A clarification on conceptual and methodological issues related to the Job Characteristics Model

We provide a comment on 'Comparing the effects of cellular and functional manufacturing on employees' perceptions and attitudes' by Shafer, Tepper, Meredith, and Marsh (Journal of Operations Management, 1995, 12, 63-74). We identify and explicate three conceptual concerns related to their description of the Job Characteristics Model, as well as two methodological concerns with using the Job Diagnostic Survey to measure the five job characteristics and the Motivating Potential Score as an aggregate index of a job's 'motivating potential'. We intend this explication to serve as a clarification and guidance for further conceptual and empirical research in operations management involving the Job Characteristics Model, the Job Diagnostic Survey, and the Motivating Potential Score. Our remarks are intended to be constructive and are offered in the spirit of scholarly advancement.