Self-Regulating Work Groups: A Socio-Technical Synthesis

Self-regulating work groups are a promising alternative to traditional forms of work design. Their emergence from socio-technical systems theory and field experimentation is discussed, and their theoretical bases and implementation strategies presented. Managerial functions appropriate to their design and supervision are also proposed.

[1]  E. Trist,et al.  Some Social and Psychological Consequences of the Longwall Method of Coal-Getting , 1951 .

[2]  W. Dill.  Environment as an Influence on Managerial Autonomy , 1958 .

[3]  N. Seear,et al.  Productivity and Social Organization: The Ahmedabad Experiment. , 1959 .

[4]  Tom R. Burns,et al.  The Management of Innovation. , 1963 .

[5]  C. Alderfer,et al.  Change Processes in Organizations , 1971 .

[6]  I. Janis.  Victims of Groupthink: A psychological study of foreign-policy decisions and fiascoes. By Irving L. Janis. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1972. viii + 276 pp. Map, illustrations, chart, notes, sources, bibliography, and index. Cloth, $7.95; paper $4.50.) , 1973 .

[7]  C. Argyris,et al.  The applicability of organizational sociology , 1973 .

[8]  E. Jacobson,et al.  A Model of Task Group Development in Complex Organizations and a Strategy of Implementation , 1976 .

[9]  J. Hackman,et al.  The Design of Self-Managing Work Groups , 1976 .

[10]  Richard,et al.  Motivation through the Design of Work: Test of a Theory. , 1976 .

[11]  Thomas G. Cummings,et al.  Management of Work: A Socio-Technical System Approach , 1977 .

[12]  T. G. Cummings,et al.  Improving Productivity and the Quality of Work Life , 1980 .

[13]  J. R Hackman,et al.  Improving life at work: Behavioral science approaches to organizational change , 1977 .

[14]  D. Rousseau.  Technological differences in job characteristics, employee satisfaction, and motivation: A synthesis of job design research and sociotechnical systems theory , 1977 .