Everything you need to know about job analysis. A job is a collection of task, duties and responsibilities of the employee, which established assignment of an employee to the organisation. After the employee planning process, the next logical step is that of work analysis and design.
Job analysis is the process of studying and collecting information relating to the operations and responsibilities of a specific job. The immediate products of the analysis are job descriptions and job specifications.
Job analysis can be carried out by direct observation of employees performing the work, by finding out information from interviewing job holders, or by referring to the documents like training manuals, training records, performance appraisal, or review reports. Information can be gleaned directly from the person carrying out a task and/or from their supervisory staff.
What is Job Analysis in HRM – Definition and Use of Job Analysis
What is Job Analysis – With Meaning and Definition by Filippos
A job is a collection of task, duties and responsibilities of the employee, which established assignment of an employee to the organisation.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Job analysis is a meticulous technique of studying a job in which all activities involved. It lists criterion of successful task accomplishments and relates people to tasks.
Job analysis involves the activities such as job description, specification and method study. It is a basic personnel process, in which personnel processes such as recruitment, training, placements, performance appraisal etc. are dependent on it.
Wendell French defines job analysis as the systematic investigation of job content, including the physical circumstances in which a particular job is carried out and the qualifications needed to carry out job responsibilities. Job analysis is called as a “task analysis” and skills analysis.
Job analysis is the procedure by which facts of each job are discovered and systematically noted down. Job analysis is sometimes called ‘job study’ in which tasks processes, responsibilities and personnel requirements are inquired. Job analysis is essential to understand the nature and all requirements of a job, for writing job descriptions and preparing job design.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Job analysis is the complete set of duties that a person perform on the job, whereas task and skills analysis are subsets of the complete job. Job analysis is the comprehensive information regarding a job in which specific task, necessary abilities, knowledge, and skills are required to perform it.
Different information are obtained for job analysis which are:
(1) Training, skills and abilities are required for a job.
(2) Physical and social working environment are provided for job analysis.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
(3) Pattern of interaction formal or informal are prescribed for job.
(4) What activities are performed and the requirement of performing them such as the necessary skills, machines, tools and equipment are used.
Job analysis is basically the process of identifying the nature of jobs. Initially, job analysis was confined to the jobs performed by operatives only. Therefore, job analysis was described in that context only. Over the period of time, job analysis was extended to managerial jobs too. Therefore, in the present context, job analysis covers managerial jobs too and emphasizes these much more than the jobs of operatives.
Flippo has offered a comprehensive definition of job analysis which is as follows:
ADVERTISEMENTS:
“Job analysis is the process of studying and collecting information relating to the operations and responsibilities of a specific job. The immediate products of the analysis are job descriptions and job specifications.”
Thus, job analysis involves the process of identifying the nature of a job (job description) and the qualities of the likely job holder (job specification).
What is Job Analysis – Definition by Eminent Authors and Philosophers
Job analysis involves a careful study of each job to find out just what the job includes, what the job-holder does, how he does it, under what conditions job is performed, and what specific qualifications the job-holder must have. Thus it is a process of identifying the pertinent facts with respect to the operations and responsibilities of a specific job. It is a complete study of a job embodying every known and determinable factors.
Job analysis basically seeks to provide information in seven major areas briefly described as follows:
ADVERTISEMENTS:
(1) Job Identification- The title of the job including its code number,
(2) Significant characteristics of the job- Its location, physical setting, supervision; union jurisdiction, if any, hazards and discomforts
(3) What the typical worker does – Specific operations and tasks that make up the assignment; their relative timing and importance; the simplicity, routine or complexity of tasks; responsibilities for others, for property, for funds.
(4) What materials and equipment the worker uses – For example, metals, plastics, grain, yarn, lathes, milling machines, electronic ignition testers, corn huskers, punch presses and micro meters
ADVERTISEMENTS:
(5) How the job is performed – Nature of operations such as lifting, handling, feeding, removing, drilling, driving, setting up and many others.
(6) Required personal attributes – Experience, training, apprenticeship, physical strength, co-ordination or dexterity, physical demands, mental capabilities, aptitudes, social skills
(7) Job relationships- Experience required, opportunities for advancement, patterns of promotion to and from, essential co-operation, or leadership from and for other jobs, usual sources of employees. Job analysis also includes the relations of a job to other jobs in the organization. It is sometimes called “Job Study”, suggesting the care with which tasks, processes, responsibilities and personnel requirements are investigated.
In the words of Scott, Clothier and Spriegel, “Job analysis is the process of critically evaluating the operations, duties and responsibilities of the job”. According to the United States Department of Labour,'” “Job analysis is defined as the process of determining, by observations and study, and reporting pertinent information relating to the nature of a specific job, It is the determination of the tasks which comprise the job and of the skills, knowledge, abilities and responsibilities required of the worker for a successful performance and which differentiates one job from all others.”
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Thus, job analysis refers to the anatomy of the job. It is a process by which job, duties, and responsibilities are defined and the information of various factors relating to jobs is collected and compiled to determine the work conditions, nature of work, qualities of person to be employed on the job, position of the job, opportunities available and authorities and privileges to be given on the job etc. The basic purpose of job analysis is to describe and define the distinctions among various jobs in the organization and their relationship.
When the data collected and classified is examined carefully, it becomes clear that some information relates to the job and some concerns the individual doing the job. The requirements of job are known as Job description and the qualities demanded from the job holder are called as Job specifications. Thus, Job description and Job specification are two products of job analysis.
What is Job Analysis?
Job analysis is a procedure by which pertinent information is obtained about a job, i.e., it is a detailed and systematic study of information relating to the operations and responsibilities of a specific job.
An authority has defined job analysis as, “the process of determining, by observation and study, and reporting pertinent information relating to the nature of a specific job….It is the determination of the tasks which comprise the job and of the skills, knowledge, abilities and responsibilities required of the worker for a successful performance and which differentiate one job from all other.”
The information that is collected for job analysis is:
(a) Work activities — such as cleaning, setting, selling, teaching or painting. This may why, when and how the worker perform each activity.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
(b) Human behaviour — such as communicating, decision-making, writing include plus what the job demands like, lifting weights, walking etc.
(c) Machine Tools, equipment and other work aids — includes also products made materials, processed etc.
(d) Performance standards—required such as quantity, quality, and speed of each job.
(e) Job context — includes physical working conditions, work schedules, incentives for doing the job.
It is a procedure and a tool for determining the specified tasks, operations and requirements of each job. “It is the process of getting information about jobs- specially, what the worker does; how he gets it done; why he does it; skill, education and training required; relationship to other jobs; physical demands; environmental conditions.”
In other words, it refers to the anatomy of the job. It is a complete study of job, embodying every known and determinable factor, including the duties and responsibilities involved in its performance, the conditions under which the performance is carried on, the nature of the task, the qualities required in the worker, and such conditions of employment as pay, hour, opportunities and privileges. It also emphasises the relation of one job to others in the organisation.
What is Job Analysis – Definition by Management Thinkers – Dale Yoder, Donald Opines and Michael J. Jucius
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. A job analysis is the process where judgements are made about data collected on a job. An important concept of Job analysis is that the analysis is conducted of the job, not the person.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
While Job Analysis data may be collected from incumbents through interviews or questionnaires, the product of the analysis is a description or specification of the job, not a description of the person.
Job analysis is defined as under:
Dale Yoder holds, “Job analysis is the procedure by which the facts with respect to each job are systematically, discovered and noted. It is sometimes called ‘job study’ suggesting the care with which tasks, processes, responsibilities and personnel requirements are investigated.”
Donald Opines, “Job analysis is a method of scientifically dissecting a job in order to determine the component elements and their impact upon the length of learning period of the worker, production and labour turnover.”
Michael J. Jucius holds, “Job analysis refers to the process of gathering information about the operations, duties and organisational aspect of jobs in order to write-up specifications or as they are called by some job descriptions.”
What is Job Analysis – Definition by US Department of Labour
“Job is a ‘group of tasks to be performed every day.” Job analysis is primary tool in personnel management. In this method, a personnel manager tries to gather, synthesize and implement the information available regarding the workforce in the concern. Job analysis is the process by means of which a description is developed of the present methods and procedures of doing a job, physical conditions in which the job is done, relation of the job to other jobs and other conditions of employment.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Job analysis is useful in-
a. Recruitment and selection – A personnel manager has to undertake job analysis so as to put right man on right job.
b. Establishing a base for compensation of employees
c. Can be used for employee development, performance appraisal and training.
U. S. Department of Labour – “The process of determining, by observation and study and reporting pertinent information relating to the nature of a specific job. It is the determination of the tasks which comprise the job and of the skills, knowledge, abilities and responsibilities required of the worker of a successful performance and which differentiate one job from all others.”
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Process of Collecting Information – “Job Analysis is a process of studying and collecting information relating to operations and responsibilities of a specific job. The immediate products of this analysis are ‘Job Description’ and ‘Job Specifications’.”
Systematic Exploration of Activities – “Job Analysis is a systematic exploration of activities within a job. It is a basic technical procedure that is used to define duties and responsibilities and accountabilities of the job.”
Identifying Job Requirement – “Job is a collection of tasks that can be performed by a single employee to contribute to the production of some product or service, provided by the organization. Each job has certain ability requirements as well as certain rewards associated with it. Job Analysis is a process used to identify these requirements.”
Functional Job Analysis – It is a worker oriented job analytical approach which attempts to describe the whole person on the job.
Job analysis data helps to articulate two primary components:
a. Job Description (JDs) – This clearly expresses the set of tasks, roles and responsibilities of a particular job.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
b. Job Specification – This expresses what the ‘ideal candidate’ should be like who can accomplish this job.
Primary Actors in Job Analysis:
The primary actors in job analysis process are:
1. The job incumbent himself/herself.
2. The job supervisor.
3. The Human Resource Department.
4. External Analysts (if a company decides to hire external experts or partly outsource this activity).
All these will play role right from initiation to collection & validation of data and to final vetting.
What is Job Analysis?
After the employee planning process, the next logical step is that of work analysis and design. Job analysis is a systematic process of gathering information about work, jobs, and relationships between jobs. For effective corporate performance, certain HR prescriptions, such as use of validated test, use of formal performance appraisal, etc. are required. These prescriptions necessitate work analysis or job analysis.
Corporate restructuring process, quality improvement programmes, human resource planning, job design, recruitment strategies, training programmes, and succession planning are among the other HR activities that are based on job analysis.
Work analysis provides some basic information about the various jobs and skills required to perform the job effectively so that it creates and sustains organizational capability. Job descriptions and job specifications are needed to attract and select qualified employees and evaluate the compensation systems and particular compensation decisions. Job standards are required for performance evaluation and to determine the wage and compensation structure.
Whatever be the changing nature of the work, work analysis increases the possibility of deliverables to both internal and external customers. Today, even though various terms such as project, role, etc. are used for the concept of job, work analysis forms the basis of all-important HR functions.
Job analysis is the systematic analysis of an existing or proposed position or group of positions within an organization. Understanding and being able to perform good job analysis is an essential human resource function forming the basis of selection, promotion, training, etc.
It is the best way to establish what exists, what is good, and what should be changed. Work analysis examines major work processes to identify results required, the documents, activities and persons involved, and the sequence of activity.
While one must not overuse this technique (i.e., go into such detail that you do not see the forest for the trees), it has proven time and again to be a critical analytical tool in the continuous pursuit of improved organizational quality and productivity.
In addition, the process of work analysis is particularly useful to assess your organization and job accountabilities. As you make decisions to effect work improvements, you will be able to reassign accountabilities to better accommodate effective work flows and to gain better utilization of your human and other resources. An important concept of job analysis is that the analysis is conducted of the job, not the person.
What is Job Analysis – Attributes and Definition
Job analysis refers to various methodologies for analysing the requirements of a job. The general purpose of job analysis is to document the requirements of a job and the work performed. Job and task analysis is performed as a basis for later improvements, including – definition of a job domain; describing a job; developing performance appraisals, selection systems, promotion criteria, training needs assessment, and compensation plans.
In the fields of Human Resources (HR) and Industrial Psychology, job analysis is often used to gather information for use in personnel selection, training, classification, and / or compensation.
The field of vocational rehabilitation uses job analysis to determine the physical requirements of a job to determine whether an individual who has suffered some diminished capacity is capable of performing the job with, or without, some accommodation.
Professionals developing certification exams use job analysis (often called something slightly different, such as “task analysis”) to determine the elements of the domain which must be sampled in order to create a content valid exam. When a job analysis is conducted for the purpose of valuing the job (i.e., determining the appropriate compensation for incumbents) this is called “job evaluation”.
Job analysis studies and determines the characteristics of each job like duties and responsibilities, working conditions, element of risk in performing each task, employment conditions, such as remuneration, working hours, opportunities for promotions and privileges etc. There are various attributes regarding job analysis.
Some of the attributes are discussed below:
1. A job element is the smallest unit into which work can be divided.
2. A task is a distinct work activity carried out for a distinct purpose.
3. A duty relates to a number of tasks.
4. A position refers to one or more duties performed by an individual in an organisation. There are as many positions as the number of persons in the organisation.
5. A job may be defined as a position or a group of positions that are similar as to kind and level of work. For a particular job there may be only one position in an organisation, for instance Secretary of a Company, whereas there may be many positions to reform the same job, as for instance, accountants, clerks, foremen etc.
6. A job family is a group of two or more jobs that either call for similar worker characteristics or contain parallel work tasks as developed by job analysis.
7. An occupation is a group of similar jobs. There is similarity in the kind of work and possesses certain characteristics. Marketing may be bifurcated into a number of jobs due to various reasons but it is considered an occupation.
8. A career relates to all the jobs, positions or occupations held during one’s working life.
Job analysis is a systematic investigation that collects all information pertinent to each task performed by an employee. From this analysis, you identify the skills, knowledge and abilities required of that employee, and determine the duties, responsibilities and requirements of each job.
Job analysis should provide information such as:
1. Job title.
2. Department.
3. Supervision required.
4. Job description—major and implied duties and responsibilities.
5. Unique characteristics of the job including location and physical setting.
6. Types of material used.
7. Types of equipment used.
8. Qualifications.
9. Experience requirements.
10. Education requirements.
11. Mental and physical requirements.
12. Manual dexterity required.
13. Working conditions (inside, outside, hot, cold, dry, wet, noisy, dirty, etc.).
Job analysis provides the basis for determining what types of information should be obtained from the applicant, from previous employers, and from other sources. Even though many companies are laying off substantial portions of their workforces, employee selection is a vital part of HRM. Personnel selection is important in the building of a productive workforce. Determining the qualifications of job candidates requires that as much information as possible be obtained from the candidates and other sources.
It is important for you to understand that the information that is collected should be relevant for to the job and sufficiently reliable and valid. HR practitioners should have an understanding of job requirements to permit an analysis of application forms, employment tests, interviews, and reference checks of individual candidates. The information when secured and examined, exhibits some information relating to the job and the other relating to the individual performing the job. The requirements of the job are termed as Job description and the qualities required from the performer are termed as Job specifications.
Following definitions will help you to understand the concept of job analysis better:
1. A defined data collection and analysis procedure through which information about job tasks and job requirements are obtained.
2. 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.
3. Organisations consist of positions that have to be staffed.
Job analysis is the procedure through which you determine the duties of these positions and the characteristics of the people who should be hired for them. The analysis produces information on job requirements, which is then used for developing job descriptions (what the job entails) and job specifications (what kind of people to hire for the job).
What is Job Analysis – Meaning, Aspects and Approach
Job analysis, also referred to as work analysis, is the process of examining the jobs to identify the key requirements of each job. In simpler terms, it is the procedure for determining the duties and skill requirements of a job and the kind of person who should be hired for it.
Before beginning the process of recruitment, a number of important aspects need to be looked into are:
(a) The tide of the job
(b) The employee’s reporting manager
(c) For whom the employee is responsible
(d) The employee’s roles and duties within the organization
Job analysis is a systematic approach to define the job role, job description, job requirements, job responsibilities, and job evaluation. It helps in finding out the required level of education, skills, knowledge, training, etc. to successfully accomplish a task. This analysis also depicts the job worth, that is, measurable effectiveness of the job and contribution of the job to the organization.
Thus, it contributes to developing compensation packages for various job positions too. Job analysis helps an HR in determining necessity of the job, the resources required, skills required, supervision, working conditions, and management/employee interaction.
Job analysis can be carried out by direct observation of employees performing the work, by finding out information from interviewing job holders, or by referring to the documents like training manuals, training records, performance appraisal, or review reports. Information can be gleaned directly from the person carrying out a task and/or from their supervisory staff.
What is Job Analysis – Definition by P.H. Casselman
A job is a “collection or aggregation of tasks, duties and responsibilities that, as a whole, is regarded as a reasonable assignment to an individual employee.” Job analysis is considered a procedure in which “jobs are studied to determine what tasks and responsibilities they include, their relationships to other jobs, the conditions under which work is performed and the personal capabilities required for satisfactory performance.”
A precise definition of job analysis is offered by P. H. Casselman who considers it as the “scientific study of all facts about a job which throws light on its content and especially in relation to the worker.”
Thus, job analysis may be defined as a procedure in which relevant information relating to the contents of a job, responsibilities, nature of work, relationship with other jobs, conditions wider which the job is performed and personal attributes required for the successful performance of the job is systematically discovered and noted.
Information in job analysis may be obtained from three main sources. These are as follows – (1) employees working on the job, (2) supervisors and other employees having knowledge of the job and (3) independent observers and experts.
Such information may be collected through the use of – (i) well-designed questionnaire, (ii) special training given to the supervisors and foremen for the purpose and (iii) formation of special or expert reviewing committees. In all cases, emphasis is laid more on the job contents than on the traits of employees. In practice, a combination of methods is used for the purpose.