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METHODS OF JOB ANALYSIS
Some History
Now, let's look at how job analysis has evolved in history. Several methods of job analysis have been used over the past several decades, but each leaves something to be desired.
DOL 1946 Method
The job-analysis formula outlined by the DOL in 1946 is a simple but complete method of obtaining information on work activities. The formula consists of four points.
DOL 1946 Method
- What the worker does
- How he or she does it
- Why he or she does it
- The skill involved in doing it
In fact...
Providing the what, how, and why of each task, and of the total job, should constitute a functional description of work activities for compensation purposes.
DOL 1972 Method
By 1972, this formula had been expanded by the DOL to encompass five points. (Worker traits represents an additional type of job information.)
DOL 1972 Method
- Worker Functions: The relationship of the worker to data, people and things.
- Work Fields: The techniques used to complete the tasks of the job. Over 100 such fields have been identified. This descriptor also includes the machines, tools, equipment, and work aids that are used in the job.
- Materials, Products, Subject Matter, and/or Services: The outcomes of the job or the purpose of performing the job.
- Worker Traits: The aptitudes, educational and vocational training, and personal traits required of the worker.
- Physical Demands: Job requirements such as strength, observation and talking. This descriptor also includes the physical environment of the work.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Handbook for Analyzing Jobs (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1972).
McCormick Method
In 1979, Industrial Psychologist Ernest J. McCormick classified job descriptors as follows:
McCormick Method
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Work Activities:
- job-oriented
- worker-oriented
- Machines, Tools, Equipment
- Work Performed
- Job Context
- Personnel Requirements3
McCormick's method flows from his model of the operational functions basic to all jobs:
- Sensing (information receiving)
- Information storage
- Information processing
- Decision and action (physical control or communication)
In the next section, we'll demonstrate an up-to-date job-analysis method that's based on the connection between the organization and the employee today.
Memory Jogger
A functional job description using the DOL 1946 method must include:
Sources:
3 E. J. McCormick, Job Analysis (New York: American Management Association, 1979).