Job Analysis

Personnel selection is a process where various methods are used to gather information to determine if individuals meet criteria to fill job vacancies. It is only when an employer achieves many years of service that the impact of personnel selection on an organization can be recognized. This methodical process should be composed with extreme care to avoid any violation of laws that pertain to personnel selection. Validity is evident if an apparent relationship is obvious between the procedure and the job position for which individuals are being selected. An important part of the personnel selection process and as a precursor to selections, job analysis should be performed in such a way as to meet the professional and legal guidelines of the U.S. Federal Agencies' Uniformed Guidelines on Employee Selections (Dessler, 2005), (HR-Guide, 2005), (Wikipedia, 2005).

With modern technology in today's business world, organizations and firms are interested in increasing productivity to maintain adequate levels of competitiveness (AIU Online, 2005). In the human resource administration arena, selecting qualified performers through job analysis techniques can provide with a very successful personnel selection process. But what exactly is job analysis (AIU Online, 2005).

Job analysis is a process used by Human Resource (HR) professionals to describe the nature of a position or a set of positions (Wikipedia, 2005). When properly conducted this process can identify and determine in detail the duties and requirements for a specific job and the type of individual who should be hired for it. Data derived from job analysis have an impact on virtually every aspect of HR management and presumptive judgments are concluding (Dessler, 2005), (HR Guide, 2005).

Job analysis should collect information on duties and tasks, environment, tools and equipment, relationships, and requirements for specific jobs. Furthermore, the following functions are dependent upon the results from a job analysis.

* HR planning.

* Recruiting and Retention.

* Performance appraisal and management.

* Compensation management.

* Safety and health programs.

* Employee relations.

The different methods to conducting a job analysis are dependent on organizational needs and what resources are available. Questionnaires, observations and interviews are very common methods. Although individual methods are used exclusively, several can be used in combination. In fact, it is recommended that utilizing more than one method is more sensible (How, 1998), (Dessler, 2005). For a HR Manager position, the questionnaire method has been commonly used and interviews are also used for supplementary information. Although the information gathered can be used to analyze other jobs, the questionnaire method appears more suitable because of the management functions required of a HR manager. Furthermore, questionnaires are quick and efficient in obtaining information from large numbers of employees, and are less costly than interviewing hundreds of workers (Dessler, 2005), (How, 1998), (HR Guide, 2005). A structured questionnaire is prepared as a form or checklist and is administered to incumbents to identify performed tasks, and is normally approved by the job holders' superiors. The following is a listing of basic information that should be provided.

* The job title of the job holder and his or her superior.

* The job titles and number of staff reporting to the job holder.

* A brief description of the overall role or purpose of the job.

* A list of the main tasks or duties that the job holder must perform.

This information can be supplemented by more detailed questions designed to generate more information about the level of responsibilities and demands of the job. The following are examples of this sort information to be covered.

* Amount of supervision received and degree of discretion allowed in making decisions.

* Problems to solve and amount of guidance available when doing so.

* The relative difficulty of tasks performed.

* Qualifications and skills required to perform the job.

Completed questionnaires assist analyst with interviewing incumbents. For the HR manager, a supplemental questionnaire or observation with an interview is conducted and the findings are confirmed with superiors. The main purpose of the interview is to obtain relevant facts regarding the job and covering all the areas required for an adequate job description and job specification.

To ensure accuracy of the interview questions should be of a logical sequence to assist interviewees in keep thoughts and comments about a job in order. The interviewer must also be cautious of inflated job descriptions or leading questions that could result in answers job holders assume are expected (How, 1998). The questionnaire and the interview should provide essential information necessary to produce a job description.

A job description is basically a written statement of what the incumbent does, how he or she does it, and what the working conditions are. It is an organized factual statement of the duties and responsibilities of the job. This information is further used to prepare a job specification that will lists what determine what human characteristics and experiences are required to satisfactorily perform the job (Dessler, 2005). Most job descriptions will include: job identification, job summary, responsibilities and duties, authority of incumbent, standards of performance, working conditions, and job specifications. The following is an example of a job description for a HR Manager position.

Human Resource Manager. Designs, plans, and implements human resources programs and policies including staffing, compensation, benefits, visa/green card processing, employee relations, training, and health and safety