Job Analysis Questionnaires Are Structured Tools Psychology Essay

Kevin Leon Menezes , wrote an article in 2009, in which he said that : Pakistan is actively participating to rename our Personnel Departments as “Human Resources”, the remaining developed markets are literally asking that : Is HR a career in crisis ?” The best answer lies here that HR has an important role and is evolving and we have to move forward and leave behind the traditional administrative functions and to contribute dynamically n positively accordingly.

A research conducted by Elina M. Antila Anne Kakkonen in 2008 depicts that the top level management believes that the participation of the HR managers is of due importance and they agree upon that there should be a common policy in this regard. Certain factors which explain the roles in the case organizations mainly focused on certain factor groups and they were found similar across the respective cases.

Now, the problem lies here that our situation is completely different than that of the developed markets and this is primarily because of the fact the HR here is mainly practices by the multinational companies. Paucity of the Pakistani firms has developed their HR factions to a great extent but on the contrary these factions are the concepts being borrowed from the West or Japan. However, criticizing the HR seems to be the main issue around the globe respectively.

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Every organization has jobs and it has to go through the process of staffing. Job analysis is the main process through which one determines the duties of the required positions and the credentials of the people in order to hire them. Job analysis leads to write job descriptions and job specifications. A job description entails the information of what the job involves. In addition to this. Job description brings harmony to the work functions, support to maintain a well constructed salary structure and help the employees to understand their jobs in an easy manner.

The main objective of the job analysis is that it focuses on the knowing of the different components of a worker’s job. The gist of job analysis is mainly effectiveness and efficiency that is to do the right thing in a right manner respectively. The prime motive we get from the job analysis is that it increases company’s profitability, productivity and sustainability.

A job description is a calligraphy which provides certain information on all the required duties and responsibilities assigned to the individuals performing a job.

Clear, accurate and thorough job descriptions are important to the performance of the organization and for the employees as well.

Job description is important for every position in the organization. It is a contract with the employee and it must be provided to him. It should be simple and precise and on the contrary if it’s not precise, it will affect the overall performance of the employee.

Mostly, job analysis provides the information in the job description. The job analysis should be accurate and complete. Job description describes the job irrespective of the persons who hold that job. A well constructed job description should be kept specific, manageable and it should also have a direct relationship with the performance review in order to measure the performance management using one’s job description.

2.1Job Analysis Tools

THE CONTEXT OF WORK (REALISTIC JOB PREVIEW-RJP)

Nowadays it is common for human resource professionals to recognize that job interviews are now a two-way process. In order to make this statement simpler, the hiring organization assesses the candidates while the candidates assess the hiring organization and the job respectively. This is mainly the understanding and thus it develops the Realistic Job Preview (RJP). It is now an essential part of the process of recruitment process in which the different organizations provide both favorable and unfavorable work information to their candidates.

2.2 What is a Realistic Job Preview?

Realistic Job Previews (RJPs) are devices which are used in the initial stages of personnel selection in order to provide the potential candidates with information on the pros and cons of the job. This does not include the duties of the job but also what the job is exactly like and what are the working conditions to be considered. This type of preview certainly happens in the initial stages of the selection process. It provides a realistic picture of the ambience to the candidate and also covers:

Norms of the organization

The environment in which the candidates will work

The ordinary tasks that the potential candidates may face

RJP provides the candidate detailed information regarding the job so that they can decide for their suitability for the job. RJP shall portray a clear picture to the candidates informing them about the positive and negative aspects of the job in order to be successful. It is an essential part of the process of selection in which it gives the clear idea of the job to the candidates after being hired. Some experts believe that if the information provided to the candidates during an RJP is accurate, then it will be easy for the candidates to decide whether the job is right for them or not. By using the process of RJP, it reduces the expectations of the candidates who don’t think that certain conditions will meet their requirements. This helps the organization a great deal as when the individuals accept the job, their expectations are not too high from the organization and thus it results in fewer apprehensions.

Fleishman Job Analysis Survey

F.jas is a hand book for ability requirement. It is a taxonomy which has detailed description of different kind of abilities required for a job. F. Jas contains specific job analysis scale.

Functional Job Analysis Scale

FJA was first used in 1940. Now days it uses seven scales to find out the performance of the workers

Things

Data

People

Worker Instructions

Reasoning

Math

Language

F.JA was used for a long time in USA as a part of the DOT. This has now been replaced by O.NET

MOSAIC

The office of the personal Management (OPM) is using multipurpose occupational system Analysis. Inventory close ended for information on federal court job.

The OPM has started different projects; each project is working on different occupation.

Two types of description are used, which are Tasks and Competency.

MOSAIC is in fact working in all Govt Jobs.

OCCUPTIONAL ANALYSIS INVENTORY (OAI)

It was designed to yield mal job information

It has five categories. 1 information received 2 Mental Activities 3 work behaviors 4Work Goals 5 Work Context.

OAI has been used to gather information on 1400 jobs. However the reliability has been lower as compared to PAQ.

Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ)

It is a study of job characteristic against human characteristics.

The item of study has five catagories.

Information input

Mental process

Work output

Relationship with other persons

Job context

The researchers have collected a large data which has given reasonably good results.

Work Profiling System (WPS)

The system was developed to help employees to help accomplish human resources functions.

The WPS has computerized system which records symbols of qualities related to personality like hearing skills, sight, taste , smell, touch, Body coordination, verbal skills, Number skills, complex Management skills, personality and Team Role.

DICTIONARY OF OCCUPATIONAL TITLES

In 1930, the occupational information was local so there was no co-ordination in different affairs. In 1934 a national database was developed and so in 1939 the first dictionary of occupation data DOT was published. However in 1990 it has become less useful due to many reasons. When in 1991 the published fifth edition, it was discovered that the new technological change are making the job more complicated, so the DOT approach was developed by US Employment service, despite that DOT is extensively used in social Security and immigration adjudication within the united state.

Job analysis questionnaires are structured tools used to gather information about work as it is performed in each organization.

Questionnaires may be used by the job analyst in an interview or completed by the job incumbent. Preparation of a job analysis questionnaire takes both time and skill of individuals knowledgeable of the jobs being analyzed and the development of questionnaires. Job analysis questionnaires may be hardcopy or electronic. They may be designed specifically for an organization, or more general to collect information from a large number of people working in many different organizations.

Some conventional job analysis programs ask job incumbents to complete a preliminary questionnaire describing their jobs. The purpose is to provide the job analyst with a first draft of the necessary job information. It is also meant to be a first step in obtaining incumbent and supervisor approval of the final job description. Of course, not all employees enjoy filling out questionnaires. Also, employees vary in verbal and reading skills and may overstate or understate their work activities. Usually, the job analyst follows up the questionnaire by interviewing the employee and observing his or her job.

Position Analysis Questionnaire

The best-known quantitative approach to job analysis is the Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ). Developed by Dr. Ernest J. McCormick* and associates at Purdue University, the position analysis questionnaire is a structured job analysis questionnaire containing 194 items called job elements. These elements are worker-oriented. Using the terminology of the Department of Labor’s 1972 job analysis formula, they would be classified as worker behaviors. The items are organized into six divisions:

(1) information input

(2) mental processes

(3) work output (physical activities and tools)

(4) relationships with others

(5) job context (the physical and social environment)

(6) other job characteristics (such as pace and structure)

Each job element is rated on six scales: extent of use, importance, time, possibility of occurrence, applicability, and a special code for certain jobs.

(*During and after WWII, Dr. McCormick worked for the Federal Government contributing to the Dictionary of Occupational Titles.)

These descriptors flow from McCormick’s model of the operational functions basic to all jobs: sensing (information receiving), information storage, information processing, and decision and action (physical control or communication). These functions vary in emphasis from job to job.

Job analysts or supervisors usually complete the position analysis questionnaire. In some instances managerial, professional, or other white-collar job incumbents fill out the instrument. The reason for such limitations is that the reading requirements of this questionnaire is at the college-graduate level.

Analyzing Job Analysis Questionnaire Data

Data from the position analysis questionnaire can be analyzed in several ways. For a specific job, individual ratings can be averaged to yield the relative importance of and emphasis on various job elements, and the results can be summarized as a job description. The elements can also be clustered into a profile rating on a large number of job dimensions to permit comparison of this job with others. Estimates of employee aptitude requirements can be made. Job evaluation points can be estimated from the items related to pay. Finally, an occupational prestige score can be computed. Analysts can have position analysis questionnaire data computer-analyzed by sending the completed questionnaire to PAQ Services.

Position Analysis Questionnaire Uses

The position analysis questionnaire has been used for job evaluation, selection, performance appraisal, compensation planning, assessment-center development, determination of job similarity, development of job families, vocational counseling, determination of training needs, and job desig

The Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) developed by McCormick, Jeanneret, and Mecham (1972) is a structured job analysis instrument to measure job characteristics and relate them to human characteristics. It consists of 195 job elements that represent in a comprehensive manner the domain of human behavior involved in work activities. The items that fall into five categories:

Information input (where and how the worker gets information),

Mental processes (reasoning and other processes that workers use),

Work output (physical activities and tools used on the job),

Relationships with other persons, and

Job context (the physical and social contexts of work).

Over the course of many studies, PAQ researchers have aggregated PAQ data for hundreds of jobs; that database is maintained by Purdue University. A wealth of research exists on the PAQ; it has yielded reasonably good reliability estimates and has been linked to several assessment tools