Job Study and Its Impact Term Paper

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Business Management

Job Study & Its Impact

Due to the fact that Dirt Finder has undergone such a tremendous loss and is now in a position to hire a mass amount of people, there is no better time than the present to undertake a job study to find out what they really need. Because the company was founded on the experience of their employees there have never been any formal job descriptions in place. Employees have always just done what is needed. Doing a job study will help the company to better identify what positions they need to hire for and what kind of person they are looking for that will be the best fit with those who already work there.

Job Analysis

Tasks are the building blocks of jobs and jobs are the building blocks of a company. In order to comprehend the requirements to attract, develop and retain employees, companies need to understand what the job entails. A job analysis is a systematic process used to collect data about work activities; equipment; context; and the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA's) that are required of the job. It looks at a job's mental and physical requirements; the KSA's necessary for job success; the environment where work is carried out; and the job's primary and secondary functions. It is a legal safeguard for a lot of HR practices and is usually done by way of interviews and questionnaires (Dwyer, n.d.).

The main point of this process is to categorize and determine in detail the particular job duties and necessities and the relative significance of these duties for a given job. Job Analysis is a process where judgments are made about data collected on a job. A significant concept of job analysis is that the analysis is conducted of the job, not the person doing the job. While job analysis data may be collected from current employees by way of interviews or questionnaires, the product of the analysis is a description or specifications of the job, not a description of the person doing the job (HR Guide to the Internet: Job Analysis: Overview, 2010).

Good job design accommodates employees' mental and physical characteristics by paying attention to: muscular energy such as work/rest schedules or speed of work, and mental energy such as boring vs. tremendously difficult tasks. Good job design also:

allows for employee input. Employees should have the choice to vary activities according to personal needs, work habits, and the conditions in the workplace.

gives employees a sense of achievement.

includes training so workers know what tasks to do and how to do them correctly.

provides good work/rest timetables.

allows for a modification period for physically demanding jobs.

provides feedback to the workers about their performance.

minimizes energy outlay and force requirements.

balances static and dynamic work.

Job design is a constant process and the goal is to make adjustments as conditions or tasks change within the workplace (Dwyer, n.d.).

In the case of Dirt Finder the job analysis would be used in selection procedures to identify or develop:

job duties that should be incorporated in advertisements of vacant positions suitable salary level for the position to help establish what salary should be offered to a candidate minimum requirements like education and experience for screening applicants interview questions selection assessments

applicant appraisal forms orientation materials for new hires (HR Guide to the Internet: Job Analysis: Overview, 2010).

Job Design

Job design is the procedure of shaping the specific tasks to be performed, the methods used in performing these tasks, and how the job relates to other work in the organization (Dwyer, n.d.). The central purpose of job design is to augment both worker motivation and productivity. Companies have four methods that they can use when it comes to job design. The first, job enlargement, can be utilized to enhance motivation by giving employee's more and varied tasks. Tasks that decrease the amount of specialization required by the worker, as well as, extending the length of time one has to complete them. The second, job rotation, permits a worker to work in dissimilar departments or jobs in a company in order to gain better insight into operations.

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This, in itself, does not alter or redesign an employee's job, but permits the occasion to augment ones skills and knowledge about other jobs. Job enrichment, the third method, permits the worker to take on some responsibilities usually reserved for management. The risk here is that the worker would be given too much responsibility and autonomy in the planning and control facets of the job. If done right, though, the newfound control could stimulate the worker to work more effectively. Lastly, work simplification is the analysis of a job's most fundamental elements to restructure or redesign them to make the job more efficient (Dwyer, n.d.).

Job Descriptions

A job description is characteristically made up of six major elements: 1) necessary job functions; 2) knowledge and critical skills; 3) physical demands; 4) environmental factors; 5) the roles of the ADA and other federal laws such as the Occupational Safety Health Act (OSH Act); and 6) any explanatory information that may be essential to clarify job duties or responsibilities (Dwyer, n.d.).

Employers frequently question whether there are rules and regulations that govern policies in regards to developing job descriptions. The American with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law in 1990. The act was put into place to aid citizens with disabilities to fully participate in society. Job analysis plays a very important role in compliance with this law. The process helps identify the essential functions of a job that they incumbent must be able to perform with or without accommodation (Dwyer, n.d.).

Employers should develop job descriptions that clearly define the vital functions of every job before advertising the job or interviewing applicants. A job description should have clear, concise, non-technical language, and avoid needless words. The job description should center on words that have a single meaning with comprehensive explanations for words that may be interpreted differently. Each sentence should begin with an active verb and use the present tense. Examples of job functions should be included. The desired outcome of the work should be described, rather than one method for accomplishing that outcome. Writers should avoid using gender-specific language, jargon, technical language, proprietary names and ambiguity (Dwyer, n.d.).

Significance

Dirt Finder is faced with hiring a lot of people in order to get their company back to full production. There is no better way to figure out if ones hiring practices are effectual than by doing a job study. This process involves doing a job analysis in order to figure out what exactly a job entails and what talents and skills are needed in order to do the job well. Once this data is gathered the next step is to evaluate the design of a job. Dirt Finder will need to look at the exact tasks that are to be performed, the methods used in performing these tasks, and how the job relates to other work in the company. The purpose is to make sure that the job is designed as efficiently as it can be. If there are issues that are identified this they would need to be addressed before the process continued.

Once the job analysis and job design have been completed then a job description can be written. Job descriptions are not mandatory but they are very helpful. In the case of Dirt Finder they have never used job descriptions in the past and now find themselves in a bad situation in which they need to hire a good number of people and really have no way of figuring out what they really need.

Employers can use job descriptions during the hiring process in order to make sure that they….....

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