Chapter 4 Job Analysis What is a job

Chapter 4: Job Analysis • What is a job analysis (JA)? “The procedure for determining the duties and skill requirements of a job and the kind of person who should be hired for it”

JA Example • One way to conduct a JA… • Tasks - Importance, frequency, time spent (criticality) • Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and Other qualifications = “KSAOs”

What is a Job Description? • It is one product* of a job analysis • “A list of a job’s duties, responsibilities, reporting relationships, working conditions, and supervisory responsibilities” *JA does not ≠ a Job Description*

What Is JA? • The Process of Defining the Job – Backbone of HRM practices (e. g. , selection, training, performance appraisals) • Defining KSAOs Required for the Job – All About the Job not About the Incumbent • Identifies Competencies Required for the Incumbent Holding the Job – All About the Person-In-Job

Timing of JA • Continual Process – Begins With Creation of New Job • Periodic Updates – Watch for Job Shift – Respond to Market Shift • Keep Old Jobs Off of the Books – Time Prohibitive Process…Don’t Add to It

“How To” Conduct JA • Decide on the Use of JA • Chart the Job – Organization and Process • Find Key or Benchmark Jobs • Collect Data – Multiple Methods Preferred • Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) • Write Job Descriptions/Specifications

• Weigh the Costs/Benefits Choosing the Data Collection Method – Each Organization Differs • Interviews, Employee Surveys, and Employee Diaries – Timely, Relatively Cheap – Social Desirability • Time and Motion Studies – Thorough Yet Cost Prohibitive • Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) – Info-Laden and Quantifiable – Copyrighted and Expensive • O*Net – Replaced the Dictionary of Occupational Titles – Internet-Ready and Available

Why Conduct and Re. Evaluate JA? • All HRM Practices Flow From JA – Recruiting • Whom do We Recruit? – Interviews • What Questions do We As? – Performance Evaluation • What Factors are Relevant? • Legally Defensible – Challenges to: • Discriminatory Hiring • Compensable Factors of Pay • Promotion and Raise Challenges • Collective Bargaining • Choice: Pay Upfront or Settle Lawsuits

Challenges of JA in the Modern Workplace • Does JA Limit Organizations… – – Job Enlargement? Job Enrichment? Job Rotation? A “Boundaryless” Organization? • Is JA Feasible in Modern Organizations? • Should we use competency based JA?