Assignment

on
Human Resource Management

Title 01: Methods of Performance Appraisal

Title 02: Process of Job Analysis

Submitted to:

Nurshad Yesmin
Assistant Professor
FBA, USTC

Submitted By:
Nazim Nazmul
Roll: 573
Batch: MBA 23rd (Executive for Engr.)
Session: 2019

Date of submission: 10th July, 2020

Faculty of Business Administration

University of Science & Technology Chittagong

Assignment on
Methods of Performance Appraisal
INTRODUCTION:

After placed and trained as an employee on the job, the next important and essential step
in the management of human resources of an organization is to evaluate the performance
of an employee on the job. The management must be able to recognize the level of an
employee’s job performance and then they can be rewarded on the basis of their
contributions to organizational goals. It is the process of deciding how employees do their
jobs and if any problems are identified, then immediately steps are taken to remedy them.
As per the views of C. Heyel (1973), “performance appraisal is the process of evaluating
the performance and qualifications of the employees in terms of the requirements of the
job for which he is employed, for the purposes of administration including placement,
selection for promotions, providing financial rewards and other actions which require
differential treatment among the members of a group as distinguished from actions
affecting all members equally”. It is organized on the principle of goals and management
by objectives.
The performance appraisal of employees has been used for the first time during the First
World War when Walter Dill Scott, the US Army adopted the ‘Man-to-Man’ rating system
for evaluating the performance of military personnel. During the 1920-30, the merit rating
programmes were used for employees of industrial units.
In the early fifties, attention began to the performance appraisal of technical, professional
and managerial personnel. According to Wonston Oberg (1972), Common descriptions
include performance appraisal, merit rating, behavioural assessment, employee
evaluation, personnel review, progress report, staff assessment, service rating and fitness
report.
However, the term performance appraisal or evaluation is most widely used. Performance
appraisal is a systematic evaluation of the employee’s present job capabilities and also
his potential for growth and development by his superiors. It can be either informal or
formal. The informal appraisals are unplanned while formal appraisal system is set up by
the organisation to regularly and systematically evaluate employee performance. It
reduces the chance of bias and snap judgment but bound to yield better results.
“Formal appraisal of an individual’s performance began in the Weidymasty (A.D. 221-
265) in China, where an Imperial Rater appraised the performance of members of the
official. In 1883, the New York City Civil Service in U.S.A., introduced a formal appraisal
programme shortly before First World War”.
A. Monappa and M.S. Saiyadain Douglas Mc Gregor (1957) says – Formal performance
appraisal plans are designed to meet three needs, one of the organisation and other two
of the individual, namely –

(i) They provide systematic judgments to back up salary increase, transfers, demotions
or terminations.
(ii) They are means of telling a subordinate how he is doing, and suggesting needed
changes in his behaviour, attitudes, skills or job knowledge. They let him know ‘where he
stands’ with the boss
(iii) They are used as a base for coaching and counselling the individual by the superior.

WHAT IS PERFORMANCE
APPRAISAL

Performance Appraisal is the systematic evaluation of the performance of employees and

to understand the abilities of a person for further growth and development. Performance
appraisal is generally done in systematic ways which are as follows:

1. The supervisors measure the pay of employees and compare it with targets and
plans.
2. The supervisor analyses the factors behind work performances of employees.
3. The employers are in position to guide the employees for a better performance.

In this system there may be two type of persons involved:

1. Appraise – The person whose performance is going to be appraised by another person.
2. Appraiser – The person who is going to evaluate the performance of appraise. The
appraiser may be a superior, subordinate, peers, self-appraisal, and group.
OBJECTIVES

Performance appraisal plans are designed to meet the needs of the organization and the
individual. It is viewed as core to good human resource management. According to
Cummings, “the overall objective of performance appraisal is to improve the efficiency of
an enterprise by attempting to mobilize the best possible efforts from individuals
employed in it. Such appraisals achieve four objectives including the salary reviews, the
development and training of individuals, planning job rotation and assistance promotions.”
The following main objectives of employee performance appraisal are:
i. To identify employee weaknesses and strengths;
ii. To identify and meet training needs and aspirations;
iii. To generate significant, relevant and valid information about employee;
iv. To provide inputs to increments of rewards, transfers, promotion and salary
administration.
v. To help in improving employee’s performance if he is not found to be suitable during
the review period;
vi. To create a desirable culture and tradition in the organization;
vii. To help in planning career development and human resources planning based on
potentialities.
viii. To provide ‘deadlock’ and research data for improving overall human resources
information system.

There are various methods for conducting performance appraisal to identify areas of
performance that should be modified or improved and to provide information to
management for specific actions such as promotion, transfers and compensation
adjustment.
ADVANTAGES
A systematic appraisal system helps the managers to properly identify the performance
of employees in a systematic manner and their areas of talent and areas where they are
lacking.

 It helps the management to place the right employees for the perfect jobs
depending on their skills in particular areas.
 It helps employees identify the areas in which they need to improve. The managers
can also use this information to provide constructive criticism of the way employees
perform their work.
 Potential employees are often given promotions on the basis of or the results of
performance appraisals. People who have high ratings get promotions. They can
also transfer or demote employees if they not performing up to the expectations of
the managers.
 An appraisal is also useful in determining the effectiveness and results of training
programmes. It can show managers how much employees have improved after
taking the training programmes. This will give managers data on how to change
and evolve the training programmes.
 It creates healthy competition among employees as they will try to improve their
performance and score better than their colleagues.
 Managers use appraisal programmes to identify the grievances of employees and
act upon them.
 Keeping extensive records of performance appraisal will give managers a very
good idea of which employees have the highest growth rate and are which ones
have a declining rate of performance.
DISADVANTAGES
If the factors being used in the performance appraisal are incorrect or not relevant, the
appraisal will fail to provide any useful or effective data.

 Sometimes, equal weightage is not given to important factors when performing an

appraisal.
 Some objective factors are very vague and difficult to gauge like attitude and
initiative. There is no scientific method to measure these factors.
 Managers are sometimes not qualified enough to correctly assess the employees
and their abilities. Thus, these mistakes can be very detrimental to the growth of
the company.

METHODS
Various methods of conducting performance appraisal are explained below:

1. Ranking Method:

This method requires the evaluator to list all salespeople in order of their performance,
beginning with the top performer. A number of ranking methods are used for conducting
the performance appraisal of employees.

Advantages of Ranking Method

i. Employees are ranked according to their performance levels.

ii. It is easier to rank the best and the worst employee.

Limitations of Ranking Method

i. The “whole man” is compared with another “whole man” in this method. In practice,
it is very difficult to compare individuals possessing various individual traits.
 ii. This method speaks only of the position where an employee stands in his group.
It does not test anything about how much better or how much worse an employee
is when compared to another employee.

iii. When a large number of employees are working, ranking of individuals become a
difficult issue.

iv. There is no systematic procedure for ranking individuals in the organization. The
ranking system does not eliminate the possibility of snap judgements.

Some of the important ones are listed as under:

(I) Simple Ranking Method:

In this method all the employees are rated on the same set of factors and ranks as given
to them on the basis of their performance in relation to others in the group. They are all
rated from the first to the last in order of their performance.

(II) Paired Comparison Method:

In this method all the employees’ performances are compared with other employees but
comparison is made with only one member at a time. The number of times each member
is preferred over the other is recorded. These numbers determine the ranks of members
and obviously the top performers will be those with highest ranks for more number of
times.

(III) Forced Distribution Method:

This is a ranking technique where raters are required to allocate a certain percentage of
rates to certain categories (eg: superior, above average, average) or percentiles (eg: top
10 percent, bottom 20 percent etc.). Both the number of categories and percentage of
employees to be allotted to each category are a function of performance appraisal design
and format. The workers of outstanding merit may be placed at top 10 percent of the
scale, the rest may be placed as 20 % good, 40 % outstanding, 20 % fair and 10 % fair.

Advantages of Forced Distribution

i. This method tends to eliminate raters bias

ii. By forcing the distribution according to pre-determined percentages, the problem

of making use of different raters with different scales is avoided.
Limitations of Forced Distribution

i. The limitation of using this method in salary administration, however, is that it

may lead low morale, low productivity and high absenteeism.

Employees who feel that they are productive but find themselves in lower grade
(than expected) feel frustrated and exhibit over a period of time reluctance to
work.

2. Graphic Rating Scale Method:

Graphic rating scale method identifies specific desired traits, behavior factors or
performance criteria, such as, quality and quantity of work, cooperativeness, analytical
ability, decisiveness, initiative, emotional stability, etc. Employees are rated on a scale
based on the extent to which they exhibit the desired behavior or the extent to which they
meet the desired performance criteria.

The rating for each factor will be done on the basis of numbers (1, 2, 3, 4, and 5) or
descriptions (excellent, very good, average, poor, etc.) The central idea behind using
rating scales is to provide the appraiser with a continuous representation of various
degrees of particular qualities or characteristics being present in employees.

The total of the points obtained by an employee on all the rating factors constitutes the
overall ratings score of that employee in comparison to other employees in the
organization.

Many organizations use graphic rating scales because they are practical and cost little to
develop. As traits are defined in advance, there is less ambiguity in this technique of
evaluation. While, unfortunately, rating scales suffer from a major weakness, that is, the
uneven interpretation of performance criteria and rating.

Unless each evaluator clearly understands what, each criterion means and what the
rating means, confusion and dissatisfaction can result.

3. Critical Incidents Method:

Under this method the immediate supervisor tries to make a continuous record of all the
good or bad incidents of a person’s work-related behavior. Whenever employees are
found doing something good or positive which contribute towards increasing the overall
productivity of the organization or creating a healthy work atmosphere it is recorded as
their positive contribution.

At the same time whenever they commit a mistake, a blunder or an error because of
which damage has been incurred to machinery or the overall productivity of the
organization gets adversely affected it adds to their negative contributions. At the end of
the rating period, these recorded critical incidents whether positive or negative are used
in the evaluation of the employee’s performance.

The biggest positive feature of this technique is that it measures behaviors which are
critical to the effective performance of the job. Using this method facilitates a feedback by
providing the employees with concrete examples of actual behaviors committed by them.
If proper records are maintained of these critical incidents it provides the most realistic
measurement of an employee’s performance on the job.

Although this method is an improvement and it tries to minimize the subjectivity problems
associated with other appraisal systems, it also suffers from certain limitations. As
employees are aware of the fact that they are being noticed by their supervisors, it might
add to their level of anxiety and hostility.

Others tend to hide those behaviors which they feel will adversely affect their performance
reviews. In either case, the end results are distorted performance reviews.

4. Checklist Method:

In this method the employer starts with a list of factors in their checklist, such as, does
the employee cooperate with other co-workers, do they keep their work place neat and
clean, do they follow their supervisors instructions closely, do they reach on their
workplace in time, and are they able to achieve the work targets assigned to them
properly.

Each factor or item receives a numerical value based on its perceived importance to
successful job performance. Those items that are deemed more important are assigned
higher values. The actual performance of all the employees on the job is measured and
is compared against the checklist. Their scores on the appraisal are determined by sum-
ming the scores of the factors checked by the rater.

One of the biggest advantages of using the checklist method is the convenience to the
supervisors as they simply have to say yes or no in front of the statements or the factors
provided to them. It saves their time and the same checklist can be discussed with the
employees and a feedback can be given to them.

However, developing an effective checklist, measuring the performance against the

checklist and finally interpreting the results might not be very simple for the supervisors.

5. Confidential Records:

Mostly used by government departments, however its application in industry is not ruled
out. Here the report is given in the form of Annual Confidentiality Report (ACR) and may
record ratings with respect to following items; attendance, self-expression, team work,
leadership, initiative, technical ability, reasoning ability, originality and resourcefulness
etc. The system is highly secretive and confidential.

Feedback to the assesses is given only in case of an adverse entry. Disadvantage is

that it is highly subjective, and ratings can be manipulated because the evaluations are
linked to HR actions like promotions etc.

6. Essay Method:

Brief narratives by the manager describe the performance of an employee. A manager

may write a detailed write-up on the job knowledge and potential of the employee;
employees understanding of the company’s programs, policies, and objectives;
employees promotability; overall appraisal of the employees performance; and
employees relation with their co-workers and superiors; and so forth.

Essay method provides detailed information about the employee’s performance by the
managers who have seen them closely on the job.

The essay method provides a great deal of information about the employee, which
provides a useful feedback to the employee for further improvement in the job
performance. Although this method allows more flexibility and appears to be simple, it is
not consistent and tends to be subjective as each supervisor has a different writing style
and emphasis.

They might evaluate the employee’s performance from altogether a different perspective.
Sometimes even the problem of halo effect can enter into their subjective evaluation,
where the evaluators may be biased by a generalized overall impression or image of the
person they are evaluating. If the manager does not like the way an employee dresses,
for instance, that attitude may bias all aspects of the manager’s evaluation.

7. Forced Choice Method:

The series of statements arranged in the blocks of two or more are given and the
appraiser indicates which statement is true or false. The appraiser is forced to make a
choice. HR department does actual assessment.

Advantages – Absence of personal biases because of forced choice.

Disadvantages – Statements may be wrongly framed.

8. Forced Distribution Method:

here employees are clustered around a high point on a rating scale. Appraiser is
compelled to distribute the employees on all points on the scale. It is assumed that the
performance is conformed to normal distribution.

Advantages – Eliminates

Disadvantages – Assumption of normal distribution, unrealistic, errors of central

tendency.

9. Field Review Method:

This is an appraisal done by someone outside employees’ own department usually from
corporate or HR department.

Advantages – Useful for managerial level promotions, when comparable information is

needed.

Disadvantages – Outsider is generally not familiar with employees work environment,

Observation of actual behaviours not possible.
10. Cost Accounting Method:

Here performance is evaluated from the monetary returns yields to his or her organization.
Cost to keep employee, and benefit the organization derives is ascertained. Hence it is
more dependent upon cost and benefit analysis

11. Management by Objectives Method:

Management by objectives (MBO) is a comprehensive management approach which is

used for conducting performance appraisal. It is considered as one of the most scientific
and objective method as a set procedure is followed. The primary focus in this method is
on developing a set of objectives which are to be realized by the employees.

These objectives are later used as criteria for measuring the performance of the
employees, or in other words the extent to which these objectives have been achieved
by the employees. So, in this method at the first stage detailed objectives for the
employees are clearly set. In the light of these objectives the individual employees’
responsibilities and tasks are clearly laid down.

At the time of performance appraisal, a supervisor will measure the actual performance
of the employee on the job and the realization of objectives by them. In case the
employees have been able to successfully realize the objectives, they are rewarded
accordingly and in case they are not able to achieve the objectives, reasons for their
shortcomings are identified. Later in the light of these findings the objectives might be
redefined for future.

MBO is considered a very objective approach because goals and objectives are clearly
determined before the appraisal begins. This gives employees clear-cut directions as to
what is expected of them and the standards against which their actual performance will
be measured and compared at a later date.

If the objectives are unattainable they are redefined and reset for future. However, this
method also suffers from the limitation of involving lots of time and effort on the part of
the supervisor and the subordinate.

11. 360° Feedback Appraisal:

The term 360° feedback appraisal is also known as multi-rater feedback, multisource
feedback, full circle appraisal and group performance review. This concept was
developed in the US in the year 1998. This concept involves a process of collecting
information about a person’s behavior from the people around him – his boss (es),
colleagues, fellow members in the team, suppliers, as well as customers.

The basic assumption underlying this approach is that a person who works closely with
an employee sees his or her behavior in various settings and circumstances that a
supervisor might not be able to see. Thus, the term 360° implies that everyone around is
involved in evaluating the performance.

Unlike traditional methods, only supervisors do not evaluate the subordinate rather
literally everyone around gives the feedback. It tries to eliminate the subjectivity in
evaluation, as many people rate an employee on a fairly extensive list of attributes.
Companies prefer this method as they receive a broader and more accurate perception
on their employees from multiple sources.

This performance appraisal method is a very effective method as it provides an individual

an opportunity to learn about others perception of him. It provides a more open culture
and an opportunity to resort to self-development for employees. It increases the overall
communication networks in the organization.

The 360° feedback is widely accepted as an effective performance tool, but if it is not
managed properly then it does more harm than benefit. As so many people are going to
appraise an employee’s performance, all of them might not be closely familiar with him
and might not be able to give an accurate judgement or opinion about him.

So in order to use this method effectively every organization must develop an effective
system and an appropriate procedure for generating enthusiasm amongst key decision
makers and participants, ensuring that all of them have the skills to support the process.
This might call for providing an orientation benefiting participants in one-to-one meeting
and providing organizational summary data.

12. Potential Appraisal:

This is done to predict whether an employee is capable of taking on more demanding

work, and the speed at which he or she is capable of advancing. This appraisal method
tries to judge the potential of employees for being promoted to higher positions. In this
method it is necessary to inform employees of their future prospects and give them an
opportunity to perform to the best of their capacity.
The organization also might have to modify and update training and development pro-
grams and advice employees of what they must do to enhance their career prospects. In
the potential appraisal process, attempt is made to match the employee’s abilities and
aspirations with the organization’s forecast of requirements for higher-level managerial
staff.

This aspect of employee appraisal is considered as a highly positive and motivating

because this tries to give an employee an incentive to work hard as they can look forward
to growing up in their career path. The potential appraisal is concerned with forecasting
the direction in which subordinates career can and should go and the rate at which he or
she is expected to develop.

The assessment of potential requires an analysis of the existing skills, qualities, and how
they can be developed to the mutual advantage of the company and the employee. There
is also an important counseling aspect to the review of potential which consists of
discussions with the individual about his or her aspirations and how these can best be
matched to the future foreseen for him or her. They can also provide employees with
additional motivation and encouragement which they need to remain with the company.

Finally, once the employee’s performance has been evaluated with the help of any of the
methods listed above, the results should be reviewed in a meeting with the manager. This
discussion should be viewed as a counselling session, in which the manager explains the
person’s achievements on each evaluation factors and points out how the results com-
pared with the standards.

Then the manager and the employee together may try to determine the reasons for the
performance variations above or below the standards. Based on their review of all
evaluation factors, the manager and the employee can then establish goals and an
operating plan for the coming period.

13. Psychological Appraisals:

These appraisals are more directed to assess employee’s potential for future
performance rather than the past one. It is done in the form of in-depth interviews,
psychological tests, and discussion with supervisors and review of other evaluations. It is
more focused on employees emotional, intellectual, and motivational and other personal
characteristics affecting his performance. This approach is slow and costly and may be
useful for bright young members who may have considerable potential. However, quality
of these appraisals largely depends upon the skills of psychologists who perform the
evaluation.

14. Assessment Centers:

This technique was first developed in USA and UK in 1943. An assessment center is a
central location where managers may come together to have their participation in job
related exercises evaluated by trained observers. It is more focused on observation of
behaviors across a series of select exercises or work samples. Assesses are requested
to participate in in-basket exercises, work groups, computer simulations, role playing and
other similar activities which require same attributes for successful performance in actual
job. The characteristics assessed in assessment center can be assertiveness, persuasive
ability, communicating ability, planning and organizational ability, self-confidence,
resistance to stress, energy level, decision making, sensitivity to feelings, administrative
ability, creativity and mental alertness etc. Disadvantages – Costs of employees traveling
and lodging, psychologists, ratings strongly influenced by assessee’s inter-personal skills.
Solid performers may feel suffocated in simulated situations. Those who are not selected
for this also may get affected.

Advantages – well-conducted assessment center can achieve better forecasts of future

performance and progress than other methods of appraisals. Also, reliability, content
validity and predictive ability are said to be high in assessment centers. The tests also
make sure that the
 CONCLUSION
In the end we can say that performance appraisal can help a organization in the following
ways:

• A systematic performance appraisal system helps the managers to properly

identify the performance of employees in a systematic manner and their areas of
talent and areas where they are lacking.

• Performance appraisal helps employees identify the areas in which they need to
improve. Furthermore, the managers can also use this information to provide
constructive criticism of the way employees perform their work.

• It helps the management to place the right employees for the perfect jobs
depending on their skills in particular areas

REFERENCES
Armstrong, M., 2006. Performance Management. 3rd Edition ed. London: Kogan Page
Limited.

Armstrong, M., 2012. Armstrong's Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice.

12th Edition ed. London: Kogan Page Limited.

Bissessar, A.M. (1998). Re-engineering the public services of the Commonwealth

Caribbean. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 64(2), 305–326.

Bissessar, A.M. (2000). The introduction of new appraisals systems in the public services
of the Commonwealth Caribbean. Public Personnel Management 29(2), 277–292.

Bogdan, R.C., & S.K. Biklen. (1998). Qualitative research for education: An introduction
to theory and methods. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Boice, D. F., & B. H. Kleiner. (1997). Designing effective performance appraisal systems.
Work Study, 46(6), 197–201

Drenth, P. J. D. (1984). Personnel management. In P. J. D. Drenth, H. Thierry, & C. J. De

Wolff (Eds.), Handbook of work and organizational psychology (pp. 197–233). New York:
Wiley.

HEATHFIELD, S. M., 2012. How to Provide Coworker Feedback for a 360 Review.
[Online] Available at: https://www.thebalancecareers.com/how-to-provide-coworker-
feedback-for-a-360-review-1917538 [Accessed 02 01 2019].

HEATHFIELD, S. M., n.d. How to Provide Coworker Feedback for a 360 Review. [Online].

Raychaudhuri, U., 2013. The Top 10 Performance Appraisal Methods for Startups &
Small Businesses. [Online] Available at: https://www.sumhr.com/top-performance-
appraisal-methods-startups-small-businesses/ [Accessed 05 01 2019].

Skool, M., [n.d]. Forced Distribution Method. [Online] Available at:

https://www.mbaskool.com/business-concepts/human-resources-hr-terms/15258-
forced-distribution-method.html [Accessed 05 01 2019].

SuccessDart, 2017. Forced distribution method- All you need to know. [Online] Available
at: http://www.successdart.com/forced-distribution-method-need-know/ [Accessed 03 01
2019].

Systems, E. T., 2018. 360 appraisal questions and best practice examples. [Online]
Available at: view-source: https://www.etsplc.com/blog/360-appraisal-questions-and-
best-practice-examples/ [Accessed 02 01 2019].

Wikipedia, 2018. 360-degree feedback. [Online] Available at:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/360-degree_feedback [Accessed 02 01 2019].

Woods, C., 2015. What Is a 360 Degree Appraisal? - Definition & Examples. [Online]
Available at: view-source: https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-a-360-degree-
appraisal-definition-examples-quiz.html [Accessed 01 01 2019].
 ASSIGNMENT ON
PROCESS OF JOB ANALYSIS

0|P age
Introduction

A job is a collection of tasks, duties, responsibilities, which as a whole comprise the

established assignment to an individual employee. Job analysis is the determination
through observation and study of comprehensive information regarding a job, with a view
to specifying tasks and necessary abilities, knowledge, and skills required to perform it.

Job analysis is the procedure by which facts with respect to each job are discovered and
systematically noted down. (Yoder. 1969) Job analysis is sometimes called Job Study,
suggesting the care with which, tasks, processes, responsibilities and personnel
requirements are inquired into (Yoder, 1969). It is essential to understand the nature and
all requirements; content related and behavioral, of a job, for writing job descriptions and
preparing job design. Wendell French (1997) defines job analysis as the systematic
investigation and delineation of job content, including the physical circumstances in which
a particular job is carried out and the qualifications needed to carry out job responsibilities.
Categories of information usually obtained for job analysis are;

• What activities are performed and the requirements of performing them, viz. the
necessary skills, machines, tools and equipment used;

• Pattern of interaction (formal or informal) prescribed; physical and social working

environment provided; and

• The training, skills, and abilities required for a job.

Although, the terminology and specifics employed for job analysis vary for each job, most
include comparable categories, so that methods of job analysis have been possible to
develop. The information is used to establish what is required of a worker at a particular
level. Job analysis may also be called task analysis or skills analysis.

1|P age
Job Analysis
Job analysis is a systematic approach to defining the job role, description, requirements,
responsibilities, evaluation, etc. It helps in finding out required level of education, skills,
knowledge, training, etc for the job position. It also depicts the job worth i.e. measurable
effectiveness of the job and contribution of job to the organization. Thus, it effectively
contributes to setting up the compensation package for the job position.

Nature of Job Analysis:

Organisations consist of positions that have to be staffed. Job Analysis is the procedure
through which we determine the task, duties and responsibilities of these positions and
the characteristics of the people to hire for the positions. Job analysis produces
information used for writing, job description (a list of what the job entails) and job
specification (what kind of people to hire for the job).

2|P age
The supervisor or HR specialist normally collects one or more of the following types of
information via the job analysis:

Work Activities:
First, he or she collects information about the job’s actual work activities, such as
cleaning, selling, teaching or painting. This list may also include how, why and when
the worker performs each activity.

Human Behaviour:
The specialist may also collect information about human behaviours like sensing,
communicating, deciding and writing. Included here would be information regarding
job demands such as lifting weights or walking long distances.

Machines, tools, equipment & work aids:

This category includes information about tools used, materials processed,
knowledge dealt with or applied (such as finance or law), & services rendered (such
as counselling or repairing).

Performance standards:
The employer may also want information about the job’s performance standards (in
terms of quantity or quality levels for each job duty). Management will use these
standards to appraise the employees.

Job context:
Information included here are about such matters as physical working conditions,
work schedule and the organisational and social context – for instance, the number
of people with whom the employee would normally interact. Information regarding
incentives might also be included here.

Human requirements:
This includes information regarding the job’s human requirements, such as job-
related knowledge or skills (education, training, work experience) and required
personal attributes (aptitudes, physical characteristics, personality, interests).

3|P age
Components of Job analysis:
Job analysis is a systematic procedure to analyze the requirements for the job role and
job profile. Job analysis can be further categorized into following sub components.

Job Position:
Job position refers to the designation of the job and employee in the organization. Job
position forms an important part of the compensation strategy as it determines the level of
the job in the organization. For example, management level employees receive greater
pay scale than non-managerial employees. The non-monetary benefits offered to two
different levels in the organization also vary.

Job Description:
Job description refers the requirements an organization looks for a particular job position.
It states the key skill requirements, the level of experience needed, level of education
required, etc. It also describes the roles and responsibilities attached with the job position.
The roles and responsibilities are key determinant factor in estimating the level of
experience, education, skill, etc required for the job. It also helps in benchmarking the
performance standards.

4|P age
Job Worth:
Job Worth refers to estimating the job worthiness i.e. how much the job contributes to the
organization. It is also known as job evaluation. Job description is used to analyze the job
worthiness. It is also known as job evaluation. Roles and responsibilities helps in
determining the outcome from the job profile. Once it is determined that how much the job
is worth, it becomes easy to define the compensation strategy for the position.

Uses of Job Analysis:

Job Analysis

Job Description & Job

Specification

Job Evaluation – Wage

Recruitment &
& Salary Decisions Performance Appraisal Training Requirements
Selection
(Compensation)

Recruitment & Selection:

Job Analysis provides information about what the job entails and what human
characteristics are required to perform the job. This information, in the form of job
description and specifications, helps management decide what sort of people to
recruit and hire.

Compensation:
Job analysis is crucial for estimating the value of each job & its appropriate
compensation. Compensation (such as salary and bonus) usually depends upon

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 the job’s required skill and education level, safety hazards, degree of responsibility
and so on - all the factors we can assess through job analysis.

Performance Appraisal:
A performance appraisal compares each employee’s actual performance with his
or her performance standards. Managers use job analysis to determine the job’s
specific activities and performance standards.

Training:
The job description should show the activities and skills – and therefore the training
- that job requires.

Discovering unassigned duties:

Job analysis can also help reveal unassigned duties. For example, a company’s
production manager says Mr. X is responsible for a dozen or so duties, such as
production scheduling and raw material purchasing. However, any reference of raw
material inventory management was missing. On further study, the manager finds
that none of the other manufacturing people are responsible of inventory
management. Thus, a manger has uncovered an essential unassigned duty with
regards to job analysis.

Steps in Job Analysis:

There are six steps in doing a job analysis.

(1) Decide how you’ll use the information, since this will determine the data you collect
and how you collect them. Some data collection techniques - like interviewing the
employee and asking what the job entails are good for writing job description and
selecting employees for the job. Other technique like the position analysis &
questionnaire do not provide qualitative information for job description. Instead,
they provide numerical ratings for each job; these can be used to compare jobs for
compensation purpose.

(2) Review relevant background information such as organisation charts, process

charts and job description.

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 a. Organisation charts show the organisation wide division of work, how the
job in question relates to other jobs, and where the job fits in the overall
organisation. The chart should show the title of each position and by means
of interconnecting lines, who reports to whom and with whom the job
incumbent communicates.

b. A process chart provides more detailed picture of the work flow. In its
simplest form a process chart shows the flow of inputs to and the outputs
from the job you are analysing. Finally, the existing job description, if there
is one, usually provides a starting point for building the revised job
description. In the figure below the quality control clerk is expected to review
components from suppliers, check components going to the plan managers
and give information regarding components quality to these managers.

Information input Components input

form the plant from Suppliers
manager

(Job Under Study)

Quality Control Clerk

Information output Product Quality

to Plant Manager output to Plant
regarding Manager
Component Quality

(3) Select representative positions. Because there may be too many similar jobs to
analyse. For example, it is usually necessary to analyse the jobs of 200 assembly
workers when a sample of 10 jobs will do.

(4) Actually, analyse the job – by collecting data on job activities, required employee
behaviours, working condition, and human traits & abilities needed to perform the
job. For this step, use one or more of the job analysis methods.

(5) Verify the job analysis information with the worker performing the job & with his or
her immediate supervisor. This will help confirm that the information is factually
correct and complete. This review can also help gain the employees acceptance of
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 the job analysis data and conclusions by giving that person a chance to review and
modify your description of the job activities.

(6) Develop a job description and job specification. These are two tangible products of
the job analysis. The job description is a written statement that describes the
activities and responsibilities of the job, as well as its important features, such as
working conditions and safety hazards. The job specification summarises the
personal qualities, traits, skill and background required for getting job done. In
maybe in a separate document or in the same document as the job description.

Methods of collecting Job Analysis

Information:
There are various ways to collect information on the duties, responsibilities and activities
of the job. In practice, we can use anyone of them, or we can combine the techniques that
best fit our purpose. Thus, an interview might be appropriate for creating a job description,
whereas the position analysis questionnaire maybe more appropriate for quantifying the
worth of a job for compensation purposes.

Conducting the job analysis usually involves a joint effort by an HR specialist, the worker,
& the worker’s supervisor. The HR specialist might observe and analyse the job and then
develop a job description and specification. The supervisor and worker may fill out
questionnaires listing the subordinate’s activities. The supervisor and worker may then
review and verify the job analysed conclusions regarding the job’s activities and duties.

In practice, firm usually collects jobs analysis data from multiple “subject matter experts”
using questionnaires and interviews. They then average data from several employees
from different departments to determine how much time a typical employee spends on
each of several specific tasks. The problem is that employees who have the same job title
but work in different departments may experience very different pressures. Therefore,
simply adding up and averaging the amount of time that, say, HR assistance need to
devote “interviewing candidates” could end in misleading results. The point is that we must
understand the job’s departmental context – the way someone with a particular job title
spends his or her time is not necessarily the same from department to department.

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The Interview
Managers use three types of interview to collect job analysis data – individual interview
with each employee, group interview with groups of employees who have the same jobs
& the supervisor interviews with one or more supervisor who know the job. They use group
interviews when a large number of employees are performing similar or identical work,
since it can be a quick and inexpensive way to gather information.

Whichever kind of interviews we use, we need to be sure the interviewee fully understands
the reason fro the interview since there is a tendency for such interviews to be viewed,
rightly or wrongly, as “efficiency evaluation”. If so, interviewees may hesitate to describe
their jobs accurately.

Pros & Cons

The interview is probably the most widely used method for identifying the job’s duties &
responsibilities and its wide use reflects its advantages. It is a relatively simple and quick
way to collect information, including information that might never appear on a written form.
The interview also provides an opportunity to explain the need for and function of the job
analysis. And the employee can vent frustration that might otherwise go unnoticed by the
management.

Distortion of the information is the main problem – whether due to outright falsification or
honest misunderstanding. Job analysis is often a prelude to changing a job’s pay rate.
Employees therefore may legitimately view the interview as the efficiency evaluation that
may affect their pay. They may then tend to exaggerate certain responsibilities while
minimising others.

Typical Questions

 What is the job being performed?

 What are the major duties of your position? What exactly do you do?

 What physical location do you work in?

 What are the education, experience, skill and (where applicable) certification and
licensing requirements?

 In what activities do you participate?

 What are the job responsibilities and duties?

 What are the basic accountabilities or performance that typifies your work?

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  What are your responsibilities? What is the environmental and working condition
involved?

 What are the jobs physical demands? The emotional and mental demands?

 What are the health and safety condition?

 Are you exposed to any hazards or any unusual working conditions?

Interview Guidelines

There are several things which should be kept in mind while conducting a job analysis
interview.

1. The job analyst and supervisor should work together to identify the workers who
know the job best.

2. Quickly establish rapport with the interviewee. Know the persons name, speak in
easily understood language, briefly review the interview purpose and explain how
the person was chosen for the interview.

3. Follow a structured guide or checklist. One that lists questions and provides space
for answers. This ensures you to identify crucial question ahead of time and that all
the interviewers (if there are more than one) cover all the questions.

4. When duties are not performed in a regular manner – for instance when the worker
doesn’t perform the same job over and over again many times a day- ask the
worker to list his/her duties in order of importance and frequency of occurrence.
This will ensure that you don’t overlook crucial but infrequently performed activities.

5. Finally, after completing the interview, review and verify the data. Specifically
review the information with the worker’s immediate supervisor and the interviewee.

Questionnaires
Having employees fill out questionnaires to describe their job-related duties &
responsibilities is another good way to obtain job analysis information.

We have to decide how structured the questionnaire should be and what question to
include. Some questionnaires are very structured checklists. Each employee gets an
inventory of perhaps hundreds of specific duties or tasks (such as “change and splice
via”). He or she is asked to indicate whether or not he/she performs each tasks and, it so,

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how much time is normally spent on each. At the other extreme, the questionnaire can be
open-ended and simply ask the employee to “describe the major duties of your job.” In
practice, the best questionnaire often falls between these two extremes.

Whether structured or unstructured, questionnaires have both pros & cons. A

questionnaire is a quick and efficient way to obtain information from a large number of
employees, its less costly than interviewing hundreds of workers, for instance. However,
developing any questionnaire a testing it can be expensive and time-consuming.

Observation
Observation and collection of data serve the purpose of scientific investigations. As is
famously held, science begins with observation and returns to observation for validation.
Science is defined as “a systematic and deliberate study through the eye of spontaneous
occurrences at the time they occur.”

Observation serves the investigator’s purpose in the following ways:

(a) It enables the observer gain insight into the actual phenomenon that can be later
tested by other techniques;

(b) Observation may be used for supplementing data that helps interpret findings
obtained by other techniques;

(c) It may also be used as the primary method of data collection in studies for
providing accurate firsthand information or testing casual hypotheses;

(d) Observation is used to perceive significant interrelated factors determining

complex social phenomena, culture or behavior; and;

(e) It provides clear and authentic picture of a given situation. One does not have to
depend too much on people’s co-operation as is the case in the interview method.

Participation
In this method, the job analyst actually performs the job himself to perceive it first hand.
In this way he is able to see what characterizes the job under study. This method is fairly
suitable for studying simple jobs but in case of complex jobs, advance training of the
analyst may be necessary, which may not be practicable. The method can also be time
consuming and expensive.

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Technical Conference
In this method, information about the job is collected from experts, usually supervisors,
and not procured directly from actual job incumbents. One important drawback of this
method is that experts at time show poor knowledge of the job since they do not perform
it themselves or supervise it only disinterestedly. They might give answers based on
past experience or abstract perception.

Self-recording or Dairy
In this method, the incumbent is asked to record his daily activities, each day, using
some type of logbook or diary. The method is useful in systematically collecting
information about a job, particularly time spent on various activities during a day. It might
be time- consuming and incumbents are heard complaining that they spend more time
writing diaries than actually doing the job. This method is particularly useful for studying
high-level managerial jobs.

The Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ)

It contains a hundred and ninety-four (194 by latest count) job elements. The human
resource manager rates a job on 194 ‘descriptors’ by judging the degree to which each
count is present in the job. These counts are grouped into six general categories. PAQ
has been thoroughly researched and enables statistical comparison of job elements.
PAQ is an extremely practical job analysis method, which enables comparison of
specific jobs with other jobs classified in the occupational group (s).

Several other methods are also used separately or in various combinations to aid job
analysis exercise. These include:

Expert panels:
Job Analysis experts are hired by organizations for conducting job analysis. Analysis is
done on the basis of Critical Incidents of good and poor performance and Job Elements.
Job Element is defined as a worker characteristic which influences success in a job,
including combination of abilities, skills, knowledge or personal characterstics ( Prim off
1975)

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Task Inventories:
A task inventory is an exhaustive account of the operations involved in a job. It provides
vital information about the skills, knowledge, and abilities required to perform a job. This
information is valuable for developing employee selection procedures and training
programs, performance appraisal and pay determination. For hiring, it informs the
selection committee and applicant of what the job entails. For training purposes, it tells
the developer what the job requires. It is also valuable for setting standards in
performance appraisals and evaluating jobs to determine the correct pay level. Again,
this document may already have been created. Workers are involved in preparation of
task inventories. (Job Analysis, Colorado)

Check Lists:
Check- list is used to order tasks sequentially and classified, as logistic support, service
delivery, sales etc. Check lists are used to avoid duplication of work across tiers. If
duplication is actually taken place, concerned employee can be advanced in the career
ladder on the basis of his experience of the added task. A good check list is a result of
collaborative effort of the supervisor and the employee. Both workers emerge with a
better understanding of the expectations of the job. It also helps in the selection of
employees. Candidates can be asked to pick the tasks they are better qualified to
perform from the check- list. (Job Analysis, Colorado)

Quantitative Job Analysis Techniques

Qualitative approaches like interviews and questionnaires are not always suitable. For
example, if your aim is to compare jobs for pay purposes, you may want to be able to
assign quantitative values to each job. The position analysis questionnaire, the
Department of Labour approach and functional job analysis are three popular quantitative
methods.

JOB DESCRIPTION
Job descriptions are prepared on the basis of job analysis. Job descriptions, sometimes
called position descriptions, are written summaries, usually one or two pages long, of the

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basic tasks associated with a particular job. They are prepared on the basis of
information gathered from job analysis. A model job design includes the title of the job,
information about duties, responsibilities, facilities, pay scale etc. Job descriptions
usually have a label, called a “job title,” and a section describing the qualifications
needed to perform the job. These qualifications are encoded as job specifications.
(French, 1995)

Job descriptions are well written duty statements which accurately describe what is
being done on a job. Job description clarifies work functions and reporting relationships,
helping employees understand their jobs better and approximate performance to desired
levels.

Duty statements focus on primary duties and responsibilities of the position and not
incidental duties. Related or similar duties are combined and written as one statement.

Job description includes an employee’s qualifications or performance and even

temporary assignments.

Each duty statement is a discreet, identifiable aspect of the work assignment, written
precisely, and is outcome-based, allowing for alternate means of performing the duty,
changes in technology, preferences of employees and supervisors, accommodations of
policy changes, changing nature of duty etc. Employees are also credited for innovations
made by them.

Purpose of Job Description

According to Wendell French (1995), a job description is useful for the following
processes of personnel administration: -

a. Recruiting, interviewing, and selection.

b. Orientation and training
c. Setting performance standards and / or goal statements
d. Designing performance appraisal forms
e. Job evaluation
f. Clarification and renegotiation of roles
g. Career progression ladders

Advantages of Job description

Role specificity and clarity are provided for. As a corollary, role ambiguity is avoided, and
organizational processes are simplified. Consequently, job descriptions, as a
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management tool can greatly simplify an organization’s human resource management
function. Job descriptions clarify work content, helping employees understand their work
better and employers, institute performance appraisal and development process,
maneuver job design for job rotation, enrichment (vertical loading), and enlargement
(horizontal loading) exercises for overall performance improvement and organizational
effectiveness.

The focus is on job outcomes, which makes job description a result-oriented exercise. It
helps lay down what is expected of a job in terms of all logistical, and behavioural
(training, supervision) requirements so that they can be secured with proper lead time.

Cost effectiveness and time management at work are the two important considerations
in a job description exercise.

Work study and method study are applied on the basis of job descriptions. Core areas
for procedural reform can be easily identified and procedural improvements brought
about. The effect of procedural innovations, if any, is examined easily. The worker can
be rewarded for successful innovations.

Job descriptions aid in maintaining a consistent salary structure. It leads to job

evaluation, which is used specifically for compensation administration.

JOB SPECIFICATION

Job specification spells out desired attributes of prospective job incumbents. Job
specification is a statement of the physical, mental and temperamental qualities
necessary for the performance of a job. This exercise helps us in cataloguing
requirements of the job in question in terms of:

(a) Qualifications required for the job can be general educational qualifications or
technical qualifications, or both;

(b) If the job requires any specific skill, ability or aptitude, the same will have to be
determined;

(c) The degree and extent of job experience required can be laid down;

(d) Personal and physical attributes desired; and

(e) Age and domicile requirements

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A typical job description shows three categories:

(1) specifying activity (e.g. collecting),

(2) object involved (data); and

(3) purpose (medical research) for which undertaken.

Level of specification of activities into constituent elements differs from case to case
according to the requirement.

Two essential requirements of job descriptions are; (1) simple language; and (2)
allowance for flexible operations to enable adjustments to changing requirements; for
example, changing customer preferences, demand and supply situations, new process
or management technology, etc.,

Conclusion
From Job Analysis, specific details of what is being done and the skills utilized in the job
are obtained. Job Analysis enables the managers to understand jobs and job structures
to improve work flow or develop techniques to improve product

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