Research on Humanities and Social Sciences www.iiste.org ISSN (Paper)2224-5766 ISSN (Online)2225-0484 (Online) Vol.7, No.1, 2017 8 Implications of the Job Characteristics Theory for School Management in Ghana: A Literature Review Andrews Acquah Department of Arts Education, University of Cape Coast, Ghana, West Africa Abstract The purpose of the paper is to review literature on the implications of the job characteristics theory for school management. It is realized from the review that human beings have a basic and universal need and when these needs are met in their current situations then the individual is said to be satisfied. It is also found from the review of this paper that there is a positive relationship among the job characteristics, individual differences in need strength and employee’s motivation, satisfaction, performance and absenteeism on the job. It is deduced that that all three of the psychological states must be experienced by an individual if desirable outcomes are to emerge. If any one of three psychological states is not present, several outcome variables such as motivation and satisfaction will be weakened. From the review, it is recommended that the complete role of the job characteristics theory is a sine a qua as far as the management of school is concerned. It is therefore recommended periodical workshops are organized for all the heads and managers of schools to sensitize them on the need to redesign the teaching job. This will go a long way to assist school managers to identify the needs of their schools and redesign the jobs of their teachers. In this sense, the teachers would be willing to put off their best and eventually enhance the academic performance of the students. Keywords: job redesign, job satisfaction, job diagnosis survey, school management 1. Introduction The concept of job characteristics has been widely researched since the beginning of the twentieth century, when there was a move towards considering the psychological conditions of the employee associated with post-war industrial revaluation for the purpose of increasing the productivity of workers (Allen & Wilburn, 2002; Mullins, 2004). Work plays an important role in individuals’ lives because they spend more of their time at work than doing any other single activity (Zeffane, Ibrahim & Mehairi, 2008). According to Furnham (2005), people work for so many reasons: a source of income, a source of activity and stimulation, a source of social contacts, a means of structuring time, and a source of self-fulfilment and self-actualization. Employees’ job satisfaction is also an important aspect of work. When employees are happy with their job, they are happy with their lives in general. This implies that the work and the characteristics of the work or the job could be a source of positive for employees and this also reflects in their psychological and physical well being (Spector, 2008). To perform any job an employee should have ability required and along with ability the willingness of that employee to perform job is also essential. To create the willingness of employees and to motivate them managers should design jobs that motivate the employees and satisfy them on work. Hackman and Oldham (1975) maintained that motivation of employees makes them efficient in achieving the goals of an organization. These scholars also maintained that general satisfaction is an overall measure of the degree to which the employee is satisfied and happy with the job (Hackman & Oldham, 1975). According to Hackman and Oldham (1975), satisfaction of employees in their jobs can be categorized into two. The first one is growth satisfaction which describes the opportunities for personal growth and development. This refers to the extent to which an employee likes to have challenge in his job. The second one focuses on internal work motivation which deals with the degree to which the employee is self-motivated to perform effectively on the job. That is the employee experience positive internal feelings when working effectively on the job, and negative internal feelings when doing poorly. Hoppock (1935) first proposed the concept of employee satisfaction, according to him it is the individual feelings about his/her work environment. Employee satisfaction, also called “job satisfaction” according to Wang (2005). Employee satisfaction defined as employees’ feelings and thoughts about organization, work and co-workers (Beer, 1964). The theory of value proposed by Locke (1976), suggests that job satisfaction is not about employees desires only but also includes the principles and needs of the employee. These desires, needs or principles could be in the case of a good remuneration, prospects for career advancement, conducive working environment may influence the employee to be loyal which in turn influence his/her job satisfaction. Job satisfaction is perception (whether delightful or vice versa) of the employee about his work and organization. Satisfied employees are more likely to be accommodating and relate better with customers and if employees are not satisfied with the job it could lead to customer unhappiness (Hanif & Kamal, 2009). Moreso, to Parvin and Kabir (2011) there are a variety of factors that can influence a person’s level of job satisfaction. Some of these factors include the level of pay and benefits, the perceived fairness of the promotion system within a company, the quality of the working conditions, leadership and social relationships, the job itself (the