SMART Work Design and Modern Sociotechnical Theory

A marriage made in heaven?

Abstract

Organisation designers responsible for organisational change and the introduction of new digital technologies may share an interest in ensuring good quality of work but often choose different angles. Some of them, likely with an HR background typically emphasise the importance of human needs and job satisfaction when it comes to work design. Others, like organisation designers with an operations management background, might focus more on the division of labour, work processes, and sociotechnical design aspects. Some organisation designers may highlight strategic and organisational choices as prerequisites for work quality, whereas others concentrate on person-environment-fit approaches.

However, to ensure a good quality of work in the digital era, it is much more helpful if organisation designers apply a common lens. Recently, we have observed a convergence in the field of organisational and work sciences with the development of the SMART work design model; this approach integrates individual, team, and organisational elements, linking human needs, job characteristics, and organisational conditions. Previously, researchers in Europe had already connected sociotechnical design thinking to organisational design principles for production layouts and work quality criteria, particularly characteristic of the modern sociotechnical approach (MST) of the Low Countries.

This conceptual and essayistic article aims to spark a discussion on how elements of the SMART work design approach and MST can be integrated into a comprehensive approach where organisation designers can collaborate with a common language. The article argues that the WEBA tool, a method to analyse jobs from both a human needs and organisational design perspective, can serve as a bridge in this context.

Key words: work design; modern sociotechnology; quality of work; organisational design; job design