EMPR 334 Flashcards
What is job analysis
a technique/methodology wherein we try to understand what people do at work; it is foundational to all HR practices
job analysis is foundational to all HR practices:
- job description
- job classification
- workforce
- job evaluation
- recruitment
- occ health and safety
smallest unit of work
element
job
work performed by individuals who do similar tasks
element
smallest unit of work; micro-components of work role (ex. physical movements)
activity
clusters of elements
tasks
groups of activities targeting the achievement of job objectives
duty
collection of similarly-themed tasks (ex. customer service)
position
reflects elements, activities, tasks and duties performed by an employee
job analysis refers to the process by which
we discover the fundamental nature of a particular job
job analysis defined by 3 features
- must be planed, systematic, formally defined
- breaks jobs into smaller units
- ends in formal description of the job (formal product)
work-oriented JA
focuses on the WORK
- what does the worker do; what tasks are performed
- what tools/machinery are needed
- what is the work environment
what is missing from the worker-oriented JA/ what does this approach not focus on
sole focus on work tasks, no worker well being etc comes into the analysis at all, primarily about tasks and nothing else
how might work-oriented JA be useful to HRM
ensure recruitment and selection is centered on the basis of necessary tasks for the job
ex. electricians cannot be colourblind
- job design
- training requirements
- performance management
time and motion studies criticisms
- doesn’t consider worker/personal constraints
- focused on average performance, doesn’t consider specific cases
- imbalance between efficiency and safety quality as being efficient doesn’t always mean the job was well done and also that speed and performance don’t always go together
time and mother studies advantages
- maximizing efficiency and reducing waste
- help predict normative time for tasks (ex. taking an hour to complete 10 min task is an issue)
- generalization- help understand role
work-oriented JA: functional job analysis (FJA)
produces standardized information about a job for classification purposes
systematically compare jobs with dissimilar tasks by focusing on functional categories of the work (on what workers do)
all jobs reflect these 3 things in FJA even though they may present differently
worker functions relate to
1. data
2. people
3. things
in FJA worker functions relate to
data, people, things
they’ll present differently in different positions
what does FJA result in
results in position-specific, yet standardized info about work and person performing work
FJA describes jobs according to?
to similar overarching functions
FJA is a highly structured, prescribed process
requires a trained job analyst
follows a set method
specific grammar and structure associated with describing work
task inventories are?
are lists of all work activities
how to do task inventories
survey SMEs, have them review list of tasks and rate (ex. criticality, difficulty, time spent)
what are task lists compiled from for task inventories
observation
background materials
interviews
more?
how are tasks written for task inventories
verb + object + purpose/result
ex. call patient about prescription not picked up after 7 days to improve medication adherence
SMES provide this feedback on the list of task statements
how critical is this task to your job
how much time (per day/week) do you spend on this task
how difficult is this task
- consider reliability of feedback
what happens if raters disagree on task inventories?
- bring in manager/boss
- look at average/majority
- ask for more info
- use as opportunity for more exploration with those SMEs
no 1 right way, must include in write up, ppl must know
different ways to aggregate feedback in task inventories
task importance = difficulty x criticality + time spent
task importance = overall importance evals (provides just as good info as one above)
what SME characteristics could influence JA validity
experience
qualifications
race
gender
culture
values
sample size
critical incident technique
part of work oriented JA
SMEs asked to describe incidents of exceptional average and sub-par performance (provide specific examples)
incidents must be specific and clear for others to understand
- context for the incident
- what did employee do
- what were the outcomes of the employees behaviour
incidents for the critical incident technique must be:
must be behaviourally based and avoid perceptions, inferences, impressions, emotions
- focus on the work
tips for collecting critical incidents
- ask SMEs for “behavioural examples” or “work snapshots”
- focus on examples of good/exceptional performance first
- encourage SMEs to have specific people and stories in mind
- use job dimensions or tasks as prompts
work oriented analysis subtypes
time and motion studies
functional job analysis
task analysis
critical incident technique
worker- oriented JA tries to
tries to uncover the psychological or personological aspects of job-related success
worker-oriented JA focuses on
focus on the human attribute required to be good at a job (KSAOs) (personality qualities worker has)
KSAOs
knowledge
skills (capacity to use tools)
abilities (capacity to acquire skills and knowledge)
other characteristics (interests, preferences, personality etc.)
job element method (JEM)
blurs the distinction between what gets done and what abilities are required to do the job; breaks job down into elements that are described in terms that job incumbents can easily understand
definition of JA
Job analysis refers to the careful systematic process of discovering the nature of the job by dividing it into smaller units, where the process results in one or more written products with the goal of describing what is done in the job or what capabilities are needed to effectively perform the job
why is JA important
Job analysis is important because it forms the basis of solutions to many practical problems, allows for a deep dive into a specific job to ensure better understanding, and allows HR practices to work more effectively through a deepened understanding of what the job being analyzed actually requires.
techniques for worker-oriented JA
Job element method (JEM)
Position analysis questionnaire (PAQ)
Cognitive taks analysis
JEM process
collect elements from team of SMEs, brainstorm job elements, have SMEs rate elements on B, S, T, P, share ratings and apply to function
B S T P
barely acceptable
superior
trouble likely
practical
what is JEM useful for
selection
Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) process
lists large number of standard elements that the job analyst records on a specially designed form
187 elements divided into 6 major divisisions
Job analysts considers each item relative to the job under consideration and decises whether the item applies to the job
Scored by a computer
Today’s major use is for determining disability; it’s used by many long term disability insurance carriers
Recommended to be completed by job analyst
think police officer to stay at home dad
Cognitive task analysis
infer the mental/psychological activities used in completing tasks
try to understand how experts perform their jobs; what knowledge/skills do they need to possess
how are knowledge and skills used to achieve high performance
hybrid JA
combine 2+ methods
gives more wholeistic picture; not just task or behaviour
combination job analysis (CJAM)
merges info about tasks with info about worker attributes
steps of CJAM
- generate tasks with SME group that reflects the pop and is experienced
(task statements written with subject + verb +object + purpose - task rating with second group of SMEs where they rate both task difficulty and task criticality (consequences of error) where task importance = difficulty + criticality
- generate KSAOs with group of SMEs and rate them
- analysis of KSAOs where SMEs are rated and then totals are tallied for each yes/no answer
