BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
BOOKS:H John Bernardin, Human Resource Management, Fourth
Edition, McGraw Hill, 2007Review notes for all chapters of the
bookFull Chapters of the Book Human Resource Management by Laura
Dias
WEBSITES:www.wikipedia.orghttp://nraomtr.blogspot.com/search/label/Human%20resource%20management
WHAT ARE HUMAN RESOURCES?
Human resourcesare the set of individuals who make up
theworkforceof anorganization,business sectoror aneconomy. "Human
capital" is sometimes used synonymously with human resources,
although human capital typically refers to a more narrow view;
i.e., the knowledge the individuals embody and can contribute to an
organization. Likewise, other terms sometimes used include
"manpower", "talent", "labor" or simply "people".The professional
discipline and business function that oversees an organization's
human resources is calledhuman resource management. INTRODUCTION TO
HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT.During the first four hundred years of
industrialization, it was all about machines, which gradually
replaced the human labour. They were so important that humans were
not even considered a resource. Not anymore. With information
revolution, internet connectivity and the age of customized
services, humans are the greatest resource. That makes human
resource management, by far, the most important stream of the art
ofmanaging business.Human resources are by far the most important
resources for any organization. Needless to say then that making
the best possible use of these resources is crucial to the fate of
organization, and hence once of the most important priority for the
managers of that organization.The human resources of an
organization consist of all people who perform its activities.
Human resource management (HRM) is concerned with the personnel
policies and managerial practices and systems that influence the
workforce. In broader terms, all decisions that affect the
workforce of the organization concern the HRM function.The human
resources of an organization consist of all people who perform its
activities. Human resource management (HRM) is concerned with the
personnel policies and managerial practices and systems that
influence the workforce. In broader terms, all decisions that
affect the workforce of the organization concern the HRM
function.Human resource management(HRM or simplyHR) is
themanagementof anorganization'sworkforce, orhuman resources. It is
responsible for theattraction,selection,training,assessment,
andrewardingof employees, while also overseeing
organizationalleadershipandculture, and ensuring compliance
withemployment and labor laws. In circumstances where employees
desire and are legally authorized to hold acollective bargaining
agreement, HR will typically also serve as the company's primary
liaison with the employees' representatives (usually alabor
union).HR is a product of thehuman relations movementof the early
20th century, when researchers began documenting ways of creating
business value through the strategic management of the workforce.
The function was initially dominated by transactional work such
aspayrollandbenefitsadministration, but due toglobalization,
company consolidation, technological advancement, and further
research, HR now focuses on strategic initiatives likemergers and
acquisitions,talent management,succession
planning,industrialandlabor relations,
anddiversityandinclusion.Instartup companies, HR's duties may be
performed by a handful of trained professionals or even by non-HR
personnel. In larger companies, an entire functional group is
typically dedicated to the discipline, with staff specializing in
various HR tasks and functional leadership engaging in strategic
decision making across thebusiness. To train practitioners for the
profession, institutions of higher education, professional
associations, and companies themselves have created programs of
study dedicated explicitly to the duties of the function. Academic
and practitioner organizations likewise seek to engage and further
the field of HR, as evidenced by several field-specific
publications.
Evolution of Human Resource ManagementLiterature onHuman
resources managementis fairly rich in terms of academic theories.
Success of Henry Ford and hisFord Motorsin early twentieth century
gave rise to the term 'Fordism' consisting of the theory that high
corporate profitability can be achieved by high wages to the
employees. Even before Ford, Fredrick Winslow Taylor had propagated
the 'scientific management theory' or 'Taylorism' wherein
scientific studies of processes were believed to lead to optimum
human resource utilization. These 'modernistic' theories suffered
from one grave drawback - they treated human beings as homogeneous,
ignoring theindividualdifferences in them. Later academic theories,
often referred to as 'post-modernism' attempted to correct this
folly by admitting that human beings are complex and solutions to
their problems cannot be obtained by simple thumb rules.In recent
times, the academic theory has given place to
practicalapplicationsand HRM experts today specialize in
resolvingindividualproblems of the organization in a step-by-step
pattern. This means focusing on one of the several human resource
management processes enumerated above, beginning fromrecruitmentand
ending with performance appraisal. These days, one of their
greatest challenges is managing the process of
collectivebargaining, or the 'contract' between employee and the
organization in a way that ensures commitment of the
individualtowards organizational goals. Another focus of modern HRM
practices is to provide the employees a clear understanding of
these organizational goals.
What makes Human Resource Management different?What makes it
different from other streams of management is the fact that Human
resources managementor HRM cannot be defined by simple thumb rules,
nor can it be taught or explained by simple theories, without a
grave risk of oversimplification. It requires keen observation of
human traits, sensitivity arising from emotional intelligence, and
understanding of human nature like a psychologist.Different
sub-streams of Human Resource Management.Human resources
managementoriginally began as personnel management, but today it
encompasses many well defined sub-streams of functions that can be
listed as under:(1) Workforce planning(2)Recruitment(3) Job
analysis(4) Personnel administration & compensation(5) Training
and development(6)Selection(7) Performance appraisalEach of these
sub-streams is a more or less specialized function, yet one can say
that HRM itself is more than these entire put together.The
activities involved in HRM function are pervasive throughout the
organization. Line managers, typically spend more than 50 percent
of their time for human resource activities such hiring,
evaluating, disciplining, and scheduling employees. Human resource
management specialists in the HRM department help organizations
with all activities related to staffing and maintaining an
effective workforce. Major HRM responsibilities include work design
and job analysis, training and development, recruiting,
compensation, team-building, performance management and appraisal,
worker health and safety issues, as well as identifying or
developing valid methods for selecting staff. HRM department
provides the tools, data and processes that are used by line
managers in their human resource management component of their
job.WHAT IS THE FOCUS OF HRM DEPARTMENT?The HRM focus should always
be maintaining and, ideally, expanding the customer base while
maintaining, and ideally, maximizing profit. HRM has a whole lot to
do with this focus regardless of the size of the business, or the
products or services you are trying to sell. (Dr. James Spina,
former head of Executive Development at the Tribune Company). HRM
is involved in managing the human resources with a focus on
expanding customer base that gives profit to the company. The
bottom line of the company is the focus of the HRM department as
well as the function.CONTRIBUTING TO THE BOTTOM-LINE OF THE COMPANY
THROUGH HR TOP-LINE ACTIVITIESA growing body research shows that
progressive HRM practices have a significant effect on corporate
bottom-line and middle-line performance. The positive effect on
financial performance, productivity, product and service quality,
and cost control are documented by researchers.High-performance
work systems (HPWS) is a term used to describe a collection of HR
practices or characteristics of HR systems designed to enhance
employees competencies so that employees can be a reliable source
of competitive advantage. A summary of the research on HPWS
indicated that a one standard deviation of improved assessment on a
HPWS measurement tool increased sales per employee in excess of
$15,000 per employee, an 8 percent gain in labor productivity.
THE ACTIVITIES OF HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENTThe activities
performed by HRM professionals fall under five major domains:(1)
Organizational design,(2) Staffing,(3) Performance Management and
Appraisal,(4) Employee and Organizational Development, and(5)
Reward Systems, Benefits and ComplianceAcquiring human resource
capability should begin with organizational design and analysis.
Organizational design involves the arrangement of work tasks based
on the interaction of people, technology and the tasks to be
performed in the context of the objectives, goals and the strategic
plan of the organization. HRM activities such as human resources
planning, job and work analysis, organizational restructuring, job
design, team building, computerization, and worker-machine
interfaces fall under this domain.Recruitment, employee
orientation, selection, promotion, and termination are among the
activities that fit into the staffing domain. The performance
management domain includes assessments of individuals and teams to
measure, and to improve work performance. Employee training and
development programs are concerned with establishing, fostering,
and maintaining employee skills base don organizational and
employee needs.Reward systems, benefits and compliance have to do
with any type of reward or benefit that may be available to
employees. Labor law, health and safety issues and unemployment
policy fall under compliance component.
THE GREATEST CHALLENGES OF HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENTUnlike
managing other resources like machines, real estate andfinance,
managing human beings is a totally differentball game, simply
because unlike other assets, each employee has his own goal and
will work first to attain that goal, even if it is at the cost of
the goals of the organization. Thus, no employee can ever be made
to provide his optimum output for the organization unless the goals
of the organization are closely aligned with his own goals. This,
in short, is the greatest challenge for all HRM experts, and in
every organization, the need is to go about it in a way which is
unique and specific for that organization.Science Vs ArtWhile
technology threatens to take over most functions of business
management away from the experts, HRM is one field which is
unlikely to be faced with this threat. It was, is and will always
be an expertise that is as much of a skill as an art, and hence
beyond the intelligence that our computers possess.
MAJOR TRENDS AFFECTING HRMThe following trends have an effect on
human resource management function and department. The importance
of HRM increases due to some of them and the practices of HRM are
affected to some extent due to some of them.1. Increased
globalization of the economy.2. Technological changes and
environmental changes.3. The need to be flexible in response to
business changes.4. Increase in litigation related to HRM.5.
Changing characteristics of the workforce.THE IMPORTANCE OF HUMAN
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT MEASUREMENTMany HRM systems and activities are
not subjected to systematic measurement. Many organizations do not
assess either the short- or long-term consequences of their HRM
programs or activities. A recurring theme of the book is that
measurement and accountability are key components to organizational
effectiveness and competitive advantage. Good measurement, allied
with business strategies, will help organizations select and
improve all of their HRM activities and provide a much stronger
connection between HRM activities and organizational
effectiveness.Stanford University professor Jeffrey Pfeffer
considers measurement to be one of the keys to competitive
advantage. His book Competitive Advantage Through People cites
measurement as one of the 16 HRM practices that contribute the most
to competitive advantage.A new book entitled The Workforce
Scorecard by Professors Mark Huselid, Brian Becker, and Dick Beatty
extends research on the "balanced scorecard" to a comprehensive
management and measurement system to maximize workforce
potential.
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE AND HRMCompetitive Advantage refers to the
ability of an organization to formulate strategies that place it at
favorable position relative to other companies in the industry. Two
major principles, namely customer value and uniqueness, are
relevant for gaining competitive advantage.Competitive advantage
occurs if customers perceive that they receive more value form
their transaction or relationship with an organization than from
its competitors. HRM needs to make efforts to ensure that all
employees are focused on understanding customer needs and
expectations.The second principle of competitive advantage derives
from offering a product or service that your competitor cannot
easily imitate or copy.The status of HRM is improving relative to
other potential sources of competitive advantage for an
organization. Professor Pfeffer notes that "traditional sources of
success (e.g., speed to market, financial, technological) can still
provide competitive leverage, but to a lesser degree now than in
the past, leaving organizational culture and capabilities, derived
from how people are managed, as comparatively more vital."For
success in 21st century, HRM activities must be (1) responsive to a
highly competitive marketplace and global business structures, (2)
closely linked to business strategic plans, (3) jointly conceived
and implemented by line and HR managers, and (4) focused on
quality, customer service, productivity, employee involvement,
teamwork, and workforce flexibility.
HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNINGHuman resources planningis a process that
identifies current and future human resources needs for an
organization to achieve it goals. Human resources planning should
serve as a link between human resources management and the overall
strategic plan of an organization. Ageing worker populations in
most western countries and growing demands for qualified workers in
developing economies have underscored the importance of effective
Human Resources Planning.DEFINITIONThe ongoing process of
systematic planning to achieve optimum use of an organization's
most valuable asset - its human resources. The objective of human
resource (HR) planning is to ensure the best fit between employees
and jobs, while avoiding manpower shortages or surpluses. The three
key elements of the HR planning process are forecasting labor
demand, analyzing present labor supply, and balancing projected
labor demand and supply.The HR plan needs to be flexible enough to
meet short-term staffing challenges, while adapting to changing
conditions in the business and environment over the longer term.
Human resource planning is also a continuous process. Many business
owners prepare a business plan before starting their business.
However, small business owners often do not include human resource
planning as part of their over-all business plan. They may start
out with only a few employees or none at all. Over time, it is
important to properly forecast employment needs. Just as failing to
address potential threats in the marketplace can jeopardize the
viability of your business, failing to anticipate personnel needs
can impact on overall business success. The success of a business
is directly linked to the performance of those who work for that
business. Underachievement can be a result of workplace failures.
Because hiring the wrong people or failing to anticipate
fluctuations in hiring needs can be costly, it is important that
you put effort into human resource planning. Planning for HR needs
will help to ensure your employees have the skills and competencies
your business needs to succeed. An HR plan works hand in hand with
your business plan to determine the resources you need to achieve
the businesss goals. It will better prepare you for staff turnover,
recruitment, and strategic hiring and alleviate stress when you
have emergency/last-minute hiring needs. This module provides a
detailed outline of how small business owners can develop a human
resource plan. There is also a discussion of issues to consider
when developing a succession plan, the plan that is needed to
consider how to carry on the business, or sell the business, when
the current management/ownership leaves. Tips for creating a
personnel policy manual are also included. PLANNING A BUSINESS
STRATEGYThere are numerous considerations that the human resources
professionals must take into account. For instance: Inconsistencies
between culture and strategy can severely impair the successful
pursuit of a given course of action. Often the political aspects of
producing a viable plan are insurmountable obstacles to overcome;
as are other primary factors such as the process itself or the plan
measurements. Only the most seasoned corporate politician often has
enough sensitivity and negotiating skill to achieve the
pre-planning buy-in of the critical powers. The concept of planning
boiled down is that in order to determine the direction for human
resource plans you must have a series of questions that your
organization needs to answer in order to predict and perhaps
control some of the major change areas for the future. This means
that you begin by asking the right questions the questions which,
if asked regularly and systematically, will force you to produce
answers of maximum value in shaping your future human resources.It
is also important to look at the planning activity from an activity
standpoint. From an operational view human resources planning is
the analysis of human resource requirements of organizations and
the related needs for management policies, programs and resources
to satisfy these requirements. As is shown by Figure A, human
resources planning is critically interdependent with all aspects of
the business. A human resource strategy is a critical component of
the firms corporate and business strategies, comprising a set of
well-coordinated objectives and action programs aimed at securing a
long-term, sustainable advantage over the firms competitors. A
human resource strategy should be consistent with the firms
corporate and business strategies, as well as with the other
managerial functional strategies.The primary objective of people
responsible for doing human resources planning is to acquire,
develop and implement the technology, tools, expertise and
resources necessary to effectively do Human Resource Planning and
Development as an integral part of the business planning processes.
It must not be done in a vacuum. Human resource strategies should
be developed within a companys strategic business planning
process.The strategy that is often the basis for the planning
process is to build networks of internal human resources
professionals and external human resources professionals that will
promote the sharing of information, technology and tools to be
applied to the Human Resource Planning and Development activities;
Collect, evaluate and implement tools, processes and resources;
integrate tools and resources into a consistent strategy which uses
existing resources whenever possible. Again and again it is
important to make sure that the process is a legitimate piece of
the company plan. Human resource strategic planning takes place
within the overall corporate / total organization strategic
planning model.They will consult with and to human resource
managers and line management to achieve a high utilization of tools
and resources to achieve functional goals. Those goals include
creating and implementing a workforce inventory and forecasting
tool customized for Line Organizations; and creating and consulting
on custom management planning tools and strategies for line
Organizations. Figure A is an overview of human resource planning
from a strategic planning viewpoint. The model shows the
relationship of internal factors and external factors as they
relate to the human resources issues. They are factors that not
only create; but also shape and change the issues. The business
plan usually establishes the basic environment within which other
variables impact in order to determine those issues. Out of those
issues grow the human resources strategies and plans that are most
often developed and implemented by and with the assistance of the
human resources department.Human resource planning is probably one
of the most critical elements in linking the work of the human
resources function to the business goals of the company. It is
important to recognize that certain aspects of human resource
management tend to have potentially high strategic
consequences.Especially in the areas of policy development and
implementation it is obvious and difficult to refute advice that
effective human resource policies require human resource planning,
which in turn, requires effective integration with an organizations
strategic planning process.It is evident that human resources
planning is becoming more and more important in business circles.
Because business profits are squeezed by inflation and a weakened
economy, management is also concerned with personnel costs and is
seeking to achieve increased output with the same or fewer
staff.Productivity concerns and material constraints also add to
the emphasis on the ability to plan and fully utilize all of a
companys resources. The human resources are right on the top of the
list in most enterprises. The current demands on the worlds
material resources and their spiraling cost are building pressure
to increase the productivity of human resource.Government at all
levels both nationally and internationally (Federal, state, local,
etc.) is interested in how employers treat their employees. They,
therefore, add factors that must be considered in any human
resource plan(work and wage laws, labor laws, etc.). The net impact
of the expanding government intervention has been an increase in
the attention given to human resource planning in all of the
problem areas.So, while the principles and processes of planning
have not changed much, the complexity and timeliness have.
Information technology enables the collection and analysis of more
data than was even dreamed of in the1980s. The complexity of
planning across countries, cultures, economies, and new
technologies is almost infinite. This makes the art, the gut
feeling, the best guess, that much more important. The best that
can be accomplished is to predict the probability of multiple
successful solutions.
FUNCTIONS OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Following are the various
functions of Human Resource Management that are essential for the
effective functioning of the organization:1.JOB
ANALYSIS2.RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION 3. PERFORMANCE
APPRAISAL4.TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT.
JOB ANALYSISJob analysis is a systematic approach to defining
the job role, description, requirements, responsibilities,
evaluation, etc. it helps in finding out required level of
education, skills, knowledge, training, etc for the job position.
It also depicts the job worth I,e measureable effectiveness of the
job and contribution of job to the organization. Thus, it
effectively contributes to setting up the compensation package for
the job positon.NATURE OF JOB ANALYSISOrganisations consist of
positions that have to be staffed. Job Analysis is the procedure
through which we determine the task, duties and responsibilities of
these positions and the characteristics of the people to hire for
the positions. Job analysis produces information used for writing,
job description (a list of what the job entails) and job
specifications (what kind of people to hire for the job).
There are two outcomes of job analysis:Job descriptionJob
specification
The information collected under job analysis is: Nature of jobs
required in a concern. Nature/ size of organizational structure.
Type of people required to fit that structure. The relationship of
the job with other jobs in the concern. Kind of qualifications and
academic background required for jobs. Provision of physical
condition to support the activities of the concern. For example-
separate cabins for managers, special cabins for the supervisors,
healthy condition for workers, and adequate store room for store
keeper.
COMPONENTS OF JOB ANALYSISJob analysis is a systematic procedure
to analyze the requirements for the job role and jobprofile. Job
analysis can be further categorized into following sub
components.
Job Position:Job position refers to the designation of the job
and employee in the organization. Job position forms an important
part of the compensation strategy as it determines the level of the
job in the organization. For example management level employees
receive greater pay scale than
non-managerialemployees.Thenon-monetary benefits offered to two
different levelsinthe organization also vary.
Job Description:Job description refers the requirements an
organization looks for a particular job position. It states the key
skill requirements, the level of experience needed, level of
education required, etc.It also describes the roles and
responsibilities attached with the job position. The roles and
responsibilities are key determinant factor in estimating the level
of experience, education, skill, etc required for the job. It also
helps in benchmarking the performance standards.Job Worth:Job Worth
refers to estimating the job worthiness i.e. how much the job
contributes to the organization. It is also known as job
evaluation. Job description is used to analyze the
jobworthiness.Itis alsoknown asjob evaluation. Rolesand
responsibilitieshelps indetermining the outcome from the job
profile. Once it is determined that how much the job is worth,
itbecomes easy to define the compensation strategy for the
position.
USES OF JOB ANALYSIS: Recruitment & Selection:Job Analysis
provides information about what the
jobentailsandwhathumancharacteristicsarerequiredtoperformthejob.Thisinformation,
in the form of job description and specifications, helps management
decidewhat sort of people to recruit and hire. Compensation:Job
analysis is crucial for estimating the value of each job &
itsappropriate compensation. Compensation (such as salary and
bonus) usually dependsupon the jobs required skill and education
level, safety hazards, degree of responsibilityand so on - all the
factors we can assess through job analysis.
PerformanceAppraisal:Aperformanceappraisalcompareseachemployees
actual performance with his or her performance standards. Managers
use job analysis to determine the jobs specific activities and
performance standards. Training:The job description should show the
activities and skills and therefore the training - that job
requires. Discovering unassigned duties:Job analysis can also help
reveal unassigned duties. For example, a companys production
manager says Mr. X is responsible for a dozen or so duties, such as
production scheduling and raw material purchasing. However any
reference of raw material inventory management was missing. On
further study, the manager finds that none of the other
manufacturing people are responsible of inventory management. Thus
a manger has uncovered an essential unassigned duty with regards
tojob analysis
Steps in Job Analysis:There are six steps in doing a job
analysis. (1) Decide how youll use the information, since this will
determine the data you collect and how you collect them. Some data
collection techniques - like interviewing the employee and
askingwhatthejob entailsaregoodforwritingjob
descriptionandselecting employees for the job. Other technique like
the position analysis & questionnaire do not providequalitative
informationforjob description. Instead, theyprovide numerical
ratings for each job; these can be used to compare jobs for
compensation purpose.(2) Review relevant backgroundinformation such
as organization charts,process charts andjob description.
Organization charts show the organization wide division of work,
how the job inquestion relates to other jobs, and where the job
fits in the overall organization. The chart should show the title
of each position and by means ofinterconnecting lines, who reports
to whom and with whom the job incumbent communicates. Aprocess
chart provide more detailed picture of the work flow. In its
simplest form a process chart shows the flow of inputs to and the
outputs from the job you areanalyzing.Finally,theexistingjob
description, if thereisone,usuallyprovides a starting point for
building the revised job description.(3) Select representative
positions. Why? Because there may be too many similar jobs to
analyze. For example, it is usually necessary to analyze the jobs
of 200 assembly workerswhen a sample of 10 jobs will do.(4)
Actuallyanalysethejobbycollectingdataonjobactivities,required
employeebehaviors, working condition, and human traits &
abilities needed to perform the job. For this step, use one or more
of the job analysis methods.(5) Verify the job analysis information
with the worker performing the job &with his or her immediate
supervisor. This will help confirm that the information is
factually correct and complete. This review can also help gain the
employees acceptance of the job analysis dataand conclusionsby
givingthatpersona chancetoreviewandmodifyyour description of the
job activities. 6) Developajob description andjob specification.
These aretwo tangible productsof thejob analysis. Thejob
description is a written statement that describes the activities
and responsibilitiesofthe job,aswellasits important features,
suchasworking conditionsandsafetyhazards.The jobspecification
summarizesthepersonal qualities,traits,skilland background required
for gettingjob done.Inmaybeina separate document or in thesame
document as the job description.Methods of collecting Job Analysis
Information:There are various ways to collect information on the
duties, responsibilities and activities of thejob. In practice, we
can use anyone of them, or we can combine the techniques that best
fit our purpose. Thus, an interview might be appropriate for
creating a job description, whereas the position analysis
questionnaire maybe more appropriatefor quantifying theworth ofajob
for compensation purposes. Conducting the job analysis usually
involves a joint effort by an HR specialist, the worker, &
theworkers supervisor. The HR specialist might observe and analyze
the job and then develop a job description and specification. The
supervisor and worker may fill out questionnaires listing the
subordinates activities. The supervisor and worker may then review
and verify the job analyzed conclusions regarding the jobs
activities and duties. In practice, firm usually collects jobs
analysis data from multiple subject matter experts using
questionnaires and interviews. They then average data from several
employees from different departments to determine how much time a
typical employee spends on each of several specific tasks.
Theproblemisthatemployees whohavethe same jobtitlebut work
indifferentdepartmentsmayexperienceverydifferentpressures.Therefore,simplyaddingupandaveraging
the amount of time that, say, HR assistance need to devote
interviewing candidates could end in misleading results. The point
is that we must understand the jobs departmental context the way
someone with a particular job title spends his or her time is not
necessarilythe same from department to department.
QUANTITATIVE JOB ANALYSIS TECHNIQUESQualitative approaches like
interviews and questionnaires are not always suitable. For example,
if your aim is to compare jobs for pay purposes, you may want to be
able to assign quantitativevalues to each job. The position
analysis questionnaire, the Department of Labour approach and
functional job analysis are three popular quantitative methods.
THE INTERVIEWManagers use three types of interview to collect
job analysis data individual interview with
eachemployee,groupinterviewwithgroups ofemployeeswho havethe
samejobs&the supervisor interviews with one or more supervisor
who know the job. They use group interviewswhen a large number of
employees are performing similar or identical work, since it can be
a quick and inexpensive way togather information.Whichever kind
ofinterviews weuse, we needto besure the interviewee fully
understands the reason for the interview since there is a tendency
for such interviews to be viewed, rightly orwrongly,as
efficiencyevaluation. If so,intervieweesmayhesitatetodescribe their
jobs accurately.Pros &
ConsTheinterviewisprobablythemostwidelyusedmethod
foridentifyingthejobs duties&responsibilities and its wide use
reflects its advantages. It is relatively simple and quick way
tocollectinformation,includinginformationthat might
neverappearonawrittenform.The interview also provides an
opportunity to explain the need for and function of the job
analysis.And the employee can vent frustration that might otherwise
go unnoticed by the management. Distortion of the information is
the main problem whether due to outright falsification or
honestmisunderstanding.Jobanalysisisoftenapreludetochangingajobspayrate.Employees
therefore maylegitimatelyview theinterview asthe efficiency
evaluationthat mayaffect their pay. They may then tend to
exaggerate certain responsibilities while minimizing others.TYPICAL
QUESTIONS. What is the job being performed? What are the major
duties of your position? What exactly do you do? What physical
location do you workin?
Whataretheeducation,experience,skilland(whereapplicable)certificationand
Licensing requirements? In what activities do you participate? What
are the job responsibilities and duties? What are the basic
accountabilities or performance that typifies your work?
Whatareyourresponsibilities?Whatistheenvironmentalandworking
condition involved? What are the jobs physical demands? The
emotional and mental demands? What are the health and safety
condition? Are you exposed toany hazards or any unusual
workingconditions?
QuestionnairesHaving employees fill out questionnaires to
describe their job-related duties & responsibilities is another
good way to obtain job analysisinformation.We have to decide how
structured the questionnaire should be and what question to
include. Some questionnaires are very structured checklists. Each
employee gets an inventory of perhaps hundreds of specific duties
or tasks (such as change and splice via). He or she is asked to
indicate whether or not he/she performs each tasks and, it so, how
much time is normally spent oneach.Attheotherextreme,the
questionnairecan beopen-ended andsimply askthe employee to describe
the major duties of your job. In practice, the best questionnaire
often falls between these two extremes.Whether structured or
unstructured, questionnaires have both pros & cons. A
questionnaire is a quick and efficient way to obtain information
from a large number of employees, its less costlythan interviewing
hundreds of workers, for instance. However, developing any
questionnaire and testing it can be expensive and
time-consuming.
CONCLUSIONFrom Job Analysis, specific details of what is being
done and the skills utilized in the job areobtained. Job Analysis
enables the managers to understand jobs and job structures to
improvework flow or develop techniques to improve productivity.
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