The Basics of Job Analysis

Job Analysis: the procedure for determining the duties and skill requirements of a job and the kind of person who
should be hired for it.(collect information of (Work activities), (Human behaviors), (Machines, tools, equipment, and
work aids), (Performance standards), (Job context), (Human requirements))

Job Description (DTRs): A list of a job’s duties, responsibilities, reporting and relationships, working conditions, and
supervisory responsibilities-one product of a job analysis.

Job Specifications (KSAs): A list of jobs “human requirements” that is, the requisite education, skills, personality, and
so on-another product of a job analysis.

Uses of Job Analysis Information

RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION, EEO COMPLIANCE, PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL, COMPENSATION, TRAINING

Conducting a Job Analysis

There are six steps in doing a job analysis of a job, as follows.

1. STEP 1: Identify the use to which the information will be put because this will determine how you collect the
information.
2. STEP 2: Review Relevant Background Information About the Job, Such as Organization Charts and Process
Charts It is important to understand the job’s context.
 Organization charts: visual representation of the organization structure that shows who report to whom the
chain of command and span of control and the titles of positions in the organization.
 Process chart: provides a detailed picture of the workflow. (show the flow of inputs to and outputs from the
job)
 Workflow analysis: is a detailed study of the flow of work from job to job in one identifiable work process
(answer questions like “Does how this job relates to other jobs make sense?” or “Should this job even
exist?”).
 Business process reengineering: means redesigning business processes, usually by combining steps so that
small multifunction teams, often using information technology, do the jobs formerly done by a sequence of
departments.
 Job Redesign: Early economists enthusiastically described why specialized jobs were more efficient (as in,
“practice makes perfect”). Today, most agree that specialized jobs can backfire, for instance by sapping
morale. Experts typically suggest three ways to redesign specialized jobs:
1. Job enlargement: means assigning workers additional same-level activities.
2. Job rotation: means systematically moving workers from one job to another.
3. Job enrichment: means redesigning jobs in a way that increases the opportunities for the worker to
experience feelings of responsibility, achievement, growth, and recognition—and therefore more
motivation. (by giving the worker the skills and authority to inspect the work, instead of having
supervisors do that.)
3. STEP 3: Select Representative Positions Next, with a job to analyze, the manager generally selects a sample of
positions to focus on.
4. STEP 4: Actually Analyze the Job The actual job analysis involves greeting each job holder; briefly explaining the
job analysis process and the participants’ roles in this process; spending about 15 minutes interviewing the
employee to get agreement on a basic summary of the job.6
5. STEP 5: Verify the Job Analysis Information with the Worker Performing the Job and with His or Her Immediate
Supervisor This will help confirm that the information (for instance, on the job’s duties) is correct and complete
and help to gain their acceptance.
6. STEP 6: Develop a Job Description and Job Specification The job description lists the duties, activities, and
responsibilities of the job, as well as its important features, such as working conditions. The job specification
summarizes the personal qualities, traits, skills, and background required for getting the job done.
Methods for Collecting Job Analysis Information
1. The Interview
 Job analysis interviews range from unstructured (“Tell me about your job”) to highly structured ones with
hundreds of specific items to check off.
 Information sources (1-individual Employees, 2-groups of employees, 3-supervisors with knowledge of
the job)
 Advantage (1-quick, 2-Direct way to find overlooked information)
 Disadvantage (Distorted information)
 Interview formats (1-Structured (Checklist), 2-Unstructured)
2. Questionnaires
 Information sources (Having employees fill out questionnaires to describe their job duties and
responsibilities)
 Questionnaire Formats (1-Structured checklist(closed), 2-open-ended questions)
 Advantages (1-quick and efficient way to gather information from large numbers of employees)
 Disadvantages (1-Expense and time consumed in preparing and testing the questionnaire, 2- Distorted
information)
3. Observation
 Information source (Observing and noting the physical activities of employees as they go about their jobs
by managers.
 Advantages (1-Provides first-hand information, 2-Reduce distortion of information)
 Disadvantages (1-Time Consuming, 2-Reactivity response distorts employee behavior, 3-of little use if job
involves a high level of mental activity more suitable with jobs relying on physical activity)
4. Participant Diaries/Logs
 Information source (Workers keep chronological diary or log of what they do and the time spent on each
activity; such as work incidents
 Advantages (1-produce a more complete picture of the job, 2-Employee participant)
 Disadvantages (1-Depends upon employees to accurately recall their activities, 2-Distortion of
information)
5. Internet Bases Job Analysis
 Information Source (distributes standardized job analysis questionnaires to geographically disbursed
employees online, with instructions to complete the forms and return them by a particular date.)

Writing Job Descriptions

1. Job Identification (1-contain job title, 2-Department, 3-Location, 4-Job code, 5-Division, 6-preparation date)
2. Job summary (The job summary should summarize the essence of the job and should include only its major
functions or activities.)
3. Responsibilities and Duties (1-It should present a list of the job’s responsibilities and duties, 2-the heart of
job description.)
4. Standard of performance and working conditions (1-the standard the company expect its employee to
achieve, 2-working conditions involved on the job (ex: noise level, heat)
5. Relationships (reports to:, supervises:, works with:, outside the company:)
Writing Job Specifications
Specifications Based on Judgment:
 Most job specifications simply reflect the educated guesses of people like supervisors and human resource
managers. The basic procedure here is to ask, “What does it take in terms of education, intelligence, training, and
the like to do this job well?”
 How does one make such “educated guesses”? (Review the job’s duties and deduce from those what human
traits and skills the job requires. Choose human traits and skills from those listed in Web-based job descriptions)

Job Specifications Based on Statistical Analysis:

 The aim is to determine statistically the relationship between:
1. some predictor (human trait such as height, intelligence, or finger dexterity).
2. some indicators or criterion of job effectiveness, such as performance as rated by the supervisor.
 The basic procedure is predictive validation This procedure has five steps:
1. Analyze the job and decide how to measure job performance.
2. Select personal traits like finger dexterity that you believe should predict performance.
3. Test candidates for these traits.
4. Measure these candidates’ subsequent job performance.
5. Statistically analyze the relationship between the human trait (finger dexterity) and job performance. Your
aim is to determine whether the trait predicts performance.

The Job-Requirements Matrix

 Although most employers use job descriptions and specifications to summarize their jobs’ duties and
responsibilities, the job-requirements matrix is also popular. A typical matrix lists the following information, in
five columns:
1. Column 1: Each of the job’s four or five main job duties (such as post accounts payable)
2. Column 2: The task statements for the main tasks associated with each main job duty
3. Column 3: The relative importance of each main job duty
4. Column 4: The time spent on each main job duty\
5. Column 5: The knowledge, skills, ability, and other human characteristics (KSAO) related to each main
job duty
 Task statement describes what the worker does on each of a main job duty’s separate job tasks and how the
worker does it.

Using Competencies Models

Competency-based job analysis means describing the job in terms of measurable, observable, behavioral
competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and/or behaviors) that an employee doing that job must exhibit to do the
job well.

Competencies:

 Demonstrable characteristics or person that enable performance of a job.

Reason for competency-Based Job Analysis:

 To create strategically-focused job descriptions and to allow more flatter hierarchies

 General Core competencies/ Behavioral competencies
 Leadership competencies
 Technical competencies