Determine how organizational strategy impacts jobs within an organization.
HAPTER 4: STRATEGY, BEHAVIORS AND JOBS
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
Discuss how organizational strategy impacts jobs within an organization.
Understand how to write and maintain accurate job descriptions.
Identify the role job descriptions play in organizations.
Identify the legal aspect of job descriptions.
Recognize how job content may be changed to impact intrinsic motivation.
CAREER FOCUS – LEARNING OBJECTIVE
Research job descriptions in organizations and industries that pertain to your current and future career aspirations.
CHAPTER CASE SCENARIO
You are the store manager for a clothing retailer. You have been asked to confirm the job description of the assistant manager position. What steps would you take to ensure the accuracy of the job description?
Most people are familiar with job descriptions, yet may not be familiar with the role of job descriptions within organizations. In addition, most people who work may not be familiar with how or even why the job was established within the company. The experience most people have is just doing the job for which they were hired (as well as also completing the tasks as asked by management). The job already exists.
Complete the following exercises based on a current or previous job you have held.
DESCRIBING YOUR JOB CHAPTER EXERCISE #1
Describing Your Job—Chapter Exercise #1
Have you seen the job description for your current position?
Yes
No
I don’t know
Answer the following questions regarding a current or previous job.
Describing Your Job—Chapter Exercise #2
What were the requirements of the job?
Who did you report to?
Did you manage anybody?
Describing Your Job—Chapter Exercise #3
What attributes did you have that helped you do the job?
What attributes were necessary?
Describing Your Job—Chapter Exercise #4
What previous experiences did you have that helped you do the job?
Describing Your Job—Chapter Exercise #5
Was there any specialized training or education that was required to do the job?
Describing Your Job—Chapter Exercise #6
Where was the work done? An office? Restaurant?
Were there any hazards associated with doing the job?
What was completed above is a very simple approach to capturing the content, the responsibilities, and the environment in which the work is done, and the necessary KSAs to adequately complete the job. In other words, conducting a job analysis and writing a job description.
Jobs, just as everything else, must align with the strategy. Due to the structure of the organization, the grouping of these responsibilities is of utmost importance as how these behaviors are grouped will impact the necessary employees or human capital required to fulfill those roles. Applying the WEB equation is vital, as the strategy and necessary processes will impact the jobs within the organization. This chapter will introduce the macro-level content of how strategy impacts jobs. The bulk of the chapter, however, is to understand the micro-level behavior of how job descriptions are written and maintained. The chapter also offers different approaches to modifying jobs based on motivation and environmental considerations.
STRATEGY, ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES, AND JOBS
Consider the diagram in Chapter 2 comparing the price versus differentiation strategies. To maintain margins, costs must be controlled. This observation is made all the truer when the strategy or the price the goods command within the market is barely above costs. So, companies competing with thin margins, especially those who are competing on lower prices as compared to competitors, must maintain lower cost structures.
This strategy impacts the operations as processes need to emphasize efficiency. A pizza restaurant can serve as an example. If the strategy is to offer low-priced pizzas, then this has ramifications on operations. For example, to lower internal costs as well as to standardize consumer experiences across locations, preprocessed ingredients may be shipped. Further, because ingredients are preprocessed, the necessary skill of the employees for preparing and cooking the pizzas is greatly reduced. So, instead of requiring a skilled chef who can make pizza dough from flour, water, and yeast, it may only be necessary to hire employees who can open the preprocessed pizza shells, place the ingredients on the shell, and place in the oven for the prescribed cooking time.
An organizational structure may in fact require lower skill levels to be the catalyst for the organizational activities. In this example, price competition may necessitate a lower labor cost or the total cost of employees associated with operating the organization. This example can be taken one step further to illustrate division of labor. For efficiency, it may be better to group the behaviors associated with preparing and cooking the pizza into one role. While the behaviors associated with customer service, including running the cash register, into another role, and the delivery of the pizzas into yet another. Division of labor may help to increase the efficiency, while ensuring that each employee’s roles and responsibilities are clearly defined and may thus be held accountable for their completion.
In this example, specialized skill may not be necessary for employees to possess. Due to this lower KSA requirement, more people may be available to complete the tasks. Thus, the organization may be able to maintain a lower pay rate, as more people are capable of doing the job, leading to a higher supply of those potential employees.
By contrast, consider a pizza restaurant that seeks a differentiation strategy other than pricing. Within the marketing collateral, the restaurant espouses an old-world taste with all the foods made on premises. To meet the differentiation strategy (and possibly command a higher price in the market), the restaurant may need to hire chefs, who not only have experience making pizza from a scratch but now also have specialized education, skill, or knowledge. An employee with these sets of skills will be less common and will potentially command a higher pay rate.
Here, the first macro-level consideration is the competitive market position. From this decision, the organizational structures concerning operations and the grouping of behaviors to best meet the position are determined. Consequently, the necessary KSAs of the employees follow. The latter two elements, grouping of behaviors and KSAs, are how jobs and their requirements are determined.
DIVISION OF LABOR AND KSAS
This hypothetical discussion may not seem surprising to the reader, regardless to whether they possess restaurant experience. The division of labor is the norm within organizations, as not only departments are assigned specific functional responsibility, but also employees within each of those departments assume roles to fulfill such needs. The differing roles and responsibilities may be divided into supervisory and nonsupervisory. Supervisory responsibilities may be further categorized into personnel and fiscal. All may necessitate a foundation of knowledge, which may represent specialization in any number of areas.
Answer the following questions to further explore the division of labor and the necessary KSAs to adequately perform the jobs within the chapter case example.
DIVISION OF LABOR—CHAPTER EXERCISE #7
Division of Labor—Chapter Exercise #7
Discuss how the division of labor in retail stores, specifically between a sales associate and a stockroom associate, contributes to the completion of the functions in the store.
Identify the necessary KSAs for the two different jobs.
If necessary, complete a web search of job descriptions for those two positions.
Division of Labor—Chapter Exercise #8
Referring to the previous question, now consider how the KSAs for the 2 jobs would change if there was no division of labor, and the sales associate and stockroom responsibilities were combined into 1 position?
Division of Labor—Chapter Exercise #9
Finally, consider the roles of a Retail Store Manager and an Assistant Store Manager.
What KSAs are associated with the personnel and fiscal supervisory responsibilities of these two positions?
Would KSA associated with stockroom associate and sales associates be necessary?
Again, if necessary, complete a web search of such positions.
Historically, the division of labor and work responsibilities may be traced back to the pursuit of efficiency within manufacturing and other processes. As the nature of work and organizations have changed over the centuries, including the growth of the service industry and what may be deemed as knowledge-based economies,1 jobs themselves have evolved to become more complex in their content. These changes would include both a specialized body of knowledge, as well as expanded supervisory and team-based roles. Much of this has led to a deconstruction of jobs within organizations, where the traditional boundaries between jobs as designated by responsibilities and reporting structures may be blurred, requiring more coordination and possibly flexibility. Yet, the division and assignment of responsibilities within organizations are still necessary, without which it could lead to role ambiguity and lack of measures to ensure accountability.
JOB DESCRIPTIONS
Within organizations, job descriptions serve to provide clarity to each employee’s work roles. These roles are not only the job responsibilities, but also the space and the organizational hierarchy in which the job resides. Commonly, the components of a job description are as follows:
Job/Position Title
Department and Supervisor
Brief Narrative and Summary
Identification of Tasks and Responsibilities/Essential Functions
Job Specifications/Qualifications (KSAs)
Work Environment, including any hazards
JOB DESCRIPTION SEARCH—CHAPTER EXERCISE #10
Job Description Search—Chapter Exercise #10
Search the internet and find three example templates for job descriptions. These should be documents that can be used to write a job description and are not a company’s actual job descriptions. Compare the three and comment on the similarities and differences. Save these as you will need them later in the chapter.
At the micro-level, maintaining accurate job descriptions, while developing new job descriptions when necessary, assist in communicating the job’s role within the organization to the employees. As strategy execution relies on daily behaviors, job descriptions can clearly communicate the employee’s responsibilities. The following is a brief synopsis as to how job descriptions may be used in the execution of the other HRM systems.
Recruitment: Help in identification of talent sources. Job descriptions also serve as the foundation for the job posting or advertisement
Selection: Guides selection, such as the choice of interview questions, and the types of assessments used.
Training: Set training objectives for KSA acquisition.
Performance Management: Establish job-based evaluative criteria
Compensation: Institute equitable pay rates within organizations based on job content and the requisite KSAs
LAW IN BRIEF
Pay Discrimination
Pay discrimination is prohibited by several regulations. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 protects against gender-based pay discrimination, requiring equal pay for equal work. Equal work is based on the job content or the work performed. This is defined as skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions. After visiting the EEOC website, define each of those below in your own words:
EEOC—CHAPTER EXERCISE #11
EEOC—Chapter Exercise #11
Skill
EEOC—Chapter Exercise #12
Effort
EEOC—Chapter Exercise #13
Responsibility
EEOC—Chapter Exercise #14
Working Conditions
EEOC—Chapter Exercise #15
Now, compare the designations of skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions to the information found in job descriptions. Discuss how job descriptions can prevent pay discrimination.
EEOC—Chapter Exercise #16
While on the same EEOC website, compare how discrimination under the Equal Pay Act is different from discrimination under Title VII, ADEA, and ADA.
As discussed in the hypothetical example with the pizza restaurant, jobs requiring higher skills may command higher pay. Further, it is common for employees to expect higher pay as compared to colleagues if they view themselves as possessing more responsibilities. Pay rates, of course, are relative to the organization and will be discussed further in Chapter 11. But, as discussed in the previous example, job descriptions can assist in many areas including maintaining legal practices and is a critical aspect of the micro-level implementation of strategy.
JOB DESCRIPTION PRACTICE
Job Description Practice—Chapter Exercise #17
Based on the chapter’s first six exercises asking about a current or a former job, write a job description based on the responses. Use one of the three example templates found in the previous search. Be sure that the job description includes all the information referenced above. Upload your job description here.
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INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Roles of Job Descriptions in other countries
Job descriptions may be viewed as a legal contract, stipulating the expectations of the employee by the employer. For instance, in China, as part of the legally required contract for work, a job description must accompany it.2 In Quebec, Canada, because the official language is French, all corporate documents, including job descriptions, must be in French and English. These legal differences are important to consider, as job descriptions in American companies are often placed in a secondary role. In fact, it is not uncommon for employees to not have seen their job description.
JOB ANALYSIS
Job analysis is the process through which job descriptions are maintained.
The process requires (1) gathering information on the current job, (2) compiling the information and comparing it to the old information, (3) if differences are found, determining whether this is best for the processes and (4e) writing a new job description to capture these decisions. The previous exercises in many ways mimicked this process, but it is discussed further as follows.
GATHERING INFORMATION
There are four basic approaches, or methods, to gathering information, and may be applied not just to job analysis but also to many other areas of research.
Surveys
Observation
Interviews
Participation
Each one of these has a trade-off. From top to bottom, the time required to complete the process and the cost increases. Yet the quality of the information and the potential to fully understand the job increases.
To choose a methodology, first, management estimates the time and money available to conduct the job analysis. This may be dependent on the level, importance, as well as how abundant the job is within the organization. It may also depend on who is conducting the job analysis. If an organization does not have the time, nor the expertise, they may outsource the job analysis to an outside company or expert. If, however, the organization does have the in-house expertise, the decision may be to have internal personnel conduct the job analysis. As discussed earlier, accurate job descriptions are important for both efficient and legal processes. Thus, job analysis can be very important to an organization’s operations.
JOB ANALYSIS—CHAPTER EXERCISE #18
Job Analysis—Chapter Exercise #18
Develop 5 questions that may be used to gather information about a job and type them here. Remember to ask questions specific to the information associated with a job description.
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
The sources of information are usually the current and/or previous job descriptions, as well as the current and previous employees from the following positions:
Incumbent
Previous Incumbent (if still in job)
Superior
Subordinates
Colleagues
Each person may have a different perspective of the job. Again, as with the information-gathering techniques mentioned, the more sources, the better the information, but the more time and potential costs associated. In implementing this process, management must weigh the implications. For example, different sources may require a different methodology.
Survey everyone who currently holds the job
Survey managers of the current job
Interview a select number of people who do the job
Spend one day doing the job
These approaches can gather information pertaining to different perspectives of the job. But gathering the maximum amount of information and minimizing the amount of time employees and managers may spend within the process must be balanced. Again, not only does it cost money to conduct a job analysis, but it will also cost money as those participating are not able to do the job to its fullest that day.
COMMUNICATE PRIOR TO COLLECTING DATA
Prior to any data collection, employees should be notified of the upcoming job analysis. Employees may feel uncomfortable being observed or being interviewed about their jobs. Even a simple survey may be felt as invasive, as well as a potential threat to their job security. Employees may view this as an evaluation of them and their jobs, not the process of maintaining accurate understanding and records of the job they fulfill. Communicating the process may help to assuage these fears. To that point, communication of the process should include why it is occurring, who will be involved, and when it will be completed. This information will help encourage participation, as well as minimize worry associated with job security.
CONDUCTING, COMPILING, AND ASSESSING THE INFORMATION
Conducting the job analysis is the actual data collection. It is important to monitor data collection to ensure any issues encountered are mitigated and that the project remains on schedule. All information from sources gathered as well as to the old job description are compared.
At this stage, it is not uncommon for several people involved in the job analysis to discuss the information with others, including managers, to determine if the job itself has changed. Further, information gathered may reflect idiosyncrasies to a specific employee or situation, for example, when an employee’s job has been expanded for their benefit, or because they are covering due to a gap in staff. It is important to ensure the information gathered is not specific to one employee, and is inclusive of the job across the organization prior to writing the job description.
WRITING THE NEW JOB DESCRIPTION
Once the information is agreed upon as accurate, the new job description is written. As it is an internal document, stylistically, it is written in the third person, and is clear and concise. Most people think job descriptions are the same as a job posting. They are not. Job postings are meant to sound attractive (but truthful, of course). It is important job descriptions are not written in this style.
It is not uncommon to circulate the job description among those who participated in the process, including those whose job it is to review and provide feedback as to how accurate they feel it describes the job.
JOB DESCRIPTION EXERCISE REVISITED
Job Description Practice—Chapter Exercise #19
Review the previously written job description that was uploaded. In what style was it written? Did it sound like a job advertisement? If so, rewrite it and upload the new version here.
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CASE—CHAPTER EXERCISE #20
Case—Chapter Exercise #20
Write a detailed approach as to how you would ensure the current job description for the associate manager is accurate to the job. Please provide rationale to the steps you will take as you apply the chapter content.
PSYCHOLOGY IN BUSINESS
Motivation Revisited
The previous chapter focused heavily on understanding the environment and the potential consequences associated with the work environment, both as created by the organization and as perceived by employees. Revisiting motivation, the focus is now on the roles and responsibilities of the job, and how those behaviors may affect an employee’s internal drive to complete or continue to complete their job.
The seminal article by Hackman and Oldham identified five characteristics of jobs that promulgate intrinsic motivation.3 Again, remember intrinsic motivation locates the reason for engaging in a behavior as from the act or enjoyment from that behavior. It is important to reflect on that definition as reading the following job characteristics.
Skill Variety: Myriad of skills or a few required.
Task Identity: Complete the entire work or only play a small role or complete one component.
Task Significance: Perceived importance of the role to the organization as well as society.
Autonomy: Control over how and when the work is completed.
Feedback: Opportunity to know the results of work.
Accordingly, job design is the process to augment a job to potentially increase one or these dimensions. First, job design can occur for all jobs, where job responsibilities are modified in recognition of the need to improve the characteristics for the role. Thus, roles and responsibilities are deliberately altered or modified with the process and the job description is updated accordingly.
Or, a job may be augmented for a specific employee. In the instance when job design occurs for one employee, this may be to improve their own experience of the job, as well as for development of new KSAs. However, the job description itself is not modified. For example, in job enlargement, the roles are increased possibly to introduce the need to learn or master aspects of other roles in jobs adjacent to their current position. Job rotation is similar, but the individual is moved to an entirely different job for a specified period with the expectation they will learn and execute the role. Job enrichment may be assigning responsibilities that are associated with supervision. All three may be utilized to improve the work experience of the employee, as well as to contribute to the development of skills in anticipation of future promotion.
Finally, besides the roles and responsibilities, the work environment can also play a role in the overall employee’s experience, satisfaction, and health. Ergonomics is the study of how the human body and the environment interacts and may be employed to improve the productivity, satisfaction, comfort, and health. For example, a company may provide funds for individuals who prefer to use ergonomic keyboards (now you know why those keyboards are in weird shapes), chairs, and desks. A company may also purposely take other actions to improve the work environment, such as reduce noise, adjust lighting, and ensure air quality is managed.
JOB DESIGN—CHAPTER EXERCISE #21
Job Design—Chapter Exercise #21
How might the job description you wrote be redesigned to change skill variety, task identification and autonomy.
Job Design—Chapter Exercise #22
Briefly discuss the work environment of your current job. Are there steps to improve based on ergonomics?
ETHICAL CONSIDERATION
More than a Job Description
While roles, responsibilities, and KSAs may be codified in a job description, what about ethics?
Organizations may have published value statements or even ethics statements and codes of conduct. Job descriptions may include phrases such as maintain integrity, uphold values of company including its statement on ethics, practice ethically, adhere to the company code of conduct. But, much like the job itself, it may be difficult to ensure employees are meeting such obligations. What steps could be taken to ensure all employees (including executives) work ethically in their everyday work? The following question explores this further.
ETHICS—CHAPTER EXERCISE #23
Ethics—Chapter Exercise #23
What steps could be taken to ensure all employees (including executives) work ethically?
JOB DESCRIPTIONS AND HRM
Although the nature of work and organizations are changing, job descriptions help to document and clarify roles and responsibilities. These expected behaviors should fit the process, and ultimately the strategy. Understanding the job content and specifications help guide future HRM systems, such as recruitment and training. The content, conditions, and specifications can ensure decisions such as compensation are not discriminatory and other decisions are legal and based on objective, accurate information.
Proceeding further, the next practice area is to understand the current and future workforce demands. Workforce deployment includes both the forecasting or predicting these needs, and planning to ensure the organization has the appropriate number of employees with the correct mix of KSAs. Without proper planning, organizations may be understaffed and may cause burnout among employees covering the gaps. Or, in the case of overstaffing, exceed budgetary limits. In both instances, processes and employees operate suboptimally, leading to the organization’s stalled ability to achieve its strategy.
CAREER TIME-OUT
Job Descriptions in Your Career
Use O*Net to research and find three to five job descriptions for a job that interests you.
It is OK if they differ, as part of this paper is to identify the similarities and differences between these jobs.
Briefly compare and contrast these jobs and discuss why they are of interest to you.
Upload your paper below.
CAREER TIME-OUT
Career Time-Out—Chapter Exercise #24
Upload your Career Time-Out assignment here
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PROJECT ON JOBS
ANALYZING, DESCRIBING, AND REDESIGNING JOBS
Part 1: Conduct a Job Analysis
Choose a job of a friend or family member for which you would like to write a job description. Develop 10–20 questions for a job analysis interview. Be sure to note their responses, submit the questions and responses labeled “part 1.”
Part 2: Writing a Job Description
Write the job description and ask the person to review it for accuracy. Be sure the job description is written and formatted professionally, as if it could be used in a company tomorrow. You may want to use one of the previously researched templates.
Part 3: Job Design
Choose three aspects of Hackman and Oldham’s Job Characteristics Model and modify the job. Explain your rationale. Label this “part 3.”
