Job Analysis and Evaluation

Industrial/Organizational Psychology — Chapter 2

1. Chapter Overview — The Two Fundamental Questions

Job Analysis asks: “What does a particular job actually require?” It means systematically studying the work itself.

Job Evaluation asks: “How much is that job worth to the organization?” It determines the job's monetary value.

Easy flow: Analyze the Work -> Describe the Job -> Evaluate its Worth.

2. Do not Confuse these Four Terms

Job Analysis = What does the job involve? It is the systematic study of the job.

Job Description = What did the analysis reveal? It is the written output of job analysis.

Job Evaluation = What is the job worth? It determines the monetary value of the job.

Performance Appraisal = How well is the employee doing? It evaluates the individual employee.

Memory: Analyze -> Describe -> Evaluate. Performance appraisal is about the Person's Performance, not the value of the job itself.

3. What Is Job Analysis?

Job analysis is the systematic process of identifying How a job is performed, the Conditions under which it is performed, and the Personal Requirements necessary to perform it successfully.

It asks:

• What does the employee actually do?

• What decisions and tools are involved?

• What knowledge and skills are required?

• Under what conditions is the job performed?

Easy meaning: Before hiring, training, evaluating, or paying someone, the organization first needs to understand what the job really involves.

4. Why Job Analysis Is Foundational — Its Uses

Selection: Identifies required competencies and prevents irrelevant hiring criteria.

Training: Builds training around actual job tasks instead of generic content.

Performance Appraisal: Provides specific, job-related evaluation criteria.

Job Design: Reveals inefficient ways of working; Frank Gilbreth's bricklaying study is an example.

Personpower Planning: Examines promotion paths and helps guard against the Peter Principle.

Job Classification: Groups jobs with similar duties for compensation decisions.

Easy idea: Job analysis provides the evidence needed for many H.R decisions.

5. Job Analysis and Employee Selection

Example: Hiring a hospital psychometrician.

Job analysis shows that the job requires:

• Administering standardized psychological tests

• Scoring test protocols accurately

• Maintaining confidential records

• Preparing assessment documentation

Therefore, selection should assess:

• Knowledge of psychological testing

• Attention to detail and accuracy

• Ethical and confidentiality requirements

Important: Selection criteria must come from actual job requirements — not stereotypes.

Easy meaning: Hire people based on what the job actually requires, not assumptions about who “looks like” a good candidate.

6. Job Analysis and Training

Example: Call-center team leaders.

Key responsibilities:

• Coach agents on performance

• Interpret performance metrics

• Manage escalated calls

Job analysis revealed:

• Newly promoted leaders lacked feedback skills.

• Difficult conversations were handled poorly.

• Generic leadership training was not enough.

Training need identified: Coaching and difficult-conversation skills.

Easy meaning: Job analysis tells the organization exactly what employees need to learn.

7. Personpower Planning and the Peter Principle

Personpower planning examines employee mobility and promotion paths.

Peter Principle: Organizations may keep promoting good employees until they reach a position where they are no longer competent.

Example:

Outstanding salesperson -> has persuasion, product knowledge, and customer rapport.

Sales manager -> needs coaching, delegation, conflict management, and decision-making.

Therefore: Excellent salesperson does not equal automatically excellent sales manager.

Easy meaning: Being good at one job does not automatically mean being good at the next job.

8. Performance Appraisal and Job-Relatedness

Poor/vague criteria:

• Good attitude

• Dependability

• Team player

Better, job-related criteria for a university instructor:

• Provides student feedback

• Begins and ends class on schedule

• Maintains academic records

Good performance criteria should be Observable, Documentable, and Job-RELATED. These characteristics also make criteria more legally defensible.

Easy meaning: Instead of vague opinions, use behaviors that can actually be seen and documented.

9. Job Classification and Job Design

Job Classification: Groups jobs by similar duties for compensation, transfer, and promotion.

Examples:

• Instructor -> Assistant Professor -> Associate Professor

• Guidance Counselor -> Student Affairs Officer

• Administrative Assistant -> Registrar Staff

Job Design: Job analysis may reveal better, safer, or more efficient ways to work.

Frank Gilbreth's bricklaying study reduced unnecessary motions dramatically.

Modern example: A hospital employee transferring data across four systems may experience errors and fatigue; redesigning the process can reduce both.

Easy distinction: Classification = grouping jobs. Design = improving how the work is done.

10. The 8 Sections of a Job Description

A complete job description contains:

1. Job Title

2. Brief Summary

3. Work Activities

4. Tools & Equipment

5. Job Context

6. Work Performance Standards

7. Compensation Information

8. Job Competencies (K.S.A.O's)

A complete job description supports selection, training, performance appraisal, and compensation.

Easy meaning: The job description is the written picture of what the job is and what is expected.

11. K.S.A.O's — The Core Output of Job Analysis

K = Knowledge: The body of information needed. Example: counseling theories or ethical principles.

S = Skill: Proficiency in a learned task. Example: conducting an intake interview.

A = Ability: A basic capacity to perform or learn something. Example: oral comprehension or reasoning.

O = Other: Other characteristics such as personality, licenses, or experience. Example: professional license or conscientiousness.

Older term: Job Specifications.

Modern term: Competencies.

Easy memory: K = Know, S = Skill, A = Ability, O = Other.

12. K.S.A.O's — What Must Be Present at Hiring?

Must-have at hiring (used in Selection):

• Basic communication skill

• Basic computer literacy

• Relevant educational background

Can be learned after hiring (used in Training):

• Company H.R information system

• Internal recruitment procedures

• Company-specific policies

Important: Demanding unnecessary pre-hire experience can unfairly restrict the applicant pool.

Easy meaning: Do not require applicants to already know things that the organization can reasonably teach after hiring.

13. Who Conducts Job Analysis?

Job analysis may be conducted by:

• H.R personnel

• Supervisors

• External consultants

All need proper training. Knowing how to do a job is not the same as knowing how to analyze it scientifically.

Subject Matter Experts (S.M.E's) can include:

• Job incumbents — people currently doing the job

• Supervisors and managers

• Customers or clients

Example: For a university instructor role, S.M.E's may include instructors, department chairs, and students.

Different S.M.E's notice different parts of the job, so multiple sources should be used.

14. Job Crafting

Job crafting means informal changes employees make to their own jobs without formal approval.

The file notes that 75% of sales representatives engaged in job crafting over one year.

Examples:

• Professor A becomes the department's “technology person” and develops digital resources.

• Professor B becomes heavily involved in student organizations and advising.

Same job title, but different actual jobs.

Easy meaning: Employees sometimes naturally reshape parts of their work to fit their interests, strengths, or needs.

15. The 4-Step Job Analysis Process

Step 1 — Identify Tasks Performed

Use interviews, observation, and existing documents.

Step 2 — Write Task Statements

Use the Action + Object format.

Step 3 — Rate the Tasks

Consider frequency and importance. Remember: Rare does not equal Unimportant.

Example: A counselor may rarely handle a crisis, but crisis handling can still be a critical task.

Step 4 — Determine K.S.A.O's

Link each essential task to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics required.

Easy memory: Identify -> Write -> Rate -> Match K.S.A.O's.

16. Writing Effective Task Statements

Minimum format = Action + Object.

Poor: "Conducts assessments." This is too vague and is not very useful for selection or training.

Better: “Administers standardized psychological assessments to referred students using approved testing procedures.”

This identifies:

• Action = Administrers

• Object = Psychological assessments

• To whom = Referred students

• How = Approved procedures

Easy meaning: A good task statement clearly says What is done, to What/WHOM, and when useful, How it is done.

17. Data Collection Methods

Interview: The most common method. S.M.E's describe tasks, conditions, and requirements. Limitation: employees may omit habitual behaviors they no longer notice.

Observation: The analyst watches employees in real time. It can reveal details employees forget. Limitation: people may behave differently when they know they are being observed.

Job Participation: The analyst actually performs the job, giving rich firsthand understanding. It is appropriate only for low-risk jobs — not surgery and not piloting aircraft.

Best Practice: Combine multiple methods because no single method captures the complete picture.

18. Structured Job-Analysis Methods

- P.A.Q — Position Analysis Questionnaire: best for compensation and comparing jobs; 194 items and 6 dimensions.

- F.J.A — Functional Job Analysis: useful for comparing job functions; looks at Data, People, and Things.

- O net: national database for career exploration and occupational analysis.

- C.I.T — Critical Incident Technique: useful for performance appraisal and training; uses examples of effective and ineffective behavior.

- J.A.I — Job Adaptability Inventory: useful for rapidly changing roles; includes 8 adaptability dimensions.

- P.P.R.F: useful for personality-relevant jobs; linked to the Big Five.

Important: The best method depends on the question you are trying to answer.

19. Job Evaluation — Determining Monetary Worth

Job evaluation is the process of determining the monetary value or worth of a job to the organization.

Internal Pay Equity: Are jobs within our organization paid fairly relative to one another?

It can consider Compensable Factors such as:

• Responsibility

• Mental demands

• Physical demands

• Education

• Experience

• Working conditions

External Pay Equity: Are we paying competitively compared with other organizations?

This uses Salary Surveys of comparable employers.

Easy distinction: Internal = compare jobs inside the organization. External = compare pay with other organizations.

20. The Point Method of Job Evaluation

- Step 1 — Determine compensable factors, such as education, responsibility, mental demands, experience, and working conditions.

- Step 2 — Determine levels for each factor. Example: Education may range from high school -> Bachelor's -> Master's -> Doctorate.

- Step 3 — Assign points. More important factors receive more points; the example uses a maximum of 1,000 points.

- Step 4 — Compare total points with current salaries using a wage trend line.

Easy meaning: Jobs receive points based on important characteristics, and the total helps guide pay decisions.

21. External Pay Equity and Market Position

Lead the Market: Pay above competitors. This may attract talent and reduce turnover, but creates higher labor costs.

Meet the Market: Pay the going rate. This balances cost and competitiveness.

Lag the Market: Pay below competitors. The organization may need other advantages such as mission, flexibility, or development opportunities.

Example from the file: Company A pays ☑20,000/month while Company B pays ☑30,000/month; Company A risks losing qualified applicants.

Important: Salary is only one part of compensation. Benefits, leave, and development opportunities also matter.

22. Pay Equity, Comparable Worth, and Ethics

Equal Pay for Equal Work: Employees doing essentially the same job should receive equivalent pay, while accounting for factors such as experience, performance, and seniority.

Comparable Worth: Jobs with similar organizational worth should be compensated equitably even when the jobs are different.

Executive Compensation: There are arguments that executives carry extensive responsibility and generate financial value. On the other hand, extremely high executive pay can raise organizational justice concerns, especially during layoffs or wage stagnation.

Key idea: Compensation is not only economic; it is also an ethical and organizational justice issue.

23. Integrative Example — Student Mental Health Program Coordinator

1. Job Analysis: S.M.E's identify tasks such as coordinating wellness programs, managing referrals, and maintaining documentation.

2. K.S.A.O's: Knowledge of mental health ethics; communication skill; professional qualification.

3. Job Description: Title, summary, activities, context, standards, compensation, and competencies.

4. Selection: Applicants are assessed using job-related criteria only.

5. Training: The new hire learns university protocols and referral procedures.

6. Performance Appraisal: Evaluate program completion, accurate documentation, and timely referrals.

7. Job Evaluation: The university considers education, responsibility, and decision-making complexity.

8. External Equity: Compensation is benchmarked against comparable institutions.

Main lesson: Job Analysis Comes First — H.R decisions depend on understanding the work.

24. Chapter 2 — Final Takeaways

Job Analysis First: Before selecting, training, evaluating, promoting, or compensating anyone, the organization should first systematically understand the work itself.

Chapter flow:

Job Analysis -> Job Description -> Job Evaluation -> Compensation Decision

Without job analysis, organizations may have:

• Irrelevant hiring criteria

• Generic training

• Unfair appraisals

• Poor promotions, including problems related to the Peter Principle

• Inequitable pay

Final concept: A well-conducted job analysis creates an evidence-based link between the work and the people selected to do it.

25. Super Quick Memory Review

Job Analysis = What does the job require?

Math summary: This expression defines key components and questions within the job analysis process. It associates job description with analysis revelations, job evaluation with financial worth, performance appraisal with employee success, KSAOs with knowledge, skills, abilities, and other traits, and task statements with the combination of an action and an object.

Job Analysis Process = Identify tasks -> Write task statements -> Rate tasks -> Determine K.S.A.O's.

Math summary: This expression defines the interview process within a job analysis. It specifies that conducting interviews involves asking subject matter experts.

Observation = Watch the work.

Math summary: This expression defines job participation. It is calculated as doing the work, but only under the condition that risk is low.

Internal Pay Equity = Fairness among jobs inside the organization.

External Pay Equity = Competitiveness with other organizations.

Point Method = Factors -> Levels -> Points -> Compare with salaries.

Peter Principle = Promotion can continue until an employee reaches a position where they are no longer competent.