Work assignments are a primary source of career learning for many employees, contributing to their career development and success. Job rotations, one form of work assignment policy, are lateral transfers of employees between jobs in an organization. This field research study examined (1) the factors that predicted the number of job rotations for a group of employees and (2) the effects of job rotations on subsequent career success.

The researchers studied 255 executives, managers, and professionals in the financial function of a large pharma-ceutical company. The company did have a promotion-from-within policy, with an emphasis on developing generalists. The average age of the study group was 39 years; the average tenure was 13 years; 97 percent had a bachelor's degree, and 55 percent had a graduate degree.

The researchers expected that younger employees, early in their careers, with high education and high job performance, would have more job rotations than would older employees, later in their careers, with less education and lower job performance. The data largely supported this expectation. In addition, the researchers expected that frequent job rotations would be positively related to faster promotions and salary growth. The data provided support for this expectation.

Job rotations are a form of career development that may be more common for employees in the early part of their career and more common for high-performing employees. Job rotations have tangible benefits for employees in the form of salary increases and promotions.

SOURCE: M. A. Campion, L. Cheraskin, and M. J. Stevens, "Career-Related Antecedents and Outcomes of Job Rotation," Academy of Management Journal 37 (1994): 1518-1542.

ORGANIZATIONAL REALITY

Herman Miller's Aeron Chair

Industrial engineers can play an important role in the ergonomics and design of essential office equipment. Whereas Chaparral Steel uses education, exercise, and lower back cushions on conventional chairs, Herman Miller has attempted to revolutionize a central feature of the office work environment-the office chair.

The inspiration for Herman Miller's chair came from the observation that traditional work chairs do not fit 40-50 percent of the population. As a result Don Chadwick and Bill Stumpf designed a chair called Aeron, which comes in three different sizes: small, medium, and large. The Aeron has a Kinemat tilt mechanism that spontaneously supports any preferred posture, anywhere from the work-intensive forward position to the fully reclined position for thinking.

Unlike ordinary chairs that use the traditional fabric-covered foam cushioning, Aeron has a see-through, meshlike Pellicle material that conforms to the individual's shape, equally distributing body pressure on the chair's seat and back. Parts of Aeron are recyclable and parts are made of recycled materials. The Aeron has easy controls to adjust seat height, tilt-tension, tilt limit, each armrest independently, and the lumbar pad. So the Aeron attends to the lower back in addition to all other parts of the seated human body. th less enthusiasm by group members.

SOURCE: J. Teresko, "Emerging Technologies," Industry Week, February 27, 1995, 1-2.

ORGANIZATIONAL REALITY

AT&T's Virtual Office

Mobile workforces are an increasingly common characteristic of the global industrial landscape. Their range, maneuverability, and flexibility is a real advantage for many companies. However, their effectiveness hinges on access to essential information through computer and telecommunications technologies. Once automated and activated, mobile workforces can range over the global industrial landscape in virtual offices. The virtual office promises to revolutionize the design of jobs and the workplace.

AT&T Global Information Solutions plans to deliver a broad initiative that mixes the essential technologies and services through computers and telecommunications to enable companies to create virtual office platforms for their mobile workforces. AT&T has a five-tier Virtual Workplace Program that promises to combine (1) network services, (2) notebook computers, (3) communications products, (4) support services, and (5) application software into a one-stop solution for companies looking to manage their mobile computer environments. The first three tiers of the program deal with integrating PCs, peripherals, and communications products. The fourth layer partners AT&T with three client/server applications: (1) Adaptive Strategies Inc.'s MobileSync, (2) XcelleNet Inc.'s RemoteWare and (3) Brock Control Systems Inc.'s TakeControl. AT&T will offer its customers seven-day, around-the-clock support to help integrate the varying products.

SOURCE: L. DiCarlo, "AT&T Maps Virtual Office Environment," PC Week, February 27, 1995, 1-2.

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