Job Analysis

and Design

Job Analysis Job Analysis is the process of collecting job related

information. Such information helps in the preparation of job description and job specification.

Job analysis is a systematic exploration of the activities within a job. It is a basic technical procedure, one that is used to define the duties,responsibilities and accountabilities of a job.

Job Analysis

Job Description Job Specification

Job Description Job Description implies objective listing of the job

title, task, duties & responsibilities involved in a job.

• Job Title Location Job Summary Duties Machines, tools & equipments Supervision given or received Working conditions Hazards

Job Specification

Job Specification involves listing of employees qualifications,skills & abilities. These specifications are needed to do the jobsatisfactorily.

Education ExperienceTrainingJudgmentInitiativePhysical effortphysical skillsResponsibilitiesCommunication SkillsEmotional CharacteristicsUnusual sensory demands such as sight, smell, hearing

Steps in Job Analysis

1. Collecting and recording job information.2. Checking the job information for accuracy.3. Writing job descriptions based on information.4. Using the information to determine the skills,

abilities and knowledge that are required on the job.

5. Updating the information from time to time.

Benefits of Job analysis

Laying the foundation for human resource planning.

Laying the foundation for employee hiring. Laying the foundation for training &

development. Laying the foundation for salary & wage fixation. Laying the foundation for safety and health.

Process of Job analysis

Gather Information

Process Information

Job Description

Job Specification

Strategic Choices

Strategic Choices

With regard to Job analysis, an organization isrequired to make at least 5 choices.

1. The extent of employee involvement in job analysis.2. The level of details of the analysis.3. Timing & frequency of analysis.4. Past-oriented versus future-oriented job analysis.5. Sources of job data.

Employee Involvement: The extent to whichemployees are involved in job analysis depends upon the needs of both the organization and theemployees.

The Level of Details: The nature of job beinganalyzed determines the level of detail in job analysis.The level of details required in job analysis alsodepends upon the purpose for which job relateddetails being collected.

Timing & frequency of Analysis:Job analysis is generally conducted

1. An organization is newly established & job analysis is initiated for the first time.

2. A new job is created in an established company3. A job is changed significantly due to change in

technology,methods,procedures or systems.4. The organization is contemplating a new

remuneration plan.5. The employees or managers feel that there exist

certain inequities between job demands & the remuneration it carries.

Past-Oriented versus Future-Oriented

Past-Oriented job analysis information describes howthe job has been done in the past and the manner inwhich it is being currently done.

Future –Oriented job analysis help predictions regardinghow the job will be done in the future & the way it shouldbe done.

Sources of job data

Non-human sources

Existing job descriptions & specifications

Equipment maintenance record

Equipment design blueprints

Architectural blueprints of work area

Films of employee working Training manuals & other

job training materials Popular literature e such

as magazines & newspapers

Human sources

Job Analysts Job incumbents Supervisors Job experts

Uses of Job Description & Job Specification

Personnel Planning Performance Appraisal Hiring Training & Development Job evaluation & compensation Health & safety Employee Discipline Work Scheduling Career Planning

Types of Job Analysis Information

1. Work Activities2. Machines, tools, Equipments & work Aids Used3. Job Context4. Personal Requirements

Persons responsible for data collection- advantages & disadvantages

Persons collecting job analysis data

Advantages Disadvantages

Trained Analyst Objectivity is maximized Consistent reporting of information Expertise in job-analysis method used

Expensive May overlook certain intangible aspects of job because of lack of familiarity

Supervisor Familiarity with jobs being analyzed Fast data collection Intangible aspects of job too are collected

Needs training for effective job analysis Severe time burden imposed Objectivity may be a problem collected Less standardization of data

Persons collecting job analysis data

Advantages Disadvantages

Job Holder Greater familiarity with the job Fast data collection Less expensive

Problems with response patterns due to ambiguity in job analysis questionnaire Poor standardization of data Restrictive job sample(unless other employees in the same job also analyze their jobs)

Purposes/ Uses of Job Analysis

Job Analysis

JobSpecification

JobDescription

HRP

Job Evaluation

Remuneration

Performance Appraisal

Personnel Information

Safety & Health

Training & Development

Recruitment & Selection

Human Resource Planning: HRP determines as tohow many & what type of personnel will needed in thenear future.

Recruitment & Selection: Recruitment needed to bepreceded by job analysis.The objective of employeehiring is to match the right people with the right jobs.

Training & Development: Training & developmentprogrammes can be designed depending on the jobrequirements.

Job Evaluation: Job evaluation involvesdetermination of relative worth of each job for thepurpose of establishing wage & salary differentials.

Remuneration: Remuneration also involves fringebenefits, bonus & other benefits. Remuneration must bebased on the relative worth of each job.

Performance Appraisal: Performance appraisalinvolves assessment of the actual performance of anemployee against what is expected from him/her.

Personnel Information: Organizations generallymaintain personnel information systems.

Safety & health:The process of conducting adetailed job analysis provides an excellentopportunity to uncover & identify hazardousconditions & unhealthy environmental factors (suchas heat, noise, fumes & dust) , so that correctivemeasure can be taken to minimize & avoid thepossibility of human injury.

METHODS OF COLLECTING JOB DATA

• Observational Method• Interviews• Questionnaire• Checklists• Technical Conferences• Diary

METHODS OF COLLECTING JOB DATA

Job Data

InterviewsQuestionnaire

DiaryTechnical

Conference

Observation

Checklists

Observation

• Job Analyst observes the job holder at work• Records what he does, how he does and in how

much time• It is simple and accurate because of direct

observation (Positive side of this method )• It is time consuming and not applicable in all jobs

(Negative side of this method)

Interview

• Analyst interviews the job holder and his supervisor to elicit information about the job

• It is time consuming • It can be bias• Effectiveness depends on the interviewer and the

ability of the job holder to make meaningful responses

Questionnaire

• A structured questionnaire is filled by the job holder• Time saving and has full participation• Not always accurate• Information on large number of jobs can be collected

in a relatively short period of time

Checklists

• It is similar to questionnaire, but response sheet contains fewer subjective judgments and tends to be either – ‘yes’ or ‘no’ variety

• It is useful in large organizations having large number of people assigned to one particular job

• It is costly and not suitable for small organizations

Technical Conference Method

• A conference of supervisors is used• Lacks accuracy

Diary Method

• It requires the job holders to record in detail their activities each day

• Requires a detailed recording of the job• Time consuming• Not used much in practice

Quantitative Techniques

• Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) • Management Position Description Questionnaire

(MPDQ)• Functional Job Analysis

Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ)

• PAQ is a highly specialized instrument for analyzing any job in terms of employee activities

• The PAQ contains 194 job elements on which a job is created depending on the degree to which an element is present

• These items are grouped into 6 categories

Management Position Description Questionnaire

• MPDQ is a highly structured questionnaire containing 208 items relating to managerial responsibilities, restriction, demands and other miscellaneous position characteristics.

• These items are grouped under 13 categories.• The PAQ and MPDQ yield standardized information

about the worker and the job.

Functional Job AnalysisFeatures:• A fundamental distinction must be made between what

has been done and what employees need to do to get the things done

• Jobs are performed in relation to data, people and things

• In relation to things, employees draw on physical resources; in relation to data, employees draw on mental resources; and in relation to people, employees draw on interpersonal resources

• All jobs require employees to relate data, people and things to some degree

Features…

• The behavior of employees and their tasks can be described in many ways, only a few definitive functions are involved

• The levels of difficulty required in dealing with data, people and things are hierarchical and can be represented by an ordinal scale.

Total Quality Management

Features:• Creation of a common company theme• Creation of customer mentality• Improvement becoming part of the job• Each function to reassess its purpose• Improvement becoming a continuous process• Communications to improve• Bureaucracy to be reduced

Job Analysis and Total Quality Management

• Job Analysis is inconsistent with TQM. TQM expects every employee to do everything, while job analysis prescribes definite duties and responsibilities to each employee

Job Analysis and Strategic HRM

• There is a growing realization of the need to match human resource activities with an organization’s strategic planning. An important part of this task is the job analyst’s ability to write job specifications that accurately detail the knowledge and skills that will complement the future strategic initiatives of the organization.

JOB DESIGN

Job design involved 3 steps1. The specification of individual task2. The specification of methods of performing

each task, and3. The combination of the task into specific jobs to

be assigned to individuals. Steps 1 & 3 determine the content of the job,

while step 2 indicates precisely how the job shall be performed.

FACTORS AFFECTING JOB DESIGN

FEEDBACK

ORGANIZATIONAL FACTOR

BEHAVIOURALFACTORS

ENVIRONMENTALFACTORS

JOBDESIGN

PRODUCTIVE& SATISFYING

JOB

Organizational factor

1.Characteristics of Task

Job design requires the assembly of a number of tasks into a job or a group of job.

Internal structure of each task consist of 3 elements-1. Planning2. Executing3. Controlling

2. Work flow

The flow of work in the an organization is strongly influenced by the nature of the product or service.

3. Ergonomics

Ergonomics is concerned with designing & shaping to fit the physical abilities & characteristics of jobs

individuals so that they can perform their jobs effectively.

4. Work practices

Work activities are set ways of performing work. These methods may arise from tradition or collective wishes

of employees.

Environmental factors

• Employee abilities & availability Efficiency consideration must be balanced against the abilities & availability of people who are to do the work.

• Social & cultural expectations Job must be designed to meet the expectations of of workers. Failure to consider social expectations can create

1.dissatisfaction 2.low motivation 3.hard-to-fill job openings 4.low quality of work life

Behavioral Factors

• Feedback Individuals must receive meaningful feedback about their

performance , preferably by evaluating their own performance & defining the feedback

• Autonomy 1.Responsible for what one does 2.Freedom to control one’s responses to the environment 3.Authority to make decisions 4.Increase the employees sense of recognition & self-esteem

•Use of abilitiesThe job must be perceived by the individuals as requiring them to use abilities they value in order to perform the job effectively.

•Variety By injecting variety into jobs, personnel specialists can reduce errors caused by fatigue.

Techniques of job design.

Job design

Work simplification

High performance work design

Autonomous teams

Job rotation

Job enlargement

Job enrichment

Work simplification

In this technique, job is simplified or specialized. To be more specific, it involves:

Mechanical pacing of work. Repetitive work processes Working only on one part of a product Predetermining tools and techniques Restricted interaction among employees, and Few skill requirements.

Job rotation

• It implies movement of employees from job to job. Jobs remains unchanged but incumbents shift.

• On the positive side, it is likely to increase intrinsic reward potential of a job because of different skills and abilities needed to perform it.

• On the negative side, it may be stated that it may not have much impact on employee enthusiasm and efficiency.

Job enlargement

• It involves expanding the number of tasks or duties assigned to a given job. There is only horizontal expansion, it does not mean that new task and abilities will be needed to perform the job.

• It is usually resisted by the employees.

Job enrichment

• It is the vertical expansion of a job by adding planning and evaluating responsibilities.

• It increases job depth, which is the degree of control employees have over their work.

• There is greater scope for personal achievement and recognition, more challenging and responsible work and more opportunity for growth.

Job characteristics Psychological needs outcomes

feedback

autonomy

significance, identity skill, variety

Knowledge of results

Sense of responsibilitySelf control, self esteem,

Meaningfulness, Achievement, variety

Motivation, Performance, Satisfaction,

With job,Low absenteeism,Job involvement

Job enrichment and its outcomes

Job characteristics Psychological needs

Autonomous or self-directed teams

• A self directed work team is an intact group of employees who are responsible for a “whole” work process or segment that delivers a product or service to an external customer.

• Positive outcomes: there is greater involvement of employees in decision making. Involvement brings in commitment.

• Negative outcomes: there is resistance from employees, unions, and managers and supervisors.

High performance work design

• It is a means of improving performance in an environment where positive and demanding goals are set.

• Operational flexibility is important and, therefore, the need for employees to gain and apply new skills quickly with minimum supervision.

• It may not work in large bureaucratic organizations.