Chapter 5 Human Resource Planning 145
and integrity of these virtual human resource systems. The challenges are immense, but the organizational consequences can be invaluable.
Sources: Prepared by James Phillips using information from “2006 HR Service Delivery Survey Report—Executive Summary,” Towers Perrin (http://www.towersperrin.com accessed on January 28, 2008); Samuel Greengard (August 1998), “Humana Takes Online Recruiting to a Hire Level,”
Workforce, p. 75; Scott Hays (March 1999), “Reach Out to Expats via the Web,” Workforce, pp. 46–47;
Gary Meyer (April 1999), “Softshoe Select: An Engine for Internet-Based Recruiting,” HR Magazine, pp. 112–16; Steven McCormick (October 1998), “The Virtual HR Organization,” Management Accounting, pp. 48–51; Linda Stroh, Sven Grasshoff, Andre Rude, and Nancy Carter (April 1998),
“Integrated HR Systems Help Develop Global Leaders,” HR Magazine, pp. 14–17.
Discussion Questions
1. How has the emergence of the Internet changed the way that organizations plan and manage their human resource needs?
2. What kinds of future human resource activities might we see developed over the next several years?
3. What are the legal and ethical issues surrounding the use of the Internet by individual employees for human resource activities? Are you concerned about violations of your own privacy because of these kinds of Web applications?
4. What specialized skills will the future HRIS professional need in order to effectively manage an organization’s virtual human resource function?
Notes
1. Bill Macaleer and Jones Shannon (January 2003), “Does HR Planning Improve Business Perfor- mance?” Industrial Management, Vol. 45, Iss. 1, pp. 14–21; Ronald C. Page and David M. Van De Voort (1989), “Job Analysis and HR Planning,” in Wayne F. Cascio (ed.), Human Resource Planning Employment & Placement (Washington, DC: Bureau of National Affairs), pp. 34–72.2. Kristina J. Bartsch (November 2009), “The Employment Projections for 2008–18,” Monthly Labor Review, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
3. Steven Manderscheid and Mitchell Kusy (2005), “How to Design Strategy with No Dust—Just Results!” Organizational Development Journal, Vol. 23, Iss. 2, pp. 92–71; Alan Scharf (January–
February 1991), “Secrets of Strategic Planning: Responding to the Opportunities of Tomorrow,”
Industrial Management, pp. 9–10.
4. Brian E. Becker and Mark A. Huselid (2006), “Strategic Human Resources Management:
Where Do We Go From Here?” Journal of Management, Vol. 32, Iss. 6, pp. 898–925; Bob Kane and Ian Palmer (1995), “Strategic HRM or Managing the Employment Relationship,” Interna- tional Journal of Manpower, pp. 6–21.
5. Kurt Fischer (2003), “Transforming HR Globally: The Center of Excellence Approach,” Human Resource Planning, Vol. 26, Iss. 2, pp. 9–11; Patrick M. Wright (1998), “Strategy—HR Fit:
Does It Really Matter,” Human Resource Planning, pp. 56–57.
6. Wayne F. Cascio (2003), Managing Human Resources, 6th ed. (Boston: McGraw-Hill), p. 177;
Page and Van De Voort, “Job Analysis and HR Planning,” p. 62.
7. Kenneth J. Zula and Thomas J. Chermack (2007), “Human Capital Planning: A Review of Literature and Implications for Human Resource Development,” Human Resource Development Review, Vol. 6, Iss . 3, pp. 245–63; Simon Lam and John Schaubroeck (1998), “Integrating HR Planning and Organizational Strategy,” Human Resource Management Journal, pp. 5–19.
8. Susan Carey (September 17, 2010), “After Vote on Airline Merger, Real Work Starts,” The Wall Street Journal , p. B4.
9. Christian Zeller (2004), “North Atlantic Innovation Relations of Swiss Pharmaceuticals and the Proximities with Regional Biotech Arenas,” Economic Geography, Vol. 80, Iss. 1,
Chapter 5 Human Resource Planning 147 pp. 83–112; Sanjay Singh, Hugh Watson, and Richard Watson (May 2002), “EIS Support for the Strategic Management Process,” Decision Support Systems, pp. 71–85; William H. Davidson (Winter 1991), “The Role of Global Scanning in Business Planning,” Organization Dynamics, pp. 4–16.
10. Michael Nastanski (2004), “The Value of Active Scanning to Senior Executives: Insights from Key Decision-makers,” The Journal of Management Development, Vol. 23, Iss. 5/6, pp. 426–36.
11. F. A. Maljers (April 1990), “Strategic Planning and Intuition in Unilever,” Long Range Plan- ning, pp. 63–68.
12. Robert S. Duboff (2007), “The Wisdom of (Expert) Crowds,” Harvard Business Review, Vol. 85, Iss. 9, pp. 28–32; N. Dalkey (1969), The Delphi Method: An Experimental Study of Group Opinion (Santa Monica, CA: Rand).
13. For a comparison of these methods, see Andreas Graefe and J. Scott Armstrong (2011), “Com- paring Face-to-Face Meetings, Nominal Groups, Delphi and Prediction Markets on an Estima- tion Task,” International Journal of Forecasting , Vol. 27, Iss. 1, pp. 183–95.
14. J. Dana Clark, Michael J. Dotson, and Dinesh S. Dave (2010), “Developing Marketing Strate- gies for a Travel Destination in the USA Using the Nominal Group Technique,” International Journal of Management Practice , Vol. 4, Iss. 2, pp. 182–99.
15. Lynn E. Miller (2009), “Evidence-Based Instruction: A Classroom Experiment Comparing Nominal and Brainstorming Groups,” Organization Management Journal, Vol. 6, Iss. 4, 229–38;
Michael Finley (March 1992), “Belling the Bully,” HR Magazine, pp. 82–86.
16. Meko So and Lynn Thomas (2011), “Modelling the Profitability of Credit Cards by Markov Decision Processes,” European Journal of Operational Research , Vol. 212, Iss. 1, pp. 123–30;
P. Millard McClean (2007), “Where to Treat the Older Patient? Can Markov Models Help Us Better Understand the Relationship between Hospital and Community Cares?” Journal of the Operational Research Society, Vol. 58, Iss . 2, pp. 255–32; Michael Ransom and Ronald L.
Oaxaca (January 2005), “Intrafirm Mobility and Sex Differences in Pay,” Industrial & Labor Relations Review, Vol. 58, Iss. 2, pp. 219–37.
17. Robert Bickel (2006), Multilevel Analysis for Applied Research: It’s Just Regression! (New York: Gilford Press); Patricia Cohen, Jacob Cohen, Stephen G. West, and Leona S. Aiken (August 2002), Applied Multiple Regression/Correlation Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences, 3rd ed. (Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum); Neal W. Schmitt and Richard J. Klimoski (1991), Research Methods in Human Resources Management (Cincinnati, OH: South-Western), pp. 59–79.
18. Henry Mintzberg (January–February 1994), “The Fall and Rise of Strategic Planning,” Harvard Business Review, pp. 107–14.
19. Dennis Guessford, Albert Boynton, Jr., Robert Laudeman, and Joseph Giusti (June 1993),
“Tracking Job Skills Improves Performance,” Personnel Journal, pp. 109–14.
20. Tian Luo, Amar Mann, and Richard Holden (August 2010), “The Expanding Role of Temporary Help Services from 1990–2008,” Monthly Labor Review, Bureau of Labor Statistics; Moira Herbst (April 9, 2009), “America’s Hidden Crisis,” Bloomberg Businessweek Online (accessed on May 27, 2011).
21. Luo, Mann, and Holden, “The Expanding Role of Temporary Help Services from 1990–2008.”
22. Ibid.
23. Alison Wellner (March 2002), “Tapping a Silver Mine,” HR Magazine, pp. 26–32; Anne Fisher (September 30, 1996), “Wanted: Aging Baby-Boomers,” Fortune, p. 204.
24. Diane Cadrain (December 2007), “Employers Prepare to Keep, Not Lose, Baby Boomers,” HR Magazine, pp. 23–25; Roberta Fusaro (July–August 2001), “Needed: Experienced Workers,”
Harvard Business Review, pp. 20–21.
25. http://www.eeoc.gov.
26. Ibid.
27. Jonathan A. Segal (February 2006), “Time Is on Their Side,” HR Magazine, Vol. 51, Iss. 2, pp. 129–34; Robert J. Grossman (August 2003), “Are You Ignoring Older Workers?” HR
Magazine, Vol. 48, Iss. 8, pp. 40–46; Michael Barrier (March 2002), “An Age-Old Problem,”
HR Magazine, pp. 34–37.
28. Jeff D. Opdyke (September 15, 2004), “With Thousands of Pensions Closing, How Safe Is Yours?” The Wall Street Journal , p. D1; Betty Southard Murphy, Wayne E. Barlow, and Diane D. Hatch (May 1994), “GM Unlawfully Cuts Retiree Health Benefits,” Personnel Journal, pp. 37–38.
29. http://www.bls.gov.
30. Mortimer Zuckerman (January 22, 2010), “The Great Recession Continues,” The Wall Street Journal , p. A19.
31. Susan J. Wells (November 2008), “Layoff Aftermath,” HR Magazine , Vol. 53, Iss. 11, pp. 37–42.
32. Kenneth P. De Meuse, Thomas J. Bergmann, Paul A. Vanderheiden, and Catherine E. Roraff (2004), Journal of Managerial Issues, Vol. 16, Iss . 2, pp. 155–78; Victor B. Wayhan and Steve Werner (2000), “The Impact of Workforce Reductions on Financial Performance: A Longitudinal Perspective,” Journal of Management, Vol. 26, Iss. 2, pp. 341–63; Alan Downs (October 1995),
“The Truth about Layoffs,” Management Review, pp. 57–61.
33. Susan J. Wells, “Layoff Aftermath,” pp. 37–42.
34. Bill Roberts (May 2006), “New HR Systems on the Horizon,” HR Magazine, Vol. 51, Iss. 5, pp. 103–8; Alfred J. Walker (May 2001), Web-Based Human Resources (New York: McGraw- Hill/Irwin); Michael J. Kavanagh, Hal G. Gueutal, and Scott I. Tannenbaum (1990), Human Resource Information Systems: Development and Application (Boston: PWS-Kent), p. 29.
35. Bill Copeland (April 2004), “Making HR Your Business,” CA Magazine, Vol. 137, Iss. 3, pp. 45–47; Andrew Targowski and Satish Deshpande (2001), “The Utility and Selection of an HRIS,” Advances in Competitiveness Research, pp. 42–56.
36. Rao P. Chandra (December 2009), “Role of HRIS in Improving Modern HR Operations,”
Advances in Management , Vol. 2, Iss. 12, pp. 21–24.
37. Janet Wiscombe (December 2010), “Tata Consultancy Services,” Workforce Management , Vol. 89, Iss. 12, p. 18.
38. Charlene Solomon (June 1993), “Working Smarter: How HR Can Help,” Personnel Journal, pp. 54–64.
39. Larry Stevens (April 1993), “Résumé Scanning Simplifies Tracking,” Personnel Journal, pp. 77–79.
40. Dan Caterinicchia (February 2005), “University HR’s Self-Service Solution,” HR Magazine, Vol. 50, Iss. 2, pp. 105–10.
41. Erik Sherman (May 2005), “Use Technology to Stay in SOX Compliance,” HR Magazine, Vol. 50, Iss. 5, pp. 95–100; Jim Witschger (March 2005), “Praise for People-Trak,” Training &
Development, Vol. 59, Iss. 3, pp. 55–57; Jennifer Laabs (November 1993), “Electronic Campus Captures Apple’s Corporate Memory,” Personnel Journal, pp. 104–10; Kirk Anderson (March 1990), “Apple’s HRIS Changes How HR Works,” Computers in HR Management, pp. 14–23.
42. Christine Ellis (July 2001), “Sharing Best Practices Globally,” Training, Vol. 38, Iss. 7, pp. 32–39;
Jay F. Stright, Jr. (September 1993), “Strategic Goals Guide HRMS Development,” Personnel Journal, pp. 68–78.
43. Thomas D. Clark, Jr., Mary C. Jones, and Curtis P. Armstrong (September 2007), “The Dynamic Structure of Management Support Systems: Theory Development, Research Focus, and Direction,” MIS Quarterly, Vol. 31, Iss. 3, pp. 579–615; Doug Bartholomew (Octo- ber 2004), “Manufacturers Get Smart,” Industry Week, Vol. 253, Iss. 10, pp. 27–30; Jeretta Horn Nord and G. Daryl Nord (August 1995), “Executive Information Systems: A Study and Comparative Analysis,” Information Management, pp. 95–106.
44. Laura L. Randell (April–May 2008), “Separating the Wheat from the Chaff,” HR Professional , Vol. 25, Iss. 3, pp. 29–31; Ed Frauenheim (January 16, 2006), “Succession Planning,” Work- force Management, Vol. 85, Iss. 1, pp. 31–35; Steve Bates (April 2002), “Succession Planning Lags, APQC Survey Discovers,” HR Magazine, pp. 12–14.
45. Drew Robb (January 2006), “Succeeding with Succession,” HR Magazine, Vol. 51, Iss. 1, pp. 89–93; Zhiang Lin and Dan Li (February 2004), “The Performance Consequences of
Chapter 5 Human Resource Planning 149 Top Management Successions,” Group & Organization Management, Vol. 29, Iss. 1, pp. 32–66;
William Rothwell (May–June 2002), “Putting Success into Your Succession Planning,” Journal of Business Strategy, pp. 32–37.
46. “Staff Worries at Energy Firms” (February 20, 2008), The Wall Street Journal, Vol. 251, Iss. 41, p. B3.
47. Kurt Reisenberg (November 2005), “The Trouble with CFOs,” Harvard Business Review, Vol. 83, Iss. 11, pp. 19–21.
48. “The ROI of Succession Planning” (April 2006), HR Magazine , Vol. 51, Iss. 4, pp. 16–17;
Sheila Anne Feeney (August 2003), “Irreplaceable You,” Workforce Management, Vol. 82, Iss. 8, pp. 36–41.
49. William C. Byham (April 2008), “Flexible,” T 1 D , Vol. 62, Iss. 4, pp. 34–37.
50. Jennifer Reingold and Diane Brady (September 20, 1999), “Brain Drain,” BusinessWeek , pp. 112–26.
51. “Global CEO Turnover Set New Record in 2005, Booz Allen Hamilton Study Finds” (May 18, 2006), Business Wire , p. 1.
52. Jessica Marquez (May 2005), “Small Lapses Can Lead to Identity Theft,” Workforce Manage- ment, Vol. 84, Iss. 5, pp. 22–23; Robert Stambaugh (February 1990), “Protecting Employee Data Privacy,” Computers in HR Management, pp. 12–20.
53. See http://www.ftc.gov.
54. Susan J. Wells (December 2002), “Stolen Identity,” HR Magazine, Vol. 47, Iss. 12, pp. 30–38.
55. See http://www.ftc.gov.
56. Deborah P. Majoras (February 6, 2006), “Congressional Budget Justification, Fiscal Year 2007,” Federal Trade Commission; “National and State Trends in Fraud & Identity Theft, January–December 2004,” Federal Trade Commission (February 1, 2005).
57. Wells, “Stolen Identity,” p. 30.
58. Ibid.
59. Erik Eddy, Dianna Stone, and Eugene Stone-Romero (Summer 1999), “The Effects of Informa- tion Management Policies on Reactions to Human Resource Information Systems: An Integration of Privacy and Procedural Justice Perspectives,” Personnel Psychology, pp. 335–58.
6
Chapter
Job Analysis and Design
Learning Objectives
After studying this chapter you should be able to:
1. Define the terms job analysis, job description, and job specification.
2. Examine how job analysis is used to inform an organization’s HRM practices.
3. Compare four methods used to collect job analysis information.
4. Analyze occupational data available from the Occupational Information Network.
5. Discuss the five core job dimensions used in job enrichment programs.
6. Compare the strengths and weaknesses of the mechanistic and motivational approaches to job design.
7. Describe why competencies are becoming more popular with some organizations.
HR Challenge
Jean Davis is the new manager of human resources of Made Right Manufacturing, a division of the MBTI Corporation. Jean wanted to start a job analysis program immediately. Six weeks after she took over, job analysis questionnaires (six pages each) were given to em- ployees. The results were puzzling. Responses from the operating employees (machinists, lift operators, technicians, draftspeople, and mechanics) were quite different from responses from their supervisors about these jobs.
The fact that supervisors viewed the jobs differently from those doing the work fueled Jean’s desire to do a job analysis. She wanted to study and specifically define the jobs so that misunderstandings, arguments, and false expectations could be kept to a minimum.
The supervisors listed job duties as simple and routine. The operating employees dis- agreed and claimed that their jobs were complicated and constrained by limited resources.
They complained that work areas were hot, stuffy, and uncomfortable. These disagree- ments soon became the basis for some open hostility between supervisors and workers.
Finally, Nick Mannis, a machinist, confronted a supervisor, Rog Wilkes, and threatened to punch him over the “lies” Rog and other supervisors had concocted in the job analysis.
Jean was worried that the job analysis program was getting totally out of hand. She had to do something about it. Everyone was getting upset over a program Jean felt was necessary.
Should a manager like Jean, who knows a lot about HRM, but who was not trained in the specifics of job analysis, undertake this kind of program?
151
Organizations have evolved because the overall mission and objectives of most institutions are too large for any single person to accomplish. Consequently, the organization must have a systematic way to determine which employees are expected to perform a particular func tion or task that must be accomplished. The cornerstone of the organization is, therefore, the set of jobs performed by its employees. These jobs, in turn, provide the mechanism for coordinating and linking the various activities of the organization that are necessary for success. As a result, studying and understanding jobs through the process known as job analysis is a vital part of any HRM program.
Job analysis provides answers to questions such as these: 1 How much time is taken to complete important tasks?
Which tasks are grouped together and considered a job?
How can a job be designed or structured so that the employees’ performance can be enhanced?
What kinds of behaviors are needed to perform the job?
What kind of person (in terms of traits and experience) is best suited for the job?
How can the information acquired by a job analysis be used in the development of HRM programs?
This chapter clarifies the contributions made by job analysis to an organization’s HRM program and specific activities. Furthermore, the careful planning needed and the various techniques of a job analysis program are highlighted. Finally, the importance of job analysis in the design of jobs is discussed. The chapter shows that job analysis is a necessary part of HRM and in many respects is the foundation upon which all other HRM activities must be constructed. The nature of the work to be performed is one of the fundamental inputs into all major HRM functions. This is another way of saying that how workers’ responsibilities and duties are segmented helps shape and determine virtually all other facets of organizational functioning. As such, understanding exactly what constitutes any particular job is critical to developing HRM activities that support the organization’s mission.
The Vocabulary of Job Analysis
Before considering the process and techniques involved in job analysis, one should learn the language of work analysis. Although many of these terms are often used interchange- ably by people who are unfamiliar with job analysis, the expert will use them more pre- cisely in order to avoid confusion and misinterpretation. Precision in the use of these terms is, in fact, required by federal and state legislation. It is therefore important for the HR manager to use each of them in a way that is consistent with such legislation.
The following definitions are consistent with those provided by the U.S. Employment Service and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management: 2
Job analysis A systematic process of gathering, documenting, and analyzing infor- mation about the content, context, and requirements of a job. 3
Job description The principal outcome of a job analysis. It represents a written summary of the job as an identifiable organizational unit.
Job specification A written explanation of the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs) necessary for effective performance on a given job.
Tasks Coordinated and aggregated series of work elements used to produce an output (e.g., a unit of production or service to a client).
Position Consists of the responsibilities and duties performed by an individual. There are as many positions in an organization as there are employees.
Job Group of positions that are similar in their duties, such as computer programmer or compensation specialist.
Job family Group of two or more jobs that have similar duties.
The Steps in Job Analysis
The job analysis process involves a number of steps, which are outlined in Exhibit 6–1. 4 As it appears in the exhibit, the process assumes that the job analysis is being conducted in an existing organization, in other words, an organization that is already in operation as opposed to a new venture.
Step 1 Examine the total organi- zation and the fit of each job
Step 2 Determine how job analysis information will be used
Step 3 Select jobs to be analyzed
Step 5 Prepare job description
Step 6 Prepare job specification
Use information from steps 1–6 for:
Job design Planning Recruitment Selection and training Performance evaluation Compensation and benefits EEO compliance Follow-up evaluations Step 4
Collect data by using acceptable job analysis techniques
EXHIBIT 6–1 Steps in the Job Analysis Process (1–6) and Its Relationship to HRM and Job Design
Chapter 6 Job Analysis and Design 153
Step 1 provides a broad view of how each job fits into the total fabric of the organiza- tion. Organization charts and process charts (discussed later) are used to complete the first step. Step 2 encourages those involved to determine how the job analysis and job design information will be used. This step is further explained in the next section. Since it is usu- ally too costly and time-consuming to analyze every job, a representative sample of jobs needs to be selected. In step 3, jobs that are to be analyzed are selected.
Step 4 involves the use of structured job analysis techniques. The techniques are used to collect data on the characteristics of the job, the required behaviors, and the characteristics an employee needs to perform the job. The information collected in step 4 is then used in step 5 to develop a job description. Next, in step 6, a job specification is prepared.
The knowledge and data collected in steps 1 through 6 are used as the foundation for virtually every other HRM activity. As shown in Exhibit 6–1, these include activities such as recruitment, selection, training, performance evaluation, and compensation. The infor- mation gathered during job analysis is essential to each of these.
As is also shown in the exhibit, the information gathered is used in job design and rede- sign, which are discussed in detail later in this chapter. Job analysis provides information necessary for organizing work in ways that allow employees to be both productive and satis- fied. Finally, information from job analysis can be used in an organization’s follow-up eval- uations of its job design. At this step, it is important for an organization to evaluate its efforts and determine whether the goals of productivity and satisfaction are in fact being achieved.
The Uses of Job Analysis
HR managers, specialists, and managers in general know that job analysis has many uses.
Some of these individuals now believe that there is no longer even a choice about whether job analysis should be conducted. Administrative guidelines accompanying various civil rights and EEO laws and judicial recommendations are clear. The question has become how to conduct a legally defensible job analysis rather than whether to conduct such an analysis at all. 5 In terms of staffing and selection activities, job analysis plays an important role in the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (1978), a set of policies designed to minimize or prevent workplace discrimination practices. The UGESP emphasizes that job analysis should be used when validating or assessing the accuracy of organizational selec- tion procedures. 6 In addition, job analysis is critical to assessments of discrimination under most employment-related laws, including the Civil Rights Act of 1991 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Job analysis is linked with these discrimination laws through rulings from numerous Supreme Court decisions. The quality of job analysis conducted by an organization is frequently a primary determinant of whether it has acted properly.
On the basis of these court decisions, a good job analysis must provide the following if it is to be viewed favorably: 7
1. It should yield a thorough, clear job description.
2. The frequency and importance of task behaviors should be assessed.
3. It must allow for an accurate assessment of the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs) required by the job.
4. It must yield information about the relationship between job duties and these KSAOs.
That is, it must clearly determine which KSAOs are important for each job duty.
In addition to helping organizations satisfy their legal requirements, job analysis is closely tied to HRM programs and activities. It is used extensively in each of the following areas:
1. Recruitment and selection Job analysis information helps recruiters seek and find the right persons for the organization. And, to hire the right person, selection testing must