Chapter 4: Workforces, Jobs, and Job Analysis
Chapter 4
Workforce, Jobs, and Job Analysis
Learning Objectives
After students have read this chapter, they should be able to:
• Explain how the workforce is changing in unpredicted ways.
• Identify components of workflow analysis.
Chapter Overview
This chapter begins with a discussion about the workforce composition and the business
contributions of diverse workers. Generational differences are included. The rest of the
chapter explains how the total work of the organization is divided up into jobs and gives
primary attention to two major HR activities related to jobs: job design and job analysis.
Chapter 4: Workforces, Jobs, and Job Analysis
• Planning the job analysis
• Preparing and introducing the job analysis
• Conducting the job analysis
• Developing job descriptions and job specifications
• Maintaining and updating job descriptions and job specifications
Chapter Outline
I. The Workforce Profile
Human Resources deals with that portion of the population that works at a job or is looking
for work. An overview of that part of the population workforce is a good place to begin an
examination of workforce and jobs.
A. Important Workforce Profile Elements
HR Headline: Demand for Pilots Will Soar
After years of limited job openings for pilots, the airline industry is realizing it will
be short of pilots very soon. The demand for pilots is so great it could turn into a
shortage bringing on serious competition around the globe for pilots to fill
cockpits. This surge is brought about by 4 factors:
Mandatory retirement age for commercial pilots in the United States is 65 and the
wave of pilots hitting that milestone really began in 2012.
The pipeline for pilots will have to grow to attract more people. Pilots may even
win back some of the benefits they lost in recent years amid restructuring.
Chapter 4: Workforces, Jobs, and Job Analysis
The participation rates help us understand which segments of the population are more
likely to be in the job market in the future. Several other variables like age, skills,
readiness for work, generational differences, and amount of work help profile the
workforce.
Age
Youths aged 16-24 are predicted to reduce their participation rates. The younger
people in this group are more likely to be students. Prime-work-age workers, of ages
Skill Gaps
Being able to match talent to what the business is and what it is trying to accomplish
is fundamental. Lower energy costs, rising wages in China and India, and high
Work Ready Credentials
“Work ready credentials” are gaining popularity with employers because they
measure certain skills. One such, the National Work Readiness Credential, is a
Chapter 4: Workforces, Jobs, and Job Analysis
matched by the skills of the current workforce, and because Americans are not
getting all the “job ready” skills employers need in the people they are hiring.
Generational Differences
Some common age/generational groups are labeled as follows:
• Mature (born before 1946)
• Baby boomers (born 1946-1964)
Part Timers, Self Employed, and Multiple Jobholders
The Bureau of Labor Statistics classifies people working less than 35 hours per week
as part time, but employers set their own definition of part time as they see fit. Two-
thirds of the part-time workforce is female, as mothers may need to lower their hours
Chapter 4: Workforces, Jobs, and Job Analysis
Self-employment is an important source of work for over 15 million people in the
U.S. workforce. Almost 11% of the total employment is made up of the self-
II. The Nature of Work and Jobs
Work is effort directed toward accomplishing results. The work may be done by humans,
machines, or both. But the total amount of work to be done in an organization must be
divided into jobs so that it can be coordinated in some logical way. A job is a grouping of
tasks, duties, and responsibilities that constitutes the total work assignment for an
employee. These tasks, duties, and responsibilities may change over time, and therefore the
job may change.
HR Skills and Applications: Dealing with a “Moonlighter”
Ideally when an employee has more than one job (e.g., a sales executive who
doubles as a consultant/speaker), it can benefit both employee and employer.
However, moonlighting can cause problems with trade secrets, distracted or
unproductive employees, exhaustion, complaints from other employees, and
“brand risks” like the high school teacher working as an exotic dancer.
Chapter 4: Workforces, Jobs, and Job Analysis
adapt to the changes in its environment and may be becoming outmoded or
noncompetitive. Several approaches are used to deal with the common issues surrounding
jobs in any organization.
A. Workflow Analysis
Workflow analysis is the study of the way work moves through an organization.
Usually, it begins with an examination of the quantity and quality of the desired and
actual outputs (goods and services). Then the activities (tasks and jobs) that lead to the
B. Job Design/Job Redesign
Job design refers to organizing tasks, duties, responsibilities, and other elements into a
productive unit of work. Job redesign refers to taking an existing job and changing it to
improve it. Identifying the components of a given job is an integral part of job design.
Job design receives attention for three major reasons:
Managers play a significant role in job design because often they are the people who
Chapter 4: Workforces, Jobs, and Job Analysis
establish jobs and their design components. They must make sure that job expectations
are clear, that decision-making responsibilities and the accountability of workers are
clarified, and that interactions with other jobs are integrated and appropriate.
C. Using Contingent Workers as Job Design
Organizations employ a variety of workers, and not just full-time workers. Depending
on economic and competitive factors, the types of workers in one firm may include the
following:
• Full-time employees
Person–Job Fit
The person–job fit is a simple but important concept of matching characteristics of
people with characteristics of jobs. If a person does not fit a job, theoretically either
the person can be changed or replaced or the job can be redesigned. Different people
D. Common Approaches to Job Design
Chapter 4: Workforces, Jobs, and Job Analysis
One way to design or redesign jobs is to simplify the job tasks and responsibilities. Job
simplification may be appropriate for jobs that are to be staffed with entry-level
employees. However, making jobs too simple may result in boring jobs that appeal to
few people, causing high turnover.
Job Enlargement and Job Enrichment
Job enlargement involves broadening the scope of a job by expanding the number
of different tasks to be performed. Job enrichment is increasing the depth of a job
Job Rotation
One technique that can break the monotony of an otherwise simple routine job is job
rotation, which is the process of shifting a person from job to job. There are
advantages to job rotation with one being that it develops an employee’s capabilities
E. Characteristics of Jobs to Consider in Design
A model developed by Hackman and Oldham focuses on five important design
characteristics of jobs. Figure 4-6 shows that skill variety, task identity, and task
significance affect the meaningfulness of work; autonomy stimulates responsibility; and
feedback provides knowledge of results. Each aspect can make a job better for the
Chapter 4: Workforces, Jobs, and Job Analysis
F. Using Teams in Job Design
Typically, a job is thought of as something done by one person. However, where
appropriate, jobs may be designed for teams to take advantage of the increased
productivity and commitment that may follow such a change. Organizations can assign
jobs to teams of employees instead of just individuals. Some firms have gone as far as
dropping such terms as workers and employees, replacing them with teammates, crew
members, associates, and other titles that emphasize teamwork.
Special Types of Teams
• Special-purpose team is formed to address specific problems, improve work
processes, and enhance the overall quality of products and services. Often,
special-purpose teams are a mixture of employees, supervisors, and managers.
• The self-directed team is composed of individuals who are assigned a cluster
of tasks, duties, and responsibilities to be accomplished. Unlike special-
Global Teams
Chapter 4: Workforces, Jobs, and Job Analysis
Global operations have resulted in an increasing use of virtual teams. Members of
these teams seldom or never meet in person. Instead, they “meet” electronically
G. Teams and Work Efforts
The use of work teams has been a popular form of job redesign. Work teams result in
improved productivity, increased employee involvement, greater coworker trust, more
widespread individual learning, and greater employee use of knowledge diversity. In a
transition to work teams, efforts are necessary to define the areas of work, scope of
authority, and goals of the teams. Also, teams must recognize and address dissent,
conflict, and other problems.
III. Designing Flexible Jobs
Flexibility can be designed into a job by changing where and when the work can be done.
These can be taken into consideration in designing jobs as jobs that are more flexible are
generally seen as more attractive to employees.
Chapter 4: Workforces, Jobs, and Job Analysis
can mean only looking at things that matter, and forgetting means downtime with exercise
or relaxation to get away.
A. Place Flexibility—Telework
Individuals who may be working at home or at other places illustrate telework, which
means that employees work via electronic, telecommunications, and Internet means.
There has been a rapid growth in home-based wage and salary employment recently.
Benefits and Disadvantages
The first identified benefits of telework were environmental, dealing with problems
caused by traffic and wasted time commuting for employees. Employees may indeed
find that they spend less for gasoline, maintenance, lunches, and dry cleaning Not
Administering Telework
The working relationship with teleworkers should begin with a carefully worded
policy. This is necessary because the fact that managers have less direct supervision
of teleworkers raises a number of issues and employee concerns. Such a policy must
Chapter 4: Workforces, Jobs, and Job Analysis
managers. One is overwork when having to balance home and work requirements.
Maintaining employee motivation when individuals are not physically present at
company facilities can also be challenging and may increase employee stress. Also,
the 15-hour time zone difference between the United States and some Asian
countries may make it difficult for global employees to participate in conference
calls or do extensive travel for meetings.
B. Time Flexibility—Work Scheduling
Different work schedules can be part of designing jobs and have been developed for
employees in different occupations and areas. The work schedules associated with jobs
vary. Some jobs must be performed during “normal” daily work hours and on
weekdays, while others require employees to work nights, weekends, and extended
Shift Work
HR Skills and Applications: Managing Teleworkers
More than 17 million full-time employees telework at least one day per month. It appears
this will continue to grow. To make certain that telework is providing the potential
benefits, management training is important for the effective supervision of teleworkers.
Chapter 4: Workforces, Jobs, and Job Analysis
A common work schedule design is shift work. Many organizations need 24-hour
coverage and therefore may schedule three 8-hour shifts per day. Most employers
Compressed Workweek
Compressed workweek is one type of work schedule design in which a full week’s
work is accomplished in fewer than five 8-hour days. Compression usually results in
more work hours each day and fewer workdays each week, such as four 10-hour
days, or a 3-day week with 12-hour shifts.
Part-Time Schedules
Part-time jobs are used when less than 40 hours per week are required to do a job.
Job sharing
Another alternative used is job sharing, in which two employees perform the work
Flextime
In flextime, employees work a set number of hours a day but vary starting and
ending times. In another variation, employees may work 30 minutes longer Monday
Friday.
C. Managing Flexible Work
Flexible scheduling allows management to relax some of the traditional “time clock”
control of employees, while still covering workloads. In some cases electronic
monitoring may be used.
Chapter 4: Workforces, Jobs, and Job Analysis
D. Flexibility and Work-Life Balance
For many employees balancing their work and personal lives is a significant concern.
The quality of employee’s personal and family life is improved by flexibility at work,
according to 68% of HR professionals polled. Most employees do not feel they spend
enough time with their families, and these problems for expatriates are even more
difficult.
IV. Understanding Job Analysis
A basic building block of HR management, job analysis, is a systematic way of gathering
and analyzing information about the content, context, and human requirements of jobs.
Most other functions in HR are based on or affected by job analysis.
A. Purposes of Job Analysis
Job analysis or work analysis has grown in importance as the workforce and jobs have
changed. To be effective, HR planning, recruiting, and selection all should be based on
job requirements and the capabilities of individuals that are identified by job analysis. In
Chapter 4: Workforces, Jobs, and Job Analysis
• Machines and equipment used
• Working conditions
• Supervision given and received
• Knowledge, skills, and abilities needed
B. Job Analysis Responsibilities
Job analysis requires a high degree of coordination and cooperation between the HR
unit and operating managers. The assignment of responsibility for job analysis depends
on who can best perform various parts of the process. In large companies, the HR unit
C. Task-Based Job Analysis
Task-based job analysis is the most common form and focuses on the tasks, duties, and
responsibilities performed in a job. A task is a distinct, identifiable work activity
D. Competency-Based Job Analysis
Unlike the traditional task-based approach to analyzing jobs, the competency approach
considers how knowledge and skills are used. Competencies are individual capabilities
that can be linked to performance by individuals or teams.