Chapter 4

Job Analysis

Part Two | Recruitment and Placement

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. PowerPoint Presentation by Charlie Cook

publishing as Prentice Hall The University of West Alabama
LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. Discuss the nature of job analysis, including what it is
and how it’s used.
2. Use at least three methods of collecting job analysis
information, including interviews, questionnaires, and
observation.
3. Write job descriptions, including summaries and job
functions, using the Internet and traditional methods.
4. Write a job specification.
5. Explain job analysis in a “worker-empowered” world,
including what it means and how it’s done in practice.

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WHERE WE ARE NOW…

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The Basics of Job Analysis: Terms
• Job Analysis
➢ The procedure for determining the duties and skill requirements
of a job and the kind of person who should be hired for it.
• Job Description
➢ A list of a job’s duties, responsibilities, reporting relationships,
working conditions, and supervisory responsibilities—one
product of a job analysis.
• Job Specifications
➢ A list of a job’s “human requirements,” that is, the requisite
education, skills, personality, and so on—another product of a
job analysis.
Check this video explaining the concept of job analysis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1fgOyqKQrI

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 Types of Information Collected
Work
Human activities
how, why, and when the
requirements worker performs each
job-related knowledge
or skills (education,
activity. Human
training, work behaviors
experience) and communicating,
required personal deciding, and writing,
attributes (aptitudes, lifting weights or walking
physical characteristics, long distances.
personality, interests).
Information
Collected Via
Job Analysis Machines, tools,
Job
equipment, and
context
physical working work aids
conditions, work tools used, materials
schedules, and processed, knowledge
incentives dealt with or applied,
Performance and services rendered.
standards
quantity and\or quality
output levels that can be
used to appraise
employees.

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 Uses of Job Analysis Information

Recruitment
and selection

Law
compliance Compensation
Information
Collected via
Job Analysis
Discovering Performance
unassigned duties appraisal

Training

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 Uses of Job Analysis Information (Cont.)
• Job analysis provides the information required for other organizational activities
that depend on and also support the job.
• Job analysis provides required duties and desired human characteristics
information needed to effectively Recruit and Select individuals for jobs.
• Compensation factors such as skill and education level, safety hazards, degree
of responsibility, and so on are assessed by job analysis.
• Knowledge of specific duties and requisite skills of a job is required for proper
Training of employees.
• Correctly conducting a Performance Appraisal requires knowledge of the job’s
duties and standard.
• Job analysis is a method for Discovering Unassigned Duties that should
become a formal part of a job.

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Steps in Job Analysis

Steps in doing a job analysis:

1 Decide how you’ll use the information.

2 Review relevant background information.

3 Select representative positions.

4 Actually analyze the job.

5 Verify the job analysis information.

6 Develop a job description and job specification.

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 FIGURE 4–2 Process Chart for Analyzing a Job’s Workflow

A process chart provides a detailed picture of a job’s work flow. In its simplest form, a
process chart shows the flow of inputs to and outputs from the job you’re analyzing.
In this figure, a quality control clerk is expected to review components from suppliers,
check components going to the plant managers, and give information regarding
components’ quality to these managers.
An existing job description, if there is one, usually provides a starting point for building the
revised job description.

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 Collecting Job Analysis Information
There are various ways to collect information on a job’s duties, responsibilities,
and activities. In practice, you could use any one of them, or combine
several. The basic rule is to use those that best fit your purpose.
Interviews, questionnaires, observations, and diaries/logs are the most popular
methods for gathering realistic information about what job incumbents actually
do. Managers use these methods for developing job descriptions and job
specifications.

Methods for Collecting Job Analysis Information

Interviews Questionnaires Observations Diaries/Logs

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Job Analysis: Interviewing Guidelines
• The job analyst and supervisor should work together
to identify the workers who know the job best.
• Quickly establish rapport with the interviewee.
• Follow a structured guide or checklist, one that lists
open-ended questions and provides space for answers.
• Ask the worker to list his or her duties in order
of importance and frequency of occurrence.
• After completing the interview, review and verify
the data.

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Methods for Collecting Job Analysis
Information: The Interview
• Information Sources
• Interview Formats
➢ Individual employees
➢ Structured (Checklist)
➢ Groups of employees
➢ Unstructured
➢ Supervisors with
knowledge of the job Check out an example of job
analysis interview for a fitness
• Advantages assistant: (important)
➢ Quick, direct way to find https://www.youtube.com/watc
overlooked information h?v=ggfX_v3vfwU
• Disadvantage
➢ Distorted information
It is interviewing’s main problem—whether
due to outright falsification, honest
misunderstanding, or statements inflating the
importance of their jobs by interviewees.

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Methods for Collecting Job Analysis
Information: Questionnaires
• Information Source • Advantages
➢ Have employees fill out ➢ Quick and efficient way
questionnaires to describe to gather information
their job-related duties and from large numbers of
responsibilities employees
• Questionnaire Formats • Disadvantages
➢ Structured checklists ➢ Expense and time
➢ Open-ended questions
consumed in preparing and
testing the questionnaire

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Methods for Collecting Job Analysis
Information: Observation
Direct observation is especially useful when jobs consist mainly of observable
physical activities. Observation is usually not appropriate when the job entails a
lot of mental activity or if the employee only occasionally engages in important
activities
• Advantages
• Information Source ➢ Provides first-hand
➢ Observing and noting the information
physical activities of ➢ Reduces distortion
employees as they go of information
about their jobs by
managers.
• Disadvantages
➢ Time consuming
➢ Reactivity response distorts
employee behavior
➢ Difficulty in capturing
entire job cycle
➢ Of little use if job involves a
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high level of mental activity 4–14
Methods for Collecting Job Analysis
Information: Participant Diaries/Logs
Workers are asked to keep a record of what they do during the day by writing a
diary/log. Employees record each of their activities (along with the time) in a log. This
can produce a very complete picture of the job, especially when supplemented with
subsequent interviews with the worker and the supervisor.

The employee, of course, might try to exaggerate some activities and underplay
others. However, the detailed, chronological nature of the log tends to mediate against
this.

Diaries/logs have gone high-tech. Some firms give employees pocket dictating
machines and pagers. Then at random times during the day, they page the workers, who
dictate what they are doing at that time. This approach can avoid one pitfall of the
traditional diary/log method: relying on workers to remember what they did hours earlier
when they complete their logs at the end of the day.

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Methods for Collecting Job Analysis
Information: Participant Diaries/Logs
• Information Source • Advantages
➢ Workers keep a ➢ Produces a more complete
chronological diary or log picture of the job
of what they do and the ➢ Employee participation
time spent on each activity
• Disadvantages
➢ Distortion of information
➢ Depends upon employees
to accurately recall their
activities

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Internet-Based Job Analysis
• Advantages
➢ Collects information in a standardized format from
geographically dispersed employees
➢ Requires less time than face-to-face interviews
➢ Collects information with minimal intervention or guidance

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 Writing Job Descriptions

Job
identification

Job Job
specifications summary

Sections of a
Typical Job
Working Description Responsibilities and
conditions duties

Standards of Authority of
performance the incumbent

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The Job Description
• Responsibilities and Duties
• Job Identification
➢ Major responsibilities and
➢ Job title duties (essential functions)
➢ Department ➢ Decision-making authority
➢ Company name ➢ Direct supervision
➢ Job code ➢ Budgetary limitations
➢ Salary
• Standards of Performance
• Job Summary ➢ What it takes to do the job
➢ General nature of the job successfully
➢ Major functions/activities • Working Conditions
• Relationships ➢ working environment like
➢ Reports to: safety regulations, office,
car,…etc.
➢ Supervises:
➢ Works with: • Job specification:
➢ Outside the company: ➢Includes individual’s skills and
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qualifications
Check these links that show how to write a
job description and provide different
samples of Job description.

• https://www.indeed.com/hire/how-to-write-a-job-
description

• http://templatelab.com/job-description/

• https://business.linkedin.com/talent-solutions/job-
descriptions/accountant

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 Writing Job Specifications
The job specification focuses on the person in answering the question, “What
human traits and experience are required to do this job effectively?”
It shows what kind of person to recruit and for what qualities you should test that
person. The job specification may be a section of the job description, or a
separate document.
“What human traits and
experience are required to
do this job well?”

Job specifications
Job specifications
for trained versus Job specifications based on statistical
untrained based on judgment analysis
personnel
job specifications based on
Job specifications for Job specifications can be based on the best statistical analysis is more
trained employees focus on judgments of the common-sense experiences of defensible than the judgmental
traits like length of previous supervisors and human resource managers. The approach because equal rights
service, quality of relevant basic procedure here is to ask, “What does it take legislation forbids using traits
training, and previous job in terms of education, intelligence, training, and that can’t be proved to
performance. the like to do this job well?” distinguish between high and
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
low job performers. 4–21
 Job Analysis in a Worker-Empowered
World
check this video about job design and redesign
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKlLOHQr9UI

Job Design:
From Specialized
to Enriched Jobs

Job
Job Job
Enlargement
Rotation Enrichment

additional same-level moving workers from one increases the opportunities for the
activities job to another. worker to experience feelings of
responsibility, achievement, growth,
and recognition
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 Other Changes at Work

Changing the
Organization and
Its Structure

Flattening the Using self-managed Reengineering

organization work teams business processes

Reduce number of Teams that are The fundamental

management layers. managed by their rethinking and radical
For example instead members and has no redesign of business
of seven or more to leader processes to achieve
just three or four dramatic
levels. improvements in
performance
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KEY TERMS

job analysis
job description
job specifications
organization chart
process chart
diary/log
position analysis questionnaire (PAQ)
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC)
job enlargement
job rotation
job enrichment
competency-based job analysis
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 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Printed in the United States of America.

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Based on what you have learned in this chapter; try
to solve these questions:
T/F
1- Information about human requirements and
behavior in a specific job, can be found in the job
specification section
2- Main advantage of observation as a method of job
analysis, is having the worker’s changing what he or
she normally does, because he/she is been
watched.
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3- Diaries or log books can produce a very

complete picture of the job, especially when

supplemented with subsequent interviews with the

worker and the supervisor.

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 MCQs
1- Distortion of information is the main problem of:
a) Interview.
b) Observation.
c) Work sampling.
d) Questionnaires.
e) a& d

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2- What is the first step in conducting a job analysis?
a) Deciding how the gathered information will be
used.
b) Collecting data on job activities and working
conditions.
c) Selecting representative job position to assess.
d) Reviewing relevant background information.
e)Writing job description and job specification.

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3- Which of the following is the primary
disadvantage of using interviews to collect job
analysis data?
A) Interviews are a complicated method for
collecting information.
B) Employees may exaggerate or minimize some
information.
C) Interviews provide only general information about
a worker's duties.
D) Employees may reveal minimal information about
their daily activities.
E) Interviews may require managers to reveal the
job analysis function.

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 Answers
True/False:
1- T
2- F
3- T

MCQs:
1- E
2- A
3- B

For more questions please check the

students’ questions guide on the faculty
website.
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