Ch 3 - Pre-Employment Planning

job analysis

the systematic study of the tasks, duties, and responsibilities of a job and the qualities needed to perform it

• is starting point for nearly all personnel functions (selection, pay, training, performance appraisal)

  • answers questions…

    • what do ppl in particular job do? (task oriented)

    • what human characteristics are necessary for a job? (person oriented)

• produces…

  • job description

  • job specification

  • job evaluation

job description

a detailed description of job tasks, procedures, and responsibilities; the tools and equipment used; and the job output (end product or service)

job specification

a statement of the human characteristics required to perform a job

• includes KSAOs (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics) needed to do job

job evaluation

an assessment of the relative value of a job to determine appropriate compensation (wages)

• evaluation of worth; salary

sources of info for job analysis

• observations

• participation

• existing data

• interviews

• surveys

• job diaries

Subject Matter Expert (SME)

an individual who has detailed knowledge a/b a particular job

• AKA job incumbent or knowledgeable supervisors

• can provide job analysis via interviews or surveys

job analysis techniques

• job element method

• critical incidents technique

• position analysis questionnaire

• functional job analysis

• O*Net

job element method

a specific method of job analysis

• analyzes jobs in terms of the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs) required to perform the job

• KSAOs constitute basic job elements

KSAOs

• knowledge → know how to do a task

  • ex: traffic rules

• skills → can do a task

  • ex: typing speed, driving a car

• abilities → capability to learn to do a task

  • ex: finger dexterity, basic intelligence

• other → other attributes need

  • ex: driver’s license, friendly personality, ten years experience

critical incidents technique (CIT)

a specific method of job analysis

• relies on instances of especially successful or unsuccessful job performance

  • records specific worker behaviors that led to successful/unsuccessful performance

position analysis questionnaire (PAQ)

a specific method of job analysis

• uses structured questionnaire to analyze jobs according to 187 job statements, grouped into 6 categories (information input, mental processes, work output, relationships w/ other persons, job context, other job characteristics)

functional job analysis (FJA)

a specific method of job analysis

• structured technique that examines the sequence of tasks in a job and the process by which they are completed

  • helped create the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) made by U.S. Department of Labor

• uses 3 broad categories representing job’s typical interaction w/…

  • data, people, things

Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT)

a reference guide that classifies and describes over 40,000 jobs

• made by U.S. Department of Labor using functional job analysis

• replaced by O*NET

O*NET

Occupational Information Network; the U.S. Department of Labor’s website that provides comprehensive info a/b jobs and careers

measurement issues

• reliability

  • test-retest reliability

  • parallel forms

  • internal consistency

• validity

  • content validity

  • construct validity

  • criterion-related validity

reliability

the consistency of a measurement instrument or its stability over time

• extent to which a score is consistent, stable over time, and free from errors of measurement

• methods to determine

  • test-retest → temporal stability

  • parallel/alternate forms → form stability

  • internal reliability → item stability

  • scorer reliability

test-retest reliability

a method of determining the stability of a measurement instrument by administering the same measure to the same ppl at two different times and then correlating the scores

• AKA temporal stability

  • consistency over time

parallel forms

a method of establishing the reliability of a measurement instrument by correlating scores on two different but equivalent versions of the same instrument

• AKA form stability

internal reliability/consistency

a common method of establishing a measurement instrument’s reliability by examining how the various items of the instrument are intercorrelated

• AKA item stability

  • consistency across scale items

validity

a concept referring to the accuracy of a measurement instrument and its ability to make accurate inferences a/b a criterion

• ways to measure

  • content validity

  • criterion validity

  • construct validity

content validity

the ability of the items in a measurement instrument to measure adequately the various characteristics needed to perform a job

• does the measure capture all parts of job?

construct validity

refers to whether an employment test measures what it is supposed to measure

• how well is job defined/constructed

criterion-related validity

the accuracy of a measurement instrument in determining the relationship between scores on the instrument and some criterion of job performance

• is the measure related to relevant objective outcomes?

validity generalization

the ability of a screening instrument to predict performance in a job or setting different from the one in which the test was validated

test utility

the value of a screening test in determining important outcomes (such as dollars gained by the company through its use)

compensable factors

the job elements that are used to determine appropriate compensation for a job

comparable worth

the notion that jobs that require equivalent KSAOs should be compensated equally

• AKA equal pay for equal worth

  • stems from gender-based pay disparity

exceptioning

the practice of ignoring pay discrepancies between particular jobs possessing equivalent duties and responsibilities

employee recruitment

the process by which companies attract qualified applicants

realistic job preview (RJP)

an accurate presentation of the prospective job and organization made to applicants

purposes of job analysis

• career development

  • career ladder

• human resource planning

• project future needs

• legal defense

  • essential functions - what tasks must be done?

  • job relevance - is KSAO necessary to do the job?

• performance appraisal

• selection

• training

• research