Custom «Job Analysis» Essay Paper

Question 1

Approaches to Job Analysis of the Customer Service Representative Position

There are various definitions of the term job analysis. It is a process that involves collection of information regarding the duties, necessary skills, responsibilities, work environment, as well as the outcomes of a given job (Bohlander & Snell, 2010). One could also perceive job analysis as a process that involves a definition of a job regarding its duties, component tasks, as well as the required skills and knowledge for undertaking the responsibilities (Hernandez, 2009).

Approaches to Job Analysis

There are various methods for undertaking a job analysis. These methods include checking work diaries, previous studies, use of questionnaires, interviewing the immediate supervisor, interviewing the existing position/post holders, and direct observation (Bohlander & Snell, 2010). This paper briefly discusses the following approaches to a job analysis: use of questionnaires, interviewing the immediate supervisor, interviewing the existing position/post holders, as well as direct observation (Franklin, 2005).

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Questionnaires

This method of job analysis involves collecting information from employees who hold similar positions. The questions in the questionnaire are designed in such a way that they help the person undertaking the job analysis to collect information that would describe the responsibilities and duties that are related to the analyzed position (Condrey, 2010). A questionnaire should be structured in such a way that it identifies various tasks that are expected from a person who occupies a certain position. This may involve use of open-ended questions (Franklin, 2005).

Advantages of Using Questionnaire

It is an efficient and quick way of collecting required information from a large number of employees. It is also economical to use a questionnaire for conducting a job analysis, especially when there is a large number of respondents (Bohlander & Snell, 2010).

Disadvantages of Using Questionnaire

Production of the questionnaires is time consuming, since one needs time to construct and test the validity of the questions. It requires the respondents to be literate in order to be able to answer the questions (Condrey, 2010). Besides, one needs time to go through the answers provided by the respondents (Gatewood, Feild, & Barrick, 2015).

User of Interviews

Use of interviews involves interviewing the immediate supervisor, as well as interviewing the current holders of a certain position. In other words, this approach involves gathering information from the employees who currently perform the analyzed job. Besides, it includes gathering information from the immediate supervisor, or a boss, who has knowledge of that particular job. An interview utilized both structured and unstructured questions (Franklin, 2005).

Advantages of Interviews

Use of interviews is a quick and direct way of gathering of the needed but ignored information.

Disadvantages of Interviews

The interviewer’s knowledge should match that of the interviewee’s in order to ensure that the gathered information is accurate. Besides, lack of communication or barriers to communication may make the interview unsuccessful. Moreover, differences in perception and attitudes may also interfere with the process of conducting the interview. The immediate supervisor may not be interested in the job description of the juniors. They may also hold a negative attitude, which could interfere with the process of the interview. Finally, there may be depreciation or exaggeration of the analyzed job’s significance (Bohlander & Snell, 2010).

Use of Direct Observation

Direct observation is a method that involves observing, and writing down the physical activities of workers as they undertake their duties (Condrey, 2010).

Advantages of Direct Observation

It creates first-hand information. It also reduces the information’s distortion (Hernandez, 2009). 

Disadvantages of Direct Observation

The observer’s capacity should match the employee’s competence. The method cannot be used in a situation where duties of the position involve high levels of intellectual work. Besides, it is challenging to capture the job cycle holistically. Finally, it is quite time-consuming (Condrey, 2010).

Recommend Approach

The recommended approaches include use of questionnaires and interviews. These methods are appropriate because, if used effectively together, they may overcome each other’s weaknesses (Franklin, 2005).

Question 2

Job Design

Job design is a process that involves an organized effort geared towards organising tasks, responsibilities, and duties to a unit of work in order to achieve a particular objective or set of objectives. Job design is among the results of the job analysis (Franklin, 2005).

Approaches to Job Design

There are four different approaches to job design. All jobs can be grouped in one of the following four approaches to job design. They include perceptual-moto approach, biological, motivational, and mechanical approaches. The last two approaches are briefly discussed below (Hernandez, 2009).

The Mechanical Approach

The mechanical approach to a job design focuses on the simplest way of structuring the duties of a Customer Service Representative so that the responsibilities of the position can be undertaken more effectively and much faster. The job description should be simple so that anyone can be trained for the job relatively quickly. It implies that the job should be expressed into simple tasks that are to be carried out by the Customer Service Representative (Franklin, 2005). The mechanical approach involves a focus on the content of the job, which is briefly described below.

Job Content

Job content refers to all of the activities, which are required for the job. There are the factors that define a particular job’s general nature, which, in this case, is the position of a Customer Service Representative. Job content involves a functional job analysis, which describes the job content in details (Condrey, 2010).

There are several possible challenges connected to determining the activities of the job. For example, it may not outline some of the required tools, techniques, skills, and subject matter required for the job. They may not be easily determined since it requires some technical skills (Gatewood, Feild, & Barrick, 2015).

The Motivational Approach

This approach focuseses on various aspects of a Customer Service Representative’s position. The approach impacts the motivational potential of a person holding the position. The motivational approach involves specification of job requirements, which are discussed below (Condrey, 2010).

Job Requirements

Job requirements involve considering the required education, licenses, experiences, as well as other individual characteristics which are needed for one to undertake the job content. This approach may involve use of a position analysis questionnaire. Use of the questionnaire takes into consideration the human characteristics, technological factor of the Customer Service Representative job, the job classes, together with the task (Gatewood, Feild, & Barrick, 2015).

Some of the challenges of the Customer Service Representative job’s requirements analysis may lie in the fact that the source of the critical to the job information may not be easily found. Besides, it may prove to be difficult to engage someone and instantly determine some of the interpersonal relationship skills required for the job (Franklin, 2005). 

Question 3

Job Design Strategies

The following are the job design strategies that can be employed by the organization in order to implement, attract and select qualified applicants for the position of a Customer Service Representative. The strategies include the Functional Job Analysis (FJA) as well as utilization of the Position Analysis Questionnaires (PAQ) (Condrey, 2010).

Functional Job Analysis

Functional Job Analysis is a strategy used for describing the job content of the Customer Service Representative position in terms of the materials, subject matter, or services that an employee is expected to possess or offer. It also outlines the equipment or tools that the prospective worker needs. Most importantly, it outlines what a Customer Service Representative does in terms of the involved data, people, and tasks (Gatewood, Feild, & Barrick, 2015).

Position Analysis Questionnaires

As described above, this is a job design strategy that involves determining the individual characteristics, technological requirements of a Customer Service Representative and job classes. In this regard, it identifies various aspects of the job, which include the sources of the information regarding the job performance, vital decision-making and information processing, all of which are related to the position (Condrey, 2010). Furthermore, position analysis also involves determining the related to the job physical dexterity, reaction of the position holder to the working conditions, as well as interpersonal relationship skills, which are needed for the position of a Customer Service Representative (Gatewood, Feild, & Barrick, 2015).

Justification

The selected strategies would be effective based on the fact that the above strategies involve a job description, which includes specifying the task requirements. That is, there will be statements that outline the duties and working condition that a Customer Service Representative will work with. Besides, the strategies ensure that there are job specifications, which involve the job demands of the Customer Service Representative position (Condrey, 2010). The demand may include the expected knowledge, skills, and abilities. By extension, the two strategies also ensure the expected performance stands (Hernandez, 2009).

Question 4

Measure the Performance of Customer Service Representatives

Job analysis results in job evaluation, job specifications, and job description. These three are tangible ways of measuring the performance of a Customer Service Representative. It is very important to note that they are a concrete result of work and not of the job analysis (Hernandez, 2009).

A job description is a documented statement of the Customer Service Representative’s duties, under what conditions they are performed, how they are undertaken, and why they are done. Besides, the job specification outlines the least satisfactory experiences that the holder should have in order to successfully perform the expected work (Hernandez, 2009). Finally, besides offering data for the job descriptions and specifications, a job analysis is also valuable in providing information that makes it possible to compare the position with other positions, so as to assess the value of a Customer Service Representative. Therefore, through job analysis, it is ultimately possible to measure the performance of a Customer Service Representative (Hernandez, 2009).

In conclusion, a job analysis is perceived as a process that involves defining a job with regard to its duties, fundamental tasks, as well as the required skills, or knowledge that. Techniques or methods involved in the job analysis include examining at work diaries, previous studies, use of questionnaires, interviewing the immediate supervisor as well as the existing position/post holders, and direct observation. Job design is a process that involves an organized effort geared towards organising tasks, responsibilities, and duties to a unit of work in order to achieve a particular objective or a set of objectives. The four approaches to job design include the perceptual-moto approach, the biological approach, the motivational approach, and the mechanical.