Ch.3 Job Analysis

Question 1

What is personnel psychology?

“what do they need?”

Answer 1

focusing on a organization’s human resources

Question 2

What kind of activities does a personnel psychologist specialize in?
(“Employee” 4)

Answer 2

1. Employee Recruitment and Selection;
2. The development of employee training and programs;
3. Measuring employee performance and their review
4. Forming criteria for promotion, firing, and disciplinary action.

Question 3

What is job analysis?

“in-&-out understanding “

Answer 3

the systematic study of tasks, duties, and responsibilities of a job and the qualities needed to perform it

Question 4

Why is job analysis important for companies?

Answer 4

to develop the means for assessing personnel; keeping each position up to date

Question 5

What are job descriptions, specifications and evaluations? What are performance criteria?
(“to-do’s for job”, “What I need to be”, “overall”, “appraisal”)

Answer 5

1. Descriptions: a detailed description of job tasks, procedures, and responsibilities
2. Specifications: a statement of the human characteristics required to perform a job
3. Evaluations: an assessment of the relative value of a job to determine appropriate compensation
4. Performance Criteria: the means for appraising worker’s success in performing a job

Question 6

Why are these “personnel products” important? What are they used for? (Descriptions, specifications, evaluations, criteria)

Answer 6

1. Provide detailed info needed for other personnel activities
2. Used for planning, recruitment and selection programs, and performance appraisal systems

Question 7

What types of methods are used to perform job analyses (i.e., observations, participation, etc.)?

Answer 7

1. Observations
2. Participation
3. Existing Data
4. Interviews
5. Surveys
6. Job Diaries

Question 8

What is the Job Element Method? How is this method performed?
(basic Q’s always asked) (“I can tell what this is”)

Answer 8

1. Analyzes jobs in terms of KSAO’s required to perform the job
2. Going to “experts” who are informed about the job to identify the job elements required for the job and then ranking them to what’s important

Question 9

What is the Critical Incidents Technique? How is this method performed?
(“Did I do good or bad?”)

Answer 9

1. a job analysis technique that relies on instances of especially successful or unsuccessful job performance
2. How a task is performed

Question 10

How can this method help people discover what KSAOs are important for a job?
(CIT; successful or unsuccessful job performances)

Answer 10

by helping to determine which particular one is needed for a worker to perform a job successfully

Question 11

What 6 categories of job performance does the Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) assess?
(job skills & basic characteristics)

Answer 11

1. Information Input:
2. Mental Processes:
3. Work output:
4. Relationships with other persons:
5. Job context:
6. Other job characteristics:

Question 12

What is the advantage of using a “standardized” job analysis method, such as the PAQ?
(“this is a lot clearer”)

Answer 12

results producing a detailed profile of a particular job, can be used to compare jobs within a company or similar positions in different organizations

Question 13

What is Functional Job Analysis (FJA)?

Structured) (Data, People, Things

Answer 13

Examines the sequence of tasks in a job and the process by which they are completed

Question 14

What three categories are represented in FJA?

evaluation of one day at the job

Answer 14

1. Data
2. People
3. Things

Question 15

What is O*NET and how can it be used by I/O psychologists? (website; “clearinghouse info)

Answer 15

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Website that provides comprehensive info about jobs and careers (can be used to get an understanding of what the job is about and use it as a starting point)

Question 16

How does job analysis play a role in the ADA and anti-discrimination cases? (employers) (reasonable equity)

Answer 16

by requiring employers to understand the “essential elements”, OR CONTENT, of a job. (accommodating to their needs, in a reasonable manner)

Question 17

What are compensable factors and how are they used to determine job valuation? (physical demands of a job, amount of training, education, or experience) ($)

Answer 17

1. The job elements that are used to determine appropriate compensation for a job
2. Setting wage for different positions

Question 18

What was the “pay gap” between women and men in the 1980s? How does that compare to 2010? (increasing only 2%-3% per decade if no set back)

Answer 18

1980; women were paid 68% of the wages paid men for comparable work
2010; women were paid 78% of the wages paid men for comparable work

Question 19

What contributes to this persistent pay gap?

Answer 19

higher paying jobs that are held mostly by men and women being paid far less than men for performing equivalent tasks

Question 20

What is the concept of comparable worth? How does “exceptioning” keep us from reaching this goal?
(compensation) (“who cares, isn’t the same as my work”)

Answer 20

1. Jobs that require equivalent KSAOs should be compensated equally
2. Ignoring pay discrepancies between particular jobs possessing equivalent duties and responsibilities