JOB ANALYSIS

Job analysis is a process of determining which characteristics are necessary for satisfactory job performance and analyzing the environmental conditions in which the job is performed. It analyzes the work content of job & job content of work. The process of job analysis leads to development of two documents viz., job description and job specification.

Job description indicates the tasks and responsibilities, job title, duties, machines, tools and equipment, working conditions and occupational hazards that form part of the job whereas job specification comprises of the capabilities required to perform job, education, experience, training, judgmental skills, communication skills and personal skills required to perform the job effectively.

Significance of Job Analysis

 Job analysis is a vital tool in taking a variety of human resource decisions. It is used to design and execute a number of human resource management activities and programs. They are described here:

1. Manpower Planning: job analysis helps in forecasting manpower requirements based on the knowledge and skills and quality of manpower needed in organization.

2. Recruitment: A carefully designed job analysis provides information as to what sources of recruitment are to be used to hire employees. For example, job analysis in a retail stores about merchandise sorters tells that village level schools are potential source of recruitment.

3. Selection: Selection of the right candidate to the right job can only be done with the help of job analysis. In the case of retail stores, a billing assistant can be selected with the knowledge of accounting, cash, and computer operations. This is possible with the help of job analysis.

4. Training and Career Development: Job analysis provides valuable information to develop training programs. It provides information about what skills are to be trained. It also provides information about various techniques to be used in career development of employees.

5. Placement and socialization: After people are selected and trained, they must be placed in suitable jobs. Job analysis provides information about the suitability of jobs. A clear job analysis guides the process to socialize the employees to develop sound relationships with all those persons.

 6. Compensation: Job analysis provides information as to how much compensation and other financial and non-financial benefits to be associated with each job.

7. Employee Safety and Welfare: Job analysis details information on working conditions. Thus, management tries to provide safety and welfare measures that are outlined in job analysis.

8. Performance Appraisal: Performance of employees is appraised based on standard criteria provided in the job analysis.

9. Counselling: A good job analysis provides information to the superiors about the jobs. They use this information to guide and counsel employees about their career options, performance, training requirements and skill up-gradation.

10. Strategic Planning: Job analysis enables human resource manager to develop a long-range strategic plan in all concerned areas of human resources.

Components of Job Analysis

1. Job Description: It is an important document. It is descriptive in nature. It is useful to identify a job for consideration by job analyst. Important questions to be answered through job description are:

What should be done? - Why it should be done? -Where it should be done? There is no universal format of writing job description. According to Ghorpade the following information is common in most of the job descriptions.

 ? Job title: title of the job and other identifying information such as wages, salaries, other benefits

? Summary: summary is written in one or two lines that describes what outputs are expected from job incumbents.

? Equipment: a clear statement of tools, equipment and other information required to perform job effectively.

 ? Environment: a clear description of the working conditions of the job, the location and other characteristics of work environment such as hazards, noise, temperature, cleanliness etc.

? Activities: a description about the job duties, responsibilities, and expected behaviour on the job.

 A description of social interactions associated with the job such as the size of work group, interpersonal interaction on the job is made. Job analyst writes job description in consultations with the workers and supervisors. After writing draft job description, comments and criticism are invited to improve its content. Final draft is then prepared. Job description is written either by making personal observation or using questionnaire to collect relevant information from supervisors and workers. Job description should be reviewed from time to time.

2. Job Specifications: It also known as man or employee specifications is prepared on the basis of job specification. It specifies the qualities required in a job incumbent for the effective performance of the job. Basic contents of a job specification are as follows:

1. Personal characteristics such as education, job experience, age, sex, and extra co-curricular activities.

2. Physical characteristics such as height, weight, chest, vision, hearing, health, voice poise, and hand and foot coordination, (for specific positions only).

3. Mental characteristics such as general intelligence, memory, judgment, foresight, ability to concentrate, etc. 4. Social and psychological characteristics such as emotional ability, flexibility, manners, drive, conversational ability, interpersonal ability, attitude, values, creativity etc. Various contents of a job specification can be prescribed in three terms:

 1. essential qualities which a person must possess;

2. desirable qualities which a person may possess; and

 3. contra-indicators which are likely to become a handicap to successful job performance

3. Job evaluation: It is a process of determining the relative worth of a job. It is a process which is helpful even for framing compensation plans by the personnel manager. Job evaluation as a process is advantageous to a company in many ways:

 1. Reduction in inequalities in salary structure - It is found that people and their motivation is dependent upon how well they are being paid. Therefore the main objective of job evaluation is to have external and internal consistency in salary structure so that inequalities in salaries are reduced.

2. Specialization - Because of division of labour and thereby specialization, a large number of enterprises have got hundred jobs and many employees to perform them. Therefore, an attempt should be made to define a job and thereby fix salaries for it. This is possible only through job evaluation.

3. Helps in selection of employees - The job evaluation information can be helpful at the time of selection of candidates. The factors that are determined for job evaluation can be taken into account while selecting the employees.

 4. Harmonious relationship between employees and manager - Through job evaluation, harmonious and congenial relations can be maintained between employees and management, so that all kinds of salaries controversies can be minimized.

 5. Standardization - The process of determining the salary differentials for different jobs become standardized through job evaluation. This helps in bringing uniformity into salary structure.

6. Relevance of new jobs - Through job evaluation, one can understand the relative value of new jobs in a concern

JOB DESIGN

According to Michael Armstrong, “Job Design is the process of deciding on the contents of a job in terms of its duties and responsibilities, on the methods to be used in carrying out the job, in terms of techniques, systems and procedures, and on the relationships that should exist between the job holder and his superior subordinates and colleagues.” Job Design is affected by three categories of factors: Organizational Factors: The organizational factors that affect job design are characteristics of task, work flow, ergonomics and work practices.

? Characteristic of task: Each task consists of 3 elements, namely, planning, executing and controlling. Job design involves the assembly of a number of tasks into a job or a group of jobs. A job may require an employee to perform a variety of connected task. All these characteristics of jobs are taken into consideration for job design.

? Workflow: The flow of work in an organization is strongly influenced by the nature of the product. This product usually suggests the sequence and balance between jobs if the work is to be completed efficiently.

 ? Ergonomics: Ergonomics is concerned with the designing and shaping of jobs as per the physical abilities and characteristics of individuals so that they can perform their jobs effectively.

? Work Practices: Work practices are the set methods of performing work. This can affect the job design as there is little flexibility in designing the job especially if the work practices are approved by employee unions.

 Environmental Factors: Environmental factors affect job design. Environmental factors include employee abilities & availability and Social & Cultural expectations.

? Employee Abilities & Availability: Abilities and availability of people plays an important role while designing jobs. Due attention needs to be given to the employee who will actually perform the job.

? Social And Cultural Expectations: Jobs should be designed keeping the employees in mind. Due to increase in literacy rate and knowledge, employees are now more aware and only perform jobs that are to their liking and match their profile.

 ? Behavioral Factors: Behavioral factors are related to human needs and they need to be satisfied properly. Behavioral elements include the following:

? Feedback: Employee should be given proper feedback about his job performance. This will enable the employee to improve his performance and complete the job in a proper manner.

? Autonomy: Employee should be given proper autonomy required to perform the work. The absence of autonomy may lead to poor performance on the part of employees.

 ? Use of Abilities: The job should be designed in such a manner that an employee will be able to use his abilities fully and perform the job effectively.

? Variety: Absence of variety in the job assigned may lead to boredom. Adequate scope to variety factor should be given while designing a job.

METHODS OF JOB DESIGN

Job Simplification: In the job simplification technique, the job is simplified or specialized. A given job is divided into small sub-parts and each part is assigned to one individual employee. Job simplification is introduced when job designers feel that the jobs are not specialized enough.

Job Rotation: Job rotation implies systematic movement of employees from one job to the other. Job remains unchanged but employees performing them shift from one job to the other. With job rotation, an employee is given an opportunity to perform different jobs, which enriches his skills, experience and ability to perform different jobs. It is the process of preparing employees at a lower level to replace someone at the next higher level. It is generally done for the designations that are crucial for the effective and efficient functioning of the organization.

Job Enlargement: Job enlargement means expanding the scope of the job. Many tasks and duties are aggregated and assigned to a single job. It is opposite to job simplification. Job enlargement is an extension of Job rotation, exposing the people to several jobs without changing the job duties to be performed. He is taken off the boring job for a while & is allowed to take up a related task & so on. Monotony is relieved temporarily.

Job Enrichment: Job enrichment means making the job rich in its contents so that an employee will get more satisfaction while performing that job. It upgrades the responsibility, scope and challenge. A vast majority of the jobs are repetitive & monotonous in nature. This results in reducing the motivational content& human element of the job with repercussions on performance. The central focus of job enrichment is giving people more control over their work (lack of control is a key cause of stress, and therefore of unhappiness.)

Job Enrichment tries to embellish the job with factors of motivation: Achievement – Recognition – Increased Responsibilities – Self Involvement – Opportunities for Growth – Advancement – Increased Competence.

EVOLUTION OF INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION and development of HRM in its present situation

 (1) Industrial Revolution:

a. Adam Smith: specialization and division of labor.

b. Robert Owens: Pioneer of HRM, performance appraisal and pay for performance (fair treatment of employees)

2) Scientific management

Frederic Winslow Taylor: Father of scientific management

a. Definition: Systematic analysis and breakdown of work into the smallest mechanical components and rearranging them into the most efficient combination.

b. Steps: Job analysis—selection—training—rewards.

(3) Industrial psychology

 a. Henry Fayol’s management functions: Planning, organizing, communicating, coordinating and controlling.

b. F. & L. Gilbert's principles of work simplification (time and motion studies).

c. Henry Gantt’s principles of work scheduling. d. Continuation of scientific management.

(4) Human behavior and relations

a. The Hawthorne Studies by Westing House The happy workers are the most productive workers. (The Pet Milk theory)

b. Max Weber: the Ideal Bureaucracy.

c. Chris Argyris: Individual and organization— mutual adjustment.

 d. Affected by the theories of behavioral science and system theory.

CONCEPT OF PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL

a) What is Performance?

Employees are performing well when they are productive. Productivity implies both concern for effectiveness and efficiency, effectiveness refers to goal accomplishment. However it does not speak of the costs incurred in reaching the goal.

In addition to productivity as measured in terms of effectiveness and efficiency, performance also includes personnel data such as measures of accidents, turnover, absences, and tardiness

b) What is Appraisal?

Appraisals are judgments of the characteristics, traits and performance of others. On the basis of these judgments we assess the worth or value of others and identify what is good or bad.