Question

Part 1 of 3: Describe how strategic design of work tasks can improve an organization? Cite at least one scholarly resource in APA format.?

Part 2 of 3: The courts have recognized task-based job analysis as useful to prevent unfair discrimination. Some HR professionals worry that competency-based approaches are more susceptible to stereotyping and bias. From an employee’s perspective, would you prefer to have a job description and performance appraisal based on a task-focused job analysis or on a competency modeling study? Defend your choice and please conduct research to support it, citing at least one scholarly resource in APA format.

PLEASE DO NOT TAKE OTHER PEOPLE'S ANSWERS

Answer 1

Strategic design of work tasks is the process of arriving at well-defined job activities, responsibilities and accountabilities and specifying contents, methods and relationship of jobs to meet organizational requirements and social and personal requirements of an employee. This process is helpful to an organization in several ways. Strategic design of work tasks has work targets that are achievable within working hours. This can help in creating job satisfaction, with the roles and responsibilities being clearly defined to the employee. It can thus help in increasing worker's productivity, which in turn can help in increasing products and services offered by an organization. It can help employees in receiving adequate, systematic and required training and assistance for job performance, which in turn can help in the best possible use of technologies in hand by the employees of an organization. Cordery and Parker (2012) and Humphrey et al. (2007) have found that the individual-level result of work design has been grouped in terms of health and well-being, cognition and learning, attitudes and behaviours.

From an employee’s perspective, I would prefer to have a job description and performance appraisal based on a competency modelling study, rather than only on task-focused job analysis. I support this viewpoint based on the fact that one's tasks can only be completed with the competencies (or the ability to apply knowledge and skills in a practical situation) within an individual. Firstly, it is important to understand the entire concept of job analysis.

Job Analysis is a process of job evaluation via a collection of relevant data about noticeable job behaviours or roles and responsibilities to be performed at work and also describing the knowledge, skills, abilities and other individual characteristics (frequently called KSAOs or competencies) needed to perform the job. One's competences are wide and also include motives, personality characteristics, self-concepts, attitudes, beliefs, values and interests. Competency modelling is nothing but a step ahead of task analysis. Competency modelling is the process of identifying, defining and measuring one's competencies or KSAOs. Thus, with competency modelling, job analysis becomes more comprehensive, broader and 'all-inclusive'. On the other hand, task-focused job analysis only covers what needs to be done on the job, that is, essentially one's roles and responsibilities on the job.