One of the most important functions that a human resource manager performs is that of accurately analyzing the jobs that are and need to be performed within an organization. Such job analysis assists the manager to design programs for recruiting, hiring, evaluating and training personnel. If the manager is unable to accurately gauge both the needs of the company and match those needs with the talent pool of current and potential employees, the organization may face decreasing employee morale, decreased productivity and decreased profits. Accurately assessing the jobs to be performed and how individuals should perform those jobs provides the organization with the best information possible and enables the company to take full advantage of its human resources. This research compares two commonly used methods for analyzing jobs, functional job analysis and task inventory, in light of seven attributes. In addition, this research also examines the applicability of the two job analysis systems for five specific human resource functions.
The attributes that are considered are generalizability, reliability, validity, direct cost, data information turnaround, exhaustiveness and descriptiveness. These factors are important considerations because they offer human resource managers the ability to weigh each in light of the organization's operating environment and characteristics. Some organizations may be willing to sacrifice one of the characteristics in favor of another, and all organizations will have to seek the balance that works best for their particular situation. For example, some companies may find that although they would prefer the high descriptiveness of the task inventory, they are unable to afford the cost of its implementation.
Generalizability refers to the degree to which results gained from the job analysis system can be applied to other environments or positions. This is important to organizations because it reduce...