Transcript Analyzing Jobs - Kent State University

Analyzing Jobs
Chapter 4
Kleiman
Linking Job Analysis to Competitive
Advantage
• Job analysis successfully done, enhance the
success of HRM practices (“spadework” is job
analysis; the “garden” is the HRM practices)
• Job analysis identifies selection criteria
(knowledge, skills, and abilities) needed to
perform the job successfully
• HR and line managers can use the info to
choose or develop the appropriate selection
devices (i.e., questions, tests)
Linking Job Analysis to Competitive
Advantage
• Also a legal requirement—if an organization is
facing discrimination charges—the org would
have to demonstrate that the challenged
selection practice was developed on the basis of
job analysis information
• ADA—has even made the need for firms to base
selection criteria on job analysis information
(perform the essential functions of the job)
• Job analysis determines what job functions are
essential
Laying the Foundation for Training
& Development Programs
• Job analysis is used to assess training needs
and to develop and evaluate training programs
• Job analysis identifies tasks needed to be
performed
• Performance appraisal process supervisors can
identify which tasks are identified properly and
which ones improperly
• Then we can determine if training would be an
appropriate mechanism to correct a deficiency
Laying the Foundation for Training
& Development Programs
• HR professionals use job analysis information to
develop training programs (i.e., PC courses)
• Evaluating the effectiveness of training
programs—the org must identify training
objectives or the level of performance expected
of trainees when they finish the program
• Job analysis identifies expected performance
levels
Laying the Foundation for
Performance Appraisal Forms
• Performance appraisal forms can be developed
from job analysis information
• How would the form be set up?
--List the tasks and behaviors on one side
--Specify the expected levels of performance
• Job analysis is very important because without
job analysis what you typically see in
organizations are “generalized” performance
appraisal forms (i., categories—leadership,
cooperation, dependability)
Laying the Foundation for
Performance Appraisal Forms
• Key point—job analysis-based forms do a
much better job than generalized forms
because they communicate performance
outcomes, in addition to providing ongoing coaching and feedback as well as
consequences (i.e., promotion, merit
increase, termination)
• All the above are critical HRM decisions
Laying the Foundation for
Compensation Decisions
• Base pay rates are based on the relative worth
or importance of each job in the job hierarchy
• Positions are evaluated based on factors such
as leadership, decision making, communications
(SERW)
• Job analysis serves as the basis for job
evaluation
• Pay for performance programs (bonuses,
incentives)
Job Analysis
• When conducting job analysis an
organization determines:
– Type of info to be collected
– How it will be collected
– How it will be recorded or documented
Type of Information to be Collected
• Job Analysis information is divided into
three categories:
– Job content -refers to workers’ activities—
what employees actually do on the job
– Job content – conditions under which work is
performed and the demands such jobs
impose on the worker
– Worker requirements – workers
qualifications needed to perform the job
successfully
Job Content
• Job Content—discuss 4-2-page 92
– Broad level (function or duty)
– Intermediate level (task and work behavior)
– Specific level (subtasks and critical incidents)
(have students work on examples)
When gathering information about tasks, the job
analyst seeks to determine what the worker
does, the purpose of the action, the tools,
equipment, or machinery used in the process
Job Content
• Job Content refers to the conditions under which
work is performed and the demands such work
imposes on workers (discuss figure 4-3 page 91)
• Worker requirements:
– Knowledge-the body info needed to perform the job
– Skill-the ability to perform a learned motor task, such
as forklift operating skills and word processing skills
– Ability- the capability needed to perform a non-motor
task, such as communication ability, mathematical
ability, reasoning or problem-solving ability
Job Content
• Worker requirements:
– Personal characteristics- an individual’s traits (e.g.,
tact, assertiveness, concern for others, objectivity,
work ethic) or their willingness/ability to adapt to
circumstances in the environment (e.g., ability to
withstand boredom, willingness to work overtime,
willingness to treat others cordially)
– Credentials-proof or documentation that an individual
possesses certain competencies, such as diplomas,
certifications, and licenses
Job Content
• First the job analyst needs to determine
what information needs to be gathered
– Technical training program for new
employees—focus on information about subtasks (step by step description how the job is
carried out) KSAs needed to carry the job out
– Written employment test-specific tasks of the
job and knowledge required to perform each
task (facts, theories, and principles)
How to Collect Information
• Supervisors and incumbents are required
to help gather and interpret the pertinent
information
• Gather info:
– Interviewing workers
– Observing them work
– Completion of Job Analysis Questionnaires
(Discuss Exhibit 4-1 page 93
Job Analysis Interviews
• Structured interviews between job analyst and
one or more subject-matter experts
• Interviews with incumbents focus on job
content and job context information (what they
do, how they do it, and conditions under which
they perform their jobs
• Interviews with supervisors focus on
verification of worker’s responses and
information on task importance, expected
performance levels, training needs of new
workers, and worker requirements
Job Analysis Interviews
• Most frequently used job analysis
method—interviews provide a potential
wealth of information—much info can be
collected (figure 4-1)
• These interviews are quite time
consuming—typically takes one to eight
hours—solution group interviews with
several incumbents at once
Job Analysis Observation
• Sometimes interviews are supplemented with direct
observation
• Most useful when jobs are complex and difficult to
accurately describe
• Job analyst observes or videotapes job and then meets
with incumbent for further clarification (“A picture is worth
a thousand words”)
• Observation alone is best when one is trying to identify
sub-tasks in routine repetitive type jobs (i.e., printed
circuit board assemblers)
• Concern some workers may behave atypically when
being observed or slow done to demonstrate how difficult
job is
Job Analysis Questionnaires
• Job analysis questionnaires ask subject matter experts
to record job information in writing (may be open-ended
or closed-ended questions) See PAQ from CCC
• Closed-ended questions are more commonly used
because they provide greater uniformity of responses
and are more easily scored
• JAQ containing only closed ended questions is called a
job analysis inventory
• Task inventory – inventory containing a list of task
statements
• Ability inventory- worker ability requirements
Job Analysis Questionnaires
• Companies used job analysis inventories
when information is needed from several
incumbents (e.g., people who hold the
same job title)
• We also group jobs (job families)
How Job Analysis Information Will
Be Recorded
• Job description is the main tool used to record
information
• Why is a job description used?
– Communicating job responsibilities to employees
– Specifying minimum requirements (interview process)
• Why sections are contained in a job description?
– Job identification
– Job summary
How Job Analysis Information Will
Be Recorded
• Why sections are contained in a job description?
– Essential functions
– Worker requirements
(See Exhibit 4-3 pages 96 – 97)
• General-purpose job descriptions that are used by most
companies provide only a brief summary of job analysis
information and may lack sufficient detail for some HRM
applications (PAQ plus Job Description at CCC)
• VERJAS- job description contains a list of duties, tasks,
task ratings for importance and for needed training, job
context descriptions, and a list of competencies
Special Purpose Job Descriptions
• Ability Requirements Approach (ARA)—
assumes that the skills needed to perform a job
can be described in terms of abilities that are
more basic
• Example—skill hitting a ball described in terms
of basic abilities as reaction time, wrist strength,
and eye-hand coordination (Discuss Figure 4-4
page 98)
• ARA compliance with ADA—set medical
standards for jobs
Special Purpose Job Descriptions
• Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ)-is
premised on the notion that “there is some
underlying behavioral structure or order to the
domain of human work, and there is a limited set
of job characteristics that describe this domain
(Discuss Figure 4-5 page 99)
• Particularly useful for establishing compensation
rates—combine the 13 dimension scores of a
job to arrive at an appropriate rate (i.e., a rate
similar to job in other companies that have the
same profile)
• Group jobs into families
Special Purpose Job Descriptions
• Critical Incident Technique (CIT)-developed in
the military during WW II as a means of
identifying critical factors in human performance
in a variety of military situations
• Specific work behavior that may determine
success or failure in executing an assigned task
• Job analyst collect critical incidents from people
familiar with the job (collected in the form of
stories or anecdotes that depict successful and
unsuccessful job behaviors. Then they are
described in a single statement
Special Purpose Job Descriptions
• What are the useful HRM applications?
– Tool for identifying selection criteria
– Tool for identifying training needs
– Tool for developing performance appraisal
forms
Recording Job Analysis Information:
Selecting the Best Approach
• As we stated earlier, the purpose or
intended use of the job analysis dictates
the particular information to be gathered
The Manager’s Guide: Job Analysis
and the Manager’s Job
• Completing the Job Analysis
– Managers nearly always have input into the
job analysis process—depends on the culture
of the organization
– Some managers have to write job
descriptions
– Other cases HR conducts the job analysis
Implementing Job Analysis Results
• Managers most commonly use job
analysis results to help determine
selection criteria and to help communicate
job responsibilities to their employees
– Selecting applicants—assess applicants for
jobs, managers should carefully review the
content, context, and work requirement info to
determine who is best suited for the job
Implementing Job Analysis Results
– Communicating job responsibilities—drive the
orientation process for new hires
– Communicate performance standards to all
employees
How the HRM Department Can
Help
• Gaining upper-management support—by
forcibly and continually emphasizing the
importance of conducting job analyses that
are sufficiently thorough and accurate
– Stress need to update on a regular basis
Planning & Implementing a Job
Analysis Project
• HR is responsible for:
– Determining goals and objectives
– Choose methods for collecting and recording
job analysis info
– Select subject-matter experts
– Establish a project schedule
– Document the data
– Disseminate the information
– Manage the study
HRM Skill Building for Managers
• In organizations where managers conduct
the job analysis a guide is provided:
– State the purpose of the interview
– Structure the interview
– Steer the interview
– Record the interview
– Close the intervieew
Documenting Job Analysis
Information
• Utilizing the VERJAS approach:
– Identify duties
– Identify tasks
– Evaluate tasks
– Evaluate job content
– Evaluate worker competencies (worker
requirements)