What is job design?

• A. The process of evaluating job performance
• B. The process of matching the right person to the right job to improve motivation and performance
• C. The process of designing office spaces
• D. The process of recruiting new employees

Answer: (B)

Job design is about how work is structured to influence motivation and performance. It looks at what tasks, duties, and responsibilities a job includes and how those elements are arranged to make the job meaningful, manageable, and energizing for the person who does it. The goal is to align the job with the worker’s abilities and needs, often by providing variety, autonomy, and feedback so that people stay engaged and perform well.

The option that describes matching the right person to the right job to improve motivation and performance captures this idea: it focuses on shaping the job in a way that fits the worker, which in turn boosts motivation and effectiveness. In contrast, evaluating job performance is about assessing how well someone does the job after the fact, designing office spaces is about the physical layout of the workplace, and recruiting new employees is about bringing people into the organization. All of those are important HR activities, but they do not define how the job itself is structured and designed to drive motivation and performance.