Chapter 4:

Job Design and

Job Analysis
 Learning Objectives
1. Explain the importance of job design.
2. Describe how managers use efficiency and
motivational approaches to design jobs.
3. Explain the trade-offs between the efficiency and
motivational job design approaches.
4. Understand the importance of job descriptions and
job specifications.
5. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of different
sources of data for job analysis.
6. Understand how organizational demands influence job
design.
7. Discuss how environmental challenges affect job
design.
8. Explain the importance of job design and job analysis
for legal compliance.
 The Importance of Job Design and
Job Analysis
• KSAs are knowledge, skills, and abilities
• Managers consciously must make decisions
about how they design jobs to improve
company performance
• Critical goal of managing the primary human
resources activities is to maximize the
employee contributions that yield competitive
advantage
• Critical role in managing employee attitudes
and behaviors
 Job Design
• Goal is to enhance company performance
• What role each job plays in attaining company
advantage and how employees will perform their jobs
• Determining job tasks and responsibilities employees
in a particular job are expected to perform, as well as
how they need to interact with their coworkers to
realize those contributions
• Key issues to consider:
− Which tasks should be emphasized?
− How simple or complex are these tasks?
− How many tasks can employees perform?
− How much flexibility is given to employees?
 Job Analysis
• Managers must understand the
competencies an employee needs to
possess to successfully perform a particular
job
• The process of systematically identifying the
tasks, duties, and responsibilities expected
to be performed in a single job, as well as
the competencies (KSAs) the employee
must possess to be successful in the job
– Collecting job information
– Analyzing job information
 Job Descriptions and Job
Specifications
• Job descriptions are written summaries of
the specific tasks, responsibilities, and
working conditions of a job and include a
list of job specifications
• Job specifications are the specific
competencies a jobholder must possess to
be able to perform a job successfully
• Both are valuable tools for managing
employee competencies, especially when
recruiting and hiring
 Job Design: Efficiency Approach
Key goal is to maximize efficiency; emphasizes
standardization of production processes
• Time and motion studies systematic evaluation of
the most basic elements of the tasks that complete
a job
• Job specialization the process of identifying the
core elements of a job
• Repetition increased skill and speed
• Job simplification removing decision-making
authority from employees and placed it with a
supervisor
 Job Design: Motivational Approach

Maximizes employee’s drive to work as hard as possible

Focuses on making jobs more interesting, challenging
and complex to encourage employees to want to
work as effectively and efficiently as they can

Job Characteristics Model — identified 5 job

dimensions and 3 psychological states that affect
motivation and satisfaction as well as absenteeism,
turnover, and productivity
 Growth Need Strength
Growth need strength is the extent to which
individuals feel a need to learn and be
challenged, a need to develop their skills
beyond where they currently are, and a strong
need for accomplishment.
Same old same old or MORE?
Current Research on Job Design
• Social aspect of work
• Organizational citizenship—Optimal
interaction, Required interaction
• Behavior
• Creativity
• Health and well-being
• Bullying and other negative behaviors
• Temporary employees
• Across cultures
• Working from home
• Working off-site (hubs)
Balancing Efficiency and Motivational
Approaches
• Efficiency is important but taken to extreme
can lead to employees being bored and
unfulfilled
• Motivation alone neglects benefits of
efficiency
• Job design choices that managers make
should be driven by the strategic objectives
of the company
 Job Analysis
Definition: Systematically identifying tasks, duties
and responsibilities expected to be performed in a
job as well as competencies—knowledge, skills, and
abilities (KSAs) employees need to be successful
• Job descriptions — written summaries of the
specific tasks, responsibilities, and working
conditions of a job
• Job specifications — specific competencies (KSAs)
required by a jobholder to be able to perform the
job successfully
 Performing a Job Analysis
• Job Information acquired by:
• Observation: job analyst observes and documents activities
performed while employee works
• Diary: employee keeps log of tasks and activities
• Interview: job analyst conducts structured interviews of jobholder
and supervisor (time-consuming and may be inaccurate)
• Questionnaire: standard questionnaire administered to large
number of employees performing the job (requires considerable
time up-front, doesn’t offer opportunity for follow-up)
• Occupational Information Network (O*NET): an online database
created by the U.S. Department of Labor that serves as a
comprehensive source of information for many occupations
 Job Analysis Techniques
• Once job data is collected, it must be
organized in a way that supports the goals
and objectives of the organization
• Standardized or Customized approaches
• Identify tasks, competencies required, or
both
• One job or many different jobs
 Job Descriptions
• A written summary of specific tasks,
responsibilities and working conditions of a
job
• Includes the following:
−Job title
−Job identification specifying important aspects
of job
−Essential duties and responsibilities
−Job specifications—the competencies that are
required (knowledge, skills, abilities)
 Job Specifications

• The competencies (KSAs—knowledge, skills,

abilities), or other talents that a job holder
must have to perform a job successfully
• Most companies include job specifications
as part of the job description
 Job Design in Practice:
Organizational Demands
• Strategy
– Managerial choices of job design tactics
– Employee acceptance of job design decisions
• Company characteristics
– Perception of fairness of job duties
– Need for flexible work arrangements
 Job Design in Practice:
Organizational Demands (continued)
• Culture
– Job Design Approach Adopted
– Breadth of tasks, duties, and responsibilities
performed
• Employee concerns
– Formalization of jobs
– Breath and depth of tasks
 Job Design in Practice:
Environmental Influences
• Labor force
– Skill availability to perform tasks
– Job design decisions for the aging labor force
• Technology
– Telecommuting
– Virtual teams
 Job Design in Practice:
Environmental Influences (continued)
• Globalization
– Need to address cross-cultural issues
– Relevant labor market
• Ethics/social responsibility
– Concerns about types of tasks required
– Attitudes toward physical conditions of job
design
 Job Design in Practice:
Regulations

• Importance of Identifying Essential and

Nonessential Job Duties
– Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
– Reasonable accommodation
• Job Design and Employee Safety
– Occupational Safety and Heath Act (OSHA)
 Appendix:
Standardized and Customized Approaches to
Job Analysis
• Standardized Approaches
• Functional Job Analysis (FJA)
– Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT)
– Occupational Information Network (O*Net)
• Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ)
• Information input
• Mental processes
• Work output
• Relationships with other persons
• Job context
• Other characteristics
(continued)
 Appendix:
Standardized and Customized
Approaches to Job Analysis

• Customized Approaches
• Critical Incidents Approach
• Task Inventory Approach
• Job Element Approach