HUMAN RESOURCE

MANAGEMENT
JOB DESIGN,
JOB ANALYSIS,
JOB DESCRIPTION AND
JOB SPECIFICATION
Job Design

The design of an effective work unit for an individual employee is a highly complex task. It
should not be left solely to the line supervisor the unit business agent, or the industrial
engineer.
• Among the many factors that will affects job design are
• (1) the proven values of the specialisation and respective operations
• (2) changing technology.
• (3) labour union policies,
• (4) abilities of present personnel,
• (5) available supply of potential employees,
• (6) the interaction requirements among jobs within the system, and
• (7) psychological and social needs of human beings that can be met by the job
• Specialisation tends to lead to greater productivity as well as ease of hiring. The resulting unit of
work undergoes constant automation. Some jobs are eliminated others created and others
experience personality and breath of vie point.
• Economic and organisational values lost in job design may be recouped in part through enhance
union co-operation.
• Management must also be concerned with the practical consideration of quality of personnel
presently available, both within the firm and in the labour markets generally.
• Behavioural scientists have continually stressed the importance of designig job and systems of work
in manne that will satisfy psychological and sociological needs of people of the most commonly
cited human relations problems in this area of design is employee, dissatisfaction with jobs that are
repetitive, arrow, meaningless and routine.
Job Enlargement

• The additional responsibilities are of horizontal nature variety has been introduced and the
process is termed “Job enlargement”
• Variety can be produced by adding functions, thus possibly reducing monotony. A psychological
value can be derived if the added functions make possible the completion of an identifiable unit
thereby producing a sense of closure. In one instance, a hospital appliance that had been
assembled by nine workers spaced along a moving convey or was changed to a ne systems
where each operator completed an entire unit.
• In a study of various assembly line jobs in a home laundry manufacturing firm, attempts were
made over a 5-year period to increase the number and variety of tasks in single jobs. For
example, a pump assembly lines of six moving to single operator workstations where the operator
would perform the full assembly, the time was reduced to 1.49 minutes. In thirteen other similar
jobs changes, these was an average decrease in quality rejects from 2.9 o 1.4 percent. However,
there was an average decrease in output efficiency from 138% to 126%.
• Job enlargement provides greater job scope. Various work functions are combined from a
horizontal slice of an organisational unit. It means that two or more jobs may be aggregated
horizontally, as against vertical aggregation in job enrichment. A system of job rotation, enabling
workers to move from one job to a completely different one, can also be initiated. Job rotation
enables the workers to develop different skills and challenges, while relieving them of the
monotony of doing one job constantly.
• An interesting example of Job enlargement was narrated by Earnest Dale in his book “organisation”.
Thomas. [Link], president of the IBM found a young woman standing idle by her machine
waiting for the next man to make adjustments, through she herself knew how to do it . But the
company rules did not allow her to do so. Watson, therefore, decided to allow her and the other
operators to make their own adjustments rather than waiting for the setup man to arrive. The idea
has proved successful, not only to boos morale but also to increase quality. After this incident, IBM
ha made a deliberate attempt for job enlargement.
Job Analysis

• “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 job” David. A.
Decenzo and Stephen P. Robbins.
• “A job is a collection of tasks that can be performed by a single employee to contribute to the
production of some product on service provided by the organisation. Each job has certain ability
requirement associated with it. Job analysis is the process used o identify these requirements. -
Hebert. G. Hereman
Need for job analysis

• When an organisation is established, the job analysis programme is initiated for the first time.
• When a new job is created.
• When a job is changed significantly as a result of new technology, methods, procedures or systems.

• When the organisaion contemplates a new compensation plan.

Job analysis provides the following
information
• Job identification : Its title including its code number.
• Significant characteristics of a job: Its location, physical setting, supervision, Union
Jurisdiction, Hazards and discomforts.
• What the typical worker does : Specific operation and tasks that make up an assignment
this relative timing and importance their simplicity, routine or complexity the responsibility
or safety of others for property, funds, confidence and trust.
• Which materials and equipment a worker uses : Metals, plastics, grains, yarns, milling
machines, punch presses and micrometers.
• How a job is performed: Nature of operation-lifting, handling, cleaning, washing, feeding,
removing, drilling, driving, setting up, and many others.
• Required personal attributes: Experience, training, apprenticeship, physical strength, co-
ordination or dexterity, physical demands, mental capabilities,
• aptitudes, social skills.
• Job Relationship: Experience required, opportunities for advancement, patterns of
promotions, essential co-operation, direction, or leadership form and for a job.
Steps in Job Analysis
• There are five basic steps required for doing a job analysing viz.,
• Step 1 : Collection of background Information: According to Terry, “the make-up of a job its relation to other jobs, and its
requirement for competent performance are essential information needed for a job evaluation. This information can be had by
reviewing available background information such as organisation charts (which shows how the job in question relates to other
jobs and where they fit into the overall organisation); class specification (which describe the general requirement of the class
of job to which the job under analysis belongs) and the existing job descriptions (which provide a starting point form which to
build the revised job description.
• Step 2 : Selection of representative position to be analysed: Since the analysis of all jobs would be time consuming flow
representative positions should be analysed.
• Step 3 : Collection of jobs Analysis Data: Job data or features of the job, required employee qualifications and
requirements should be collected either from the employees who actually perform a job; or from he outside persons known as
the trade job analysts who are appointed to watch employees perform a job;
• The duties of such a trade job analysed (i) to outline the complete scope of a job and to consider all the physical and mental
activities involved in determining what the worker does. Fo this purpose he studies the physical methods used by a worker to
accomplish his task (including the use of machinery, tools and his own movements and necessary mental facilities); (ii) find
out why a worker does a job; and for his purpose he studies why be needed in the worker to differentiate between jobs and
establish the extent of the difficult of any job.
• Step 4 : Developing a Job description: The information collected is to be developed in the form of a job description. This is a
written statement that describes that describes the main features of the job, as well the qualifications activities which the job
incumbents must process.
• Step 5 : Developing Job Specification: The last step is to convert the job description statements into job specifications, i.e.,
to specifically mention what personal qualities, traits, skills, and background are necessary for getting the job done.
 Purpose and uses of Job Analysis

• i. Organisation and Manpower Planning : It is useful in organisation planning for it defines labour needs in concrete terns and
coordinated the activities of the work for force and clearly divides duties and responsibilities.
• ii. Recruitment, Selection : By indicating the specific requirements of each job (i.e., the skills and knowledge) it provides a realistic
basis for the hiring, “Basically the goal is to match the job requirements) with a worker aptitude, abilities and interest. It also helps in
salary and wage administration. Job analysis is used as a foundation for job evaluation.
• iii. Job Re-engineering: Job analysis provides information which enables us to change jobs in order to permit their being manner by
personnel with specific characteristics and qualifications. This takes two forms (a) Industrial engineering activity: Which is concerned with
operational analysis, motion study, work simplifications methods, and improvements is the place of work and its measurement, and aim
at improving efficiency reducing unit labour costs and establishing the production standard which the employees is expected to meet;
and (b) Human engineering activity ; which takes into consideration human capabilities, both physical and psychological, and prepares
the ground for complete operation of industrial administration increased efficiency and better productivity.
• iv. Employee Training and Management:
• Development: Job analysis provides the necessary information to the management of training and development programmes. It
helps it to determine the content and subject matter of in training course. It also helps in checking application information interviewing,
weighing test results and in checking references.
• Performance Appraisal: It helps in establishing clear cut standards which may be compared with the actual contribution of each
individual.
• v. Health and Safety: It provides an opportunity for identifying hazardous conditions and unhealthy environmental factors so that
corrective measure may be taken to minimize and avoid the possibility of accidents. In sum, it may be noted that job analysis is a
systematic procedure for securing and reporting the information which defines a specific job. It has may uses in the management of
personnel. It determines qualification required for a job. Provides guidance in recruitment and selection ; evaluates the requirements for
training programmes. It is used as a foundation for job evaluation and helps in employee development by means of appraisal and
counselling : for establishing improved methods of analysing problems of health safely and fatigue; it function as a guide in connection
with discipline and grievances and as a basis for transfers, lay offs