JOB ANALYSIS

MPA(PREVIOUS) “A”

Course supervision:prof,Dr,Said Humayon

Researched by “Mohammad Ali junaid”

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

THE UNIVERSITY OF KARACHI
 CONTENT

• PREFACE.

• MEANING DEFINATION DESCRIBED BY WEB

BASED “HRM” SERVICES.

• JOB DESCRIPTION

• JOB SPECIFICATION

• JOB IDENTIFICATION

• JOB EVALUATION
• JOB CLASSIFICATION

• JOB ANALYSIS INFORMATION

• METHODS OF COLLECTING JOB ANALYSIS DATA

• JOB ANALYSIS METHODS OF QUESTIONNARIE

• JOB ANALYSIS METHODS OF INTERVIEW

• ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF JOB

ANALYIS METHODS.

• BIBLIOGRAPHY
 Preface

The major concern of any preface is to clear out the back ground for the topic that you are going
to explain.

The topic and the subject on which we are going to research and explaining is “JOB ANALYSIS”
As much as we know about the job analysis so it’s considered a most important chapter among the
other chapters of HRM.

In many international organizations the jobs for the “job Analysts” are designed and published
for their placement in their organization. Here we will try to explain what is job Analysis? And
How does perform its function?

As much as concern to the the word job analysis and term job analysis is concerned, you will find
out that the term is bend and mixture of two words

• job + analysis = job analysis

• Job = A paid position of employment, task.
• Analysis = A detailed examination or study /psychoanalysis

(Oxford English mini dictionary “mobile java edition 2006”)

(6th edition)

So know we may drive the meaning that “job Analysis is a detailed examination of a paid position
of an employment”

But the Terminological meanings have difference to its lingual meanings

Now below we will write down the few definitions and statement about the “job Analysis” what
the meanings has been taken by the researchers of HRM in their books and publications.
#According to David, j, cherrington:-

“Job analysis refers to the study of jobs within an organization.

It
Consists of analyzing the activities that an employee performs. The tools, equipments, and work
aids that the employee uses, and the working conditions under which activities are performed.”

(P-183 “The management of HR”)

# Bernard * Russell explains it with little difference that:-

“Job Analysis is a systematic process of
Gathering information about job conducting a job analysis requires a several major steps”

(p-75- McGraw Hill international edition-1998)

#Stephen p Robbins & Marry coulter says that:-

“An Assessment that defines jobs and the behaviors
necessary to perform them”

(P-285 “Management” 8th edition, PHI Inc)

# According to Gary Dessler:-

“Job Analysis is the procedure for determining the duties and skill
requirements of a job and the kind of person who should be hired for it”

(P-112, Pearson prentice Hall, 10th edition, 2006 reprinted)

So we may say and explain clearly without any ambiguity that job analysis is the sub –field of
HRM that wholly and thoroughly discusses the every nature, matter, description, specification
relevant to job analysis. That not only inform the the organization that what is the caliber of its
Employees? How they feel to work in their organization? What is the minimum standard for
applying in the organization for the particular post? What is the position of particular employee in
the organization and? And what it the progress of workers?
These “job analytic W/H questions “are the key features question that the HRM Department
faces.

Lets look over *“JAWHQ” based question Bernard & Russell asked and tried to solve them?

They have erected the heading by the question of “what are the major Goals for job analysis”?

As you have probably gathered by now much of the success (i.e, validty) of job analysis efforts is
a function of the accuracy of the inferences one draws about the job from observations,
interviews, and /or questionnaire data gathered the job analysis.
One underlying objective of the job job analysis is to minimize the inferential leaps required to
arrive at a conclusion. The following are offered as goal one should strive for in job analysis:-

1.The objective of job analysis should be the description of observables .often the
behavior or trait necessary for performing the job or supporting success is not
observable but the products or out comes kind of materials or work aids used, and
the people included in the decision process can be reported and help substantiate its
operation. If a work behavior has no observable component, then it cannot be
described in a job analysis.

2.A job analysis consist of a description of work behavior independent of the

personnel characteristics of particular people who perform job the job .A job
analysis describes how how a job is performed and focuses on the position, not the
person doing the work. Performance appraisal is used to described how well
individuals perform their jobs. The actual performance appraisal instrument have
been developed from job analysis.

3. job analysis data must be verifiable and reliable .The organization must maintain
record of the data, document all decision that is data based, and is able to justify
every job analysis judgment in terms of observable behaviors. The data must be
reliable, indicating the indicating that different sources agreed on judgment about
the work. Recall the importance of job analysis in EEO litigation and, in particular,
in establishing job relatedness.

(Harvey.R.J. (1991) job analysis. in M.D.Dunnette and L.M.Hough (Eds)

“Hand book of industrial and organizational psychology” 2nd edition
Palo Alto, CA: consulting psychologists press. P-71-163.
#Bernard & Russell MCGRAW-Hill –international edition-1998-job Analysis

By

Muhammad Ali junaid

* Job analysis w/h questions-jawhq

Meanings definition Described by web based HRM

Services.

1. Susan M. Heath field,

A job analysis is the process used to collect information about the duties, responsibilities,
necessary skills, outcomes, and work environment of a particular job. You need as much
data as possible to put together a job description, which is the frequent outcome of the job
analysis. Additional outcomes include recruiting plans, position postings and
advertisements, and performance development planning within your performance
management system.

Ref: http://humanresources.about.com/od/jobdescriptions/g/job_analysis.htm

2. Wikipedia

Job Analysis refers to various methodologies for analyzing the requirements of a job.

Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Job_analysis

3. According to HR guide to Inter Net:

Job Analysis is a process to identify and determine in detail the particular job duties and
requirements and the relative importance of these duties for a given job. Job Analysis is a
process where judgments are made about data collected on a job.

Ref: http://www.job-analysis.net/G000.htm
4. Written by Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC. Copyright
1997-2008.
Adapted from the Field Guide to Leadership and Supervision.

First, let's look at some terms. A job is a collection of tasks and responsibilities that an
employee is responsible to conduct. Jobs have titles. A task is a typically defined as a unit
of work, that is, a set of activities needed to produce some result, e.g., vacuuming a
carpet, writing a memo, sorting the mail, etc. Complex positions in the organization may
include a large number of tasks, which are sometimes referred to as functions. Job
descriptions are lists of the general tasks, or functions, and responsibilities of a position.
Typically, they also include to whom the position reports, specifications such as the
qualifications needed by the person in the job, salary range for the position, etc. Job
descriptions are usually developed by conducting a job analysis, which includes
examining the tasks and sequences of tasks necessary to perform the job. The analysis
looks at the areas of knowledge and skills needed by the job. Note that a role is the set of
responsibilities or expected results associated with a job. A job usually includes several
roles.

Ref: http://www.managementhelp.org/staffing/specify/job_nlyz/job_nlyz.htm

5. According to the statement of Web Page changing mind

Job analysis is the process whereby jobs are investigated in sufficient detail to enable (a)
recruitment of people into them or (b) assessment of the performance of people who are
already working in them.

Ref: http://changingminds.org/disciplines/hr/job_analysis/job_analysis.htm
 JOB DESCRIPTION

Job description by the nature is a task and function that defines or clarify the description of a
job.
It shows all the descriptive matter of job in records of organization. That record provides the
organization time to time updates of new and old employees, their performance, activities and
their attitude and behavior.

# Gary Dessler in his famous work on HRM explains job description as:-
Job Description
Is a list of a job duties, responsibilities, reporting, relationships, working conditions, and
supervisory responsibilities –one product of a job analysis.

P-112
Human resource Management

We for your information are going to explain that depending on the particular method of a job
analysis, numerous products can be derived from job analysis. The most required and a common
used product of job analysis includes job description and job specification. Here we should look
over the job description.

# Job description as David, J, Cheerington defined:-

“Job descriptions identify the essential

functions of the job and provide the information concerning the duties and responsibilities
contained in a job. Such a description should consist of accurate, concise statements that indicate
what the employees do, how they do it, and the conditions under which they do it.”

(P-183 “The management of Human Recourse”)

# Stephen P Robbins & marry coulter refines job description as a “written statement of what job
holder does, how it’s done? And why it’s done?”

(P-286 “Management”)

Now lets kook over the major items included in a job description are:-

1.identification of job mean identify the job title ,number and department ,may also include date
of analysis,reporting,relationship,number of employees, holding the job exempt or non exempt
state, and pay grade. basic pay scale system and scale as defined by ministry of finance
government of Pakistan and other pay scale, grade scale of state and outside world.

(Pakistan BPS –grading scale approved by “GOP”have been Attached in appendix)

2. Job summary that means a general summary of the major responsibilities and components
that make the job different from others.

3. Duties and responsibilities: clear and precise statements of the essential functions including
the major task, duties and responsibilities performed.

4. Job specification: most job description also includes job specification information such as the
knowledge and abilities required to perform the job, plus the amount of education and
experienced needed.

(Job description sheet sample have been attached in appendix, see there)
 JOB SPECIFICATION

The 2nd important tool of job analysis that identifies the minimum acceptable qualification
required for an employee to perform the job adequately is job specification.

The information contained in a job specification typically falls into one of the three
categories.

1. General qualification requirement such as experience and training.

2. Educational overall requirements.
3. Knowledge skills and ability

There is a recent trend in HRM that writing broader job description and job specification
to accommodate technological innovations and self directed work team.

# Stephen, P, Robbins &marry coulter defines job specification as a statement of the

minimum qualification that person must possess to perform a given job successfully.

(P-286 “Management”)

One should under stand that job specification consists of the KASOCS needed to carryout
The job task and duties, specific educational requirements (e.g. PhD, md,mba,ed.d….msw)
Certificates or licenses (e.g. CPA, cfp), or credentials are often listed in job specifications,
cut-off scores and tests are also job specification.
Job specifications are often contested in courts, because they may have an adverse impact
against groups protected by laws and constitutions.

JOB ANALYSIS INFORMATION

As you know that job analysis is performed for so many reasons .to prepare written job
description listings the essential function of each jobs .The information provided in job
description and job specification is used in numerous human resources functions.

Few tools of JAI (job analysis information) are coming below for you knowledge, that are
mostly utilized by HRM managers and Job Analysts. By nature they are the products of job
analysis information.

1. Job description: - a complete job description should contain job identification

information, job summary, the job duties, accountabilities, and job specification or
employment standards information.

2. Job classification: job classification is the arrangement of job into classes, groups, or
families according to some systematic schema .Traditional classification schemes have been
Based on organizational lines of authority, technologies, base task /jobs content, and human
behavior base d job content.

3.job Evaluation ;- job evaluation is a procedure for classifying jobs in terms of their
relative worth both within an organization and within related labor market .job evaluation
is used to determine compensation.

4. Job design/restructuring: - job design deals with the allocation and arrangement of
organizational work activities and task into sets where a singular set of activities constitutes
a *job and is performed by the job incumbent .job restructuring or design consists of
reallocation or rearrangement of the work activities into different sets.
5. Job specification: - personal requirements and specifications for a particular job are
personal knowledge, skills, aptitudes, attributes, and traits that are required for successful
performance. Job specification may be identified as minimum qualifications, as essential
characteristics, or as desirable specifications. Cut-off scores on tests are job specification.

6. Performance Appraisal: - performance appraisal is a systematic evaluation of employee

Job performance by their supervisors or others who are familiar with their performance.
Job analysis is used to develop the criteria or standards for the appraisal.

7. Worker Training: - training is a systematic, intentional process of developing specific

skills and influencing behavior of organizational members such that their resultant
behavior contributes to organizational effectiveness.

8. Workers mobility /succession planning: - worker mobility (career development and

pathing) is the movement of individuals into out and out of positions, jobs, and occupation
From the perspective of individuals, both self concepts and social situations change, making
the process of job/occupational choice continuous due to growth, exploration establishment
, maintenance, and decline.

9.Efficiency :- improving efficiency in jobs involves the development of optimal work

process and design of equipment and other physical facilities with particular reference to
work activities of people ,including work procedure, work layout ,and work standards.

10. Safety: - similar to efficiency, improving safety in jobs involves the development of
optimal work processes and safe design of equipment and physical facilities. However the,
focus is on identifying and eliminating unsafe work behaviors, physical conditions, and
environment conditions.

11.Human Resource Planning :- Human resource planning consists of anticipatory and

reactive activities by which an organization ensures that it has and will continue to have the
right number and kind of people at the right place ,at the right times, performing jobs
that maximize both the service objectives and /or profit of organization. It includes the
activities by which an organization enhances the self actualization and growth needs of its
people and allows for the maximum utilization of their skills and talents.

12. Legal /quasi –legal requirements: - Laws, regulations, and guidelines established by
Government agencies (e.g.EEOC, OFCCP, OSHA) have set forth requirements related to
one or more of the job analysis products or purposes listed above.

Source: adapted from R.A.Ash.”Job Analysis in the world of work. In s .Gael (Ed)
The job analysis hand book for business, industry and government, vol-1 .copyright ©
1988 john willey and sons .inc reprinted by permission of john willey and sons.inc
 JOB IDENTIFICATION

Job identification by the nature of its subject and matter is a task to identify the job title,
job department, reporting relationship and job number or code.

Every organization has its own system of identify the positions of job, nature of jobs,
Place of jobs vise versa .The public sector keeps its job identification coding of recognizing
in such a typical way that normal HRM manager can’t identify them due to the state
regulation policy and laws and regulations.

# R.Wayne mondy & Robert .M.Noe defines the job identification as:-

“The job
identification section includes the job title, the department, the reporting relation ship, and
a job number or code. A good title will closely approximate the nature of of the work
content and will distinguish that job from others. Unfortunately, jobs titles are often
misleading. An Executive secretary in one organization may be little more than a highly
paid clerk, whereas
A person with the same title in other firms particularly run the company .for instance, one
former student’s first job after graduation was with the major tire and rubber company as
a assistant direct service manager. Because the primary duties of the job were to unload
tires from trucks, check the tread wear, and stack the tires in boxcars, a more appropriate
title would probably have been tire checker and stacker.”

(P-100, prentice hall inc.1996, 6th edition)

The variation in the status of a job and its title is due to the volume of the organization, and
the corporation by nature of public and private has a variations. The job title in big volume
organization is different to its small medium enterprise counterpart. In provincial
Assembly of sindh the work of stenographer of grade -14 and senior clerk clerk of grade-12
Are nearly same, on the other hand DPO-16 grade is doing same in different way but he
has a standard, position and post.

#David Cheering ton explains job identification:-

“When writing a job description, every

job should be clearly labeled with unique title .Although organizations are free to label jobs
however they choose, the use of common terms by all organizations for job identification
has certain advantages, especially for recruiting,selection,compensation,and training. For
Example ,if an organizations needs pipe fitter ,using the label pipe fitter in recruiting ads is
more sensible then using a unique job title such as class ,H,laborer .”

(P-186, management of human recourse 4rth edition, UK)

One information source that assists in standardizing job titles is the dictionary of
occupational titles (DOT) just like Pakistan government employees, rules of business. So
The Dot includes standardize and comprehensive descriptions of job duties and related
information for more than 200,000 occupations. Such standardization permits employers in
different industries and parts of the country to match more accurately job requirement
with workers skills.

An example of DOT definition –for a branch manager, occupational code 183.137-010-is

provided in figure (the figure has been attached in appendix) the first digit of the code
identifies one of the following major occupations:

0/1 professional, technical and managerial

2. Clerical and sales
3. Services
4. Farming, fishing, forestry, and related
5. Processing
6. Machine trade
7. Bench work
8. Structural work
9. Miscellanous

For the branch manager, the major classification would be managerial occupation. This
example has code 1.
The next two digits represent breakdowns of the general occupation category.
Digit through six describes the job relationship to data, people, and things. For each branch
manager a code 1 for data would be coordinating, a code 3 for people would be supervising,
and a code 7 for things would be handling.
 The final three digits indicate the alphabetical order titles within the six-digit code group.
These codes assist in distinguishing a specific occupation from other similar ones. The
alphabetical order for branch manager is indicated in digit 010.

DATE OF THE JOB ANALYSIS:-

The job analysis date is placed on the job description to

aid in identifying job changes that would make the description obsolete. Some firms have
found it useful to place an expiration date on the document. This practice ensures periodic
review of the job content and minimizes the number of obsolete job description.

JOB SUMMARY:-

The job summary provides a concise overview of the job. It is generally

a short paragraph that states job content.

DUTIES PERFORMED:-

The body of the job description delineates the major duties

performed. Usually, one sentence beginning with an action verb such as receives, performs,
establishes, or assembles, adequately explains each duty.

Sources: U.S Department of Labor, Dictionary of Occupational Titles

Official Web Pages (DoT pertaining matter has been added in appendix)
 Job Analysis: Methods Of: Questionnaire

Classification Systems used as basis for or resulting from job analyses

Common Metric Questionnaire (CMQ) the Common Metric Questionnaire

(CMQ) is targeted toward both exempt and nonexempt jobs. It has five sections: (1)
Background, (2) Contacts with People, (3) Decision Making, (4) Physical and Mechanical
Activities, and (5) Work Setting. The Background section asks 41 general questions about
work requirements such as travel, seasonality, and licensure requirements. The Contacts
with People section asks 62 questions targeting level of supervision, degree of internal and
external contacts, and meeting requirements. The 80 Decision Making items in the CMQ
focus on relevant occupational knowledge and skill, language and sensory requirements,
and managerial and business decision making. The Physical and Mechanical Activities
section contains 53 items about physical activities and equipment, machinery, and tools.
Work Setting contains 47 items that focus on environmental conditions and other job
characteristics. The CMQ is a relatively new instrument. It has been field tested on 4,552
positions representing over 900 occupations in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles
(DOT), and yielded reasonably high reliabilities. (Harvey, 1993)

Fleishman Job Analysis Survey Another job analysis methodology—the

Fleishman Job Analysis Survey (F-JAS), formerly the Manual for Ability Requirements
Scales—contains a taxonomy of abilities that is buttressed by decades of research
(Fleishman & Mumford, 1991). The taxonomy includes 52 cognitive, physical,
psychomotor, and sensory abilities that have strong research support, and the FJAS uses
level of ability rating scales that specify level of functioning requirements for jobs. FJAS is
a job analysis method; it has not been applied to a large number of jobs in the U.S.
economy to produce an occupational database.
Functional Job Analysis Scales Beginning in the 1940s, Functional Job Analysis
(FJA) was used by U.S. Employment Service job analysts to classify jobs for the DOT (Fine
& Wiley, 1971). The most recent version of FJA uses seven scales to describe what workers
do in jobs: (1) Things, (2) Data, (3) People, (4) Worker Instructions, (5) Reasoning, (6)
Math, and (7) Language. Each scale has several levels that are anchored with specific
behavioral statements and illustrative tasks. Like other job analysis instruments, FJA is a
methodology for collecting job information. While it was used for many years as a part of
the DOT, the Department of Labor is replacing the DOT with O*NET and will not be using
FJA in O*NET. There is no current database of jobs (other than the DOT) containing FJA
data for jobs in the national economy.

MOSAIC The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is in the process of developing a

database of information on federal jobs using Multipurpose Occupational Systems Analysis
Inventory-Closed Ended (MOSAIC). Toward that end, OPM has been conducting a series
of occupational analysis projects, each project handling a different set of occupations (e.g.,
clerical, managerial, etc.). Each job analysis inventory used to collect data for OPM's
system includes a variety of descriptors. The two primary types of descriptors in each
questionnaire are tasks and competencies. Tasks are rated on importance and competencies
are rated on several scales including importance and requirement for entry. The MOSAIC
database is intended to include all government occupations. Clerical, technical, and
managerial job sections are complete. Information on the reliability of MOSAIC
questionnaires has not been reported.

Occupational Analysis Inventory (OAI) The Occupational Analysis Inventory

(OAI) contains 617 "work elements." It was designed to yield more specific job information
than other multi-job questionnaires such as the PAQ while still capturing work
requirements for virtually all occupations. The major categories of items are five-fold: (1)
Information Received, (2) Mental Activities, (3) Work Behavior, (4) Work Goals, and (5)
Work Context. OAI respondents rate each job element on one of four rating scales: part-of-
job, extent, applicability, or a special scale designed for the element. The OAI has been used
to gather information on 1,400 jobs selected to represent five major occupational
categories. Reliabilities obtained with the OAI have been moderate, somewhat lower than
those achieved with the PAQ.

Position Analysis Questionaire (PAQ) The Position Analysis Questionnaire

(PAQ) developed by McCormick, Jeanneret, and Mecham (1972) is a structured job
analysis instrument to measure job characteristics and relate them to human
characteristics. It consists of 195 job elements that represent in a comprehensive manner
the domain of human behavior involved in work activities. The items that fall into five
categories:
Information input (where and how the worker gets information),
Mental processes (reasoning and other processes that workers use),
Work output (physical activities and tools used on the job),
Relationships with other persons, and
Job context (the physical and social contexts of work).
Over the course of many studies, PAQ researchers have aggregated PAQ data for hundreds
of jobs; that database is maintained by Purdue University. A wealth of research exists on
the PAQ; it has yielded reasonably good reliability estimates and has been linked to several
assessment tools.

http://international.state.ut.us/Companies/data/REC00795.HTML

Work Profiling System (WPS)Saville & Holdsworth's Work Profiling System (WPS) is
designed to help employers accomplish human resource functions. The job analysis is
designed to yield reports targeted toward various human resource functions such as
individual development planning, employee selection, and job description. There are three
versions of the WPS tied to types of occupations: managerial, service, and technical
occupations. The WPS is computer-administered on-site at a company. It contains a
structured questionaire which measures ability and personality attributes in areas such as
Hearing Skills, Sight, Taste, Smell, Touch, Body Coordination, Verbal Skills, Number
Skills, Complex Management Skills, Personality, and Team Role. Saville & Holds worth
aggregates information provided by users into a database when users make those data
available. Saville & Holdsworth does not require WPS users to submit their data.

Copyright © 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 hr-guide.com All Rights Reserved.

Send questions or comments to webmaster @hr-guide.com

Source: : http://www.job-analysis.net
 JOB EVALUATION

While job analysis describes the job, job evaluation develops a plan for comparing jobs in
terms of those things the organization considers important determinants of job worth.

Determinants of Job Status

The next step in job evaluation is to determine what the organization is "paying for" --
what aspects of jobs place one job higher in the job hierarchy than another job. These
yardsticks are called compensable factors.

In the previous chapter we suggested that the job information needed for job evaluation
consists of work activities and worker requirements. But what aspect or aspects of work
activities and/or which worker requirements are to be used? The choice of yardstick will
strongly influence where a job is placed in the hierarchy.

We also noted in the first part of this chapter that some methods of job analysis require
analysts to describe jobs in terms of pre-selected factors. This practice seems to assign to
job analysts not only the analysis but the evaluation of jobs. A legitimate question is
whether this combination of information gathering and evaluation may introduce bias to
job evaluation.

Whole-Job Methods

Some job evaluation methods (to be described later) are classified as whole-job methods,
implying that compensable factors are not used because "whole jobs" are being compared.
If this means that one broad-based factor rather than several narrower factors is employed,
no problem occurs. But if whole-job means that jobs can be compared without specifying
the basis of comparison, the result may be a different basis of comparison for each
evaluator. If this reasoning is correct, then useful job evaluation must always utilize one or
more compensable factors.

Compensable Factors
To be useful in comparing jobs, compensable factors should possess certain characteristics.
First, they must be present in all jobs. Second, the factor must vary in degree. A factor
found in equal amounts in all jobs would be worthless as a basis of comparison. Third, if
two or more factors are chosen, they should not overlap in meaning. If they do overlap,
double weight may be given to one factor. Fourth, employer, employee, and union
viewpoints should be reflected in the factors chosen; consideration of all viewpoints is
critical for acceptance. Fifth, compensable factors must be demonstrably derived from the
work performed.

The factors must be observable in the jobs. For this reason responsibility is a hard factor to
use. Compensable factors can be thought of as the job-related contributions of employees.
Documentation of the work-relatedness of factors comes from job descriptions. Such
documentation provides evidence against allegations of illegal pay discrimination. It also
provides answers to employees, managers, and union leaders who raise questions about
differences among jobs.

Finally, compensable factors need to fit the organization. Organizations design jobs to meet
their goals and to fit their technology, culture, and values.

Job evaluation plans vary in the number of factors they employ. Nine to eleven factors are
not unusual, but single-factor plans also exist. Jaques' Time Span of Discretion (the time
before sub marginal performance becomes evident) may be considered a single-factor plan,
although Jacques insists that it represents measurement.20 Charles's single-factor plan is
based on problem solving.21 Patterson's decision-band method is another single-factor
plan.22

Methods of Determining Compensable Factors

Many organizations adopt standard job evaluation plans and thus the factors on which
they are based are predetermined. Perhaps more organizations adjust existing plans to
their own requirements. The factors in most existing plans tend to fall into four broad
categories: skills required required effort, responsibilities, and working conditions. These
factors are used in numerous job evaluation plans. They are also the factors written into
the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and used to define equal work.

Definitions and divisions of these factors vary greatly. Years of education required by the
job is a common definition of skill, as is experience required. Skill is likewise often divided
into mental and manual skills. In this way, a job evaluation plan may be tailored to the
needs of the organization.

In most job evaluation plans the factors are chosen by a committee, as described in chapter
13. Broad representation on the committee helps to insure acceptance of the factors chosen.

One of the best-known job evaluation plans, the National Electrical Manufacturers
(NEMA) plan, was designed by a group of 25 experienced people who knew much about the
jobs to be evaluated. These people were asked to review the job descriptions of 50 key jobs
and to list all the job characteristics, requirements, and conditions that in their opinion
should be considered in evaluating the jobs. The group came up with 90 job attributes,
which were finally reduced to 11 within the four broad categories just mentioned.

Perhaps the best-known union-management job evaluation plan (the Steel Plan) was
developed by a committee of union and management representatives. Such joint
determination of compensable factors is presently being used in the communication and
utilities industries. Employee acceptance of factors tends to be enhanced by their
involvement in determining them.

Some job evaluation plans determine compensable factors statistically from quantitative
job analysis. For example, the factors in the Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) used
for job evaluation were obtained by finding those elements most closely related to pay.23
Statistical techniques may help ensure that the factors chosen are related to the work and
are legally defensible. But factors derived statistically are not always accepted by
employees as applicable to their jobs.

Use of the Managerial Position Description Questionnaire at Control Data Corporation

resulted in eight factors derived by statistical analysis. The managers, however, did not
believe that the factors reflected their jobs. Only after those factors were merged with
factors developed by committee judgment were they accepted, even though both sets
resulted in the same job structure.24 The major advantage of the statistical approach is
that it can determine how reliably the factors measure the jobs; however, the funds and the
expertise needed to conduct statistical analysis are not always available. The committee or
the questionnaire approach may yield equally useful compensable factors if based on
adequate job descriptions.

Sources: *E. Jacques, Equitable Payment (New York: John Wiley, 1961).

*A. W. Charles, "Installing Single-Factor Job Evaluation," Compensation

Review first quarter 1971, pp. 9-21.
* T. T. Patterson, Job Evaluation: A New Method (London: Camelot Press, 1972).
*P. R. Jeannert, "Equitable Job Evaluation and Classification with the PAQ,"
Compensation Review, first quarter 1982, pp. 32-42.
 Job Classification

The classification method involves defining a number of classes or grades of jobs and fitting
jobs into them. It would be like sorting books among a series of carefully labeled shelves in
a bookcase. The primary task is to describe each of the classes so that no difficulty is
experienced in fitting each job into its proper niche. Jobs are then classified by comparing
each job with the class description provided.

Advantages

The major advantage of this method is that most organizations and employees tend to
classify jobs. It may therefore be relatively easy to secure agreement about the classification
of most jobs. The classification method also promotes thinking about job classes among
both managers and employees. If jobs are thought of as belonging in a certain grade, many
problems of compensation administration become easier to solve. In fact most
organizations classify jobs into grades to ease the task of building and operating pay
structures. When jobs are placed into grades or classes subsequent to job evaluation by any
method (or even by informal decision) those grades often become the major focus of
compensation administration. When jobs change or new jobs emerge, they may be placed
in the job structure by decision or negotiation. It may be necessary to use formal job
evaluation only infrequently, if agreement cannot be reached without it.

Perhaps the greatest advantage of the method is its flexibility. Although classification is
usually said to be most useful for organizations with relatively few jobs, it has long been
used successfully by the largest organization in the world, the United States government. In
fact, it is the primary job evaluation method of most levels of government in the United
States, as well as of many large private organizations. In these organizations, millions of
kinds and levels of jobs have been classified successfully.
Advocates of classification hold that job evaluation by any method involves much
judgment. They also believe that classification can be applied flexibly to all kinds and levels
of jobs, while being sufficiently precise to achieve management and employee acceptance,
as well as organization purposes. Although the federal government adopted the Factor
Evaluation System (a point-factor method, discussed later) in 1975 as an easier way of
assigning jobs to GS grades 1-15, many local governments continue to use the classification
method.

Disadvantages

Disadvantages of classification include (1) the difficulty of writing grade level descriptions
and (2) the judgment required in applying them. Because the classification method
considers the job as a whole, compensable factors, although used in class descriptions, are
unweighted and unscored. This means that the factors have equal weight, and a little of one
may be balanced by much of another. Terms that express the degree of compensable factors
in jobs are depended on to distinguish one grade from another. It is quite possible that a
given grade could include some jobs requiring high skill and other jobs requiring little skill
but carrying heavy responsibility.

It is even possible under the federal classification system for a job to fit into one grade on
one factor but a different grade on another. In fact, the system employs both the use of
higher levels of a factor and additional factors in descriptions of higher grades. These
features cause little trouble because of the federal career system. But private organizations
would probably have trouble justifying and gaining acceptance of such results.

Steps:

1. Obtain Job Information. If it is to function properly, classification, like all other

job evaluation methods, must start with job analysis. A description is developed
for each job. Sometimes key jobs are analyzed first and their descriptions used
in developing grade descriptions; then the other jobs are analyzed and graded.

2. Select Compensable Factors. Job descriptions are reviewed to distill factors that
distinguish jobs at different levels. This is often done by selecting key jobs at
various levels of the organization, ranking them, and seeking the factors that
distinguish them. Obviously, the factors must be acceptable to management and
employees.

3. Determine the Number of Classes. The number of classes selected depends upon
tradition, job diversity, and the promotion policies of the organization.
Organizations tend to follow similar organizations in this decision. Those
favoring more classes argue that more grades mean more promotions and
employees approve of this. Those favoring fewer classes argue that fewer grades
permit more management flexibility and a simpler pay structure. Obviously,
diversity in the work and organization size increases the need for more classes.

4. Develop Class Descriptions. This is a matter of defining classes in sufficient

detail to permit raters to readily slot jobs. Usually this is done by describing
 levels of compensable factors that apply to the jobs in a class. Often, titles of
benchmark jobs are used as examples of jobs that fall into a grade. Writing
grade descriptions is more difficult if one set of classes is developed for the entire
organization, than if separate class hierarchies are developed for different
occupational groups. More specific class description eases the task of slotting
jobs, but also limits the number of jobs that fit into a class. A committee is
usually assigned the writing of class descriptions. It is often useful to write the
descriptions of the two extreme grades first, then those of the others.

5. Classify Jobs. The committee charged with writing grade descriptions is often
also assigned the task of classifying jobs. This involves comparing job
descriptions with class descriptions. The result is a series of classes, each
containing a number of jobs that are similar to one another. The jobs in each
class are considered to be sufficiently similar to have the same pay. Jobs in other
classes are considered dissimilar enough to have different pay. Classification
systems have been used more in government organizations than in private ones.
Most are designed to cover a wide range of jobs and are based on the assumption
that jobs will be relatively stable in content. Although classification tends to
produce more defensible and acceptable job structures than ranking, it may
substitute flexibility for precision. It is easy to understand and communicate, but
its results are non-quantitative.

Sources: E. N. Hay, "Four Methods of Establishing Factor Scales in Factor

Comparison Job Evaluation," in the AMA Handbook of Wage and Salary
Administration (New York: American Management Association, 1950), pp. 56-65.
 Methods of Collecting Job Analysis Data

A variety of methods are used to collect information about jobs. None of them, however, is
perfect. In actual practice, therefore, a combination of several methods is used for
obtaining job analysis data. These are discussed below.

Job performance

In this method the job analyst actually performs the job in question. The analyst, thus,
receives first hand experience of contextual factors on the job including physical hazards,
social demands, emotional pressures and mental requirements. This method is useful for
jobs that can be easily learned. It is not suitable for jobs that are hazardous (e.g., fire
fighters) or for jobs that require extensive training (e.g., doctors, pharmacists).

Personal observation

The analyst observes the worker(s) doing the job. The tasks performed, the pace at which
activities are done, the working conditions, etc., are observed during a complete work cycle.
During observation, certain precautions should be taken
The analyst must observe average workers during average conditions.
The analyst should observe without getting directly involved in the job.
The analyst must make note of the specific job needs and not the behaviors specific to
particular workers.
The analyst must make sure that he obtains a proper sample for generalization.
This method allows for a deep understanding of job duties. It is appropriate for manual,
short period job activities. On the negative side, the methods fail to take note of the mental
aspects of jobs.

Critical incidents:

The critical incident technique (CIT) is a qualitative approach to job analysis used to
obtain specific, behaviorally focused descriptions of work or other activities. Here the job
holders are asked to describe several incidents based on their past experience. The
incidents so collected are analyzed and classified according to the job areas they describe.
The job requirements will become clear once the analyst draws the line between effective
and ineffective behaviors of workers on the job. For example, if a shoe salesman comments
on the size of a customer’s feet and the customer leaves the store in a huff, the behavior of
the salesman may be judged as ineffective in terms of the result it produced. The critical
incidents are recorded after the events have already taken place – both routine and non-
routine. The process of collecting a fairly good number of incidents is a lengthy one. Since,
incidents of behavior can be quite dissimilar, the process of classifying data into usable job
descriptions can be difficult. The analysts overseeing the work must have analytical skills
and ability to translate the content of descriptions into meaningful statements.

Interview

The interview method consists of asking questions to both incumbents and supervisors in
either an individual or a group setting. The reason behind the use of this method is that job
holders are most familiar with the job and can supplement the information obtained
through observation. Workers know the specific duties of the job and supervisors are
aware of the job’s relationship to the rest of the organization.
Due diligence must be exercised while using the interview method. The interviewer must be
trained in proper interviewing techniques. It is advisable to use a standard format so as to
focus the interview to the purpose of analyst.

Although the interview method provides opportunities to elicit information sometimes not
available through other methods, it has limitations. First, it is time consuming and hence
costly. Second, the value of data is primarily dependent on the interviewer’s skills and may
be faulty if they put ambiguous questions to workers. Last, interviewees may be suspicious
about the motives and may distort the information they provide. If seen as an opportunity
to improve their positions such as to increase their wages, workers may exaggerate their
job duties to add greater weight age to their positions.

Questionnaire method

The questionnaire is a widely used method of analyzing jobs and work. Here the job
holders are given a properly designed questionnaire aimed at eliciting relevant job-related
information. After completion, the questionnaires are handed over to supervisors. The
supervisors can seek further clarifications on various items by talking to the job holders
directly. After everything is finalized, the data is given to the job analyst.

The success of the method depends on various factors. The structured questionnaire must
cover all job related tasks and behaviors. Each task or behavior should be described in
terms of features such as importance, difficulty, frequency, and relationship to overall
performance. The job holders should be asked to properly rate the various job factors and
communicate the same on paper. The ratings thus collected are then put to close
examination with a view to find out the actual job requirements.

Questionnaire method is highly economical as it covers a large number of job holders at a

time. The collected data can be quantified and processed through a computer. The
participants can complete the items leisurely. Designing questionnaires, however, is not an
easy task. Proper care must be taken to see that the respondents do not misinterpret the
questions. Further, it is difficult to motivate the participants to complete the questionnaires
truthfully and to return them.

Note: questionnaire methods have been thoroughly already aloofly

Source: P, 95-99, R, Wayne, Mondy& Robert, M, Noe “Human Recourse Management”

Prentice Hall Inc, India, &7th edition (few points like employee recording and combination
Of recording not has been mention, because the common acceptable points have already
discuss)

Job Analysis: Methods Of: Interview

The Job Analysis Interview: method to collect a variety of information from an incumbent
by asking the incumbent to describe the tasks and duties performed.

Advantages

• Allows the incumbent to describe tasks and duties that are not observable.

Disadvantages

• The incumbent may exaggerate or omit tasks and duties.

Interview Methods

Unstructured Interviews
Here the interview is a conversation with no prepared questions or predetermined line of
investigation. However, the interviewer should explain:
The purpose of the study is and
The particular focus of this interview

The roles and the purposes give structure. The interviewer generally uses a questioning
strategy to explore the work the job holder performs. Listening and taking notes are very
important. These enable follow up questions to be posed. The questions and responses -
with summaries enable the interview to be controlled. The conversation takes on a
structure with areas being considered, explored, related to each other and revisited to
secure the depth of information required in job analysis.

An unstructured interview involves question and response and may be free flowing but it
becomes structured in the sense that the interviewer has a purpose and needs skill to
Establish a relationship
Ask well-structured questions to generate a conversational flow in which the interviewee
offers information - factual, opinion, subjective and objective about aspects of the job
To ensure information received is heard and understood - listening, clarifying and reflective
summarizing
Effective listening requires concentration and this can be disturbed by interruptions, the
interviewer's own thought processes and difficulty in remaining neutral about what is
being said. Notes need to be taken without loss of good eye contact. Cues need to be picked
up so that further questions can be asked to probe issues and areas of interest.

Structured Interviews
A structured interview may assume a definite format involving:
• charting a job-holder's sequence of activities in performance
• an inventory or questionnaire may be used
Care is needed to set up such interactions. A specialist analyst is not involved and
participants need to know what they are doing, why and what is expected as a result. They
may be intrained as interviewers and not structure the interview as recommended. Notes
and records may be needed for subsequent analysis.

A structured interview may be akin to a staff appraisal or job evaluation interview carried
out by a manager with a subordinate. The manager is the analyst.

Interview Outcomes

Interviewing is a flexible method for all levels and types of job. An interview may focus on
what a hypothetical job might involve.

Interviews generate descriptive data and enable job-holders to interpret their activities. A
good interviewer can probe sensitive areas in more depth. Structured questionnaires
cannot easily do this. Jobholders can give overviews of their work and offer their
perceptions and feelings about their job and the environment. Rigid questionnaires tend to
be less effective where the more affective aspects of work are concerned.

However information from different interviews can be

• hard to bring together
• there is potential for interviewer bias
• certain areas of the work may fail to be picked up
• An interview may stress one area and neglect others.
• there are problems in interpretation and analysis with the possibility of distorted
impressions
• the subjectivity of the data captured needs to be considered

Interviewing as the sole method of job analysis in any particular project has disadvantages.
Interviews are time consuming and training is needed. Co-counseling may remove the
analyst and enable jobholders to discuss work between them. Through inexperience
however they may miss items and there is the natural problem of people not establishing
and maintaining rapport with each other during an interview.

Copyright © 1998, 1999, 2000 hr-guide.com All Rights Reserved.

Send questions or comments to hrmaster @hr-guide.com

Source: http://www.job-analysis.net/G011.htm
 Advantages and Disadvantages of Job Analysis Methods

Method Advantages Disadvantages

Observation • Firsthand information. • Time consuming.
• Simple to use. • May bias worker performance.
• Verifies data from other sources. • Small sample size.
• Useful for manual and psychomotor tasks. • Requires skilled observer.
Validity & reliability may be problematic.
• Not useful for jobs consisting of mostly
mental tasks.
Interview • Incumbent describes work. • Requires experienced
• Can yield data about cognitive and interviewer and well-designed
psychomotor processes difficult to questions.
observe. • Difficult to combine data from
• Qualitative data can be examined. disparate interviews.
• Works well for jobs with long job • Data gathered is subjective and
cycles. should be verified.
• May elicit extraneous data
Critical • Analysis is based on concrete • Scales require some expertise
Incident behavior. to develop.
Diary • Collects data as events happen. • Consistent and continuous
entries may be difficult to
obtain.
• Data not in standardized
format.
Checklist • Inexpensive. • May not include all important
• Easy to administer. parts of work.
Questionnaire • Does not require trained • May be difficult to construct.
interviewer. • May have low response rate.
 • Relatively less expensive.
• Can reach more workers.
• Data is standardized (structured).
Technical • Data from experience is superior to
Conference observation.
• Data is comprehensive.
• SME's chosen for expertise and
competence.
• Responses may be incomplete.
• Responses may be difficult to
interpret (open-ended)
• SME's may have trouble
breaking work into tasks and
describing work.
• Time consuming.
• Differences in opinion need to
be resolved to consensus.

Source: the University of Minnesota, office of Human Recourse,

http://www.umn.edu/ohr/compensation/classification/jobanalysis/advantages.html

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• A.W.CHARLES, “INSTALLING SINGLE-FACTOR JOB EVALUATION,

“COPMPENSATION REVIEW FIRST QUARTER 1971.

• BERNARD &RUSSEL ,HUMAN RESOURSE MANAGEMENT ,MCGRAW-HILL

, 1998, INTERNATIONAL EDITION.INDIA.

• CHEERINGTON,J,DAVID “THE MANAGEMENT OF HUMAN

RESOURSE”4RTH
EDITION, SINGAPORE.

• DESSLER,GARY, “HUMAN RESOURSE MANAGEMENT” 2ND

IMPRESSION,2006
10TH EDITION, PEARSON, PRENTICE HALL INC, INDIA.

• E.JAQUES, “EQUITABLE PAYMENTS” ,NEWYORK,JOHN WILEY,1961

• E.N.HAY , “FOUR METHODS OF ESTABLISHING FACTOR SCALES IN

FACTOR
COMPARISION JOB EVALUATION”, IN THE AMA HAND BOOK OF WAGE AND
SALARY ADMINISTRATION, NEWYORK, AMERICAN MANAGEMENT
ASSOCIATION, 1950.
• HARVEY.R.J “JOB ANALYSIS”IN M.D.DUNNETTE AND L.M HOUGH (EDS)

“HAND BOOK OF INDUSTRIAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY” 2ND

EDITION PALO ALTO, CA: CONSULTING PSYCHOLOGISTS PRESS.

• MARY COULTER& STEPHEN P.ROBBINS,”MANAGEMENT”, 8TH

EDITION,PHI.

• P.R.JEANNERT, “EQUITABLE JOB EVELUATION AND CLASSIFICATION AND

CLASSIFICATION WITH THE PAQ”COMPENSATION REVIEW,FIRST
QUARTER
1982.

• R.WAYNE,MONDY& ROBERT ,M,NOE “HUMAN RESOURSE

MANAGEMENT”
PEARSON PRENTICE HALL INC,1996 ,6TH EDITION.

• T.T.PATTERSON, “JOB EVALUATION”;A NEW METHOD

,LONDON,CAMELOT PRESS,1972.

WEB HRM SERVICES /JOURNALS

Meanings definition Described by web based HRM

Services.

• http://humanresources.about.com/od/jobdescriptions/g/job_analysis.htm

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Job_analysis

• http://www.job-analysis.net/G000.htm

• : http://www.managementhelp.org/staffing/specify/job_nlyz/job_nlyz.htm

• http://changingminds.org/disciplines/hr/job_analysis/job_analysis.htm
 Job Analysis: Methods Of: Questionnaire

• http://international.state.ut.us/Companies/data/REC00795.HTML

• http://www.job-analysis.net

Job Analysis: Methods Of: Interview

 http://www.job-analysis.net/G011.htm

The University of Minnesota, office of Human Recourse

• http://www.umn.edu/ohr/compensation/classification/jobanalysis/advantages.
html