MGMT2718

Human Resource Management

Lecture 7:
Job Analysis and Design

Introduction
JAD the cornerstone of HRM
Jobs are the building blocks of organisations
JAD links into other HRM functions

and into Workflow analysis - how jobs are linked in overall

work organisation this affects work quality
Ongoing interest in Quality of WorkLife movement good
work, decent work, human relations
Reaction to taylorism and technocentric job design mass
production

Also a reaction to the view that the job is whatever it takes

ie no boundaries to the job > work overload and hours ie
increased quantity of work, and degraded quality of work
In Australia, upsurge of interest in context of reforms
discussed last week especially IR

Introduction
Historically considerable interest in work organisation
Two broad models
1. mechanistic, tayloristic, technocratic generally bad job
quality
2. human-centred, anthropocentric, reflective, enriched better
job quality associated with Scandinavian approach

High point of (1) in Japanese lean production

Removal of all excess fat in production system forced
innovation

High point of (2) in 1980s-90s in Sweden

Retain some fat allow personal breaks

Lean has become dominant at some cost in terms of

quality of worklife

Lecture Aims
Understand workflow process principles, and implications for
quality of work
Comprehend the importance of job analysis in human
resource management
Evaluate the different approaches to job design
Comprehend the trade-offs among the various approaches
to designing jobs

Lecture Structure
1. Job and Workflow Analysis and Design:
Basics
2. Links to other HR Functions, and
gathering information for JAD
3. Principles and Strategies of Job Design
(1) scientific management Lean
4. Principles and Strategies of Job Design
(2) Socio-technical human centred

1. Job and Workflow Analysis and Design: The

Basics
Jobs are the building blocks of organisations
A job is a group of related activities, which link with
other jobs within sections, branches, departments or
divisions, in a workflow
crucial aspect of HRM is the accurate analysis and
description, and competent design of jobs, and of the
relations between them

Job analysis is the process of obtaining information

about jobs their essential duties, tasks and
responsibilities.
Job content duties and responsibilities
Job requirements KSAs, qualifications necessary
Job context purpose of job ie link to workflow

JA seeks information about

Work activities, including individual behaviours and
job outcomes
Machines, tools, equipment and work aids used in
the job
Job related tangibles and intangibles, such as
materials processed and knowledge applied
Standards of work performance
Job context (where the job fits in)
Personnel requirements like education,
experience, aptitudes (add qualifications, perhaps
licensing requirements)

Job Analysis: Two broad approaches

1. Job-oriented, or task approach
2. Employee-oriented (or behaviour) approach
1. > Job or position description
written statement explaining why a job exists,
what the job holder actually does, how they do
it, and under what conditions the job is
performed (Stone, p. 169)
2. > Person specification
details the competencies and characteristics of
the person required by the job

JA Job or Position Description (1)

Objective: - why the job exists the primary purpose or objective of the
position. Describe the essence of the job in 25 words.
Duties and Responsibilities: - heart of the JD should describe exactly
what the employee must do; what the job entails
Relationships: - with other parts of the org what positions report to this
job? What are the jobs most frequent contacts?
Knowledge: - qualifications, KSAs, Other requirements (eg excellent
cannot say positive attitude:
negotiation skill: ability to compromise both sides
communications skills)
* need to have assessment what
who have vision to look after general function rather tan
is positive attitude
Problem solving: - original and creative thinking required? involve in every part
* do not subject judgement,
use objective assessment Authority:- rights and limitations that apply to the positions decision
* potential of discrimination: focus on behaviour
making authority. Freedom to act; autonomy amount that can be
*
spent, etc

accountability: financial restraint they might have: need their own budget but also have to connect with other budget
special circumstances: responsibility to coordinate them, follow the flow of information

Job or Position Description (2)

Accountability: - financial impact of job value of assets, budgets, sales,
payroll and personnel which the job/position is responsible for
Special Circumstances: - anything unusual? Hazards? Etc
Performance Standards: - standards required for effective performance,
and measures for evaluating performance. Identifies what is to be
achieved, how the job holder is to behave, and the measures of the
performance.
Trade union and professional associations: required memership
Licenses: required?

next week: personal discription

Job or Person Specifications

Experience
Qualifications
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (and Other)
Personal Characteristics
Special Requirements
Ideal industry background
Ideal current organization (for candidate to be
employed in)
Ideal current position
Remuneration
See Stone pp 169ff for egs of PDs

2. Links to other HRM functions

JD has to align jobs with management strategy.
It links with other HRM functions
Recruitment and Selection
should detail the component duties and activities of a job and the
conditions under which it is performed
person specification, or a description of personal qualities
(KSA knowledge, skills and abilities) [cf KSAA adds
attitudes] the job requires
Similarly with Selection

Training and Development

JA provides a template against which job incumbents KSAs can
be assessed to determine training needs

Links to other aspects of HRM

(cont)
Performance Appraisal
Employees performance is assessed against the needs of the
job, and performance requirements and indicators are derived
from the JA.
specified performance requirements must really be requirements
of the job (Validity)

Remuneration and Reward

JA defines the job Job Evaluation puts a value on it

Collecting Information for Job Analysis

Observation
job analyst observes someone at work, noting down what
they do, and how long it takes
More applicable to visible jobs manual less to some
aspects of customer service or professional work
Interviews
Job analysts question individual employees about the job
they do
How long to learn your job? Take me through a
typical day
Could also interview job experts managers, etc
JA Questionaires
Can be more focussed

Collecting Information for Job Analysis (2)

Diaries or logs
Ask employee to keep a record

Critical Incidents
Describe a time when you did a job well or not!

Focus and Consultative Groups

Job Outlook website: http://joboutlook.gov.au
Much useful information for JA
Links to US O*Net website usually skills and behavioural
descriptors of jobs are more comprehensive, although they are
often mixed in together

Cautionary Notes
Predictive approach
Assumption job is a stable entity find the most
suitable candidate for it

KSAOs other can be problematic

skills may not be recognised or codified
skills may include attributes of character
positive attitude; initiative; endurance; sense of
humour aesthetic skills (appearance)

Other may be a means of incorporating into

selection criteria things that are not strictly speaking
necessary for the job but may reflect preference or
prejudice

3. Principles of Job Design (1): Classical

Mechanistic approach
Fundamental:
Humans produce their means of subsistence by means
of technology (and seek maximum efficiency Market
society) natural

Adam Smith division of labour principles

Divide production process into smaller pieces

Each requires different degrees of skill
Learning through practice
Preparation for automation
Smith acknowledged that the division of labour would do
people psychological injury due to monotony

Commonsense of work org > poor quality jobs

the price of technological progress!?
(Galbraith)
not technology, but socio/eco organisation of
production (capitalism) (Braverman):
Employment relation labour is indeterminate
employers have to extract as much as possible >
control
Competition if they dont they go out of business

Scientific Management
Application of science to work
Close observation: management appropriate knowledge
of production from workers
Communicate knowledge to workers

Taylor condemned ordinary management

Control Divide into smaller and smaller parts
Moving assembly line (Fordism)

Ford was famous for compensating workers for bad

working conditions: five dollar day
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=lpTecAeYvGU&spfreload=10

4. Principles of Job Design (2) Socio-Technical, or

Human Relations Approach to JD
SM assumption: workers motivated by money
increasingly challenged in 1920s
Hawthorne studies:
Workers were motivated by psychological aspects of
work productivity improved when researchers paid
attention to them
Socio-technical work design
Pay attention to human needs
jointly optimise human and technical aspects of work

Significance: Engagement of social science

with industry

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Human Needs?
Hawthorne studies (said to) reveal needs to belong;
for membership.
irrational needs? Consultation, meaning
Could be manipulated Tom Peters origins of
soft HRM
OR natural work groups might restrict output
important to control them

Hackman and Oldhams job characteristic

model
there were three key psychological states that
workers needed from their work. These were
* a sense of meaning
* responsibility for the process
* a sense that the process was producing results a
need to see something real at the end

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Hackman and Oldhams job characteristic

model
Skill variety the degree to which the job requires different
skills
Task identity the degree to which the job involves
completing a whole identifiable piece of work rather than
simply a part of it
Task significance the extent to which the job has an impact
on other people, either inside or outside the organization
Autonomy the extent to which the job allows job-holders to
exercise choice and discretion in their work
Feedback from the job the extent to which the job itself (as
opposed to other people) provides job-holders with
information on their performance
Jobs high in these dimensions - intrinsically motivating.

Job Design Strategies

Usually there is some strategic choice about job
design although reference has to be made to
overall organisational strategy
If the goal is to respond to human needs at work, the
approach would anthropocentric human centred
Job Enlargement
because expansion of the job involves tasks at the same level as those
previously performed. led to see the job enlargement as a way of simply

Increase number and variety of tasks getting employees to do more job.

moving employees around a range of jobs within the organisation. it has dual benefit of making employees, especially

new to the organisation, aware of all area and activities performed within the firms and providing employee greater
Job Rotation those
task variety. common practices for new employees.

Move from one job to another

make job more interesting and boost motivation. involves vertical expansion of job by adding higher responsibilities

more meaningful tasks. by increasing employee involvement in planing, decision making, organising and
Job Enrichment and
controlling their work.

Make work more meaningful

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Teamwork
Fulfill human need to work together cooperatively
Highly laden term (sporting connotations)
Lean teams
overcome problems of line balancing
Workers interchangeable skill sets

self managing teams (Scandi-Euro)

Complementary expertise not interchangeable

In both dangers of peer surveillance and

monitoring
Dangers especially if group incentives are used
Crucial = role of team leader. Elected? Appointed?
Union member?

Literature Polarises
Around lean vs human-centred production
Japanese vs Swedish
Lean
Elimination of waste Just in Time production

Uddevalla experiments
Car manufacture without the assembly line
Teams of workers assemble whole car in one place
Closed down controversial circumstances

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Dimension of
production

Mass/
Lean (Japanese)

Human Centred
(Swedish)

Length of job cycle

Short

Long

Level of discretion / Low

autonomy

High

Level of integration
(pacing)

High

Low

Level of Skill

Low/Med

High

Power of unions

Low

High

Quality of Work

Low

High

Conclusion
Good Work JQ associated with skills and
engagement high involvement, high commitment,
high performance work systems
Work design choice of the form of work which
affects job quality
Reviewed History
Classical Mechanistic period (Scientific management)
Socio-technical (human relations)

Enlargement and Enrichment

Interest in Swedish experiments overtaken by
lean approaches to work organisation

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References
Kramar, ch 6
Kramar and Syed, Ch 7.
Stone Ch. 5
Supplementary readings
Harry Braverman (1974) called Monopoly Capitalism: the Degradation of Work in the
20th Century, US: Monthly Review Press (passim)
Parker, S and T. Wall (1998) Job and Work Design: Organizing Work to Promote
Well-Being and Effectiveness, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Sandberg, A (ed) (1994/2007) Enriching Production, Swedish Institute for Work Life
Research, Stockholm. [also Digital Edition]

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