Chapter 4 Analyzing Work and Human Resource Planning Flashcards
job analysis
a systematic process used to identify and describe the important aspects of a job and the worker characteristics needed to succeed
identifies important tasks and working conditions as well as the tools and technologies used on the job
making judgments about what an employee needs to do to perform a job well given the business strategy and organizational culture
strategic planning
a process for making decisions about an organization’s long-term goals and they are to be achieved
mission
its basic purpose and the scope of its operations
vision
identifies the company’s long-term goals regarding what the organization wants to become and accomplish and describes its image of an ideal future
core values
the enduring beliefs and principles that guide its decisions and goals, including corporate social responsibility and environmental sustainability
A company’s ______ is/are defined as the long-term goals regarding what the organization wants to become and accomplish, and describing its image of an ideal future
a. vision
b. values
c. strategy
d. mission
a. vision
business strategy
an outline of how a business will compete in a particular market
human resource planning
aligns the organization’s human resources to accomplish the organization’s strategic goals
The four main steps of human resource planning
- strategic planning
- human resource planning
- forecasting labor demand and labor supply
- developing and implementing action plans as needed
strategic planning
a company’s strategic vision, mission, values, and strategy influence the type, quality, and quantity of skills and employees needed
forecasting labor demand and labor supply
identify labor shortages or surpluses; important to determine whether any gaps are expected to be short-term or long-term in duration
Bureau of Labor statistics
developing and implementing action plans as needed
action plans should address any gaps between expected labor supply and demand; should be consistent with the firm’s talent philosophy and values
What process relies on action plans to address expected surpluses or shortages of talent in order to accomplish the organization’s strategic goals?
a. business strategy development
b. human resource planning
c. labor supply forecasting
d. human resource management
b. human resource planning
sources for forecasting labor demand
leading economic index consumer confidence index
exchange rate trends
interest rate forecasts
leading economic index
a monthly composite economic index published by the Conference Board is intended to signal peaks and troughs in the business cycle
consumer confidence index
monthly Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index telephone survey asks 1,000 randomly selected adults questions about perceptions of job security and their willingness to spend money
exchange rate trends
Reflect the cost of one country’s currency in terms of another currency. By influencing the cost of raw materials, the price of the organization’s exports, and the prices of competitors’ imports, exchange rates influence product demand and subsequent demand for employees.
interest rate forecasts
interest rates reflect the cost of borrowing money. Higher interest rates make money more expensive to borrow. Accordingly, interest rates influence both consumer demand for a company’s products and companies’ willingness to borrow money to fund expansion plans
labor demand forecasting methods
trend analysis
ratio analysis
judgmental forecasting
trend analysis
using relevant past employment patterns, including the employer’s, the industry’s, or even the nation’s, to predict a company’s future talent nees
ratio analysis
assumes a relatively fixed ratio between the number of employees needed and certain business metrics; can be used to justifying new positions or demonstrating the need for downsizing;
number of employees needed to obtain productivity level
staffing ratio
a mathematical method of calculating the number of employees needed by indexing headcount with a relevant business metric
of accounting assistants to the # of accountants based on a staffing ratio of 5:3 (the firm needs 5 assistants for every 3 accountants)
judgmental forecasting
relies on managers’ expertise to predict a firm’s future talent needs
top-down judgmental forecasting
relies on the organization’s leaders and their experience and knowledge of their industry and company to make predictions about the firm’s future talent needs
bottom-up judgmental forecasting
lower-level managers’ estimates of the firm’s future talent needs; each manager’s estimate of the number and types of employees he or she will need are modified and consolidated as they move the organization’s hierarchy. Top managers review and consolidate the final results.
talent inventories
worksheets or databases that summarize each employee’s competencies, qualifications, and anything else that can help the company understand how the employee can contribute
IBM’s Workforce Management Initiative software
replacement charts
track the potential replacements for particular positions
graphically shows current jobholders, possible successors, and each successor’s readiness to assume the job
uses talent inventories
succession planning
identifies, develops, and tracks employees to enable them to eventually assume higher-level positions
helps employees reach their highest potential
employee survey
monitor employees attitudes, dissatisfaction, complaints can help forecast future turnover
Two ways the external labor market can be forecasted
- monitoring its own experiences (if the quality and quantity of the applicants is getting worse then that signals a tighter labor market)
- through the statistics generated by others (US Bureau of Labor Statistics)
gap analysis
comparing labor supply and demand forecasts identifies the firm’s future talent needs
action plan
a strategy for proactively addressing an expected talent shortage or surplus
job design
modifying jobs to focus on employee talents
scientific management
breaks work down into its simplest elements and then systematically improves the worker’s performance on each element
productivity is maximized when organizations are rationalized with precise sets of instructions based on time-and-motion studies
four principles of Taylor’s scientific management
- replace rule-of-thumb work methods with methods based on scientifically studying the tasks using time-and-motion studies
- scientifically select, train, and develop each worker rather than leaving them to passively train themselves
- Managers provide detailed instructions and supervision to workers to ensure that they are following the scientifically developed methods
- divide work nearly equally between workers and managers. Managers should plan and workers should perform the tasks
job characteristics model
the objective characteristics of the job lead to job satisfaction
perceiving that the work one is doing is important can improve motivation and performance
5 job characteristics
- skill variety
- task identify
- task significance
- autonomy
- task feedback
skill variety
the degree to which the job requires a variety of activities enabling the worker to use different skills and talents
task identity
the degree to which the job requires the worker to complete a whole and identifiable piece of work
task significance
the degree to which job performance is important and affects the lives or work of others
autonomy
the degree to which the job gives the worker freedom, discretion, and independence in scheduling the work and determining how to do the work
task feedback
the degree to which carrying out the job’s required activities results in the individuals obtaining direct and clear information about the effectiveness of his or her performance
A good match between the needs of the person and the characteristics of the job generates 3 critical employee psychological states
- experienced meaningfulness of work
- experienced responsibility for work outcomes
- knowledge of results of work activities
job enrichement
a job design approach that increases a job’s complexity to give workers greater responsibility and opportunities to feel a sense of achievement
job enlargement
adding more task at the same level of responsibility and skill related to an employee’s current position
job rotation
moving employees through a variety of jobs to increase their engagement and motivation
cross-training
training employees in more than one job or in multiple skills to enable them to do different jobs
What is job analysis used for?
- determining hiring requirements
- developing a recrutiing plan
- selecting job applicants for employment
- creating employee training plans
- designing compensation systems
- developing performance evaluation tools and tracking performance metrics
Done properly job _______ can strategically align job requirements with the company’s business strategy and competitive advantage
a. analysis
b. enlargement
c. enrichment
d. rotation
a. analysis
job description
a written description of the duties and the responsibilities of the job itself
primary outcome of a job analysis
job task
an observable unit of work with a beginning and an end
task statements
identify in specific behavioral terms the regular duties and responsibilities of a position
what the worker does, how the worker does it, and for what purpose
person specification
summary of the characteristics of someone able to perform the job
should be as specific as possible
relate to core jobs duties
describe the minimum requirements essential to do the job effectively
essential criteria
job holder characteristics vital to adequate job performance
desirable criteria
job holder characteristics that enhance job success but are not essential to adequate job performance
knowledge
organized factual or procedural information that can be used to perform a task
skill
the ability to use some sort of knowledge in performing a physical task
driving a truck
depth perception
ability
a stable and enduring capability to perform a variety of tasks
can be inherited, learned, or a combination of both
running ability
ability to repair small motors
KSAO
knowledge, skill, ability, other characteristics
2 most important features of job analysis methods
- It be reliable
2. valid (accurately measure what it was intended to measure)
5 Job Analysis Methods
- critical incidents technique
- job elements method
- structured interview
- task inventory approach
- structured questionnaire
critical incidents technique
job experts describe episodes of good, average, and poor performance
a story about someone’s either extremely effective or ineffective work behavior
advantages
- provides examples or particularly effective or ineffective job behaviors
- incidents are actual on the job behaviors and can often be crated into interview questions
disadvantage
- narrative data can be hard to use
- fair amount of time and resource are necessary to gather enough incidents
job elements methods
a group of job experts list and rate the important worker characteristics that influence success in the job, including knowledge, skills, abilities, and personal characteristics
primarily used with industrial occupations and lesser skilled jobs
advantages
- job experts feel more ownership because they are involved in every stage
- efficient
- results in well-organized documentation of both the job and the worker
disadvantage
- can be difficult to communicate the methodology
structured interview technique
job experts supply information about the job and workers that distinguishes superior performance
advantages
- requires minimal time and resources
disadvantages
- a job analysis professional is needed to reduce interviewer bias
- interview data can be difficult to analyze
task inventory approach
job experts generate a list of 50 to 200 tasks that are then grouped in categories reflecting major work functions
advantages
- objective
- results in reliable description of job
disadvantages
- may not identify important but infrequently displayed characteristics
- does not identify the characteristics that distinguish superior workers
structured questionnaires
written questionnaires that assess information about worker inputs, work output , job context, and job characteristics
advantages
- fast and relatively cheap
- can be used for almost any position
- standardized so different jobs can be compared
- produces quantitative estimates of a job’s mental, perceptual, psychomotor, personality, and physical ability requirements
disadvantages
- may require a high reading level
- predetermined questions may miss unique aspects of the job or work context
structured job analysis questionnaire
a list of pre-identified questions designed to analyze a job
position analysis questionnaire (PAQ)
a copyrighted, standardized structured questionnaire designed to be used for just about any job
assesses information input, mental processes, work output, job context, and other job characteristics associated with position
competency modeling
a job analysis method that identifies the worker competencies characteristic of high performance
competencies
broadly defined worker characteristics that underlie successful performance or behavior on the job.
job rewards analysis
analyzes a job’s nonmonetary intrinsic rewards derived from the work itself and its extrinsic rewards with monetary value
intrinsic rewards
rewards that are nonmonetary and derived from the work itself
extrinsic rewards
rewards with monetary value
total rewards
combination of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards
organizational design
the process of selecting and managing aspects of organizational structure to facilitate organizational goal accomplishment
organizational structure
the organization’s formal system of task, power, and reporting relationships
aligning the organizational structure with the organizational needs generates greater efficiencies and less conflict
organizational chart
a chart that illustrates the chain of command and reporting relationships in your company
a job’s location in the organizational chart does not reflect its importance to the company
policy
the guiding principle that the employer develops to set direction
procedure
the explanation of how, or the sequence of steps, to apply company guidelines to accomplish a task
rule
a statement of what employees may or may no do
formalization
to what extent are the organizational rules, procedures, and communications written down
centralization
to what degree are power and decision-making authority concentrated at higher levels of the organization rather than distributed?
division of labor
do employees specialize or generalize
span of control
how many people report directly to an individual
hierarchy
how much formal authority do some employees have over others
workflow analysis
investigates how work moves through an organization
focuses on incremental change
workflow
describes how work is organized to meet the organization’s goals
business process reengineering
a more radical rethinking and redesigning of workflow and business processes to achieve large improvements in speed, service, cost or quality
starts with a clean slate
Whether employees specialize or generalize is called _______.
a. formalizations
b. span of control
c. divisions of labor
d. centralization
c. division of labor
protocol
the official set of rules related to behaviors
The following is and example of a ________: Employees who are using emergency personal time must call and talk to their supervisor as soon as possible, but not later than sixty minutes after the start of their shift. If the supervisor is unavailable, employees may leave a message for the supervisor with a phone number where they can be reached.
a. procedure
b. process
c. policy
d. protocol
a. procedure
