Role Analysis
These very basic notes aim to encourage discussion about roles and how roles may be subject to conflict, ambiguity, stress and - of course - change over time. The notes cover role:
- Set
- Expectations
- Definition
- Ambiguity
- Incompatibility (conflicting expectations)
- Conflict (conflicting roles)
- Overload
- Underload
- Stress
The hope is that the notes will be useful to tutors and students of "people management" and organisational behaviour courses which place considerable emphasis on matters relating to role analysis and understanding.
Role Set
All those who interact in a significant way with the role holder whilst this person is performing his/her role.
Role Expectations
Obligations felt by the role holder towards themselves and others that arise from the perception of their role. Others of course have expectations of people according to how they perceive the person's role - be it that of a manager, a mother, a co-worker, a police officer, a doctor, a lover, a rival.
- what the role holder feels is expected of him/herself by members of his/her role set.
- what members of his/her role set expect
i.e. the expectations relate to behaviours and values that the role holder "should" exhibit in performing etc. NOTE: the perceptions of a. and b. may differ.
- What I should be doing
- what I am actually doing
- what they "think" I should be doing etc
These may all be different.
Exercise
Consider the diagram and discuss the question. Note that this father cannot spell nappies!!!!
Role Definitions
How do traditional roles or job roles get defined? For a job there may be a formal and systematic attempt to define the duties and responsibilities, the scope of authority and discretion of a job holder. Thus we may have some form of job description of formalised discussion about the scope of a role.
Beyond this - roles become defined through enactment i.e. a combination of the role expectations of:
- the role holder
- members of his/her role set
We have to explore the perceptions of others to determine what they define the scope of the role to be. We may find considerable differences of view.
Our role(s) - in that they are defined - constrain us to act in certain ways. A formal role may indeed present us with a script and a set of scenes to enact. Can it be that behaviour enacted specially for the role becomes "internalised", eventually becoming a natural part of us, part of our personality ?. Think for example of doctors or lawyers or counsellors.
Exercise
Devise a research approach which enables role expectations to be recorded, defined, measured.
What would be the value in doing this - for what purpose?
Role Ambiguity
Ambiguity is often felt where there is some uncertainty in the mind either of the role holder or members of his/her set as to what the precise expectations of others are vis a vis the role holder's role at any given time.
The ambiguity may stem from the role holder being unclear in his/her conception of his/her role. For example in the work situation - the role holder may be uncertain about:
- how his/her work is evaluated
- scope for advancement
- scope of responsibility
- others' expectations of his/her performance
The ambiguity may be articulated directly or indirectly by the members of his/her role set:
- being unclear about their expectations of the role holder
- having a different conception of the role than the role holder or others.
For example, in a work situation, the role holder may see herself as an expert, but members of his/her role set may see her in the role of a junior member of staff.
Exercise
How may job analysis and counselling, and staff appraisal minimise role ambiguity in a work situation.
Role Incompatibility (conflicting expectations)
Where expectations of different members of the role set are incompatible - the role holder's ethics, personal standards and values may be incompatible with what she/he is required to do as part of his/her work role.
Role Conflict (conflicting roles)
Everyone has a number of roles - but where two or more roles have to be carried out in the same situation, role conflict may result.
- The career woman often finds she is expected to fulfil at one and the same time the expectations attached to being a woman (feminine, gentle) and the expectations attached to a male stereotype of successful executives (thrusting, go-getting, aggressive).
- The role of the father/husband may be in conflict with the role of manager.
Exercise:
Discuss the role conflicts of
- a manager who is also a member of a trade union
- an employee who has a full-time job and a part-time job
- a woman who seeks to continue her career after having a baby
- a man whose partner continues her career after having a baby
Role Overload
Role holder has too many roles to handle. Mother, father, nurse, lover, Girl Friday, trouble shooter, manager, worker, mentor, word processor, multiple jobs, too many projects or contracts.
Does role overload come with down-sizing, lean organisations and "empowerment"?
Role Underload
Individual feels that the definition of his/her role is out of line with his/her self concept . A new graduate recruit may feel she/he is given a job (role) far below his/her capabilities. They see the role content perhaps as being too routine, menial, insufficiently challenging. They are not stretched enough.
They want more "role" discretion, freedom of movement and more recognition by others of their "status".
How can these problems be resolved? If role enrichment (see Herzberg "job enrichment" is possible, then does enrichment for one mean redistribution of role elements for others?
Role Stress
Role incompatibility or conflict may lead to role stress
- the role holder experiences tension - low morale - becomes morose - loss of libido.
- May result in sickness and debilitate performance, quality of working life.
How far is role stress a result of poor job design, role overload? What are the obligations and duties of management in respect of an employee who is experiencing such roles stress that the job is debilitating for them?
Are there health and safety and hence contract of employment implications?
What are the stressors in the job and how far are the stressors - naturally associated with this type of occupation - such that - it may be the employee who is incapable of handling "normal" job stress rather than the job is "too stressful"? Where does the responsibility lie and how do we evaluate what is "normal, acceptable stress"?
This resource was written by Chris Jarvis for the BOLA
Project