Work Analysis Flashcards
What is work analysis?
A formal procedure where a job is defined in terms of the activities performed and attributes needed to succeed (a very important 1st step)
Why is it called “work analysis” instead of “job analysis”?
While jobs are often whats being analyzed, the way jobs are structured are very subjective in the modern world
What is a Subject Matter Expert (SME)?
A person who knows a lot about a topic and acts as a qualified information source
What is a job incumbent?
Someone who currently has the job
What are the 3 most common sources of info in work analysis?
Job incumbents, Supervisors, and Work analysts
Incumbents and supervisors are best for description, while work analysts compare the relationships between a set of jobs
What are the 4 work-related concepts in work analysis?
(Most to least important) Task, Position, Job, and Job family
What is a Task in work analysis?
Lowest level, the most basic component of a job (like typing for a secretary)
What is a Position in work analysis?
A set of tasks performed by 1 employee (typing, filing and scheduling)
What is a Job in work analysis?
A group of similar positions in an organization(secretary, receptionist, and data entry)
What is a Job Family in work analysis?
A group of similar jobs (clerical job family)
What is a Task-oriented procedure?
A set of operations in work analysis designed to identify important or common tasks as to understand the work being performed
What is a Functional Job Analysis?
A type of task-oriented work analysis where the content of jobs are described into People, Data, and Things presented in a hierarchy
What 2 types of info are obtained in FJAs?
1)What a worker does
2)How a task is performed
What is a Worker oriented procedure?
Operations in work analysis designed to identify important or frequently used human attributes as a way of understanding how a job is performed
What are the 4 categories of W-OPs?
Knowledge(K)-specific information needed
Skills(S)-Proficiencies that can be enhanced through practice
Abilities(A)-Attributes that people are born with and are generally stable over time
and Other(O)-Anything else required in the job
What is a Linkage analysis?
Looking at the relationship between task and worker oriented procedure
Define Work content, Work Context, and Work Attribute
Content-What does a worker do (work activities)
Context- What environment is this work performed in
Attribute-What is required from employees in this job?
What re the 3 procedures for collecting information for a work analysis?
Interview, Direct observation, and a structured questionnaire
What is Taxonomy?
Classifying objects so you can better understand them
What is a Position-Analysis Questionnaire?
A method of work analysis that assesses a job based on a 195-itemed questionnaire.
What are the 6 major categories of a position analysis questionnaire?
Information input, mental processes, work output, relationships with others, job context, and other
What is Competency Modeling?
Process to determine human characteristics (competencies) needed to perform successfully within an organization
What’s the difference between competency modeling and work analysis?
Competency modeling does not consider the work performed, only tying attributes to the values of the organization, and KSAOs are very specific to each position, while competencies are a lot more generalizable
