Job Analysis Is Essential for Getting the Best Staff to Work in Modern Organizations - Essay Example

Name: Tutor: Title: Job Analysis is essential for getting the best staff to work in modern and rapidly changing organizations Course: Date: Introduction Organizations have jobs that must be staffed. The knowledge about jobs as well as their requirements needs to be gathered through a process commonly referred to as job analysis. Job analysis is a crucial step towards getting the most competent staff to work in contemporary and rapidly changing workplaces. It is a procedure through which the human resource management determines the duties of such positions as well as the competent traits of persons to hire for them. This clearly suggests that a job analysis plays an integral role in leading to information required to document job descriptions and the expected job specifications (Fine & Cronshaw1999). It is important to note that job description is a list of job contents, and thus clarifies the work functions that can be used to ensure a consistent salary structure. This enables employees to have a detailed understanding of their jobs. Therefore, job analysis can be defined as the systematic process through which information concerning particular jobs is gathered, analyzed and documented. This implies that job analysis specifies the work conditions, expectations and qualifications necessary for a worker to execute the tasks successfully. The importance of Job analysis in getting the best staff to work in modern and rapidly changing organizations Generally, the information obtained from job analysis is important for coordinating as well as planning a number of the human resources management practices such as creating the job qualifications during recruitment process, determining the appropriate techniques for employee selection and training programs, establishing pay rates and performance appraisal. Job analysis was basically practiced in recruitment, determining pay, administrative and supervision purposes (Wilson 2007). However, due to the increasing complexity of different work expectations, job analysis has turned out to be an important approach to developing people within the organizations. The information collected through observation, conducting interviews, study records as well as mailed questionnaires should be evaluated and organized systematically according to the job expectations (Prien & Gamble 2004). From this point, it can be argued that the collected information from job analysis is a basis for documenting job descriptions and specifications. Based on the arguments for and against the importance of job analysis, can it be viewed as an essential tool for getting the most competent staff to occupy various positions in the modern and rapidly changing workplaces? It is relevant to point out that analyzing this question requires a clear scrutiny of the characteristics of the best staff that can work in modern organizations in a more competent way. It should be noted that the working environments for traditional organizations are rigid and stable working, while the modern organizations have flexible, dynamic, less hierarchical and competitive working environments (Dessler et.al 2004). In regard to this work context, therefore, it becomes relevant to argue that the best staff to occupy positions within the modern and dynamic organizations should be individuals who are flexible, ready to learn, self-directed, competent enough to meet the changing demands of jobs, dynamic and empowered. Due to constant changing of jobs in modern organizations, a more modern approach to job analysis is important in the selection of staff based on their capability to deliver within the dynamic workplaces. Therefore, appropriate use of job analysis would help the management to meet the changing demands of working environments. This provides the view that job analysis can only get the competent staff to occupy vacant positions in the modern organizations if performed through a pro-active way, well-documented to accommodate as well as adapt the dynamically changing demands (Siddique, 2004). Studies indicate that job analysis is basically required in order to obtain the best staff that can work in modern organizations because it provides a plan to adapting to the different needs of the organization. It provides the relevant information to describe jobs, their respective work environments and the staff characteristics that can fit the job requirements. Job analysis provides the necessary information concerning the training and development needs for staffs. Dessler, Griffiths and Lloyd-Walker (2004) argue that through job analysis, human resource management is able to collect and analyze data needed to create a working environment that motivates staff to work better. It can be argued that job analysis is the determinant factor for all job evaluations and selection decisions. This means that identifying the best candidate for a given job, involves fully understanding of the nature of that particular job. Therefore, job analysis creates a systematic way to this understanding because tasks to be performed in the job are specified. In addition, the needed competencies to perform such tasks are clearly stated as well as the relationships between the competencies and tasks to be executed are established. It is relevant to point out that the information collected from the job analysis helps to determine the dynamic job requirements and training needs of staffs. As a result, modern human resource management can ably make effective position classification based on the candidates’ grade levels. This helps the management to take informed personnel actions related to promotions and employees performance appraisals (Ronald 2002). Modern organizations focus more on hiring the right people who competently fit their work environments as well as their overall requirements to avoid future stagnation. Similarly, current job seekers need to take on jobs that match with their personality and interest as a deciding step towards shaping their careers in life. It means that such careful decisions can be made only if job seekers and the currently recruiting organizations can effectively communicate their job requirements to each other. Rodriguez and De Pablos (2002) examined that due to electronics and technological advancements as well as increased use of data a number of organizations are competing globally, and thus the world of jobs is dynamically changing. This clearly suggests that this increased competition requires sharpened organizational management that involves comprehensive studying of various so as to determine their contents or tasks that must be accomplished and the necessary skills and knowledge, abilities and responsibilities to achieve successful job results. It cannot be doubted that many organizations are experiencing rapid technological changes. Therefore, strategic job analysis should be considered a necessity in getting the best people for sustainable performance. Modern organizations are required to carry out more research on the appropriate methods for establishing employee specifications based on the needs of their future jobs. Job analysis is an important tool to be used by contemporary organizational leaders who search for useful information to drive their decision-making processes (Sanchez & Levine 2000). It is worthy mentioning that job analysis helps modern organizations to pay closer attention to both their strategic and future need. Thus, it becomes relevant to conclude that making decisions about organizational strategy and direction involves creating downstream implications particularly for worker requirements and work tasks. More research on job specification and description of practices would enable the human resource management of contemporary organization to get the most competent people for their jobs (Shippmann et al., 2000). In a different and recent article, Siddique (2004) suggested an intriguing analysis of the positive impact the competency-based job analysis method can create on the organization’s performance. This approach provides the view that competencies works better in newer and clear organizational structures. Therefore, it is important for modern organizations to consider competencies rather than looking into tasks only because strategic job analysis can be developed only if modern organizations make use of the competency approach that specify their job requirements. Proactive and strategically oriented job analysis helps modern organizations to meet their emerging needs influenced by unstable business environments (Siddique 2004). Job analysis is a foreseeable future tool that provides valuable information for the human resource management. Modern organizations have shifted from the traditional job analysis to a more strategic job analysis to make their approach meaningful in handling the dynamic needs of contemporary organizations. However, organizations are required to involve considerable flexibility whilst making their job analysis so as to accommodate the rapid changes occurring in today’s workplaces. This means that job analysis incorporates the general traits rather than the specific skills and behaviors of candidates. Modern organizations make job analysis that is strategic in focus and proactive in nature to consistently monitor and update themselves on the changes that occur in their working environments (Palmer & Valet 2001). The importance of job analysis in Employee Training and Evaluation After employees have been hired, occupied the right positions and trained, it is necessary to mention that the evaluation becomes the effective approach to determine their quality of performance. This is because evaluation creates an objective basis on which to determine whether if the best staff appropriately positioned within the organization. Job analysis provides a clear criterion of how the jobs and tasks are to be accomplished. In this case, it can be argued that up-to-date information is provided as the required standards of job performance to appraise the quality of each staff. Dixie Group Limited, a carpet industry situated in the U.S is a good case study for the crucial role played by job analysis in enhancing employee training. Palmer and Valet (2001) examined that the company focused on job analysis to educate and develop their staff to keep them updated of the technological changes. This helped them to deliver quality outcomes a midst the dynamically changing technologies. Job analysis also plays an important role particularly where making critical compensations decisions are required. It is relevant to argue that fast changing workplaces would consider getting the best staff only when their economic situations are favorable, for example, if compensation packages are logical and corresponds to the duties as well as responsibilities assigned to staffs and their qualifications. This clearly indicates that the information provided on different job and tasks through job analysis is crucial in compensation decision making process (Dessler et.al, 2004). Bibliography Dessler, G., Cole, N.D. & Sutherland, V.L., 2004, Human Resource Management in the Canadian 7th edn. Scarborough. Prentice Hall. Fine, S.A. & Cronshaw, S.F., 1999, Functional Job Analysis: The Foundation for Human Resource Management, Mahwah, N.J. Lawrence Erlbaum Publishers, pp. 20-22. Palmer, H & Valet, W., 2001, Job analysis: Targeting the most competent skills, Employment Relations Today, 28(3), 85-91. Prien, E.P & Gamble, L.G., 2004, Perspectives on nonconventional job analysis methodologies, Journal of Business and Psychology, 18, 337–348. Rodriguez, J.M & De Pablos, P.O., 2002, Strategic Human Resource Management and Organizational Learning Perspective. International Journal of Human Resources Development and Management, 2 (34), 249-263. Ronald, R.S., 2002, Organizational success through effective human resources management, Greenwood Publishing Group. Sanchez. J. I & Levine. E. L., 2000, Accuracy or consequential validity: Which should be considered the better standard for assessing job analysis data? Journal Organizational Behavior, 21, 809-818. Shippmann. J, et al., 2000, The practice of competency modeling, Personnel Psychology. 53. 703-740. Siddique, C. M., 2004, Job analysis for strategic human resource management practice. International Journal of Human Resource Management. 15(1), 219-244. Wilson, M.A., 2007, The history of job analysis based on L.L. Koppes (Ed.), Historical perspectives within the industrial and organizational psychology. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Read More