People and Organisation - MN7181 (Blog 05)

GLOBAL ISSUES ON HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Source: http://www.eastmanandassociates.net/job-analysis/

Job Analysis and Job Design in Global Context

Set of tasks performed by a person to achieve a goal can be identified as a job. It is a part of an organisation structure and the job is not depend on person, who is handling it. The person can change time to time, but the job remain unchanged until for redesign (Armstrong, 2009).

This analysis involves compiling a detailed description of tasks, determining the relationships of the job to technology and to other jobs and examining the knowledge, qualifications or employment standards, accountability and other incumbent requirement.

It involves studying jobs to determine what tasks and responsibilities they include, their relationships to other jobs, and the conditions under which work is performed, tools and equipment used, and the personal capabilities required for satisfactory performance.

Job analysis produces information for writing job descriptions (a list of what the job entails)  and job specification (what kind of people to hire for that job)

Job description –the principal product of a job analyses. It represents a written summary of the job as an identifiable organisation unit.

Job specification – a written explanation of the knowledge, skills, abilities, traits and other characteristics (KSAOs) necessary for effective performance on a given job.

                                                             

Objectives of Job Design (Armstrong, 2009):

1. Assure the needs of the organization for productivity, operational efficiency and quality of product or service.

2. Assure the needs of the individual for interest, challenge and execution, thus providing for ‘job engagement’ – promise to carrying out the job well.


Approaches to job design (Armstrong, 2009)

● Job rotation.
● Job enlargement.
● Job enrichment.
● Self-managing teams (autonomous work groups).
● High-performance work design.

Types of information collected for job analysis (Dessler, 2013)

• Work activities  - such as cleaning, selling, teaching etc.
The what? How? Why? When? Of the tasks
• Human behavior Sensing, communicating, deciding , writing.
job demands such as lifting weights or walking long distances
• Machine, tools, equipment and work aids. This category includes information regarding tools used, material processed, knowledge dealt with or applied and services rendered
• Performance standards  - in terms of quantity and quality levels of each job duty
• Job context  - such matters as physical working conditions, work schedule, and the organizational and social working context – for example the number of people with whom the employee would normally interact
• Human requirements – included information such as job related knowledge or skills (education, training, work experience) and required personal attributes ( aptitude, physical characteristics, personality, interest)

Examples: 

1. Job Design of Bank Teller was redesign after introducing Envelope less cash deposit ATM facility.
The ‘Envelope Less' cash deposit ATM facility was introduced to Sri Lanka by Sampath Bank in November 2006, adding another ‘first’ to its technologically-advanced products & services (Sampath Bank PLC, 2017).

2. Created new job demand in worldwide for motor mechanical engineers, who are having knowledge of Hybrid technology.
In 1999 Honda released the two-door Insight, the first hybrid car to hit the mass market in the United States and in 2000 Toyota released the Toyota Prius, the first hybrid four-door sedan available in the United States (Berman, 2011).

Methods for collecting information (Dessler, 2013)

1. The Interview                                            

2. Questionnaire

3. Observations

4. Participant Dairy/Logs

5. Quantitative job analysis techniques

5. Internet based job analysis 

 
Example: As per Dessler (2013) the web base job analysis has been used by the U.S. Navy to collect job-related information with minimal intervention and guidance.

Job design and new work arrangements

Most of current research on job design carried out on individuals or teams performing their jobs in stand-alone organizations. However, now employees may telecommute from home or they might complete their work at a remote base such as an ‘‘urban hub” alongside individuals employed by other organizations (e.g., email, instant messaging, video conferencing, file sharing) (Oldham and Fried, 2016).

As per Shin (2018) some top companies for flexible jobs as VIPKID, Appen, Amazon, Condent, TTEC, Dell, PRA Health Services, Toyota and Williams-Sonoma.

References:

Armstrong M., (2009), A hand book of Human Resource Management practice, 10th Ed., Kogan page, London.

Berman B., (2011), History of Hybrid Vehicles, http://www.hybridcars.com/history-of-hybrid-vehicles/, Accessed 14.06.2018 at 3.11 PM.

Dessler P., (2013), Human Resource Management, 13th Ed., Pearson Education, New Jersey.

Oldham G. R. and Fried Y., (2016), Job design research and theory: Past, present and future, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes Journal 136(2016): 30-31.

Sampath Bank PLC, (2017), Cash Deposit ATMs,  http://www.sampath.lk/en/personal/electronic-banking/cash-deposit-atms, Accessed 14.06.2018 at 2.59 PM.

Shin L., (2018), Work From Home 2018: The Top 100 Companies For Remote Jobs, https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2018/01/17/work-from-home-2018-the-top-100-companies-for-remote-jobs/#3eb8111276f0, Accessed 16.06.2018 at 12.58 PM.

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