Week 2: Job Analysis & Individual Differences Flashcards
Definition job analysis
‘defines and describes a job’
- Provides objective assessment and testing
- Ensures each job is clearly defined
- Allows a ‘fit’ between an employee and a job
What are the functions of a job analysis?
- Classifying jobs
- Classifying workers
- Generating job descriptions;
- Conducting performance appraisal
- Identifying training needs
- Job restructuring
- Staff planning
What are the outputs from a job analysis?
- A job description is used to inform job applicants/incumbents of their core duties and responsibilities (Kalliath et al, page 37).
- A job specification details the _minimum acceptable skills a_nd characteristics required by the incumbent to perform the job effectively (Kalliath et al, page 37).
- A job evaluation describes th_e monetary value of a specific jo_b within an organisation (Kalliath et al, page 38).
Compare Job vs. Worker Orientations
•Job-oriented: examines the tasks performed; the duties, functions & responsibilities of the worker
•Development of task statements: concise expressions of tasks
•Rating of task
•Statements by SME’s
•Worker-oriented: examines the human attributes needed to perform the job successfully
•Development of KSAO statements
•Rating of KSAO statements by SME’s
How are the necessary KSAO’s identified?
Process of KSAO identification:
•Involvement of SME (=incumbents/supervisors) for input
•SME look at important & necessary criteria, based on 4 criteria:
- *1.** If it is necessary for new workers
- *2.** If it is practical to expect
- *3.**The degree of trouble likely if the KSAO is absent
- *4.** If the KSAO distinguishes superior workers from the average
How are job analyses conducted?
- Question SMEs to gather insights into different tasks
- Observe how tasks are performed, and then record these tasks which are subjective and objective aspects of the job
- Produce a list of common tasks of a job and then Survey incumbents to determine if these are accurate.
Job Observation
- Useful for new or difficult to assess jobs
- Considers the job environment
- Need to consider: influence of being observed; period of observation; number of workers observed; data collection method
Job Participation
- Analyst performs the job
- Need to consider: influence of presence; time involved; risks; data collection method
•Job-oriented
•Functional job analysis
•Job element method
•Task analysis
•Worker-oriented
•Critical incident technique
•Position Analysis questionnaire
•Mixed methods
•Combination job analysis method
•Multi-method job design questionnaire
Define Critical Incident Technique
- Job analysis method which rates the behaviours exhibited within a job-specific situation
- Past behaviour = job competence and likely future behaviour
- Currently used in selection and performance management
- Establishes a collection of “good”, “average”, and “inadequate” behaviours
Name the six steps involved in Critical Incident Technique
1.Defining the objective of the analysis
2.Identifying and writing dimensions to assess performance
3.Generation of critical incidents
•Specific
•Observable
•Context
•Consequences
4.Retranslating the incidents
5.Forming categories
6.Reviewing the incidents
PAQ
What is the Position Analysis Questionnaire
•Self-report questionnaire
•Consists of job activities structured around six categories of work behaviour that are common to most jobs
1.Information input
2.Mental processes
3.Work output
4.Relationships with other people
5.Job content
6.Other job characteristics
Who is better suited for job analysis:
job analysts or job incumbents?
Job analysts rather than incumbents produce the more reliable data;
What is more reliable:
- specific data
- generalised job analysis
Specific task data (rather than generalised job analysis methods) produce reliable data.
What are surface level differences, what deep level differences?
Surface level differences:
–> demographic characteristics
•age
•gender
•nationality
•ethnicity
Deep level differences:
•self-concept
•personality
•emotions
Define self-concept
‘an organised collection of beliefs about the self, which refers to the perception of oneself as a person with physical appearance, desires, values, goals, personality, abilities and social roles’. (Markus and Wurf)
How can the self-concept be influenced?
- Comparisons with others
- Feedback
- Cultural values.
Name three personality tests
- Myers-Briggs Type Indicator;
- The Big Five model;
- 16 PF
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
Explain the model
measure of preferences, not aptitude or ability.
•based on four pairs representing ‘psychological opposites’:
•Extroverted (E) and Introverted (I);
•Sensing (S) and Intuition (N);
•Thinking (T) and Feeling (F);
•Judging (J) and Perceiving (P)
•classifies people into 1 of 16 personality types
Evidence for the use of the MBTI
Often used in career counseling, training and personal development.
Criticisms
a.Value of classifying into types
b.Validity of the four dimensions
c.Lack of differentiation between high and low scorers. In the example both classed as ‘E’
Four Core Self-Evaluation Traits
Define Self-Esteem
- refers to one’s overall assessment of one’s worth as a person.
- a global self assessment
- high self esteem = persistent in the face of adversity
- low self esteem = conform to others’ beliefs and expectations.
Self-Efficacy
- ‘Belief in one’s capabilities to organise and execute the course of action required to produce given attainments’. (Bandura)
- task specific
- affected by past experience
- can be trained
What are the four sources of self-efficacy?
- Enactive Mastery (performance outcomes)
- Vicarious Experience (Self-modeling)
- Verbal Persuasion (eg. verbal encouragement)
- physiological arousal
