HRM-590-11541 Human Resource Management
Literature Review Week 3

The first article I found to help me better understand job analysis and how to conduct one was by Lysaght R, Shaw L. and titled Job Analysis (What it is and how it is used).1 This article was very helpful because it showed and explained to me the key elements that are needed when conducting a good strong job analysis. This article showed me that I needed to include both essential and non-essential task descriptions. It also gave specifics on the type of equipment that would need to be used and physical demands as well as many other things to include in my analysis. I was honestly hoping this article would help me more. Though I found some of it useful, it didn’t really help me understand what exactly I need to do to gather the information needed in the job analysis.

The second article I found was by Jody Wheaton. Her article is all about how conducting a proper job analysis can improve your business. In the article she describes different ways to actually conduct a job analysis. The thing I took from this article was mostly the importance of actually doing research into the job. Because of this article, I actually sought out the HR department and found out what kind of things they would actually need in an HR reception/assistant position. I wanted to know what kind of equipment they would be using and what exactly they would like that person in that role to do. Jody Wheaton states that “Knowledge, skills, abilities, work behaviors, tasks associated with the job, competencies and cultural aspects of the organization should all be part of the data collection process.”2 I was able to add some of these aspects into my paper as well, allowing it to be a little more detailed. This article helped me by explaining to me the proper process that is needed in conducting a job analysis.

My third article was a little disappointing in terms of helping to assemble my own job analysis. I did however pull some very interesting information from this article. In the article titled “Job analysis: A local government's experience” by Steve J. Urbanek, he explained the struggles he went through in putting a job analysis together. He described how they got the information they had and how they asked the current employees to help by filling out their own descriptions. They provided a list of tasks to each employee and asked that they elaborate on it. He states that “The Job Task Listing and Rating section consisted of employees generating specific task statements for each of the job duties chosen in Section I. The questionnaire contained written instructions on the proper way to construct task statements.” By doing this, they were able to get firsthand knowledge of what each position entailed.

After reading all these articles and using them to help me in my job analysis, I found that there are several ways to conduct one. I learned that they are very important in helping to place the right people for the right job, and that the more information you have about the position, the better your chances of filling it with a good match.

1. Lysaght R, Shaw L. 2013. Job Analysis (What it is and how it is used). In: JH Stone, M Blouin, editors. International Encyclopedia of Rehabilitation. Available online: http://cirrie.buffalo.edu/encyclopedia/en/article/268/

2. Jody Wheaton, director of Organizational Effectiveness for Corporate College. 10.01.2011 Cleveland. How conducting a job analysis improves your business’s efficiency, growth and innovation. Available online: http://www.sbnonline.com/2011/10/how-conducting-a-job-analysis-improves-your-business%E2%80%99s-efficiency-growth-and-innovation/

3. Steve J. Urbanek. Job analysis: A local government's experience. Public Personnel Management, Fall97, Vol. 26 Issue 3, p423, 7p, 2 Charts. Available online: http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=b354b397-413c-48ef-8b34-3d1a876ca202%40sessionmgr12&vid=1&hid=24&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=f5h&AN=9710262843