Chapter 5 - MQM 354

Balancing Chaos and Control

-Complex procedures and bureaucracy can cause users to lose sight of the objectives. -Allow flexibility to adapt to changing condition. -Flexibility without guidelines increases chaos. -Balanced guidelines ensure employees are treated fairly.

Assumptions underlying different views of job evaluation

-Some believe job evaluations could be judged according to technical standards. -Some say job content has hidden intrinsic value; others say the only fair measure is found in the external market. -Some say job evaluation practices are just and fair; others say they are just fair.

Linking Content with External Market

-Value of job content is based on what it can command in the external market -higher skill level and working closely with customers demands higher wages -skill level and nature of customers contacts becomes useful criteria for establishing differences among jobs

classification method of job evaluation

-involves slotting job descriptions into a series of classes or grades that cover the range of jobs and that serve as a standard against which the job descriptions are compared -book shelf example

alternation ranking

-orders job descriptions alternately at each extreme -evaluators agree on which jobs are the most and least important, (i.e. which is 10 and 1, then which is 9 and 2...and so forth)

Job Ranking

-orders the jobs descriptions from highest to lowest based on a global definition of relative value or contribution to the organization's success PROS: -simple, fast, and easy to understand and explain to employees -least expensive method, at least initially CONS: -can create problems that require difficult and potentially expensive solutions because it doesn't tell employees and managers what it is about their jobs that is important -ranking criteria becomes subjectives as evaluators must be knowledgable on every job

job evaluation

-process of systematically determining the relative worth of jobs to create a job structure for the organization -the evaluation is based on a combination of job content, skills required, value to the organization, organizational culture, and the external market

content

-refers to what work is performed and how work gets done -structure based on job content orders jobs by skills, duties, and responsibilities

relative value

-relative contribution of jobs to organizational goals, to their external market rates, or to some other agreed-upon rates -job evaluation determines the relative value

job content/job value

-structure based on job value orders jobs on the basis of the relative contribution of skills, duties, and responsibilities -may also include job's value in the external market, which is the exchange value

paired comparison method

-uses a matrix to compare all possible jobs -higher ranked job is centered in the cell of the matrix -the job most frequently judged "more valuable" becomes the highest-ranked job and so on

8 steps in designing of a point plan

1) conduct a job analysis --benchmark jobs drawn for analysis --basis of these jobs is for defining, scaling and weighting the compensable factors scaling: determining the intervals on a measurement instrument 2) determine compensable factors: characteristics in the work that the organization values, that help it pursue its strategy and objectives --derived from the equal pay act: S, E, R, W.C. -compensable factors should be: 1) based on the strategy and values of the organization 2) based on the work performed 3) acceptable to stakeholders affected by the resulting pay structure 3) scale the factors: reflecting the different degrees within each compensable factor. most commonly 4 to 8 degrees are defined. each degree may be anchored by typical skills, tasks and behaviors, or key job titles. if equidistant between each other called interval scaling criteria for scaling factors: 1) ensure that the # of degrees is necessary to distinguish among jobs 2) use understandable terminology 3) anchor degree definitions with benchmark-job titles and/or work behaviors 4) make it apparent how the degree applies to the job 4) Weight the factors according to importance -determined through an advisory committee 5) select criterion pay structure: a pay structure the committee wishes to duplicate with the point method. --can be current rates paid for benchmark jobs, market rates for benchmark jobs, rates for jobs held by predominately males (in attempt to eliminate gender bias), or union-negotiated rates -Statistical modeling techniques determine the weight for each factor. --^^ policy capturing an example is the regression analysis 6) Communicate the plan and train users -Prepare a manual and train users. --one measure of success in this training would be high (inter)rater reliability --An appeals process may be included. --Employee acceptance is crucial. 7) Apply to non benchmark jobs 8) Develop online support

major decisions in job evaluation

1) establish the purpose 2) single vs. multiple plans 3) choose among alternative methods 4) obtain involvement of relevant stakeholders 5) evaluate the usefulness of results

issues with point factor:

1) illusion of validity: overlapping factors does this. The belief that factors capture divergent aspects of a job. 2) small numbers: If even one job has a certain characteristic, it is used in the entire work domain.

characteristics of a benchmark job

1) its contents are well-known and relatively stable over time 2) the job is common across a number of different employers. it is not unique to a particular employer 3) reasonable proportion of the work force is employed in this job -mainly used for top-executive/leadership jobs, managerial/professional, operational/technical, and office/administrative jobs

1) establish the purpose

A structure is aligned if it: 1) supports organization strategy --what is it about work that adds value--that contributes to pursuing the organization's stratify and achieving its objectives 2) supports work flow --integrates each job's pay with its relative contributions to the organization --helps set pay for new, unique, or changing jobs 3) is fair to employees 4) motivates behavior toward organization objectives.

benchmark jobs

definition: prototypical job, or group of jobs, used a references point for making pay comparisons within or without the organization

breadth of work (horizontally)

depends on the nature of the business

diversity in work

depth (vertically) and breadth (horizontally)

point method

evaluation method that has 3 characteristics 1) compensable factors --based on strategic direction of the business --how the work contributes to these objectives and strategy 2) factor degrees numerically scaled 3) weights for each of these factors

depth of work (vertically)

ranges from strategic leadership jobs (CEO, general directors) to the filing and mail distribution tasks in entry-level office jobs

job-based structure

structure that relies on work content - tasks, behaviors, and responsibilities