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Job and Work Analysis

Third Edition

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To the love of my life, thank you for all that you have given me—I am always so grateful.

—F. P. Morgeson

To Bob Guion and to my fellow students in Bob’s job analysis class in 1980

—M. T. Brannick

To my grandson, Joshua Evan, my granddaughters, Samantha Maryssa and Aliyah Rachel, and their delightful grandmother, my bride Rosalie

—E. L. Levine

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Job and Work Analysis Methods, Research, and Applications for Human Resource Management

Third Edition

Frederick P. Morgeson Michigan State University

Michael T. Brannick University of South Florida

Edward L. Levine University of South Florida

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Morgeson, Frederick P., author. | Brannick, Michael T., author. | Levine, Edward L., author.

Title: Job and work analysis : methods, research, and applications for human resource management / Frederick P. Morgeson, Michigan State University, Michael T. Brannick, University of South Florida, Edward L. Levine, University of South Florida.

Description: Third edition. | Los Angeles : SAGE, [2019] | Michael T. Brannick appears as first named author in earlier editions. | Includes bibliographical references and index.

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Identifiers: LCCN 2018034142 | ISBN 9781544329529 (pbk. : alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: Job analysis.

Classification: LCC HF5549.5.J6 B65 2019 | DDC 658.3/06—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018034142

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

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https://lccn.loc.gov/2018034142

Brief Contents

Preface About the Authors Chapter 1 • Introduction Chapter 2 • Work-Oriented Methods Chapter 3 • Worker-Oriented Methods Chapter 4 • Hybrid Methods Chapter 5 • Management and Teams Chapter 6 • Job Analysis and the Law Chapter 7 • Job Description, Performance Management and Appraisal, Job Evaluation, and Job Design Chapter 8 • Staffing and Training Chapter 9 • Doing a Job Analysis Study Chapter 10 • The Future of Job Analysis Glossary References Index

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Detailed Contents

Preface About the Authors Chapter 1 • Introduction

Overview of the Book The Uses of Job Analysis Definitions Building Blocks of Job Analysis Methods

Kinds of Job Data Collected: Descriptors Methods of Data Collection Sources of Job Analysis Data Units of Analysis Summary of the Building Blocks

A Couple of Job Analysis Projects Example 1: Evaluation of an Electrical Transmission and Distribution Training Program Example 2: Job Analysis for Developing Minimum Qualifications

Chapter Summary Chapter 2 • Work-Oriented Methods

Time-and-Motion Study Time Study

Work Sampling Standard Setting

Motion Study Graphs and Flowcharts Micromotion Analysis Recording Techniques

Criticism of Time-and-Motion Study Functional Job Analysis

A Fundamental Distinction of FJA: What Gets Done Versus What the Worker Does Worker Functions

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Functional Job Analysis Procedure Describing the Work

Work Fields Methods Verbs Machines, Tools, Equipment, and Work Aids Materials, Products, Subject Matter, and Services

Sentence Structure and Analysis Other Characteristics of the DOL FJA

Fine’s FJA Comparison of the DOL FJA and Fine’s FJA Research on FJA

Task Inventories History Survey Design

Background Information Structure of Tasks Determining the Appropriate Level of Specificity Selecting Response Options Demographic Data

Data Analysis Critical Incident Technique

Tips for Capturing and Writing Critical Incidents Research on the Critical Incident Technique

Chapter Summary Chapter 3 • Worker-Oriented Methods

Job Element Method Content of Elements Steps in the JEM Gathering Information for JEM Rating Scales

Barely Acceptable (B) Superior (S) Trouble Likely If Not Considered (T) Practical (P)

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Derived Scales Total Value (TV) Item Index (IT) Training Value (TR)

Assigning Elements to Categories Research on JEM: The J-Coefficient Remarks on JEM

Position Analysis Questionnaire Development and Structure of the PAQ PAQ Results Uses of the PAQ Reliability and Validity Research on the PAQ: Common Knowledge Effects Recent PAQ Developments Remarks on the PAQ

Other Trait-Based Worker-Oriented Measures Threshold Traits Analysis System Ability Requirements Scales Occupational Reinforcer Pattern Methods With Substantial Attention to Equipment

AET Job Components Inventory

Cognitive Task Analysis Types of Knowledge and Skill Cognitive Task Analysis Methods A Simple Example Reliability and Validity Remarks on Cognitive Task Analysis

Personality-Oriented Job Analysis Chapter Summary

Chapter 4 • Hybrid Methods Combination Job Analysis Method

Task Statements The Task Generation Meeting

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The Task Rating Meeting Analysis of Task Importance Employee Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Other Characteristics The KSAO Group Meeting

The Morning Session The Afternoon Session

Analysis of KSAOs Using the Results Research and Applications of C-JAM Summary of C-JAM

Multimethod Job Design Questionnaire MJDQ Development and Structure

Motivational Mechanistic Biological Perceptual/Motor

MJDQ Research Formats Reliability Correlations Among Scales and Correlations With Other Variables Problems With the MJDQ

Summary of the MJDQ Work Design Questionnaire Occupational Information Network (O*NET)

Impetus for O*NET The O*NET Content Model

Worker Requirements Experience Requirements Worker Characteristics Occupational Requirements Occupation-Specific Information and Workforce Characteristics

O*NET Research and Development Research on O*NET Itself Research on Applications of O*NET

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Research Using the O*NET Database and Surveys Conclusions About O*NET

Chapter Summary Chapter 5 • Management and Teams

Management and Leadership Development and Structure of the Management Position Description Questionnaire

Response Scales Research and Applications of the MPDQ

Management Work Factors Job Evaluation Factors Computer Use

Reliability Summary of the MPDQ

Competency Modeling Summary of Competency Modeling

Job Analysis for Teams Job Design for Teams Team Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Team Functions The Multiphase Analysis of Performance System

Building Blocks for Team Job Analysis Descriptors Flowcharts and Time Charts Sources of Job Analysis Data and Methods of Data Collection Ratings (Units of Analysis) Data Analysis Storing and Retrieving Information

Cognitive Task Analysis for Teams Chapter Summary

The MPDQ Competency Modeling Job Analysis for Teams

Chapter 6 • Job Analysis and the Law

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Federal Legislation The Constitution Equal Pay Act Civil Rights Acts Age Discrimination in Employment Act Rehabilitation Act Americans with Disabilities Act

Enforcement of Equal Employment Opportunity Laws Executive Orders Professional Standards Prescriptions for Job Analysis

Selection Test Validation According to the Principles and the Standards Job Analysis Under the Principles Federal Law EEOC and OFCCP Case Law Summary for Selection

Chapter Summary Chapter 7 • Job Description, Performance Management and Appraisal, Job Evaluation, and Job Design

Job Description Structure of the Job Description

Identifiers Job Summary Duties and Tasks (What, How, Why) Other Information

Issues in Job Description Descriptive Versus Prescriptive Present Versus Future

Key Considerations Performance Management and Appraisal

Rating Formats Graphic Rating Scales

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Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales Behavioral Observation Scales Forced-Choice Scales

Comparison of Formats Key Considerations

Behavioral Job Description Job Evaluation

Equity Job Evaluation Methods

Whole Job Versus Compensable Factors Comparing Jobs Versus Attributes Direct Assessment Methods

Key Considerations Research on Job Evaluation

Job Design/Redesign Goals of Job Design/Redesign

Production System Needs Social–Organizational Needs Individual Worker Needs

Design Decisions Accomplished by People Task Allocation Job Relations Job Design for People With Disabilities

Key Considerations Kinds of Information A Redesign Process Implementation

Chapter Summary Job Description Performance Management and Appraisal Job Evaluation for Compensation Job Design/Redesign

Chapter 8 • Staffing and Training

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Staffing Recruitment

Job Specification (Job Spec) Key Considerations for Recruitment

Selection Test Validation

Content-Oriented Strategies Criterion-Oriented Strategies Construct-Oriented Strategies Applicant Job Experience and Validation Predictive and Concurrent Designs Synthetic Validity Signs and Samples Comparison of Designs Research on Judging KSAOs for Validation Key Considerations for Selection Generic Traits Research Comparing Efficacy of Job Analysis Methods for Selection

Summary Thoughts on Staffing Training

The Training Cycle Needs Assessment Training and Development Evaluation Training Goal Key Considerations for Training

Selection Versus Training Chapter Summary

Staffing Training

Chapter 9 • Doing a Job Analysis Study Matching Purpose and Job Analysis Attributes

Purposes Attributes

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Selecting Approaches Job Classification Worker Mobility Efficiency/Safety/Health Workforce Planning Legal/Quasi-Legal Requirements Practical Considerations

Issues to Consider Organizational Issues

Observations and Interviews Preparing for the Observation/Interview Making Contact Conducting the Observation/Interview

Questionnaires Planning and Preparing

Writing Tips Choosing Response Scales Distribution

Collecting Data Analyzing Data Reporting Study Results Assessing Reliability

Why Estimate Reliability? Interjudge Agreement Interjudge Reliability Internal Consistency and Temporal Stability

Validity Correlation and Regression Factor and Cluster Analysis Other Multivariate Techniques Consequential Validity

A Note About Accuracy in Job Analysis Chapter Summary

Chapter 10 • The Future of Job Analysis

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Changing Conditions Changes in Society Changes in Technology Changes in the Business Environment

Implications for Jobs and Work/Job Analysis Descriptors

Flexibility Interpersonal Relationships Roles Job Design Features Connections New Scales

Sources of Job Analysis Data Customers Specialists Computers

Methods of Data Collection Computer Networks Electronic Performance Monitoring Forecasting

Units of Analysis Role Definition and Redefinition Dissemination, Storage, and Retrieval

Written Copies of a Formal Report Online Storage Key Recipients Periodic Retrieval

Chapter Summary A Final Note

Glossary References Index

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Preface

Job and work analysis provide useful tools for those working in human resource management, human factors, and industrial and organizational psychology. Others, such as industrial engineers, have also used these tools. Although job and work analysis have been with us since the dawn of scientific management, they still provide valuable guidance for those who wish to develop new programs or improve existing ones that enhance the contributions of people in organizations. Such programs can help people work smarter, improve hiring and training, make jobs safer and healthier, provide a more satisfying work environment, and even allow some of us to make money watching other people work (the last item is one of our favorites). Once you have read this book, you too will be convinced of the value of job analysis. At times, we may use the term job analysis to stand for both job and work analysis (the broader term) for brevity’s sake.

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Who Will Benefit From This Book?

This book is intended mainly for undergraduate and graduate students in classes covering human resources management, including classes in job analysis, industrial psychology, organizational behavior, and more specific classes in areas such as personnel selection, training, and compensation. The book can stand on its own or be used with another text that covers the class content. Professionals in a variety of areas, especially human resources or personnel, may find the book useful. It should be particularly helpful to those new to the human resources function in companies and in government. But even experienced professionals may find a new wrinkle or two.

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Purpose

In this book, we describe numerous methods for discovering, understanding, and describing the nature of work and applying the results of job and work analysis to problems arising in the management of people at work. We have made judgment calls about what to include and exclude among the many methods and applications available. Methods that are commonly used in industrial engineering for applications such as work scheduling are given minimal attention. However, we feel that the most important and commonly used methods in human resources management are treated in enough detail that you, the reader, should become familiar with their value and uses. We show in detail some of the marriages between job and work analysis methods and purposes. We have discovered from teaching job analysis that such marriages are central to understanding its value. Finally, we have incorporated some practical suggestions for doing job and work analysis based on research and on our own experience. In many places throughout the book, we cross-reference other chapters that are relevant to the topic at hand. Thus, the instructor may choose to assign chapters in an order different from that in the book, and professionals may access those chapters that meet their immediate needs.

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A Note on Voice

At various points in the book, we report experiences that one of us has had in job analysis or human resources practice more generally. In such instances, we say “we” rather than distinguish who did what among the authors, for it tends to distract the reader from the point. We often address the reader directly to avoid passive voice.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the SAGE editorial staff, especially Maggie Stanley for her help and patience with the manuscript, and several reviewers who carefully read the second edition for their thoughtful and helpful comments.

SAGE would like to thank the following reviewers:

Kimanya Ards, Amberton University Maureen A. Conard, Sacred Heart University Matt Fuss, Geneva College Machelle K. Hefel, University of Wisconsin–Platteville Richard Huff, Virginia Commonwealth University Ghadir Ishqaidef, California State University, Chico Teresa Helmlinger Ratcliff, Campbell University Comila Shahani-Denning, Hofstra University

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About the Authors

Frederick P. Morgeson earned his PhD in industrial and organizational psychology from Purdue University in 1998. He is currently the Eli Broad Professor of Management in the Broad College of Business at Michigan State University. Dr. Morgeson studies how organizations can optimally identify, select, develop, manage, and retain talent to achieve their strategic goals. He has conducted award-winning research, taught, and consulted across a range of topics in the human resource management and talent management domains, including recruiting and hiring; leadership experiences and development; team leadership and performance; organizational development; and job analysis and design. This includes working with numerous public- and private-sector organizations across a range of industries. He has been awarded Fellow status from the Academy of Management, the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science, and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology.

Michael T. Brannick earned his PhD in industrial and organizational psychology from Bowling Green State University in 1986. He is currently Professor in the Psychology Department at the University of South Florida. He teaches a graduate seminar in job analysis. His research interests include research methods and teams.

Edward L. Levine earned his PhD in industrial and organizational psychology from New York University in 1970. He is currently Professor Emeritus in the Psychology Department at the University of South Florida and served as chair of the department from 1993 to 2001. His research interests include job and work analysis, personnel selection, control in organizations, and affect at work. He is certified as a diplomate in Industrial and Organizational Psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology, and he is a Fellow of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology and the American Psychological Association.

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SAGE PUBLISHING: OUR STORY

We believe in creating fresh, cutting-edge content that helps you prepare your students to make an impact in today’s ever-changing business world. Founded in 1965 by 24-year-old entrepreneur Sara Miller McCune, SAGE continues its legacy of equipping instructors with the tools and resources necessary to develop the next generation of business leaders.

We invest in the right authors who distill the best available research into practical applications. We offer intuitive digital solutions at student-friendly prices. We remain permanently independent and fiercely committed to quality, innovation, and learning.

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1 Introduction

Job analysis and work analysis cover a host of activities, all of which are directed toward discovering, understanding, and describing what people do at work. Although work analysis is the more inclusive term, covering analysis of team functioning, work processes and systems, as well as jobs, we bow to tradition and use most often the term job analysis in this book. Job analysis and work analysis are important because they form the basis for the solution of virtually every human resource problem. Such problems can be illustrated by three real-world examples.

Robert Hart (not his real name) is vice president of human resources for In Digital (not the real name of the company, either), a rapidly growing supplier of computer hardware to computer retailers. In Digital uses a test as part of its hiring process for the job of senior sales associate. The test indicates whether sales associates have the knowledge needed to do the job. The test has questions about computer hardware, such as what a hard drive is, and questions about operating the sales computer system, such as what screen to use to place an order. As a government contractor, In Digital must obey laws that apply to companies receiving federal money. Recently, In Digital was audited by the U.S. Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), which enforces laws about equal employment opportunity. The OFCCP auditor said to Robert, “Tell me about this test you are using for promotion.” Robert said, “Oh, that’s not a test. It’s just a little screen, you know.” It probably will not surprise you to know that the auditor was not satisfied by Hart’s attempt to get off the hook. Hart then called us and asked for some help in showing whether the test is a solid indicator of sales knowledge, as required by the OFCCP.

Karen Shartle is the owner of Clear Vision, a retailer that produces eyeglasses and contact lenses for customers in about an hour. Karen has three stores, each of which has an optometrist or two on staff, some lab workers, and some salespeople who help clients decide what glasses to buy. Karen called for help with her pay rates. She is having trouble attracting and keeping staff in her stores, and she thinks that her pay scale for the jobs in her stores may be out of line with the pay scales used by others in this industry.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an independent agency of the U.S. government and is responsible for the space program, including the operation of the

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International Space Station and planning for interplanetary and interstellar exploratory missions. It has recently started to consider a variety of long-range, long-duration missions with humans aboard, including missions to the moon, asteroids, and Mars. Key to the success of these missions is selecting and training astronauts with the “right stuff.” In this case, the right stuff includes the competencies needed to successfully respond to long-duration spaceflight and the unique challenges presented by very long space travel times (up to 6 months to reach Mars) and confinement with a small team of fellow astronauts.

The solution to these problems begins with job analysis. Before we can determine how well the test works, the proper pay for a job, or the competencies needed by a new breed of astronaut, we need to know what the job is. For the testing problem, we then need to know what knowledge is required to perform the job successfully. For the compensation problem, we need to know the pay of other similar jobs. For the competency problem, we need to know what the demands of long-duration spaceflight are and what competencies are needed to successfully meet these demands. And for other problems, we need to know special aspects of jobs or of people. In subsequent chapters, we detail several methods for conducting a job analysis to solve problems like these. In the remainder of this chapter, we will (1) present an overview of the book, (2) identify the uses of job analysis, (3) define key terms, (4) describe the major building blocks of job analysis methods, and (5) present a couple of examples of job analysis projects we have completed to whet your appetite for what is to come.

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Overview of the Book

As we just noted, Chapter 1 includes definitions and a brief coverage of the uses of job analysis. This chapter is intended to show the practical importance of the material covered in the subsequent chapters. The next four chapters describe the most important techniques of job analysis, with emphasis on those methods that can be used for more than one purpose. Chapter 2 focuses on work-oriented methods—that is, methods that target what gets done. For example, in the job of auto mechanic, a work-oriented method would focus on tasks such as adjusting brakes. Chapter 3 focuses on worker-oriented methods—that is, methods that target how the worker does the work. For example, in the job of mechanic, the analysis might focus on the knowledge or judgment used to select the proper tool for the job. Chapter 4 focuses on hybrid methods—those methods that try to gather work- and worker-oriented information simultaneously. Chapter 5 focuses on techniques used to analyze managerial jobs and methods for analyzing the jobs of teams.

Moving on from techniques, Chapter 6 covers job analysis and the law. We mention the most important statutes and describe their implications for conducting job analysis in such a way as to stay out of legal trouble.

The next two chapters describe applications of job analysis. We focus on how best to “marry” the purpose and method (shotgun marriages are not included); we also describe and critique research literature that is relevant for each of the topics. Chapter 7 covers several common human resource applications, including job descriptions, performance management, compensation, and job design. Chapter 8 covers topics most dear to the heart of many an industrial psychologist—namely, staffing and training, both currently included under the rubric “talent management.” Please bear in mind that job analysis is a tool to help us achieve goals in the areas named, not an end in itself. A theme that comes up over and over again is that the purpose we have in mind and our limits in terms of money, resources, and time will dictate the type of job analysis we do.

The final two chapters cover two rather different topics. In Chapter 9, we discuss doing a job analysis study. We offer a theoretical rationale and practical advice about planning and organizing a job analysis study and collecting and analyzing data. Although such information can be found in other texts, it is not usually found in a single, handy place (if we do say so ourselves), nor is it usually organized with practice in mind, as it is here. Chapter 10, the final

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chapter, focuses on the future of job and work analysis.

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The Uses of Job Analysis

Job analysis is used for a large number of purposes. Several authors have developed lists of such uses, including Ash (1988), Ash and Levine (1980), McCormick (1979), Morgeson and Dierdorff (2011), Prien and Ronan (1971), Sanchez and Levine (2012), and Zerga (1943). Our list follows but updates that of Ash (1988) and Ash and Levine (1980). The list covers purposes of interest to organizations as they manage their workforces.

1. Job description. A job description is a brief written description of work—it’s a snapshot intended to communicate the essence of the job. A job description usually contains identifiers (job title plus other classifying information), a summary (mission or objective statement), and duties and tasks (what gets done), and it may contain other information such as reporting relations, accountability, and minimum qualifications (i.e., the minimum human attributes needed to perform the job adequately). Among other things, job descriptions are important for communicating the nature of the job to someone who doesn’t already know what the job is.

2. Job classification. Job classification is the process of placing one or more jobs into a cluster or family of similar jobs (for example, because of its requirements, a job is classified, say, as a Programmer Analyst III). The family may be based on lines of authority, duties, and responsibilities of the work or behavioral requirements of the job. Job classification can be important for setting pay rates and selecting employees.

3. Job evaluation. Job evaluation is the process of establishing the worth of jobs to an employer. Employers want the pay for various jobs to match their value in relation to one another within the company and to stack up well against pay rates offered by other companies. By maintaining fair pay, job evaluation helps to attract and retain people.

4. Job, team, and system design and redesign. Job design is the process of bundling tasks or clusters of tasks into a collective called a job. Job design is necessary whenever a new job is created or changed. Team design is the process of bundling tasks or clusters of tasks for a team of workers as opposed to individuals. System design overlaps with team design but also attends to assigning tasks to equipment and people in the system. Job, team, and system redesign is the sorting of tasks to replace old jobs and functions with new ones. Job redesign is often part of an effort to increase work efficiency and productivity. It may also be

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conducted to increase employee satisfaction, motivation, safety, or product quality. In today’s dynamic business climate, many jobs are being redesigned almost on a daily basis, sometimes by the workers themselves.

5. Human resource requirements and specifications. Human resource requirements refer to human attributes necessary or desirable for performing the job. Such attributes are often thought of as knowledge, skills, abilities, or other characteristics like personality (KSAOs). For example, an accounting job might require skill in using current tax software. Job specifications refer to minimum qualifications that employers require for the job (for example, a college degree in engineering, 6 months of experience as a cashier). These specifications can be used to inform job applicants and staff charged with screening applicants about the standards the applicants must meet.

6. Performance appraisal and management. Performance appraisal is the process of evaluating the job performance of individuals (and now teams) who have been working for some period of time; performance management refers to the broader process of managing the performance of individuals and teams. Usually, performance appraisals are completed by management and used to help make decisions about raises and promotions and to give workers feedback about their performance. They are sometimes used as motivational tools. Because of equal employment opportunity laws, it has become increasingly important to tie performance appraisals to important tasks and work behaviors required by the job. Performance management encompasses appraisals but incorporates aspects such as coaching as needed in addition to periodic formal reviews.

7. Training. Much of what workers need to know, think, or do to perform successfully on the job is learned after they are hired. Training is the process by which such learning takes place. Job analysis informs the development of training by identifying the key KSAOs job incumbents need to perform the tasks of a job. Once it is clear what KSAOs the job incumbents still need to develop, appropriate training can be designed (built from the key tasks performed in the job). In the team context, which is increasingly relied upon in modern work places, team training must include the development of team competencies such as conflict resolution skills in addition to task and functional competencies.

8. Worker mobility. People move into and out of jobs via initial appointments, transfers, promotions, and even demotions. It is generally in everyone’s best interest that people and

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jobs fit together well. Career counseling provides individuals with information about jobs and about themselves that is intended to promote beneficial worker mobility. Some organizations provide formal career ladders or paths that are intended to foster skill development and occupational success for individuals. Related to the issue of worker mobility is the use of job analysis data for disability determination purposes. In the United States, this process is run by the Social Security Administration and focuses on the kind of (other) work people might be able to perform if they have a permanent disability. Job analysis information is crucial to this process, as it provides key insight into the various physical and mental demands of work and how a disability might impact the ability of workers to meet those demands.

9. Workforce planning. Workforce planning is essentially the flip side of worker mobility. Organizations want to plan for jobs that will need to be filled and to be confident that qualified applicants will be available to fill them. Planning is critical in the context of management and leadership succession planning, and such planning requires the identification of present and future competencies via job analysis. Job analysis can indicate the KSAOs needed to be successful in a particular job. Organizations can then design selection and training and developmental programs to ensure that applicants will possess the needed KSAOs.

10. Efficiency. Improving efficiency at work includes things such as shortening the work process or making it easier to do—for example, (1) reducing the number of physical movements in a repetitive task, (2) developing work aids (perhaps a checklist giving all the needed steps for completing a job), or (3) designing better tools (such as a shovel of a certain size). Among teams, efficiency is promoted by the allocation of tasks to individuals to minimize task redundancy but also to avoid requiring too many KSAOs for any given job.

11. Safety and health. Job analysis can identify specific behaviors and working conditions that increase the chances of accidents and injury. Improving safety can involve changes in the work process, the development of work aids and tools, or changes in the work context (work environment). Likewise, job analysis can identify work aspects that might contribute to reduced stress and burnout at work.

12. Legal and quasi-legal requirements. Several different laws apply to conditions of employment, including safety and health, hiring, training, paying, promoting, and firing employees. Several governmental agencies are charged with enforcing such laws. The agencies

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include, among others, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Each agency has sets of guidelines intended to help employers comply with employment laws. Job analysis is used to describe jobs and worker qualities so that interested parties can determine whether employment practices serve to improve productivity and efficiency and do not unlawfully discriminate against people.

Some might argue that our list of purposes is not complete, that there are other purposes to be served by job analysis. Well, yes, such purposes include quality of work life and finding employment for long-term unemployed workers or workers displaced by advances in technology. Some might choose test development as a category. Or we might have added a “miscellaneous” category, except we wanted to avoid 13 purposes. For the sake of harmony, let’s assume that the list is reasonably but not totally complete.

Actually, the major category missing from our list is what might be called “societal purposes” for job analysis—purposes that extend beyond the boundaries of any single organization. Some examples include vocational guidance, when counselors in schools or private practice help people find occupations that match their aptitudes and interests; labor market data, in which job information is used as a basis to report unemployment rates or rates of creation of new jobs; and skills transferability, which occurs when rehabilitation counselors help disabled or displaced employees move from one type of job or occupation to another. Such are topics for other books.

The 12 purposes in our list are not necessarily exclusive of one another. For example, job classification and job evaluation both can affect pay rates. Changing a job through job design most likely will create a need for training and could change the job requirements and performance appraisal techniques. A single job analysis may be conducted to accomplish several purposes at once. Most of the job analysis techniques described in this book are intended to serve multiple purposes. The take-home message of this section of the chapter has been that job analysis helps to solve practical problems at work and forms the foundation for virtually every human resource management system or application.

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Definitions

Various authors use terms such as job, position, and task to mean different things. It is important to define terms so that we can communicate effectively. Our approach is to define a job by approaching it from both ends of the work content spectrum, both the very broad and the very narrow. We begin by working from the very broad end of the spectrum. At the broadest level, we have the entire world of work. This includes all jobs and, because it fails to make distinctions among them, isn’t very useful in practical work. Immediately below this level is the branch. An example of a branch of the world of work is the public safety branch, which encompasses all those jobs whose content deals with such duties as law enforcement, security, and firefighting and with the effects of natural disasters. The world of work can be divided into about a dozen branches. Each branch can be further divided into about a dozen groups. An example of a group within the public safety branch would be law enforcement jobs. Proceeding downward toward our target concept of the job, we can divide groups into a set of series. The sworn law enforcement officer series, for example, would include police officer, detective, police sergeant, lieutenant, captain, and major.

Finally, we arrive at the term job. An example of a job in the sworn law enforcement officer series might be police officer. A job refers to the work content performed by a group of people with similar work, such as the work described by the title “police officer.” The definition of the term job is still a bit vague at this point. We will return to it after building up toward the job from the smallest pieces of work content.

The smallest unit of work that can be identified as having a clear beginning, middle, and end is called an element. An example from the police officer job would be dialing the telephone. Another way to think about an element is that any smaller unit of work content would require descriptions of physical motions or sensory processes. For example, to dial the phone, you have to pick up the handset and punch in a series of numbers. Reaching for the phone, grasping it, moving it toward the ear, listening for the dial tone, and so forth are all considered here to be physical motions or sensory processes rather than elements of work content.

The next larger unit of work is called an activity. Activities are clusters or groups of elements directed at fulfilling a work requirement. A police officer uses the telephone on many occasions as part of the activity “Answering calls related to landlord–tenant disputes.” When a

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job is analyzed down to the level of activities, you might expect to find more than a hundred activities in a typical job and several hundred activities in more complex jobs.

Tasks are collections of activities that are directed toward the achievement of specific job objectives. An example of a task for police officers might be “Talks to conflicting parties to settle disturbances.” A thorough job analysis for a typical job will usually produce from 30 to 100 tasks. Tasks have a clear beginning, middle, and end. It’s useful to think of a task as starting with an action verb. The end of the task is linked directly to the goals of the job. In the previous