Introduction:

Ovania Chemical Corporation is a specialty chemicals producer. Its core product

is polyethylene terephthalate (PET) thermoplastic resins, which are used mainly
to make containers and packages for bottled water, soft drinks, foods, and pharm
aceuticals. Their main plant is located in Steubenville, Ohio. Though smaller th
an other chemical producers that produces globally, it has competed successfully
in its niche of the US specialty chemical business. Recently advances in techno
logy have changed the nature of chemical production, and like all competing firm
s, Ovania must take steps to modernize its facilities. Not surprisingly, these t
echnological advances are accompanied by redesign in employee jobs, especially t
he system analyzer position.
Objective:
On the basis of the assigned case we will try to learn the process of conducting
a job analysis that does not yet exists. We will also examine the reasons the s
election committee had for choosing only those factors for the selection process
that could not be acquired in a two year training program. Finally, we will try
to determine if gender discrimination was a issue in the selection process as t
he job requirement included getting down into the dirty treatment tanks.
Main Body:
1. How would you go about conducting a job analysis for a job that does not yet
exist?
Job analysis is the process of obtaining information about jobs by determining w
hat the duties, tasks, or activities of those jobs are (Bohlander & Snell, 2003,
p.94). Job analysis is the base of Human resource management. The purpose of Jo
b analysis is to systematically study the nature of jobs to identify the work ac
tivities, tasks, and responsibilities associated with a particular job. Job data
obtained by job analysis serves a variety of organizational purposes and provid
es a basis for decision making in job transformation, recruitment, selection etc
. It provides objective evidence of the skills and abilities required for effect
ive performance in the job.
The job analysis should determine the most important and critical aspects of the
job. It is upon these that the key attributes and selection and evaluation for
the job should be based. For instance, if the purpose of the job analysis is to
seek out the competencies for a job that currently does not exist, we have to ta
ke a future-oriented approach. This approach should take into account the organi
zational needs when restructuring the job. The job analyst need to identify and
predict the new job activities, as well as, knowledge, skills, and abilities req
uired for those activities. To do this the job analyst might seek out the person
s, especially those, that satisfy the organizational requirements. "Work analysi
s is a very strong technique work; generally speaking, it should be operated by
professional personnel, personnel of this position and supervisor"(Wanghao, 2003
, p.38). This may include human resources staff, consultants and the experts for
this job (managers, supervisors, etc.). Together they can find out the future i
ssues that are to affect the job. Consultation with individuals who are knowledg
eable about the expected future job changes helps to identify, skills, abilities
and knowledge required for the job. Finally, identifying the critical knowledge
, skills, and abilities for the future job is crucial. The use of Job Analysis to
design selection procedures not only gives users the obvious benefits of using
appropriate selection techniques, but also provides evidence of their relevance
should any questions arise (The Commission For Racial Equality, 1993). That's why
it is good practice to take a sample of people who are representative of the ta
rget population in terms of age, gender, ethnic origin and background. Different
perspectives on the job can produce a more rounded picture.
As a result of the modernization of the company, Ovania Chemical Corporation has
had to redesign its employees jobs. Perhaps one of the most important changes to
be made at the Ovania plant involves the job transformation of the system analy
zer position.
The system analyzer is primarily responsible for monitoring the production funct
ion and the position was once classified as semiskilled (i.e., maintenance techn
ician). However, with automation, the requirements for the job are expanding dra
matically. A system analyzer will soon have to know pneumatics, hydraulics, info
rmation technology, programming, and electrical wiring. Ovania has estimated tha
t within two years, a system analyzer s tasks, duties, and responsibilities will h
ave changed by over 70 percent. The three men who currently hold the position a
dmit that they will be incapable of performing the new aspects of the job. Ovani
a is forced to redesign the job of a System analyzer and recruit new people for
the survival of their organization. They formed a selection committee and conduc
ted a job analysis for the new position of system analyzer. The Selection commit
tee included Ovania s Steubenville plant manager Jack Sarabe, the HR manager Emily
Claire, and two senior engineers, Dave Packley and Mark Young. The two senior e
ngineers could give important insight about the potential skills whose deficienc
ies were holding them back.
The selection committee s challenge will be to analyze the new job that does not e
xist yet and to recruit the new employees based on the newly identified skill se
t. They could use current job description as a base and looking at similar compa
nies equipped with the same machinery to gain some perspective.
The job analysis made the selection committee project into the future to identif
y potential skill set that they feel will be needed to perform the job adequatel
y. Figure 3A lists the major performance dimensions of the job; it also indicate
s the specific tasks that will be characteristic of each dimension.
Figure 3A Performance Dimensions (Duties and Tasks)
Maintaining Spares and Supplies
1. Anticipates future need for parts and supplies and orders them.
2. Stocks parts and supplies in an orderly fashion.
3. Maintains and calibrates test equipment.
Troubleshooting
4. Applies calibration standards to verify operation by subjecting the syst
em to known standards.
5. Decides whether the problem is in the sensor, in the processor, in the p
rocess stream, and/or in the sample system.
6. Uses troubleshooting guides in system manuals to determine the problem a
rea.
7. Uses test equipment to diagnose the problem.
8. Makes a general visual inspection of the analyzer system as a first trou
bleshooting step.
9. Replaces components such as printed circuit boards and sensors to see if
the problem can be all eviated.
Handling Revisions and New Installations
10. Makes minor piping changes such as size, routing, and additional filters
.
11. Makes minor electrical changes such as installing switches and wires and
making terminal changes.
12. Uses common pipefitting tools.
13. Uses common electrical tools.
14. Reads installation drawings.
Record Keeping
15. Maintains system files showing historical record of work on each system.
16. Maintains loop files that show the application of the system.
17. Updates piping and instrument drawings if any changes are made.
18. Maintains Environment Canada records and logbooks.
19. Disassembles analyzers to perform repairs on-site or back in the shop.
20. Replaces damaged parts such as filters, electronic components, light sou
rces, lenses, sensors, and values.
21. Uses diagnostic equipment such as oscilloscopes, ohmmeters, and decade b
oxes.
22. Tests and calibrates repaired equipment to ensure that it works properly
.
23. Reads and follows written procedures from manuals.
Routing Maintenance
24. Observes indicators on systems to ensure that there is proper operation.
25. Adds reagents to systems.
26. Decides whether the system or the lab results are correct regarding resu
lts (i.e., resolves discrepancies between lab and analyzer results).
27. Performs calibrations.

Work analysis isn't accumulating work information mechanically, instead of explai

ning characteristic and request overall, and to public the main work contents an
d key factor of position according to analyzing and summarizing"(Zhangde, 2001,
p.72). That s why the selection committee analyzed the list of tasks from Figure 3
A to arrive at a set of personal qualities that system analyzers will need. Thes
e qualities include the twelve abilities shown in Figure 3B. Beside each ability
are numbers corresponding to the tasks to which it is related (see Figure 3A).
The abilities marked with an asterisk (*) are considered by the committee to be c
ritical. Any applicant not scoring well on each of the critical dimensions will b
e considered unqualified for the job.
Figure 3B Abilities and Tasks
Numbers represent tasks cited in Figure 3A. Asterisks indicate abilities conside
red critical by the committee.
Skills Task Numbers
*Finger dexterity 3, 4, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 19, 20, 21,
22, 25, 27
*Mechanical comprehension 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 7, 14, 19, 20
, 22, 23, 24, 27, 11, 17
*Numerical ability 11, 3, 4, 24, 10, 21, 12, 13, 14, 27
*Spatial ability 2, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 14, 19, 20
*Visual pursuit 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 16, 17, 19, 20,
21, 22, 27
*Detection 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 14, 19, 20, 23, 7
Oral comprehension 1, 2, 5, 6, 26, 7, 8, 9, 19, 21, 25
Written comprehension 1, 15, 16, 17, 18
Deductive reasoning 1, 5, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 19, 21, 20,
22, 2, 26, 27
Inductive reasoning 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 19, 21, 20,
22, 2, 26, 27
Reading comprehension 3, 6, 14, 7, 22, 23, 21, 9, 27
Reading scales and tables 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 21, 23, 24, 27, 2, 6, 14
This is how Ovania Chemical Corporation did the Job Analysis of a job that does
not exist yet.
2. What reasons did the selection committee have for selecting only those factor
s which could not be acquired through a two-year training program?
Now we will discuss about the reason behind choosing of only those factors for t
he selection process that could not be acquired in a two year training program.
With lot of competitors and rapid change in technology, companies look for candi
dates working in similar domain of different skills and uniqueness to improve th
eir business. Employees within a company might lack modern technology process. U
nlike Internal employees, external candidates can bring lot of changes to the co
mpanies with innovative ideas and creative skills which help the company get str
onger. In order to compete with other companies, external employees with latest
skills and thorough knowledge are responsible for company's growth. When interna
l employees fail to do so, employers go for searching external candidates with r
ich source of latest skills to fill the positions.
External Recruitment brings new people with fresh and innovative ideas to the or
ganization. They will also bring experience they have gained from other organiza
tions, which can be a huge benefit for the organization. An example of a complet
e changeover was of Selfridges where they got rid of all the old managers whose
management style was based on old traditional approach, they were replaced by ne
w young innovative women who changed the traditional approach to a more modern d
ay approach to business. It has made Selfridges one of the most successful retai
ler in the UK today.(Soomro, 2008) External Recruitment also allows the organiza
tion to be selective when selecting a candidate and allow them to define the rig
ht requirements, which fits in the organization most effectively.
Initially the selection committee of Ovania Chemical Corporation wanted to recru
it new blood , however after deliberation decided to recruit both internally and ex
ternally. Ovania chemical estimates that the task, duties, and responsibilities
of a system analyzer will have changed by over 70 percent within two years. Beca
use there was a two-year lead time before the job would be put in place there wo
uld be a lot of time to train the new employees and prepare them for the positio
n. Keeping this in mind, any skills or knowledge that could reasonably be acquir
ed or trained during a two-year lead time was not part of the selection committe
e s factors.
3. Should the concern for women getting down into the dirty treatment tanks have
been a selection issue?
Any form of discrimination, be that gender discrimination or racial discriminati
on, during recruitment process should be avoided completely. Equal Employment op
portunity is protected by laws and in employment discrimination lawsuits, the bu
siness always loses. Consequently, creating a work culture and environment for e
mployees that encourages diversity and discourages employment discrimination in
any form is critical for the success of the company.
While recruiting for the system analyzer position in the Ovania Chemical Corpora
tion, concerns were raised that female candidates may not find it comfortable to
perform the job properly, based on some of the requirements, such as, entering
dirty treatment tanks to read gauges. As Ovania had some history of employment d
iscrimination charges, managers were extra careful this time and were committed
to making the procedures and decisions fair and objective. The selection committ
ee adopted new strategy to encourage minorities and women, ignoring past employm
ent history. Among the 56 applicant for the new position, 21 of them were women.
Recommendation:
We feel that Ovania Chemical is taking all the right measures towards finding th
e right applicant for the job. More and more companies today are administering b
attery tests and crunching numbers to get information about present or future em
ployee performance.
The use of Job Analysis to design selection procedures not only gives users the o
bvious benefits of using appropriate selection techniques, but also provides evi
dence of their relevance should any questions arise. (The Commission For Racial E
quality, 1993)
Research has shown that the Realistic Job Preview (RJP) technique to be effectiv
e in improving the recruitment process. As the name implies, the RJP gives the p
otential candidate a realistic preview of what is actually involved in the job.
RJP s allow potential candidates to self-select as to whether they really want to co
ntinue with the process based on what they have learned about the job. For examp
le, the issue raised about if women would want to get down to dirty treatment pl
ant as a part of their job requirement could be resolved by asking for the appro
val of the women candidates during the time of their selection. The importance o
f the system analyzer position is likely to grow and as it includes extensive an
alytical skills in an unsanitary environment, attractive remuneration packages f
or this position, will be more appealing to the applicants. This may help Ovania
get candidates irrespective of their gender and races. If they can create a mor
e diverse pool of employees, it ll help Ovania erase the past history of its emplo
yment charges. A diverse talent pool will assist this company to hold its reputa
tion in the competitive market.
Fifty six employees applied for the new position of system analyzer in Ovania. T
wenty one were female, fifteen were black. Only two of the three current system
analyzers reapplied for the new position. The company had decided that a total s
core of 800 on the twelve tests would be the cutoff score for an applicant to be
seriously considered for the position.
Each of the aptitude tests has been published, standardized (100 points possible
for each test). It would be better if they could introduce weighted scores for
the 12 criteria. The six critical criteria would have more weight than others. S
o, rather than just summing up the 12 skill test scores, Total score could have
been calculated like this: Total Score = ? (Skill test Score × Skill Weight).
Conclusion:
In this paper we discussed the Job Analysis and Hiring decision of a system anal
yzer Job in Ovania Chemical Corporation. Modernization of technology has forced
Ovania to transform the responsibilities of a semi-technical system analyzer pos
ition to a highly prospective knowledge and skill oriented position. Ovania had
to redesign the job that does not exist yet. We firstly have solved how to condu
ct an analysis of a new job that does not exist yet. including preparation stage
, decision program, data collection, write a job analysis report.

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8. Realistic Job Previews: https://uic.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/institution/cla
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