Industrial Psychology
Chapter 3 & 4
CHAPTER 3
JOB ANALYSIS: The Building Block for human resource functions
Legal Importance of Job Analysis: The key is ‘job relatedness.’
Equal Pay Act (1963) In order for work to be considered the same, the jobs must
involve equal skill, equal effort, and equal responsibility and be performed under
similar working conditions in the same establishment. A job analysis can be used
to show similarities or differences in skill, effort, responsibility, and working
conditions to provide a rationale for compensation levels.
Fair Labor Standards Act (1938) Exempt employees do not have to be paid
overtime pay. Typically, managers, technical workers, and professionals are
considered exempt. Nonexempt employees are required to receive overtime pay
for working in excess of 40 hours per week. Generally, blue-collar, clerical, and
semiskilled workers are classified as nonexempt. The job analysis clarifies the
category, exempt or nonexempt, of each employee.
Civil Rights Act (1964) A job description based on a properly conducted job
analysis can provide support for preparing a defense against unfair discrimination
charges. Not having job analysis data weakens the defense against
discrimination charges. For example, stating that certain physical requirements
(e.g., strength of stamina) are needed to perform a job without having determined
their necessity through job analysis can subject the employer to discrimination
charges.
Test Validation Landmark cases such as Griggs v. Duke Power Co. (1970) and
Albermarle Paper Company v. J. Moody (1975) established the legal need for job
analysis in the validation of employee selection procedures. For example, the
court held that Albermarle's test validation effort was inadequate because there
had been "no analysis of the attributes of, or the particular skills needed in, the
structured job group."
The conclusion seems obvious. As long as equal employment opportunity
laws exist in their present form, job analysis will have to be viewed as a
mandatory activity for HRM. More important, the quality of an organization's job
analysis procedures will be evaluated from a legal perspective.
Outcomes of Job Analysis:
 Job Description
 Job Specification
Uses of Job Analysis
1. Employee Selection
2. Training
3. Personnel Planning
4. Performance Appraisal
5. Job Classification
6. Job Evaluation
7. Job Design
8. *Compensation
Writing a Good Job Description
Want to see some Job Descriptions?
Job Descriptions at Southeastern Louisiana Univeristy
http://www.selu.edu/Administration/Depts/HumanResources/jobvac.html
Dictionary of Occupational Job Titles
http://www.oalj.dol.gov/libdot.htm
changed to:
http://online.onetcenter.org/
The Problems with Job Descriptions
1. Managers do not know for what, or how, to use JDs.
2. JDs are perceived to be lacking in sufficient detail and comprehensiveness.
3. JDs are perceived to be inaccurate.
4. Managers are not motivated to use JDs.
5. Managers do not know what JDs are (prescription vs. description).
6. JDs are not well structured.
7. The job is perceived to escape definition, or it changes too often.
8. Jobs are not standardized in format.
9. JDs are not all bound in one accessible, well-organized Format.
From Supervision, April 1998, by P. Grant.
Conducting the Job Analysis - Who does it?
 Current Employees (Incumbents)
 Managers (SME panels)
 Consultants
 Committees (To overcome issues related to lack of diversity)
Collecting Information for Job Analysis
 Interviews
 Observation
 Critical Incidents – Task Analysis, Participants Dairy and Logs

Questionnaires – PAQ
Employees Often Write Their Own Job Description!
JOB EVALUATION – Determining the Worth of a Job
Internal Pay Equity: making sure that jobs within the company are compensated
equitably.
Compensable Factors
 Responsibility
 Physical/Mental Demands
 Education Requirements
 Training and Experience Requirements
 Working Conditions
Methods
 Ranking
 Factor Comparison
 Point Method
 The Hay Plan (http://www.haygroup.com/)
External Pay Equity
 Salary Surveys
 Protected Classes - Comparable Worth
More stuff on Job Analysis:
http://www.hrzone.com/topics/joba.html
CHAPTER 4
EVALUATION SELECTION TECHNIQUES AND DECISIONS
Characteristics of Effective Selection Techniques
Reliability: Is the test a ‘good’ test
Test Score = True Score + Error
 Test Length
 Homogeneity
 Scorer Reliability
Determining Reliability
 Test-Retest
 Alternative Forms
 Internal Reliability
Validity: Are you measuring what you want to measure (and it is useful).
Content Validity: do the items on the test measure the ‘content’ intended.
Criterion Validity: how well do the items on the test relate to performance on the
job.
 Concurrent
 Predictive
 Validity Generalization, for the purpose of synthetic validity
Construct Validity: do the items on the test measure the construct that it is
intended to measure.
Face Validity: does the test make sense to those taking it.
The Usefulness of a Test
Expectancy Charts – Introduce the Concept of Selection Ratios
Making the Hiring Decision
Linear Approaches
 Top-Down Selection: ranking employees based on highest/lowest scores
 Passing Scores: set the bar low
 Banding: statistical groups
Nonlinear Approaches
 Cutoff Approach: i.e. drug test
 Multiple Hurdle Approach: weighted application, drug test, interview, & skill
test
Selection Ratios
Satisfactory
Job Performance
Criteria
Unsatisfactory
Reject
Accept
Predictor