Week 2, Job Analysis, Key Terms

Question 1

Job Analysis

Answer 1

Objective of job analysis is to define each job in terms of the behaviors necessary to perform it

Deeper understanding of individual jobs and their requirements

Firm basis on which to make personnel decisions

Question 2

Uses of Job Analysis

Answer 2

Job Description
Job Classification
Selection
Performance Appraisal
Training
Safety
Legal Requirements

Question 3

Job Analysis Elements

Answer 3

Final Job Analyses reports are comprised of two major elements:

Job Descriptions (Task Oriented) - specify the tasks and the physical and environmental characteristics of the work to be done.

Job Specifications (Person Oriented) - personal characteristics necessary to perform a job (KSAOs / Competencies)

Question 4

Job Analysis Terminology

Answer 4

Element - the smallest unit into which work can be divided without analyzing separate motions and mental processes
Ex. removing a saw from a tool box

Task - a distinct work activity carried out for a distinct purpose
Ex. running a specific computer program (excel spreadsheet calculation)

Duty - includes a large segment of the work performed by an individual and may include a number of tasks.
Ex. conducting interviews

Position - consists of one or more duties performed by a given individual in a given firm (1 person fills a position)

Job - a group of positions that are similar in their significant duties (a group of positions)

Occupation - a group of similar jobs found in different organizations at different times
Ex. electricians, machinists…

Question 5

Defining the Job

Answer 5

Task requirements - in many cases the characteristics of a job are “givens” to employees.

The I/O psychologist job is to decide what data to collect, who to collect it from, and how to collect it.

With this information the job analyst produces a job description
written statement of what the jobholder actually does & and how he or she does it

Task requirements - in many cases the characteristics of a job are “givens” to employees.

The I/O psychologist job is to decide what data to collect, who to collect it from, and how to collect it.

With this information the job analyst produces a job description
written statement of what the jobholder actually does & and how he or she does it

Question 6

Elements of a job description

Answer 6

Job title - facilitates reporting to government agencies

Job activities - description of tasks performed

Working conditions - heat, light, noise level, hazardous conditions

Social environment - # of individuals in the work group, amount of interpersonal contact

Question 7

Typical Job Description

Answer 7

City of Glade Point

Job Title: Patrol Officer
Police Department

General Statement of Job
Under general supervision performs, general duty law enforcement work to protect lives, property and rights of the public for the City Police Department. Work involves answering complaint calls and patrolling the city in an official vehicle, or on foot to deter crime or apprehend violators or suspects; and investigating and securing crime scenes. Employee is also responsible for serving legal papers, and testifying in court. The employee is subject to the usual hazards of law enforcement. Reports to the Police Sergeant and other superior officers.
Specific Duties
Investigates accidents;performs first aid; secures and clears scenes; directs traffic; detains persons in violation of traffic infractions

Inspects troublesome areas and checks security of business establishments, answers complaint calls; interviews witnesses; interrogates suspects

Minimum Training and Experience
Graduation from High School, with 1 to 2 years of law enforcement experience

Special Requirements
Certification as a police officer by the Criminal Justice Training Section of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Possession of a valid Florida driver’s license.

Minimum Qualifications or Standards Required
To Perform Essential Job Functions
Must be able to operate a variety of machinery and equipment including firearms, restraint devices, two-way radio, personal computer. Must be physically able to operate a motor vehicle. Work may involve walking, standing, running, or physical confrontation.

Question 8

Criticisms of job descriptions

Answer 8

They do not take job dynamics into account

Work very well for psychomotor jobs, but are less effective with service or managerial jobs

Unless a specific future purpose serves as a basis for the kind of information collected, most descriptions will be incomplete

Question 9

Job specifications

Answer 9

Those KSAO’s deemed necessary to perform a job

Job specifications should indicate the minimally acceptable standards for selection

The objective of JS is to determine the personal characteristics (educational background, vocational training) that are valid for screening & selection

Question 10

Job analysis information

Answer 10

Job description are valid to the extent that they accurately represent job content and conditions of employment.

Job specifications are valid to the extent that persons possessing the personal characteristics believed necessary for successful job performance perform more effectively on the jobs than individuals lacking such personal characteristics.

Job analyses must be updated periodically

The dynamics of a particular job may change

Think about the changes that have taken place in most professions, especially high tech areas

Need to determine the “half-life” of a job

Question 11

Obtaining job information

Answer 11

Numerous method exist for describing jobs (and they differ widely)

Several methods should be always be used in conjunction

Produces a comprehensive picture of job duties, responsibilities, and behaviors

Reviewing Records/Archival data
Direct observation
Performing the job
Interview
SME Panels (Focus Groups)
Questionnaires
Critical Incidents
Diaries/Experience sampling
Cognitive Task Analysis

Question 12

Cognitive Task Analysis (CTA)

Answer 12

Attempts to understand the mental activities used by experts in completing the tasks being analyzed

Used to dig out knowledge and skill

Interviewing

Verbal report methods (protocol)

Diagramming methods (Path goal diagrams, concept mapping)

Emphasizes cognition (vs. behavior)

Analyzes expertise and learning (vs. performance)

Evaluates interrelationships among knowledge elements

Accounts for individual differences (equifinality)

Question 13

A Typical Job Analysis Process

Answer 13

Step 1 O*NET !!

Step 2 - Observation

Step 3 Focus Group

Step 4 JA Survey

Step 5 Document and Report

Question 14

Step 1 O*NET !!

Answer 14

Occupational Information Network
A federally sponsored system of job and career data.

http://online.onetcenter.org/

Enables the description of any job in the economy in terms of standard content domains

Department of Labor designed O*NET to replace Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT)

O*NET is both a product and a system
Product: A single universe database that uses a common language for presenting occupational information about the work and the worker across all major occupations
System: A network of organizations improving, enhancing, and disseminating the information database

Designed to identify and describe worker characteristics and transferable skills by cataloging key components of occupations across jobs

Question 15

Advantages of O*NET’s Database

Answer 15

All occupations described on same set of common dimensions, allowing comparisons across jobs

More than 900 distinct jobs types are profiled

Expectation that 1,200 + jobs ultimately will be profiled (enables benchmarking)

Most component dimensions have well-developed, somewhat anchored scales

“Crosswalks” to existing government sponsored occupational classification systems and labor market data

Most government occupational reporting systems are standardized on O*NET classification #s

Eliminates the need to maintain multiple data bases

https://www.onetonline.org/link/details/19-3032.00

Question 16

Step 2 - Observation

Answer 16

Barebones minimum…

Get an orientation (3 hours minimum), which focuses on the job functions of the employees

Best to split it up over 2 days so you can observe a broad range of behavior and situations

Behavior and incumbents must be representative

Can include listening to phone interactions, examining e-mails…

Behavioral observations (issue of obtrusiveness)

May start in a narrative form by several JA analysts

Common responses form a behavioral checklist

Validated by SMEs

Analysts trained in behavioral observation (analogous to frame of reference training)

Question 17

Step 3 Focus Group

Answer 17

Pre-work

Describe purpose to the group

Develop task statements

Group task statements into job duties

Develop list of KSAs necessary for the job

Discuss critical incidents

Question 18

Task Statements

Answer 18

What are we looking for??
Specific tasks of a job
Tasks that are essential to the job

What to think about…
A complete work day – or the typical day of an incumbent
What tasks does a job incumbent do once or twice a week? A month?

Task statements must have:

Implied subject (employee/manager)
Verb telling the function being performed
Object of the verb (data, people, work aids/tools)
The purpose of the task, describe why the task is completed, using “to” or “in order to”

Examples:
A basic task may be “Answers all incoming calls in order to understand the needs of the caller and route the call to the appropriate personnel.”

Another task may be “Calculates the amount of debt and funds available to plan method of payoff and estimate time for debt liquidation.”

Question 19

Job Duties

Answer 19

Job duties are broad categories that include clusters of similar job tasks

Think about tasks that “go together” and construct a job function (or duty) that the position is responsible for

Question 20

Worker Traits

Answer 20

For each Job Duty, we need to the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) that are needed to complete the tasks successfully

Other models emphasize competencies rather than KSAs
Used greatly with management jobs
KSAs may be specific to a job, while competencies generalize to many jobs (leadership)

1. Knowledge - Degree to which an employee has mastered a technical body of material (declarative)

Examples:
Knowledge of accounting principles

Knowledge of administrative procedures

2. Skills– The capacity to perform tasks that are acquired or developed (procedural) through training or experience
   Examples:
   Using a computer
   Customer service
3. Ability – The capacity to carry out physical and mental acts required by a job’s tasks, (attributes of an individual)
   Example:
   The ability to lift 50 pounds
   Ability to speak clearly

Question 21

Competencies

Answer 21

Competence – standard of performance is reached

Competency – the behavior by which the performance is achieved

One term describes what a person does while the other describes how they do it.

“underlying characteristic of a person that results in effective performance on the job” (Klemp, 1980)

Strategic focus of HR
Sanchez & Levine (2009)

Question 22

Critical Incidents

Answer 22

Critical incidents give an idea of how the job should be performed

They show specific job behaviors necessary for successful job performance

Set maximal boundaries for job performance

Have the SMEs on the panel think about the tasks and KSAs they’ve developed and think of examples of especially great and / or poor performance

To be critical, an incident must occur where:

Purpose of the act is clear
Consequences of the act are definite
The act is crucial to either outstanding or poor performance

The critical incident must include:

The incident and setting
What the worker did that was so effective or ineffective
The consequences of the employee’s actions
Whether the consequences were within the employee’s control

Question 23

Step 4 JA Survey

Answer 23

Data gathered during the focus groups should be used to design survey items & administered to job incumbents

Items on the survey correspond to the task statements identified in the focus groups

Respondents rate each task statement on two dimensions; Difficulty* and Criticality of Error

Question 24

Step 5 Document and Report

Answer 24

The final deliverable is a report with job descriptions and specifications.

The key to good work in I/O psychology is to document everything!

Good record keeping makes writing detailed reports much easier

Protects against future legal issues (if you are doing it right!)

Question 25

Distortion of JA information

Answer 25

Not surprising that SMEs often inflate the importance of their job
Influence compensation decisions

Landy reported that roughly ½ of SMEs reported engaging in tasks that were not part of their job.

Morgeson (2004) examined inflation by including bogus statements in a JA & found significant inflation

More likely to occur for ability statements than task statements

More likely to occur in competency based analyses