Vertical Loading The intent of vertical loading is to decrease the gap between doing
the job and controlling the job. A vertically loaded job has responsibilities and controls
that formerly were reserved for management. Vertical loading may well be the most
crucial of the job-design principles. Autonomy is invariably increased. This approach
should lead to greater feelings of personal accountability and responsibility for the work
outcomes. For example, at an IBM plant that manufactured circuit boards for personal
computers, assembly workers were trained to measure the accuracy and speed of production
processes and to test the quality of finished products. Their work was more
“whole,” they were more autonomous, and the engineers who measure and test were
free to design better products and more efficient ways to manufacture them.