Conducting Job Analysis
Conducting a Job Analysis and writing a Job Description
WHAT IS JOB ANALYSIS?
Job analysis may be formally defined as the collection and collation of information regarding the tasks performed in various positions in an organization and assessments of the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to successfully perform those tasks. To state it more simply, job analysis means figuring out what a particular job involves and what qualifications someone needs to do that job. Job analyses are important because almost all other personnel processes depend on them
HOW ARE JOB ANALYSES DONE?
There are many different ways to conduct job analyses. Some techniques are quantitative and involve evaluating the tasks performed by a worker (the job incumbent) against a preset general checklist of job tasks. Other techniques rely on relatively unstructured interviews with job incumbents and their supervisors to try to get a picture of what a job involves. Whether quantitative and structured or non-quantitative and unstructured, all thorough job analyses require the person doing the analysis to become as familiar as possible with the job being studied. This often involves observation of the work itself, reading technical literature pertinent to the occupation, and becoming acquainted with organization charts and statements of organizational purpose; a review of old job descriptions also is useful. For many jobs, a good starting point is the Dictionary of Occupational Titles, published by the U.S. Department of Labor; this volume provides general descriptions of more than 20,000 jobs. Extensive background research is essential for a sound job analysis, for the analyst must try to describe not just what an incumbent does but what he or she should be doing in terms of organizational goals and professional requirements.
Overview of Exercise
In this exercise, students will be asked to conduct a job analysis and write a job description. Each student, working as a job
WHAT IS JOB ANALYSIS?
Job analysis may be formally defined as the collection and collation of information regarding the tasks performed in various positions in an organization and assessments of the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to successfully perform those tasks. To state it more simply, job analysis means figuring out what a particular job involves and what qualifications someone needs to do that job. Job analyses are important because almost all other personnel processes depend on them
HOW ARE JOB ANALYSES DONE?
There are many different ways to conduct job analyses. Some techniques are quantitative and involve evaluating the tasks performed by a worker (the job incumbent) against a preset general checklist of job tasks. Other techniques rely on relatively unstructured interviews with job incumbents and their supervisors to try to get a picture of what a job involves. Whether quantitative and structured or non-quantitative and unstructured, all thorough job analyses require the person doing the analysis to become as familiar as possible with the job being studied. This often involves observation of the work itself, reading technical literature pertinent to the occupation, and becoming acquainted with organization charts and statements of organizational purpose; a review of old job descriptions also is useful. For many jobs, a good starting point is the Dictionary of Occupational Titles, published by the U.S. Department of Labor; this volume provides general descriptions of more than 20,000 jobs. Extensive background research is essential for a sound job analysis, for the analyst must try to describe not just what an incumbent does but what he or she should be doing in terms of organizational goals and professional requirements.
Overview of Exercise
In this exercise, students will be asked to conduct a job analysis and write a job description. Each student, working as a job