HR: Job Design

job description

which is a written document that describes the overall purpose of the job, and tasks, duties, and responsibilities, or what human resources personnel refer to as TDRs, and the qualifications needed to do it. A statement of the tasks, duties, and responsi- bilities of a job to be performed.

Job Design

which is an outgrowth of job analysis, focuses on restructuring jobs in order to capture the talents of employees, improve their work satisfaction, and an organization's performance. Top-down job design techniques such as industrial engineering and ergonomics focus more on tasks; bottom-down techniques such as enrichment and empowerment focus more on workers and how to motivate them to do their jobs better. In the job characteristics model, five job factors affect employees' satisfaction: job skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback. All factors should be built into jobs, since each factor affects the psychological state of employees.

Job Analysis Interview Questions

1. Job's purpose 2. Job's duties 3. Job criteria and results 4. Background and knowledge 5. Training 6. Abilities needed 7. working conditions 8. Authority 9. Responsibilities 10. Evaluation and Compensation

Position vs Job

??? A job can be defined as an activity people do for which they get paid, particularly as part of the trade or occupation they occupy.

job characteristics model

A job design theory that purports that three psychological states (experiencing meaningfulness of the work performed, responsibility for work outcomes, and knowing the results of the work performed) result in a jobholder's improved work performance, internal motivation, and lower absenteeism and turnover.

job enrichment

Enhancing a job by add- ing more meaningful tasks and duties to make the work more rewarding or satisfying. Any effort that makes work more rewarding or satisfying by adding more variety and meaning to a job is called job enrichment.

job characteristics model

is a more recent theory proposed by Richard Hackman and Greg Oldham. According to this model, the following three psychological states of a jobholder result in improved work performance, internal motivation, and lower absenteeism and turnover: 1. Experiencing the meaningfulness of the work performed 2. Experiencing responsibility for work outcomes 3. Knowing the results of the work performed.

Job Analysis

A job analysis is the systematic process of collecting information about all of the parameters of a job: -basic responsibilities, -the behaviors, skills, -the physical and mental requirements of the people who do it. A job analysis should also outline the tools needed to do the job, the environment and times at which it needs to be done, with whom it needs to be done, and the outcome or performance level it should produce. ' Normally, a manager or an HR manager such as a job analyst is responsible for collecting the information for a job analysis. These people rely on the cooperation of employees and their supervisors to gather the information needed for the analysis of jobs.

Employee Empowerment

A less-structured method is to allow employees to initiate their own job changes through the concept of empowerment. Employee empowerment encourages workers to become innovators and managers of their own work, and it involves them in their jobs in ways that give them more control and autonomous decision-making capabilities. Employee empowerment succeeds when the culture of an organization is open and receptive to change. Workers with innovative ideas need to be encouraged to explore new paths and take reasonable risks at reasonable costs. An empowered environment is created when curiosity is as highly regarded as technical expertise. Employees also must have access to a wide range of information within their firms and be held accountable for the results of their empowerment. Employee empowerment won't work without the support of an organization's senior managers though. They set the tone of the organization. If they are honest, confident, trusting, receptive to new ideas, and respect employees as partners in the organization's success, it's more likely the firm will be able to empower its employees. Closely related to employee empowerment is workplace democracy. Workplace democracy is the utilization of democratic principles such as voting and debate to give employees more say on how an organization is run and the direction it will take. But like empowerment initiatives, with workplace democracy, managers have to be willing to give up some decision-making authority.

Job specifications

or qualifications, which are a part of the written job description and outline the specific knowledge, skills, abilities, and other attributes (often referred to as KSAOs) required of the person performing the job. A statement of the specific knowledge, skills, and abilities of a person who is to perform a job needs. Typically, a job specifications section covers two areas of qualifications: (1) the skills required to perform the job and (2) the job's physical demands. Skills relevant to a job include the education, experience, and specialized training it requires, and the personal traits or abilities and manual dexterities it requires. To comply with EEOC requirements, the physical demands of a job should refer to how much walking, standing, reaching, lifting, bending, or talking must be done on the job. Recall from Chapter 3 that an organization is legally required to make a reasonable accommodation for disabled individuals who would be able to do the functions if they were accommodated. The condition of the physical work environment and the hazards an employee might encounter in the position are also among the physical demands of a job. The job specifications section should also include interpersonal skills if a competency-based job analysis approach is used. For example, behavioral competencies might include the ability to make decisions based on incomplete information, handle multiple tasks, and resolve conflicts.

In the job characteristics model: Hackman and Oldham believe that five core job dimensions produce the three psychological states. The 5 core job dimensions which produce the 3 psychological states are:

1 Skill variety. The degree to which a job includes a variety of activities, which demand the use of a number of different skills and talents by the jobholder. 2 Task identity. The degree to which a job holder is able to complete a whole and identifiable piece of work—that is, do a job from beginning to end with a visible outcome. 3 Task significance. The degree to which the job has a substantial impact on the lives or work of other people in one's organization or elsewhere. 4 Autonomy. The degree to which the job provides a person the freedom and discre- tion to schedule his or her work and determine how to do it. 5 Feedback. The degree to which a person is given direct and clear information about the effectiveness of his or her job performance.

Work Groups and types of teams

An employee team can be defined as a group of employees working together toward a common purpose, in which members have complementary skills, members' work is mutually dependent, and the group has discretion over tasks performed. Part of the reason why employee teams exist is that employees, not managers, are closest to the work that's actually being done in an organization. Thus, they are often in a better position to see how the work can be done better. Teamwork also can result in synergy. Synergy occurs when the interaction and outcome of team members is greater than the sum of their individual efforts. Synergy in teams does not automatically hap- pen, though. Teams can operate in a variety of structures, each with different strategic purposes or functional activities. They include cross-functional teams, project teams, self-directed teams, task-force teams, process-improvement teams, and virtual teams. Self-directed teams are often championed as being the highest form of teams. Also called autonomous work groups, self-managed teams, or high-performance teams, they consist of groups of employees who are accountable for an entire work pro- cess or segment that delivers a product or service to an internal or external customer. For example, in a manufacturing environment, a team might be responsible for a whole product such as a computer screen or a clearly defined segment of the production process, such as the building of an engine for a passenger car. Similarly, in a service environment, a team is usually responsible for an entire group of products and services. Or a team might be responsible for serving clients in one particular geographical area.

types of teams

Cross-Functional Team. A group staffed with a mix of employees from an organization's marketing, production, engi- neering departments, and so forth and is formed to accomplish a specific objective. Project Team. A group formed specifically to design a new product or service. The members are assigned by their managers on the basis of their ability to contribute to the team's success. The group normally disbands after the task is completed. Self-Directed Team. Groups of highly trained individuals performing a set of interdependent job tasks within a natural work unit. The team members rely on consensus-type decision-making to perform their work duties, solve problems, or deal with internal or external customers. Task Force Team. A group formed by management to immediately resolve a major problem. Process-Improvement Team. A group made up of experienced people from different departments or functions. The group is charged with improving quality, decreasing waste, or enhancing the productivity of processes that affect all departments or functions. The members are normally appointed by management. Virtual Team. A team that utilizes telecommunications technology to link team members who are geographically dispersed—often worldwide across cultures and across time zones.

Sources of Job Analysis Information

Interviews. A job analyst or supervisor interviews individual employees and their managers about the parameters of the job. Highlights in HRM 1 shows the types of questions asked as part of job analysis interviews. When a job is particularly complex, firms sometimes interview a panel of subject matter experts (SMEs). SMEs are job experts who actually do the job or train and supervise others to do the job. Questionnaires. The job analyst or supervisor circulates standard questionnaires for jobholders to fill out individually. The forms contain questions similar to those asked in an interview. Observation. The job analyst or supervisor learns about the job by observing and recording the activities associated with it on a standardized form. Diaries. Jobholders are asked to keep diaries of their work activities for an entire work cycle. The diaries are normally filled out at specific times of the work shift (such as every half hour or hour) and maintained for a 2- to 4-week period.

Goal of job enrichment

Its goal is to enrich a job so that it is intrinsically motivating to employees versus extrinsically motivating. Extrinsic motivators are external rewards such as money and bonuses. But most employers want their employees to do more than just work for a paycheck. When people are intrinsically motivated they take pride in their work and want to do a good job because it's interesting and they feel they are making a difference by doing it.

KSAOs

Knowledge refers to what you know. Your education is an example of knowledge. For example, some cities require firefighters to be certified paramedics. Other cities don't. Skills are things you have learned to do. If you're a firefighter, that experience could include knowing how to make minor repairs to fire equipment. Abilities are your innate aptitudes. You don't have to be taught them or learn them on a job. Other attributes refer to your personality, values, and so on. Helpfulness and the predisposition toward teamwork are examples of "other attributes" firefighters need.

job description Essential Job Functions

Statements covering job duties are typically arranged in order of their importance. Sometimes the statements indicate the percentage of time devoted to each duty. The Civil Rights Act of 1991, the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), and landmark court rulings require employers to show that the job criteria they use to select employees for a particular position are valid and relate specifically to the duties for that job. Moreover, the duties must be essential functions for success on the job. Developed by the U.S. Training and Employment Service, the functional job analysis (FJA) approach utilizes an inventory of the various types of work activities that can constitute any job. Basic activities called worker functions are used to describe what workers do with regard to "information, people, and things" as part of this system. For example, when it comes to people, the basic functions of a job might include coordinating and supervising them. Each job function is assigned a percentage in terms of its importance to the job. For example, supervising might be 75 percent of the job.