Job Analysis

1. Job Analysis • What is it? – The systematic gathering and appraisal of information about job content, human requirements for job success, and the relationship of the job to the overall work environment. • Information gathered is converted into job descriptions and job specifications. • Most Basic Building Block of HRM.

2. Facilitates the development of legally defensible recruiting and selection procedures, performance appraisal systems, disciplinary actions and pay practices. • Documentation of the job - relatedness of HR decision making.

3. Terminology • What is a job? – a grouping of similar positions having common tasks, duties, and responsibilities – differs from a position – • A position is a collection of tasks, duties, and responsibilities performed by one person. • Job Family – a grouping of jobs having similar characteristics.

4. Work Analysis – study of the work flow, activities, context, and output of a job. • Task-based Job Analysis – concentrates upon what is done on the job and focuses on the tasks, duties, and responsibilities performed in the job. • Competency Approaches to Job Analysis – growing interest in focusing on the competencies that individuals need in order to perform jobs rather than on the tasks, duties and responsibilities composing a job. KSAs

5. Legal Aspects of Job Analysis • Important as an aid to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, and compliance with the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures. • ADA – Identification of the essential job functions – “the fundamental job duties of the employment position that an individual with the disability holds or desires” • Identification of physical demands and environmental conditions of jobs. • Facilitates reasonable accommodation.

6. Wage and Hour Regulations – aids in identifying which employees should be classified as exempt or non-exempt for purposes of overtime payments under the FLSA.

7. Behavioral Aspects • Both managers and employees may feel threatened by the job analysis process – can be used to identify the difference between the way a job is performed and the way it should be performed. • Job Inflation – tendency to inflate the importance of the job • Managerial Straitjacket – “that’s not my job” • Current Incumbent Emphasis – • Employee Anxieties -

8. Job Analysis Methods • Observation – work sampling and use of employee diary/logs • Interviewing – standardized question to insure uniformity of data • Questionnaires - • U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) – Uses Functional Job Analysis – Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT).

9. Functional Job Analysis – comprehensive five-part set of questions to gather job analysis information: 1. Organizational goals, 2. What a worker does toward achieving those goals, 3. The level and orientation of what workers do, 4. performance standards, 5. Training content. • Examines and gathers information on data, people, and things

10. Specialized Methods • Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) – complex questionnaire with 27 job dimensions composed of 187 elements. • Management Position Description Questionnaire (MPDQ) – over 200 questions used to examine managerial dimensions.

11. Writing Job Descriptions • Components: (Figure 7-11 in text) • Identification • General Summary • Essential Functions and Duties • Job Specifications • Disclaimer and Approvals