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Job analysts are typically industrial/organizational psychologists or human resource officers who have been trained by, and are acting under the supervision of an industrial/organizational psychologist. . Job analysis was also conceptualized by two of the founders of Industrial-Organizational psychology, Frederick Taylor and Lillian Moller Gilbreth in the early 20th century.[1]

Purpose
One of the main purposes of conducting job analysis is to prepare job descriptions and job specifications which in turn helps hire the right quality of workforce into an organization. The general purpose of job analysis is to document the requirements of a job and the work performed. Job and task analysis is performed as a basis for later improvements, including: definition of a job domain; description of a job; development of performance appraisals, personnel selection, selection systems, promotion criteria, training needs assessment, legal defense of selection processes, and compensation plans.[2]

In the fields of human resources (HR) and industrial psychology, job analysis is often used to gather information for use in personnel selection, training, classification, and/or compensation.[3]

Industrial Psychologists use job analysis to determine the physical requirements of a job to determine whether an individual who has suffered some diminished capacity is capable of performing the job with, or without, some accommodation. Edwin Flieshman, Ph.D. is credited with determining the underlying factors of human physical fitness. [4] Professionals developing certification exams use job analysis (often called something slightly different, such as "task analysis" or "work analysis") to determine the elements of the domain which must be sampled in order to create a content valid exam. When a job analysis is conducted for the purpose of valuing the job (i.e., determining the appropriate compensation for incumbents) this is called "job evaluation."

Job analysis aims to answer questions such as:


 * Why does the job exist?


 * What physical and mental activities does the worker undertake?


 * When is the job to be performed?


 * Where is the job to be performed?


 * How does the worker do the job?


 * What qualifications are needed to perform the job?


 * What are the working conditions (such as levels of temperature, noise, offensive fumes, light)


 * What machinery or equipment is used in the job?

[edit]
 * What constitutes successful performance?

Procedures and KSAOs
Task-oriented procedures focus on the actual activities involved in performing work.[2] This procedure takes into consideration work duties, responsibilities, and functions. The job analyst then develops task statements which clearly state the tasks that are performed with great detail. After creating task statements, job analysts rate the tasks on scales indicating importance, difficulty, frequency, and consequences of error. Based on these ratings, a greater sense of understanding of a job can be attained.[1] Task analysis, such as cognitively oriented task analysis (COTA), are techniques used to describe job expertise. For example, the job analysts may tour the job site and observe workers performing their jobs. During the tour the analyst may collect materials that directly or indirectly indicate required skills (duty statements, instructions, safety manuals, quality charts, etc.).[3]
 * Task-oriented

Functional job analysis (FJA)[9] is a classic example of a task-oriented technique. Developed by Fine and Cronshaw in 1944, work elements are scored in terms of relatedness to data (0–6), people (0–8), and things (0–6), with lower scores representing greater complexity. Incumbents, considered subject matter experts (SMEs), are relied upon, usually in a panel, to report elements of their work to the job analyst. Using incumbent reports, the analyst uses Fine's terminology to compile statements reflecting the work being performed in terms of data, people, and things. The Dictionary of Occupational Titles uses elements of the FJA in defining jobs.[1]

Worker-oriented procedures aim to examine the human attributes needed to perform the job successfully.[2] These human attributes have been commonly classified into four categories: knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAO). Knowledge is the information people need in order to perform the job. Skills are the proficiencies needed to perform each task. Abilities are the attributes that are relatively stable over time. Other characteristics are all other attributes, usually personality factors.[1] The KSAOs required for a job are inferred from the most frequently-occurring, important tasks. In a worker-oriented job analysis, the skills are inferred from tasks and the skills are rated directly in terms of importance of frequency. This often results in data that immediately imply the important KSAOs. However, it can be hard for SMEs to rate skills directly.
 * Worker-oriented

The Fleishman Job Analysis System (F-JAS) developed by Edwin A. Fleishman represents a worker-oriented approach. Fleishman factor-analyzed large data sets to discover a common, minimum set of KSAOs across different jobs. His system of 73 specific scales measure three broad areas: Cognitive (Verbal Abilities; Idea Generation & Reasoning Abilities; Quantitative Abilities; Memory; Perceptual Abilities; Spatial Abilities; and Attentiveness), Psychomotor (Fine Manipulative Abilities; Control Movement Abilities; and Reaction Time and Speed Abilities), and Physical (Physical Strength Abilities; Endurance; Flexibility, Balance, and Coordination; Visual Abilities; and Auditory and Speech Abilities).

JobScan is a measurement instrument which defines the personality dynamics within a specific type of job.[10] By collecting PDP ProScan Survey results of actual performers and results of job dynamics analysis surveys completed by knowledgeable people related to a specific job, JobScan provides a suggested ideal job model for that position. Although it does not evaluate the intellect or experience necessary to accomplish a task, it does deal with the personality of the type of work itself. One key difference between task-oriented and worker-oriented procedures lies in the extent that task oriented procedures are directly observable. Ratings of ability statements could be more susceptible to inflation by job analysis respondents because it is harder to verify that an ability is there than seeing a task being done. Ability ratings may also reflect a self-rating compared to job-rating, suggesting that self-presentation will be more likely with ability statements.[11] [edit]Systems

Methods
There are several ways to conduct a job analysis, including: interviews with incumbents and supervisors, work sampling,[5] the repertory grid technique,[6] questionnaires (structured, open-ended, or both), observation, critical incident investigations,[7] hierarchical task analysis,[8] and gathering background information such as duty statements or classification specifications. In job analyses conducted by HR professionals, it is common to use more than one of these methods.[3]

5. The Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) is a well-known job analysis instrument. Although it is labeled a questionnaire, the PAQ is actually designed to be completed by a trained job analyst who interviews the SMEs (e.g., job incumbents and their supervisors).[2] The PAQ was designed to measure job component validity of attributes presented in aptitude tests. Job component validity is the relationship between test scores and skills required for good job performance. There are 195 behavior-related statements in the PAQ divided into six major sections: information input, mental process, work output, relationships with others, job context, and other job characteristics.[13]

Systems
The O NET lists job requirements for a variety of jobs and is often considered basic, generic, or initial job analysis data. Everyone can use this database at no cost and is continually updated by observing workers from each occupation. O NET also has a Career Exploration Tool, assessment to help workers and students who are searching for new careers. Data available from O NET includes physical Task-based statements describing the work performed are derived from the functional job analysis technique. O NET also provides links to salary data at the US national, state and city level for each job.