JOB ANALYSIS AND JOB

DESIGN
A task is an identifiable work activity carried out for a
specific purpose,
for example, typing a letter.

A duty is a larger work segment consisting of several

tasks (which are related by some sequence of
events) that are performed by an individual

Job Responsibilities are obligations to perform certain

tasks and duties.
Job
A bundle of related tasks.
Vetting the CV of a job seeker is a task.
The whole lot of tasks relating to recruitment
constitutes job.

Work
A physical or mental activity that is carried out at a
particular place and time, according to instructions, in
return for money.
 What is Job Analysis?
Job analysis is a formal and detailed
examination of jobs

It is a systematic investigation of the tasks,

duties and responsibilities necessary to do a
job
Nature of job analysis
 Job Analysis
Process of collecting job related information.

Focus is on the job but not on the individual

holding the job.

Such information helps in the preparation of

job description and job specification.
• Job analysis is a detailed and systematic study
of jobs to know the nature and characteristics
of the people to be employed on various jobs.

• It involves collection of necessary facts

regarding jobs and their analysis
• A job can be analyzed only after it has been
designed and someone is performing it

• Performed upon ongoing jobs

• As jobs are subject to change a job analysis

may become obsolete within a short period of
time
 Job Analysis

Process of collecting information about a job.

The process of job analysis results in two sets of data:

• Job Description
• Job Specification
 Job Description
Indicates what all a job involves—tasks, duties and
responsibilities
Job description
A statement containing items such as
• Job title
• Location
• Job summary
• Duties
• Machines Tools and equipment
• Materials and forms
• Supervision given,
• working conditions,
• hazards
 Job Specification
Statement of human qualifications necessary to do the job
• Education
• Experience
• Training
• Judgment
• Initiative
• Physical effort
• Skills
• Responsibilities
• Communication skills
• Emotional characteristics
• Unusual sensory demands such as sight, smell and hearing
Director Human Resource
Our client is a large specialty chemicals corporation with a global
presence. The organization has an impressive growth and
profitability record. Its corporate mission is to become a key
international player in its field and it invites you to join the top
management team to accomplish this challenging task.
You would be responsible for:
1. Providing leadership to a team of managers in training and
development, personnel and industrial relations
2. Providing process and system inputs for enabling the
company to achieve its goal of continuous performance
improvement
3. Influencing managing style and culture for creating an
environment of excellence
4. Periodically reviewing and restructuring the organization as
required by market scenario and business strategy.
Success in the assignment requires a total business perspective
with specialization in Personnel Management and Organization
Development. You should possess a post graduate qualification
in management with a proven track record of achievement in the
above areas. The position requires a high degree of initiative,
tenacity and strategic influencing skills. The preferred age group
is around 45 years.

If you are confident about your abilities and enjoy challenge, this
could be the opportunity you are looking for. The position offers
ample opportunities for career growth.

Please send your detailed CV through e-mail and speed post.

Your identity will not be disclosed to the client until we have
discussed the position with you in detail.
 Uses of job analysis

A) Human Resource Planning: Forecasting human

resource requirements in terms of knowledge and skills

B) Recruitment: how and when to hire people for

future job openings

C) Selection: with a proper understanding of what is

to be done on a job, it is possible to select the right
person
D) Placement and Orientation: after
selecting people, we have to place them on jobs best
suited to their interests, activities and aptitude

E) Training: if there is any confusion about what the

job is and what is supposed to be done, proper
training efforts can be initiated
F) Counselling: managers can properly counsel
employee about their careers when they understand the
different jobs in the organization

G) Employee Safety: a thorough job analysis reveals

unsafe conditions associated with a job

H) Performance Appraisal: by comparing what an

employee is supposed to be doing (based on job
analysis) to what the individuals has actually done, the
worth of that person can be assessed
I) Job design and Redesign: once the job are
understood properly, it is easy to locate weak spots
and undertake remedial steps

We can eliminate unnecessary movements, simplify

certain steps and improve the existing ones through
continuous monitoring

J) Job evaluation: job analysis helps in finding the

relative worth of job, based on criteria such as degree of
difficulty, type of work done, skills and knowledge needed
etc

This, in turn, assists in designing proper wage policies, with

internal pay equity between jobs
Methods of Collecting Job Analysis Data

1. 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

• Method is useful for jobs that can be easily learned

2. Personal Observation
• The analyst observe the workers doing the job.

• The jobs 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 normal 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 behaviours specific to
particular workers

• This method allows a deep understanding of

job duties

• It is appropriate for manual, short period job

activities
 3. CRITICAL INCIDENTS
• Critical incidents technique (CIT) is a qualitative
approach to job analysis used to obtain specific,
behaviourally focused descriptions of work or other
activities

• Here the job holders are asked to describe several

incidents based on their past experience

• The incident so collected are analysed 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 behaviours of the workers on the job
 4. Interview
• The interview method consists of asking questions
to both incumbents and supervisors in either an
individual or a group setting

• 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 jobs relationship to the
rest of the organization
5. Panel of experts
This method utilizes senior job
incumbents and superiors with
extensive knowledge of the job
 6. Diary Method

Several job incumbents are asked to maintain

diaries or logs of their daily job activities and also
record the amount of time spent on each activity
 7. Questionnaire method
• Widely used method of analysing jobs and work
• 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
 Impact of behavioural factors
on job analysis
1. Exaggerate the facts: employees and
managers many-a-times exaggerate the
importance and significance of their jobs

2. Because job analysis information is used for

compensation purposes, both managers
and employees hope that ‘puffing up’ their
jobs will result in higher pay levels
3. Employee anxieties: most employees fear that
job analysis efforts may put them in a ‘straight
jacket’ curbing their initiative and latitude to
perform

4. Another reason for the negative attitude is the

feeling that ‘as long as someone does not know
precisely what I am supposed to be doing, then
I am safe’

5. A searching examination of jobs may uncover

employee faults which might have escaped the
employer’s attention so far
6. Resistance to change: when jobs change in
tune with changes in technology, there is an
urgent need to revise the job description
and job specifications – to make them more
meaningful

7. Employees resist such changes because

when jobs are redefined, they may have to
handle difficult task and shoulder more
responsibilities
To ward off such threats, managers must
involve employees in the revision process,
clearly stating the reasons for incorporating
the latest changes
 Job Design
Process of deciding on the
• content of a job in terms of its duties and
responsibilities ;
• on the methods,
• techniques, systems and procedures and
• on the relationships that exist between job
holder and his superiors, subordinates and
colleagues
Job design involves conscious efforts to organize
tasks, duties and responsibilities into a unit of work

Job design follows job analysis.

Involves three steps:
1. Specifying individual tasks
2. Specifying the method(s) of performing each
task
3. Combination of tasks into specific jobs to be
assigned to individuals.
 Job Rotation
Movement of an employee from one job to another is
job rotation. Employees are moved between two or
more jobs in a planned manner

Employee who works on a routine job moves to and

works on another job for some hours/days/months and
then back to his first job

Relieves the employee from boredom and monotony

and improves employee’s skills

Objective is to expose the employees to different

experiences and wider variety of skills to enhance job
satisfaction and to cross-train them.
 Job Engineering

Focusses on the tasks to be performed, methods

to be used, workflows among employees, layout
of the workplace, performance standards, and
inter-dependence among people and machines.
 Job Enlargement

Job enlargement is an increase in job tasks

and responsibilities to make a position more
challenging

It is a horizontal expansion, which means that

the tasks added are at the same level as those
in the current position
 Job Enrichment
A management concept that involves redesigning
jobs so that they are more challenging to the
employee

Increase the employee's feelings of recognition and

achievement

Provide opportunities for employee advancement

Provide opportunities for employee growth

Vertical loading of job

• Job enrichment was first coined by Herzberg with
Motivators and Maintenance factors.

• Involves adding more motivators to the job to make

it more rewarding.

• It gives job holder more decision-making, planning

and controlling power.
 Why Enrich Jobs?
• Make the position more satisfying to the employee.

• Overall goals for the company often include

increasing employee job satisfaction, reducing
turnover, and improving productivity of employees.

• To rephrase this: we want to enrich our employees so

that they will be happier, more productive, and less
likely to seek a job elsewhere.
 Job Evaluation
Process of analyzing and assessing various
jobs systematically to ascertain their relative
worth in an organization

Jobs are evaluated on the basis of their

content and are placed in order of their
importance
In this way, a job hierarchy is established in the
organization, the purpose being fixation of satisfactory
wage differentials among various jobs. To establish
salary equity and salary range

It should be noted here that in a job evaluation the jobs

are ranked and not the job holders

Job holders are rated through performance appraisal

 Who evaluates the jobs?

Job evaluation is done by a committee which

consists of heads of various departments,
representatives of employee unions and
specialists.

An HR specialist will normally be the

chairman of the committee.
 Methods of Job Evaluation
1. Ranking Method
2. Job –grading method
3. Point ranking method
4. Factor comparison method
 1. Ranking Method
Simplest and least expensive method

Evaluation committee assesses the worth of

each job on the basis of its title and contents

Each job is compared with the other and its

place is determined
2. Job –grading method/Classification
method
Evaluators frame grade description to cover
noticeable differences in degree of skill,
responsibility and other job characteristics

Job grades are arranged in the order of their

importance in the form of a schedule

Lowest grades may involve jobs requiring greater

physical work under close supervision but
carrying little responsibility
Class I- Executives: officer
manager, deputy office
manager, office superintendent,
supervisor etc.
Class II- Skilled workers:
Purchasing assistant, cashier,
Receipts clerk.
Class III- Semiskilled workers:
steno-typists, machine-
operators, switchboard
operator.
Class IV- Semiskilled workers: file
clerks, office boys etc.
 3. Point Ranking method
The system starts with selection of job factors,
construction of degrees for each factor and
assignment of points to each degree

Different factors are selected for different jobs

with accompanying differences in degrees and
points
 4. Factor comparison method

Under this method one begins with selection of

factors usually mental requirements, skill
requirements, physical exertion, responsibility
and job conditions.

Total point values are then assigned to each

factor

The worth of a job is then obtained by adding

together all the point values