Topic 3 - Job Analysis Flashcards
What does the phrase “If you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” illustrate in the context of reward systems?
It illustrates how employees and organizations exchange value—employees create value through their work, and organizations provide value through reward systems.
Why is Job Analysis fundamental to reward systems?
Job Analysis helps understand how work is organized, defines the knowledge, skills, and abilities required, determines Fair Labor Standards Act status, and informs performance-based pay systems.
What is Job Analysis?
Job Analysis is the process of systematically analyzing positions to understand how employees create value and organize reward systems.
List the four key implications of Job Analysis for compensation systems.
- Basis for understanding work organization.
- Links job knowledge, skills, and abilities to reward strategy.
- Determines Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) status (exempt vs. non-exempt).
- Helps assess effectiveness of performance-based pay systems.
What is the first step in the Job Analysis process?
Identify the job being analyzed, including obtaining existing job descriptions and labels provided by those requesting the analysis.
Why is observing and interviewing leadership an important step in Job Analysis?
It helps understand how the job interfaces with other jobs and its role in the organization.
What is the purpose of interviewing job incumbents during Job Analysis?
To gather detailed information about tasks, duties, and responsibilities, using structured questions and multiple incumbents of varying experience levels.
What happens after consolidating information into a job description draft?
The draft is reviewed by subject matter experts, feedback is obtained, revisions are made, and mechanisms for updating the description (e.g., annual reviews) are established.
Reward Systems are mechanisms for exchanging value among how many parties?
one
three
two
four
two
Reward Systems are also mechanisms for exchanging value between two parties.
Job Analysis is:
The process of developing an organizational chart for an organization
The process of understanding how many jobs are in an organization
The process of systematically analyzing the work done in organizations
The process of adding the sum value of salaries throughout the organization
The process of systematically analyzing the work done in organizations
Job analysis is designing a process to understand how to _______________________.
create value
create financial success
create jobs
create career growth
create value
Organizations provide value for employees through ____________________.
employee development
company perks
jobs
reward systems
reward systems
Employees create value for organizations through _________________.
work
employee referrals
work
What is the primary purpose of job analysis methods?
To analyze jobs in an organization and achieve a comprehensive understanding of their content, skills needed, and value.
What are the advantages of the Traditional Interview method in job analysis?
It allows exploration and clarification questions, yielding a complete and detailed understanding of the job.
What are the disadvantages of the Traditional Interview method?
It produces large amounts of information that can be hard to synthesize and is time-consuming for both job incumbents and analysts.
How does the Panel Interview method differ from the Traditional Interview?
Multiple job incumbents and analysts collaborate in a group setting to explore agreement and contradictions in their responses.
What is a key advantage of the Panel Interview method?
It allows job incumbents to synthesize information themselves, ensuring accuracy and clarity.
What are the challenges of using the Panel Interview method?
It requires significant time and careful facilitation to avoid discussions being driven by politics rather than job substance.
What is a Custom Questionnaire in job analysis?
A set of open-ended and ratings-based questions created within the organization to collect job information from incumbents.
What are the advantages of using Custom Questionnaires?
They reach more incumbents efficiently and provide generalizable results with easily summarized ratings.
What are the disadvantages of Custom Questionnaires?
Creating them is time-intensive and may not be justified in organizations with few incumbents per job.
What is a Generic Questionnaire, and when is it used?
A standardized set of questions purchased from a third party, used to efficiently gather general job information.
What is the main disadvantage of Generic Questionnaires?
They may lack the level of detail needed to understand specific job nuances in an organization.
How can job databases assist in job analysis?
They provide general job descriptions that can serve as a starting point before conducting more labor-intensive analyses.
What is O*NET, and how is it useful?
An online database from the Department of Labor that provides exhaustive job information, including tasks, skills, and contextual factors.
What is the Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH), and what information does it provide?
A Bureau of Labor Statistics resource offering occupation-level information, salary data, and expected changes in job demand.
What are the two types of observation techniques used in job analysis?
Unobtrusive Observation: The analyst observes employees with minimal interaction.
Interactive Observation: The analyst interacts with employees to inquire about their tasks and results.
What are the advantages and limitations of observation techniques in job analysis?
Advantages: Provide firsthand insights into job tasks.
Limitations: Some jobs are hard to physically observe, requiring a mix of observation and interview techniques.
Traditional Interview
The job analyst asks the job incumbent preset questions about the content, skills needed, and time spent on activities in the job.
Custom Questionnaires
A series of questions that job incumbents complete on their own.
Generic Questionnaires
Purchased from a third party, they use general questions to which incumbents respond using scaled ratings.
Which of the following would not be part of a traditional job interview?
Skills Needed
Time Spent on Activities
Compensation
Preset Questions
Compensation
Using the Traditional Interview method, the job analyst asks the job incumbent preset questions about the content, skills needed, and time spent on activities in the job.
Name one disadvantage to a panel interview?
Not Part of the Job
Not Needed
Length of Time
Too Much Work
Length of Time
The disadvantages are the time requirements and that such discussions need to be well facilitated to keep them on track to avoid driving the discussion with politics rather than the job.
A custom questionnaire is:
Questions that the job incumbent completes
Irrelevant
Questions that only one incumbent will be asked
Extra questions that the interviewer asks
Questions that the job incumbent completes
A series of questions that job incumbents complete on their own.
What is a generic questionnaire?
Questions developed from senior management
Questions developed from previous interviews
Questions brought in by a third party
Irrelevant
Questions brought in by a third party
Generic Questionnaires are purchased from a third party and use general questions to which incumbents respond using scaled ratings.
True or False. Using each type of question presents both strengths and weaknesses in the interview process.
True
Why is it important to choose participants carefully for a job analysis?
To ensure accurate information by including incumbents with varying experience levels and managers who can provide a broader perspective on the job.
What is the risk of involving only experienced employees in a job analysis?
They may neglect to report parts of their jobs that seem routine or obvious to them.
Why should novice employees also be included in job analysis?
They may provide a fresh perspective but might struggle to see the bigger picture of the job.
Why is it important to involve managers or supervisors in job analysis?
To ensure jobs are understood both as they are currently defined and as they should ideally be defined.
How does involving key personnel throughout the organization in job analysis help
It increases the credibility of the process and ensures buy-in from employees and management for using the results effectively.
What can happen if employees or management do not “buy in” to job analysis results?
The usefulness of the data can be limited, reducing its impact on reward decisions and organizational improvements.
What is the focus of job analysis regarding job content and performance?
It aims to describe the work involved in the job, not evaluate the performance of specific employees.
Why should personal impressions of job incumbents be avoided in job analysis?
To ensure that the importance of the job is not influenced by the incumbent’s characteristics, such as laziness or charisma.
How can job analysis contribute to job design?
By providing data that helps organizations systematically construct jobs to be more functional, efficient, and motivational.