Chapter 4 HR – job analysis and work design

 Job: a group of related activities and duties

 Position: the collection of tasks and activities performed by one person
 (Could be 1 soft ware developer, but 20 software developers in a company)
 The job could belong to a job family (software engineering, software analysts,
developers)

Job analysis
 Process for obtaining info about jobs by determining the tasks, duties and
activities
 Identify the human attributes (knowledge, skills, abilities – KSA)
 Used to develop job descriptions and job specifications

Methods of collection job information

 Interviews (individual, group, supervisory)
 Questionnaires
 Participant diary/log
 Observation

National occupational classification (NOC)

 Reference tool for writing job descriptions and specifications
 Compiled by the federal government
 Organizes 40000 job titles into 500 occupational groups ( a collection of jobs
that share some or all main duties)
 (O*NET –US standard)

Approaches to job analysis

 Position analysis Questionnaire system
 Critical incident method
 Task inventory analysis
 A competency based analysis

Position analysis questionnaire (PAQ) (good because quantitative data)

 Very structured job analysis questionnaire which contains 194 items
measuring 6 dimensions on a 5 point scale:
 Information input
 Mental process
 Work output (physical activates and tools)
 Relationships with others
 Job context (physical and social environment)
 Other job characteristics (pace and structure)
Critical indecent method
 Analyst asks job holder to identify critical tasks that lead to success on the
job
 What is done how it is performed, what tools/equipment are used
 Prepares a list of separate job activates
 Interview the person in the job and ask about the critical activities then
group these activities to create a job descriptions

Task inventory analysis (EX. national defense)

 Large list of all tasks
 Comprehensive list of task statements applicable to all jobs
 Lusted on task inventory survey – analyst reports the importance and
frequency of task

Competency based job analysis

 Describing a job in terms of the measurable, observable behavioral
competencies an employee must exhibit to do a job well
 Answers the question ‘to perform this job competently, the employee should
be able to’
 Benefits?
 Focus on the worker, his/her competencies and HOW h/she does the job well
 Traditional job descriptions (with their lists of specific duties) may actually
backfire if a high performance work system is your goal
 Can be too inflexible and hamper innovation and creativity – ‘that’s not part
of my job description’

Products of job analyses

 Job description
 A list of the duties responsibilities, reporting relationships, and working
conditions of a job
 Includes:
 Job title
 Job identification section
 Job duties section
 Job specification: ex) pg.131
 Skills of competencies needed to perform the job (education and experience,
specialized training, abilities, manual dexterities)
 Physical demands of the job and working conditions

Problems with job descriptions

 Too vague – little guidance
 Not updated- but responsibilities change
 May violate the law containing specifications not related o job success
 Limit the scope of the jobholder – reduce organizational flexibility
TEXTBOOK

Job: A group of related activities and duties

Position: The different duties and responsibilities performed by only one employee

Job family: A group of individual jobs with similar characteristics

Job specification: A statement of the needed knowledge, skills, and abilities of the
person who is to perform the job

Job description: A statement of the tasks, duties, and responsibilities of a job to be

performed

Job analysis: The process of obtaining information about jobs by determining the
duties, tasks, or activities of jobs

GATHERING JOB INFORMATION: Interviews. Questionnaires. Observation. Diaries.

Position analysis questionnaire (PAQ): A questionnaire covering 194 different

tasks that, by means of a five-point scale, seeks to determine the degree to which
different tasks are involved in performing a particular job
Critical incident method: A job analysis method by which important job tasks are
identified for job success

Task inventory analysis: An organization-specific list of tasks and their

descriptions used as a basis to identify components of jobs

PROBLEMS WITH JOB DESCRIPTIONS:

If they are poorly written, using vague rather than specific terms, they provide little
guidance to the jobholder.
They are sometimes not updated as job duties or specifications change.
They may violate the law by containing specifications not related to job success.
They can limit the scope of activities of the jobholder, reducing organizational
flexibility.

Job design: An outgrowth of job analysis that improves jobs through technological
and human considerations to enhance organization efficiency and employee job
satisfaction

Job enrichment: Enhancing a job by adding more meaningful tasks and duties to
make the work more rewarding or satisfying

Job characteristics model: A job design theory that purports that three
psychological states (experiencing meaningfulness of the work performed,
responsibility for work outcomes, and knowledge of the results of the work
performed) of a jobholder result in improved work performance, internal
motivation, and lower absenteeism and turnover

Employee empowerment: Granting employees power to initiate change, thereby is

encouraging them to take charge of what they do.
Industrial engineering: fields of study concerned with analyzing work methods
and establishing time standards.

Ergonomics: An interdisciplinary approach to designing equipment and systems

that can be easily and efficiently used by human beings

Employee involvement groups (EIs): Groups of employees who meet to resolve

problems or offer suggestions for organizational improvement

Employee teams: An employee contributions technique whereby work functions

are structured for groups rather than for individuals and team members are given
discretion in matters traditionally considered management prerogatives, such as
process improvements, product or service development, and individual work
assignments

Virtual team: A team with widely dispersed members linked together through
computer and telecommunications technology

Job sharing: The arrangement whereby two part- time employees perform a job
that otherwise would be held by one full- time employee.

Telecommuting: Use of personal computers, networks, and other communications

technology to do work in the home that is traditionally done in the workplace