Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain

Human Resource Management

Chapter 2: Job Analysis and Job Design
Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Job Analysis
Job Analysis is the process of determining and reporting pertinent
information relating to the nature of a specific job

It is the determination of tasks which comprise the job and of the
skills, knowledge, abilities, and responsibilities required of the
holder for successful job performance

It is a process of determining through observation and study, the
pertinent information relating to the nature of a specific job

The job analysis should report the job as it exists at the time
of the analysis, not as it should exist, not as it existed in the
past, and not as it exists in similar establishments.
Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Job Analysis basis for HR activities
HR activities Relationship with Job Analysis
1 Job Definition
Results in a description of duties and
responsibilities and helps current job holders
and their supervisors as well as prospective
employees
2 Job Design Indicates when a job is to be redesigned
3 Recruitment Identifies the job requirements and skills
needed to perform the job
4 Selection & Placement
Determines the importance of different skills
and abilities, and helps in comparing various
candidates objectively
5 Orientation
Clearly defines duties and responsibilities to a
new employee
Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Job Analysis and other HR activities
HR activities Relationship with Job Analysis
6 Training
Specific job requirements help analyze the training
needs of current and potential employees.
Establishment of training objectives depends on
Job Analysis.
Helps identify whether a problem is occurring due
to a training need or some other reason.
7 Career Counseling Managers and HR specialists can only provide
career counseling when they understand the job.
Employees can appreciate their career options
when they have better understanding of various
jobs
8 Employee Safety Uncovers unsafe practices and/ or environmental
conditions associated with a job.

Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Job Analysis and other HR activities
HR activities Relationship with Job Analysis
9 Performance Appraisal,
Career growth
Prerequisite for performance appraisal in
understanding exactly what the employee is
supposed to do, aides in fair evaluation, helps
develop career paths.
10 Compensation
Determines relative size/dimensions and
worth of a job by identifying its difficulty level,
duties and responsibilities, skills and abilities.
The worth of a job helps determine its wage.
Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Products of Job Analysis
Job Description:

1. Concentrates on describing the job as it is currently being
performed

2. It explains in written form, what the job is called, what is to
be done, where it is to be done, and how it is to be done

3. Most job descriptions contain sections that include the
following: the job name, a brief summary description of
the job, a listing of jobs and duties and responsibilities,
and explanation of organizational relationships pertinent
to the job
Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Products of Job Analysis
Job Specification:

1. Concentrates on characteristics needed to
perform the job

2. It describes the competency, education, and
experience qualifications the incumbent must
posses to perform the job
Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Products of Job Analysis
Job Specification:

A potential problem with all job descriptions is that
they become outdated.

Often the job description is not updated to reflect
any changes that have occurred in the job

A good practice is to have the job holder and
supervisor periodically review the most current job
description and determine whether the description
needs updating


Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Job Analysis Methods
Four of the most frequently used methods
for conducting a job analysis are:

1. Observation

2. Interviews

3. Questionnaires

4. Functional Job Analyses
Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Job Analysis Methods

1. Observation

This method is used to analyze jobs that are relatively
simple and straight forward

Individual/s performing the job are observed and notes
describing the work are taken

This information includes details about what was done,
how it was done, how long it took, what the job
environment was like, what equipment was used, etc.
Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Job Analysis Methods

1. Observation

Motion Study:

determining the most efficient way to do a task

identifies the motions or movements necessary for
performing a task or job and then design the most
efficient ways of putting those motions and
movements together


Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Job Analysis Methods

1. Observation

Time Study:

The objective - to determine how long should it take an
average person to perform a particular job

It is the analysis of a job or task to determine the
elements of work required to perform it

It also determines the order in which these elements
occur, and the times required to perform them effectively


Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Job Analysis Methods

1. Observation

Work Sampling:

Based on taking statistical samples of job actions
throughout the workday, as opposed to continuous
observation of all actions

Inferences can be drawn about the requirements
and demands of the job

Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Job Analysis Methods

1. Observation

Observer must be carefully trained to know
what to look for and what to record

Application is limited to jobs involving short
and repetitive cycles

Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Job Analysis Methods
2. Interviews

The person conducting the job analysis meets and interviews
the jobholder

Interviews can be structured with pre-designed formats or
unstructured

Structured interviews ensure that all pertinent aspects of the job
are covered

They make it easier to compare information obtained from
different people holding the same job

Time consuming method



Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Job Analysis Methods
3. Questionnaires

Job analysis questionnaires contain both objective and open-
ended questions

For existing jobs, the jobholder completes the questionnaire with
feedback from supervisor, and returns to the job analyst

For new jobs, questionnaire is sent to the supervisor of the new job

If the job being analyzed is vacant but duplicated in another
department, questionnaire is completed by the incumbent in the
duplicate job

One questionnaire method is to have the incumbent write an actual
description of the job, subject to the approval of the immediate
supervisor. The incumbent is the most knowledgeable person
about the job and this method also brings out any difference in
perception between the incumbent and the supervisor


Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Job Analysis Methods
3. Questionnaires

This method can obtain information from a large
number of people in a short time, is usually used when
a large input is need in limited time and cost

Possibility exists that either the respondent or job
analyst will misinterpret the information



Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Job Analysis Methods
3. Questionnaires

Position Analysis Question ( PAQ)

It is a highly specialized instrument for analyzing any job in terms of
employee capabilities

It uses six major categories of employee activities

194 descriptors, called job elements, describe the six categories in detail

Using a 5-point scale, one can analyze each description for the degree to
which it applies to the job

It can be used to analyze almost any kind of job, and is relatively easy to
use but very lengthy


Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Job Analysis Methods
3. Questionnaires

Management Position Description Questionnaire (MPDQ)

It is a highly structured questionnaire designed for
analyzing managerial jobs

It contains 208 items grouped under 13 categories
relating to managerial responsibilities, restrictions,
demands, and other miscellaneous position
characteristics

Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Job Analysis Methods
4. Functional Job Analysis

The primary premises of FJA includes the following:

1. A fundamental distinction must be made between what gets done and what employees do
to get things done

2. Jobs are performed in relation to data, people, and things

3. In relation to things, employees draw on physical resources; in relation to data, employees
draw on mental resources; and in relation to people, employees draw from interpersonal
resources

4. All jobs require employees to related data, things and people to some degree

5. Although the behavior of employees and their tasks can be described in numerous ways,
only a few distinctive features are involved

6. The levels of difficulty required in dealing with data, people and things are hierarchical and
can be represented by a scale

Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain

Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Problems with Job Analysis
Some of the most frequently problems associated with job
analyses are:

1. Top management support is missing

2. Only a single means and source are used for gathering data

3. The supervisor and the job holder do not participate in the design
of the job analyses procedure

4. Employees are not allowed sufficient time to complete the
analyses

5. Activities may be distorted

6. There is a failure to critique the job
Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Job Design
Job design is the process of structuring work and designing the
specific work activities of an individual or group of individuals to
achieve certain organizational objectives

It address the basic question of how the job is to be performed,
who is to perform it, and where it is to be performed

The overall goal of job design is to develop work assignments
that :

1. Meet the requirements of the organization and the technology

2. Satisfy the personal and individual requirements of the job holder

Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Job Design
Following have important influences on job design:

Work Flow Analysis: which seeks to ensure that each job in the organization
receives work as an input, adds value to that work, and passes it on to
another worker

Business Strategy and the organizational structure that fits that strategy
Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Job Design Process
The job design process can generally be divided
into three phases:

1. The specification of individual tasks What Tasks

2. The specification of the method of performing each task
How

3. The combination of individual tasks into specific jobs to be
assigned to individuals
Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Job Design
The key to successful job design is to
balance the requirements of the organization
and the job holder
Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Job Scope and Job Depth
Job Scope: refers to the number and variety
of different tasks performed by the jobholder

In job with narrow scope, the job holder
performs a few different and repetitive tasks

Jobs with narrow scope can result in more
error and less quality


Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Job Scope and Job Depth
Job Depth: refers to the freedom of jobholders to
plan and organize their own work, work at their
own pace, and move around and communicate.

A lack of job depth can result in job dissatisfaction

It can in turn lead to tardiness, absenteeism, and
even sabotage


Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Job Scope and Job Depth

Automobile
Assembly
Line

Secretarial
Work

Newspaper
Delivery

Advertising
Job Scope
J
o
b

D
e
p
t
h

Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Six approaches to Job Design

1. Socio-technical approach

2. Work Simplification

3. Job Enlargement

4. Job Rotation

5. Job Enrichment

6. Team-Based Job Designs
Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Socio-technical approach to Job Design

As the name suggests, both the technical system,
and the accompanying social system should be
considered when designing jobs

According to this approach, employers should
design jobs by taking a holistic, or systems, view of
the entire job situation

This approach integrates the technical needs of the
organization with the social needs of the employees
involved in decision making
Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Socio-technical approach to Job Design

The following guidelines use the socio-technical approach to designing jobs

1. A job needs to be reasonably demanding for the individual in terms other
than sheer endurance, yet provide some variety (not necessarily novelty)

2. Employees need to be able to learn on the job and continue learning

3. Employees need some minimum decision area that they call their own

4. Employees need some minimal degree of social support and recognition
in the workplace

5. Employees need to be able to relate to what they do, and what they
produce to their social lives

6. Employees need to believe that the job leads to some sort of desirable
future

Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Work Simplification

This approach assumes that work can be broken
down into simple, repetitive tasks that maximize
efficiency

Work simplification can utilize labor effectively to
produce a large amount of a standardized product
Example: The automobile industry
Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Job Enlargement and Job Rotation
Both of these approaches are used reduce fatigue and
boredom among workers performing simplified and
highly specialized work

Job Enlargement is the process of expanding a jobs
duties
Example: Auto workers installing carpets on the car floor also install car
seats and instrument panel

Job Rotation is the process of rotating workers among
narrowly defined tasks without disrupting the flow of work
Example: Same auto workers rotated to install tires
Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Job Enrichment
Job enrichment is the process of putting specialized tasks
back together so that one person is responsible for producing
the whole unit or the entire service

This expands both the horizontal and vertical dimensions of a
job

It gives employees more opportunities for autonomy and
feedback

It gives them responsibilities that require decision making,
scheduling work, determining work methods, and judging
quality

Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Team-Based Job Designs
This approach focuses on giving a team, rather than an
individual, a whole and meaningful piece of work to do

Team members are empowered to decide how to
accomplish the work

Team members are cross-trained in different skills, and
then rotated to do different tasks within the team

Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Job Design and the physical work environment

The physical work environment; temperature,
humidity, ventilation, noise, light, color can have an
impact on the design of jobs.

Adverse physical conditions have a negative effect
on performance. The degree of effect varies from
individual to individual

If employees must be exposed to less than ideal
conditions, the time of exposure should be
minimized
Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Job Design and Alternative work schedules

Alternative work schedules are being used by many firms to
increase productivity and decrease cost

This does not alter the work to be done, but its allocation

The most common work schedules are:

1. Flexitime: allows employees to choose, within certain limits,
their work hours

2. Job Sharing: where two or more part-time individuals perform a
job that would normally be performed by on full-time employee

3. Condensed workweek: where the no. of hours per day is
increased and no. of days a week is decreased
Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain
Relationship between Job Analysis and Job Design

Job Analysis and Job Design are directly linked to one
another

In practice, most Job Analyses are performed on existing jobs
that have previously been designed

Existing jobs are also redesigned as a result of Job Analyses.
Example: A job analysis might reveal that the current method of performing
a job (the job design) is inefficient or contains unnecessary tasks.
Human Resource Management by Shah M Saad Husain