Job Analysis and its role in Human Resource Management
Job analysis, defined as the process of determining the skills, duties, and knowledge for performing work in an organization is an essential component in human resource management. In the case of veteran health administration (VHA), the set of activities performed by the employees to achieve organizational goals defines the job for its workers.
According to Richard G. Best, Hysong, Pugh, and Ghosh (2006), job analysis techniques incorporate detailed examination of activities of organizational objectives, goals, and purposes. In addition, it provides a detailed analysis of the functions of the workers in relation to their experiences, educational level, the kind of training undergone relevant to the job description and specification, and the capacity or abilities of the worker. Job analysis entails collection of data for evaluating and selecting qualified personnel.
The collected data, according to Richard (2006) incorporates essential components such as, work activities, human oriented work activities such as social behaviors, actions, tools such as machines, tangible and intangible work related activities, performance levels that include standards and other measures of efficiency, context of the job, and personal attributes such as attitude to the job.
On the other hand, functional job analysis, which is a quantitative technique, waters down to task specific, occupation and standards of efficiency in the performance of the task. The assignment of primary care tasks stems from successful job analysis techniques to ensure personal decisions meet organizational needs and requirements. This provides sound basis for decision making at the human resource level.
Job analysis is vital in human resource management by defining how strategic planning is done, provides a statements of work, clearly expounds on work content, identifies employee qualifications, organizational structure, and the flow of work within an organization. Job analysis enables human resource persons to make decisions according to the law. This incorporates Acts such as; the Fair Labor Standards Act, Equal Pay Act, Civil Rights Act, Occupational Safety and Health Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
In addition, the top management is able to make strategic decisions based on job analysis for achieving organizational goals and objectives. Staffing is a basic component in human resource management. Efficient utilization of resources is vital. To achieve these, job analysis techniques enable the HRM to analyze and identify work characteristics by identifying who should do which work.
Developing personnel resources and staffing of personnel by incorporating HRM responsibilities. Human Resource Management is responsible for identifying and distributing employment opportunities to all, with defined methods on hiring issues. These methods developed through job analysis techniques provide clear interview guidelines and new employee orientation (Oswald 2003). Training and development needs are core in HRM activities.
The kind of training needs, new employee development and other employees training guidelines, polices and procedures, preparation of training programs targeting specific work, identification of wage and salary needs and due compensation in relation to job analysis and work description are core activities of HRM.
Job analysis enables the HRM identify appropriate compensation, fringe benefits and helps to conduct job surveys to retain workers. This also includes tools, materials, and procedures used to perform specific tasks.
Mazurkiewicz and Heggestad (2009) asserts that Job analysis specifies the duties for a specific position, tasks that are critical to a specific area and expected results, the deliverables or milestones for the person in that position which is used to evaluate an individual in a specific position, which may be vital for achieving organizational goals and objectives.
To carry out job analysis, techniques such as interviews, questionnaires, observations, incident investigations, and background information may be vital. Thus, this serves as a prelude to job descriptions.
How job analysis drives job description
Job analysis enables the HRM identify the position of a job and the various tasks performed at that level. While it identifies the tasks or functions, skills, duties and knowledge requirements for a job, job descriptions are the specific tasks and responsibilities of a job.
This includes the job’s hierarchy in relation to its position in an organization, thus departmentalization, and qualifications in terms of education and experience based on job analysis data. Oswald (2003) points out that, job description builds on job analysis. Various facts compound to develop job descriptions. These include the, mental functions incorporating the coordination of various elements in an organization, and the descriptions on how workers relate to each other.
Provides information on supervisory roles of coordinating and directing work activities, how to negotiate on the job, how to efficiently communicate through the available communication channels between employee and employer, instructing workers on how best to deliver on their jobs, how to develop interpersonal skills, and places emphasis on the physical demands of workers.
Job description answers the questions on environmental demands and the physical environment, managerial tools used and the hazards employees find themselves subjected to, such as mechanically caused injuries, electrical shock and exposure to toxic materials or chemicals. Thus, job description builds on job analysis.
How job analysis and job description have been used effectively in VHA case
According to Richard et al (2006), there is a noted deficiency in decision making in the HRM. The VHA scenario unfolds cases in which technicians and clerks appeared to be underutilized while registered nurses, physicians, advanced practitioners, licensed vocational nurses registered a stunning percentage of task overlap. Task overlap in the case of VHA resulted from HRM’s failure to collect and critically analyze the data through qualitative and quantitative job analysis techniques for the health workers, clerks and technician.
In order to efficiently run VHA, accurate information had to be collected on the various jobs, the purpose of each job determined, what responsibilities each job entailed, the specific tasks to be performed for each job, the methods for analyzing the jobs identified, and the relationship between the jobs determined asserts (Caudron 2009). These could give an accurate picture of where each job belonged for efficient utilization of the available human resources.
In addition, VHA did not put into critical use its HRM, which could have done a thorough evaluation of its human resources by identifying and providing training needs consistent with its human resources available. According to Richard et al (2006), the number of workers who performed overlapping tasks hence underutilized included, physicians and advanced practitioners, physicians, RNS, and health technicians.
Research shows that if the HRM conducts job analysis well by employing the available quantitative and qualitative methods, and builds on job description, then each employee could have a clearly defined job description asserts (Oswald 2003). Each could be specific about their roles, know the requirements in terms of performance expectations, the compensation to receive from each tasks performed and additional motivation available to provide for the workers (HR Guide to the Internet 2001).
In addition, job analysis in the case of VHA could help the HRM develop performance appraisal for the employees, needs assessment particularly training needs in VHA, and lay down compensation plans to motivate the workers.
Job description on the other hand could help the HRM in VHA conduct selections in relation to the human resource needs of the organization resulting in efficient utilization of the human personnel thus avoid the scenario of underutilization and tasks overlap. This could also help in human resource planning in the primary healthcare process.
References
Caudron, S. (2000). Jobs disappear: When work becomes more important. Workforce, 79 (1), 30. Web.
Mazurkiewicz, M. D., & Heggestad, E. D. (2009). Using web-based frame-of- reference training to decrease biases in personality-based job analysis: An experimental field study. Personnel Psychology, 62(2), 405-439. Web.
Oswald, F. L. (2003). Job Analysis: Methods, Research, and Applications for Human Resource Management in the New Millennium. Personnel Psychology, 56(3), 800. Web.
Richard G Best, Sylvia J Hysong, Jacqueline A Pugh, Suvro Ghosh, (2006), Journal of Healthcare Management. Chicago. Vol. 51, Iss. 5; pg. 295, 13 pgs.
Websites HR Guide to the Internet (2001). Job Analysis: Overview. Web. Optional Reading Aguinis, H.