Benefits of Job Analysis Business

Essay
Edwin B. Flippo defined Job Analysis as the process of studying and collecting
information relating to the operations and responsibilities of a specific job.
According to Michael J. Jucius, "Job Analysis refers to the process of studying the
operations, duties and organisational aspects of jobs in order to derive
specification or job description ".
According to Blum, "A job Analysis is an accurate study of the various job
components. It is concerned not only with an analysis of the duties and conditions
of work, but also with the individual qualifications of the worker."
As defined by John A Shubin "Job Analysis is the methodical compilation and
study of work data in order to define and characterise each occupation in such a
manner so as to distinguish it from all others."
In the words of Scott, Clothier and Spriegel, "Job Analysis is the process of
critically evaluating the operations, duties and relationship of the job."
Job Analysis is the systematic process of collecting and making judgments about
all the important information related to a job. Job Analysis is the procedure
through which one determines the duties and nature of the jobs. It also
determines the kinds of people who should be hired for those jobs. General
purpose of job Analysis is to document the requirements of a job and the work
performed. Moreover job Analysis is fundamental to the preparation of job
specification and description.

Objectives of job Analysis:

Work simplification: Job Analysis provides the information related to job which can
be used to make the job or the process simple. Work simplification refers to
fragmenting the job into small parts i.e. different operations in a product line or
process with the objective of improving the production or job performance.
For setting standards: Standard refers to minimum acceptable qualities or results
or performance or rewards regarding a particular job. Job Analysis provides the
information about the job which can be used to set standards for each job
category.

Support to personnel activities: Job Analysis information provides support to

various personnel activities like recruitment, selection, training and development,
wage administration, performance appraisal etc.
Situations under which Job Analysis is conducted: these are the various scenarios
in which Job analysis is conducted.
When the organization is founded
When organizations are created complete information about the jobs to be
performed
When new jobs are created
When jobs are changed significantly as a result of new technologies, methods,
procedures, or systems.

Steps in Job Analysis

The process of job Analysis is essentially done by collecting data then analyzing
it. The data provided by the analyst may be related to job identification, nature of
the job, materials and equipments to be used in doing the job and relations with
other jobs, time and place of accomplishment and so on and so forth. The steps
involved in job Analysis are as follows:
Planning and organizing of Programme: The first step is to plan and organize the
Job Analysis programme. A person is designated as in-charge of programme and
required degree of authority and responsibility is assigned to him. Schedule of the
programme and budget estimation is prepared.
Obtaining current information: Current job design information is collected with the
study of job description, job specification, process used, manuals and
organisation flow charts. Job Analysis information is reviewed and verified with job
incumbents to confirm that it is factually correct and complete.
Conducting research: The analyst determines that which manager or department
requires the job Analysis. Purpose of the job Analysis is determined, extent to
which job analysis is to be done is decided and how the information will be used
concluded.
Establishing priorities: Identification and priorities of the jobs to be analyzed
should be established by the executives of human resource department and with
the help of various executives of the related departments.

Collecting Job Data: The next step is to collect the data related to the job selected
for the analysis as they are being performed in the organisation at present. The
job is analysed by collecting data on job activities, required employee behaviours,
working conditions, and human traits and abilities needed to perform the job.
Preparing Job Description: job descriptions are prepared by using information
obtained from job Analysis. It states the full information of job including working
conditions, nature of job, processes used machines and materials used for the
job.
Developing Job Specification: Job Specifications are developed using information
given in job description. Job specification is statement regarding human qualities
that are required for a particular job. Such information is used to select the person
matching the requirements of the job. Job Analysis outcomes are as follows:

Job Description
Job description is a broad statement of the purpose, duties and responsibilities of
a job or position. A job description is based on a detailed job analysis and usually
summarises the essential information gathered through job analysis. It describes
the main tasks and responsibilities of the job clearly and concisely in order to
facilitate the systematic comparison of jobs for evaluation purposes. The kind of
information and amount of details contained in the job descriptions depend on the
job evaluation plan to be used. Job Description is "snapshot" of a job. Current and
accurate job Descriptions maximizes employee effectiveness and productivity as
it outlines the positions' responsibilities and accountabilities. Job Descriptions
clearly and concisely communicate what the job entails. In addition, job
Descriptions help in attracting and retaining the best talent as it shows that a
company is organized, well-run, and fair. Job Descriptions promote responsibility;
improve morale and the corporate image. Job Description is a written statement
of what the job holder actually does, how he or she does it, and under what
conditions the job is performed. There is no standard format for writing job
Description. It is an organized factual statement of job contents in the form of
duties and responsibilities of a specific job. The preparation of job Description is
very important before a vacancy is advertised. It tells in brief the nature and type
of job and usually includes:
Title/ Designation of job and location in the concern
Job summary and achievable results
The nature of duties and operations to be performed in that job

The nature of authority- responsibility relationships

Main tasks of job and standard to be achieved
Terms and conditions including salary, hours of work, leave, etc
Limits of discretion i.e budgetary responsibilities
Necessary qualifications required for job.
Combination, co-relation and relationship of that job with other jobs in a concern.
Specification of machines, tools, materials and their applications.
The provision of physical working conditions or the work environment required in
performance of that job.

Job Specification
Job specifications usually involve a listing of the personal qualifications regarded
as necessary for satisfactory performance. Job specifications are mainly used in
selecting and recruiting staff and are accordingly not essential for job evaluations.
But certain personal attributes, such as experience, education and aptitude, may
occur in both in job description as well as in job specification. Many job evaluation
plans accordingly use job specifications to complement job description.
Job Specification describes the desired attributes of the person doing the job. It is
a statement which tells minimum acceptable human qualities that helps to
perform a job. Such requirements are usually established for individual jobs on
the basis of judgments made by staff analysts, but in some instances they are
based upon statistical validation procedures. Job Specification translates the job
description into human qualifications so that a job can be performed in a better
manner. Job Specification helps in hiring an appropriate person for an appropriate
position. The contents are:
Educational qualifications and experiences for job title
Physical and other related attributes
Physique and mental health
Special attributes and abilities
Interpersonal skills
Maturity and dependability

Family background
Work-output job context and other job characteristics
Job Specification should be used as a guideline to the knowledge, skills and
aptitudes required to perform a specific job. Job Analysis, job Description and job
Specification, together form the basis of recruitment, selection and placements of
persons in an organisation.

Methods of Job Analysis / Data collection

techniques
There are different methods used by different organizations to collect information
and conduct the job Analysis. These methods are:
Personal observation: In this method the observer actually observes the
concerned individuals while performing a job. He makes an extensive list of the
duties performed by the workers and the qualities required to perform those
duties .Based on the information collected, job analysis is prepared. In some
instances this method is very useful, but under certain conditions it does not work
or becomes more difficult. This is especially true with jobs in which some
elements of the complete job cycle occur at infrequent or unpredictable intervals.
By simply observing an assembly line worker may not reveal his monthly
inventory duty which is very much integral part of the job.
Actual performance of the job: In this method the observer who is in charge of
preparing the job Analysis actually does the work himself. This gives him a clear
idea of the required skills, the difficulty level of the job, the efforts required and so
on and so forth.
Interview method: In this method an interview is conducted of the employees who
are performing the job or the supervisor or both. There are group of experts to
conduct the interview. They ask questions about the job, skill levels required, and
difficulty levels associated with the job. They put questions and cross questions
and collect information and based on this information job Analysis is prepared.
This technique may be time consuming, and the danger exists that employees
may exaggerate the importance of their jobs. In addition, certain important
elements of the job may be missed both by the interviewer and persons
interviewed because of its infrequent occurrence. For example an assembly line
worker may also be required to do inventory supplies on a monthly basis.

Although this responsibility may be extremely important, it may be overlooked

during the interview since it occurs on an infrequent basis.
Critical incident method: In this method the employees are asked to write one or
more critical incidents they have encountered while performing the job. These
incidents give ideas about the problem, level of difficulty, how to handle it,
qualities required to deal with the incidents and so on and so forth. Critical
incident method gives an idea about the job and its importance.
Questionnaires method: Most probably questionnaires method is the least costly
method of collecting Job Analysis data. Well designed questionnaires have been
claimed to be the most efficient way to collect a wide array of job data and
information in a short time. In this method a questionnaire is provided to the
employees and they are asked to put their remark. The questions may be multiple
choice questions or open ended questions. The questions decide how exactly the
job Analysis will be done. However, there is the danger that many of the
respondents may not complete the questionnaire, may complete it inaccurately, or
take an excessively long time to return it. Although questionnaire is less
expensive than interviewing, sometimes questionnaires contain the same problem
of providing incomplete information and inaccurate in describing the actual tasks
performed. However, it is considered as an effective method because of the
simple logic that people would think twice before putting anything in writing.
The Position analysis questionnaire (PAQ): Quantification of the process of job
Analysis has gained momentum in recent years. One such technique utilising a
structured questionnaire is the position analysis questionnaire (PAQ). It was
developed in the early 1970s through the efforts of McCormick and others. It
consists of 194 job elements of a work-oriented nature which are divided into six
major categories. The job elements are normally rated by the analyst on a scale
of 0 to 5. Major drawbacks of the use of the PAQ involve its length and the high
level vocabulary and complicated scoring requirements.
Log records/Daily Diary: Companies can ask employees to maintain log records
or daily diary mentioning their daily activities along with those activities performed
at infrequent intervals and Job Analysis can be done on the basis of information
collected from the record. A log record is a book in which an employee records
and writes all the activities performed by him while performing the job. The
records are extensive and provide a fair idea about the duties and responsibilities
associated with any job.

HRD record: Records of every employee are maintained by HR department. The

records contain details about educational qualification, job title, years of
experience, duties handled, any mistakes committed in the past and if any actions
taken. It also includes number of promotions received by employees, their area of
work and as well as their core competency etc. Based on these records job
analysis is done.
Managerial Job Analysis: Because managerial jobs are different in nature from
jobs with clearly observable routines and procedures, some specialized methods
have evolved for their analysis. One of the most well known and widely used
methods was developed at Control Data Corporation and is labelled as the
Management Position Description Questionnaire (MPDQ). This is composed of a
listing of over 200 job statements. The MPDQ examines a variety of managerial
dimensions, including decision making and supervising.
Computerized Job Analysis: With the growth of the information communication
technology, researchers have developed computerized job Analysis systems. An
important feature of computerized job Analysis is the specificity of data. All of this
specific data is compiled into a Job Analysis database. A computerized job
Analysis system often can reduce the time and effort involved in writing job
descriptions. These systems have banks of job duty statements that relate to
each of the task and specify scope statements of the questionnaires. Computer
technology with job Analysis methodology allows firms to develop more accurate
and comprehensive job descriptions, linked to compensation programs, and
performance appraisal systems. These processes can also provide better data for
legal defensibility.
Combination Methods: There are indeed a number of different ways to obtain and
analyze information about a job. Each of the methods has its own strength and
weaknesses. Therefore, generally, a combination of methods is preferred over
one method alone.

Benefits of Job Analysis

Organizational structure and design: - Job Analysis data helps in preparing the
organization chart and the organizational structure. Classification of the jobs,
relation of each job with one another and various positions and hierarchy of the
positions is determined in order to avoid overlapping of authority- responsibility
relationship and to avoid distortion in chain of command.

Man power planning: - Job Analysis data provides the qualitative aspects of the
jobs in an organisation. It determines the demands of job in terms of duties to be
performed, qualification and personal skills required in the employees. It is a tool
which is used for matching job with men.
Recruitment and Selection: - Job Analysis helps in hiring future human resources
of an organisation. Job Description and job Specification provides necessary
information that helps to recruit and select the right kind of people for the
available jobs.
Training and Development: - Based on the job requirements identification of the
training needs of the persons can be done easily. Training can be provided in
those specific areas which will help to improve the job performance.
Job Evaluation: - Job evaluation refers to studying in detail the job performance
by all individual. Information regarding the level of difficulty, skills level, qualities
required to perform the job are obtained from job analysis to establish relative
worth of different jobs. Promotions and Transfer: - promotion is given to an
employee on the basis of the skill and talent required for the future job. Similarly
when an employee gets transfer to another branch the job must be very similar to
that of his previous job. To take these decisions the information is collected from
job Analysis.
Performance Appraisal: - By comparing actual performance of the employees to
the standard set by organisation, the personnel activities like promotion,
increments, incentives or corrective actions to enhance job performance is
decided. These standards are established using information provided by job
Analysis.
Career path planning and Employee counselling: - Many companies have not
taken up career planning for their employees. Employee counselling is done to
prevent the employee from leaving the company. Employees are informed about
the limitations of jobs in terms of development and are guided to take required
steps for their future development. Job Analysis provides such information
regarding the areas in which a person requires modification for better career
options.
Health and safety: -Job Analysis points out the risk factor associated with a
particular job and thus the action required for the safety of the employees can be
taken. Unsafe operations can be eliminated or can be replaced by safe one or the
safety equipments can be installed.

Labour relations: When companies plan to add extra duties or remove certain
duties from a job, they require the help of job Analysis, when this activity is
systematically done using job Analysis, it does not affect adversely to the union
members and do not hamper labour relations.
Acceptance of job offer: Appointment letter issued by an organisation always
mention the duties to be performed by him. This information is collected from job
Analysis, which is why job Analysis becomes important.
Discovering Unassigned Duties: Job Analysis can help to reveal unassigned
duties if any. However, the end result of job Analysis is effectiveness and
efficiency i.e. doing the right thing and doing it rightly and respectively. The
underlying motive at the long run is increase in company's profitability, productivity
and sustainability.

Job Evaluation
Job Evaluation is the process of analyzing and assessing various jobs
systematically to ascertain their relative worth in an organization. Job Evaluation
means systematically determining relative worth of jobs to create job structure
and to develop job hierarchy. In Job Evaluation process the relative worth of job is
identified based upon job comparability. According to relative worth, importance of
job and relative value compensation is designed and selected. Hence it involves
determination of relative worth of each job for the purpose of establishing wage
and salary differentials. Basically, relative worth is determined on the basis of Job
Description and Job Specification. Job Evaluation helps to determine wages and
salary grades for all jobs. Employees need to be compensated depending on the
grades of jobs they perform. Remuneration must be based on the relative worth of
each job. Ignoring this basic principle arrives at inequitable compensation
practice. A perception of inequity is a sure way of de-motivating an employee and
a profound ill effect on employees' morale.
According to Alford and Beatty, "Job Evaluation is the application of the job
Analysis technique to the qualitative measurement of relative job worth, for the
purpose of establishing consistent wage rate differentials by objective means. It
measures the differences between jobs on the job requirements, and establishes
the differential numerically (job rating), so that it can be converted to wage rate
after the wage level is determined".

According to Kimball and Kimball Jr., "Job Evaluation represents an effort to

determine the relative value of every job in a plant and to determine what the fair
basic wage for such a job should be."
According to Bethel, Atwater and Smith et at, "Job Evaluation as a personal term
has both a specific and genetic meaning specifically, it means job rating or the
grading of occupations in terms of duties, generally it means the entire field of
wages and salary administration along modern lines".
Edwin B. Flippo defines. "Job Evaluation is a systematic and orderly process of
determining the worth of a job in relation to other jobs."
In the words of Maurice B. Cumming, "Job Evaluation is a technique of assessing
the worth of a job in comparison with all other jobs throughout an organisation".
According to Scott, Clothier and Spriegel, "Job Evaluation or job rating is the
operation of evaluating a particular job in relation to other jobs either within or
outside the organisation." According to International Labour Organisation, "Job
Evaluation may be defined as an attempt to determine and compare the demands
which the normal performance of particular job makes on normal workers without
taking into account of the individual abilities or performance of the workers
concerned."
In the words of Dale Yoder, "Job Evaluation is a practice which seeks to provide a
degree of objectivity in measuring the comparative value of jobs within an
organisation and among similar organisations."
In the words of John A. Shubin, "Job Evaluation is a systematic procedure for
measuring the relative value and importance of an occupation on the basis of
their common factor (skill, training, efforts) for the purpose of determining wages
and salary differentials."
According to Bureau of Labour Statistics, "Job Evaluation is the evaluation or
rating of job to determine their position in job hierarchy. The evaluation may be
achievement through assignment of points or the use of some other systematic
rating method for essential job requirements such as skill, experience and
responsibility".

Features of Job Evaluation

The primary objective of job Evaluation is to find out the value of work, but this is
a value which varies from time to time and from place to place under the influence
of certain economic pressure. The main features of job Evaluations are as follows:

It attempts to assess jobs, not people.

Job Evaluation is the output provided by job Analysis.
It provides bases for wage negotiation founded on facts.
Job Evaluation does not design wage structure, it helps in rationalising the system
by reducing number of separate and different rates.
Job Evaluation is done by group of experts.
Job Evaluation determines the value of job and the value of each of the aspects
of job such as skill and responsibility levels are also related and studied in
connection with the job.
Job Evaluation helps the management to maintain high levels of employee
productivity and employee satisfaction.

The objectives of job Evaluation

To provide a standard procedure for fixing salary: job Evaluation aims at providing
a standard procedure for fixing salary of employees doing a particular job and
belonging to a particular level in the organization. This is required to remunerate
the employees according to his capabilities and therefore making them satisfied
on the job.
To reconcile the pay in accordance with employees' efforts: The rate of pay is
decided by looking into various factors on the job.
To ensure that wages and salaries are paid according to the qualification and
work: Job Evaluation recognizes the importance of qualification of the employees
and the efforts put by him on the job and decides the salary based on these
factors. This ensures that the employees are judged on similar factors and
there is no bias.
To decide salary using scientific methods of evaluation: The job Evaluation
methods are scientific in nature. It must be decided after looking into the issues
concerned with a scientific approach not based on personal bias or personal
choice.
To have a fair study of the job factors to avoid ambiguity: Job Evaluation studies
the job factors in a fair and just manner and thereby tries to avoid all sorts of
ambiguity. When the factors for judging the jobs are very clear and accurate, it
assigns more credibility to the entire job evaluation process.

Advantages of job Evaluation

Job Evaluation is advantageous to management, workers, trade unions and
organisations as well. Management has the advantage of greater order in its pay
arrangement and more stable wage structure. Unions benefit from a greater
sense of fairness and reasons in pay matters. Union can play a more important
role in determining the relation between different levels of pay and in the joint
regulation of work place conditions. Employees benefit because job evaluation
provides an agreed framework for setting questions affecting jobs and so helps to
prevent arbitrary decisions. It also helps to ensure that differences in skill and
responsibility are properly recognised. Everyone benefits from a system which
enables the pay for new and revised jobs to be settled in the same way as for
existing job by preventing anomalies.

Job Evaluation Methods

The essence of compensation administration and establishment of the pay
structure is job Evaluation. It systematically determines the value of each job in
relation to all jobs within the organization by using job Analysis information. In
short, Job Evaluation seeks to rank all the jobs in the organization and place them
in a hierarchy that will reflect the relative worth of each. The techniques which
have been commonly used are as follows:
Non-analytical, Non-quantitative and summary methods.
Non-analytical methods are: Job Ranking, Job Classification or grading
Analytical or quantitative methods; Analytical methods are:
Factor Comparison
Point rating or assessment

Job Ranking Method

This is the oldest and simplest method of job Evaluation. This is generally used in
smaller units where the job raters know all the jobs quite well. In this method no
such effort is made to break a job into its elements or factors. The sole aim is
rather to judge the job as a whole and fix the relative value by ranking one whole
job against another whole job. Job at the top of the list has the highest value and
obviously the job at the bottom of the list will have the lowest value.

Jobs are arranged from highest to lowest, in order of their value or merit to the
organisation. Jobs also can be arranged according to the relative difficulty in
performing them, in order of importance beginning with the most important to the
least important jobs in the organisation. This procedure is followed for jobs in
each department and an attempt is then made to equate or compare jobs at
various levels among the several departments. When this is completed, grade
levels are defined and salary groups are formed. Jobs are placed into different
salary ranges more or less on a predominated basis in their rank order. The most
obvious limitation to the ranking method is its sheer inability to be managed when
there are a large number of jobs. Other drawbacks to be considered are the
subjectivity of the method. There are no definite or consistent standards by which
to justify the rankings.
An example of ranking of jobs where additional jobs between already ranked may
be assigned.

Rank
Monthly salary range
Advantages:
1. The system is quite simple to adopt.
2. Once the workers understand the process, it is very easy to administer.
3. Less time consuming in evaluating the jobs.
4. This system is suitable for smaller organisation where the raters are fully
acquainted with all the existing jobs in the enterprise.

Disadvantages:
1. Due to lack of scientific approach jobs may be arbitrarily ranked resulting in
differences in similar jobs.
2. Since the ranks judgements of the jobs are subjective, the fairness of the
judgement is questionable.
3. In a complex and large organisation, it is not possible to be familiar with all the
jobs and thus general description will not enable correct assessment of the
relative importance of the jobs.