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 job
satisfactorily.

Education
Experience
Training
Judgment
Initiative
Physical effort
physical skills
Responsibilities
Communication Skills
Emotional Characteristics
Unusual 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 is
required 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 which
employees are involved in job analysis depends upon
the needs of both the organization and the
employees.

The Level of Details: The nature of job being
analyzed determines the level of detail in job analysis.
The level of details required in job analysis also
depends upon the purpose for which job related
details 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 company
3. 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 how
the job has been done in the past and the manner in
which it is being currently done.

Future Oriented job analysis help predictions regarding
how the job will be done in the future & the way it should
be 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 Activities
2. Machines, tools, Equipments & work Aids Used
3. Job Context
4. 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
Job
Specification
Job
Description
HRP
Job Evaluation
Remuneration
Performance Appraisal
Personnel Information
Safety & Health
Training & Development
Recruitment & Selection
Human Resource Planning: HRP determines as to
how many & what type of personnel will needed in the
near future.

Recruitment & Selection: Recruitment needed to be
preceded by job analysis.The objective of employee
hiring is to match the right people with the right jobs.

Training & Development: Training & development
programmes can be designed depending on the job
requirements.
Job Evaluation: Job evaluation involves
determination of relative worth of each job for the
purpose of establishing wage & salary differentials.

Remuneration: Remuneration also involves fringe
benefits, bonus & other benefits. Remuneration must be
based on the relative worth of each job.

Performance Appraisal: Performance appraisal
involves assessment of the actual performance of an
employee against what is expected from him/her.
Personnel Information: Organizations generally
maintain personnel information systems.

Safety & health:The process of conducting a
detailed job analysis provides an excellent
opportunity to uncover & identify hazardous
conditions & unhealthy environmental factors (such
as heat, noise, fumes & dust) , so that corrective
measure can be taken to minimize & avoid the
possibility of human injury.

METHODS OF COLLECTING JOB
DATA
Observational Method
Interviews
Questionnaire
Checklists
Technical Conferences
Diary



METHODS OF COLLECTING JOB DATA
Job Data
Interviews
Questionnaire
Diary
Technical
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 Analysis
Features:
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
organizations strategic planning. An important
part of this task is the job analysts 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 steps
1. The specification of individual task
2. The specification of methods of performing
each task, and
3. 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
BEHAVIOURAL
FACTORS
ENVIRONMENTAL
FACTORS
JOB
DESIGN
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. Planning
2. Executing
3. 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 ones responses to the environment
3.Authority to make decisions
4.Increase the employees sense of recognition & self-esteem
Use of abilities
The 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 responsibility
Self 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.