Review of the Job Enrichment Program at Ogden Air Logistics Center

The job enrichment program at the Ogden Air Logistics Center, Utah, was initiated in January 1974 under contract to Herzberg and Associates to increase workforce productivity by restructuring jobs to provide workers with increased accountability, responsibility, communication, and feedback on the acceptability of their performance. The program was also designed to increase job satisfaction and quality of working life. Because of sizable reported savings and productivity gains, the program is being implemented throughout the Air Force Logistics Command (AFLC). A review of the program revealed that, at the inception of the program, there was no definitive plan to systematically evaluate its impact. Little evaluation was accomplished and, where it was attempted, evaluation was not adequate to show overall program impact. The program costs tended to be understated and reported savings overstated. A plan for a 3-year systematic evaluation of program costs and benefits was delayed because of resistance from union officials to one of the data collection devices. It appears that AFLC does not know the extent to which the program is achieving the goals for which it was designed. Therefore, further expansion of job enrichment within the AFLC and the Department of Defense should be limited to demonstration-type projects which are subject to sound evaluation procedures until favorable program results can be documented.