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Chapter 4 Job Analysis

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Learning Objectives

• After studying this chapter, you should be able to:

– Explain types of Jobs– Describe different types of job analyses and data

collection– Define “job description” and “person specification”

and describe how they are used.– Job standards.– Describe how to plan a job analysis.– Describe how to conduct a job analysis.

Types of Jobs

• Jobs are building blocks of an organization in terms of job content and hierarchical relationships that emerge among them.

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Five different types of jobs.

1.Traditional jobs

2.Flexible jobs

3.Idiosyncratic jobs

4.Team based jobs

5.Tele-work jobs

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Traditional Jobs

Traditional way of designing a job is to identify and define its elements and tasks and incorporate them into a job description.

• Such jobs are marked by

1.Formal organization charts

2.Clear and precise job description

3.Job specifications.

4.Well defined promotion and transfer paths.4-5

• Terms frequently used in discussions of traditional jobs.• Job family: A grouping of jobs, usually according

to function (e.g., production, finance, human resources, marketing)

• Job category: A grouping of jobs according to generic job title or occupation (e.g. , managerial, sales, clerical, maintenance), within or across job families

• Job : A grouping of positions that are similar in their tasks and task dimensions.

• Position: A grouping of tasks/dimensions that constitute the total work assignment

of a single employee; there are as many positions as there are employees.

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• Task dimension: A grouping of similar types of tasks; sometimes

called “duty”. “area of responsibility” or “key results area”

• Task:A grouping of elements to form an identifiable work activity that is a logical and necessary step in the performance of a job.

• Element : The smallest unit into which work can be divided without analyzing separate motions, movements and mental processes.

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2. Evolving Jobs

• Traditionally designed and administered jobs may gradually change or evolve over time, resulting in evolving job.

• These changes are intentional and due to technological and workload changes.

• E.g. secretary.• Job’s are evolved due to changing organization,

technology requirements and employee initialized changes through job crafting.

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3. Flexible jobs1.Flexible jobs have frequently changing tasks and

KSAO’s requirement.

2.Changes are initiated by the job incumbent who adds and drops new assignments or projects.

3.These jobs have broad job title . E.g. administration, general manager, project job.

4.Where specific projects are under taken when completed new projects are evolved this needs flexible task and KSAO’s

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4. Idiosyncratic Jobs

• Jobs are unique and created in response to the known availability of a specific person with highly valued skills.

• Person could be current employee or outsider.

• Former politicians and high level government employees are often hired into such jobs.

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5. Team based jobs

• Occurs with in work teams

• The team is an inter dependent collection of employees who share responsibility for achieving a specific goal. (developing a product, delivering a service, winning a game) etc

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Forms of team based jobs

1. Advice/involvement teams – Quality control circles, special committees and advisory boards.

2. Production/service teams – assembly, data processing and client service teams

3. Project/development teams – research and development, project management, brand management, engineering and task force teams.

4. Action /negotiation teams – sports, collective bargaining, surgery and flight crew teams.

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6. Tele-work jobs

• Here employee’s works away from the employer’s work location using telecommunication technology ( Computers, e-mail, fax, cell phone etc.) to accomplish work.

• It may be done at home, on road, or on special location etc.

• It could be full time, part time with flexible work hours.

• Tele work is applicable in marketing sales, programming etc.

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Job Analysis• Definition: a systematic process of identifying and

describing the important aspects of a job and the characteristics workers need to perform the job well

• Job analyses are used for multiple purposes, including:– Determining job entry requirements– Developing a company’s strategic recruiting plan– Selecting individuals for employment– Developing employee training plans– Designing compensation systems– Developing performance evaluation measures

• Job analyses also help group jobs into job families or groupings of jobs that either call for similar worker characteristics or contain parallel work tasks

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Job Analysis for Staffing

• A job analysis that produces a valid selection system identifies worker characteristics that: – Distinguish superior from average and unacceptable

workers; that are not easily learned on the job; that exist to at least a moderate extent in the applicant pool.

• Future-oriented job analysis: job analysis technique for analyzing new jobs or analyzing how jobs will look in the future

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Legal Requirements

• To meet legal requirements, a job analysis must: – Be valid and identify the worker knowledge, skills,

abilities, and other characteristics necessary to perform the job and that differentiate superior from barely acceptable workers

– Be in writing and relevant to the particular job in question

Practical reasons

• To enhance the effectiveness of staffing efforts, job analysis procedures are useful for other human resource management activities, such as

performance management, compensation, training & development and succession planning

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Outcomes of Job Analysis

Figure 4-1

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Job Description• A written description of the duties and responsibilities of the job

itself based on a job analysis.

• Job descriptions usually include: – The size and type of organization– The department and job title – The salary range– Position grade or level– To whom the employee reports and for whom the employee is

responsible – Brief summary of the main duties and responsibilities of the job– Brief summary of the occasional duties and responsibilities of the job– Any special equipment used on the job– Any special working conditions (e.g. shift or weekend work, foreign travel,

etc.) – Purpose and frequency of contact with others – The statement, “Other duties as assigned” to accommodate job changes

and special projects

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Person/job Specification

• Person specification: summarizes the characteristics of someone able to perform the job well

• Essential criteria: job candidate characteristics that are critical to adequate new hire performance and for which candidates should be screened

• Desirable criteria: job candidate criteria that may enhance the new hire’s job performance, but that are not essential to adequate job performance

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Job Analysis Methods• Must be:

– Reliable, or replicable

A reliable job analysis procedure will produce the same results when it

1)is applied to the same job by a different job specialist;

2)when a different group of job experts use; and

3)when it is done at a different time.

– Valid, or accurately measured

A valid job analysis accurately captures the target job.

Methods of Job Analysis

1. The Critical incidents Technique

2. The Job Elements Method

3. The Structured Interview Technique

4. Task Inventory Approach

5. The Structured Questionnaire Method

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1. Critical incidents technique

• Identifies behaviors that lead to extremely effective or extremely ineffective job performance

By documenting critical incidents that take place in job an analysis identifies

1. circumstances leading to the event2. Action taken by worker3. Consequences of the action taken

Method of data collection Interviews with incumbents, supervisors Reviewing log books Other written records of job events

AdvantagesEffective or ineffective job behaviors are

detailedGives actual ‘on the job’ behavior Inexpensive and helps company defend

itself.

DisadvantagesNarrative data is difficult to analyze and useNeeds time and recourses to collect

enough critical incidents

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2. The Job elements method

• uses expert brainstorming sessions to identify the characteristics of successful workers

• Used in industrial occupations and lesser skilled jobs.

Advantages Experts involved in every stage and feel ownership

over the processEfficient and relatively fast Small number of experts neededResults in well organized documentation of the job

and workers4-26

• Disadvantages

it can be difficult to explain and communicate the job elements methodology.

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3. Structured interview technique

• subject matter experts provide information about the job verbally in a structured interview

Advantage• fast & requires min resources, • Good when small number of experts are

involved and • results are required quickly• Disadvantages• Time consuming data can be difficult to

analyze.4-28

4. Task inventory approach• job experts generate a list of 50-200 tasks that are

grouped in categories reflecting major work functions that are then evaluated on dimensions relevant for selection

Advantages • It is objective• Results in a reliable description of the job

Disadvantage

Does not identify workers characteristics distinguishing superior form average workers

May not identify workers characteristics infrequently displayed

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5. Structured Questionnaires

• a standardized, structured questionnaire that can be used for just about any job (e.g., the Position Analysis Questionnaire or PAQ)

Advantages

Fast, cheap, used for any position, standardized so different jobs can be compared

Disadvantage

High reading levels required , information is limited, may miss unique aspects.

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Other methods of job analysis

• Job Analysis can be of 3 types

1. Job requirement based– Specific task for job– Specific KSAOs for job– Job context

2. Competency based– General KSAOs– Job spanning KSAOs

3. Job Rewards– Excentric rewards– Intrinsic rewards

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1. Job Requirement Job Analysis

Most thoroughly developed and commonly used by organizations

Collecting information

1. Prior information

2. Observation

3. Interviews

4. Task questionnaire

5. Combined methods

6. Sources to be used

7. Job analyst

8. Job incumbents

9. Supervisors

10.Subject mater experts

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Job requirements

job analysis

Tasks +

Context

Results

Job description

Job analysis

identify

Job specificationKSAO’sinfer

2. Competency based job analysis

• Definition: a job analysis method that identifies the necessary worker competencies for high performance

• Competencies: rather than focusing on job tasks, they are the broader worker characteristics that underlie successful performance or behavior on the job

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• Because competencies are linked to the organization’s business goals, strategy, and values, a person specification resulting from a job description can enhance hiring quality and strategy execution

• A competency-based job description: – Enhances a manager’s flexibility in assigning

work– Lengthens the life of a job description– Can allow firms to group jobs requiring similar

competencies under a single job description

• This method is used to establish general competencies like

Customer focus

Communication

Team orientation

Technical expertise

result orientation

Adaptability innovation

Collection of information still in its infancyTop management, mission and goals

Previously identified job task etc

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Job Rewards Analysis

• Job rewards analysis: identifies the intrinsic and extrinsic rewards of a job– .

• The combination of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards are a job’s total rewards

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Job Rewards Analysis

• Employee value proposition (EVP): the intrinsic and extrinsic rewards an employee receives by working for a particular employer in return for his or her job performance

• Communicating your EVP:– First determine exactly what attracts job candidates,

and why employees enjoy their work. – Then craft a message to clearly state what makes

your company the obvious choice over the competition.

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Planning Job Analyses

• Job analyses should be performed in such a way as to meet the professional and legal guidelines that have been established in the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures,

which are available online at: http://www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/ESA/Title_41/Part_60-3/toc.htm

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Planning Job Analyses• Determine time and resources necessary and available

• Collect background information about the company, its culture and business strategy, the job, and the job’s contribution to strategy execution and competitive advantage– O*NET - Occupational Information Network

(http://online.onetcenter.org/)

• Identify job experts

• Identify appropriate job analysis technique(s) to use

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Job Analysis StepsTable 4-5