Chapter 4 - Workforce, Jobs, and Job Analysis

A collection of vocabulary flashcards summarizing key concepts from Chapter 4 on Workforce, Jobs, and Job Analysis.

Work

Effort directed toward accomplishing results.

Job

Grouping of tasks, duties, and responsibilities that constitute the total work assignment for employees.

Workflow Analysis

Study of the way work moves through an organization.

Business Process Re-engineering

Measures for improving activities such as product development, customer service, and service delivery.

Job Design

Organizing tasks, duties, and responsibilities into a productive unit of work.

Person/Job Fit

Matching characteristics of people with characteristics of jobs.

Job Enlargement

Broadening the scope of a job by expanding the number of different tasks to be performed.

Job Enrichment

Increasing the depth of a job by adding responsibility for planning, organizing, controlling, or evaluating the job.

Job Rotation

Process of shifting a person from job to job.

Skill Variety

Extent to which the work requires several different activities for successful completion.

Task Identity

Extent to which the job includes a whole identifiable unit of work that is carried out from start to finish and that results in a visible outcome.

Task Significance

Impact the job has on other people.

Autonomy

Extent of individual freedom and discretion in the work and its scheduling.

Feedback

Amount of information employees receive about how well or poorly they have performed.

Special-Purpose Team

Organizational team formed to address specific problems, improve work processes, and enhance product and service quality.

Self-Directed Team

Organizational team composed of individuals who are assigned a cluster of tasks, duties and responsibilities to be accomplished.

Virtual Team

Organizational team composed of individuals who are geographically separated but linked by communications technology.

Compressed Workweek

Schedule in which a full week’s work is accomplished in fewer than 5 8-hour days.

Flextime

Scheduling arrangement in which employees work a set number of hours a day but vary starting and ending times.

Job Sharing

Scheduling arrangement in which two employees perform the work of one full-time job.

Job Analysis

Systematic way of gathering and analyzing information about the content, context, and human requirements of jobs.

Task

Distinct, identifiable work activity composed of motions.

Duty

Larger work segment composed of several tasks that are performed by an individual.

Responsibilities

Obligations to perform certain tasks and duties.

Competencies

Individual capabilities that can be linked to enhanced performance by individuals or teams.

Marginal Job Functions

Duties that are part of a job but are incidental or ancillary to the purpose and nature of the job.

Job Description

Identification of the tasks, duties, and responsibilities of a job.

Performance Standards

Indicators of what the job accomplishes and how performance is measured in key areas of the job description.

Job Specifications

The knowledge, skills, and abilities an individual needs to perform a job satisfactorily.

Work Schedule Alternatives

Variations such as 4-day week, shift work, flexible scheduling, and job sharing.

Telework

Ability for employees to work anywhere and anytime due to developments in technology.

Behavioral Competencies

Identified behaviors such as customer focus, leadership, adaptability, and communication effectiveness that are valued in the organization.

Job Analysis Process

Stages include planning, preparing, conducting, developing job descriptions, and maintaining updates.

Observation Method

Observing an individual performing the job and taking notes to describe tasks and duties.

Interview Method

Gathering information by talking with employees performing each job.

Questionnaire Method

A method that allows inexpensive collection of information on a large number of jobs.

Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ)

Tool used to analyze job positions through categories such as information input and job context.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Requires organizations to identify essential job functions and document job responsibilities.

Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

Regulation that affects overtime pay based on the percentage of time spent on manual, routine, or clerical duties.