Chapter 4 Analyzing Jobs

1. Chapter 4Analyzing Jobs

2. Chapter Outline • 4-1 Gaining Competitive Advantage • 4-2 HRM Issues and Practices • 4-3 The Manager’s Guide

3. 4-1a Opening Case: Gaining Competitive Advantage at Armco Inc. • Problem: Not knowing whether new workers were qualified for their first job assignment. • Solution: Developing job analysis-based employment tests. • How the use of job analysis-based employment tests enhanced competitive advantage: • Individuals who did well on the tests performed their jobs much better than those who did poorly. • High scorers could do twice as much work than low scorers. • Productivity gain of $4,900 per employee per year.

4. 4-1b Linking Job Analysis to Competitive Advantage • Job analysis information can be applied to a variety of HRM practices. • Recruitment and selection • Training and development programs • Performance appraisal forms • Compensation decisions • Productivity improvement programs • Employee discipline decisions • Safety and health programs

5. 4-2 HRM Issues and Practices • When conducting a job analysis, the organization must determine: • The type of information to be collected. • How it will be collected? • How it will be recorded or documented?

6. 4-2a Determining the Type of Information to Be Collected • Job analysis information may be divided into three categories - job content, job context, and worker requirements. • The purpose of job analysis dictates the particular information to be gathered.

7. 4-2a Determining the Type of Information to Be Collected (cont.) • Job content • What the worker does? • Purpose of the action. • Tools, equipment, or machinery used in the process. • Relative importance of tasks. • Expected performance levels. • Type of training needed by a new worker to perform the tasks satisfactorily.

8. 4-2a Determining the Type of Information to Be Collected (cont.) • Job context • Conditions under which work is performed. • The demands such work imposes on workers. • Worker requirements • Knowledge - body of information. • Skill – capability to perform a learned motor task. • Ability – capability to perform a nonmotor task. • Personal characteristics – individual’s traits • Credentials – proof or documentation of competencies possessed.

9. 4-2b Determining How to Collect the Information • HR professionals gather job analysis information by: • Interviewing the workers. • Observing them at work. • Having them complete job analysis questionnaires. • Appropriateness of each approach depends, in part, on the type of information sought.

10. 4-2b Determining How to Collect the Information (cont.) • Job analysis interviews • Structured conversations between the job analyst and one or more subject-matter experts. • Most frequently used method. • Provides a potential wealth of information. • Can be used to collect all or some types of information. • One-on-one interviews are time-consuming. • Group interviews are an alternative when time is a constraint.

11. 4-2b Determining How to Collect the Information (cont.) • Job analysis observation • Involves watching the incumbent perform the job. • Most useful for complex, difficult jobs. • Gives a better understanding of how work is done and the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform the job.

12. 4-2b Determining How to Collect the Information (cont.) • Job analysis questionnaires • Require job information to be recorded in writing. • Contain either open-ended or close-ended questions. • Job analysis inventory contains close-ended questions. • Task inventory contains a listing of task statements. • Ability inventory contains a listing of worker ability requirements.

13. 4-2b Determining How to Collect the Information (cont.) • Job analysis questionnaires are used to: • Gather information from several people quickly. • Group jobs based on the similarity of tasks performed or skills needed. • Determine employees’ training needs.

14. 4-2c Determining How Job Analysis Information Will Be Recorded • Job descriptions • A short written summary of job analysis findings. • Format may be general purpose or special purpose. • General-purpose formats: Provide only a brief summary of job analysis information, and thus lack sufficient detail for some HRM applications. • Special-purpose formats: Cover fewer topics, but the topics covered are analyzed in more depth.

15. 4-2c Determining How Job Analysis Information Will Be Recorded (cont.) • Some of commonly used special-purpose approaches include: • Fleishman Job Analysis Survey (F-JAS) • Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) • Critical Incident Technique (CIT)

16. 4-2c Determining How Job Analysis Information Will Be Recorded (cont.) • Fleishman Job Analysis Survey (F-JAS) • Used as a tool to identify the basic abilities, from a list of all possible abilities needed for any job, and their definitions. • Often used for employee selection. • Also used to set medical standards for jobs. • Serves as a useful technique for ensuring compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

18. 4-2c Determining How Job Analysis Information Will Be Recorded (cont.) • Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) • 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. • Jobs differ from one another in terms of the extent to which each of these characteristics is present. • Particularly useful for establishing compensation rates, determined using a statistical formula to arrive at an appropriate rate. • Scores can be used to group jobs into “families.”

20. 4-2c Determining How Job Analysis Information Will Be Recorded (cont.) • Critical Incident Technique (CIT) • Identifies specific work behavior that determines success or failure in executing an assigned task. • Requires the job analyst to collect critical incidents from people familiar with the job, usually in the form of stories or anecdotes. • A good tool for identifying selection criteria, training needs, and developing performance appraisal forms.

21. 4-3a Job Analysis and the Manager’s Job • Managers have two primary job analysis roles: • Help HR professionals complete the analysis. • Implement job analysis results in their day-to-day activities. • They may also review and maintain the accuracy of job descriptions. • Managers may request a reanalysis of the job when the content, context, or worker requirements of a job change significantly.

22. 4-3a Job Analysis and the Manager’s Job (cont.) • Implementing job analysis results • Selecting applicants: Managers should carefully review the content, context, and worker requirement information to form a clear picture of the type of applicant best suited for the job. • Communicating job responsibilities: Managers should: • Review job descriptions with new employees to convey job responsibilities. • Frequently communicate performance standards, once employees are trained.

23. 4-3b How the HRM Department Can Help • The HRM department serves two primary roles with regard to job analysis: • Gain the support of upper management. • Plan and implement a job analysis project.

24. 4-3b How the HRM Department Can Help (cont.) • Gaining upper-management support – HR professionals must: • Solicit support from upper-level managers to avoid negative consequences of a lackadaisical approach to job analysis. • Forcibly and continually emphasize the importance of conducting job analyses that are sufficiently thorough and accurate. • Stress the need to update job analysis information on a regular basis.

25. 4-3b How the HRM Department Can Help (cont.) • Planning and implementing a job analysis project • Determine goals and objectives • Choose methods for collecting and recording job analysis information • Select subject-matter experts • Gather data • Establish a project schedule • Document the data • Disseminate the information • Manage the study

26. 4-3c HRM Skill-Building for Managers • Collecting job analysis information: When interviewing workers for the purpose of job analysis, managers adhere to the following guidelines: • State the purpose of the interview. • Structure the interview. • Steer the interview. • Record the interview. • Close the interview.

27. 4-3c HRM Skill-Building for Managers (cont.) • The documentation of job analysis information should include: • Job identification • Job summary • Essential functions • Job context • Worker requirements • Minimum qualifications