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chapter_3.docx_CHAPTER 3
Job Analysis
CHAPTER 3 OUTLINE
_ WHAT IS JOB ANALYSIS?
The Job-Oriented Approach
The Person-Oriented Approach
_ PURPOSES OF JOB ANALYSIS
Career Development
Legal Issues
Performance Appraisal
Selection
Training
Vocational Counseling
Research
_ HOW JOB ANALYSIS INFORMATION IS COLLECTED
Who Provides the Information?
Approaches to Collecting Job Analysis Information
_ METHODS OF JOB ANALYSIS
Job Components Inventory
Functional Job Analysis
Position Analysis Questionnaire
Task Inventory
Choosing a Job Analysis Method
Job Analysis Methods for Work Teams
_ RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF JOB ANALYSIS INFORMATION
Reliability
Validity
_ JOB EVALUATION
Comparable Worth
_ CHAPTER SUMMARY
_ I/O PSYCHOLOGY IN PRACTICE
_ LEARNING BY DOING
53
54 _ Chapter 3. Job Analysis
How would you describe the job of a police officer? What are the different tasks that
police officers do, and how much time do they spend doing each one? How difficult is
it to learn the various tasks, and how long does it take? What personal characteristics
does it take to do each task, as well as the entire job? These questions are addressed by
a variety of techniques that I/O psychologists refer to as job analysis.
Even for the most familiar jobs, a job analysis is necessary to provide an accurate
picture of all the details of the job and all the characteristics required of the people who
will do it. For example, everyone is somewhat familiar with the job of a police officer.
However, the public perception of the job is based to a large extent upon depictions
in movies and television programs, such as Law and Order and CSI . Television programs
focus on the more dramatic aspects of the job, which may be rarely performed.
Most police officers spend more time carrying out routine patrol duties and completing
paperwork than on apprehending criminals (Bernardin, 1988). The firing of a weapon is a
common occurrence on television, but it is rarely done by most police officers on the job.
A thorough job analysis would provide an accurate picture of what police officers do all
day on the job. The police officer’s job has been thoroughly studied with many different
job analysis methods and procedures. We look at some of them throughout this chapter.
There are two different categories of job analyses—job oriented and person (or
employee) oriented. The job-oriented job analysis focuses on the tasks that are done
on the job, whereas the person-oriented job analysis is concerned with the personal
characteristics needed for a job. In other words, the job-oriented procedures describe jobs,
and the person-oriented procedures describe the characteristics people need to perform
jobs. Both are important tools for describing jobs and their requirements.
In this chapter, we discuss the job-oriented and person-oriented approaches, as well
as the particular methods that are used for each. In addition, we discuss the uses and
purposes of job analysis information, the sources of information that goes into a job
analysis, and the reliability and validity of job analysis methods. Finally, we discuss job
evaluation, which is a job analysis technique used to set salary levels.
Objectives: The student who studies this chapter should be
able to:
_ List the uses of job analysis information.
_ Describe the sources and ways of collecting job analysis information.
_ Discuss the different job analysis methods.
_ Describe the evidence for reliability and validity of job analysis methods.
_ Explain how job evaluation is used to set salary levels for jobs.
_ WHAT IS JOB ANALYSIS?
Job analysis is a method for describing jobs and/or the human attributes necessary to
perform them. According to Brannick, Levine, and Morgeson (2007, p. 8), there are three
elements that comprise a formal job analysis:
1. The procedure must be systematic. This means the analyst specifies a procedure
in advance and follows it.
What Is Job Analysis? _ 55
2. A job is broken into smaller units. We describe components of jobs rather than
the overall job.
3. The analysis results in some written product, either electronic or on paper.
There is no one way to do a job analysis. Many methods provide different types
of information about jobs and human attributes needed for jobs. As noted earlier, job
analysis techniques can be used to collect information that is job oriented or person
oriented, depending on the purpose of the job analysis.
The Job-Oriented Approach
The job-oriented job analysis provides information about the nature of tasks done on
the job. Some methods describe the tasks themselves. Other methods provide information
about characteristics of tasks. For example, a task for a police officer would be:
Completes report after arresting a suspect
The statement above describes something a police office does. A characteristic of an
officer’s job would be:
Uses pencils and pens
The characteristic isn’t a specific task but describes common features that cut across
tasks. A police officer performs many tasks involving writing, such as completing reports
of many types and giving citations to motorists. The purposes of the job analysis determine
which type of approach would be more useful. The task descriptions provide a
picture of what people do on a job, whereas the characteristics of tasks can be used to
compare the nature of tasks across different kinds of jobs. Police officers and teachers
share the characteristic of using pencils and pens to do tasks, so there can be some
similarities in types of tasks, even though the specific tasks themselves may vary.
A job analysis is needed to describe what a police officer does at work. (Richard Hutchings/Photo
Researchers)
56 _ Chapter 3. Job Analysis
Tasks can be divided into a hierarchy in which higher-level descriptions are broken
down into smaller and smaller pieces of the job. For example, one of the major tasks
performed by police officers is apprehending suspects. This police function can be further
broken down into the specific actions that are involved, such as:
Go to suspect’s house to make arrest
Knock on door and identify self
Handcuff suspect
Inform suspect of legal rights
Put suspect in car
Drive suspect to police station
Brannick et al. (2007) discussed a hierarchy that contains five levels of specificity:
1. Position
2. Duty
3. Task
4. Activity
5. Element
A position is a collection of duties that can be performed by a single individual. Typically
each employee has a single position, although it is possible that one individual holds
more than one position. Furthermore, a number of similar positions might be given the
same title; for example, several police officers within a department might have the title
of “patrol officer,” although each has a separate position and collection of tasks. One
position might be assigned to patrol an area of the city by car, another to patrol on foot,
and a third to work at a desk in the station.
A duty is a major component of a job. For a police officer, a duty would be:
Enforce the law
Each duty is accomplished by performing one or more associated tasks.
A task is a complete piece of work that accomplishes some particular objective. One
of the tasks involved in enforcing the law is:
Arrest suspects who violate the law
Each task can be divided into activities, which are the individual parts that make up
the task. In this case, activities that make the task of arresting suspects would include:
Driving to a suspect’s house to perform an arrest
To accomplish this activity, a number of very specific actions or elements are
involved, such as:
Turn the ignition key to start the automobile engine
For most jobs, there are several duties; each duty is associated with several tasks;
each task is associated with several activities; and each activity can be broken down into
several elements. This means that a job analysis can contain a great deal of very specific
Purposes of Job Analysis _ 57
TABLE 3.1 Examples of KSAOs and Associated Tasks
KSAO Task
Knowledge of legal arrest procedures Arrest suspects
Skill in using a firearm Practice shooting firearm on firing range
Ability to communicate with others Mediate a dispute between two people to prevent
violent incident
Courage (as other personal characteristic) Enter dark alley to apprehend suspect
information about what happens on a particular job. A job analysis that goes to the level
of job elements results in a long and detailed report.
The Person-Oriented Approach
A person-oriented job analysis provides a description of the characteristics or KSAOs
necessary for a person to successfully perform a particular job. KSAOs are the
employee’s knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics necessary for a job.
The first three characteristics focus mainly on job performance itself; the “other”
characteristics relate to job adjustment and satisfaction, as well as performance.
Knowledge is what a person needs to know to do a particular job. For example, a
carpenter should have knowledge of local building codes and power tool safety.
Skill is what a person is able to do on the job. A carpenter should have skill in
reading blueprints and in using power tools.
Ability is a person’s aptitude or capability to do job tasks or learn to do job tasks.
It is a person’s potential to develop skills. Most skills require one or more abilities. The
skill of using power tools requires several abilities, including hand-eye coordination. In
order to build the roof on a house, a carpenter should have good balance and an ability
to work quickly.
Finally, other personal characteristics include anything relevant to the job that is
not covered by the other three characteristics. A carpenter should have a willingness to
do manual tasks and to work outdoors.
Although they might seem to overlap, KSAOs and tasks are very distinct. A task
is something a person does. A KSAO is an attribute or characteristic of the person
required to do a particular task or tasks. Tasks define what is done on a job, whereas
KSAOs describe the sort of person needed. Table 3.1 provides some examples of tasks
and associated KSAOs.
Many job analysis methods have been developed to do both job- and person-oriented
analyses. Some are specific to one of the two major types of analyses, whereas others can
be used for either one or both. The appropriateness of a particular method is determined
by its purpose, the next topic we discuss.
_ PURPOSES OF JOB ANALYSIS
Job analysis information has many purposes. It can serve as the foundation on which
many other activities and functions are built. Ash and Levine (1980) outlined 11 common
uses of job analysis information, 5 of which we discuss in this section of the chapter,
58 _ Chapter 3. Job Analysis
TABLE 3.2 Eleven Uses of Job Analysis Information
Use Description
Career development Define KSAOs necessary for advancement
Legal issues Show job relevance of KSAOs
Performance appraisal Set criteria to evaluate performance
Recruitment and selection of employees Delineate applicant characteristics to be used as the
basis for hiring
Training Suggest areas for training
Setting salaries Determine salary levels for jobs
Efficiency/safety Design jobs for efficiency and safety
Job classification Place similar jobs into groupings
Job description Write brief descriptions of jobs
Job design Design content of jobs
Planning Forecast future need for employees with specific
KSAOs
Source: Based on “A Framework for Evaluating Job Analysis Methods,” by R. A. Ash and E. L. Levine,
1980, Personnel Psychology, 57, 53–59.
along with 2 not on their list. A sixth use of job analysis information for setting salary
levels will be discussed later under the heading “Job Evaluation.” The 11 uses are listed
in Table 3.2.
Career Development
Many organizations have systems that allow employees to move up through the ranks
to higher and higher positions. This is referred to as a career ladder: A progression
of positions is established for individuals who acquire the necessary skills and maintain
good job performance. Perhaps the best-known career ladder system is in the military.
Personnel move up through the ranks from lieutenant to captain to major to colonel to
general. Not everyone can climb to the top of the ladder because of limited opportunities
for promotion and inability to achieve the necessary KSAOs.
In recent years, competency systems have become popular in organizations to reward
employees for acquiring the knowledge and skills needed to both improve performance
and be promoted (Levenson, Van der Stede, & Cohen, 2006). Such systems require
the identification of critical competencies, the availability of the means of learning and
developing competencies, and a procedure for evaluating progress.
Job analysis contributes to career development by providing a picture of the KSAO
requirements for jobs at each level of the career ladder and by identifying the key competencies.
Knowledge of KSAO requirements can be incorporated into employee development
and training programs that can focus on skills necessary for career advancement.
This benefits employees because they are told exactly what they need to be eligible for
promotion. It benefits organizations because they develop a readily available supply of
candidates for upper-level positions.
Purposes of Job Analysis _ 59
“So, Jim, where do you see yourself in ten minutes?” (The New Yorker Collection (2001) Matthew Diffee
from cartoonbank.com)
Legal Issues
Most industrialized countries have laws prohibiting discriminatory employment practices,
especially in the hiring of employees. In Canada and the United States, for example, it
is illegal to discriminate on the basis of age, color, disability, gender, race, or religion.
Although the specific groups that are protected against discrimination vary from country
to country, the basic idea that decisions affecting people should be fair is almost universal.
Fairness in employment means that decisions should be based on job performance or job
potential rather than irrelevant personal characteristics. Job analysis provides a list of
relevant KSAOs as the basis for hiring rather than irrelevant personal characteristics.
An important legal concept in U.S. employment is that of essential functions, which
are actions that must be done on a job. A receptionist must answer the telephone, for
example. A nonessential function might be done occasionally but is not important for a
person in that position to do. A custodian might receive an occasional phone call, but
answering the phone is not an important part of the job.
The concept of essential function is important in deciding whether or not to hire a
person with a disability. In the United States, an organization might be able to legally deny
employment to a person with a disability who cannot perform essential functions under
certain conditions (see Chapter 6). It is illegal to refuse to hire individuals with disabilities
because they cannot perform nonessential functions because these functions can easily
be done by someone else or do not need to be done at all. With nonessential functions,
and at times with essential functions, an organization is required to make reasonable
accommodations so that the person is able to do the job (Cleveland, Barnes-Ferrell, &
Ratz, 1997), as we will discuss at greater length in Chapter 5.
Job analysis is used to identify essential functions and KSAOs (Mitchell, Alliger, &
Morfopoulos, 1997). This can help ensure that decisions about actions that affect people
60 _ Chapter 3. Job Analysis
are based on personal factors that are job relevant. For example, a legally defensible
system to hire people should be based on KSAOs that have been shown to be relevant
to the job in question. Promotion decisions should be based at least in part on the
KSAOs of the possible candidates for the position. Only those individuals who possess
the established characteristics that are necessary for the job should be considered. When
KSAOs are derived from a properly conducted job analysis, employee actions based
on those KSAOs are likely to be legal. Furthermore, employees and job applicants will
probably believe that they were fairly treated and will be unlikely to file a lawsuit
claiming discrimination.
Performance Appraisal
A well-designed performance appraisal system will be based on a job analysis. Criterion
development, determining the major components of job performance to be evaluated, is
one of the major uses of job analysis information. A job-oriented analysis provides a list
of the major components of a job, which can be used as dimensions for performance
evaluation.
The behavior-focused performance appraisal methods to be discussed in Chapter 4
are based on a job analysis. The specific behaviors contained in such instruments are
collected with critical incidents from a job analysis (Flanagan, 1954). These critical
incidents are instances of behavior that represent different levels of job performance from
outstanding to poor, and they become an important part of the assessment of performance.
A poor incident would describe how a person actually did something that was ineffective,
such as a police officer getting into an argument with a citizen that resulted in violence.
A good incident would describe how a person did something that worked well, such as
a police officer defusing a potentially violent encounter by allowing a person to explain
his or her side of the story.
Selection
The first step in deciding who to hire for a job is determining the human attributes or
KSAOs necessary for success on that job. This means that a person-oriented job analysis
should be the first step in the design of an employee selection system. Once the KSAOs
for a job are identified, procedures can be chosen to determine how well job applicants
fit the requirements for the job. This is done by using methods such as interviews and
psychological tests to assess individual characteristics (see Chapter 5).
A person-oriented job analysis produces a list of the KSAOs for a particular job.
These KSAOs include both the characteristics that a job applicant is usually expected to
have at the time of hiring and the characteristics that will be developed on the job through
experience and training. Most accountant positions in large organizations, for example,
require a college degree in accounting. This ensures that most applicants will have
a reasonable level of knowledge about accounting principles and procedures. Specific
knowledge about the organization’s own policies and practices is gained on the job. This
leads us to the next use of job analysis information—training.
Purposes of Job Analysis _ 61
Training
The KSAOs for a job suggest the areas in which training efforts should be directed. The
KSAOs that applicants do not have when they apply for a position are areas for training
after they are hired. An effective training program in an organization should be based
on a thorough analysis of the KSAO requirements for a job. The KSAO requirements
can be compared to the KSAOs of applicants or employees. Deficiencies on the part of
applicants or employees are the areas toward which training efforts might be directed if
the characteristics can be acquired. For example, one cannot train a person to be taller
if there is a height requirement for a job.
Vocational Counseling
A major function of schooling, including at the university level, is to assist students in
making vocational choices about their future careers. A number of vocational counseling
tools exist to help individuals match their KSAOs to the KSAO requirements of
jobs. Some of these tools attempt to match individual preferences and personalities to
occupations that they would enjoy. Other approaches match individual capabilities to
job requirements. Job analysis is particularly useful for matching KSAOs of people with
those of occupations.
Converse, Oswald, Gillespie, Field, Bizot, and Smither (2004) provided an example
of how job analysis can be used for vocational counseling. They used job analysis to
determine KSAO requirements for specific occupations. A battery of ability tests was
administered to a sample of individuals, and their ability profiles were matched to the
requirements for each of the available jobs. Scores indicating how well the individual
KSAOs matched job requirements were computed in order to demonstrate the best- and
worst-fitting occupations for each person. For example, one person’s abilities were a
good match for occupations involving driving, such as a truck driver or subway operator
but were a poor match for health-related occupations such as a physician’s assistant or
physician. Another person was a good match for factory machine operator but was a
poor match for biologist.
Research
An additional use of job analysis information is in research. Many researchers are
interested in determining the role of job requirements or task characteristics in many
organizational phenomena that we will discuss in this book, ranging from employee
motivation and performance to health and safety. For example, Elovainio and Kivim¨aki
(1999) used job analysis data in their study of individual differences in job stress (see the
International Research box). In this Finnish study, it was shown that people who have
an aversion to change and uncertainty are likely to experience high levels of emotional
strain (anxiety and tension) at work—but only if their jobs are complex, as determined
by job analysis. If their jobs are simple, these individuals are no more likely to experience
strain than are people who enjoy change and uncertainty.
62 _ Chapter 3. Job Analysis
INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH
Psychologists have long recognized that there are
vast individual differences in what people find to be
stressful—what one person finds unpleasant another
finds enjoyable. The authors of this study were interested
in exploring a personality variable’s role in occupational
stress and in seeing if the job context plays a
role as well.
This study was conducted in Finland with a sample
of 734 local government employees from six health
care facilities. A questionnaire was used to assess
the personality characteristic of need for structure and
emotional strain at work. Job complexity was assessed
with data from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles
database. The personality variable was related to strain
in the entire sample—individuals who were high in
need for structure tended to be high in strain at work.
However, when the authors added job complexity to
the analysis, they found that this was true only for individuals
in highly complex jobs. For individuals with
simple jobs, there was no relation between personality
and strain.
The authors concluded that job context is an important
element in job stress. Individual differences alone
do not account for strain but it is the combination of
individual differences plus circumstances that result in
strain. In this case, when jobs are simple, there is presumably
high structure, and so there is little reason for
those high in need for structure to experience the job
any differently than those who are low in that need.
However, when jobs are complex and structure is low,
the effects of this personality variable emerge.
As noted in Chapter 1, Scandinavian research is
almost all concerned with employee well-being, and this
study is no exception. Whereas in the United States a
job analysis study would most likely be concerned with
employee selection or performance appraisal, in Finland
such a technique is used to study occupational stress.
Source: From “Personal Need for Structure and
Occupational Strain: An Investigation of Structural Models
and Interaction with Job Complexity,” by M. Elovainio and
M. Kivim¨aki, 1999, Personality and Individual Differences,
26, 209–222.
_ HOW JOB ANALYSIS INFORMATION IS COLLECTED
Job analysis information is collected in several ways. All of them use people who are
trained in quantifying job characteristics and the KSAOs necessary to accomplish the
different aspects of jobs. These people either survey the employees who do the job in
question or experience the job firsthand by doing it themselves or observing it being done.
Who Provides the Information?
Most job analysis information comes from one of four different sources:
Job analysts
Supervisors
Job incumbents
Trained observers
Job analysts and trained observers actually do the job or spend time observing employees
doing the job and translate those experiences into a job analysis. Incumbents and
supervisors are considered to be subject matter experts or SMEs, people with detailed
knowledge about the content and requirements of their own jobs or the jobs they
supervise. They are asked to provide information about jobs either in interviews or
by completing job analysis questionnaires.
How Job Analysis Information Is Collected _ 63
Approaches to Collecting Job Analysis Information
People can provide job analysis information in many ways. The four most commonly
used are:
Perform the job
Observe employees on the job
Interview SMEs
Administer questionnaires to SMEs
Perform Job
One way to collect job analysis information is for the job analyst to actually do some of
the job tasks or the whole job. The job can be performed as an employee would, or the
tasks can be performed under simulated conditions. By doing the job, the analyst gains
insight into the nature of the job tasks and how the job tasks interrelate. It also provides
an appreciation for the context in which employees do their jobs. Both an insurance
salesperson and a police officer, for example, operate an automobile, but the conditions
under which they do so can be very different.
Although this method can provide good information, it is not often used. Experiencing
the job by doing it can be costly and time consuming. The analyst can require
extensive training before he or she can do the job. Some jobs are dangerous, particularly
for an inexperienced person. Finally, this approach does not clearly indicate that tasks
can differ among employees with the same job title.
Observe Employees Working
Another way to collect information about a job is to observe people doing it. Observers
can be job analysts or people trained to observe others. Observers are often given forms
to complete about the jobs they observe. The form could contain a list of activities, and
the observer would indicate how often the observed employee does each one. As with the
prior technique, observing employees can give insights into the context in which job tasks
are performed. It can also be expensive and time consuming. Furthermore, employees
might not behave in the same manner when they know they are being observed.
Interview Employees
One of the most popular ways to collect information about jobs is by interviewing SMEs
who are familiar with them. The experts are usually job incumbents and their supervisors.
Interviews are carried out by job analysts or trained interviewers. Interviews are often
used to generate lists of all tasks and activities done by everyone who has the same job
title. Some tasks might be performed by few employees. Other tasks might be performed
by every employee but only on rare occasions.
Administer a Questionnaire
The questionnaire is the most efficient means of collecting job analysis information. It can
contain hundreds of questions about the job and can be administered easily to thousands
of employees. No other technique can provide as much information about jobs with as
little effort on the part of the job analyst. The same questionnaire can be given to every
64 _ Chapter 3. Job Analysis
employee with the same job title. Comparisons can be made among groups that have the
same job title but may differ on some characteristics, such as location.
Multiple Approaches
Each of the four ways of collecting job analysis information has its own set of advantages
and limitations in providing a picture of what a job is like. Table 3.3 lists the advantages
and limitations of each method. In practice, multiple ways are often used so that the
limitations of one are offset by the strengths of another. For example, a job analyst might
do the job to get a feel for the context of the job and then administer questionnaires to
get detailed information from a wide cross section of employees with the same job title.
TABLE 3.3 Advantages and Limitations of Four Techniques Used by the Job Analyst to Collect
Job Analysis Information
Perform the Job
Advantages: Provides the context in which the job is done
Provides extensive detail about the job
Limitations: Fails to show differences among jobs with the same title
Is expensive and time consuming
Can take extensive training of analyst
Can be dangerous to analyst
Interview Employees Who Perform the Job
Advantages: Provides multiple perspectives on a job
Can show differences among incumbents with the same job
Limitations: Is time consuming compared to questionnaires
Fails to show context in which the tasks are done
Observe Employees Performing the Job
Advantages: Provides relatively objective view of the job
Provides the context in which the job is done
Limitations: Is time consuming
Might cause employees to change their behavior because they know
they are being observed
Administer Questionnaires to Employees Who Perform the Job
Advantages: Is efficient and inexpensive
Shows differences among incumbents in the same job
Is easy to quantify and analyze statistically
Is easy to compare different jobs on common job dimensions
Limitations: Ignores the context in which the job is done
Limits respondents to the questions asked
Requires knowledge of the job to design the questionnaire
Allows job incumbents to easily distort answers to make their jobs seem
more important than they are
Methods of Job Analysis _ 65
_ METHODS OF JOB ANALYSIS
Many methods have been developed to conduct job analysis. These methods use the
different sources of information and the different ways of collecting information. Some
of the methods focus on either the job or the person, whereas others focus on both. The
methods vary in their use of the four sources of job analysis information and the four
ways of collecting information. Many of these methods use more than one source and
more than one way of collecting information. One reason that so many methods exist is
that they are not all suited to the same purposes. Levine, Ash, Hall, and Sistrunk (1983)
found that job analysts rated different methods as being best suited to different purposes.
In this section, we discuss four of the many job analysis methods: The Job Components
Inventory, Functional Job Analysis, and Position Analysis Questionnaire are general
methods that can be used to compare different jobs; the task inventory is used to provide
a description of the specific components and tasks of an individual job. Each method has
its own particular strengths and was developed to address a particular purpose.
Job Components Inventory
The Job Components Inventory (JCI) was developed in Great Britain to address the
need to match job requirements to worker characteristics (Banks, Jackson, Stafford, &
Warr, 1983). This method allows for the simultaneous assessment of the job requirements
and a person’s KSAOs. In other words, the KSAOs for a job and for an individual are
listed. The degree of correspondence of the lists is used to determine if an individual is
suited to a particular job or if the person needs additional training in order to perform a
particular job adequately. The JCI has been used in school settings for both curriculum
development and vocational guidance.
The JCI covers over 400 features of jobs that can be translated into skill requirements.
Five components of job features are represented in the JCI:
1. Use of tools and equipment
2. Perceptual and physical requirements
3. Mathematics
4. Communication
5. Decision making and responsibility
Examples of the skill requirements for each of the five components for clerical jobs in
Great Britain can be found in Table 3.4. Just about any job can be analyzed with the
JCI so that its skill requirements can be matched to those of potential employees. An
existing database of job requirements for many jobs can be used with people who wish
to know how well their own skills match those of a chosen career.
Functional Job Analysis
Functional Job Analysis (FJA) (Fine & Wiley, 1971) uses observation and interviews
with SMEs to provide both a description of a job and scores on several dimensions
concerning the job and potential workers. The dimensions are applicable to all jobs,
66 _ Chapter 3. Job Analysis
TABLE 3.4 Examples of Frequently Needed Skills for British Clerical Occupations Grouped
by the Five Components of the Job Components Inventory
Component Skill
Use of tools and equipment Use of pens
Use of telephone
Perceptual and physical requirements Selective attention
Wrist/finger/hand speed
Mathematics Use of decimals
Use of whole numbers
Communication Provision of advice or help to people
Receipt of written information
Decision making and responsibility Ability to decide on sequencing of work
Ability to decide on standards of work
Source: From “Skills Training for Clerical Work: Action Research Within the Youth Opportunities
Programme,” by M. H. Banks and E. M. Stafford, 1982, BACIE Journal, 37, 57–66.
so that the procedure can be used to make comparisons among jobs. FJA was the job
analysis method used by the U.S. Department of Labor to produce the Dictionary of
Occupational Titles (DOT) (U.S. Department of Labor, 1977, 1991). This rather large
document contains job analysis information for more than 20 000 jobs. The index from the
1977 edition lists jobs from abalone diver to zyglo inspector, both of which are described
in Table 3.5. The DOT description for a police officer job is shown in Table 3.6. The
printed DOT has been replaced with an expanded, electronic resource, the Occupational
Information Network.
Occupational Information Network
Enlisting the help of many I/O psychologists from both research firms and universities, the
U.S. Department of Labor launched the Occupational Information Network (O*NET)
in the 1990s, and its development and refinement are an ongoing process. This information
system is a computer-based resource for job-related information on approximately 1,100
groups of jobs sharing common characteristics (Peterson, Mumford, Borman, Jeanneret,
Fleishman, Levin, et al., 2001). It is available in a number of forms, including CD-ROM
for the personal computer and via the world wide web (http://online.onetcenter.org). The
idea is to make this database widely available to individuals and organizations.
O*NET began with much of the raw material that went into the DOT, but the
contents of the O*NET are far more extensive than anything previously attempted. It
TABLE 3.5 The First and Last Entries in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles, Fourth Edition, 1977 Index*
ABALONE DIVER: Gathers or harvests marine life, such as sponges, abalone, pearl oysters, and geoducks
from sea bottom wearing wet suit and scuba gear, or diving suit with air line extending to surface.
ZYGLO INSPECTOR: Applies iron oxide and zyglo solutions to ferrous metal parts and examines parts
under fluorescent and black lighting to detect defects, such as fissures, weld breaks, or fractures.
∗Condensed from the original.
Methods of Job Analysis _ 67
TABLE 3.6 Description of a Police Officer Job From the Dictionary of Occupational Titles,
Fourth Edition, 1977*
Patrols assigned beat to control traffic, prevent crime and arrest violators. Notes suspicious
persons and establishments and reports to superior officer. Disperses unruly crowds at
public gatherings. Issues tickets to traffic violators. May notify public works department of
location of abandoned vehicles to tow away. May accompany parking meter personnel to
protect money collected.
∗Condensed from the original.
provides a tremendous amount of information about the content of jobs and the KSAOs
needed by individuals in those jobs. The O*NET98 Data Dictionary (U.S. Department
of Labor, 1998) lists over 450 separate dimensions along which jobs are described and
rated. Table 3.7 (column 1) shows the six domains of the O*NET content model. Half
of the domains (Experience Requirements, Worker Requirements, and Worker Characteristics)
list KSAOs. Occupation Requirements and Occupation Specific Information are
concerned with characteristics of job tasks. Occupation Characteristics deals with other
kinds of information concerning the labor market and wages for a job.
With O*NET, it is possible to look up a particular job and get a description and
detailed information about the six domains. Although the underlying data are the same, the
version for personal computers and the online version provide information in a somewhat
different format. Table 3.7 shows a sample of the information provided for a police officer,
TABLE 3.7 Sample of Information Provided by O*NET for a Police Patrol Officer Job
Examples of Patrol Officer
Domain Contents of Domain Information
Experience Requirements Training, learning, licensing Training in vocational schools, related
on-the-job experience, or an
associate’s degree. May require a
bachelor’s degree.
Worker Requirements Basic skills, cross-functional skills,
general knowledge, education
Skill in problem identification and
speaking. Knowledge of public safety
and law.
Worker Characteristics Abilities, interests, work styles Quick reaction time and far vision.
Interested in work activities that
assist others. Achievement oriented.
Occupation Requirements Generalized work activities, work
context, organizational context
Working with the public, operating
vehicles or equipment.
Occupation Specific
information
Occupational knowledge, occupation
skills, tasks, machines, tools and
equipment
Patrols specific area, maintains order,
arrests perpetrators, monitors traffic.
Occupation Characteristics Labor market information,
occupation outlook, wages
Employment projections suggest an
increase of 17.8% from 1996 to 2006.
National median wages are $34,632.
Source: O*NET98 Database files accessed with O*NET98 Viewer Version 1.0, U.S. Department of Labor.
68 _ Chapter 3. Job Analysis
organized by the six domains. The officer information overlaps with that provided by
the Positional Analysis Questionnaire (compare the third column of Table 3.7 with Table
3.9), which isn’t surprising, as Jeanneret and Strong (2003) showed that corresponding
O*NET and Position Analysis Questionnaire dimension scores are strongly related.
Position Analysis Questionnaire
The Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) (McCormick, Jeanneret, & Mecham, 1972)
is an instrument that can be used to analyze any job. The questionnaire itself contains
189 items dealing with the task requirements or elements of jobs. A KSAO profile for a
job can be developed from the elements. The elements of the PAQ are general and allow
comparisons of different jobs on a common set of dimensions or KSAOs.
The elements of the PAQ are organized into six major categories, each of which
is further divided into several minor categories (Table 3.8). The elements cover a wide
variety of task requirements, including the inputting and processing of information, the
use of equipment and tools, general body movements, interpersonal interaction, and work
context. The elements can be translated into KSAOs for any job. A job that involves
using mathematics, for example, requires skill in this area. Because the PAQ generates
a standard list of KSAOs, jobs can be compared on their KSAO requirements.
The PAQ produces a profile of the task elements and KSAOs for a job. The profile
compares a given job to the hundreds of jobs in the PAQ database. It indicates the
percentile score for each element and KSAO in comparison to all jobs. A low score
means that the element or KSAO is a less important part of the target job than it is for
jobs in general. A high score means that the element or KSAO is a more important part
of the target job than it is for jobs in general. A percentile of 50 means that the job is
average on the element or dimension in question.
Table 3.9 contains a sample of the most important elements and KSAOs for a police
officer job. As the table shows, a police officer job involves engaging in general personal
contact and wearing specified versus optional apparel. Table 3.9 also contains several
sample KSAOs for a police officer job. The two most important are far visual acuity and
simple reaction time. Note that both of these were identified by O*NET as well.
TABLE 3.8 Major Categories of the PAQ
Category Example
Information input Collecting or observing information
Mediation processes Decision making and information processing
Work output Manipulating objects
Interpersonal activities Communicating with other people
Work situation and job context Physical and psychological working conditions
Miscellaneous aspects Work schedule
Source: From “A Study of Job Characteristics and Job Dimensions as Based on the Position Analysis
Questionnaire (PAQ),” by E. J. McCormick, P. R. Jeanneret, and R. C. Mecham, 1972, Journal of
Applied Psychology, 56, 347–368.
Methods of Job Analysis _ 69
TABLE 3.9 PAQ KSAOs and Task Elements for a Police Officer
KSAOs Task Elements
Far visual acuity Interpreting what is sensed
Simple reaction time Being aware of environmental conditions
Movement detection Controlling machines and/or processes
Rate control Engaging in general personal contact
Auditory acuity Wearing specified versus optional apparel
Source: Job Profile, PAQ Number 003 127, used by permission of PAQ Services.
Task Inventory
A task inventory is a questionnaire that contains a list of specific tasks that might be
done on a job that is being analyzed. The inventory also contains one or more rating
scales for each task. Ratings might be made on dimensions such as:
Amount of time spent doing the task
Criticality of the task for doing a good job
Difficulty of learning the task
Importance of the task
Job incumbents usually are asked to complete the inventory for their own job. Results
are compiled across incumbents to give a picture of the average importance or time spent
for each task in a particular job.
When several people complete a task inventory, they are certain to give somewhat
different ratings on the same dimensions for each task. This can reflect differences in
how individuals make judgments about their jobs. In other words, if two people spend
the same amount of time on a task, one might give it a higher time-spent rating than
the other. An alternative possibility is that differences in ratings across people reflect
real differences in tasks (Harvey & Wilson, 2000; Sanchez & Levine, 2000). There can
be large differences in the content of jobs with the same title in the same organization.
For example, Lindell, Clause, Brandt, and Landis (1998) found that (among emergency
preparedness departments) the number of employees in the work unit affected ratings
made concerning amount of time spent in various tasks. It seems likely that the smaller
the work group, the larger the number of tasks each person must perform.
Most task inventories are used for purposes in which differences among people with
the same job are of no particular interest, but there are two notable exceptions. Conte,
Dean, Ringenbach, Moran, and Landy (2005) showed that feelings about the job related
to job analysis ratings. Individuals who were satisfied with their jobs reported spending
more time on various tasks than people who were dissatisfied. Similarly, in a study
of stockbrokers, ratings of time spent in several tasks predicted the individual’s sales
performance (Borman, Dorsey, & Ackerman, 1992). For example, stockbrokers who spent
more time with clients away from the office sold more than their counterparts who spent
less time (see the Research in Detail box). Whether the time spent is the cause or the result
of good performance and satisfaction with the job is not totally clear in these studies.
Further study is needed to determine why task inventory ratings vary among people.
70 _ Chapter 3. Job Analysis
RESEARCH IN DETAIL
Lack of agreement among raters of a task inventory is
usually interpreted as lack of reliability. In this study,
the authors viewed disagreement from a different perspective.
They believed that people in the same job
would differ in the amount of time they spent in various
tasks. Furthermore, the researchers believed that
the time-spent differences might relate to sales performance
of stockbrokers. In other words, people who are
high performers might spend their time differently on
the job than people who are low performers.
To test this idea, the authors conducted a job analysis
with 580 stockbrokers as subject matter experts. Each
one completed a task inventory with 160 tasks. Ratings
of amount of time spent were made for each task.
In addition, data were collected for each stockbroker’s
sales performance (dollars sold) for the prior year.
The amount of time spent in some of the tasks
correlated significantly with sales performance. For
example, the following tasks were associated with high
sales:
Dealing with corporate clients and clients in nonbusiness
settings, and
Advising and helping other stockbrokers.
The authors noted that it might be tempting to
conclude that their results suggest effective strategies
for stockbrokers to adopt for good sales performance.
They believed, however, that the strategies might be
the effect rather than the cause of good performance. A
stockbroker with many clients is likely to have many
opportunities to spend time with them away from the
office setting. He or she is also likely to have high sales
volume because of the number of clients. A stockbroker
with few clients has fewer opportunities for client
contact outside the office setting or for sales. Thus
the activity of spending time with clients away from
the office may not be the cause of high sales volume
but just the by-product of having many clients. The
major contribution of this study is that it shows that
there can be important differences among people in
the same job. It might prove useful if job analysts
provided information to organizations about employee
differences in time spent doing tasks.
Source: From “Time-Spent Responses as Time Allocation
Strategies: Relations With Sales Performance in a
Stockbroker Sample,” by W. C. Borman, D. Dorsey, and L.
Ackerman, 1992, Personnel Psychology, 45, 763–777.
A task inventory for even a fairly simple job can contain hundreds of tasks. To
make interpretation easier, tasks are often placed into dimensions that represent the
major components of a job. The dimensions for a police officer job that came from a
task inventory are shown in Table 3.10. Each of these dimensions was associated with
several specific tasks, and each task was rated by SMEs on a variety of different scales.
A better understanding of this job can be gained by considering the individual tasks in
the context of the major dimensions.
A task inventory often is a major component of an extensive job analysis project that
collects several different types of information about jobs and people. Edward Levine’s
TABLE 3.10 Major Dimensions of a Police Officer Job From a Task Analysis
Driving a car or other police vehicle Investigating accidents and related problems
Making arrests Issuing tickets and citations, such as those for traffic violations
Interviewing witnesses and other people Responding to disturbances, such as family quarrels
Maintaining vigilance during routine patrol Providing service to citizens
Source: From Selection of Police Officers, Report Supplement No. 1: Job Analysis, by R. M. Guion and K. M. Alvares, 1980,
Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State University.
Reliability and Validity of Job Analysis Information _ 71
TABLE 3.11 Examples of KSAOs for a Police Officer Job Analyzed With C-JAM
Knowledge of laws, statutes, ordinances (including
types of crimes)
Knowledge of where/when to conduct
interview/interrogation
Skill in operating special equipment (helicopter,
boat, MDT, voice radio, etc.)
Skill in handling/maintaining handgun/shotgun
Ability to enforce laws, statutes, ordinances
Ability to take charge of a situation
Integrity (moral/ethical/honesty)
Courage
Source: From Job Analysis of Deputy Sheriff in the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, by E. L. Levine and D. P.
Baker, 1987, unpublished paper, University of South Florida, Tampa.
Combination Job Analysis Method (C-JAM) (Brannick et al., 2007) is one such approach.
C-JAM uses both interviews and questionnaires to collect information about KSAOs and
tasks. It produces a detailed picture of the KSAOs for a job and the tasks performed.
Table 3.11 contains an example of several KSAOs for a police officer job analyzed with
C-JAM.
Choosing a Job Analysis Method
We have discussed only a few of the many available job analysis methods. With such
a wide variety of methods, how can one choose? Each method has its own advantages
and limitations, and not every method is appropriate for every application. Levine et al.
(1983) asked job analysis experts to rate the effectiveness of seven job analysis methods
for 11 purposes. Each method was better suited for some purposes than others. FJA was
seen as being relatively effective for almost all purposes; however, it was also seen as
one of the most time-consuming to complete. Choice of method requires consideration
of several factors, including cost and purpose.
Job Analysis Methods for Work Teams
So far we have discussed job analysis methods that are designed for jobs that are done
individually. However, more and more work in organizations is being done by teams
rather than individuals, requiring the use of special job analysis methods. As pointed
out by Brannick et al. (2007), team job analysis is similar to the other methods we
have already discussed in that the same sources and data collection approaches can be
adapted. However, there are specific KSAOs and tasks necessary for communication and
coordination among team members. For example, Stevens and Campion (1999) noted
that teamwork requires special KSAOs related to communication, conflict resolution,
goal setting, problem solving, and task coordination among team members.
_ RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF JOB ANALYSIS INFORMATION
Job analysis information depends on the judgment of people who either do or observe
others do a job. People’s judgments are imperfect, so it is important to determine how
reliable and valid each job analysis method is. Studies have addressed this issue for some
of the methods. In general, results suggest that different people’s ratings of jobs are often
72 _ Chapter 3. Job Analysis
reasonably reliable. In other words, there will be a relatively high correlation among different
people’s ratings of the same job for at least some job analysis methods. Validity is
a more difficult question, and some researchers have begun to study the question of what
job analysis ratings actually represent. In other words, are they accurate representations
of task characteristics and KSAO requirements, or do they reflect something else?
Reliability
Dierdorff and Wilson (2003) used meta-analysis (see Chapter 2), which allowed them
to summarize the results of 46 studies that reported reliabilities for various job analysis
methods. They found a mean test-retest reliability of .83, suggesting that people are quite
consistent over time in making their job analysis ratings. Inter-rater agreement (whether
or not different job analysts agree in their ratings) was somewhat lower, depending on
the types of raters (e.g., analysts vs. SMEs) and the dimensions being rated. Correlations
among ratings by different rater types ranged from .48 to .81.
Several studies have examined the reliability of task inventory ratings. Wilson, Harvey,
and Macy (1990) found that test-retest reliabilities varied considerably for different
rating scales, such as amount of time spent doing the task or importance of the task.
Although some reliabilities were very high, others were unacceptably low. Sanchez and
Fraser (1992) also found that inter-rater reliabilities among job incumbents varied across
different rating scales and across different jobs as well.
Taken together, the studies suggest that job analysis ratings can be reasonably reliable.
As noted here, there are exceptions with task inventory ratings. Care should be taken
in deciding which scales to use for rating tasks when job incumbents are the SMEs. The
next question is whether or not job analysis ratings are valid.
Validity
The best evidence for the validity of job analysis ratings comes from studies that compared
different methods or sources of information, such as incumbents versus supervisors.
Spector, Brannick, and Coovert (1989) summarized the results of nine studies that
reported correlations among methods or sources that ranged from .47 to .94. These
results are suggestive of validity for job analysis ratings, but an intriguing study raises
some doubts about the interpretation of source agreement. J. E. Smith and Hakel (1979)
compared the PAQ ratings of trained job analysts with the ratings of college students
who were given only job titles. The students’ ratings correlated very well with the ratings
of the analysts. This seemed strange because the analysts conducted in-depth interviews
with incumbents, whereas the students were given limited information about the job.
Smith and Hakel wondered if the analyst ratings reflected preconceived notions about
the job rather than the information gathered with the job analysis procedures. If this is the
case, then job analysis ratings might be less valid than I/O psychologists usually assume.
Other researchers who have studied the correspondence in ratings of students and
trained job analysts have reached different conclusions. Cornelius, DeNisi, and Blencoe
(1984) believed that students have accurate knowledge about many jobs; therefore, both
job analysts and students can provide valid indicators of job information. Although
students have accurate knowledge, more extensive information can be gathered in a
thorough job analysis conducted by trained analysts (Cornelius et al., 1984).
Job Evaluation _ 73
Green and Stutzman (1986) conducted a job analysis in which they had job incumbents
complete a task inventory. The task inventory included tasks that no one did on the
job the researchers were analyzing. Over half of the incumbents indicated that they did
at least one fake task. This finding suggests that many people are either careless or not
completely honest when they complete task inventories. Whether or not this reduces the
accuracy of the task inventory was not determined by this study. Hacker (1996), however,
followed up on this research by conducting a similar study and comparing incumbents
who endorsed fake tasks with those who did not. He found that both groups of people
did not differ in their ratings of all other tasks or in the reliability of their ratings of all
other tasks. His results suggest that this phenomenon does not affect job analysis results.
The research on the validity of job analysis ratings suggests that they can provide
useful information, but they are not perfect and are potentially subject to some biases
because they are based on human judgment (Morgeson & Campion, 1997; Morgeson,
Delaney-Klinger, Mayfield, Ferrara, & Campion, 2004). Green and Stutzman’s (1986)
results emphasize that incumbents are not necessarily accurate in making their ratings.
However, that accuracy is not constant across different kinds of job analysis ratings.
Dierdorff and Morgeson (2009) showed that people are more accurate when rating specific
tasks (e.g., recording medical information on patients) than when rating traits people need
to do the job (e.g., dependability). They argued that the more specific the task or trait is
and the easier it is to observe, the more reliable and accurate ratings will be. Sanchez
and Levine (1994) attempted to improve job analysis results by training incumbents in
how to rate their jobs. Although their results were only partially successful, such training
might prove useful in the future. Even though there is a need to improve job analysis
procedures, the various methods are important tools used by I/O psychologists.
_ JOB EVALUATION
Job evaluation refers to a family of quantitative techniques that are used to scientifically
determine the salary levels of jobs (Morgeson, Campion, & Maertz, 2001). These techniques
are very much like the job analysis methods we have already discussed. In fact,
the job analysis methods sometimes are used to conduct job evaluation. For example,
Robinson, Wahlstrom, and Mecham (1974) used the PAQ to conduct a job evaluation. The
major difference between job analysis and job evaluation is that job evaluation has the
specific purpose of determining the relative salaries for different jobs by mathematically
combining job information.
Perhaps the most popular job evaluation method is the point method (Treiman, 1979).
There are four steps involved in conducting a point method job evaluation. First, a panel,
often managers or other organization members, determines the compensable factors for
the job. Compensable factors are characteristics that will serve as the basis for the
evaluation. They include:
Consequences of error on the job
Responsibility
Education required
Skill required
Second, a panel (comprised of new people or the same people) judges the degree to
which each job has each compensable factor. This is done on a quantitative scale so that
each job gets points for each factor. A particular job, for example, might get 2 points out
74 _ Chapter 3. Job Analysis
of a possible 20 for consequences of errors made and 20 points out of a possible 20 for
education. This would mean that the job would be low on consequences for error and
high on education level required.
Third, the points for the factors are summed for each job to provide a total score.
In this example, the job would get a total of 22 points (2 + 20) for the two factors.
These numbers are not in dollar units, and so they do not indicate the actual salary level.
Rather, the numbers are relative, so that the higher the number, the higher the salary the
job should have.
The fourth and final step is to plot the actual salaries for each job in an organization
against the point totals for each job. If the salary system is fair according to the
compensable factors, the plot should be a straight line. This means that the more points
a job has, the higher the salary for that job. If the point for a particular job is not on
the straight line, the job is either overpaid (point is above the line) or underpaid (point
is below the line). Steps can then be taken to bring the job into line with the other jobs
with similar totals. Jobs that are paid too much according to the system can have salaries
frozen. Jobs that are paid too little can be given salary increases.
Although the job evaluation can indicate the relative value of a job, other factors enter
into salary levels. One of the biggest influences is the market wage for a job. A hospital
might find, for example, that physicians are overpaid in relation to nurses. However, it
would not be feasible for a hospital to set salaries completely according to compensable
factors. The cost of paying nurses much higher salaries would be prohibitive. Paying
physicians much lower wages would result in not being able to hire or retain them. Thus,
the wages paid throughout the area or country must be considered. A salary survey can
be conducted to find out what other organizations pay each position. To conduct such a
survey, all hospitals in the area could be contacted to determine their salary levels for
nurses and physicians.
The point system is just one of many different job evaluation methods. There are also
several varieties of point systems. They are all used to determine the pay levels of jobs
by estimating their comparative worth. Research on the various methods suggests that
they may be interchangeable. Studies have shown that the results of different methods
are often quite similar (e.g., Gomez-Mejia, Page, & Tornow, 1982).
Comparable Worth
It is well known that in the United States and other countries women’s salaries are lower
on average than men’s. Some of the differences are attributable to the fact that jobs
held primarily by women, such as secretaries, are paid less than jobs held primarily
by men, such as electricians (Allen & Sanders, 2002). Although the Equal Pay Act of
1963 made it illegal in the United States to pay women less than men for the same
job, there is no law preventing an organization from paying women less than men in a
different job.
The concept of comparable worth means that different but comparable jobs should
be paid the same. If jobs that are held predominantly by women contribute as much to
the organization as jobs held primarily by men, the jobs should be paid the same. The
difficulty is finding a common measure by which to gauge the comparable worth of jobs.
Job evaluation provides a means of doing so.
Chapter Summary _ 75
To do a comparable worth study with job evaluation, one would first apply one
of the job evaluation methods to the jobs of an organization. Those jobs that are held
primarily by men would be compared to those held primarily by women. It is likely
that at least some of the jobs held mainly by women would be underpaid according
to the compensable factors. Using mathematical procedures, it would be possible to
calculate how much adjustment each of the underpaid jobs should receive. If made, those
adjustments could accomplish comparable worth between the predominantly female and
predominantly male jobs.
The use of job evaluation to establish comparable worth has not been without critics
(e.g., Eyde, 1983). Part of the difficulty is that the judgments used in a job evaluation can
be biased in ways that perpetuate the lower salaries of women. For example, Schwab and
Grams (1985) found that people who assign points to jobs in organizations are influenced
by knowledge of current salaries. As a result, lower-paid jobs are given fewer points
than they deserve, and higher-paid jobs are given more points than they deserve. Job
evaluations might undervalue the lower-paid predominantly female jobs and overvalue
the higher-paid predominantly male jobs.
Perhaps the biggest impediment to achieving comparable worth is not bias in job
evaluation but the cost involved in substantially raising salaries in predominantly female
occupations, such as clerks and elementary school teachers. The adjustments of these
salaries would be extremely expensive unless they were accompanied by reductions in
the salaries of other jobs. In addition, there is the issue of market wages, which is a
major influence on the salary levels set by organizations. Although some progress has
been made in the United States, it seems unlikely that comparable worth will be achieved
in the near future.
_ CHAPTER SUMMARY
Job analysis is a method for describing jobs and the personal attributes necessary to do
a job. The job-oriented approach provides information about the nature of and the tasks
involved in a job. The person-oriented approach describes the KSAOs (knowledge, skills,
abilities, and other personal characteristics) a person must have for a job. There are dozens
of job analysis methods that provide information about the job, the person, or both.
Job analysis information has many purposes. It can be used for:
Career development of employees
Legal issues, such as ensuring fairness in employee actions
Performance appraisal
Selection
Training
Vocational counseling
Research
Most job analysis information comes from one of four different sources:
Job analysts
Supervisors
Job incumbents
Trained observers
76 _ Chapter 3. Job Analysis
They provide their information through one of the following ways:
Performing the job themselves
Interviewing people who do the job
Observing people doing the job
Giving questionnaires to people who do the job
Many different methods can be used to conduct a job analysis; no one method
stands out as being superior to the others. Each has its particular advantages and
limitations. The job analyst’s purpose should determine which method is chosen. Four
popular methods are:
Job Components Inventory
Functional Job Analysis
Position Analysis Questionnaire
Task inventory
Most job analysis methods have been found to be reasonably reliable. Inadequate
research attention has been given to exploring their validity. Existing research has shown
promise, but there is evidence that people are not always accurate in their job analysis
ratings. More attention should be directed to studying ways to increase the accuracy of
job analysis information.
Job evaluation is one of a family of techniques that are used to set salary levels.
Job evaluation procedures are much like job analysis, and often job analysis methods
are used to conduct job evaluation. Research suggests that many of the different job
evaluation techniques give similar results when applied to the same jobs. Job evaluation
has been used in an attempt to reduce the salary inequities between men and women.
The concept of comparable worth means that jobs that make equivalent contributions to
an organization should be paid the same.
I/O PSYCHOLOGY IN PRACTICE
(Courtesy
Joan Brannick)
This case deals with a
job analysis conducted
by Dr. Joan Brannick as
part of a collaborative
effort to validate a selection
test for supermarket
warehouse employees.
Dr. Brannick received
her Ph.D. in I/O psychology
in 1987 from
BowlingGreen StateUniversity.
She is currently
President of Brannick HR
Connections, a human resources consulting company
based in Tampa, Florida. The company helps organizations
improve employee retention by working with
organizations to create, implement, and evaluate selection
and promotion processes that assess job fit and
culture fit. Prior to starting Brannick HR Connections
in 1995, Dr. Brannick worked for Eckerd Corporation,
which at the time was one of the largest drugstore
chains in the United States. It is a common career
path for an I/O psychologist to work for several years
for a private corporation and then start his or her own
consulting business.
Chapter Summary _ 77
A national supermarket chain hired Dr. Brannick
to be part of a team that developed and validated a
selection test for warehouse workers. A testing company
that specializes in physical agility testing actually
designed the test. The client wanted an independent
consultant to do the initial job analysis that would
indicate what sort of test was needed and then to do
the validation to show the test worked. The client was
concerned about the potential conflict of interest if the
testing company were to do the entire project, especially
the validation. Dr. Brannick was hired to provide
the objective expert point of view. It is quite common
for I/O consultants from different companies to work
together, each doing a separate piece of a complete job.
The job in question involved the filling of orders
received from individual stores. Each day supermarkets
submitted orders for various products. Warehouse
employees filled these orders by loading products into
large plastic tote boxes at the warehouse and shipping
these totes by truck to the stores. The job required
physical agility, as various items had to be taken from
shelves and put into totes by hand. Dr. Brannick used
an observational method of job analysis. She took a
tour of the warehouse and then spent many hours
watching employees and recording the specific physical
motions required. There were three in particular
that were important: grasping (picking up an item with
all fingers and the thumb of one hand), lifting (picking
up an item with both hands), and pinching (picking
up an item with the index finger and thumb only).
Once the specific motions were determined, the testing
company designed the actual psychomotor test (see
Chapter 5) to determine how well applicants were able
to perform the required motions.
Once the test was developed, it was administered
to 350 employees. Dr. Brannick trained supervisors
to rate the quality of their employees’ job performance.
Objective performance data were also collected
on absenteeism and the number of totes/day
each employee filled. She then conducted statistical
data analysis to see if the test could predict how well
employees perform their jobs. This study was successful
in showing that the test was valid; in other words,
test performance significantly predicted job performance.
The test is being used today to help select
warehouse workers.
Discussion Questions
1. Why was it important to conduct a job analysis
before developing the test?
2. Would a questionnaire job analysis method of
asking employees or supervisors what motions were
needed have been as effective?
3. How would this job analysis help a company if it
was sued for discriminating against a person with a
disability?
4. Why was it important to conduct a validation study?
LEARNING BY DOING
Conducting a Job Analysis Interview
One way to conduct a job analysis is to interview
employees who hold the job in question. Choose a
person you know (acquaintance, family member, or
friend) who is currently employed in a job you have
never held yourself. Interview that person about the
job, taking careful notes of what he or she tells you.
You should ask about the following:
1. Job title
2. Brief description of the job
3. The most important tasks involved in the job
4. The most important KSAOs needed for
the job
Write a brief report that provides an overview of
what you learned about the job.
