Job Analysis - Chapter 3

Front 1

What are worker-oriented job analysis methods and what are they used for?

Back 1

They focus on attributes or characteristics that people need to be able to complete their jobs successfully, and they describe jobs from the worker's point of view instead of the work itself. They can be used to hire qualified people.

Front 2

How do job analysts capture the human attributes needed to be good at a job?

Back 2

KSAOs

Front 3

Describe the K in KSAO.

Back 3

Knowledge - existence in memory of a retrievable set of technical facts, concepts, language, and procedures directly relevant to job performance

Front 4

Describe the S in KSAO.

Back 4

Skill - the developed or trained capacity to perform tasks that call for the use of tools, equipment, or machinery.

Front 5

Describe the A in KSAO.

Back 5

Abilities - relatively enduring capacity to acquire skills or knowledge, and to carry out tasks at an acceptable level of proficiency, where tools, equipment, and machinery are not major elements

Front 6

What is the difference between a skill and an ability?

Back 6

Skills are more short term, developed capacity and usually involve tools, equipment, or machinery. Abilities are more of an enduring capacity and usually don't involve tools, equipment, or machinery.

Front 7

Describe the O in KSAO.

Back 7

Other personal characteristics - includes job relevant interests, preferences, temperament, and personality characteristics that indicate how well an employee is likely to perform on a routine basis or how likely an employee is to adjust to working conditions

Front 8

Which worker-oriented method is most similar to the work-oriented methods and why?

Back 8

Job Element Method - it is also the earliest of the worker-oriented approaches - it focuses on work behaviors and results of the behavior rather than more abstract characteristics

Front 9

What is an element in job element method?

Back 9

element - combination of behaviors and associated evidences; cover a broad range of behaviors (cognitive, psychomotor, and work habits [motivational in character])

* work habits are an advantage of JEM, could include things like willingness to take on extra work

Front 10

What are the steps in the job element method?

Back 10

1. Gather elements from subject matter experts

2. Have experts rate each element on 4 scales:

B, S, T, P

3. Derive Scale values from the expert ratings

4. Share derived ratings with experts:

TV, IT, TR

5. Use results in your application (i.e. developing tests)

Front 11

Describe how element information is gathered and rated for a job element method analysis.

Back 11

* team of six SMEs (incumbents and supervisors)

* 2 sessions: 3 - 5 hrs each

* 1st session: SMEs rate list of elements that analyst compiles, they also create subelements (specific behavioral examples) after all elements are listed

* analyst then analyzes ratings and compiles results

* 2nd session: SMEs meet again and results of first session are used to develop a test, performance measure, or training program

Front 12

Describe the four ratings scales used in job element method.

Back 12

1. Barely Acceptable (B) - judge if barely acceptable workers must possess element to do the job; use 0 if none of them would have it, check if some, and + if all

2. Superior (S) - how useful is the element for distinguishing the superior worker; 0 if not useful, check if valuable, and + if very important

3. Trouble Likely if Not Considered (T) - will there be trouble if element is not included in selection; 0 if ok to ignore, check if some trouble, + if much trouble

4. Practical (P) - are job applicants likely to possess the element, how many openings can we fill if we select for it; 0 if almost no openings, check if some, + if all openings

Front 13

Describe the TV derived scale used in job element method.

Back 13

Total Value (TV) - value of the element in differentiating abilities of applicants for a job.

TV = (S---B--P) + (SP + T) means:

"Select for elements that pick workers who will prove superior and reject workers who will prove to be problems. But let's not select for elements if they are too common or uncommon among workers".

Max value is 150, 100+ are considered elements

Front 14

Describe the IT derived scale used in job element method.

Back 14

Item Index (IT) - extent to which a subelement is important in the content of a test

IT = SP + T

Subelements with IT values >= 50 can be used to rank applicants.

Front 15

Describe the TR derived scale used in job element method.

Back 15

Training value (TV) - value of the element in training

TR = S + T + SP'----B means:

"We would like to train people on skills that superior workers have and that will prove troublesome if absent (S+T). However, we only need to train employees on those skills that are not readily available in the labor pool (SP'---B)"

Used for training when TR is >= 75

Front 16

What is the J-coefficient and what do you need to compute it?

Back 16

J-coefficient is an estimate of the validity coefficient (shows how job performance is correlated with a test) that would result if a validation study were conducted, but it is derived in part from human judgement. Need:

1) correlation of job elements with overall job performance

2) correlations of tests with the job elements

3) correlations of the job elements among themselves

Front 17

What are the pros and cons of the job element method?

Back 17

Pros: good for developing tests that are work samples (broader and narrower collections of job-oriented behaviors), made KSAOs common lingo

Cons: no evidence shows the complex formulas are necessary, very heavy reliance on SME input form start to finish

Front 18

What is the difference between an element in JEM and an element in PAQ?

Back 18

PAQ was designed so the same elements apply to all jobs.

Front 19

How are elements divided in the PAQ and how are they rated and used?

Back 19

* PAQ is usually used to analyze groups of related positions similar enough to be called a job and be given a single title.

* PAQ has 300 elements that are divided into 6 major divisions, which are further divided into subdivisions called sections and subsections. (Group related items).

* The job analyst (NOT incumbent!) considers each item relative to the job and decides if the item applies to the job (analyst observes and interviews incumbents to do this).

* 6 rating scales used by PAQ, and only one scale is used for a given item

* PAQ is then scored by a computer which prints out dimension and overall scores for the major divisions. Computer also prints out info for job evaluation (if covered by Fair Labor Standards Act, points for setting salaries).

Front 20

What are the 2 main uses of the PAQ, and how reliable and valid is it?

Back 20

2 Objectives: 1) standardized approach to identify person requirements of jobs

2) help organizations with job evaluation for compensation [HELPFUL for selection & Job evaluation]

Reliability: High - Judges agree with one another when both filing out PAQ for same job

Validity: High - PAQ can show that more demanding jobs are more highly paid

Front 21

Describe the Threshold Traits Analysis System (TTAS).

Back 21

* TTAS based on standard set of 33 traits classified into 2 sections:

1) Can do (abilities: physical, mental, and learned) 2) Will do (attitudes: motivational and social traits)

* Can be used for selection & is legally defensible

Front 22

Describe the Ability Requirements Scales (ARS).

Back 22

* used to evaluate or judge the degree to which each of the generic human abilities is required by the job

* abilities is linked to one or more tests, so ARS can be sued for selection

* ARS is also useful for building job families

Front 23

Describe the Occupational Reinforcer Pattern (ORP).

Back 23

* theory is based on how individuals differ in their needs (some people need more recognition, some need formal work settings, etc.)

* ORP is an attempt to represent ways in which jobs provide things people want or need.

* useful for vocational guidance

Front 24

Describe the AET (long german words here).

Back 24

* comes from ergonomics perspective (design things for human use)

* attempts to minimize human stress and strain while maximizing performance quality and quantity

* pays attention to equipment used and working conditions

* useful for accommodations for disabilities

Front 25

Describe the Job Components Inventory (JCI).

Back 25

* developed to describe wide range of entry level jobs

* covers 220 tools and pieces of equipment

* useful for vocational guidance and training

Front 26

How is Cognitive Task Analysis (CTA) different from other work-oriented methods?

Back 26

It is the most recently developed and it aims to understand the mental activities that experts use to complete tasks. It does not refer to a specific set of traits or elements to understand human abilities required by work.

*CTA is a collection of different methods, it's not one method!

Front 27

How are tasks to be examined using CTA determined?

Back 27

Start with a work-oriented job analysis to describe the job's duties and tasks. From the list of tasks, some tasks are chosen for further study by CTA. CTA is expensive, time-consuming, and difficult.

Front 28

CTA descriptors: List and describe the 4 types of knowledge.

Back 28

1. declarative knowledge - factual knowledge, can be spoken or declared

2. procedural knowledge - knowledge of how

3. generative knowledge - allows you to figure out what to do in a new problem situation

4. self-knowledge - knowledge about what you do and do not know and what you can and cannot do

Front 29

CTA descriptors: List and describe the 3 types of skills

Back 29

1. automated skills - mental processes that are fast and effortless

2. representational skills - use mental models (mental representations of a device, process, or system)

3. decision-making skills - techniques like rules of thumb to allow experts to arrive at appropriate decisions quickly and accurately

Front 30

List and describe the 5 classes of methods of CTA data collection and analysis.

Back 30

1. Interviewing methods - interview SMEs

2. Team communication methods - analyze communication among team members for evidence of mental processes

3. Diagramming methods - tasks can be represented by charts to indicate relations among concepts (path-goal diagrams or decision trees)

4. Verbal report methods - have SMEs think aloud while completing a task

5. Psychological scaling methods - use cluster analysis to create a representation of the relations among a set of concepts

Front 31

What can cognitive task analysis be used for and discuss the reliability and validity.

Back 31

* CTA can be used for reducing human error, improving training, and increasing systems reliability

* Reliability and validity are hard to discuss, because CTA is a group of methods

* More SMEs = better reliability, use 2 different measures of expertise to determine if an expert

* Validity resides in usefulness of technique for intended purpose