Chapter 04 – Workforce, Jobs, and Job Analysis
rotation. Job simplification involves breaking a more complex job into relatively small subparts. Job
enlargement involves broadening the scope of a job by expanding the number of different tasks performed. Job
enrichment involves increasing the depth of a job by adding responsibility for planning, organizing,
electronic communications, and Internet technology.
In flextime, employees work a set number of hours a day but vary starting and ending times to get more
scheduling flexibility. In another variation on this theme, employees may work 30 minutes longer Monday
through Thursday, take short lunch breaks, and leave work at 1 p.m. or 2 p.m. on Friday.
Job analysis is a systematic way of gathering and analyzing information about the content, context, and human
requirements of jobs.
89. What are performance standards?
Performance standards indicate what a job accomplishes and how performance is measured in key areas of the
job description for that job. If employees know what is expected and how performance is to be measured, they
have a much better chance of performing satisfactorily.
90. Briefly explain the identification section of a job description.
The identification section is the first part of a job description. It includes the job title, department, reporting
relationships, location, and date of analysis. Additional items commonly noted in the identification section are
job code, pay grade, exempt/nonexempt status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) classification (from the EEO-1 form).
91. Describe some of the important elements of the workforce profile in the United States.
Participation rates help us understand which segments of the population are more likely to be in the labor
market in the future. Several variables—like age, generation status, employee skills, and individual readiness
for work—are important factors that determine the workforce profile.
• Generational groups and the aging workforce: Some common categories for generational groups are
as follows: Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y, and Generation Z.
• Skill gaps: Employees need certain skills to help them make valuable contributions to their employers.
Skill gaps occur when employers are not able to find applicants that have the necessary skills to
perform a job.
• Improving readiness for work: Partnerships among businesses, education providers, and government
are likely to ensure that workers have the appropriate knowledge and skills to perform jobs in an ever-
changing world.
92. Explain workflow analysis.
Workflow analysis is the study of the way work moves through an organization. Such analysis usually begins
with an examination of the quantity and quality of the desired and actual outputs (goods and services), and
then the activities (tasks and jobs) that lead to the outputs are evaluated to see if they are achieving the desired
outputs. Finally, the inputs (people, material, information, data, equipment, etc.) must be assessed to determine
if they make the outputs and activities more effective and efficient.
93. Explain the common approaches to job design.
Common approaches to job design include job simplification, job enlargement, job enrichment, and job