T he dawn of the

Industrial Revolution changed the nature of work, spawning the use of assembly-line systems that maximized employee efficiency and minimized the employee skills needed to perform the work (e.g., Gilbreth, 1911; Tay-lor, 1911). This new nature of work simulta-neously led to employee problems with morale, working conditions, and safety (Losey, 1998). As limitations in these ap-proaches became obvious, personnel practi-tioners and researchers began to focus their attention upon a more motivationally ori-ented approach (Hackman & Oldham, 1975; Hulin & Blood, 1968). Derived from psycho-logical research on job enrichment and en-largement and theories of work motivation, it primarily sought to enhance worker satisfac-tion and provide for intrinsic needs. Both the mechanistic and motivational trends in de-signing work illustrate an important insight— the nature of work has a substantial impact on an employee’s performance and attitude. Work design continues to be of great practical significance to organizations as they try to attain conflicting outcomes such as efficiency and satisfaction. The popularity of such programs as total quality manage-ment (Deming, 1986; Juran & Gryna, 1988