Final Exam Flashcards
(94 cards)
What is the 3 main purposes of job evaluation
- control wage costs
- create an equitable pay structure
- create perceptions of equity
What are the main steps in the job evaluation process
*determining Who conducts the job evaluations? HR usually, comp specialists
*Communicating the job evaluation process
*Applying job evaluation results (dealing with the people who are paid above the range vs people being paid below)
*Developing appeal/review mechanisms
*Updating job evaluations
What is job analysis? What are the main methods for conducting them?
A job analysis is the process of collecting information on a job to base the job description on
Main methods for conducting them are:
*Observation: best for jobs where activities can be easily observed and the work cycle is short
*Interviews: best to interview the supervisor and the employee
*Questionnaires: can be open ended where they ask the employee about the main duties of their job or close ended where the employee selects from a list of phrases that best describes the job
*Functional job analysis (most important one, focus on the task not what gets done, the NOC does this): tries to develop generic descriptions of jobs using a common set of job functions
What are the key steps in the job analysis process?
conduct a job analysis through the use of function job analysis, questionnaires, interviews and or observations to generate a job description then use both to determine the job specs
What are some pitfalls to job analysis
- analyzing the job holder instead of the actual job itself
-job descriptions can be subject to gender bias, especially in the language used to describe duties
-technical jargon needs to be translated into everyday language
-jobs are dynamic today, the job descriptions may become obsolete quickly
What are the 5 main types of job evaluation?
- ranking/paired comparison
- grading/classification
- factor comparison
- statistical/policy capturing
- point method
What is ranking and paired comparison method? What is the problem with this method?
ranking: asking a group of judges (usually HR or managers) to read a set of job descriptions and rank job according to their overall worth to the organization
paired comparison: a type of ranking where each job is compared to every other job, one pair at a time
main problem is the method provides no explicit basis for why jobs are ranked as they are which leaves the results of the plan open to inequity charges
what is the point method
it first identifies compensable factors and sub factors that are common to most jobs with varying degrees of proficiencies under each sub factor with a corresponding number of points for each proficiency. Then jobs are evaluated based on how proficient an incumbent would need to be on each of these sub factors. The points for each sub factor for a job are added together for a total score, then jobs are ranked based on their score to create a hierarchy of jobs.
What is the factor comparison method
assigns pay levels to jobs based on the extent to which they embody various job factors
What is the classification grading method
Establishes and defines general classes of job (like managerial, professional, technical) and then creates a series of grade descriptions for each class where each grade contains different levels of knowledge, skills, etc.
what is the statistical/policy capturing method
combines use of statistical methods and job questionnaires to derive job values based on prevailing external or internal pay rate
What are some of the key issues in managing the job evaluation process
- determining what to do with employees who are being paid above the max of the new pay range for their jobs
-determining how much to communicate about the job eval process to employees
-if the job eval committee is overruled a lot, they may become cynical about the role they are doing and not want to do it anymore
What are the key reasons for pay equity?
to identify jobs where there is gender inquiry in pay and to correct any inequities
What is the general process for conforming to pay equity legislation?
1.Determine what rules apply
2.Identify female and male job classes
3.Establish a person to conduct pay equity
4.Select a gender-neutral job comparison system
5.Collect job information
6.Compare jobs
7.Check for permissible differences
8.Adjust compensation
9.Communicate the results
10.Maintain pay equity
What are some purposes of job descriptions?
attracting and selecting employees
developing training programs
performance management
making sure all necessary organization activities are being done by someone
Why is problematic to use job descriptions in the job evaluation process?
because some firms don’t want to put the effort into developing or updating them
also because jobs are changing so frequently now its hard to stay up to date
what are 4 reasons for needing to re-evaluate jobs
- job itself changed
- change in strategy
- signs that current job eval system isn’t working
- legislative conditions require it
What are 3 main approaches to comparing female and male job classes
job to job: establishes pay equity by comparing a female job class to a male job class that is comparable in terms of job evaluation criteria (e.g similar number of points with the points method) and comparing both of their total compensation
proportional value method: establishes pay equity where no compactor male job class exists by creating a hypothetical male comparator job class based on other male job classes
proxy: only for public sector employees where employer selects another public sector employer that has complete pay equity procedures and collects information on the female job class in the proxy organization
what are permissible differences
pay differences between female and male job classes that are not considered inequitable because they stem from certain specified allowable circumstances such as seniority
describe the 5 main steps in designing a point system of job evaluation
1.identify key job characteristics aka compensable factors that can differentiate the value of various jobs
2. develop a measuring scale for each factor aka scale the factors
3. weight each factor according to the importance to the firm
4. apply the job evaluation system to every job to generate a total points amount for every job and creates a hierarchy of jobs
5. evaluate the hierarchy for reliability, validity and Markey fit
What are the 4 main categories of pitfalls in designing a point system
- inconsistent construct formation: problems with the factor and degree definitions
- factor overlaps: having factors with different names but mean the same thing therefore measuring the same thing twice
- hierarchal grounding: confuse the outcome with the process where some of the degree definitions for factors are set up so that jobs predicted to be higher on hierarchy end up set up to be scored higher
- gender bias: when a job receives a higher or lower evaluation than it should because the job incumbents are predominately from one gender
Explain what a base pay structure is and how to design a base pay structure
base pay structure is the structure of pay grades and pay ranges and the criteria to move along the pay ranges
steps to design a base pay structure:
1. establish pay grades (number of them, size of them)
- establish pay ranges (determine range midpoints and range spreads)
- determine how there will be movement through the pay range (3 most common criteria are experience, seniority and performance)
what are 4 things that typically. make up compensable factors
job inputs (education experience)
job outputs (consequences of mistakes)
job requirements (mental and physical efforts)
job conditions (hazards)
what are the 4 main categories of compensable factors that are usually universal and an example of each
skill (education, experience)
effort (mental and physical effort)
responsibility (consequences of error)
working conditions (hazards to safety)
