2BC3

ANALYSIS AND DESIGN OF

WORK

Mona Zanhour

Lecture Agenda
2

HR Planning
Assignment 1
Job Analysis
Steps in the JA Process

Job Characteristics Model

Flexible Work Schedules

Learning Objectives
3

1.

2.

Discuss how to align a companys strategic

direction with its human resource planning
and determine the labour demand and supply
for workers in various job categories.
Discuss various ways of eliminating a labour
surplus and avoiding a labour shortage.

Learning Objectives
4

3.

4.

5.

Understand the importance of job analysis in

strategic human resource management.
Choose the right job analysis technique for a
variety of human resource activities.
Identify the tasks performed and the skills
required in a given job.

In Summary
5

Understand Human Resources Planning, its link to

strategic management, and the three main phases in
HR planning process

Job analysis is the cornerstone of numerous HRM

functions, including recruitment, selection, training
and development, and compensation; job analysis is
also the first step in creating jobs that are
motivational for people.

Linking Strategic Planning and

HRP
Strategic Analysis

What human resources are needed and what are

available?

Strategic Formulation

What is required and necessary in support of human

resources?

Strategic Implementation

How will the human resources be allocated?

Human
HumanResources
Resources
Planning
Planning

Strategic
Strategic
Planning
Planning
16

External Analysis

1.

2.

Consumer markets which affect the demand

for goods and services.
Labour markets, which affect the supply of
people to produce goods and services

HR Planning
8

First

Current configuration of
organizations human
resources

Second

Future direction
Current vs. needed HR

Third

Address discrepancies

The Human Resources Planning Process

The Human Resources Planning Process

Forecasting
First step in the human resource planning process.
Forecasting:
The attempts to determine the supply of and
demand for various types of human resources to
predict areas within the organization where there
will be future labour shortages or surpluses.
Historical Statistical Models
Judgmental Techniques

Determining Labour Demand

Job categories
Skills areas

Leading Indicator
An objective measure
that accurately predicts
future labour demand.

Examples:
Clients inventory levels,
sales levels,
employment levels

Determining Labour Supply

Determining the internal labour supply calls for a

detailed analysis of how many employees are
currently in various job categories (or who have
specific skills) within the company.
Transitional Matrix:
Matrix showing the proportion (or number) of
employees in different job categories at different
times.

Example: Transitional Matrix

13

Where do they
come from?

Where did they

go?

Pair Question
14

You will have a labour shortage in the area of sales

representative. Provide at least two suggestions of
how you can address that.

The Human Resources Planning Process

Compare

The Human Resources Planning Process

What will you do about it?

The Human Resources Planning Process

Goal Setting and Strategic Planning
Quantitative goals
Program
Benchmark for success

What should happen?

When? (clear timetable)
Who is accountable?
Does he/she have the necessary authority and resources?

18

Options for reducing an expected

labour surplus

Downsizing
Pay reductions
Demotions
Transfers
Work sharing
Hiring freeze
Natural attrition
Early retirement
Retraining

Expense
Effectivenes
s
Speed

Human
sufferin
g
Ease of
change

19

Options for reducing an expected

labour shortage

Overtime
Temporary employment
Expense
Outsourcing
Effectivenes
Human
s
Retrained transfers
sufferin
Turnover reductions
g
Speed
New external hires
Ease of
Technological innovation
change
Flexible work arrangements

Telecommuting, flexible work schedules, compressed workweek

The Human Resources Planning Process

Program Implementation and Evaluation

implementati
on

Evaluation
Corrective
actions?

Critical aspect: one individual is held accountable

for achieving the stated goals and has the necessary
authority and resources to accomplish this goal.

21

Job Analysis

What is a job?
22

Job

Tasks

Group of related activities and duties

Made up of tasks
Basic elements of jobs
what gets done

Position
Job family

What is Job Analysis?

23

A job analysis is the process of obtaining

information about jobs by determining the duties,
tasks, or activities of jobs.

A job analysis should also outline the tools needed

to do the job, the environment and times at which it
needs to done, with whom it needs to be done, and
the outcome or performance level it should
produce.

Why Bother??
24

The Job Analysis provides the foundation for

almost everything HR is involved in.

Compensation
Employee Selection
Training
Performance Appraisals
Person job matching
Eliminate discrimination
Job Re-Design

What is the purpose of JA?

25

JA lays the foundation for HRM systems:

Selection

Training

Selection system developed to assess key KSAs

Ensures that it is job-related

Gaps in KSAs of new hires represent training needs

Performance Appraisal

Job analysis establishes performance standards

What is the purpose of JA?

26

Compensation
Relative

worth of jobs measured via job evaluation

JA helps you to select the right ee, evaluate the ee fairly,

compensate, and train the appropriate skills to the appropriate
ees

JA also ensures your HR systems are legally defensible and

fair (procedural justice)

Copyright 2011 Pearson Canada Inc.

Quiz Question
28

A business has one supervisor and six

workers; the workers have identical tasks and
responsibilities. Therefore there exists
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.

seven jobs
six jobs and one position
two jobs and seven positions
seven jobs and two positions
seven jobs and one position

Steps in Job Analysis

29

Steps in Job Analysis

Phase 1

Preparation for Job Analysis

Phase 2

Collection of Job Analysis

Information

Phase 3

Use of Job Analysis Information

The Process of JA
30

Performing Job Analysis

31

1.
2.

3.
4.

5.

6.

Select jobs to study

Determine information to collect: tasks, responsibilities, skill
requirements
Identify sources of data: Employees, supervisors/managers
Methods of data collection: Interviews, questionnaires,
observation, diaries and records
Evaluate and verify data collection: Other employees,
supervisors/managers
Write job analysis report

Steps in Job Analysis Process

32

Phase 1: Preparation for job analysis

1.
Familiarization with the organization and its jobs
2.
Determine the uses of the JA information (selection,
training?)
3.
Identify what jobs need to be analyzed

Critical to success of the organization

Difficult to learn
New technology

Steps in Job Analysis Process

33

Phase 2: Collection of JA information

1.

Source of Job Data

Job incumbents, supervisors, subordinates,
customers
Existing job descriptions
Manuals, publications
National Occupational Classification

Human Resources and Skills Development

http://www5.hrsdc.gc.ca/NOC/english/NOC/2011/Welcome.aspx

34

35

Steps in Job Analysis Process

36

Phase 2: Collection of JA information

Data collection instrument design

2.

Gather information systematically using a standardized

approach
Often involves questionnaire, checklist
Different jobs may require different instrument

Information gathered:

Status, key duties/tasks, KSAOs, working conditions,

performance standards

Phase 2: Collection of JA information

37

3.

Data collection method

Questionnaires

Face-to-face interviews

Employee log/diary

Observation

No best approach

Trade-offs re: accuracy, time, and cost

Quiz Question
38

Job analysis information is used for all of the

following except
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.

writing job descriptions

determining profit margins
designing performance standards
job design
assessing job specifications

Existing JA Methods
39

Job Analysis Interview

Observation and self-reports

Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ)

Critical Incident Technique (CIT)

Competency Based Training

Job Analysis Interview

40

Highly accessible qualitative approach

Easily used in small companies

Could be done internally or by professional external job

analysts

Interviews may be done one-on-one, or with groups, or both

Position Analysis Questionnaire

(PAQ)
41

McCormick (1972)
Developed because of criticism that JA relied on observation
not quantifiable
Detailed questionnaire (194 tasks)

Job context / working conditions

Mental processes / demands
Information input
Work output
Relationships with others

Determines extent to which each task is important for target

job

Using a 5-point scale

PAQ Example of Relationship with others

PAQ Example of Sources of Job

Information
43

Rate the extent to which each is used by the worker as a source

of information in performing the job:
Extent of Use: N - Does not apply
1 - Very infrequent
2- Occasional
3 - Moderate
4 - Considerable
5 - Very substantial

1.___ Written materials (books, reports, articles).

2.___ Quantitative materials (graphs, tables of numbers)
3.___ Measuring devices (calipers, tire pressure gauges,
thermometers)
4.___ Features of nature (landscapes, geological samples, cloud
formations)

Critical Incident Technique

44

Developed by Flanagan (1949; 1954)

Aviation Psychology Program of US Air Force during

WWII
Problems failures in bombing runs, aircraft crashes,
pilot disorientation in flight
CIT developed to identify causes of problems and
develop selection standards for aviation personnel

Identifies behaviours that are:

1.
2.

critical for success or failure on the job

observable

Developing Critical Incidents

45

Interview with people familiar with the job

E.g., supervisors, subordinates, customers

Ask them to describe specific incidents of

effective / ineffective behaviour by incumbents of
target job

Incident context What led up to the incident

(background)? What was the situation?
Behaviour What exactly did the person do that was
effective / ineffective?
Consequence - What was the outcome of the behaviour?

Example Critical Incidents

46

1.

2.

My young son was flying alone from Halifax, NS

to Vancouver, BC with a connecting flight in
Calgary, and was to be assisted by a flight attendant
for the entire journey. At the Calgary airport, she
left him alone with no one to escort him to his
connecting flight. He was scared by the experience
and nearly missed his flight.
I was on a flight to Toronto with my children.
During the flight, my 4-year old son became
airsick. The flight attendant was very attentive,
asked how he was feeling, helped to calm him
down and cared for him. It made a stressful
situation much more manageable.

Example Critical Incidents

47

These incidents could be grouped together

because they relate to the performance dimension
Employee responsiveness to customer needs

Specific behaviours may be derived from

incidents for performance appraisal
KSAOs for selection e.g., empathy

In-Class Exercise: Critical Incident Technique

48

Think about instructors you have had over the last 12

months:

Without telling me the name, think of someone who has

been (in)effective in the role of instructor.
Think of a specific incident that you saw occur that made
you think they were (in)effective
What were the circumstances surrounding the incident?
What was the situation?
What exactly did they do that was (in)effective?

Make sure you are describing observable behaviour

What were the consequences of the behaviour? Were the

consequences due to the persons behaviour?

Competency-Based JA
49

Alternative to traditional job analysis

Competencies

Many different definitions exist

Any knowledge, skills, trait, motive, attitude, value, or

other personal characteristic that is essential to perform
the job and that contributes to superior performance
and organizational success

Competency Architecture
50

Core Competencies

Functional Competencies

Apply to all jobs in the organization

Support organizations mission
E.g., trust, communication, team orientation, adaptability

Apply to a group of similar jobs

E.g., customer service orientation

Job-Specific Competencies

Apply to all employees in the same job

E.g., ability to operate cash register

51

Developing Competency
Framework

Methodologies vary

No accepted, standardized approach

Usually involves:

Interviews, questionnaires, observation

With job incumbents, supervisors, etc.

Org-level competencies often set by senior mgmt

Similar to JA procedures

But not standardized like some JA methods

Legal defensibility will depend on methodological rigor
of the approach used

Why / When use Competency

Models?
52

Describe job requirements in ways that extend

beyond the job itself

More future-oriented, more organization-focused

Describe and measure an organizations workforce

in more general and comparable terms

Increase flexibility in staffing and job assignments

Steps in Job Analysis Process

53

Phase 3: Uses of JA information

Job
Descriptions

Job
Specifications

Job Analysis
Information
Job
Design

Job
Performance
Standards

Steps in Job Analysis Process

54

Phase 3: Uses of JA information

1.

Job descriptionsTask requirements

2.

Statement that explains duties, working conditions, etc.

of a job

Job specificationsPerson requirements

Statement of what a job demands of the incumbent

E.g., knowledge, skills, abilities (KSAs) and other
characteristics required to perform job

Title

Job
Description

Job Specs

Problems with Job Descriptions

57

1. If poorly written, they provide little guidance to

the jobholder.
2. They are not always updated as job duties or
specifications change.
3. They may violate the law by containing
specifications not related to job success.
4. They can limit the scope of activities of the
jobholder, reducing organizational flexibility.

Steps in Job Analysis Process

58

Phase 3: Uses of JA information

3. Performance standards

What is expected of workers

JA may provide performance standards for job

4. Job Design

Identify job duties, characteristics, and competences

Consider technology, workforce, organization
character and environment

All of these uses form foundation for various

HRM systems

Job Design
59

Is it possible to give autonomy to all employees?

Would you be able to work productively if you had
freedom in choosing your time to work?

QUESTIONS?