Human Resource
Management:
An Asian
Perspective
(Second Edition)
Chapter 4
Job Analysis
Gary Dessler and Chwee Huat Tan
© 2009 Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd.
All rights reserved.
After studying this chapter,
you should be able to:
1. Discuss the nature of job analysis (what it is and how
it is used)
2. Know how to collect job analysis information,
including interview, questionnaire, observation and
participant’s diary
3. Write job descriptions, job summaries and job
specifications
4. Explain what job analysis is, what it means and how it
is done in practice
5. Explain what competence-based job analysis is
© 2009 Pearson Education South Asia. All rights reserved. 4–2
The Nature of Job Analysis
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.
© 2009 Pearson Education South Asia. All rights reserved. 4–3
The Nature of Job Analysis
Type of information collected:
– Work activities
– Human behaviors
– Machines, tools, equipment, and work aids
– Performance standards
– Job context
– Human requirements
© 2009 Pearson Education South Asia. All rights reserved. 4–4
The Nature of Job Analysis
Figure 4.1
Information Collected by HR Specialists
© 2009 Pearson Education South Asia. All rights reserved. 4–5
Uses of Job Analysis
Information
Figure 4.2
Uses of Job Analysis Information
© 2009 Pearson Education South Asia. All rights reserved. 4–6
Uses of Job Analysis
Information
Recruitment and selection
– Selection of people to recruit based on job
requirements and human characteristics
needed to perform these jobs
Performance appraisal
– Compares employees’ performance with
standards which are derived from job
analysis
© 2009 Pearson Education South Asia. All rights reserved. 4–7
Uses of Job Analysis
Information
Job evaluation / compensation
– Estimate value of each job and its appropriate
compensation based on job’s required skill,
education level, safety hazard, level of
responsibility etc.
– Relative worth of job determined to group
jobs into different classes
Training requirements
– Training requirements based on job and
required skills which are listed in the job
description
© 2009 Pearson Education South Asia. All rights reserved. 4–8
Steps in Job Analysis
Step 1: Decide how you’ll use the
information.
Step 2: Review relevant background
information – organization chart/job
description
Step 3: Select representative positions.
Step 4: Actually analyze the job.
Step 5: Verify the job analysis information.
Step 6: Develop a job description and job
specification.
© 2009 Pearson Education South Asia. All rights reserved. 4–9
Steps in Job Analysis
Organization chart
– A chart that shows the organization-wide
distribution of work, with titles of each
position and interconnecting lines that show
who reports to and communicates to whom.
Job specification
– A list of a job’s “human requirements” i.e. the
requisite education, skills, personality etc.
© 2009 Pearson Education South Asia. All rights reserved. 4–10
Methods of Collecting Job
Analysis Information
Figure 4.3
Methods of Collecting Information
© 2009 Pearson Education South Asia. All rights reserved. 4–11
Methods of Collecting Job
Analysis Information: The
Interview
Information sources Interview formats
– Individual – Structured
employees (Checklist)
– Groups of – Unstructured
employees with Advantages
same job – Quick, direct way
– Supervisors with to find overlooked
knowledge of the information.
job Disadvantages
– Distorted
information
© 2009 Pearson Education South Asia. All rights reserved. 4–12
Methods of Collecting Job
Analysis Information: The
Interview
Interview 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.
© 2009 Pearson Education South Asia. All rights reserved. 4–13
Methods of Collecting Job
Analysis Information:
Questionnaires
Information source Advantages
– Have employees fill – Quick and efficient
out questionnaires way to gather
to describe their information from
job-related duties large numbers of
and responsibilities. employees
Questionnaire formats Disadvantages
– Structured – Expense and time
checklists consumed in
– Opened-ended preparing and
questions testing the
questionnaire
© 2009 Pearson Education South Asia. All rights reserved. 4–14
Methods of Collecting Job
Analysis Information:
Observation
Information source Advantages
– Observing and – Provides first-hand
noting the information
physical activities – Reduces distortion of
of employees as information
Disadvantages
they go about
their jobs – Time consuming
– Difficulty in capturing
entire job cycle
– Of little use if job
involves a high level
of mental activity
© 2009 Pearson Education South Asia. All rights reserved. 4–15
Methods of Collecting Job
Analysis Information:
Participant Diary
Information source Advantages
– Workers keep a – Produces a more
chronological complete picture of
the job
diary/ log of what
– Employee participation
they do and the
Disadvantages
time spent in each
activity – Distortion of
information
– Depends upon
employees to
accurately recall their
activities
© 2009 Pearson Education South Asia. All rights reserved. 4–16
Writing Job Descriptions
A job description
– A written statement of what the
worker actually does, how he or
she does it, and what the job’s
working conditions are.
© 2009 Pearson Education South Asia. All rights reserved. 4–17
Writing Job Descriptions
Sections of a typical job description
– Job identification
– Job summary
– Responsibilities and duties
– Authority of incumbent
– Standards of performance
– Working conditions
– Job specifications
© 2009 Pearson Education South Asia. All rights reserved. 4–18
Sample Job
Description
, Pearson
Education
Source: Courtesy of HR Department,
Pearson Education.
© 2009 Pearson Education South Asia. All rights reserved. 4–19
Sample Job
Description,
Pearson
Education
(cont’d)
Source: Courtesy of HR
Department, Pearson
Education.
© 2009 Pearson Education South Asia. All rights reserved. 4–20
The Job Description
Job identification
– Job title: name of job
– Date: when the description was written
– Prepared by: who wrote the description
Job summary
– Describes the general nature of the job
– Lists the major functions or activities
© 2009 Pearson Education South Asia. All rights reserved. 4–21
The Job Description
Relationships (chain of command)
– Reports to: employee’s immediate
supervisor
– Supervises: employees that the job
incumbent directly supervises
– Works with: others with whom the job
holder will be expected to work and come
into contact with internally.
– Outside the company: others with whom the
job holder is expected to work and come
into contact with externally.
© 2009 Pearson Education South Asia. All rights reserved. 4–22
The Job Description
Responsibilities and duties
– A listing of the job’s major responsibilities
and duties (essential functions)
– Defines limits of jobholder’s decision-
making authority, direct supervision, and
budgetary limitations.
© 2009 Pearson Education South Asia. All rights reserved. 4–23
The Job Description
Standards of Performance and Working
Conditions
– Lists standards the employee is expected to
achieve under each of the job description’s
main duties
– Standards must be specific
– Examples:
© 2009 Pearson Education South Asia. All rights reserved. 4–24
Writing Job Specifications
To show what kind of person to recruit and for
what qualities that person should be tested
on
Either listed in a section of job description or
in a separate document
© 2009 Pearson Education South Asia. All rights reserved. 4–25
Writing Job Specifications
Specifications Based on Judgment
– Self-created judgments (common sense)
– Basic question: What does it take in terms
of education, intelligence and training to do
this job well?
Specifications Based on Statistical Analysis
– Attempts to determine statistically the
relationship between a predictor or human
trait and an indicator or criterion of job
effectiveness.
– Five-step procedure:
© 2009 Pearson Education South Asia. All rights reserved. 4–26
Writing Job Specifications
Analyze
Analyze the
the job
job and
and decide
decide how
how to
to measure
measure job
job
performance
performance
Select
Select personal
personal traits
traits (like
(like finger
finger dexterity)
dexterity) that
that you
you
believe
believe should
should predict
predict successful
successful performance
performance
Test
Test candidates
candidates for
for these
these traits
traits
Measure
Measure these
these candidates’
candidates’ subsequent
subsequent job
job
performance
performance
Statistically
Statistically analyze
analyze relationship
relationship between
between the
the
human
human trait
trait (finger
(finger dexterity)
dexterity) and
and job
job performance
performance
Figure 4.8
Determining Job Specifications Through Statistical Analysis
© 2009 Pearson Education South Asia. All rights reserved. 4–27
Job Analysis in a “Jobless”
World
Job
– Generally defined as “a set of closely
related activities carried out for pay.”
© 2009 Pearson Education South Asia. All rights reserved. 4–28
Job Analysis in a “Jobless”
World
From Specialized to Enlarged Jobs
– Job enlargement
• Assigning workers additional same level
activities, thus increasing the number of activities
they perform.
– Job enrichment
• Redesigning jobs in a way that increases the
opportunities for the worker to experience
feelings of responsibility, achievement, growth,
and recognition.
© 2009 Pearson Education South Asia. All rights reserved. 4–29
Job Analysis in a “Jobless”
World
– Job rotation
• Moving a trainee from department to department
to broaden his or her experience and identify
strong and weak points to prepare the person for
an enhanced role with the company
• Systematically moving workers from one job to
another to enhance work team performance.
© 2009 Pearson Education South Asia. All rights reserved. 4–30
Job Analysis in a “Jobless”
World
Why Managers Are Dejobbing Their Companies
Dejobbing External factors leading
– Broadening the to dejobbing.
responsibilities of the – Rapid product and
company’s jobs technological change
– Encouraging – Global competition
employee initiative. – Deregulation,
Internal factors leading – Political instability,
to dejobbing – Demographic changes
– Flatter organizations – Rise of a service
– Work teams economy
– Re-engineering
© 2009 Pearson Education South Asia. All rights reserved. 4–31
Job Analysis in a “Jobless”
World
Competencies
– Demonstrable characteristics of a person
that enable performance of a job.
Competency-based job analysis
– Describing a job in terms of the measurable,
observable, behavioral competencies
(knowledge, skills, and/or behaviors) an
employee must exhibit to do a job well.
© 2009 Pearson Education South Asia. All rights reserved. 4–32
Job Analysis in a “Jobless”
World
Why Use Competency Analysis?
– Support HPWS
• Traditional job descriptions (with their lists of specific duties) may
actually backfire if a high-performance work system is the goal.
• HPWS encourages employees to work in a self-motivated manner.
Figure 4.9
Encouraging Employees to Work in a Self-Motivated Way
© 2009 Pearson Education South Asia. All rights reserved. 4–33
Job Analysis in a “Jobless”
World
Why Use Competency Analysis? (cont’d)
– Maintain a strategic focus
• Describing the job in terms of the skills,
knowledge, and competencies the worker needs
is more strategic.
– Measure performance
• Measurable skills, knowledge, and competencies
are the heart of any company’s performance
management process.
© 2009 Pearson Education South Asia. All rights reserved. 4–34
Self-Managed Teams (SMT)
in Asia
A small group of workers with authority to
manage their own work
Set their own targets and schedule
Inspect their own work
Review performance as a group
Allows workers to control their work
arrangements and job conditions
Requires technical and decision-making skills
© 2009 Pearson Education South Asia. All rights reserved. 4–35
The Skills Matrix for a Job at
BP
Note: The light blue boxes indicate the minimum level of skill required for the job.
© 2009 Pearson Education South Asia. All rights reserved. 4–36
SMTs at Texas Instruments
(Malaysia & Philippines) – 3
levels
1. Quality steering team
– MD & managers
2. Process management team
– Heads of department
3. Self-managed team
– Operators and technicians
© 2009 Pearson Education South Asia. All rights reserved. 4–37
SMT at Ritz Carlton
(Singapore)
Employees are authorized to spend up to a
specific amount to please a dissatisfied guest.
Credo:
– Do everything you can to never lose a guest.
SMTs recruit their co-workers, decide on work
procedures, and handle their own budget.
© 2009 Pearson Education South Asia. All rights reserved. 4–38
SMT at Becton Dickinson
Medical (Singapore) – 3 levels
1. Steering team
– Senior management to provide
direction
2. Resource team
– Professionals to support process teams
3. Process team
– Employees to manufacture products or
provide services
© 2009 Pearson Education South Asia. All rights reserved. 4–39
SMT at Becton Dickinson
Medical (Singapore) – 3 levels
The process team leader should:
– Coordinate activities
– Encourage participation
– Facilitate team decision-making
– Communicate performance targets
© 2009 Pearson Education South Asia. All rights reserved. 4–40
SMT at Becton Dickinson
Medical (Singapore) – 3 levels
Role of team members
– Understand team goals
– Participate to solve problems, make
decisions
– Perform tasks to achieve standards
– Monitor results
© 2009 Pearson Education South Asia. All rights reserved. 4–41
SMT at Becton Dickinson
Medical (Singapore) – 3 levels
Process teams are authorized to:
– Change methods & procedures
– Ensure customer satisfaction & safety
– Work overtime (within budget)
– Schedule activities
– Allocate resources
– Prioritize tasks
© 2009 Pearson Education South Asia. All rights reserved. 4–42