge and competences
and their unique contribution to an organisation (Oxford English Dictionary for
HRM)
This is because those positions which remain complacent in these changing times
face a fear of being outmaneuvered by managers who are more flexible and can
respond to the changes taking place in the market place. (John Arnold). Also with an
increase in entrepreneurial ventures done by individuals themselves, now more and
more jobs needs to handled by less number of people thus broadening the spectrum
of certain jobs more than the other. This is the reason why most people on
specialized degrees are easily able to handle higher managerial positions without
having much prior knowledge of the business environment in capacity of a business
manager. (Arnold, Cooper and Robertson) With these changing trends in corporate
careers it is hardly any job which has been left out from being significantly changed
in its characteristics because now companies or individuals cannot survive in this
cut throat business environment if they do not possess a holistic picture of the
whole market. The diagram below (Arnold, Cooper and Robertson), clearly identifies
how changes in jobs have led to changes in careers and management.

Secondly what (Kanter) called as a bureaucratic career is not slowly changing in

careers which are ever changing and more difficult to handle.
Whatever soothsayers about the future of careers may assert, individual men and
women remain passionately interested in their careersthat is, in their personal
development through work experience over the course of their lifetime. People are
more concerned about their skills, competencies, future roles, and opportunities for
self-determination than they are about most other areas of their work experience.
(Jackson)
In light of the arguments previous made the author calls this phenomenon a
boundaryless career. It shows that careers revolving around the 21 st century are
now more diverse, difficult and subject to constant change then they used to be
before.as jobs keeps changing, this in turn has placed a challenge on the
organization to respond rapidly to such changes. When a companys employees are
able to keep changing their attitudes are characteristics in the markets change,
their organizations are able to achieve organizational agility, which is the ability to
adapt to changes. As everything in the world is based on the concept of the survival
of the fittest, becoming an agile organization due to changes in characteristics of
jobs is really beneficial.
Also changing the job characteristics has made individuals become more skillful and
diverse in their knowledge. Even though it has led to lesser specialization and more
diversity on the part of the individual but the overall organization benefits from this
added diversity. It makes the organization less dependent on small number of
individuals and hence they cannot be threatened or dictated by them. Also it helps
them fill in vacancies and workers are able to work temporarily in other
departments of the company which helps them practically learn more on the job.

Apart from all this, career management in organizations (Arnold, Cooper and
Robertson) has dramatically changed. As workers no longer have to keep on doing
the monotonous work due to internal and external factor a new opportunity for
self-development has opened up. Self-development in this context means that
individuals are responsible for identifying and satisfying their own development
needs. This helps workers grow out from the shell of having a particular skill set.
Overall this behavior is beneficial for the organization as it no longer needs to keep
worrying about their employees like parents do for their children as the workers
have become more self-aware to their development needs and this gives a broader
horizon to the thinking and analysis process when organizations plan for future
strategic and operational requirements.
From a psychological perspective, (Arnold, Cooper and Robertson) another reason
why a changing job characteristic is beneficial for the organization is because this
provides the employees with a different flavor of work. As every job requires a
certain attitude and behavior, organizations are able to mold employees into an
organizationally correct personality. This motivates employees and also satisfies
their growth needs. (Alderfer)
Motivation has to do with a set of relationships that explain the direction,
amplitude and persistence of an individuals behaviour (Pritchard and Campbell)
This is in the interest of the firm as they wish their employees to work on their
terms while still having the capability to question abnormality. Through this
psychological training organizations are able to scrape negative attributes from an
individual and are able to inculcate better practices. This is not just a one way
benefit because these way employees grow and learn from their work setting. They
understand the behaviors which they have the freedom to exhibit as part of their
job characteristic and those which are not acceptable.
To sum it all up changing the job characteristics have a seesaw effect on
organizational performance. It can be seen from a focal point of negativity or
positivity. But as we follow the concept of survival, we need to be optimistic while
being realistic and see the positive which drives our company into the future.
Hence, it is mutually beneficial to change the job characteristics of a position to the
employee as well as the organization. But from a personal view it should only be
done for operational and tactical levels but not for strategic posts as changing their
job characteristics can in totality question the purpose of the organization. It should
be a gradual process if implemented on the top level and if done correctly it will
become a healthy positive sign for high organizational performance.

Works Cited
Oxford English Dictionary for HRM. n.d.
Arnold, John, Cary L Cooper and Ivan T Robertson. "Work Psychology."
Understanding Human Behavior in the Work Place. n.d.
Alderfer. "ERG Theory." k2014_Motivation3. n.d.
Kanter. "Understanding Human Behavior in the Work Place." 1989. 6.
Jackson. "Understanding Human Behavior in the Work Place." n.d. 6.
Pritchard and Campbell. "k2014_Motivation3." 1976,.