OBE 153 Quiz 2 Materials
Chapter 4: Job Analysis
PART 1: The Nature of Job Analysis
• Job analysis
• The procedure for determining the duties and skill requirements of a job and the kind of person who should be hired for it.
• Job description
• A list of a job's duties, responsibilities, reporting relationships, working conditions, and supervisory responsibilities�one product of a job analysis.
• Job specifications
• A list of a job's �human requirements,� that is, the requisite education, skills, personality, and so on�another product of a job analysis.
Types of Information Collected:
• Work activities
• Human behaviors
• Machines, tools, equipment, and work aids
• Performance standards
• Job context
• Human requirements
Uses of Job Analysis Information:
• Recruitment and Selection
• Compensation
• Performance Appraisal
• Training
• Discovering Unassigned Duties
• EEO Compliance
Steps in Job Analysis:
• Step 1: Decide how you'll use the information.
• Step 2: Review relevant background information.
• Step 3: Select representative positions.
• Step 4: Actually analyze the job.
• Step 5: Verify the job analysis information.
• Step 6: Develop a job description and job specification.
Charting the Organization
• Organization chart
• A chart that shows the organization-wide distribution of work, with titles of each position and interconnecting lines that show who reports to and communicates to whom.
• Process chart
• A work flow chart that shows the flow of inputs to and outputs from a particular job.
Process Chart for Analyzing a Job's Workflow
PART 2: Methods of Collecting Job Analysis Information: The Interview
• Information sources
• Individual employees
• Groups of employees
• Supervisors with knowledge of the job
• Advantages
• Quick, direct way to find overlooked information.
• Disadvantages
• Distorted information
• Interview formats
• Structured [Checklist]
• Unstructured
Interview Guidelines
• The job analyst and supervisor should work together to identify the workers who know the job best.
• Quickly establish rapport with the interviewee.
• Follow a structured guide or checklist, one that lists open-ended questions and provides space for answers.
• Ask the worker to list his or her duties in order of importance and frequency of occurrence.
• After completing the interview, review and verify the data.
Methods of Collecting Job Analysis Information:
Questionnaires
• Information source
• Have employees fill out questionnaires to describe their job-related duties and responsibilities.
• Questionnaire formats
• Structured checklists
• Opened-ended questions
• Advantages
• Quick and efficient way to gather information from large numbers of employees
• Disadvantages
• Expense and time consumed in preparing and testing the questionnaire
Observation
• Information source
• Observing and noting the physical activities of employees as they go about their jobs.
• Advantages
• Provides first-hand information
• Reduces distortion of information
• Disadvantages
• Time consuming
• Difficulty in capturing entire job cycle
• Of little use if job involves a high level of mental activity.
Participant Diary/Logs
• Information source
• Workers keep a chronological diary/ log of what they do and the time spent in each activity.
• Advantages
• Produces a more complete picture of the job
• Employee participation
• Disadvantages
• Distortion of information
• Depends upon employees to accurately recall their activities
Quantitative Job Analysis Techniques
• The position analysis questionnaire [PAQ]
• A questionnaire used to collect quantifiable data concerning the duties and responsibilities of various jobs.
• The Department of Labor [DOL] procedure
• A standardized method by which different jobs can be quantitatively rated, classified, and compared.
• Functional job analysis
• Takes into account the extent to which instructions, reasoning, judgment, and mathematical and verbal ability are necessary for performing job tasks.
PART 3: Writing Job Descriptions
• A job description
• A written statement of what the worker actually does, how he or she does it, and what the job's working conditions are.
• Sections of a typical job description
• Job identification
• Job summary
• Responsibilities and duties
• Authority of incumbent
• Standards of performance
• Working conditions
• Job specifications
The Job Description
• Job identification
• Job title: name of job
• FLSA status section: Exempt or nonexempt
• Preparation date: when the description was written
• Prepared by: who wrote the description
• Job summary
• Describes the general nature of the job
• Lists the major functions or activities
• Relationships [chain of command]
• Reports to: employee's immediate supervisor
• Supervises: employees that the job incumbent directly supervises
• Works with: others with whom the job holder will be expected to work and come into contact with internally.
• Outside the company: others with whom the job holder is expected to work and come into contact with externally.
• Responsibilities and duties
• A listing of the job's major responsibilities and duties [essential functions]
• Defines limits of jobholder's decision-making authority, direct supervision, and budgetary limitations.
• Standard Occupational Classification
• Classifies all workers into one of 23 major groups of jobs which are subdivided into 96 minor groups of jobs and detailed occupations.
Is the Job Function Essential?
• What three or four main activities actually constitute the job? Is each really necessary?
• What is the relationship between each task? Is there a special sequence which the tasks must follow?
• Do the tasks necessitate sitting, standing, crawling, walking, climbing, running, stooping, kneeling, lifting, carrying, digging, writing, operating, pushing, pulling, fingering, talking, listening, interpreting, analyzing, seeing, coordinating, etc.?
• How many employees are available to perform the job function? Can the job function be distributed among other employees?
• How much time is spent on the job performing each particular function? Are infrequent tasks less important to success?
• Would removing a function fundamentally alter the job?
• What happens if a task is not completed on time?
• Does the position exist to perform that function?
• Are employees in the position actually required to perform the function?
• Is there a limited number of other employees available to perform the function?
• What is the degree of expertise or skill required to perform the function?
• What is the actual work experience of present or past employees in the job?
• What is the amount of time an individual actually spends performing the function?
• What are the consequences of not requiring the performance of the function?
• Standards of performance and working conditions
• Lists the standards the employee is expected to achieve under each of the job description's main duties and responsibilities.
PART 4: Writing Job Specifications
• Specifications for trained personnel
• Focus on traits like length of previous service, quality of relevant training, and previous job performance.
• Specifications for untrained personnel
• Focus on physical traits, personality, interests, or sensory skills that imply some potential for performing or for being trained to do the job.
• Specifications Based on Judgment
• Self-created judgments [common sense]
• List of competencies in Web-based job descriptions [e.g., www.jobdescription.com]
• O*NET online
• Standard Occupational Classification
• Specifications Based on Statistical Analysis
• Attempts to determine statistically the relationship between a predictor or human trait and an indicator or criterion of job effectiveness.
• Steps in the Statistical Approach
• Analyze the job and decide how to measure job performance.
• Select personal traits that you believe should predict successful performance.
• Test candidates for these traits.
• Measure the candidates' subsequent job performance.
• Statistically analyze the relationship between the human trait and job performance.
Writing Job Descriptions:
• Step 1. Decide on a Plan
• Step 2. Develop an Organization Chart
• Step 3. Use a Job Analysis/Description Questionnaire
• Step 4. Obtain Lists of Job Duties from O*NET [a very useful website]
• Step 5. Compile the Job's Human Requirements from O*NET
• Step 6. Complete Your Job Description
PART 5: Job Analysis in a �Jobless� World
• Job
• Generally defined as �a set of closely related activities carried out for pay.�
From Specialized to Enlarged Jobs:
• Job enlargement
• Assigning workers additional same level activities, thus increasing the number of activities they perform.
• Job enrichment
• Redesigning jobs in a way that increases the opportunities for the worker to experience feelings of responsibility, achievement, growth, and recognition.
• Job rotation
• Moving a trainee from department to department to broaden his or her experience and identify strong and weak points to prepare the person for an enhanced role with the company
• Systematically moving workers from one job to another to enhance work team performance.
Why Managers Are �Dejobbing� Their Companies�
• Dejobbing
• Broadening the responsibilities of the company's jobs
• Encouraging employee initiative.
• Internal factors leading to dejobbing
• Flatter organizations
• Work teams
• External factors leading to dejobbing.
• Rapid product and technological change
• Global competition
• Deregulation,
• Political instability,
• Demographic changes
• Rise of a service economy.
Competency-Based Job Analysis
• Competencies
• Demonstrable characteristics of a person that enable performance of a job.
• Competency-based job analysis
• Describing a job in terms of the measurable, observable, behavioral competencies [knowledge, skills, and/or behaviors] an employee must exhibit to do a job well.
Why Use Competency Analysis?
• To support HPWS
• Traditional job descriptions [with their lists of specific duties] may actually backfire if a high-performance work system is the goal.
• Maintain a strategic focus
• Describing the job in terms of the skills, knowledge, and competencies the worker needs is more strategic.
• Measuring performance
• Measurable skills, knowledge, and competencies are the heart of any company's performance management process.
Performance Management
• Performance management
• Managing all elements of the organizational process that affect how well employees perform.
• Types of competencies
• General competencies
• reading, writing, and mathematical reasoning.
• Leadership competencies
• leadership, strategic thinking, and teaching others.
• Technical competencies
• specific technical competencies required for specific types of jobs and/or occupations.