Job Analysis and Design

Introduction

Organizations evolved because:

The mission and objectives of most institutions are
too large for any one person to accomplish
There must be a systematic way to determine which
employees should perform which tasks
The cornerstone of an organization is the set of jobs
performed by its employees
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Introduction

Job analysis is vital to any HRM program and answers such

questions as:
How long does it take to complete important tasks?
Which tasks are grouped together as a job?
How can a job be designed or structured so that employee
performance can be enhanced?
What behaviors are needed to perform the job?
What kind of person, in terms of traits and experience, is best
suited for the job?
How can the information acquired by a job analysis be used in
the development of HRM programs?

The Vocabulary of Job Analysis

Many use the terms of job analysis interchangeably
An expert uses them precisely, in order to avoid
confusion and misinterpretation
Precision is required by federal and state legislation
Definitions provided by the federal government:
Job analysis: a purposeful, systematic process for
collecting information on the important work-related
aspects of a job
Job description: the principal product of a job
analysis. It represents a written summary of the job as
an identifiable organizational unit
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The Vocabulary of Job Analysis (contd)

Job specification: a written explanation of the knowledge, skills,

abilities, traits, and other characteristics (KSAOs) necessary for
effective performance on a given job

Tasks: Coordinated and aggregated series of work elements used

to produce an output

Position: the responsibilities and duties performed by an

individual. There are as many positions in an organization as there
are employees

Job: group of positions that are similar in their duties, such as

computer programmer

Questions to Ask in Managing People to

Work Efficiently
Who specifies the content of each job?
Who decides how many jobs are necessary?
How are the interrelationships among jobs determined
and communicated?
Has anyone looked at the number, design, and content
of jobs from the perspective of the entire organization,
the big picture?
What are the minimum qualifications for each job?
What should training programs stress?
How should performance on each job be measured?
How much is each job worth?
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Job Analysis
describes the process of
obtaining information about
jobs

Job Description and Job Specification

Job description is an overall

written summary of task
requirements
Job specification is an overall
written summary of worker
requirements

Why Study Job Requirements?

Organization structure and design

Human resource (or workforce) planning
Job evaluation and compensation
Recruitment
Selection
Placement
Orientation, training, and development
Performance management

Why Study Job Requirements? (contd.)

Career path planning

Labor relations
Engineering design and methods improvement
Job design
Safety
Rehabilitation counseling

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Reasons Why the Nature of Jobs May Change

Time: in some jobs people do different things at
different times of the year (e.g., lifeguards, ski
instructors, accountants)
People: Particularly in management jobs but also in
teaching or coaching, the job is what the incumbent
makes of it
Environment and Context: Technology changes jobs.
Context includes the extent of use of technology, the
extent to which rules and procedures govern work
activities, and the overall organizational culture

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The Steps in Job Analysis

Step 1
Examine the
total organization and
the fit of
each job

Step 2
Determine
how job
analysis
information
will be used

Step 3
Select jobs
to be
analyzed

Step 4
Collect data
by using
acceptable
job analysis
techniques

Step 5
Prepare job
description

Step 6
Prepare job
specification

Use information from

Steps 16 for:
Job design
Planning
Recruitment
Selection and training
Performance evaluation
Compensation and benefits
EEO compliance
Follow-up evaluations

Fig 6-1

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The Uses of Job Analysis

There may no longer be a choice about whether job
analysis should be conducted
Guidelines and judicial recommendations regarding
civil rights and EEO laws are clear
The question is how to conduct a legally defensible
job analysis, not whether such an analysis should be
conducted
Job analysis plays an important role in the Uniform
Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures
A set of policies designed to minimize or prevent
workplace discrimination practices
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The Uses of Job Analysis

Job analysis is used extensively in these areas:

Recruitment and selection
Training and career development
Compensation
Strategic planning

To minimize resistance, HR managers must communicate:

Why job analyses are important
How the information will be used

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Who Should Conduct the Job Analysis?

Part of the planning process involves choosing who

will conduct the analysis
Hire a temporary analyst from outside
Employ a full-time job analyst
Use supervisors, job incumbents, or a combination

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Who Should Conduct the Job Analysis?

Each choice has strengths and weaknesses:
Job incumbents know what work is actually being
done, rather than what is supposed to be done
Involving incumbents might increase their acceptance
of any work changes resulting from the analysis
Incumbents tend to exaggerate the responsibilities
and importance of their work

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Who Should Conduct the Job Analysis?

The choice of an analyst depends on such factors
as:
The location and complexity of the jobs
How receptive incumbents are to an external analyst
The ultimate intended purpose of the analysis
Regardless of who collects the information, the
individuals should:
Thoroughly understand people, jobs, and the total
organizational system
Understand how work should flow within the
organization
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Methods of Job Analysis

Job performance
Observation
Interview
Structured questionnaires

The Use of Charts

Before beginning analysis, an overview of the
organization and its jobs is required
This provides a better understanding of work flow
An organization chart presents the relationships
among departments and units of the firm, as well as:
Line and staff functions
Number of vertical levels in the organization
Number of functional departments
Formal reporting relationships

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The Use of Charts

A process chart shows how a specific set of jobs
relate to each other
This chart does not show
structural relationships among
job titles
It shows the activities and
work necessary to produce a
desired product or service

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Observation
Direct observation is used for jobs
that require manual, standardized,
and short-job-cycle activities
Direct observation is not usually
appropriate when the job involves
significant mental activity
Job analysts must be trained to:
Observe relevant job behaviors
Be as unobtrusive as possible

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Interviews
Interviewing job incumbents is often done in
combination with observation
This is the most widely used technique
It allows the job analyst to talk with job incumbent
Interviews can be conducted with a:
Single incumbent
Group of incumbents
Supervisor who is familiar with the job
A structured set of questions is used so answers
can be compared
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Interviews
Interviews are difficult to standardize
Different interviewers may ask different questions
The same interviewer might ask different questions
of different respondents
Information may be unintentionally distorted by the
interviewer
Interviewing costs can be high, especially if group
interviews arent practical

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Questionnaires
Questionnaires are the least costly data collection
method
They can collect large amounts of data in a short time
A structured questionnaire includes specific questions
about the job, working conditions, and equipment
An open-ended format permits job incumbents to use
their own words and ideas to describe the job
The format and structure of a questionnaire are
debatable issues

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Questionnaires

To make a questionnaire easier to use:

Keep it as short as possible
Explain what the questionnaire is being used for
Keep it simple
Test the questionnaire before using it
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Job Incumbent Diary or Log

The diary or log is a recording by incumbents of:
Job duties
Frequency of the duties
When the duties are accomplished
Most people are not disciplined enough to keep a log
Kept properly, the log permits an examination of
routine duties and exceptions
The diary or log is useful when analyzing jobs that are
difficult to observe

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Which Method to Use?

There is no agreement about which methods of job
analysis yield the best information
Interviews should not be the sole data collection
method
Certain methods may be better for a given situation
Most organizations base their choice on:
The purpose of the analysis
Time and budget constraints

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Which Method to Use?

Many organizations use a multi-methods job
analysis approach
The analyst interviews incumbents and supervisors in
conjunction with on-site observation
A task survey based on expert judgments is
constructed and administered
A statistical analysis of the responses is conducted
Using a comprehensive process is relatively
expensive and time-consuming
The quality of information derived from a
comprehensive approach is strongly endorsed by
courts

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Specific Quantitative Techniques

Three of the more popular quantitative techniques:
Functional job analysis
Position analysis questionnaire
Management position description questionnaire

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Functional Job Analysis

Functional job analysis (FJA) is the result of 60 years
of research on analyzing and describing jobs
Conceived in the late 1940s
Developed to improve job classifications in the
Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT)
DOT descriptions helped job analysts learn what was
involved in a particular job
FJA could then be used to elaborate and more
thoroughly describe the content of a job
The goal was creating a common language for
accurately describing jobs
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Functional Job Analysis

FJA assumes jobs can be described in terms of
three basic relationships the worker has with the
work:
Physically relating to things
Using mental resources to process data
Interacting with people
Using behavioral terms, each relationship can be
organized along a continuum of complexity
Lowest to highest
Each job has a quantitative score
Jobs with similar ratings can be assumed to be similar
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Functional Job Analysis

The Occupational Information Network (O*NET) is
replacing the DOT
An internet accessible database
It describes occupations, worker KSAOs, and
workplace requirements
Is more user-friendly than the DOT
Reduced 12,000 occupations to just over 1,000
Categorizes data into six groups known as the O*NET
Content Model

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The O*Net Content Model

Experience
Requirements
Occupational
Requirements

Worker Requirements
O*Net

Occupation-Specific
Requirements

Worker Characteristics

Occupational
Characteristics

Functional Job Analysis

Experience Requirements
Training
Experience
Licensing

Worker Requirements
Basic skills
Cross-functional skills
General knowledge
Education

Occupational Requirements
Generalized work activities
Work context
Organizational context
O* NET

Worker Characteristics
Abilities
Interests and work values
Work styles

Occupational Specific Requirements

Occupational skills, tasks,
and knowledge
Machines, tools, and equipment

Occupational Characteristics
Labor market information
Occupational outlook
Wages

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Functional Job Analysis

Typical users of O*NET:
Human resource professionals
Career counselors
Recruiters
Trainers and educators

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Job Descriptions and Specifications

The job description is one of the primary outputs of
a systematic job analysis
It is a written description of what the job entails
It is hard to over-emphasize how important thorough,
accurate, and current job descriptions are to an
organization

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Job Descriptions and Specifications

Changes in recent years have increased the need for
job descriptions:
Massive organizational restructurings
The need for new and creative ways to motivate and
reward employees
The accelerated rate at which technology is changing
work environments
New, more stringent regulation of employment
practices

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Job Descriptions and Specifications

There is no standard format for a job description, but
most well-written, useful descriptions include:
Job title
Summary
Equipment
Environment
Activities
A job specification evolves from the job description
It is especially useful for recruitment and selection

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Job Descriptions and Specifications

R. J. Harveys guidelines for choosing the
characteristics included on a job specification:
All job tasks must be identified and rated in terms of
importance, using sound job analysis techniques
A panel of experts, incumbents, or supervisors should
specify the skills needed to perform each job task
The importance of each skill must be rated
Any other characteristics necessary for performing
the job should be identified (physical requirements,
professional certification)
Each skill identified must be linked to a job task
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Job Descriptions and Specifications

Any trait or skill stated on the job specification
should be required for performance of the job
The Americans with Disabilities Act makes the job
analysts responsibilities even greater in this area
Job specifications must differentiate between
essential and nonessential skills
Essential skills are those for which alternative
ways of accomplishing the job are not possible
Nonessential skills can be accommodated by
changing the structure or work methods of the job
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Job Analysis and Strategic HRM

The fundamental nature of work may be changing:
Functional areas are not as important as they once
were for defining a job
After reengineering of processes, new job
responsibilities may be poorly defined
Organizations must continually adapt to changing
business environments
Thus, reengineering is likely in most organizations
Job analysts traditionally create descriptions of jobs
as they currently exist
Now they must also describe future jobs
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Job Analysis and Strategic HRM

There is a growing need to match human resource
activities to an organizations strategic planning
Job specifications must accurately detail the
knowledge and skills that will complement future
strategic initiatives
Job descriptions will no longer be snapshots of a
static job
Strategic job analysis will have to capture both the
present and the future

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Job Analysis and Strategic HRM

Compounding the problems of reengineering,
many work environments offer employees:
Compressed work schedules
Telecommuting
Job sharing
Flexible hours

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Job Analysis & Employee Competencies

Competencies are general attributes employees
need across multiple jobs or within the organization
Includes anything from teamwork to leadership
potential
Many organizations identify, communicate, and
reward competencies they believe employees should
have

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Job Analysis & Employee Competencies

Competency modeling reflects an organizations
desire to:
Communicate job requirements in ways that extend
beyond the job itself
Describe and measure the organizations workforce in
more general, competency-based terms
Design and implement staffing programs focused
around competencies, rather than specific jobs, as a
way to increase staffing flexibility

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Job Design
Job descriptions and specifications can be used for
designing or redesigning jobs
There is no one best way to design a job
Different situations call for different arrangements of
job characteristics
Different emphasis may be placed on performance
and satisfaction as desired outcomes
A single approach is unlikely to satisfy all a managers
goals
The choice of job design involves trade-offs based
on the critical needs of the organization
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Job Design
Approaches to the design of work:
Perceptual-motor
Biological
Mechanistic
Motivational
The perceptual-motor and biological approaches are
based on human factors engineering
They emphasize equipment design and matching
machines to operators

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Scientific Mgmt & the Mechanistic Approach

Job design was a central issue in F. W. Taylors
model of scientific management
The work of every workman is fully planned out by
management at least one day in advance
Each man receives complete written instructions
The instructions specify what is to be done, how it is
to be done, and the time allowed for doing it
The goal was to break jobs into simple, repetitive
tasks that could be done quickly and efficiently

48

Scientific Mgmt & the Mechanistic Approach

Recommendations from scientific management:
Work should be studied scientifically
It should be arranged so workers can be efficient
Employees should be matched to the demands of
the job
They should be trained to perform the job
Monetary compensation should be tied directly to
performance

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Scientific Mgmt & the Mechanistic Approach

Managers like the scientific management approach
because the goal is improving performance
Repetitive, highly specialized work can lead to
employee dissatisfaction
Efficiency gains may be offset by lower job
satisfaction, higher absenteeism, and turnover
Job enlargement attempts to increase satisfaction
by giving employees a greater variety of things to do
They are not additional authority or responsibility

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Job Enrichment: A Motivational Approach

Job enrichment tries to design jobs in ways that help
incumbents satisfy their need for:
Growth
Recognition
Responsibility
The job is expanded vertically
Employees are given responsibility that might
previously have been part of a supervisors job
According to Herzberg, employees are motivated by
jobs that enhance their feelings of self-worth
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Job Enrichment: A Motivational Approach

A job must possess core job dimensions to lead to
desired outcomes:
Skill variety
Task identity
Task significance
Autonomy
Feedback

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Job Enrichment: A Motivational Approach

Having these core dimensions in a job produces
three critical psychological states:
Experienced meaningfulness
Experienced responsibility
Knowledge of results
The more these states are experienced, the more
internal work motivation the job incumbent feels
Skill variety, identity, and significance contribute
to a sense of meaningfulness
Autonomy is related to feelings of responsibility
Feedback is related to knowledge of results
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Job Enrichment: A Motivational Approach

The job characteristics model describes the
relationships that exist among four sets of factors:
Core job dimensions
Psychological states
Personal and work-related outcomes
Strength of needs
After 20 years of research, there are no clear
answers about the effectiveness of enrichment

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Work-Family Balance and Job Design

Work-family tension is driven by changing workforce
demographics
Women and single parents entering the workforce
Dual-career couples
The aging population
Some organizations meet employees needs through
flexible work arrangements:
Job sharing
Flextime
Telecommuting
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Work-Family Balance and Job Design

Benefits of family-friendly
arrangements:
Higher recruitment
and retention rates
Improved morale
Lower absenteeism
and tardiness
Higher levels of employee
productivity

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Work-Family Balance and Job Design

The success of job sharing depends on:
Identifying jobs that can be shared
Understanding employees individual sharing style
Matching partners who have complementary
scheduling needs and skills
With flextime, employees can choose when to be
at the office
5 days/8 hours
4 days/10 hours
Arrive later on Monday, leave earlier on Friday
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Work-Family Balance and Job Design

Telecommuting allows employees to work at home

part- or full-time
Communication is through phone, fax, computer
Often resisted by managers who fear loss of control
and subordinate accessibility
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Work-Family Balance and Job Design

Three issues to consider when developing and
implementing flexible work options:
The program should be open to all employees
Train and reward managers for encouraging
subordinates to use flextime
Be mindful of laws that impact flexible work
arrangement policies

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Competency Models

Competency models attempt to identify variables related

to overall organizational fit and identify personality
characteristics consistent with the organizations vision
(e.g., drive for results, persistence, etc.)
PCMM: People Capability Maturity Model

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Maturity levels in the PCMM

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