c h a p t e r part two - staffing the organization job analysis and job design 5

C h a p t e rC h a p t e r

PART TWO - STAFFING THE ORGANIZATION

Job Analysisand

Job Design

55

McGraw-Hill/Irwin© 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All

rights reserved. 5 - 2

Chapter 5 Overview

Basic Terminology

Job Analysis

Job Design



Basic Terminology

Job Analysis Products of Job Analysis

Job Analysis Methods Observation Interviews Questionnaires Functional Job Analysis Dictionary of Occupational Titles O*NET Dictionary of Occupational Titles

The ADA and Job Analysis

Potential Problems with Job Analysis



Figure 5.1

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Relationship among Different Job Components



Basic Terminology







Table 5.1

Area of Information Contents

Job title and location Name of job and where it is located.

Organizational relationship A brief explanation of the number of persons supervised (if applicable) and the job title(s) of the position(s) supervised. A statement concerning supervision received.

Relation to other jobs Describes and outlines the coordination required by the job.

Job summary Condensed explanation of the content of the job.

Information concerning The content of this area varies greatly from jobjob requirements to job and from organization to organization.

Typically it includes information on such topics as machines, tools, and materials; mental complexity and attention required; physical demands and working conditions.

Information Provided by a Job Analysis



Basic Terminology







Table 5.2

A job description should be a formal, written document, usually from one tothree pages long. It should include the following: Date written. Job Status (full-time or part-time; salary or wage). Position title. Job summary (a synopsis of the job responsibilities). Detailed list of duties and responsibilities. Supervision received (to whom the jobholder reports). Supervision exercised, if any (who reports to this employee). Principal contacts (in and outside the organization). Related meetings to be attended and reports to be filed. Competency or position requirements. Required education and experience. Career mobility (position[s] for which job holder may qualify next).

Contents of a Job Description



Basic Terminology





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Table 5.3

Category

Information input

Mental processes

Physical activities

Relationships withother people

Job context

Other jobcharacteristics

Description

Where and how does the employee get the information used in performing the job?

What reasoning, decision-making, planning, and information-processing activities are involved in performing the job?

What physical activities does the employee perform, and what tools or devices are used?

What relationships with other people are required in performing the job?

In what physical or social contest is the work performed?

What activities, conditions, or characteristics other than those described above are relevant to the job?

Examples

Use of written materials.Near-visual differentiation.

Level of reasoning in problem solving.Coding/decoding.

Use of keyboard devices.Assembling/disassembling.

Instructing.Contacts with public, and/or customers.

High temperature.Interpersonal conflict situations.

Specified work pace.Amount of job structure.

Employee Activity Categories Used in the PAQ



Table 5.4

Source: E. J. McCormick, P. R. Jeanneret, and R. C. Mecham, Position Analysis Questionnaire. Copyright 1969 by Purdue Research Foundation, West Lafayette, Ind. Reprinted with permission.

Sample page from the Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ)

Information input

I.I Sources of Job InformationRate each of the following items in terms ofthe extent to which it is used by the worker asa source of information in performing the job.

I.I.I Visual Sources of Job Information

1Written materials (books, reports, office notes, articles, job instructions, signs, etc.)

2Quantitative materials (materials which deal with quantities or amounts, such as graphs, accounts, specifications, tables of numbers, etc.)

3Pictorial material (pictures or picturelike materials used as sources of information, for example, drawings, blueprints, diagrams, maps, tracings, photographic films, x-ray films, TV pictures, etc.)

4Patterns/related devices (templates, stencils, patterns, etc., used as sources of information when observed during use; do not include here materials described in item 3 above)

Code Extent of UseN Does not apply1 Nominal/very frequent2 Occasional3 Moderate4 Considerable5 Very substantial

(Continued)



Table 5.4 (concluded)

5Visual displays (dials, gauges, signal lights, radarscopes, speedometers, clocks, etc.)

6Measuring devices (rules, calipers, tire pressure gauges, scales, thickness gauges, pipettes, thermometers, protractors, etc., used to obtain visual information about physical measurements; do not include here devices described in item 5 above)

7Mechanical devices (tools, equipment, machinery, and other mechanical devices which are sources of information when observed during use or operation)

8Materials in process (parts, materials, etc., which are sources of information when being modified, worked on, or otherwise processed, such as bread dough being mixed, workpiece be turned in a lathe, fabric being cut, shoe being resoled, etc.)

9Materials not in process (parts, materials, objects, etc., not in the process of being changed or modified, which are sources of information when being inspected, handled, packaged, distributed, or selected, etc., such as items or materials in inventory, storage, or distribution channels, items being inspected, etc.)

10Features of nature (landscapes, fields, geological samples, vegetation, cloud formations, and other features of nature which are observed or inspected to provide information)

11“Man-made” features of environment (structures, buildings, dams, highways, bridges, docks, railroads, and other “man-made” or altered aspects of the indoor or outdoor environment which are observed or inspected to provide job information; do no consider equipment, machines, etc., that individuals use in their work, as covered by item 7)

Sample page from the Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ)



Table 5.5

Source: W. B. Tornov and P. R. Pinto, “The Development of a Managerial Job Taxonomy: A System for Describing, Classifying, and Evaluating Executive Positions,” Journal of Applied Psychology 61, no. 4 (1976), p. 414.

Management Position Description Questionnaire Categories

1.Product, marketing, and financial strategy planning.

2.Coordination of other organizational units and personnel.

3.Internal business control.

4.Products and services responsibility.

5.Public and customer relations.

6.Advanced consulting.

7.Autonomy of actions.

8.Approval of financial commitments.

9.Staff service.

10.Supervision.

11.Complexity and stress.

12.Advanced financial responsibility.

13.Broad personnel responsibility.



Basic Terminology







Table 5.6

Source: U. S. Department of Labor, Revised Handbook for Analyzing Jobs (Washington, D. C.: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1991), p. 73.

Levels of Difficulty for Worker Functions in FJA

Data People Things

0 Synthesizing 0 Mentoring 0 Setting up

1 Coordinating 1 Negotiating 1 Precision working

2 Analyzing 2 Instructing 2 Operating-controlling

3 Compiling 3 Supervising 3 Driving-operating

4 Computing 4 Diverting 4 Manipulating

5 Copying 5 Persuading 5 Tending

6 Comparing 6 Speaking-signaling 6 Feeding-offbearing

7 Serving 7 Handling

8 Taking instructions-helping



Basic Terminology







Table 5.7

1. Professional, technical, and managerial

2. Clerical and sales

3. Service

4. Agriculture, fishing, forestry, and related

5. Processing

6. Machine trades

7. Bench work

8. Structural work

9. Miscellaneous

Nine Occupational Categories Used by the DOT



Figure 5.2

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Human Resources Manager as Classified by the DOT

Source: U. S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Dictionary of Occupational Titles, 4th ed., rev. 1991 (Washington, D. C.: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1991).



Basic Terminology





Basic Terminology







Table 5.8

Source: Wayne E. Barlow and Edward Z. Hare, “A Practical Guide to the Americans with Disabilities Act,” Personnel Journal, June 1992, p. 54.

1. Does the position exist to perform these functions? If the performance of a particular function is the principal purpose for hiring a person, it would be an essential function.

2. Would the removal of the function fundamentally alter the position? If the purpose of the position can be fulfilled without performing the function, it isn’t essential.

3. What’s the degree of expertise or skill required to perform the function? The fact that an employee is hired for his or her specialized expertise to perform a particular function is evidence that the function is essential.

4. How much of the employee’s time is spent performing the function? The fact that an employee spends a substantial amount of time performing a particular function is evidence that the function is essential.

5. What are the consequences of failure to perform the function? The fact that the consequences of failure are severe is evidence that the function is essential.

6. How many other employees are available among whom the function can be distributed? The smaller the number of employees available for performing a group of functions, the greater the likelihood that any one of them will have to perform a particular function.

Questions to Be Addressed to Determine Essential Functions



Basic Terminology







Job Design Job Scope and Job Depth

Sociotechnical Approach to Job Design

The Physical Work Environment

Alternative Work Schedules Flextime Telecommuting Job Sharing

Condensed Workweek



Table 5.9

1. Fewer skills required per person, which makes it easier to recruit and train employees.

2. Increased proficiency through repetition and practice of the same tasks.

3. More efficient use of skills by primarily utilizing each employee’s best skills.

4. Low wages due to the ease with which labor can be substituted.

5. More conformity in the final product or service.

6. Different tasks performed concurrently.

Advantages of Job Specialization






Alternative Work Schedules Flextime Telecommuting Job Sharing Condensed Workweek















QuestionsQuestions

c h a p t e r part two - staffing the organization job analysis and job design 5

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