For jobs that remain task-oriented, many standard phases of the job analysis process can continue. Responsibility for the job analysis depends on who can best perform the various aspects of the process.
Job Analysis and HR Activities
HR Planning
Recruiting and Selection
Compensation
Training and Development
Performance Appraisal
Safety and Health
Union Relations
Legal Aspects of Job Analysis
Job Analysis and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
The term "essential functions" does not include the marginal functions of the positions. 15 Marginal functions are the tasks that are part of a job, but which are incidental or accessory in relation to the purpose and nature of a job. An important part of the job analysis is to obtain information about which tasks are performed and what percentage of time is allocated to each task. As the ADA suggests, it is generally true that the percentage of time spent on a service indicates its relative importance.
If tasks are performed daily, weekly and/or monthly, they are more likely to be perceived as important. Another aspect of job analysis is to identify the job's physical demands and environmental conditions. For example, it is essential for a customer service representative to be able to hear well enough to take customer orders.
Reasonable Accommodations
Specifically, the ADA specifies that essential functions are the fundamental functions of the employment position that an individual with a disability holds or requires. However, when a task is performed only irregularly or when another employee is helping with a completely unrelated task, its essence may be more questionable. Another consideration is the ease or difficulty associated with assigning a task to be performed by someone else or in a different job.
For example, assume that an assembler of electronic components places the finished parts in a bin next to the work area. At the end of each day, the bin of finished parts must be carried to another room for use in the final assembly of a product. Carrying the trash to the other room is likely to be defined as a marginal task because assigning someone else to carry it is unlikely to create major workflow problems with other jobs and workers.
Job Analysis and Wage/Hour Regulations
Behavioral Aspects of Job Analysis
Job “Inflation”
Some industries, such as banking and entertainment, are known to have higher title inflation than others.
Managerial Straitjacket
Current Incumbent Emphasis
Employee Anxieties
Job Analysis Methods
Observation
Interviewing
The interview method can be quite time-consuming, especially if the interviewer is talking to two or three employees who do each job.
Questionnaires
Unlike an open-ended questionnaire, a checklist offers employees a simplified way of providing information. The obvious problem with the checklist is its composition, which can be a complex and detailed process.
Job Analysis and the U.S. Department of Labor
Specialized Job Analysis Methods
Parts of Occupational Definition
Computerized Job Analysis
Combination Methods
Stages in the Job Analysis Process
MANAGEMENT JOB ANALYSIS Because management jobs differ in character from jobs with clearly observable routines and procedures, some have developed specialized methods for their analysis. One of the best known and most widely used methods was developed at Control Data Corporation and is labeled as the Management Position Description Questionnaire (MPDQ). The stages for a typical job analysis are outlined here, but they may vary with the methods used and the number of jobs included.
Planning the Job Analysis
Developing Job Descriptions and Job Specifications A. Draft job descriptions and specifications
Conducting the Job Analysis A. Gather job analysis data
Preparing and Communicating the Job Analysis A. Identify jobs and methodology
Planning the Job Analysis
Preparing and Introducing the Job Analysis
Conducting the Job Analysis
Developing Job Descriptions and Job Specifications
Also, they can write job descriptions and job specifications to reflect what they do and what their personal qualifications are, not what the job requires. 26. Whether employees review drafts or wait to receive final job descriptions is often determined by the management style of supervisors/managers and the organization's culture regarding employee participation and communication. When completed, job descriptions are distributed by the HR department to managers, supervisors and employees.
It is important that each supervisor or manager reviews the completed description with individual employees so that there is understanding and agreement about the content that will be linked to performance reviews, as well as to all other HR activities.
Maintaining and Updating Job Descriptions and Job Specifications
Job Descriptions and Job Specifications
Job Description Components
IDENTIFICATION The first part of the job description is the identification section, which may include the job title, reporting relationships, department, location, and date of analysis. GENERAL SUMMARY The second part, the general summary, is a concise statement of the general responsibilities and components that make the job different from others. One human resource expert described the general summary statement as: "Describe the essence of the job in thirty words or less."
JOB SPECIFICATIONS The following section of the job description lists the qualifications necessary to perform the job satisfactorily. Job specifications are typically listed as (1) knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs), (2) education and experience, and (3) physical requirements and/or working conditions. The components of the job specifications provide information necessary to determine what accommodations are and are not available under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations.
Preparing Job Descriptions
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES The third part of a typical job description lists the essential functions and duties. This disclaimer allows employers to change employee job duties or require employees to perform duties other than those listed so that the job description is not considered a. The language of the ADA emphasizes that statements of essential functions must be organized by importance or "essentiality." If the description has eight statements, it is likely that the last two or three duties described are less essential than the first two or three.
Therefore, it is important that job duties are arranged so that the most essential (in terms of criticality and amount of time spent) are listed first and the supporting or marginal ones are listed later. Some job descriptions include sections on materials or machines used, working conditions or special tools used. Job descriptions of executive and upper management positions, because of the wide range of duties and responsibilities, are often written in more general terms than descriptions of jobs at lower levels in the organization.
Writing Job Specifications
The statement “File of correspondence and memoranda to keep accurate records of client policies” is descriptive enough without being overly detailed. Within this framework, specific functional tasks should be grouped and arranged in a logical pattern. If a job requires an accounting supervisor to prepare several reports, among other functions, statements related to the preparation of reports should be grouped together.
The ADA and Writing KSAs
In light of the ADA, it is essential that the physical and mental dimensions of any job be clearly identified. The researchers then identified individuals with knowledge of each of the jobs, known as subject matter experts (SMEs). After this evaluation process, researchers and job analysts reviewed the results and grouped the articles into profiles of minimum qualifications in each identifying area.
The final product of the process was a list of the final profile criteria for each position. The use of the minimum qualification profiles resulted in four of the nine profiles being validated as the most directly applicable to the evaluation of applicants. Finally, the researchers indicated that this methodology appears to be acceptable in identifying minimum qualifications for each of the jobs being considered.28.
Summary
The process of identifying minimum job qualifications is often somewhat subjective and less clear than it should be. This is especially true given the legal implications of using these minimum qualifications to disqualify job applications from further consideration. Levine, Maye, Ulm, and Gordon conducted research on a methodology for developing and validating minimum qualifications for employment in a state mental health facility.
Those selected as MSPs included supervisors, managers, incumbents, and other knowledgeable persons for each workplace studied. Each SME committee received lists of tasks and KSAs, and members rated each of these items on four scales. The finished system was tested by having assessors independently assess past applicants using defined minimum qualification profiles.
Review and Discussion Questions
Terms to Know
Using the Internet
The drafts were then revised, reviewed by the Compensation Committee, and prepared for use in developing a coordinated compensation system. The process of developing the reward and performance evaluation systems took another nine months, and the refinement and implementation of all components of the "new and improved" personnel activities took more than a year. Now that all phases of the reorganization were completed, Saldivar and Jorgensen established
The HR department was able to use the job analysis process to develop job descriptions for new positions. Bethphage's new compensation program enables HR to provide a fairer salary increase system and provide a more accurate method for developing salary structures and determining salary levels. Job analysis activities were the basis for all the actions taken by Bethphage.29.
Questions
At that time, several HR interns from a local university began the arduous task of writing about 300 job descriptions and specifications. When draft descriptions were available, Jørgensen coordinated their review by the relevant managers and team leaders. The entire process of conducting the job analysis and developing final job descriptions and specifications took four months of intensive effort.
After the compensation system was introduced for most positions below senior management level, the next phase of the reorganization took place two years later. A revised management structure was created with the addition of a Senior Vice President of Operations, Linda Timmons, to whom all regional directors report. As a result of all this activity, managers throughout Bethphage now use the HR department on a consultative basis for all kinds of organizational decisions.
Notes
Bethphage redefined its management structure, starting with establishing one board for the entire organization and disbanding the separate regional companies. Over the past few years, Bethphage has also provided managers with a better system for conducting performance evaluations to ensure they are completed quickly and accurately, and that a pay-for-performance system is developed and implemented.