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Job analysis is a basic HR activity because it fo cuses attention on the job content，the job requirements and the job context．It identifies what employees are expected to do．Knowledge about jobs and their requirements is collected through job analysis，which may be defined as the pro cess by which jobs are divided to determine what tasks，duties and responsibilities they include，their relationships to other jobs，the conditions under which work is performed，and the personal capabilities required for satisfactory performance． Larger organisations may have HR specialists called job analysts who undertake this systematic collection，evaluation and organisation of job information．Smaller organisations usually make the task part of the HR manager’s job portfolio．
Job analysis provides information about three basic aspects of a job：
1． Job content describes the duties and responsibilities of the job in a manner that can range from global statements to very detailed descriptions of tasks and pro cedural steps．
2． Job requirement s identify the formal qualifications，knowledge，skills，abilities and personal characteristics that employees need to perform the job in a particular situation or context．
3． Job context refers to situational and supporting information regarding the particular job：its purpose；where it fits within the organisation；scope data；the availability of guidelines；the potential consequences of error；the amount and closeness of supervision received or provided；and the work setting，cultural context，physical demands and working conditions．
There are two basic appro aches to job analysis：
1．a job－oriented（or task）appro ach．
2．an employee－oriented（or behaviour）appro ach．
The job－oriented appro ach is concerned with what gets done—that is，the tasks，duties and responsibilities of the job（job content）．The employee－oriented appro ach fo cuses on how the job is done—that is，the human behaviour required to perform the job（job requirements）．Job requirements （formal qualifications，knowledge，skills，and abilities and personal characteristics）can be determined from a description of the job content，but not the other way around．
Job information is gathered，analysed and recorded as the job exists，not as the job should exist．Industrial engineers，methods analysts or technical specialists initially structure work to achieve the organisation’s strategic business obj ectives．Job analysis is normally conducted after the job has been designed，the worker has been trained and the work has been performed．The organisation can then use the information generated via the written job descriptions and job specifications in the design or redesign of jobs．
Are employees committed？Do they demonstrate pride in their work？Do they feel free to make decisions？ Will they accept responsibility？Are they frequently absent？Are they productive？Job design is frequently the key to the answers to these questions．But when such problems arise，managers often blame employees rather than the design of the job．HR managers must promote employee productivity by finding ways to unlo ck the potential that exists in the overwhelming maj ority of employees．Better job design is one way of do ing this，because productivity，job stress and quality of work life are tied to job design．
The different appro aches to job design can emphasise either efficiency or employee satisfaction． Trade－offs inevitably o ccur because，job design is influenced by numerous factors such as management philosophy，corporate culture，government regulations，union requirements，economic conditions and employee numbers and availability．This means that some jobs will be more or less efficient or satisfying than others．Regardless，poorly designed jobs result in lower productivity，employee turnover
，absenteeism，sabotage
，resignations
and unionisation．In contrast，a well－designed job promotes the achievement of the organisation’s strategic business obj ectives by structuring work so that it integrates management requirements for efficiency and employee needs for satisfaction．Thus，effective job design presents a maj or challenge for the HR manager．
Job specialisation or simplification
Job specialisation or simplification involves using standardised work pro cedures and having employees perform repetitive，precisely defined and simplified tasks．This job design method is used by industrial engineers and time and motion analysts．Specifically，time and motion studies require the careful observation of a good or standard worker．The job analyst records the various movements made in performing the job，clo cks the time taken for each movement and undertakes rational or‘scientific’job analysis to：
redesign the job to make movements simpler and quicker to perform．
● develop more efficient patterns of movement so employees can do the job faster and with less fatigue．
● set standards for designated jobs，which can be used to determine pay rates and performance measures．
● develop thorough job descriptions and job specifications tofacilitate employee recruitment，selection，orientation
and training．
Job specialisation is exemplified by Frederick Taylor’s scientific management，which basically saw job design as a three－step pro cess：
1．Management determined the one best way of do ing the job．
2．Management hired workers according to their qualities that best matched the job requirements．
3．Management trained workers in the one best way to do the job．
Scientific management meant that all planning，organising and controlling of work was done solely by management．
Advantages of job specialisation
The potential advantages of job specialisation include：improved operating efficiencies through the use of low－skilled and low－cost labour；the need for minimum on－the－job training；the easy control of production quantities；and fewer errors made when workers perform simple routine jobs．The resulting potential for reduced labour costs has been a prime motivator among industrial engineers in their promotion of job specialisation．
Problems of job specialisation
Repetition．Employees perform only a few tasks that have to be repeated many times．Boredom and lack of challenge to learn anything new or to improve the job quickly surface as problems and cause low organizational commitment
．As a result，high levels of managerial control and surveillance
become necessary．
Mechanical pacing．Employees are restricted by the speed of the assembly line，which requires them to maintain a regular work pace．Thus，employees cannot take a break when needed or transfer their attention to some other aspect of the job．Instead，their constant attention and effort have to be maintained at a set speed—often toofast for some and too slow for others．
No end product．Employees find that they are not producing any identifiable end product，so develop little pride or enthusiasm in the job．
Limited social interaction．Employees complain that because the assembly line requires their constant attention，there are few opportunities to socialise with other employees．This inhibits the development of informal groups and reduces job satisfaction．
No employee involvement．Employees complain that they have no decision－making authority over how the job is done．Lack of autonomy decreases job satisfaction and worker interest in introducing job improvements．Workers become powerless and dependent．
Higher costs．Employees frequently dislike highly specialised jobs，so they tend to quit or absent themselves．Absenteeism and high labour turnover increase the costs of recruitment，selection and training，and pressure employers to pay higher rates to try to keep employees on the job．Finally，problems asso ciated with poor quality，poor customer service，sabotage，employee stress and grievances appear，adding to costs．
Lack of flexibility．Employees cannot cover for each other，which creates problems when employees are absent or have to leave the workplace．
Job enlargement seeks to expand a job by horizontal lo ading—that is，adding to the variety of tasks to be performed．As organisations downsize and become flatter，multiskilling and increasing work interest are becoming increasingly important．Task variety is assumed to offset some of the disadvantages of job specialisation，thereby increasing employee performance and satisfaction．However，although sometimes effective，job enlargement is often resisted because：
● the enlargement is seen as j ust adding more routine，boring tasks to the job．
● the advantages of job specialisation are reduced．
● some workers like repetitive tasks or，at worst，express no real preference for changing things—repetitive work allows workers to daydream and so cialise without improving their productivity．
Unions oppose job enlargement on the grounds that it means more work and encourages reductions in the number of employees．
Job rotation increases task variety by periodically shifting employees between jobs involving different tasks．It is closely related to job enlargement but，rather than having more tasks to do，the employee rotates between different jobs with similar skill requirements．Job rotation aims to reduce boredom by diversifying the employee’s tasks．However，if all the tasks are boring and routine，there will be similar employee problems to those found with job enlargement．For the organisation，job rotation may increase training costs，disrupt work groups and lower productivity．
In contrast，if job rotation is used to place employees in more challenging jobs，it can be effective for improving job satisfaction，helping an employee to develop a generalist perspective，increasing skills and increasing workforce flexibility．J apanese companies，for example， move their managers between functions，offices and geographic lo cations so that they get to know the organisation’s people，problems and pro cedures．Other benefits of job rotation include control of repetitive stress inj uries，reduced work stress，reduced absenteeism，lower turnover rates and increased motivation．
Job rotation has several drawbacks：
● increased training costs．
● lower productivity when an employee is moved into a new job where they are less efficient．
● disruption when members of a work group may not accept the rotated employees．
● incerased supervisory time spent answering questions and monitoring the work of rotated employees．
● demotivation
of intelligent and ambitious trainees who seek specific responsibilities in their chosen specialty．
Job enrichment involves making basic changes in job content and level of responsibility．The vertical lo ading gives the employee the opportunity to experience greater achievement，recognition，responsibility and personal growth，and the horizontal lo ading increases the complexity of work to promote interest．Thus，job enrichment builds motivating factors into the job content by：combining tasks—fractionalised tasks are combined to increase skill variety and task identity
● creating natural work units—the job is changed so the employee is responsible for，or‘owns’，an identifiable body of work，leading them to view the work as important and meaningful rather than irrelevant and boring．
● establishing client relationships—wherever possible，a direct relationship is established between the employee and their client．
● expanding jobs vertically—vertical loading gives employees responsibilities and control formerly reserved for higher－level positions；it seeks to close the gap between the‘doing’and the‘controlling’aspects of the job，thus increasing employee autonomy．
● opening feedback channels—more and better ways for giving employees feedback on their performance are identified．Increased feedback means the employees not only learn how they are go ing，but also whether their performance is improving，deteriorating or remaining at a constant level．Ideally，this feedback should be received as the employee do es the job，rather than o ccasionally from a supervisor．
Job enrichment can lead to improvements in both job performance and job satisfaction．A survey of almost 100 research studies found job enrichment resulted in greater productivity，improved product quality，fewer employee grievances，improved worker attitudes，reduced absenteeism and labour turnover，and lower costs．Thus，improved quality of working life brought about by job enrichment has not only so cial benefits but also bottom－line benefits for the organisation．
Socio－technical enrichment fo cuses on the relationship between technology and groups of workers．The aim is to integrate people with technology．It is of interest to the HR manager confronted with situations where specialised group tasks exist and where technological change disrupts the so cial group to such an extent that the new technology becomes inefficient．So cio－technical enrichment often means creating self－managing or autonomous work groups to perform a job that was previously done on an assembly line．It is usually difficult and expensive to change the technology of an existing operation，so so cio－technical enrichment works best when an entirely new operation is being designed．
Autonomous work teams represent job enrichment at the group level．The employer sets up self－managed work teams who are responsible for accomplishing defined performance obj ectives．Planning and decision making are done within the group．Typically，the team sets its own output and quality standards．Team members may elect their own leader or decide to make decisions j o intly．They may even establish pay levels and train and certify team members as being qualified in required job skills．As a result，supervisory positions are reduced in importance and may even be eliminated．
Job Characteristics Model
The Job Characteristics Model（JCM）is an example of comprehensive job enrichment．It is a type of job design that combines both horizontal and vertical improvements to stimulate employee motivation and satisfaction．The idea is that employees perform better when they perceive their work as being meaningful，have responsibility for outcomes and receive feedback on the results of their activities．According to Hackman and Oldham，five core job characteristics are especially important to job design：
1．Skills variety，the first of the five core job characteristics，refers to the degree to which a job holder must carry out a variety of different activities and use a number of different personal skills in performing the job．
2．Task identity is the degree to which performing a job result in the completion of a whole and identifiable piece of work and produces a visible outcome that can be recognised as the result of personal performance．
3．Task significance refers to the degree to which a job has a significant impact on the lives of other people，whether those people are colleagues in the same organisation or individuals outside the organisation （that is，the extent to which the job is regarded as important to people inside and outside the organisation）．
4．Autonomy refers to the degree to which the job holder has the freedom，independence and discretion necessary to schedule work and to decide which pro cedures to use in carrying it out（that is，the extent to which the job provides the employee with freedom to plan，schedule and decide work pro cedures）．
5．Feedback is the degree to which performing the activities required by the job provides the employee with direct and clear information about the effectiveness of their performance．
A job that is high in these core characteristics is said to be enriched．These five core job characteristics，in turn，influence the extent to which employees experience three critical psychological states：
1．Experienced meaningfulness of the work—the degree to which employees experience their jobs as having an outcome that is useful and valuable to them，the company and the community．
2．Experienced responsibility，for outcomes of the work—the degree to which employees feel personally accountable and responsible for the results of their work．
3．Knowledge of actual results of the work—the degree to which employees maintain an awareness of the effectiveness of their work．
Skills variety，task identity and task significance，for example，influence the experienced meaningfulness of the work，autonomy affects the experienced responsibility for work outcomes，and feedback affects the knowledge of results．
Exercise1 ： Answerthe following questions according to the text ．
1．What are the advantages and problems of job specialization？
2．Which one you prefer？Job specialization or job enrichment？
3．What is the difference between job enlargement and job rotation？
Exercise2 ： Categorizedifferent groups ofpeopleintotheusualways ofjob design ．
employees with low growth needs industrial engineers manual workers workers on an assembly line
knowledge workers autonomous work groups flatter organization
