Job analysis Flashcards
Definition
Handbook ch.
Systematic investigation of (a) work role requirements and (b) broader context in which work roles are enacted.
Work role requirements
o Work requirements – tasks and general responsibilities
o Worker requirements – KSAOs needed to perform work
Harvey (1991) says
Collection of data describing:
o Observable (or otherwise verifiable) job behaviors performed by workers, including both what is accomplished as well as what technologies are employed to accomplish the end results and
Importance
- All the HR functions (compensation, required by union, selection/recruitment, training)
- Legal precedents; validation of selection system
• Reduce role ambiguity and conflict
*This is the question which ultimately determines which method to choose (content, criterion, construct, etc.)
- Job Analysis is required for a successful Job Evaluation
- Job Analysis is the basis for all Selection Procedures including validity, testing, legal implications, etc. Crucial for selection, training, performance evaluation, and compensation.
Other longwinded importance explanation:
There is hardly a program of interest to human resource specialists and other practitioners, whose work pertain to the interface between people and jobs, that does not depend or cannot benefit from the results of a good job analysis. An examination of the literature reveals that job analysis has provided an informational base for a wide variety of organizational and managerial functions, including among others, selection and staffing (Carless, 2007, Gatewood & Feild, 1994; Jenkins & Griffith, 2004; Schofield,1993;Wernimont,1988; Wilde, 1993), training and development (Campbell,1989; Mitchell, Ruck, & Driskill,1988; Wooten, 1993), performance appraisal (Latham & Fry, 1988), compensation and benefits (Henderson, 1988; Taber & Peters, 1991; Weinberger,1989), job descriptions and job design (Davis &Wacker,1988; Gael,1988b, Konczak, 2007), and employment equity and affirmative action (Berwitz, 1988; Simola, Taggar, & Smith, 2007; Thacker, 1990; Veres, Lahey, & Buckly, 1987). It is therefore clearly evident that job analysis has been, and will continue to be, an extremely useful management tool.
Caveat
An overarching theme of this topic is “It depends.” Different applications require different sorts of information. You should know your application or purpose before you start!
Types
o Critical Incident Technique – identify effective & ineffective behaviors
Describe event (context), behavior, and consequence
Useful for describing critical components of a job
Data usually collected through interviews of some sort but other methods are possible
o Functional Job Analysis = focus on tasks; (*Note: this is seen as best for ADA regulations)
Gathers information and focus groups with incumbents task statements
People, data, things
o Task Inventory Analysis = identify tasks, administer a questionnaire, analyze results
Create task statements similar to FJA and have incumbents rate on questionnaire (frequency, importance, difficulty, etc.)
Doesn’t identify KSAOs, but questionnaire is more efficient
Other on this:
Work Design Questionnaire (WDQ) – (Morgeson & Humphrey, 2006) Focused on work design (as opposed to job design) because it acknowledges both the job and the link between jobs and the broader environment. Places all work characteristics into 3 major categories: motivational (task and knowledge characteristics), social (social support, interdependence, interaction outside the organization, feedback from others), and contextual (ergonomics, physical demands, work conditions, equipment use).
So which one to use?
• For job description development or job classification use FJA
• CIT not good for job classification
• For job evaluation, use FJA
• For developing a performance appraisal instrument or training program, use CIT.
• Your choice always depends on purpose.
Taxonomies can help us collect data
o SMIRP—Sensory, motor, intellectual, rewards, personality
Sensory & Motor—demonstrate essential for ADA
Intellectual—PAQ might tap this; hard to observe
Rewards—like values/interests (O*NET, Multimethod Job Design Questionnaire includes motivational scale, etc.)
o O*NET (worker requirements—basic and cross-functional skills, knowledge, and education; experience/training requirements; worker characteristics—abilities, values/interests, work styles)
Description of Competency Models and Key Differences Between Competency Models and Job Analysis
Campion et al. 2011
- Executives typically pay more attention to CM
- CMs often attempt to distinguish top performers from avg. performers.
- CMs frequently include how the Cs progress with E level.
- CMs are usually directly linked to business objectives
- CMs typically developed top down (start with executives) rather than bottom up (start with line employees).
- CMs may consider future job requirements either directly or indirectly.
- CMs may be presented in a manner that facilitates ease of use (e.g., org-specific language, pictures, or schematics that facilitate memorableness).
- Finite number of Cs are usually applied across multiple functions or job families.
- CMs are frequently used to align the HR systems.
- CMs are often an OD intervention that seeks broad org. change as opposed to a simple data collection effort.
The practice of competency modeling (Shippman)
Definition: “Practice of identifying the characteristics or attributes that are needed for effective job performance”
Lists 17 ways that competency modeling and job analysis can be compared (largely summed up in Sacket & Laczo (2003)
o Focus/breadth of analysis
o Unit of analysis (attributes, tasks; individuals, organizations)
o Prescriptive or descriptive in nature
Also suggests that competency modeling tends to be popular not because it does so many things that job analysis doesn’t do, but because it clearly ties organization vision and objectives to the model, providing face validity; it is also popular, so managers like it
What is competency modeling?
- The difference is level of analysis; CM broad human attributes while JA is usually KSAs. Problems – mapping competencies in behavioral terms, don’t have straightforward behavioral referents in prescribed job tasks.
- Worker focused, research driven by practice rather than theory; problems with straightforward behavioral referent in prescribed job tasks
- I/O is lagging behind the business world (big surprise)…competency modeling is a business buzzword but we don’t even know what it is! (Therese: Research is driven by practice rather than theory!)
- Confusion and disagreement about what competencies are and how they should be measured.
Examples of models of job competency
- Tett et al. (2000): taxonomy of 53 competencies under 9 general areas: traditional functions, task orientation, dependability, open-mindedness, emotional control, communication, developing self and others, occupational acumen, and concerns.
- Borman and Brush (1993): 187 behaviors mapping onto 18 dimensions, which map onto 4 broad dimensions: leadership and supervision, interpersonal relations and communication, technical behaviors and mechanics of management, useful behaviors and skills
- Kurz and Bartram (2002): many tiers but 8 broad competency factors: g, Big Five, need for achievement and need for power.
How is WA, JA, CM different?
• Regardless of what you call it (work analysis/job analysis/competency modeling), orgs./research is moving toward a broader, more flexible definition of the job or role being described.
o Includes worker attributes
o Tied to org. objectives
o Rigorous methodology
• The method or “type” of job analysis used depends on what the information will be used for.
o Something that tied HR practices together org.-wide and is tied to companies overall mission, goals, vision, values = competency modeling
o Developing a new position = strategic job analysis
o Cross-job comparisons = work analysis
What is a competency? (we have difficulty pinpointing the def.)
Successful performance of a task/activity or adequate knowledge of certain domain knowledge skill
KSAOs that the org needs to drive it’s strategy/ innovation
Competencies can be thought of as KSAOs applicable to multiple jobs (org bound instead of job bound) <– i like this one
Future of CM
- Increasingly used as orgs continue to flatten
- JA sometimes viewed as a mundane technical activity that is merely part of the critical path toward developing some other really useful applications
- Pay attention to strategic and future-oriented needs of organizations
- To use JA, HR depts. should identify what is common across jobs and use as a platform
- Perhaps combine CM and JA?
- CM should use JA’s empirical tools
- Integrate technical or functional competencies into the CM model
- There should be practice guidelines for both JA and CM
- No single type of descriptor content (ie competencies, KSAOs) is best suited for all purposes
The Skinny Man Loves Salad
Sanchez and Levine, 2001
Type Source Method Level Summarizing, combining, disseminating
Is competency modeling a replacement for job analysis?
Both perspectives
- Yes, job analysis is too time consuming, costly, and often inaccurate (Sanchez & Levine, 1999). Additionally, task based job analyses are unable to capture the changing nature of work, whereas competency models are better able to handle this issue (Lawler, 1994; Sackett & Laczo, 2003).
- No, competency modeling is, in many ways, very similar to a worker-oriented job analysis where the fundamental KSAOs are identified (Sackett & Laczo, 2003; Sanchez & Levine, 2001). Additionally, competency modeling is considerably less rigorous and often fails to achieve the levels of reliability and validity attained by job analytic methods (Lievens, Sanchez, & DeCorte, 2004; Schippmann, et al., 2000).
To what extent are competencies different from the traditional KSAOs identified in JA
- Competencies identified at the individual job level are often very similar in nature to the KSAOs identified during a worker-oriented job analysis.
- However, competencies identified at the organization level (“core competencies”) are more akin to organizational culture, mission, and goals than to KSAOs identified through job analysis.
Can competencies developed in one org. be used in another org?
Both perspectives
• Yes, competency profiles are useful for the same position across organizations (Mason & Lin, 2008).
• No, competencies should be carefully constructed for each individual position; otherwise they have the potential to be inaccurate (Harvey, 2008).
