OVERVIEW Among the HR prescriptions

OVERVIEW Among the HR prescriptions cited in Chapter 1 as predictive of corporate performance was

the use of “validated” selection procedures, the use of formal performance appraisal, and

the percentage of the workforce working in self-managed work teams. These prescriptions

require some form of work or job analysis. An analysis of work is considered a building

block for most HR systems in organizations. Corporate restructuring processes, quality im-

provement programs, human resource planning, job design, recruitment strategies, training

programs, succession planning, and compensation systems are among the other HR activi-

ties that are based on work analysis. Let us not forget the importance of job analysis in the

legal context discussed in Chapter 3.

Work analysis, a term which includes traditional job analysis and job design, provides the basic information that leads to specific products used or actions taken by management

to create and sustain organizational capability. While sometimes a highly formal system involving trained analysts and standardized instruments and other times a more informal

process, work analysis should be the first step for actions within most of the functional

areas of HR. Consider the following scenarios:

■ G4S Secure Solutions is interested in the development of a new screening test for armed

security guards. It wants to be certain that the test is legally defensible and “job related”

and emphasizes the most important elements of the job. Having also read the previous

chapter in this book on equal employment opportunity (EEO), the consultant recom-

mends two methods of work analysis to gather information. Why two methods?