Organisational - Job analysis

Question 1

The Hawthorne Studies and Motivational Issues tested a range of outcomes on worker productivity. What did they find?

As a result, describe the Hawthorne Effect.

Have their findings been critiqued?

Answer 1

They found that both illumination and dimmed lighting increased performance

The Hawthorne effect states that worker productivity increases just by monitoring the workers.

Some have not been able to replicate their findings and state their research methodologies were not sound.

Question 2

Historically, organisational psychology was involved in recruitment for the ______, and ______ due to the increase in business and technical enterprise

Answer 2

military

training

Question 3

What is job analysis?

Answer 3

The procedure for determining the duties and skill requirements of a job and the kind of person who should be hired for it.

Question 4

Information from job analysis is used to develop job _______ and job ________, the starting point for many future steps in recruitment, evaluation, etc

Answer 4

job descriptions

job specifications

Question 5

What are job descriptions?

Answer 5

A list of what the job entails - the tasks involved

Question 6

What are job specifications?

Answer 6

A list of the human requirements needed for the job - what kind of person to hire

Question 7

List the 4 reasons why job analysis is important

Answer 7

1. making decisions around recruiting and selection (what is they are colourblind?)
2. training requirements for new recruits
3. performance appraisal and promotion (what sort of skills
4. wage and salary decisions (risky job - higher education - more compensation?)

Question 8

The nine main steps in Job Analysis are…

Answer 8

1. Identify purpose
2. Who to include
3. Methods to use
4. Communicate the project (avoids suspicion/anxiety)
5. Collect all relevant materials (questionnaires, etc)
6. Analyse the job
7. Write up/integrate data
8. Review
9. Feedback outcomes

Question 9

2. Who to include

Who are Subject Matter Experts?

Answer 9

Person who has direct, up-to-date experience with the job for a long enough time to be familiar with all of it’s tasks. These include, the job incumbent, the supervisor or a trained job analyst.

Question 10

3. Methods to use

When considering what methods to choose, it is important to remember that every method has _______ and _______. Hence, _______ methods are preferred, but also consider what is most ______ for the purpose.

Answer 10

strengths and weaknesses
multiple
appropriate

Question 11

3. Methods to use

Written materials involve…

Answer 11

• previous job descriptions - always ensure it’s contemporary and relevant (esp with increase in technology)

Question 12

3. Methods to use

A Position Analysis Questionnaire is an example of a _______ _______. It is a ______ questionnaire that analyses various jobs in terms of the _____ and _____ needed

Answer 12

standardised measure
structures
skills and tasks

Question 13

3. Methods to use

When a job analyst performs a particular job or part thereof to get a first-hand understanding of it, this is known as…

Answer 13

job participation

Question 14

3. Methods to use

Describe interviews as a method and a disadvantage of this method. How can you mitigate this issue?

Answer 14

Ask the SMEs about the duties, skills, education, previous experience required. Also physical and mental demands, etc

HOWEVER can be biased so good to interview multiple people.

Question 15

3. Methods to use

Name some advantages and disadvantages of job diaries and activity logs

Answer 15

Adv
- provides detailed account of their job, tasks, day-to-day activities

Disadv

• time consuming
• people don’t fill it out regularly and have to go back and recall

Question 16

Inherent requirements for a job are the ______ required skills for a job. That is, a task or skill that is ______ to the job

Answer 16

universal

fundamental

Question 17

3. Methods to use

List adv and disadv of observations

Answer 17

adv

• provides detailed information on job (can directly see tasks and skills required)
  (e. g - record every 15 mins what the police officer is doing)
• observer can learn culture and jargon

disadv

• must ensure multiple observers, multiple areas, times, etc (test re-test reliability)
• costly
• time-consuming (what about night shifts?)
• observed participants behave differently
• sometimes difficult to ascertain what is required for the task by observation (eg - how heavy is the fireman’s hose?)
• Best participants are put forward. Less than ideal participants would not volunteer
• some critical/infrequent tasks cannot be observed (eg - dangerous tasks)

Question 18

3. Methods to use

List adv and disadv of surveys - determines frequency and importance of abilities

Answer 18

adv

• large, representative samples
• can inform about infrequent events
• anonymous

disadv

• potential for bias as it’s self-report
• does not allow for qualitative measures
• information is limited by the set questions - very structed so cannot probe deeper

Question 19

3. Methods to use

List adv and disadv of focus groups

Answer 19

adv

• more about qualitative assessment of their own perceptions - allows for open-ended feedback
• subjective information enhanced understanding of findings from structured methods such as surveys

disadv

• small sample sizes
• choose carefully who is in what focus group - influence of more senior officials on junior ones.

Question 20

Name a few critiques of job analysis

Answer 20

1. Jobs change over time, so should be conducted regularly
2. Jobs are less well-defined now as they used to be - “work analysis” is often a preferred term as it focuses on tasks and skills which can be transferred between jobs