CHAPTER 14

14 – JOB ANALYSIS

A job analysis is an accurate study of the various components of a job. It is concerned not only
with an analysis of the duties and conditions of work but also with the individual qualifications of the
worker.

JOB: Job or work is a physical and/or mental activity that is carried out at a particular place and time
according to a particular instructions, in return for money.
The term JOB is sometimes confused with ‘position’ and ‘occupation’. But there are some
differences between these.

POSITION: A position is a group of task assigned to an individual

OCCUPATION: An occupation refers to a group of jobs that are similar as to kind of work or that
possess common characteristics.

JOB ANALYSIS
Job analysis is the systematic process of collecting information about various components of a
job. Job analysis is a detailed and systematic study of jobs to know the nature and characteristics of
people to be employed for each job.
A job analysis is a process used to collect information about the duties, responsibilities,
necessary skills, knowledge, degree of risk, outcomes and work environment of a particular job. We
need as much data as possible to put together a job description, which is outcome of job analysis.
Additional outcomes of job analysis include recruiting plans, position postings and advertisements and
performance development planning within our performance management system.
The information required is collected by a job analyst, who is trained in information gathering
techniques. It provides the analyst the basic data of specific job such as:
1. Job identification
2. Nature of Job
3. Operations involved in doing the
job.
4. Material and equipments to be used
in doing the job.
5. Personal attributes required to do the
job. Example: education, training,
physical strength, mental
capabilities etc.
6. Relation with the other jobs.
An important concept of job analysis is that
a job analysis is NOT an evaluation of the
person currently performing the job. The analysis is conducted of the job, not the person, while job
analysis data may be collected from incumbents through interviews or questionnaires. The product of
the analysis is a job description or job specifications of the job, rather a description of the person.

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Objective of Job Analysis
1. Work simplification (Job redesign)
2. Establishment of standards of work
3. Support of other personnel activities

Role/Benefit/Advantages/Purpose
1. Human Resource Planning:- It helps in determining as to how many and what type of personnel
will be needed in future, qualifications needed to fill these job, and what an average person can
do on a job in a day. It also facilitates division of work into different jobs which is an essential
element of effective man power planning.
2. Manpower Acquisition (Recruitment and selection):- Right person for right job is a very
important activity and this is achieved by job analysis if the applicant’s knowledge, skill and
aptitudes do not match with the job specification, he will be screened out to avoid the
consequences of wrong person for any job.
Job description tells us about the job and the job specification tells about the type of
personnel required. A clear understanding of job requirements helps in matching these with the
abilities, interest and aptitudes of people.
3. Training and development: training and development program are used to improve employee’s
skills and knowledge related to a particular task to improve their performance. This purpose
can be achieved conveniently if the employees fully understand the job description and
specification and are thus familiar with what they are expected to perform. The same job
information is also useful to those who administer training and development programs. It helps
them in determining the content and subject matter to be incorporated in such programs.
4. Job evaluation: job evaluation aims at determining the related worth of various jobs. To
calculate the worth of job, information concerning the job is provided by the job description.
This is important to establish wages and salary grades.
5. Performance appraisal: performance appraisal is a method of assessment of an employee i.e.
actual performance of employee against what is expected. Job analysis data can be adapted to
establish clear cut standards of performance for every job. In evaluating the performance of an
employee, the supervisor can compare the actual contribution of each man with the set of
standards.
6. Employee counseling: job analysis provides information about different career choices. Such
information is helpful in vocational guidance and counseling employees who are unable to cope
with hazards and demands of a given job may be advised to opt for other jobs which are less
demanding.
7. Job design: job design is a conscious effort to organize tasks, duties and responsibilities into a
unit of work to achieve certain objectives. Job analysis information helps in designing and
redesigning of jobs by industrial engineers through time and motion study, work specification,
work improvement and work measurement.
8. Organization design: job analysis information is useful in classifying jobs and creating
interrelationship among them. In order to improve organizational efficiency, sound designs
concerning hierarchical positions and functional differentiation can be taken on the basis of
information obtained through job analysis.

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 9. Safety and health: job analysis gives an opportunity to know about working conditions and
environment. It identifies the hazards and unhealthy factors such as heat, noise, dust etc.
corrective measures can be taken to minimize the chances of various risks ensure safety to
workers and avoid unhealthy conditions.
10. Job classification: job analysis enables HR professional to classify jobs into group based on
similarities in requirements and duties. Job classification is useful for determining pay levels,
transfers and promotions.

Scope of Job Analysis

Job analysis is useful in various activities of the organization such as
1. Compensation: job analysis can be used to identify or determine-
→ Skill levels
→ Compensable job factors
→ Work environment (hazards, attention, physical efforts)
→ Responsibilities (fiscal, supervisory)
→ Required level of education
2. Selection procedures:
→ Job duties
→ Adequate salary level for the position
→ Minimum requirements (education and/or experience)
→ Interview questions
→ Selection test / instrument (written tests, oral test etc)
→ Application appraisal / evaluation forms
→ Orientation material for applicants
3. Performance review: job analysis can be used to identify or to develop
→ Goals and objectives
→ Performance standards
→ Evaluation criteria
→ Length of probationary period
→ Duties to be evaluated

Process / Steps in Job Analysis

There are 8 steps in job analysis program
1. Organize and plan for program: must determine who will be incharge of the program, a
schedule should be established and a budget estimated
2. Obtain current job design information: obtain organization charts, current position description
and job specifications, procedure manuals and system flow charts to the degree that these are
available.
3. Conduct “need research”: job analyst should investigate to determine which organization,
managers or staff people require job analysis, for what purpose and to what extent jobs must be
analysed and how the information will be used.
4. Establish priorities in the jobs to be analysed:

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 5. Collect job data: collect data as they are currently being performed using established systematic
techniques.
6. Redesign the jobs, if necessary:
7. Prepare job description and job classifications: job information must be processed to prepare
the job descriptions. This is a written statement which describes the main features of the job
along with duties, location, and degree of risk involved.
8. Developing job specifications: this step involves conversion of the job descriptions in terms of
human qualifications, traits of temperament, physical and psychological attributes required.

Types of Job Analysis

1. Job oriented job analysis: analysis of job based on describing the tasks required for successful
performance
2. Worker oriented job analysis: analysis based on worker behavior, what the worker does.
3. Combined job analysis: a combination of both types of analysis is used.

Data Collection Methods

1. Observation 4. Diary / log
2. Interview 5. Technical conference
3. Questionnaire 6. Checklists

OBSERVATION
The job analyst observes the worker performing the job and records the methods or process of
doing the job and the time taken to do the job. The Observation method of Job Analysis is suited for
jobs in which the work behaviors are:
1. Observable involving some degree of movement on the part of the worker, or
2. Job tasks are short in duration allowing for many observations to be made in a short period of
time or a significant part of the job can be observed in a short period of time, or
3. Jobs in which the job analyst can learn information about the job through observation.

Application of Observation Method

1. Analysing repetitive, short cycle, unskilled and semiskilled jobs
2. Best when used with other methods of job analysis

Advantages of Observation Method Disadvantages of Observation Method

1. Accurate method Time consuming
2. Simple to use Small sample size.
3. Verifies data from other sources Requires skilled observer.
4. Useful for manual and psychomotor tasks Validity & reliability may be problematic
Not applicable where job do not have easily
Ability to obtain first-hand knowledge and
5. observable job cycles or involves more mental
information about the job being analyzed.
process than physical
Direct Observation allows the job analyst to Costly, as training would be involved to teach the
6.
see (and in some cases experience) the work analyst, what to observe and how to observe.
7. environment, tools and equipment used, The presence of an observer may affect the
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 interrelationships with other workers, and worker causing the worker to alter their normal
complexity of the job work behavior.

INTERVIEW
Asking questions to both, incumbents and supervisors in either an individual or a group setting.
Managers use three types of interviews to collect job analysis data—individual interviews with each
employee, group interviews with groups of employees who have the same job, and supervisor
interviews with one or more supervisors who know the job. They use group interviews when a large
number of employees are performing similar or identical work, since it can be a quick and inexpensive
way to gather information. We can interview the supervisor separately to get that person’s perspective
on the job’s duties and responsibilities.
Questions should be open-ended. Open-ended questions provide a framework in which to
respond, yet leave the responsibility with the employee to determine the level of detail to provide in the
response. Example: "Describe how you balance the monthly accounting report."
Avoid "yes-no" questions, unless they are the best way to get right to the point of an essential
duty. Example: "Have you ever used power tools when performing electrical work?"

Classification of Job Interview

1. On the basis of people interviewed
a. Individual
b. Group
c. Supervisor interview
2. On the basis of type of questions
a. Unstructured
b. Structured

Steps of Interview
1. Plan
2. Role establishment
3. Conduction
4. Closing
5. Review and verification of information

Advantages of interview method Disadvantages of interview method

It’s a relatively simple and quick way to Distortion of information is the main problem—
1. collect information, including information whether due to outright falsification or honest
that might never appear on a written form. misunderstanding.
A skilled interviewer can unearth important
Employees therefore may legitimately view the
activities that occur only occasionally, or
2. interview as an efficiency evaluation that may
informal contacts that wouldn’t be obvious
affect their pay.
from the organization chart.
The interview also provides an opportunity to
They may then tend to exaggerate certain
3. explain the need for and functions of the job
responsibilities while minimizing others.
analysis.
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 The employee can vent frustrations that might
4.
otherwise go unnoticed by management.
Can yield data about cognitive and
5.
psychomotor processes difficult to observe.
6. Qualitative data can be examined.
7. Works well for jobs with long job cycles.
Obtaining valid information can thus be a slow
process, and prudent analysts get multiple inputs.
Requires experienced interviewer and well-
designed questions.
Difficult to combine data from disparate
interviews
Data gathered is subjective and should be verified

QUESTIONNAIRE
It includes a set of questions pertaining to the nature, duties, tasks and responsibilities is
developed and given to the employees and supervisors / managers to provide the answers. They may
be designed specifically for an organization, or more general to collect information from a large
number of people working in many different organizations.
The main thing to decide here is how structured the questionnaire should be and what questions
to include. Some questionnaires are very structured checklists.

Advantages of questionnaire method Disadvantages of questionnaire method

Less time required to collect
1. Requires specialized knowledge and training
information.
2. All job holders participate. Costly method
3. Does not require trained interviewer May be difficult to construct
4. Relatively less expensive May have low response rate
5. Can reach more workers Responses may be incomplete
6. Data is standardized (structured). Responses may be difficult to interpret (open-ended)
Follow up observation and discussions are necessary to
7. clarify inadequate filled up questionnaires and
interpretation problems.

Standardized questionnaires have been developed by some agencies which may be used by
various organizations for job analysis. Most of these questionnaires are of two types:-
a. Position analysis questionnaire
b. Management position description questionnaire

DIARY OR LOG
The diary or log is a recording by job incumbent of job duties, frequency of the duties after the
duties have been accomplished. This technique requires the job incumbent to keep a diary / log on a
daily basis. Analyst asks workers to keep a diary/log or list of what they do during the day. For every
activity he or she engages in, the employee records the activity (along with the time) in a log. This can
produce a very complete picture of the job, especially when the supplemented with subsequent
interviews with the worker and his or her supervisor.

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 Advantages of diary or log Disadvantages of diary or log
May be useful for jobs that are
1. Too many variances in writing skills
difficult to observe
2. Collects data as events happen Can exaggerate task performed
3. Remembering what was done earlier is sometimes difficult
4. Consistent and continuous entries may be difficult to obtain
5. Data not in standardized format

TECHNICAL CONFERENCE
It is a method of job analysis base of SME (subject matter experts) includes supervisor, worker,
and manager. This method uses “expert” rather than actual job incumbents as a source of information.
These experts are usually supervisors who have extensive knowledge of the job in question.
Several experts (often called "subject matter experts") on the job collaborate to provide
information about the work performed. A job analyst facilitates the process and prepares the job
description based on the consensus of the technical experts.
The problem with this method is that the experts may not actually know as much about the job
as the analyst would hope, since they do not actually perform the task themselves. Thus their
judgments are only estimates based upon their background experience.

Advantages of technical conference Disadvantages of technical conference

1. Data from experience is superior to observation
2. Data is comprehensive
3. Data from experience is superior to observation
4. SME's chosen for expertise and competence
SME may have trouble breaking work into
tasks and describing tasks.
Time consuming.
Differences in opinion may arise.

CHECK LISTS
It is similar to questionnaire but has lesser subjective judgment and more ‘yes’ ‘no’ type
questions.
A checklist may cover as many as 100 activities and job holder ticks only those tasks that are
included in their jobs. After many job holders have responded, highly related behaviors are clustered
by using statistical methods to form factors representing common underlying dimensions of task
characteristics.

Advantages of checklist Disadvantages of checklist

1. Early to administer. May not include all important part of work.
2. Easy to administer. Expensive for small firms.
3. Inexpensive.
Tabulation and recording on electronic data
4.
processing equipment is possible.
Useful in large firms which has large number of
5.
people assigned the same job.

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JOB DESCRIPTION
Job description is an organized factual statement of job contents in the form of duties and
responsibilities of a specific job. It is a simple written record of what the job holder does on his job. It
is necessary before a vacancy is advertised to tell about the type and requirements of job.
A Job Description provides information on what a job involves, in other words, exactly what is
it that the person has to do. Every job should have its’ own Job Description, explaining exactly what is
involved for the particular role. A Job Description is intended to give a candidate a clear feel for what
they would be doing should they take up the position. It does not include the physical demands of the
job. It does not pertain to the exact job the worker was doing at the time of the injury. It is only a
summary of the job.

Importance of Job Description

1. To attract correct candidates for correct job.
2. For development of realistic standards for performance and increase the effectiveness of
training.

Elements / Content of Job Description

1. Job title: it is to describe the nature of the job and should be short and suggestive.
2. Job location: it is necessary to give the department or place where the job exists
3. Job summary: a small summary of the tasks performed by the employees in that job.
4. Duties to be performed: it actually lists down each task to be performed and the responsibilities
held by the employee. It is the most important step of job description.
5. Equipment, machine, tools, and material used: it includes the items which are used by the
employee to perform his task. This is necessary since these items tend to indicate the nature and
complexity of the job.
6. Relation with other jobs: clear cut relation of the job under consideration with other jobs in the
organization will help to understand the nature of the job well
7. Nature of supervision: there are certain jobs particularly unskilled jobs, which requires
intensive supervision, while other jobs requires less supervision
8. Working conditions: it gives the working environment, potential hazards and details of physical
surroundings within the working area to help in subsequent interpretation of job evaluation.

Validity of Job Description

A job description is valid to the extent that it accurately reflects job contents. It influences the
employment and evaluation practices in organization. If the job description is inaccurate and
misleading, candidates without proper qualifications may be referred to departmental heads, or job
may be ranked improperly with others in terms of worth to the organization. Inaccurate job can also
reduce the effectiveness of training and can result in development of unrealistic standards of
performance.

JOB SPECIFICATION
Job specification is a statement of capabilities and qualifications required to perform a job. Job
specification should define the minimum acceptable standards for employment and performance on the

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job. These qualities assessed and recorded involve subjective judgment on a part of personnel manager,
supervisor, job analyst and job holder.
Job specification translates the job description into human qualifications and sometimes level
of performance required for successful performance of the job.

Elements of Job Specification

1. Education
2. Experience
3. Training
4. Judgment
5. Initiative
6. Physical efforts
7. Physical skills
8. Responsibilities
9. Communication skills
10. Emotional characteristics
11. Unusual sensory demands such as sight, smell, hearing

Problems with Job Analysis

1. Lack of support from top management
2. Lack of training of the analyst and incumbent. Incumbent should be trained about the purpose
of job analysis otherwise they may distort data
3. Use of only one method every method has advantages and disadvantages so using more than
one method may provide better data
4. Other problems
a. Lack of participation of stake holder
b. Lack of reward for quality information
c. Insufficient time awarded
d. Absence of review
e. Intentional / unintentional distortion by incumbent
f. Time spent on job analysis is too long

JOB EVALUATION
A job evaluation is a systematic way of determining the value/worth of a job in relation to other
jobs in an organization. It tries to make a systematic comparison between jobs to assess their relative
worth for the purpose of establishing a rational pay structure.
Job evaluation is the combination of methods and practices to ordering jobs or positions with
respect to their value or worth to the organization.
This process helps the management to maintain high levels of employee productivity and
employee satisfaction.
According to ILO (international labour organization) “job evaluation may be defined as an
attempt to determine and compare the demands which the normal performance of particular jobs make
a normal workers, without taking account of the individual abilities or performance of the workers
concern.
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Need and Significance
1. By the help of job evaluation more rational and consistent wage and salary structure can be
evolved.
2. Helps in bringing and maintaining harmonious relations between labor and management.
3. Tends to eliminate wage inequality within the organization and industry.
4. Precisely defines the jobs and fix wages accordingly.
5. Helps in recruiting new employees as it involves job analysis and appraisal.

Methods of Job Evaluation

RANKING METHOD
According to this method, jobs are arranged from highest to lowest, in order of their value or
merit to the organization. Jobs can also be arranged according to the relative difficulty in performing
them. The jobs are examined as a whole rather than on the basis of important factors in the job.
Jobs are compared to each other based on the overall worth of the job of the organization. The
worth of a job is usually based on judgment of skills, efforts, responsibility and working conditions. A
summary method based on ranking of job post hardest to easiest.

Advantages of Ranking Method Disadvantages of Ranking Method

1. Simple. Difficult to administer as the number of jobs increases
2. Easily understood by the employees Rank judgments are subjective
Very effective when there are less than 30 Ranking process needs to be repeated each time a new
3.
jobs job is added to the organization

CLASSIFICATION METHOD
A summary method based on grouping job posts into homogenous classes (categories) then
compared to any model.
The classification of the positions is decided by comparing the whole job with the appropriate
job grading standards. The standards identify and describe those key characteristics of occupation
which are significant for distinguishing different levels of work.

Advantages of Classification Method Disadvantages of Classification Method

1. Simple Classification judgments are subjective
Grade / category structure are independent to the Standards may include biases that may affect
2. job therefore new job can be classified more certain groups of employees (female or
easily. minorities).
Some jobs may appear to fit in more than one
3.
job category.

FACTORS COMPARISON METHOD

An analytical method based on determining the right hierarchy of job posts regardless of level
of difficulty.

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 A set of compensable factors are identified for determining the worth of jobs. Factors are skill,
responsibilities efforts working conditions.
Under this method, instead of ranking complete jobs, each job is ranked according to a series of
factors. These factors include mental effort, physical effort, skill needed, responsibility, supervisory
responsibility, working conditions and other such factors

Advantages of Factors Comparison

Disadvantages of Factors Comparison Method
Method
1. Value of job is expressed in monitory term Pay is based on judgments that are subjective
2. Can be applied to wide range of jobs Difficult in appropriate selection of key job posts
Universal – it can be used in different Standards may include biases that may affect
3.
organizations certain groups of employees (female or minorities)
4. Can be applied to newly created jobs

POINT METHOD
A set of compensable factors are identified as determining the worth of jobs. The point method
is an extension of the factor comparison method. Typically the compensable factors include the major
categories of:
1. Skill
2. Responsibilities
3. Effort
4. Working Conditions
These factors can then be further defined.
1. Skill
1. Experience
2. Education
3. Ability (initiative and ingenuity)
2. Responsibilities
1. Fiscal
2. Supervisory
3. Effort
1. Mental and psychological demands
2. Physical
4. Working Conditions
1. Location
2. Hazards
3. Extremes in Environment
Each factor is then divided into levels or degrees which are then assigned points. Each job is
rated using the job evaluation instrument. The points for each factor are summed to form a total point
score for the job. Jobs are then grouped by total point score and assigned to wage/salary grades so that
similarly rated jobs would be placed in the same wage/salary grade.

Advantages of Point Method Disadvantages of Point Method

1. Value of job is expressed in monitory term Pay is based on judgment s that are subjective
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 Standards may include biases that may affect certain
2. Can be applied to wide range of jobs
groups of employees (female or minorities)
3. Can be applied to newly created jobs

Advantages of job evaluation

1. Logical and to some extent an objective method of ranking job
2. Helps in removing inequality in existing salary structure
3. Facilitates new jobs fitting into the existing wage and salary structure
4. Helps in removing grievances
5. Helps in maintain better labour management relation
6. Brings uniformity to organization in terms of wages

Disadvantages of job evaluation

1. Although various job evaluation methods are available rapid change in technology and job
requirements make it difficult to adjust
2. Job evaluation software take long time to install and is costly
3. Job factors fluctuate due to change in production, technology information system and division
of labour.

JOB DESIGN

It is essential to design jobs for employees that reduce stress, enhance motivation and
satisfaction and improves performance, so that the organization competes effectively in the global
market place.

Approaches to Job Design

1. Job Rotation: An alternative to boredom in workplace is job rotation. It implies moving of

employees from one job to another without any fundamental change in the nature of job.
2. Job Enlargement: It involves adding more task to a job. It is a horizontal expansion and
increases job scope.
3. Job Enrichment: It involves a vertical expansion of a job by adding more responsibility
and freedom to it. Job enrichment improves the quality of work output, motivation and
satisfaction.

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