Who created the Job Characteristics Model?

• A. Hackman and Oldham
• B. Herzberg and McClelland
• C. Adams and Vroom
• D. McGregor and Mayo

Answer: (A)

This question tests your knowledge of who developed the Job Characteristics Model, a framework that links how a job is designed to motivation and work outcomes. Hackman and Oldham created this model, arguing that five core job dimensions—skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback—shape three key psychological states: the experienced meaningfulness of the work, the felt responsibility for outcomes, and knowledge of actual results. When these states are strong, employees become intrinsically motivated, perform better, and report higher job satisfaction, with lower absenteeism and turnover. The model also suggests that these dimensions lead to better work outcomes when jobs are designed to optimize them.

Other names listed are known for different theories: Herzberg and McClelland are associated with motivational theories (two-factor theory and needs for achievement, respectively); Adams and Vroom with equity and expectancy theories; McGregor and Mayo with Theory X/Y and Hawthorne studies. Each contributes important ideas about motivation, but the creator of the Job Characteristics Model is Hackman and Oldham.