Chapter-3

Overview in this chapter

1. Meaning and Definition of Job Analysis; Farzana Boni

2. Job Analysis Process;

3. Purposes of Job Analysis;

4. Methods of Collecting Job Data;

5. Potential Problems with Job Analysis;

6. Meaning and Definition of Job Design;

7. Factors affecting Job Design; 8. Job Design Approaches.

Job Analysis
Meaning and Definition

Job analysis may be understood as a process of collecting information about a job. Such
information helps in the preparation of job description and job specification

A few Definition of Job Analysis are quoted below:

According to Edwin, B. Flippo, “Job analysis is the process of studying and collecting
information relating to the operations and responsibilities of a specific job. The immediate
production of this analysis are job descriptions and job specification."
According to, Decenzo and Robbins, " Job analysis is a systematic exploration of the activities
within a job. It is a basic technical procedure, one that is used to define the duties,
responsibilities and accountabilities of a job."

Process of Job Analysis

📝the following figure illustrate the process of job analysis. The figure also points out the
usage of information about jobs. Each phase in the process of job analysis is explained in the
paragraphs that follow.
1. Strategic Choices:

With regard to job analysis, an organization is required to make at least five choices:
i) The extent of employee involvement in job analysis

ii) The level of details of the analysis

iii) Timing and frequency of the analysis
iv) Post oriented versus future-oriented analysis
v) Sources of job data.

2. Information Gathering:
This step involves decisions on three issues:

i) What type of data is to be collected?

ii) What methods are to be employed for data collection?
iii) Who should collect the data?
So far as the type of data to be collected is concerned, It may be stated that all details about
the jobs need to be gathered.
There are four types of job analysis information used:
i)Work activities;
ii) Machines, tools; equipment and work aids used;

iii)Job context;
v)Personal requirements.

📝With regard to the methods of data collection, there are several of them, but the more
prominent of them are –
i) Observation

i) Interview
iii)Questionnaires

iv) Checklists
v) Technical conference and
vi) Diary method.

📝 With regard to the persons employed to collect data, it may be stated that three types of
individuals are used. They are

i)Trained job analysts;

ii) Supervisors; and

iii) Job incumbents.

3. Information Processing:

Once the job information have been collected, its needs to be processed, so that it would be
useful in various personnel function. Specifically job-related data would be useful to prepare
job description and job specification.
4.Job Description:

Job description implies objective listing of the job title, tasks, duties and responsibilities
involved in a job.

5.Job Specification:
Job specification involves listing of employee qualifications, skills and abilities. These
specification are needed to do the job satisfactorily.

Purposes of Job Analysis

- As was started earlier, job analysis is useful for overall management of all personnel activities.
Job related data obtained from a job analysis program are useful in HRP, employee hiring,
training, job evolution, compensation, performance appraisal, computerized personnel
information systems and safety and health. Each of these applications of job analysis is
described in brief here..

1.Human Resource Planning: HRP determines as to how many and what type of
personnel will be needed in the near future. The number and the type of the personnel are
determined by the jobs which need to be satisfied. Job related information is therefore,
necessary for HRM.

2.Recruitment and Selection: Recruitment need to be preceded by job analysis. Job

analysis helps the HR manager to locate places to obtain employees for opening anticipated in
the future. An understanding of the types of the skills needed and types of job that may open in
the future, enables managers to have a better continuity and planning in staffing their
organization.

Similarly, selection a qualified person to fill a job requires knowing clearly the work to be done
and the qualifications needed for someone to perform the work satisfactorily. Without a clear
and precise understanding of what a job entails, the HR manager cannot effectively select
someone to do the job.

3.Training and Development: Job analysis useful for an HRD manager in as much as it
helps him/her know what a given job demands from the incumbent in terms of knowledge and
skills. Training and development programs can be designed depending on the job requirements.
Selection of trainees is also facilitated by job analysis.

3. Job Evaluation: Job evaluation involves determination of relative worth of each job for
the purpose of establishing wages and salary differentials. Relative worth is determined mainly
on the basis of job description and job specification.

4.Remuneration: Remuneration also involves fringe benefit, bonus and other benefits.
Clearly, remuneration must be based on the relative worth of each job. Ignoring this basic
principle results in inequitable compensation. A perception of inequity is a sure way of de
motivating an employee.

5.Performance Appraisal: Performance appraisal involves Assessment of the actual

performance of an employee against what is expected of him/her. Such assessment is the basis
for awarding promotions, effecting transfers, or assessing training needs. Job analysis facilitates
performance appraisal in as much as it helps fix standards for performance in relation to which
actual performance of an employee is compared and assessed.

6.Personnel Information: Organizations generally maintained computerized personnel

information systems. Such information system is useful as it helps:
1. Improve administrative efficiency by speeding up the provision of data. By reducing the
resources required to carry out routine administration.
2. Provide decision support information which gives a factual basis for decision concerning the
planning, acquisition, development, utilization and remuneration of human resources.

7.Safety and health: The process of conducting a detailed job analysis provides an excellent
opportunity to uncover and identify hazardous conditions and unhealthy environmental
factors. So that corrective measures can be taken to minimize and avoid the possibility of
human injury.

Methods of Collecting Job Data

The methods of collecting job related data are -
1. Observational method;

2.Interviews;
3. Questionnaire;

4.Checklists;
5.Technical Conferences; and 6.Diary method;
1. Observation:
In this method the job analysts carefully observes the job holder at work and records what he
or she does, how he or she does, and how much time is needed for completion of given task.
This method has both positive as well as negative sides. On the positive side, the method is
simple, and the data collected are accurate because of direct observation. On the other side, it
may be told that the method is time consuming and inapplicable to jobs which involve high
proportions of unobservable mental activities. The analyst needs to be trained to carefully
observe and record the competence of a job incumbent. And training means additional costs.

2. Interview:
In this, the analyst interviews the job holder and his or her supervisor to elicit information
about the job. Usually, a structured interview form is used to record the information. During
the interview, the analyst must make judgments about the information to be included and its
degree of importance.
The interview method is time consuming. The time problem will be compounded if the
interviewer talks with two or more employees doing the same job. Furthermore, professional
and managerial jobs are more complicated to analyze and usually required a longer interview.
Then there is the problems of bias. Though this method is time-consuming but effective to
make meaningful responses.

3. Questionnaire:
Using this method, employees are given a structured questionnaire on which they cheek or rate
items they perform on their job from a long list of possible task items. This technique is
excellent for gathering information about jobs. However, exceptions to a job may be
overlooked, and feedback is often lacking.

4. Checklists:
A checklist is similar to a questionnaire, but the response sheet contains fewer subjective
judgments and tends to be either yes - or - no variety. Checklists can cover as many as 100
activities and job holders tick only those tasks that are included in their jobs. Prepare of a
checklist is a challenging job. The specialists who prepare the list must collect all relevant
information about the job concerned. Such information can be obtained by asking supervisors,
industrial engineers, and other familiar with the work.
When a checklist has been prepared , it is sent to the job holder. The job holder is asked to
check all listed tasks that he/she performs and indicate the amount of time spent on each task
as well as the training and experience required to be proficient in each task. The checklist, thus
answered, will be the basis for tabulating job-related data One advantage of the checklist
method is that it is useful in large organizations that have a large number of people assigned to
one particular job. Also, this technique is amenable to tabulation and recording on electronic
data-processing equipment. The technique, however, is costly and, hence, not suitable for small
organizations.

5.Technical Conference Method:

In this method, service of supervisors who possess extensive knowledge about a job are used. It
is from these experts that details about the job are obtained, Here a conference of supervisors
is used. The analyst initiates discussion which provides details about job. Though a good
method of data collection, this method lacks accuracy because the actual job holders are not
involved in collecting information.

6. Diary Method:
This methods requires the job holders to record in detail their activities each day. If done
faithfully, this technique is accurate and eliminates errors caused by memory lapses the job
holder makes while answering questionnaires and checklists. This method, however, is time
consuming because the recording of tasks may have to be spread over a number of days. It also
engages considerable time of a production worker. No wonder, the diary method is not used
much in practice.
📝Potential Problems with Job Analysis
Certain problems crop up while conducting job analysis. The major ones are described below:

Support from Top Management: In most cases, top management support is missing. The top
management should make it clear to all employees that their full and honest participation is
extremely important for the communicated. process. This massage is, often, not
Single means and Source: This relates to the defect in the process of job analysis. There are
many proven methods and sources of collecting data. All too often, analysts rely on only one of
the methods when a combination of two methods might provide a better data.
No Training or Motivation: This also relates to the defect in the job analysis process, Job
holders are a great source of information about the job. But they are not trained or motivated
to generate quality data for job analysis. Further, job holders are rarely made aware of the
importance of the data, and are never rewarded for providing accurate data.

Activities may be Distorted: Where training and preparedness do not exist, job holders tend to
submit distorted data, either intentionally or inadvertently. For example, employees are likely
to speed up, if they know they are being watched.
 Job Design
The logical sequence of job analysis is job design. Job analysis, as was explained earlier,
provides job related data as well as the skills and knowledge expected of the incumbent to
discharge the job. Job design then, involves conscious efforts to organize tasks, duties and
responsibilities into a unit of work to achieve certain objectives.
According to Mathis and Jackson, “It integrates work content (tasks, functions, relationships),
the rewards (extrinsic and intrinsic), and the qualifications required (skills, knowledge, abilities)
for each job in a way that meets the needs of employees and the organizations."

Thus job design involves three steps:

1. The specification of the individual tasks;

2. The specification of the method (s) of performing each tasks; and

3. The combination of tasks into specific jobs to be assigned

Step 1 and 3 determine the content of the job, while step 2 indicates precisely how the job shall
be performed. While designing a job, requirements of the organization and individual needs of

the job holder must be considered. The key to successful job design lies in balancing the
requirements of the organization and job holder.

Factors Affecting Job Design

Job design is affected by organizational, environmental and behavioral factors which are
elaborate bellow:

1, Organizational Factors:;

i) Characteristics of task,

ii) Work flow,

iii) Ergonomics, and

iv) Work practices.

2. Environmental Factors:
i) Employee abilities availability,
ii) Social and cultural
expectations,
3. Behavioral Factors: i)Feedback, and ii) Autonomy
1.Organizational Factors:
i) Characteristics of Task: Job design requires the
assembly of a number of tasks into a job or a group
of jobs. An individual may carry out one main task
which consists of a number of interrelated elements
or functions. The internal elements of each task
consists of three elements:

(a)Planning - Deciding the course of action, timing

and the resources required.
(b)Executing– Carrying out the plan. And

(c)Controlling - monitoring performance and taking

corrective action when required.
The ideal job design is to integrate all the

ii) Work Flow: The flow of work in an

organization is strongly influenced by the nature of
the product or service. The product or service
usually suggests the sequence and balance between
jobs if the work is to be done efficiently. After the
sequence of jobs is determined, the balance
between jobs is established.

(iii)Ergonomics: Ergonomics is concerned with designing and shaping jobs to fit the physical
abilities and characteristics of individuals so that they can perform their job effectively.
Ergonomics helps employers to design jobs in such a way that workers' physical abilities and job
demands are balanced. It does not alter the nature of job tasks but the location of tools,
switches and other facilities is changed to make the job holder feel comfortable.

2. Environmental Factors
i) Employees Abilities and Availabilities: Efficiency consideration must be balanced against
abilities and availability of the people who are to do the work. When Henry Ford made use of
the assembly line, for example, he was aware that most potential workers lacked any
automobile- making experience. So jobs were designed simple and required little training.
Therefore considerable thought must be given as to who will actually do the work.
(ii)Social and Cultural Expectations: There were days when getting a job was the primary
consideration. The worker was prepared to work on any job and under any working conditions.
Not any more. Literacy, knowledge and awareness among workers have improved
considerably, so also their expectations from jobs. Hence jobs must be designed to meet the
expectations of workers.

When designing jobs for international operations, uniform designs are almost certain to neglect
national and cultural differences. Hours of work, holidays, vacations, rest breaks, religious
beliefs, management styles, and worker sophistication and attitudes are just some of the
predictable differences that can affect the design of jobs across international borders.

3.Behavioral Elements:
(i)) Feedback: Individuals must receive meaningful feedback about their performance,
preferably by evaluating their Own performance and defining the feedback. This implies that
they should ideally work on a complete product or on a significant part of it.
ii) Autonomy: Autonomy is being responsible for what one does. It is the freedom to control
one's responses to the environment. Jobs that give workers authority to make decisions will
provide added responsibilities, which tend to increase the employee's sense of recognition and
self - - esteem. The absence of autonomy, on the other hand, performance. can cause
employee poor performance.

Job Design Approaches

Five popular approaches to job design are:

1. Job Rotation;

2. Job Engineering;
3. Job Enlargement;

4. Job Enrichment; and

5. Socio-Technical Systems.

1. Job Rotation: Job rotation refers to moving employees from job to job to add variety and
reduce boredom. When an activity is no longer challenging, the employee would be moved
to another job at the same level that has similar skill requirements. It reduces boredom and
disinterest through diversifying the employee's activities. Employees with a wider range of
skills give the management more flexibility in scheduling work, adopting to changes and
filling vacancies.
2. Job Engineering: Job engineering focus on thetask to be performed, methods to be used,
workflows among employees, layout of the workplace, performance standards, and
interdependencies among people and machines. Experts often examine these job design factors
by means of time-and-motion studies, determining the time required to do each task and the
movements needed to perform it efficiently.

3.Job Enlargement: Job enlargement refers to the expansion of the number of different
tasks performed by an employee in a single job. For example, an auto machine undergoes job
enlargement when he switches from only changing oil to changing oil, greasing and changing
transmission fluid. Job enlargement attempts to add somewhat similar tasks to the existing job
so that it has more variety and be more interesting.

4..Job Enrichment: First coined by Harzberg in his famous research with motivators and
maintenance factors, job enrichment has become a popular concept. Job enrichment involves
adding more motivators to a job to make it more rewarding. Job becomes enriched when it
gives job-holder more decision-making, planning and controlling powers.

5.Socio-Technical Systems: The socio- technical systems approach focuses on organizations

as being made up of people with various competencies (the social systems) who use tools,
machines and techniques (the technical system) to create goods or services valued by
customers and other stakeholders. Thus, the social and technical systems need to be designed
with respect to one another and to the demands of customers, suppliers and other
stakeholders in the external environment. All firms are socio-technical, but they seldom reflect
the principles underlying this approach.