1. The systematic study of the tasks, duties, andresponsibilities of a job and the qualitiesneeded to perform it (Riggio, 2008). It is the foundation for almost all humanresources activities (Aamodt, 2010). Job analysis is the process of determining thework activities and requirements, and thejob description is the written result of the jobanalysis (Aamodt, 2010).

2. Writing Job DescriptionIt is a detailed description of job tasks, procedures,and responsibilities; the tools and equipment used;and the end product or service. Employee SelectionIt is only possible to select employees if there is aclear understanding of the tasks performed andthe competencies needed to perform those tasks.By knowing the requirements, it is possible tochoose tests and develop interview questions thatwill determine the needed KSAos in a particularjob. 3. TrainingIt is difficult to see how employees can be trainedunless the requirements of the job are known. Jobanalyses yield lists of job activities that can besystematically used to create training programs. Personpower PlanningSeldom employed use of job analysis is to determineworker mobility within an organization. Manyorganizations have a policy of promoting the personwho performs the best in the job. Although it has anadvantages, theres a tendency that it will result toPeter principle- promoting employees until theyeventually reach their highest level ofincompetence. Ex. Promoting an employee basedon sales alone. 4. Performance AppraisalIt is use for construction of a performance appraisalinstrument. As in employee selection, the evaluation ofemployee performance must be job related. Job ClassificationJob analysis enables a human resources professional toclassify jobs into groups based on similarities inrequirements and duties. Job classification is useful fordetermining pay levels, transfers, and promotions. Job EvaluationJob analysis information can also be used to determinethe worth of a job. Job evaluation is an assessment of therelative value of a job to determine appropriatecompensation. 5. Job DesignJob analysis information can be used to determinethe optimal way in which a job should be performed. Job SpecificationA job analysis leads to job specification, whichprovides information about the human characteristicsrequired to perform the job, such as physical andpersonal traits, work experience, and education. Compliance with Legal GuidelinesOne legally acceptable way to directly determinejob relatedness is by job analysis. 6. Organizational AnalysisDuring the course of their work, job analysts oftenbecome aware of certain problems within anorganization. For example, during a job analysisinterview, an employee may indicate that shedoes not know how she is evaluated or to whomshe is supposed to report. The discovery of suchlapses in organizational communication can thenbe used to correct problems and help anorganization function better. 7. For a job description to be of value it mustdescribe a job in enough detail that decisionsabout activities such as selection and trainingcan be made. Though I/O psychologists believe that jobdescriptions should be detailed and lengthy,many professionals in organizations resist suchefforts. These professionals worry that listingeach activity will limit their ability to directemployees to perform tasks not listed on thejob description. The PROBLEM is that anemployee, referring to the job description assupport, might respond, Its not my job. 8. The SOLUTION to this problem can becountered by two arguments: The first is that duties can always beadded to a job description, which can,and should, be updated on a regularbasis. the phrase and performs other job-relatedduties as assigned should beincluded in the job description. 9. Job Title>Describes the nature of the job.>Provide workers with some form of identity.>Job titles can also affect perceptions of the statusand worth of a job. Brief SummaryThe summary need be only a paragraph in lengthbut should briefly describe the nature and purposeof the job. This summary can be used in help-wantedadvertisements, internal job postings, andcompany brochures. 10. Work ActivitiesThe work-activities section lists the tasks andactivities in which the worker is involved. Thesetasks and activities should be organized intomeaningful categories to make the job descriptioneasy to read and understand. The category labelsare also convenient to use in the brief summary. Tools and Equipment UsedEven though tools and equipment may havebeen mentioned in the activities section,placing them in a separate section makes theiridentification simpler. Information in this sectionis used primarily for employee selection andtraining. 11. Job ContextThis section should describe the environment inwhich the employee works and should mentionstress level, work schedule, physical demands, levelof responsibility, temperature, number ofcoworkers, degree of danger, and any otherrelevant information. Work PerformanceThe job description should outline standards ofperformance. This section contains a relatively briefdescription of how an employees performance isevaluated and what work standards are expectedof the employee. 12. Compensation InformationThis section of the job description should containinformation on the salary grade, whether theposition is exempt, and the compensable factorsused to determine salary. Job CompetenciesThis section contains what are commonly calledjob specifications or competencies. These are theknowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics(KSAOs) (such as interest, personality, and training)that are necessary to be successful on the job. 13. 1. Identify tasks performed throughobservations, job participation, existing data,interviews SMEs, job diaries and surveys.2. Write task statements which will be used intask inventory and included in the job description(must contain what is done, to which the action isdone, where the task is done, how it is done, whyit is done, and when it is done). 14. 3. Rate task statements.Conduct a task analysis using a group of SMEs torate each task statement on the frequency andthe importance or criticality of the task beingperformed.4. Determine essential KSAOs.A knowledge is a body of information needed toperform a task.A skill is the proficiency to perform a learned task.An ability is a basic capacity for performing a widerange of different tasks, acquiring a knowledge, ordeveloping a skill.Other characteristics include such personal factorsas personality, willingness, interest, and motivationand such tangible factors as licenses, degrees, andyears of experience. 15. 5. Selecting tests to tap KSAOs.Tests such as interviews, work samples (portfolio),ability tests, personality tests, reference checks,integrity tests, biodata, and assessment centers. 16. Job Element MethodA job analysis method that analyzes jobs in terms ofthe KSAOs required to perform the jobs. In thismethod, the analyst relies on SEMs. This method isperson-oriented in that it focuses on thecharacteristics of the individual who is performingthe job. Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ)It is a structured instrument developed at PurdueUniversity by McCormick, Jeanneret, and Mecham(1972). It is a job analysis technique that uses astructured questionnaire to analyze job accordingto 187 job statements, grouped into 6 categories. 17. The six categories under PAQ: Information input, where and how the workerobtains the information needed to perform the job. Mental processes, the kinds of thinking, reasoning,and decision-making required to perform the job. Work output, the tasks the worker must performand the tools or machines needed. Relationships with other persons, the kinds ofrelationships and contacts with others required todo the job. Job context, the physical and/or social contexts inwhich the work performed. Other job characteristics, other relevant activities,conditions, or characteristics necessary to do thejob. 18. Job Structure Profile (JSP)A revised version of the PAQ was developedby Patrick and Moore (1985) The majorchanges in the revision, which is called the JobStructure Profile (JSP), include item content andstyle, new items to increase the discriminatorypower of the intellectual and decision-makingdimensions, and an emphasis on having a jobanalyst, rather than the incumbent, use theJSP. Research by JSPs developers indicatesthat the instrument is reliable, but furtherresearch is needed before it is known whetherthe JSP is a legitimate improvement on thePAQ. 19. Job Elements InventoryAnother instrument designed as an alternativeto the PAQ is the Job Elements Inventory (JEI),developed by Cornelius and Hakel (1987). TheJEI contains 153 items and has a readabilitylevel appropriate for an employee with only atenth-grade education (Cornelius, Hakel, &Sackett, 1979). Research comparing the JEIwith the PAQ indicates that the scores fromeach method are very similar (Harvey,Friedman, Hakel, & Cornelius, 1988); thus, theJEI may be a better replacement for the difficult-to-read PAQ. But as mentioned with theJSP, much more research is needed beforeconclusions can be confidently drawn. 20. Functional Job Analysis.It was designed by Fine (1955) as a quickmethod that could be used by the federalgovernment to analyze and comparethousands of jobs. Jobs analyzed by FJA arebroken down into the percentage of time theincumbent spends on three functions: data(information and ideas), people (clients,customers, and coworkers), and things(machines, tools, and equipment). An analyst isgiven 100 points to allot to the three functions.The points are usually assigned in multiples of 5,with each function receiving a minimum of 5points. Once the points have been assigned,the highest level at which the job incumbentfunctions is then chosen from the chart 21. Job Components InventoryThe JCI consists of more than 400 questionscovering five major categories: tools andequipment, perceptual and physical requirements,mathematical requirements, communicationrequirements, and decision making andresponsibility. It is the only job analysis methodcontaining a detailed section on tools andequipment. JCI also provides information aboutthe perceptual, physical, mathematical,communication, decision making, andresponsibility skills needed to perform the job. 22. AET (ArbeitswissenschaftlichesErhebungsverfahren zurTatigkeitsanalyse)or known as ergonomic job analysisprocedureThe techniques discussed so far provideinformation about the activities that are performedand the equipment used to perform them. The jobanalyst still needs information about the conditionsunder which the activities are performed. theinstrument is primarily concerned with therelationship between the worker and work objects. 23. Occupational Information Network(O*NET) it is a national job analysis systemcreated by the federal government to replacethe Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT)which had been in use since the 1930s. O*NET isa major advancement in understanding thenature of work, in large part because itsdevelopers understood that jobs can beviewed at four levels: economic,organizational, occupational, and individual.As a result, O*NET has incorporated the typesof information obtained in many job analysistechniques. 24. Critical Incident Technique (CIT)It was developed and first used by John Flanaganand his students at the University of Pittsburgh in thelate 1940s and early 1950s. The CIT is used todiscover actual incidents of job behavior thatmake the difference between a jobs successful orunsuccessful performance.The CIT is an excellent addition to a job analysisbecause the actual critical incidents can be usedfor future activities such as performance appraisaland training. The CITs greatest drawback is that itsemphasis on the difference between excellent andpoor performance ignores routine duties. Thus, theCIT cannot be used as the sole method of jobanalysis. 25. Threshold Trait AnalysisThis method is available only by hiring aparticular consulting firm. The 33 items cover fivetrait categories: physical, mental, learned,motivational, and social. The TTAs greatestdisadvantage is that it is not availablecommercially. Because the TTA also focuses ontraits, its main uses are in the development of anemployee selection system or a career plan. 26. Fleishman Job Analysis Survey (F-JAS)It requires incumbents or job analysts to view aseries of abilities and to rate the level of abilityneeded to perform the job. These ratings areperformed for each of the 72 abilities andknowledge. The F-JAS is easy to use byincumbents or trained analysts, and issupported by years of research. Its advantagesover TTA (Threshold Trait Analysis) are that it ismore detailed and is commercially available. 27. Job Adaptability InventoryIt is a 132-item inventory developed by Pulakos,Arad, Donovan, and Plamondon (2000) that tapsthe extent to which a job incumbent needs toadapt to situations on the job. The JAI has eightdimensions:(1) Handling emergencies or crisis situations, (2)Handling work stress, (3) Solving problemscreatively, (4) Dealing with uncertain andunpredictable work situations, (5) Learning worktasks, technologies, and procedures, (6)Demonstrating interpersonal adaptability, (7)Demonstrating cultural adaptability, (8)Demonstrating physically oriented adaptabilityThough the JAI is relatively new, it has excellentreliability and has been shown to distinguish amongjobs (Pulakos, Arad, Donovan, & Plamondon, 2000). 28. Personality-Related PositionRequirements Form (PPRF)It was developed by Raymark, Schmit, andGuion (1997) to identify the personality typesneeded to perform job-related tasks. The PPRFconsists of 107 items tapping 12 personalitydimensions that fall under the Big 5personality dimensions (openness toexperience, conscientiousness, extroversion,agreeableness, and emotional stability). ThePPRF is reliable and shows promise as a usefuljob analysis instrument for identifying thepersonality traits necessary to perform a job. 29. 1. The PAQ is seen as the most standardizedtechnique and the CIT the least standardized.2. The CIT takes the least amount of job analysttraining and task analysis the most.3. The PAQ is the least costly method and the CIT themost.4. The PAQ takes the least amount of time tocomplete and task analysis the most.5. Task analysis has the highest-quality results and TTAthe lowest.6. Task analysis reports are the longest and job-elementsreports the shortest.7. The CIT has been rated the most useful and thePAQ the least.8. Task analysis gives the best overall job picture andthe PAQ the worst. 30. It is the process of assessing the relative value ofjobs to determine appropriate compensation. Ajob evaluation is typically done in two stages:determining internal pay equity and determiningexternal pay equity. Internal pay equity involves comparing jobs withinan organization to ensure that the people in jobsworth the most money are paid accordingly. Thedifficulty in this process, of course, is determiningthe worth of each job. With external equity, the worth of a job isdetermined by comparing the job to the externalmarket (other organizations). External equity isimportant if an organization is to attract and retainemployees. In other words, it must be competitivewith the compensation plans of otherorganizations. 31. It is the notion that jobs that require equivalentKSAOs should be compensated equally.Comparable worth is often in the news becausesome groups claim that female workers are paidless than male workers. This perception of payinequity stems from the statistic that, on average,female workers in 2007 made only 80.2% of whatmale workers were paid. On average, AfricanAmerican workers (82.5%) and Hispanics (70.3%)made less than Whites. Research also suggestedthat women and ethnic minority are affected byglass ceiling, which creates difficulties for them inrising to the highest-level position in organization. 32. Riggio, R.E. (2008). Introduction toindustrial/organizational psychology (5thed). Pearson: USA. Aamodt, M.G. (2010).Industrial/organizational psychology (6thed).Cengage Learning: USA.