Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Chapter 5 Analyzing Work and Planning for People

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The Importance of Job Analysis to the Operating Manager  Job analysis describes the process of obtaining information about the tasks to be done on the job, as well as the personal characteristics (education, experience, specialized training) necessary to do the tasks  Provide a deeper understanding of the behavioral requirements of jobs, creating a solid basis on which to make job-related employment decisions  Alternative uses of job analysis  Organizational structure and design  Human resource planning  Job evaluation and compensation  Recruitment

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The Importance of Job Analysis to the Operating Manager  Alternative uses of job analysis (continued)  Selection  Placement  Orientation, training, and development  Performance appraisal  Career path planning  Labor relations  Engineering design and methods improvement  Job design  Safety  Vocational guidance and rehabilitation counseling  Job classification systems

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Five Common Methods of Job Analysis  Job performance  Observation (of the what, why, and how of the various parts of the job)  Interview  Critical incidents  Brief reports that illustrate particularly effective or ineffective worker behavior  Structured questionnaires  Workers rate each task or behavior in terms of whether or not it is performed, and, if it is, they rate characteristics such as frequency, importance, level of difficulty, and relationship to overall performance

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. O*Net & Its Four Broad Design Principles  O*Net is a national occupational information system that provides comprehensive descriptions of the attributes of workers and jobs  O*Net is composed of four broad design principles  Multiple descriptor domains that provide “multiple windows” into the world of work  A common language of work and worker descriptors that covers the entire spectrum of occupations  Description of occupations based on a taxonomy from broad to specific  A comprehensive content model, the O*Net Content Model, that integrates the previous three principles

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. General Business & Workforce Planning  General business plans may be strategic or tactical in nature  Strategic planning for an organization includes six major elements  Defining philosophy  Formulating statements of identity, purpose, and objectives  Evaluating strengths, weaknesses, and competitive dynamics  Determining design  Developing strategies  Devising programs  Tactical planning addresses issues associated with the growth of current or new operations, as well as with any specific problems that might disrupt the pace of planned growth

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. General Business & Workforce Planning  Workforce planning parallels the plans for the business as a whole  It is an effort to anticipate future business and environmental demands on an organization, provide qualified people to fulfill that business, and satisfy those demands

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Components of the WP System  A talent inventory to assess current human resources and to analyze how they are being used  A workforce forecast to predict future people requirements  Action plans to enlarge the pool of people qualified to fill the projected vacancies through such actions as recruitment, selection, training, placement, transfer, promotion, development, and compensation  Control and evaluation to provide feedback on the overall effectiveness of the HR planning system by monitoring the degree of attainment of the HR objectives

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Talent Inventories  Assess the numbers, skills, and experience of the current workforce to provide a better forecast of future workforce needs  Assessment includes analysis of current employee information  Current position information  Previous position in the company  Other significant work experience  Education  Language skills and relevant international experience  Training and development programs attended  Community or industry leadership responsibilities  Current and past performance appraisal data  Disciplinary actions  Awards received

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Workforce Forecasts  Two types of forecasts are used to estimate labor requirements at some future time period:  The external and internal supply of labor  The aggregate external and internal demand for labor

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Matching Forecast Results to Action Plans  Action programs: Helping organizations adapt to change  Action programs include six major elements  Recruitment  Selection  Performance appraisal  Training  Transfer  Career-enhancement activities  Labor-demand forecasts uncover the needs of the organization  By developing the most accurate and valid selection process, the organization hires higher-ability workers. By then applying the most appropriate action programs, the organization further increases the performance of those employees

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Control & Evaluation of WP Systems: Qualitative Versus Quantitative  Qualitative systems are more common in newly instituted WP systems. Under these circumstances, workforce planners should attempt to assess these four elements:  The extent to which they are tuned in to workforce problems and opportunities and the extent to which their priorities are sound  The quality of their working relationships with staff specialists and line managers who supply data and use WP results  The extent to which decision makers are making use of WP forecasts, action plans, and recommendations  The perceived value of WP among decision makers

Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Control & Evaluation of WP Systems: Qualitative Versus Quantitative  Quantitative systems are more common in established WP systems where objectives and action plans are both underpinned by measured performance standards. Key comparisons might include:  Actual staffing levels against forecast desired rates  Actual levels of labor productivity against anticipated levels of labor productivity  Actual personnel flow rates against desired rates  Action programs implemented against action programs planned  The actual results of the action programs implemented against the expected results  Labor and action program costs against budgets  Ratios of action program benefits to action program costs