Job analysis and design

Job Analysis and Design
Lecturer: Cao To Linh
ITP - 2010
Outlines

What is job?

Why organization needs job analysis?

Job analysis process

Job design and its challenges

Summary
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

Job family: group of two or more jobs that have similar
duties

Job description: the principal product of a job analysis. It
represents a written summary of the job as an identifiable

organizational unit

Job specification: a written explanation of the knowledge,
skills, abilities, traits, and other characteristics necessary for
effective performance on a given job
Why organization needs job analysis?
Job Analysis
Job Description Job Specification
is a systematic way to gather and
analyze information about the content
and human requirement of jobs, and the
context in which jobs are performed.
Job Design
HR planning
Recruitment
Selection
Training
Performance evaluation
Compensation
Job design and redesign
Why organization needs job analysis?

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?
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
Job Analysis and Strategic HRM


There is a growing need to match human resource
activities to an organization’s 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
Job Analysis and Strategic HRM

Compounding the problems of reengineering,
many work environments offer employees:

Compressed work schedules

Telecommuting

Job sharing

Flexible hours
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

Competency modeling reflects an organization’s desire to:

Communicate job requirements in ways that extend beyond the
job itself

Describe and measure the organization’s 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
Job analysis process

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

Sources of personnel in charge of job analysis:

Outside temporary analyst

Full-time job analyst


Supervisors

Job incumbents

Combination
Who Should Conduct the Job Analysis?

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
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
The use of charts
Methods of gathering information

When collecting job data, these basic methods can
be used separately or in some combination:

Observation

Interview

Questionnaires

Job incumbent diaries or logs
Observation

Applicable to the jobs that require manual, standardized,
and short-job-cycle activities

Job analysts must be trained to:

Observe relevant job behaviors

Be as unobtrusive as possible
Methods of gathering information
Interview


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

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 aren’t practical
Methods of gathering information
Methods of gathering information
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

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
Methods of gathering information
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
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
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
Job Descriptions & 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

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
Job Descriptions & 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
Job Descriptions & Specifications

R. J. Harvey’s 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
Job Descriptions & 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 analyst’s
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
Job Description & Specification