I-deals in further education? A new approach to managerial job design

Abstract

This paper discusses the neglected theme of job design in education. It argues that the traditional top-down method of designing work roles ignores the interests, abilities and needs of employees and leads to individuals adopting an unsanctioned approach to job design, ‘job crafting’. It is posited that a third approach is needed, that of ‘idiosyncratic deals' (or ‘i-deals'), which sees job design as a collaborative negotiation that has the potential to meet the needs of both organisation and employee. To ground this argument, the case of first-tier managers in further education (FE) is considered and a proposed framework of i-deals for this role is presented.