Chapter Two
Job Analysis
In this chapter, we’ll be looking at how we gather and organize information about the jobs in our
organizations – what people do and the skills needed to carry out those responsibilities. What we’ll be
looking at in this class is, first, the nature of jobs themselves – what is a job, what is a position (and is there a
difference?), and how can we classify jobs. Our second objective is to develop techniques for gathering
information about jobs in a methodical fashion and storing and communicating that information in an
effective manner. In the course of this chapter, we will answer these questions:

What is job analysis?

Why do we want to analyze jobs?

What are the elements of job analysis?

Where do we obtain job analysis information?

What is a job description and how do you write one?
What is Job Analysis?
Let’s start out with some definitions. This area of HR isn’t one that’s familiar to most people, so it’s a good
idea to get the terminology clear first. Job analysis is:
“…the systematic process of collecting relevant, work-related information related to the
nature of a specific job”
The folks who spend their lives thinking about job analysis (yes, there are people like that) tend to get into
arguments about what JA is or isn’t and the philosophical underpinnings of the whole process. For our
purposes, though, we just need to know a few important things.
Job analysis is systematic; we gather comparable information about every job in a planned manner.
Our goal in JA is to gather the information needed for the HR applications we discussed earlier, and to
deliver it in a form that is usable for those applications.
Job analysis includes only relevant work-related information. We aren’t (at this point) interested in the people
performing the job. We are interested in the job itself. Our first goal is to describe the job the way it actually
is. Not the way we think it will be when we get some better people. Not the way is would be if the
department were fully staffed. Not the way it used to be. We describe the job at the level of satisfactory
performance – the level of performance we pay people to deliver, not the level of performance we give
incentives for.
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Job analysis describes specific jobs, jobs that actually exist1. The level of analysis is the individual job. We are
describing the job “Accounting Clerk,” not all clerical jobs or all finance-related jobs. We do classify jobs
into categories or families (more on that later), but each job is still described individually.
Job Descriptions
A job description is a brief, factual picture of the duties and work activities included in a job, the skills
needed to perform those tasks, the scope of the job, and the working conditions associated with the job.
Several important points to remember are:
The job description should be a summary of the job, rather than a detailed set of procedures for performing
the job. The level and amount of detail is, in part, dependent on the purpose JA information is used for and
the organization’s practices. For example, U.S. government descriptions tend to be extremely long – up to 10
to 12 pages. One local organization (Federal Express) goes in for very short descriptions – usually one page.
The average or normal length is usually 2 or 3 pages. This is another case of “it depends” – the level of detail
necessary does depend on the purposes and the setting.

The job description should be long enough to be informative, and short enough to be usable/

Job descriptions should contain facts, not opinions, although it is probably impossible to avoid the use of
individual judgment.

The purpose is to describe the job, not the employee currently performing the job
Too often, you see job descriptions in notebooks, in HR or in a manager’s office, untouched and with an inch
of dust across the top (housekeeping doesn’t dust them because the shelf the notebooks sits on is too high
for their stepladder to reach !). These are useless. In fact, they may be worse than useless, since people think
there might be valuable information in those notebooks.
Keep the descriptions where you can see and use them. Update the descriptions when jobs change, and
review and revise every 3 to 5 years anyways. Even if there are not major changes in a job, small changes can
creep in, and over that 3 to 5 year period, the job could be significantly different.
Why Job Descriptions?
Job descriptions have a bad reputation. Many employees and managers see writing descriptions as a waste of
time – until they need the information. Others feel that job descriptions are too confining, that they limit
people to a specific set of tasks – not necessarily. Job analysis is the part of HRM that everyone loves to hate.
Why? People give various reasons for not wanting to do (or even be involved in) job analysis:

“It’s too much work, and I don’t have the time.”

“It’s a waste of time – my people know what their jobs are.”
There is a form of job analysis called “futures-oriented job analysis,” where the purpose is to describe jobs
that will exist in the future (but don’t exist yet), but that is far beyond the scope of anything we can cover in
this class.
1
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
“Our jobs change too fast to write descriptions.”

“A job description is too confining – I want my people to be flexible.”
However, the information we obtain from the process of job analysis is essential for the majority of the HR
functions. The manager who doesn’t have time to work on job descriptions today certainly doesn’t have time
to defend against an EEO suit next week. Maybe your current people know what their jobs are – but what
happens when someone suddenly quits, and you don’t have the information HR needs to start recruiting a
replacement? If your jobs are changing rapidly, it’s even more essential to know what skills are needed to
perform the job, since you’ll be constantly training people. Flexibility is good, but, ultimately, you do need
some level of responsibility and accountability.
Thus, for all human resource applications, the information we need about jobs includes tasks, job skills, and
other characteristics of the job. Thus, the job description should include information about the duties the
employee performs, the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform those tasks, and any other jobrelated information.
Planning
Let’s say that you’re trying to plan for future staffing needs. What jobs will people be doing 5 years from
now? What skills will you need in your workforce 5 years from now? You may need the same skills, just in
different mixes and proportions. You may be looking at large-scale change. In either case, job analysis is
your starting point.
EEO
In order to ensure that all individuals are treated fairly in the workplace (including hiring, pay, training, and
other conditions of employment), we need to ensure that we are making decisions based on job-related
qualifications. If we are hiring a plumber, we need to make sure the person hired can run pipe and has a
license to do so. And, in order to make sure that we are hiring people based on job qualifications, we first
need to figure out what those needed skills are.
Staffing
Leaving the issue of EEO aside, no organization today is in a position to hire people who don’t have the
necessary skills – nor are they in a position to overlook sources of talent because of their gender, skin color,
or other irrelevancy. Not just skills matter – we need to know what tasks or responsibilities are included in
the job – if nothing else, how do you recruit a candidate without telling that person what the job is?
Training
Well, if we want employees to acquire new skills, we need to invest in training – and you aren’t going to be
very effective or efficient in training employees without knowing what job skills are needed – both for current
jobs and for jobs that may exist in the future. It’s also helpful (as we’ll see later) to look at the tasks that are
performed, not just the skills.
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Pay
To determine levels of base pay for jobs (that is, the component of pay not dependent on individual
performance), we need to know tasks and skills, to have a basis for determining the worth of jobs in the
organization.
Performance Appraisal and Management
It’s extremely important to have mechanisms in place for measuring employee performance, in order to
reward those performing above standard, and to help those performing below standard to improve. But, we
don’t know if someone is doing a good job or a bad job until we know what the job is.
The Elements of Job Analysis
Before looking at what makes up job analysis, we need to clarify the unit of analysis – that is, what exactly are
we looking at? The important distinction here is the difference between a position and a job.
Position vs. Job
One distinction that we need to make here is between a “position” and a “job.” In normal usage, these terms
are interchangeable. However, in JA, the two terms have distinct meanings. Why does it matter? We said
earlier that job descriptions were
generally brief and did not get into very
Clerical Jobs
fine detail. Thus, you might write a job
description for the job of social worker.
Secretarial
Accounting and
Shipping and
The precise details of the job will be
and Reception
Bookkeeping
Warehouse
different, depending on where the
Teller
Bookkeeper
Budget Clerk
person works (say, city versus rural) or
the type of client the social workers
Susan Smith
Ann Green
Ed Jones
Purchasing
Human Resources
Maintenance
specializes in (children, the elderly, or
even no specialization). Do you write
Determine total amount
Verify and pay invoices
Calculate employee
of monthly insurance premiums
from temporary agencies
wages from timecards
descriptions for positions or for jobs?
That’s a good question, without a good
answer. Look at how much difference there is between positions. Think through what would be more useful
– more detailed descriptions or fewer descriptions.
We’ve said that JA information needed to be presented in a useful format. It’s always helpful, no matter
what kind of information you’re working with, to have categories or groups. For example, you put all of the
computer manuals on the same shelf, and don’t mix them up with the cookbooks. It’s easier, then, to find
what you want, whether you face the Blue Screen of Death or the need for double chocolate brownies. The
same holds for JA. Grouping jobs together makes sense, too. It’s often more efficient to work on writing
descriptions for similar jobs all at the same time, rather than jumping back and for the between clerical and
management jobs, or plant jobs and sales jobs.
Here’s an example. We start at the top with a broad family of clerical jobs. These are different from
management and supervisory jobs, and different from professional jobs. It’s not where the jobs are located,
but the type of tasks performed. For example, the VP of Accounting, a CPA, and a budget clerk all work in
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an accounting department – they all work with financial data – but the type of duties each performs is
different. Administratively, there are differences – the clerical jobs, for example, would receive overtime,
while the professional and management job families would not.
Then, we move down to a particular kind of clerical job, Accounting Clerks. These are different from
secretaries and receptionists, and also different from shipping clerks and receiving clerks. However, these
jobs are similar and can administratively be handled in a similar manner– for example, all of the accounting
clerks would probably benefit from training in how to use a spreadsheet.
The next level takes us down to various jobs in this classification. A teller is different from a bookkeeper and
from a budget clerk, no matter how specific duties might differ among the three different jobs. In selection,
we might look at different tests or other procedures for the different jobs. For example, we might want a
teller to have some customer relations skills we don’t need in budget clerks – so the interviewer would ask
applicants for these jobs some different questions
On the next level, we get to specific positions. We have bookkeepers in three different departments here,
one in purchasing, one in human resources, and one in maintenance. These folks will perform somewhat
different duties, of course. Susan Smith in purchasing will deal with invoices and the associated paperwork.
Ed Jones will calculate costs for various projects and may also deal with invoices. Ann Green has a different
set of duties. Performance expectations might well differ between these positions. A payroll clerk would be
expected to be 100% accurate, but we might tolerate more errors from the clerk in the maintenance
department, where quick responses might be more important.
On the lowest level, we see specific tasks – Ann Green does occasionally handle invoices, but also processes
payroll and benefits.
So, as you can see from the diagram above, there’s a hierarchy of information, moving from the very general
to the very specific, from broad job category to specific duty or responsibility.
Job Analysis Information
What information do we need in job analysis? There are several types. Typically, JA gathers information
about what people do, their job responsibilities or duties – what we’ll refer to as tasks. JA also looks at what
people have to have to perform the job – what we calls KSAO’s (we’ll get to this in a minute), also called
“skills” or “job skills”. Often, though not always, we look for other information about the job – physical
demands, the level of responsibility and effort involved, and other contextual data. JA can also be used to
gather examples of performance behaviors, but we’ll hold off on performance until later in the class.
Job Tasks
The basis of job analysis is the task statement. A task is a job duty or job responsibility. Some examples of
tasks:
Provides information to patient or patient family members regarding diagnostic or care
procedures or surgery.
Maintains and repairs warehouse equipment, such as forklifts and pallet jacks.
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Determines caller needs and refers call to the appropriate department.
Makes work assignments to employees and follows up to ensure work is completed on a
timely basis.
When looking at a task statement, we need to ask three questions:

Does the statement tell what the employee does?

Does this statement tell how the employee does it?

Does this statement tell why the employee does it?
Some examples:
What
Sorts
To Whom/What
correspondence, forms, and reports
Why
to facilitate filing them
How
alphabetically
What
Organizes and files
To Whom/What
various materials such as position
descriptions,
questionnaires,
computer printouts and transaction
documents
Why
to maintain master books, examination, class and agency files
Writing Task Statements
Since task statements are written to represent job tasks of varying complexity, you should expect to have
statements of varying complexity and length. Even though the length and complexity of the statement may
vary, each statement should answer the questions "What," "To Whom/What," "How," and "Why."
Frequently, the "How" and "Why" portions are so obvious and generally understood that including it would
make the statement appear trivial. An optimum style to be followed in writing task statements should be
consistent with the following basic rules.
Style
A terse, direct style, using the present tense, should be used. Terse. This means short and concise. If your
word processing grammar check tells you the sentence is too long, you should have stopped a while ago.
Don’t go to the opposite extreme, though, and skim over essential information. Be specific, not vague. You
need to tell the reader what the person does. For example:
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Determine whether or not to purchase new equipment.
Too vague
Conduct cost-benefit analyses to determine the productivity and efficiency
payoff of purchasing new technology, updating existing equipment, purchasing Just right
additional equipment, and so forth.
Action Verb
The statement should start with a functional or action verb that describes an action required of the individual.
Identifying the job operation and selecting the verb to represent the content is a critical decision. This aspect
of writing is perhaps the most difficult part of the entire process. It requires close attention and careful
thought. It’s impossible to overemphasize this principle. Write about what a person does, as specifically as
possible. As you can see from the above example, you can write statements to describe management work –
it’s a myth that these jobs are “too vague” or “too much judgment is needed” to have precise descriptions.
For example:
Compiles and distributes weekly suspension lists.
Maintains and repairs warehouse equipment, such as forklifts and pallet jacks.
Task statements normally should not include multiple action verbs unless the several actions are invariably
performed together. For example:
Prepares material lists and obtains parts and materials for the installation, assembly and
repair of electronic equipment
An alphabetical list of sample action verbs is in Appendix A to this chapter.
Specificity
Task statements are intended to reveal differences among jobs. Statements that are so broad or general that
they would not differentiate between jobs should be omitted, expanded or broken apart as two or more
statements. Statements that refer to only a few jobs should be retained if they satisfy other standards. As a
general rule, the usefulness of job description information is proportionate to the degree of specificity -- more
rather than less information is needed.
Whole Task
Each item should refer to a "whole" task that "makes sense." That is, a sequence of acts that are invariably
performed by a single employee as a continuous activity should remain intact. A sequence of interrelated
activities leading to a single product or accomplishment of a single goal should not be separated. For
example:
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Evaluates written care plan and the patient's responses to nursing interventions on a
continuous basis; reassesses short-term objectives; initiates discharge planning based on the
evaluation process.
Language
Statement terminology and vocabulary should be at the level of the intended users. Cryptic abbreviations and
unique or purely local slang terminology should be avoided. Keep the writing at a simple level. Be careful
with acronyms, technical terms and jargon. Most folks know what a LAN is (Local Area Network). But,
does anyone outside of FedEx know what LEAP means? Commonly used occupational terms should be
used but note that some such terminology becomes rapidly obsolete. Generally, the higher the required
reading level, the greater the difficulty persons will have in using the job description.
Who?
You should ask who is doing this action? The answer to this question provides the implied subject of the
task statement. The subject is understood to be "the employee" -- taken to mean collectively, incumbents in
the job being analyzed.
What?
You should ask what is the action? The answer to this question provides the action verb, representing the job
question, and first word of the task statement. The verb used should be unique, descriptive of the action, as
precise as possible and written in the present singular. For example:
Select a foster care placement considering the relevant characteristics and needs of the client,
and strengths of the family or facility.
Object?
Ask who or what is the object of the action. The answer to this question provides the object of the task
statement and reflects the recipient (whom/what) of the employee’s action.
Why?
Ask why it is being done. The answer to this question is sometimes preceded by the phrase "in order to" and
provides the reason for the action. Care should be taken to insure that "Why?" is not mistaken for "What is
the action?" If the "why" is obvious, then this portion may be omitted.
How?
Ask how is the action done? The answer to this question is worded to indicate what guidelines or instructions,
tools, equipment, or general job knowledge are used by the employee in performing the task. Frequently, the
how is obvious and is thus not stated.
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Some Final Suggestions
After answering these questions, all that you will need to do in order to write a task statement is to organize
the answers into an easily readable, grammatically correct, concise sentence using the standard format
described here.
A final suggestion to the person who is writing task statements: Be sure that the results section ("Why?") is
compatible with the verb used. For example, one does not "read a variety of materials in order to make a
decision..."; one "reads a variety of materials in order to gather information..." and then one "analyzes
information in order to make a decision...".
One of the most common flaws in writing task statements is to include extraneous material characterizing
performance standards, work setting conditions or the necessary job skills for task performance. Evaluative
terms and phrases such as punctuality, attendance, diligently, carefully, competently, knowledgeably,
diplomatically, under adverse conditions, etc., should never be incorporated in task statements. That type of
material -- job performance standards -- applies to the employee rather than the job and should be examined
separately.
Complex Tasks
There’s no reason why we can’t write tasks describing complex jobs, contrary to what some think. It’s simply
a matter of thinking through what the job entails and using specific, behavioral language. Stay away from
vague generalities, such as “manages,” “oversees,” or “administers.” Some examples for management jobs:
Review the organization structure (e.g., reporting relationships, responsibility flowcharts) of
a work group or division to ensure it supports the business vision and strategy.
Investigate culture, education, and business training variables to determine the feasibility of
delegating management functions to foreign nationals.
Develop and/or administer corporate giving policies (i.e., relating to charities, fundraisers,
donations to foundations) designed to promote goodwill and create a sense of positive
corporate citizenship.
Develop advertising or promotional strategies designed to attract customers, compete
successfully with other comparable businesses, promote company image, build employee
morale, and so forth.
For social service jobs:
Investigate prospective living facilities for client populations (i.e., children, senior adults, etc.)
to determine suitability for client placement.
Prepare a file and affidavit and petition to remove child or adult at risk from the home or
when the family has violated the terms of the ISP.
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Conduct parenting skills assessment to determine strengths and weaknesses focusing on
disciplining techniques, child supervision practices, drug and alcohol use, nutritional needs,
school and education practice and emphasis.
Conduct a work and training assessment of currently homeless prospective clients to
determine their eligibility for benefits and to establish their accountability for receiving
benefits.
Specifying Job Skills and Minimum Qualifications
When you have finished preparing task and duty statements, the next step in the process is to derive and
describe the skill requirements for those tasks. Terminology here can be confusing. The correct term for
what the person has to have to do the job is KSAO’s, or knowledge, skills, abilities, and other qualifications.
What is confusing is that the term job skills is often substituted, as a convenient shorthand (and easier than
explaining KSAO every time !!). I’ll try to be careful while we’re talking about job analysis, but in subsequent
parts of this class, when you see “job skills,” remind yourself it’s really KSAO’s.
Basic job requirements, such as possession of a license to practice a specific activity -- such as practicing law,
driving, nursing, or boiler room operations -- should be listed first. Normally, this is a matter of legal
requirements and it should be obvious whether or not a specific requirement should be listed.
Writing a skill statement does not mean just attaching the words “skill” to a task statement. It’s not difficult,
but there’s a bit more to it. Job skills can be categorized into three general areas and are defined as follows:
Knowledge
Knowledge is the foundation upon which abilities and skills are built. Knowledge, as used in writing
knowledge, skill or ability statements, is defined as an organized body of information, usually of a factual or
procedural nature, which, if applied, makes adequate performance of the job possible. Knowledge is learned.
It should be noted however, that possession of knowledge does not insure its proper application. Knowledge
is something that is learned, but don’t forget that having knowledge doesn’t mean that it can or will be used.
You or I could memorize a textbook on sales techniques, yet not be able to sell ice in July in Memphis. It can
be helpful to specify how the knowledge would be acquired – this is a useful guide for selection, because it
tells you what to look for to determine if an applicant might have that knowledge.
Some typical knowledge statements might be:
Knowledge of rules of spelling, grammar and punctuation as might be acquired through
graduation from high school
Knowledge of consumer loan requirements, policies and procedures as might be acquired
through 2 to 3 years' branch banking experience.
Knowledge of blueprint reading, sheet metal work and mechanical, plumbing and electrical
drawings as might be acquired through trade or vocational school training or military
training.
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Knowledge of training and education concepts, principles and methods as might be acquired
through 2 to 3 years' experience in training or adult education or 2 years' college-level work
in education or training.
Knowledge of warehouse layout and product locations as might be acquired through a brief
period (2 to 3 weeks) of on-the-job training.
Knowledge of nutrition and basic diet therapy as would be acquired through completion of
Certificate in Food Service (1 year program) or completion of A.A. program in Dietetic
Technology (2 year program)2.
Skill
Skill is defined as the proficient manual, verbal, or mental manipulation of people, ideas, or things. A skill
must be demonstrable and a skill is normally acquired or learned. “Skill in operating computer peripherals” is
a leaned skill, while: “Skill in distinguishing between problems which can be resolved through routine
procedures from those that require specialized response or attention of other persons” implies a level of
judgment that may not be something one could learn. Also, with a skill, proficiency is implied. Knowledge of
sales techniques doesn’t mean that they will be used; “Skill in persuading customers” implies that the
individual actually can persuade people to buy something.
When writing skill statements, you may want to think about a sequence of statements, reflecting different
levels of skill. You could, for example, write statements ranging from “Skill in performing simple arithmetic
calculations (adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing),” up to “Skill in performing calculations, involving
algebraic formulas, statistical formulas or complex procedures used in handling business data.”
Some examples of skill statements would include:
Verbal and written communications skills, including skill in communicating with all levels of
management, vendors, and customers.
Skill in making the arrangements, scheduling and completing other details for meetings
Skill in operating computer peripherals such as printers, tape and disc drives, etc.
Possession of supervisory skills as would be acquired through completion of an in-house
supervisory training program or 2 to 3 years supervisory or management experience.
Ability
Ability is defined as the present power to perform a job function, to carry through with the activity while
applying or using the associated essential knowledge. An ability is usually something someone has, though
some knowledge may be necessary to fully use the ability. For example, “Ability to explain or demonstrate
work techniques, safety procedures, etc. to others” requires the ability to communicate, but implied here is
the knowledge of what is to be communicated.
2
Note here that the job skill may be acquired in more than one way and that either is acceptable.
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Some examples might include:
Ability to organize tasks and maintain control of work flow.
Ability to perform basic arithmetic calculations as would be acquired through completion of
high school.
Ability to work without close supervision and to exercise independent judgment.
Ability to read and follow written instructions as would be acquired through completion of
high school.
Ability to operate standard office equipment.
Ability to lift and move patients up to 250 pounds.
Other Requirements
A fourth category may occasionally be included, "Other Requirements". Here would be included minimum
requirements not fitting into the above categories, such as:
Color vision
Normal eye-motor coordination, manual dexterity, visual perception (including color vision)
and hearing. Vision and hearing may be corrected to normal range by corrective lenses or
hearing aid.
Microsoft Certified Database Administrator (MCDBA) credential.
Possession of current CPR certification.
Possession of a valid driver's license.
Writing Skill Statements
Determining the required job skills is considerably more difficult than the task portion of the analysis, in that
the content is not directly observable and is "known" only through inference. The important point to
remember is that job skills required for a particular task are based on your judgment and inference.
On the surface, the identification and definition of job skills is deceptively simple. For lower level jobs, the
inference is usually fairly obvious and the job skill frequently takes the form of a duty-based statement. As
tasks become intangible, abstract or complex, the inferential step becomes greater.
The job skill analysis is usually accomplished by examining each job task to determine the required skill(s).
When performing this activity, it might be helpful to keep the following questions in mind:
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
Think of the characteristics of good and poor employees.

How do good and poor employees differ?

Why can some employees perform (name of task) better than others?

Recall incidents or concrete examples of effective and ineffective performance by employees in the job.
Then try to think of the particular skills or lack of skills that were the cause of each example.

What does a person need to know in order to (name of task)?

Think of someone you know who is better than anyone else at (name of task). What kind of knowledge,
skills and abilities would you want that person to have?

If you are going to hire someone for no other reason than for them to (name of task), what kind of
knowledge, skills and abilities would you want that person to have?

What kind of prior training or experience is needed to be effective in (job)? Why is that training or
experience needed to make an individual qualified to do (name of task)?
Remember, also, that there is not necessarily a one-to-one correspondence between tasks and skills. A
particular task may require multiple KSAs, and a single KSA may be required for more than one task. Let’s
take a short task statement and see how this works.
Conduct employee disciplinary interviews.
The skill needed here isn’t just “Skill in conducting…”. In fact, there are several skills needed here, that
might include:

Skill in conveying information in a concise fashion without losing necessary detail.

Skill in distinguishing between effective and ineffective procedures or job performance.

Skill in communicating evaluative judgments and descriptive comments on the job performance of
subordinates.

Skill in coaching subordinates to correct ineffective work practices or to remedy performance
deficiencies.
There are eight main points that may assist you in writing good job skill statements. The style recommended
for writing job skill statements generally follows that for writing task statements. In addition, though, the
following points should be kept in mind:

Avoid simply restating a task or duty statement by attaching the word "Skill" or "Ability". So-called
"duty based" job skills usually pertain only to low-level jobs. For higher-level jobs, a duty based job skill
would not provide the information needed to develop the desired content for the application procedure.

Each statement must represent a unique job skill. Do not combine separate and different types of job
skills into composite statements. As a general rule, if you suspect that separate facets exist, write two
separate statements.

Job skill statements should describe a component of individual difference or variance. The degree of
possession of proficiency is a measurement and decision making issue. Terms such as familiarity,
mastery, or recall are inappropriate adjectives for job skill statements.
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
Statements must represent specifically defined job skill content. Use of trait references -- such as
"enthusiasm" or "patience" for the content description in the statement is inadvisable. The statement
should contain enough detail to facilitate the choice of measurement method and the nature of the
individual difference or variation. Think behavior – rather than specifying “tactfulness,” try “Ability to
provide employee feedback in a constructive manner.”

Each statement should constitute a feasible unit of measure. That is, it should be possible to write one or
only a few objective statements that will measure an employee’s degree of possession of the job skill.
Another reason to avoid trait references – they are much more difficult to measure.

Maintain a reasonable balance between generality and specificity. Exactly how general or specific a
statement should be stated is a matter of individual judgment. However, when in doubt, be more rather
than less specific.

Avoid the error of including trivial information when writing the items. For example, for a supervisor's
job, "knowledge of how to order personal office supplies" would be a trivial item. However, because the
omission of key job data is a more serious error than including trivia, include items if they are borderline
examples.

When possible, statements should include the source of the job skill -- graduation from high school,
completion of an approved over-the-road truck driver’s training program, etc.
Finding Job Analysis Information
We’ve talked about the type of information that is gathered – now let’s look at where we get the information.
There are a number of possibilities.
Observation. The simplest way to find out what somebody does is to watch them. You could spend a day or
two following a person around – and even trying to do some of their job. It’s harder than you’d think to stock
a display rack with packages of pantyhose. You might have less time to observe, which may not matter –
sewing shirts in a garment factory is, unfortunately, a job that you can see all of very quickly, since the
employee does the same thing over and over again all day long. Some jobs, though, can’t be observed. What
a manager does isn’t something that you can watch. In other cases, it just isn’t feasible to observe. For
example, security reasons prevented me from seeing what a trained bodyguard in a government agency
actually does. However, even in these situations, walking around the facility gives you some sense of the
background and context. The heavy responsibility attached to the job of the manager of a magazine printing
plant made a lot more sense after walking around the factory and seeing the massive and obviously expensive
and very complex equipment.
Interview. Interviews are the next most direct method. Who should be interviewed? One school of thought
is that job incumbents (the people actually doing the job) are the best sources of information about what they
do, while supervisors have the best insight as to what job skills are required (since supervisors have to select
and train people to do the job). Others recommend interviewing only incumbents, or only supervisors. What
is more important is to pick interviewees who have performed the job (or supervised it) long enough to know
it – at least several years, and more is better. Pick individuals who are good performers, but be careful not to
confuse their level of performance with what the job really requires. Before you go out to interview, look
through whatever materials you do have, to get a rough idea what the job involves, so you can follow the
interview intelligently. Listen and take notes. Ask questions if you don’t understand. A good interview will
take a minimum of an hour.
Chapter Two: Job Analysis
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Finally, try to interview more than one person for a particular job. If possible, have more than one
interviewer. Why? Just by chance, one interviewer will often pick up things others will miss. But, more
importantly, different interviewers bring different perspectives and will pick up on multiple aspects of the job
(e.g., Morgension & Campion, 1997; Prien, Prien & Wooten, 2003). For example, in a job analysis of a sales
merchandiser job, three analysts were used. The sales merchandiser, basically, is the person who delivers
product to a retail store and manages the displays; in this case, the sales merchandisers delivered pantyhose.
All three interviewers accompanied the sales merchandisers as these folks went about their daily work. The
first interviewer had recently undergone his sixth laparoscopic knee procedure -- he was the only interviewer
who picked up on the amount of bending and stooping required in the job. The second interviewer had
recently finished a project with sales representatives. This interviewer reported more contact between the
sales merchandisers and store management, where the sales merchandiser encourages store managers to
increase the space available for product – basically, active selling. The third interviewer (and the only woman)
was the only one of the three interviewers who actually picked up a package of pantyhose to look at them.
This interviewer was the only one to notice that the sales merchandisers placed product on the shelf
according to color coding on the packages (rather than having to read the description) – thus, one job
requirement turned out to be color vision.
One caveat. Interviewing takes time and isn’t cheap.
Questionnaires. There are various types of questionnaires. We’ll look at an open ended questionnaire, where
the individual writes down what he or she does. This is similar to the interview, in that the person decides
what to tell you. It’s more efficient, though at the possible cost of losing information (what people forget or
take so much for granted that they don’t include it). Questionnaires can also take the form of checklists –
this is a list of task and skill statements (often several hundred), and the respondent indicates how important
each is to the job. These are time-consuming and expensive to develop, and you need professional guidance.
This type of questionnaire is best suited to a job where there are a very large number of incumbents -- police
officers, sales clerks, etc.
Your Filing Cabinet. Don’t overlook information you already have, such as old job descriptions, policy and
procedure manuals and job descriptions prepared by trade or industry associations. Other materials about the
general occupational area can be useful - -for example, when writing a job description for an audiologist, my
first stop was a pamphlet I picked up in a waiting room, entitled “Your trip to Hearing Testing”.
O*Net. One final source for job analysis information is the Occupational Information Network, or O*Net
[www.online.onetcenter.org]. This is a database, sponsored by the US Department of Labor, that aggregates
information about more than 1,100 (to be precise, 1,167) different jobs. For each of these jobs, O*Net
provides information useful for job analysis and for other HR applications, including the following:

Tasks performed

Required knowledge, skills and abilities

Work activities (general categories of job responsibilities)

Work context (description of level of responsibility, working conditions, contact with other people -- this
information is essential for wage and salary decisions, as we’ll discuss later)

Required amount of education and/or experience

Occupational interest categories (the Holland taxonomy of career interests, which we’ll discuss later on)
Chapter Two: Job Analysis
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
Work styles (personality variables)

Work values (motivating factors, such as achievement, relationships and independence)

Related occupations

Median annual wage, number employed, and projected employment growth
The drawback, of course, is that the occupational list, though extensive, cannot represent every possible job,
nor can the descriptive material be more than very general. Nevertheless, it’s a starting point, especially if
you’re faced with writing descriptions for jobs that you are unfamiliar with.
Format for the Job Description
In this section, we will look at a standardized format for job descriptions that may be used in most
organizations. Since every organization is different, the format described below may need to be added to or
changed. However, the basic elements will remain constant. Note that a good job description is complete,
yet concise, generally 2 to 3 pages in length. A description much shorter than 2 to 3 pages may be
overlooking essential information. Longer job descriptions generally include so much detail or trivia as to be
cumbersome and useless. Refer to the sample job description (found in the Appendix) while reading this
section.
Identification
In this section of a job description, some basic identifying information is provided so that those people in the
organization using the job description will know what job is being described.
Job Title
Here is listed the job title as it is found in personnel records, such as:

Branch Manager

Clerk A

Loan Officer

Medical Technologist

HVAC Mechanic

Social Worker II

Senior Accountant

Packaging Technician
Note that many titles have qualifiers – “Senior,” “A,” or “II”. This is a common organizational practice, and
indicates that the jobs follow a progression – it’s helpful, though not essential, to coordinate the descriptions
for these jobs, to ensure that the progression, in terms of progressively more complex work, is as you want it.
Also, it is acceptable (and probably advisable) to add a word or brief phrase to that title to further identify the
job, either by department or within a department. Most organizations attempt to keep the number of
Chapter Two: Job Analysis
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separate job titles within the organization to a minimum. However, the same job title may contain a number
of different positions. That is, an organization may have a number of positions titled “Clerk A”, all of whom
perform similar tasks and who each require approximately the same skills, but whose specific job descriptions
do vary somewhat. For example, the Loan Officer (Automobile) obviously makes loans, as would the Loan
Officer (Real Estate) or Loan Officer (Commercial), but the specifics of the job – the precise tasks, and
possibly some details of the skills – will vary. Some examples:

Branch Manager - New York Branch Office

Clerk A - Payroll

Loan Officer (Automobile)

Medical Technologist - Blood Bank
Job Family
In most organizations, jobs are assigned to large categories or job families. These are made up of jobs that
are similar to one another and which are convenient to administer together. A sample set of job family
categories is as follows:

Supervisory/Administrative/Management

Professional

Technical

Service/Support
Job Code and Salary Grade
In most large organizations, jobs are assigned an alphanumeric code for convenience. Jobs are also assigned
to salary grades. Both pieces of information should be included in the job description.
Supervisor
An additional identification of jobs in an organizational unit is the supervisor's title -- not the current
supervisor's name.
Unit and Department
This would be the location of the job within the organization. This can be the department or division, or it
may be a physical location. Provide enough information so that the reader will know where the job is located,
though it isn’t necessary to give the exact cubicle location. For example:

New York Branch

Headquarters - Human Resources

Retail Banking Division
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
Suburban Hospital -- East
Job Summary
The job summary is a brief statement giving the purpose of the job and its major responsibilities. It should
be, at most, one to two sentences long, but should include enough information to distinguish this job from
other jobs. The job summary should tell the reader the job's purpose; that is, why the job exists. Why do we
hire someone for this job? This part of the description is critical, and is often the last part written. This is the
information that will often appear in your recruiting material or job postings. This is a short statement – the
example above is as long as you need to get – and tells the reader why the job exists. Basically, why do we
pay people to come in and perform this job?
For example:
The Journeyman Plumber is responsible for inspecting, testing, repairing and performing
preventative maintenance on all plumbing equipment and systems at all facilities in
Memphis, in accordance with local, state and national codes and standards.
Duties and Responsibilities
In this section, the major duties and responsibilities assigned to the job are listed. Normally, most
jobs can be summarized in 10 to 12 statements. More than that, and you run the risk of including trivial
information. Writing the duty and responsibility statements has been discussed in more detail earlier in this
chapter. However, one task or duty statement that is always present: “Performs other duties as required.”
Including this statement gives managers and supervisors the flexibility to add to the stated duties as necessary
(though, of course, within reason).
It is useful, though not essential, to give some indication of the amount of time spent on different
tasks. It isn’t necessary to keep a detailed diary; rough estimates are sufficient.
Interpersonal Relations
In this section of the job description, the job incumbent's contact with other individuals is described.
This information, although it does not fall into the strict categories of “task” and “skill” that we’ve discussed,
is essential for providing a context for how tasks are performed. Later, when we are looking at how to pay
employees, this information will allow us to judge how much responsibility is part of the job.
The type and frequency of contacts should be indicated. For example, contact may be "daily", "frequent" or
"occasional". Contacts may be "routine" or the employee may "represent Deficit National Bank to the news
media".
There are two types of contact, internal and external. Internal contacts are those interactions with
other employees within the department, work group or organization, such as supervisors and other
employees. External contacts are with individuals outside the organization, such as customers, suppliers,
community organizations, competitors, etc. For example:
Chapter Two: Job Analysis
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The Press Operator has daily contact with other employees in Printing Services and in other
company departments who are requesting work to be done. These contacts are often for the
purpose of resolving problems. The Press Operator has occasional contact with service
representatives who are repairing equipment.
Supervision Given/Received
Here, we are looking at the type and nature of the supervision given and received. Again, this
information provides context, as well ad a way of assessing how much responsibility the job is assigned.
If the job is not assigned any supervisory responsibilities, this should be noted.
There are no supervisory or lead responsibilities assigned to this job.
Some jobs are “staff” jobs, and require that the incumbent provide advice or consultation to others:
There are no supervisory responsibilities assigned to this job, except that the incumbent is
expected to provide professional and technical advice and consultation.
If the job does include supervisory responsibilities, the number and type of employees supervised and the
type of supervision should be indicated:
The Manager – Payroll directly supervises 2 clerical and 3 professional employees.
The Project Manager – Web Design supervises 3 professional employees during projects, but
does not have authority to hire, terminate, discipline or complete performance evaluations
without Department Manager's approval
The Master Electrician is under the general supervision of the Supervisor - Building
Maintenance. The job is a lead job: the incumbent will assign duties to technical and service
employees in the area and will provide input to personnel actions.
The Branch Manager – New York directly supervises 1 clerical and 2 supervisory employees
and indirectly supervises 12 clerical employees.
The type of supervision received should also be indicated:
Close supervision
General supervision
"Under the Department Manager's professional guidance"
The task statements (as discussed later) should, when appropriate, give some indication of the type and level
of approval the employee needs to make decisions or take action:
Chapter Two: Job Analysis
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Interviews and hires employees to fill vacant positions as indicated by theVice President Finance
Physical Demands/Conditions
In this section, the physical environment and demands of the job are described. Again, this provides context,
and working conditions are an essential part, as we’ll see later, of setting pay for a job.
Items to consider may include (but are not necessarily limited to):
Approximate amount to be lifted or carried
Frequency of lifting or carrying
Frequency of travel
Frequency of standing, walking or climbing
Exposure to noise, infection, heat, cold or outside elements (i.e., rain or dust)
Exposure to physical hazards, such as dangerous equipment
Combined, we might see a statement such as:
Constant walking, standing, bending and kneeling; may be required to work with hands
above shoulders. Heavy physical effort and coordination needed to move or position
equipment. Maximum weight normally moved, lifted and carried alone does not exceed 150
pounds.
We normally think of management jobs or other “office” jobs as having few, if any, physical demands.
Remember that many clerical positions may involve lifting or moving (i.e., the mail or boxes of paper).
Management and professional jobs may well involve travel. This is a physical demand to be considered (ask
anyone with platinum frequent flier membership !)
A shift assignment may be included here if the duties assigned to the job are specific to a shift or if it is not
obvious that employees in the job may be assigned to shift or weekend work.
Job Skills and/or Minimum Qualifications
This section may list either the necessary job skills or the minimum qualifications. The job skills
would include all skills necessary to perform the job, including those skills s that an individual might
reasonably be expected to acquire after starting to work in the job. The minimum qualifications, on the other
hand, include only those skills necessary for an individual to enter the job.
Chapter Two: Job Analysis
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Date and Approval
The final section of the job description is the documentation. This will vary, according to
organization requirements, but at a minimum, this section should include the name of the individual who
prepared the description, the name of the individual who reviewed or approved the description, and the date
the description was prepared. Remember that job descriptions must be updated as jobs change. An outdated
description is worse than no description at all. Job descriptions must be updated if major changes in the job
occur. Technology may change, jobs may be reorganized, or the skills needed may change. Even if there are
no major changes, job content drifts, and a 5-year old description is apt to be out of date.
A New Approach: Competency Modeling
In recent years, many organizations have adopted a different approach to job analysis, an approach known as
“competency modeling.” Is this something new and different, or just job analysis under a new name?
To begin with, traditional job analysis has always been viewed by most people as an unwanted stepchild.
Human Resources is the only department interested in writing job descriptions and the people doing “real
work” don’t have time for that nonsense. There’s some basis for this bad reputation; in particular, traditional
job descriptions stand by themselves. That is, there’s no linkage between the job description and the overall
goals of the organization. At best, the job description allows us to assess individual effectiveness, not the
contribution of the job to organizational effectiveness. While there are important HR applications of the
individual-level job information, something more, many believe, is needed.
So, how do we get to competency modeling?
As far back as 1973, David McClelland suggested that traditional aptitude and personality measures were
insufficient predictors of job performance. Instead, McClelland recommended the use of direct measures of
job competencies, which he defined as clusters of knowledge, skill, ability, personal traits and motivations,
directly linked to outcomes.
However, the idea of competencies really took off with the Harvard Business Review article by Prahalad and
Hamel, entitled, “The Core Competencies of the Organization.” This article is credited with popularizing the
term “core competencies,” meaning those strengths that contribute to an organization’s competitive
advantage. Core competency can also be defined as the aggregation of learning within an organization,
including the coordination and integration of various production skills and technologies. Core competencies
by nature are general and can be applied to numerous areas, including individuals within the organization.
Following from this is the idea that an organization needs to make use of its core competencies, and
outsource or divest functions that don’t utilize core competencies (i.e., leveraging organizational strengths)
For an organization, core competency may be, for example, Walmart’s expertise in logistics or the superb
customer service delivered by Nordstrom’s. Another example is 3M’s competency in coatings and adhesives,
which eventually leads to film, tape, and Post-it notes.
The next step, then is to collect information on knowledge, skills, and personal characteristics associated with
high levels of individual performance, as it contributes to organizational effectiveness. Furthermore, the goal
of competency modeling is to provide information that can be used to support the management of people,
not just the traditional HR functions.
Chapter Two: Job Analysis
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What, then, is a competency? There are a number of definitions:
“A knowledge, skill, ability, or characteristic associated with high performance on a job” (Mirabile, 1997)
“A cluster of related knowledge, attitudes and skills that affect a major part of one’s job” (Parry, 1998)
“A description of measurable work habits and personal skills used to achieve a work objective” (Green, 1999)
“Measurable, occupationally relevant, and behaviorally based characteristics or capabilities of people”
(Schippmann, 1999)
The key to all of these definitions is the linkage to job performance, preferably through the specification of
observable behaviors linked to effective job performance. An example from 3M’s model (Alldredge & Nilan,
2000, p. 143) follows:
Competency: Global Perspective.
Respects, values, and leverages other customs, cultures and values. Uses a global
management team to better understand and grow the total business; bale to leverage the
benefits from working in multicultural environments.
Optimizes and integrates resources on a global basis, including manufacturing, research, and
business across countries, and functions to increase 3M’s growth and profitability.
Satisfies global customers and markets from anywhere in the world.
Actively stays current on world economies, trade issues, international market trends and
opportunities.
Developing a competency model from scratch is, obviously, very time-consuming and expensive and, thus,
not always a practical option. In addition, there is already in existence a vast body of job knowledge that can
be used as a starting point. However, simply purchasing and using a general, off-the-shelf model is not likely
to have good results, since the linkage between individual level competencies and organizational level core
competencies will not be there.
3M, for example, began with a review of leadership research, then brought in executives and senior managers,
as well as HR staff (in training and development areas) to develop their model, with the goal of having
management take “ownership” of the model ((Alldredge & Nilan, 2000).
There is, however, a different perspective, as suggested by the US Office of Personnel Management
(Rodriguez, et al., 2002). The psychologists working at OPM suggest that a shared set of competencies, at
least among public sector entities, has the advantage of efficiency, but, moreover, gives different agencies and
entities (federal, state and local) the opportunity to share best practices based on common model.
Once you’ve made the decision to adopt competency modeling, what next? There are several approaches that
an organization can take in developing a competency model (as described by Briscoe & Hall, 1999). First,
there’s the research-based approach, where the focus is on describing the way things are done in the
Chapter Two: Job Analysis
Page 23
organization today. TAP Pharmaceutical Products used this approach in their development program for sales
managers. The purpose here was not to bring about change so much as to develop the next generation of
managers (Otterbein & York, 2006)..
The strategy-based approach has a stronger linkage to strategy, and asks a different question: “Where are we
going and how do we get there?” Authors Ron Zemke and Susan Zemke (1999) give the example of the
Case Corporation, a manufacturer of farm equipment. Management at Case learned that their salespeople in
Europe were being expected to provide a much higher level of customer support to their customers
(equipment retailers) –becoming, essentially, product engineers instead of simply sales people. The
competency model was originally developed to assess current employees’ development needs, but its use was
soon expanded to selection of new employees.
Finally, a values-based approach defines competencies in terms of organizational culture or values. An
example of this would be Southwest Airlines, whose competency-based leadership development program is
based on the “Southwest Way” – “the warrior spirit, the servant’s heart, and the fun-luving attitude” (Bryant,
2007, p.39).
Then, what do you do with competencies? The most common uses are for selection (including succession
planning and career development), employee development (not so much training, but long-term
development) and, finally, performance
appraisal.
Let’s look at this in a graphic format (adopted
from Schippmann, 1999):
Linkage to Organization Strategy and
Core Competencies
Finally, what is the future of competency
modeling? Briscoe and Hall (1999) suggest that
the next step is so-called “metacompetencies,”
which they define as the competencies that
allow a person to learn and acquire more
competencies.
They
define
two
metacompetencies:

“Adaptability,“ or the ability to learn and
change

“Self-Awareness”, or willingness
internalize and use learning.
to
Competencies
(Required)
Work Activities
Organizational
Vision
Spring 2008
Work Context
Competitive Strategy
(Core Competencies)
Management 412 | Job Analysis
Strategic Business
Initiatives
31
Source: Schippmann, 1999)
Chapter Two: Job Analysis
Page 24
Appendix: Sample Job Description
JOB DESCRIPTION
JOB TITLE:
Registered Nurse - Same Day Surgery
JOB FAMILY:
Professional
SUPERVISOR:
Manager - Same Day Surgery
UNIT:
Suburban Hospital
DEPARTMENT:
Surgical Services
JOB CODE: 23AGK
SALARY GRADE: 23
JOB SUMMARY:
The incumbent is responsible for providing nursing care to patients admitted to the Same Day Surgery Unit,
utilizing the nursing processes of assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation, in accordance with
professional standards and hospital standards of patient care.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
% OF TIME
SPENT
20%
1.
Assesses the patient's condition, systematically utilizing verbal and technical nursing
skills, to establish a basis for patient care.
20%
2.
Plans appropriate nursing interventions, utilizing the patient assessment data and
formulates a written care plan, reflecting pertinent physical and psychosocial problems.
15%
3.
Implements patient care activities based on written care plan, knowledge of professional
nursing standards and hospital standards of patient care. Patient care activities may
include administration of medications, tube feedings and changing dressings.
10%
4.
Evaluates written care plan and the patient's responses to nursing interventions on a
continuous basis; reassesses short-term objectives; initiates discharge planning based on
the evaluation process.
10%
5.
Provides technical information and assistance to physicians and other department
employees; assigns duties to unit technical, clerical and service staff; coordinates patient
care activities with other hospital departments such as Respiratory Therapy, Radiology
and Pharmacy.
5%
6.
Provides information to patient or patient family members regarding diagnostic or care
procedures or surgery.
10%
7.
Identifies the learning needs of patients and patients' family members and provides
teaching or education to meet those needs. Documents education or teaching in patient
records.
5%
8.
Maintains own professional knowledge and skills by participating in formal continuing
education activities.
5%
9.
Performs other duties as required.
Chapter Two: Job Analysis
Page 25
INTERNAL CONTACTS:
The RN - Same Day Surgery has daily contact with employees in the same department, in other Surgical
Services departments and in other hospital departments, including acute care nursing floors, Respiratory Therapy,
Radiology and Pharmacy.
EXTERNAL CONTACTS:
The RN - Same Day Surgery has daily contact with physicians, other outside professional staff, patients and
patients' family members.
SUPERVISION GIVEN/RECEIVED:
The RN - Same Day Surgery is under the supervision of the Manager - Same Day Surgery. There are no
supervisory responsibilities assigned to this job, but the incumbent will assign duties to technical, service and clerical
staff members on the unit.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS/CONDITIONS:
Frequent walking and standing; moderate to heavy physical effort and coordination needed to move patients
or equipment. Maximum weight normally moved, lifted or carried alone does not exceed 150 pounds. Invasive
patient contact.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
1.
Possession of a current license to practice in the state of Tennessee as an RN.
2.
Ability to understand and prepare complex written materials, such as patient records.
3.
Ability to communicate verbally with all levels of employees and management, physicians and
patients and their families.
4.
Ability to work without close supervision and to exercise independent judgment in a professional
area.
5.
Ability to organize multiple tasks and projects and maintain control of own and others' work flow.
APPROVED:
Jane Doe
DATE:
SURGICAL SERVICES
APPROVED:
John Smith
COMPENSATION DEPARTMENT
DATE:
Chapter Two: Job Analysis
Page 26
References and Suggestions for Further Reading
Alldredge, M. E., & Nilan, K. J. (2000). 3M’s
leadership competency model: An internally
developed solution.
Human Resource
management, 39(2 & 3), 133-145.
Briscoe, J. P., & Hall, D. T. (Autumn, 1999).
Grooming and picking leaders using
competency frameworks: Do they work?
Organizational Dynamics, 37-51.
Bryant, E.
(December 2007).
Leadership
development Southwest style. T & D, pp.
36-39.
Clifford, J. P. (1994). Job analysis: Why do it, and
how should it be done? Public Personnel
Management, 23(2), 321-340.
Otterbein, E., & York, J. (November 2006). Sales
leadership development. T & D, pp. 55-57.
Parry, S. B. (June 1998). Just what is a
competency? (And why should you care?).
Training, pp. 58-64.
Prahalad, C. K., & Hamel, G. (May-June 1990).
The core competencies of the organization.
Harvard Business Review, pp. 79-91.
Prien, K. O., Prien, E. P., & Wooten, W. A.
(2003). Interrater reliability in job analysis:
Differences in strategy and perspective. Public
Personnel Management, 32(1), 125-141.
Green, P. C. (1999). Building robust competencies:
Linking human resource systems to organizational
strategies. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Rodriguez, D., Patel, R., Bright, A., Gregory, D.,
& Gowing, M. K. (2002). Developing
competency models to promote integrated
human resource practices. Human Resource
Management, 4193), 309-324.
Harvey, R. J., & Wilson, M. A. (2000). Yes
Virginia, there is an objective reality in job
analysis. Journal of Organizational Behavior,
21(7), 830-855.
Sanchez, J. I. (1994). From documentation to
innovation: Reshaping job analysis to meet
emerging business needs. Human Resource
Management Review, 4(1), 51-74.
Lahti, R. K. (1999). Identifying and integrating
individual level and organizational level core
competencies. Journal of Business and Psychology,
14(1), 59-75.
Schippmann, J. S. (1999). Strategic job modeling:
Working at the core of integrated human resources.
Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum &
Associates.Schippmann, J.S., Ash, R.A.,
Battista, M., Carr, L., Eyde, L. D., Hesketh,
B., Kehoe, J., Pearlman, K. Prien, E. P., &
Sanchez, J. I. (2000). The practice of
competency modeling. Personnal Psychology,
53, 703-740.
Morgenson, F. P. & Campion, M. A. (1997).
Social and cognitive sources of potential
inaccuracy in job analysis. Journal of Applied
Psychology, 82(5), 627-655.
Mirabile, R. J. (August 1997). Everything you
always wanted to know about competency
modeling. Training & Development, pp. 73-77.
Zemke, R., & Zemke, S. (January 1999). Putting
competencies to work. Training, pp. 70-76.