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Chapter 04 - Work Analysis and Design
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CHAPTER 4
1. Understand what work analysis is and what its major products are.
2. Explain the purposes and uses for work analysis data.
3. Compare and contrast methods for collecting data.
4. Describe commonly used and newer methods for conducting work analysis, including
O*NET.
5. Describe the process of competency modeling and compare this method to others
forms of work analysis
6. Explain how work analysis information is applied to job design efforts.
Chapter 04 - Work Analysis and Design
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© 2013 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any
manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
CHAPTER 4 - SUMMARY
I. Overview
A. Work analysis is the foundation for HR systems.
B. Work analysis leads to products to create and sustain organizational capability.
C. Effective work analysis increases the probability that HR deliverables will meet
the requirement of customers, both internal and external.
II. What is Work Analysis?
A. Work analysis is a systematic process of gathering information about work, jobs and
the relationships among jobs.
B. The major steps in conducting a work or job analysis.
1. What are the required outputs and how do we measure them?
2. What are the essential tasks, activities, behaviors required to meet or exceed
3. What are the raw inputs that are required for the outputs and what specific
equipment is necessary?
4. What are the necessary knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics or
competencies required to perform the activities at step 2?
5. How should jobs/work be defined? Where does the work get done to maximize
1. Knowledge - an organized body of information
2. Ability - a demonstrated competence to perform a behavior
3. Skill - a competence to perform a learned psychomotor act
4. Other characteristics - personality factors, attitudes, etc
D. What Are the Major Goals for Work Analysis?
1. Describe the observables/desired outcomes
2. Describe work behavior independent of worker personal characteristics
3. Produce data that is verifiable and reliable
E. Do We Really Need All the Specificity in Formal Job Analysis?
1. There is a strong trend to reduce the specificity in job descriptions
2. In Japan job descriptions are perceived to be harmful for team building; focus is
on training and job rotation
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3. In Europe, highly detailed job descriptions are frequently required by regulation
union agreement.
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© 2013 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any
manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
4. Job descriptions can be aggregated to the unit or functional level, defining job
specifications at the team level, and defining team member competencies.
5. Organizations can retrieve general job descriptions from the Internet (e.g.,
O*NET).
6. There are situations where great detail in the job description and job
1. EEO legislation and relevant court rulings have created greater interest in and
need for work/job analysis.
i. Griggs v. Duke Power and Albemarle Paper Company v. Moody – must
1. Job Descriptions outline the job's content and scope (i.e. duties, tasks, activities,
behaviors, and/or responsibilities).
2. Job Specifications consists of KASOCs, experience, and special educational
requirements, degrees, licenses needed to carry out job tasks.
3. Is used to redesign jobs and to determine how jobs relate to one another.
4. Determine compensation both for individual jobs and for team competencies
5. Used to develop performance appraisal systems
6. Additional products and purposes can be reviewed in Figure 4-3 (p. 108).
H. What Are the Major Methods of Work Analysis?
1. See Figure 4-4, p. 109 for overview of methods and their advantages &
disadvantages
2. Common job analysis data collection methods.
i. Observation.
ii. Performing the job.
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© 2013 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any
manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
3. The data collected should be correlated to relevant organizational data directly
1. Types of Information.
i. Task/job -oriented methods indicate the tasks or duties required
2. The Form of Job Information
3. The Standardization of the Work Analysis Content
i. HRM professionals have created uniform or consistent methods for
4. Sources of Job Information
i. Cameras
ii. Recording devices
1. 187 items in six categories
i. Information input requirements
ii. Mental processing
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2. PAQ results can identify selection tests for job being analyzed
3. Extensive research using the PAQ makes it one of the most useful tools; useful
for Title VII cases to support argument of job relatedness
i. Taylor v. James River Corporation- PAQ was used and a cognitive ability test
was suggested. The test was used by the company, use of the test resulted
in adverse impact. PAQ results helped support the argument of job
relatedness in the use of the.
4. Organizations should conduct their own studies of validity of employment test as
soon as technically feasible, and not simply rely on PAQ recommendations
5. PAQ results need to be understood relative to organizational context.
1. Developed to analyze managerial jobs (see Figure 4-7, p. 117)
2. 274-Item questionnaire contains 15 sections
3. Asks significance of each item to position
4. Data can be used in hiring, training and staff development
5. Does not tell whether a particular job specification is necessary for a given
1. Focused more on how objectives are accomplished than on what is
accomplished
2. Concentrated on managerial positions and should be closely linked to business
goals and strategies
3. Attempts to identify and define the individual competencies that are common or
4. Most commonly used to derive performance management and training
programs.
5. Competency – an “underlying characteristic of a person which results in effective
and/or superior performance on the job” or as a “cluster of related knowledge,
6. An estimated 75% of companies have some form of competency-based
application.
i. One popular, two-level competency model distinguishes “can-do
competencies” (skills and knowledge derived from education and
experience) and “will-do competencies” (personality and attitudinal
characteristics that reflect an individual’s willingness to perform).
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5. The most comprehensive data base for describing occupations and workers
i. Useful for developing hiring procedures
ii. Basic job descriptions can be retrieved
iii. Occupational data (i.e. salary)
iv. Great place to start for detailed job descriptions and job specifications
F. Critical Incident Technique (CIT)
1. Qualitative approach to job analysis used to obtain specific, behavioral focused
2. Four characteristics or CIT
i. Be specific
ii. Focus on observable behaviors
iii. Describe the context in which the behavior occurred
iv. Indicate the consequences of the behavior
3. Requirements of a well-written critical incident report
i. It must be sufficiently detailed
ii. There should be no mention of traits
iii. There should be no judgmental inferences
4. Uses of the CIT
i. Applicable to a variety of jobs (e.g., airline pilots, dentists, etc.)
1. Popular in making hiring and promotional decisions
2. Agreement that personality characteristics can be predictors of job
performance, and that the Five-Factor Model is most useful
3. The Five Factors include
i. emotional stability
ii. extroversion/introversion
iii. openness to experience
iv. agreeableness
v. conscientiousness
4. The results do not serve as a “substitute for a user’s professional judgment” as
1. System for describing jobs and tasks in terms of abilities, skills, knowledge and
social-interpersonal attributes
2. One of the most thoroughly researched formal JA methods
3. Links characteristics of job and tasks to requirements people need to perform
those jobs and tasks
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© 2013 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any
manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
4. An individual’s attributes profile can be compared to the requirements of a
job
5. Pro’s of this method
i. web-based system
ii. cost effective
iii. link results to tests
iv. easy to use
v. instant scoring and interpretation
I. Job Compatibility Questionnaire (JCQ)
1. Gathers broad information on factors of work related to performance,
absenteeism, turnover, and job satisfaction
2. JCQ theory is that the greater the compatibility in preferences for particular job
characteristics, they will be more effective and have longer job tenure
3. 200 items that incumbents complete
4. Incumbent responses are used to develop the profile of the job
5. Incumbents indicate the extent to which a JCQ item is descriptive of the job
using a 5 point scale
6. Useful for
i. Predicting retention/turnover for low wage jobs
ii. redesign jobs
1. Reflects an orientation towards creating or changing the manner in which work
gets done
2. Requires a thorough understanding of how jobs relate to one
another/organizational structure
3. Enriching jobs through more meaningful work, greater responsibility, and greater
work autonomy to increase motivation and job satisfaction
4. The Job Characteristics Model states motivation¸ satisfaction, lower absenteeism
and turnover is possible if workers:
5. Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS) used to measure work characteristics
6. Much criticism of the JDS and the Job Characteristics Model
7. Work Design Questionnaire (WDQ) is superior method
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© 2013 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any
manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
i. Used to study the relationship between work design variables and important
work outcomes such as job satisfaction
ii. Figure 4-14 (p 131) lists the 18 work characteristics from the WDQ
iii. Most effective predictor of job satisfaction: autonomy and social support
H. What is Strategic Job Analysis?
1. Intended to forecast what a job may be like in a new environment with new
2. Steps to conducting a strategic job analysis
i. Job analysis or subject matter experts (SMEs) and customers describe job
based on strategic plan and standardize description.
ii. Incumbents or SMEs discuss how changes such as new technology affect the
job
iii. Detailed description and KASOCs are generated including expected changes
iv. New analysis compared to current to note differences.
v. Comparison provides information relevant to developing performance
standards, training content, KASOCs, etc.
3. Requires widespread involvement to increase probability of predicting changes.
Should include a variety of functional areas, customers, and technologists
IV. Autonomous Work Groups (AWG) or Self-Managing Teams
A. Employees with a high degree of decision making responsibility and control
B. Leadership, external to the team, act as facilitators rather than supervisors
C. Teams may be involved in setting team goals, resolving internal conflict, and making
task assignment
D. Application of Job Characteristics Model
E. To be effective, training is critical
F. The effectiveness of AWGs or Self-Managing Work Teams is mixed. Team members
and managers need to be patient. It can take up to 2 years to see positive effects
G. Use of AWG’s can lead to higher job satisfaction
V. Rating Source Matters: Potential Biases in Work Analysis Data
A. The rating source, the purpose for the data, and type of ratings will impact results and
accuracy of data
B. Incumbents assign more importance to their jobs than supervisors and trained
analysts
C. External job analysis experts are the best source of unbiased data
D. Incumbents maybe the best source of information
E. Because work analysis methods involve human judgment, the results are subject to
bias
F. Best to have large number of experts from a variety of sources, (customers, clients,
incumbents, managers) rating KASOCs and job specifications
Chapter 04 - Work Analysis and Design
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VI. How Do You Choose the Best Job Analysis Method?
Best Method(s)
Job description
PAQ
O*NET
Job Design
PAQ
WDQ
Job Classification
PAQ, O*NET
Job Evaluation
PAQ, O*NET
Selection Tests
PAQ, JCQ
Performance Appraisal
CIT
Job Related Interviews
CIT
Training Program
CIT, O*NET
Legal Compliance
No Method ideal
Job Specification
Use Own Data to validate
If available
A. Multiple methods of data should be used whenever feasible
B. O*NET has a wealth of information to accomplish most of major purposes
C. Organizations should use their own data whenever possible to determine whether
particular job specifications are correlated with critical criteria
C. Work analysis helps to ensure that HR systems will be professionally sound, and legally
defensible
D. Comprehensive and multiple source/ method data collection produce the most
effective deliverables
E. Work analysis facilitates group performance through the clear definition of
responsibilities and tasks, and an understanding of working relationships
Chapter 04 - Work Analysis and Design
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Job descriptions- Describes the job in terms of its content and scope. Includes information on
job duties and responsibilities, an identification of critical internal and external customers,
equipment to be used on the job, working conditions, relationships with coworkers, and the
extent of supervision required
Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS) - is an instrument designed to measure the five key elements of the
Job Characteristic Model.
Job Enrichment- efforts provide more meaningful work, greater responsibility, and greater
worker autonomy
Job design- deals with the allocation and arrangement of organizational work activities and
tasks
Job specifications- Consists of the KASOCs needed to carry out the job tasks and duties. May
include specific educational requirements or years of experience
KASOCs- are critical knowledge, abilities, skills, and other characteristics necessary to perform
the work or job tasks.
Knowledge- refers to an organized body of information, usually of a factual or procedural
nature applied directly to the performance of a function.
Management Position Description Questionnaire (MDPQ) - is a standardized job analysis
instrument for management jobs.
Occupational Information Network (O*NET) - provides automated database for collecting
describing and presenting reliable and valid occupational information
(http://online.onetcenter.org/)
Organizational Structure- is the network of relationships or the connections among the various
jobs of an organization.
Personality-based Job Analysis- based on the idea that personality is an important predictor of
job performance. It uses the Five-factor Model of personality.
Chapter 04 - Work Analysis and Design
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Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) - standardized questionnaire that assess activities using
187 items in six categories. PAQ analysis identifies specific selection tests.
Quantitative methods- provide descriptions in numeric form (PAQ, MPDQ).
Qualitative methods- are narrative, non-numerical (CIT).
verbal, or mental manipulation of data, people or things.
Strategic Job Analysis- forecasts what a job may be like in a new environment with new
strategic goals, new technologies, increased customer contact or expanded duties.
Task or Job Oriented Methods- indicate the tasks or duties required to perform a job.
relationship between work design variables and important work outcomes.
Chapter 04 - Work Analysis and Design
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accommodations" that would allow qualified people with disabilities to perform a given job. Job
analysis may be necessary to establish essential functions of the job.
Taylor v. James River Corporation- The PAQ can used to establish “job relatedness”
Chapter 04 - Work Analysis and Design
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CHAPTER 4 - DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. What is meant by conducting a work analysis? How might you convince top managers of
the importance of conducting work analysis?
First determine the tasks, activities, behaviors or duties to be performed. Identify the critical
products, services or performance outcomes that are required by the customer and figure out
what tasks are necessary to do for that job that will yield the required outcome. Next relative
2. Do you believe having highly detailed job descriptions for every position can interfere with
group effectiveness? If so, is there anything that can be done?
Instead of being written to be highly specific and detailed, job descriptions can be written at the
group level which would encompass the minimal KASOCs that all group members need and the
tasks that everyone would be expected to be able to perform. Moreover, job descriptions do not
have to say that the incumbent will perform only those specific tasks defined in the description
Chapter 04 - Work Analysis and Design
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e. Job design
Focus on the tasks performed and the responsibilities of the employees. This will enable the
human resources to be reallocated or grouped together on the basis of the functions performed
4. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of using interviews, observation, and
questionnaires for collecting work analysis data.
•Interviews
Advantages: Information on infrequently performed activities and physical and mental
•Observation
Advantages: Allows for a deeper understanding of job duties than relying on incumbents'
descriptions.
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7. How would you use O*Net for developing job descriptions and specifications?
O*Net has job descriptions for all of the jobs in its database. O*Net also lists KASOCs, educational
8. A fast growing small business decides to hire a human resources manager for the first time.
What steps should be taken next?
See Figure 4-1 on page 102 for chronological steps in effective work analysis. The company would
first have to determine the tasks and KASOCs required for the human resource manager position.
