An Introduction to Work and Organizational Psychology -  - E-Book

An Introduction to Work and Organizational Psychology E-Book

0,0
43,99 €

-100%
Sammeln Sie Punkte in unserem Gutscheinprogramm und kaufen Sie E-Books und Hörbücher mit bis zu 100% Rabatt.

Mehr erfahren.
Beschreibung

The latest edition of this classic text provides a comprehensive and internationally relevant introduction to work and organizational psychology, exploring the depth and diversity of the field in an accessible way without obscuring the complexities of the subject. 

  • Third edition of a classic textbook offering a complete introduction to work and organizational psychology for undergraduate and graduate students with no prior knowledge of the field
  • An innovative new six part structure with two-colour presentation focuses the core material around issues that are either Job-Focused, Organization-Focused, or People-Focused
  • Each chapter title is a question designed to engage readers in understanding work and organizational psychology whilst simultaneously inviting discussion of key topics in the field
  • The third edition introduces two new co-editors in Franco Fraccaroli from Italy and Magnus Sverke, who join Nik Chmiel and will increase relevance and appeal for European students

Sie lesen das E-Book in den Legimi-Apps auf:

Android
iOS
von Legimi
zertifizierten E-Readern

Seitenzahl: 1142

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Bewertungen
0,0
0
0
0
0
0
Mehr Informationen
Mehr Informationen
Legimi prüft nicht, ob Rezensionen von Nutzern stammen, die den betreffenden Titel tatsächlich gekauft oder gelesen/gehört haben. Wir entfernen aber gefälschte Rezensionen.



An Introduction to Work and Organizational Psychology

An International Perspective

Third Edition

Edited by

Nik Chmiel, Franco Fraccaroli and Magnus Sverke

This third edition first published 2017 © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Edition history: Blackwell Publishing Ltd (2e, 2008); Blackwell Publishing Ltd (1e, 2000)

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by law. Advice on how to obtain permision to reuse material from this title is available at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

The right of Nik Chmiel, Franco Fraccaroli and Magnus Sverke to be identified as the authors of the editorial material in this work has been asserted in accordance with law.

Registered OfficesJohn Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, USA John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK

Editorial OfficeThe Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK

For details of our global editorial offices, customer services, and more information about Wiley products visit us at www.wiley.com.

Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some content that appears in standard print versions of this book may not be available in other formats.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of WarrantyWhile the publisher and authors have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor authors shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available for this title9781119168027 (paperback)

Cover image: Grant Faint/Gettyimages

The Master said, ‘If one learns from others but does not think, one will be bewildered. If, on the other hand, one thinks but does not learn from others, one will be in peril.'

Confucius, The Analects, II: 15

Nik

To TA, JA-C, RA-C, you know who you are, may the force be with you.

Franco

To Alba, Cecilia, Nicolò and Pietro.

Magnus

To Ingrid, Emeli, Elina and Ebba, and to all those people who strive to make organizations better places in which to work.

CONTENTS

List of Contributors

Foreword

Reference

Introduction

References

PART I: JOB-FOCUSED

1 What Do People Really Do at Work? Job Analysis and Design

1.1 What Is Job Analysis?

1.2 Types of Job Analysis: Work- and Worker-oriented Analysis

1.3 Products of Job Analysis

1.4 Methods

1.5 Job Analysis in Training Contexts: Training Needs Analysis

1.6 Modern Approaches to Understanding Jobs

1.7 Job Analysis: A Dynamic Perspective

Discussion Points

Suggested Further Reading

Online Resource

References

2 How Do I Get a Job, What Are They Looking For? Personnel Selection and Assessment

2.1 What Is Personnel Selection and Assessment?

2.2 How to Choose Selection Techniques

2.3 Selection Techniques and Procedures

2.4 Applicant Reactions and Decision Making in Selection

Discussion Points

Acknowledgements

Suggested Further Reading

References

3 How Can I Shape My Job to Suit Me Better? Job Crafting for Sustainable Employees and Organizations

3.1 Introduction

3.2 What Is Job Crafting?

3.3 Predictors and Outcomes of Job Crafting

3.4 Job Crafting Interventions

3.5 Building Sustainable Organizations Through Job Crafting

3.6 Conclusion

Discussion Points

Suggested Further Reading

Online Resource

References

4 What Am I Supposed to Do in My Job? Set Goals and Appraise Your People

4.1 Introduction

4.2 Why Conduct Performance Appraisals?

4.3 Why Set Goals?

4.4 What Is the Optimum Method for Setting Goals?

4.5 What Are the Legal Issues Surrounding a Performance Appraisal?

4.6 What Measurement Scale Should I Use to Appraise an Employee's Performance?

4.7 Are There Alternatives to the Traditional Performance Appraisal?

4.8 What Are the Merits of Coaching an Employee on an On-Going Basis?

4.9 What About Self-Appraisals?

Discussion Points

Notes

Suggested Further Reading

References

5 Why Is My Job So Stressful? Characteristics, Processes and Models of Stress at Work

5.1 Why is Job Stress a Societal Problem?

5.2 What Is Job Stress?

5.3 Bad and Good Job Stress: Two Sides of the Same Coin?

5.4 The Role of Individual Characteristics in Job Stress

5.5 What Are the Most Important Job Stress Models?

5.6 Conclusion: From Job Stress to Healthy Work

Discussion Points

Suggested Further Reading

References

6 Digital Technologies at Work Are Great, Aren't They? The Development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and Their Relevance in the World of Work

6.1 Digital Technologies Are Essential Components of Work Systems

6.2 Consequences of ICT at Work for the Individuals, the Jobs, and the Organizations

6.3 Design of ICT-Related Work: The Sociomaterial Approach

6.4 Managing ICT-Related Change Processes

Discussion Points

Suggested Further Reading

Journals

References

7 Whose Side Is Technology on, Really? On the Interdependence of Work and Technology

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Work as a Consequence of Technological Developments

7.3 What

Is

Technology and What Does It

Do

?

7.4 New Forms of Work as a Consequence of New Technological Developments

7.5 New Technologies as a Consequence of the New Forms of Work

Discussion Points

Suggested Further Reading

References

8 Why Did I Choose That Career Path? Approaches to Vocational Choices and People's Readiness to Self-Manage their Own Career Paths

8.1 Introduction

8.2 Main Conceptual Approaches to Career Choice

8.3 Readiness to Choose a Career

8.4 Empowering Career Readiness: Two Promising Perspectives

8.5 The Career Decision-Making Process

8.6 Conclusion

Discussion Points

Suggested Further Reading

References

PART II: ORGANIZATION-FOCUSED

9 How Do We Get New Entrants ‘On Board'? Organizational Socialization, Psychological Contracts, and Realistic Job Previews

9.1 Introduction

9.2 What Are the Features of a Successful Onboarding Programme?

9.3 The Socialization Process

9.4 Current Issues in Organizational Socialization

Discussion Points

Suggested Further Reading

References

10 How Does Power Affect Those Who Have It and Those Who Don't? Power Inside Organizations

10.1 What Is Power and Why Is It Important?

10.2 The Bases of Power

10.3 The Consequences of Having Power

10.4 What Moderates the Psychological Effects of Power?

Discussion Points

Suggested Further Reading

References

11 Does It Matter Who Leads Us?: The Study of Organizational Leadership

11.1 Does Leadership Matter?

11.2 What Makes a Good Leader?

11.3 Trait Theories

11.4 Behavioural Theories

11.5 Contingency Theories

11.6 Modern Theories of Leadership

11.7 Comparison of Leadership Approaches

11.8 Negative Leadership

11.9 Conclusion

Discussion Points

Note

Suggested Further Reading

Journals

References

12 Why Are We in a Team? Effects of Teamwork and How to Enhance Team Effectiveness

12.1 Why Teams?

12.2 Outcomes of Teamwork

12.3 What Is a Team?

12.4 What Is an Effective Team?

12.5 What Characterizes Effective Teamwork?

12.6 Inputs

12.7 Processes as Mediators between Inputs and Outcomes

12.8 Conclusion

Discussion Points

Suggested Further Reading

References

13 How Do We React When Our Organization Changes? Perspectives on Employees' Appraisal of Change, Consequences and Mitigating Factors

13.1 Introduction

13.2 The Various Focuses of Organizational Changes

13.3 Different Types of Organizational Changes

13.4 How Do Employees Appraise Organizational Change?

13.5 Consequences of Organizational Change

13.6 The Role of Job Insecurity

13.7 Factors that Affect the Appraisal and Consequences of Change

Discussion Points

Suggested Further Reading

References

14 How Do We Feel and Behave When We're Not Permanent Full-Time Employees? The Case of the Diverse Forms of Non-Standard Work

14.1 Introduction

14.2 Different Forms of Non-Standard Employment

14.3 The Nature of Non-Standard Employment Forms: The Organizational and Individual Perspectives

14.4 Consequences of Non-Standard Employment

Discussion Points

Suggested Further Reading

Online resources

References

15 Why Should Organizations Treat Their Employees Fairly? Definition, Relevance, and Consequences of Justice at Work

15.1 Introduction

15.2 What is Justice in the Work Context?

15.3 How Individuals Form Justice Perceptions

15.4 Consequences of Justice Perceptions

15.5 The Relevance of Individual and Situational Characteristics

15.6 Building Fair Workplaces

Discussion Points

Suggested Further Reading

Online resource

References

16 What Does Our Organization Do to Help Our Well-Being? Creating Healthy Workplaces and Workers

16.1 Introduction: Improving Workers' Well-Being

16.2 What Is Meant by Well-Being and Health?

16.3 Psychologically Healthy Workplaces

16.4 What Does a Psychologically Healthy Workplace Look Like?

16.5 Promoting Worker Well-being: Building a Model of Psychologically Healthy Workplaces

16.6 How Do Organizations Support and Create Healthy Workers and Workplaces?

16.7 Organizational-Level Initiatives

16.8 Group-Level Initiatives

16.9 Leader-Level Interventions

16.10 Individual-Level Interventions

16.11 Conclusion

Discussion Points

Suggested Further Reading

Online resources

References

PART III: PEOPLE-FOCUSED

17 Does It Matter Who We Are? Personality at Work

17.1 Introduction

17.2 The Taxonomy of Personality

17.3 Change Over Time

17.4 Personality and Work Success: Organizational Level, Promotion History And Salary

17.5 High Flyers Personality

17.6 The Dark Side of Personality at Work

17.7 Conclusion

Discussion Points

Suggested Further Reading

References

18 How Do I Learn What to Do? How the Science of Training Supports Learning

18.1 How Do I Learn What to Do?

18.2 Definitions and Theory

18.4 The Learning Climate

18.5 Design and Delivery Methods Impacting Learning

18.6 Transfer

18.7 Evaluation

18.8 Conclusion

Discussion Points

Acknowledgements

Suggested Further Reading

References

19 How Much Effort Will I Put into My Work? It Depends on Your Type of Motivation

19.1 Introduction

19.2 Classical Motivational Theories

19.3 The Current State of Motivation Theory

19.4 Meta-Theory of Human Motivation

19.5 Basic Need Satisfaction

19.6 Autonomous and Controlled Motivation

19.7 Intrinsic and Extrinsic Work Values

Discussion Points

Suggested Further Reading

Online resources

References

20 How Do We Handle Computer-Based Technology? What Is the Cost/Benefit Ratio of Technology for Workers?

20.1 Introduction

20.2 Mechanization, Automation and Robotization: Technology as a Substitute for Workers

20.3 Technology as a Tool

20.4 Computerization, Information & Communication Technology (ICT): Technology Supporting Workers

20.5 Trust in Technologies and Acceptance

20.6 Conclusion

Discussion Points

Suggested Further Reading

References

21 Why Do I Put Myself and Others in Danger or Help Increase Safety? Person- and Situation-Related Causes of Safety Behaviours

21.1 Introduction

21.2 What Behaviours Are We Explaining?

21.3 Is It Me?

21.4 Is It My Situation at Work?

Discussion Points

Suggested Further Reading

References

22 Does It Matter Whether I Am a Happy and Committed Worker? The Role of Identification, Commitment and Job Satisfaction for Employee Behaviour

22.1 Does It Matter If Employees Are Committed to the Organization?

22.2 Does It Matter Whether Employees are Satisfied in Their Jobs?

22.3 How Can Identification, Commitment and Satisfaction Be Influenced?

22.4 Are identification and commitment related to job satisfaction?

22.5 Conclusion

Discussion Points

Note

Suggested Further Reading

References

23 How Does Work Fit with My Life? The Relation Between Flexible Work Arrangements, Work–Life Balance and Recovery from Work

23.1 Introduction

23.2 The Work–Life Balance: How Do We Manage Work and Non-Work Roles?

23.3 Recent Perspectives on the Work–Life Balance

23.4 What Is Recovery and Why Is It Important for Our Lives?

23.5 Telework, Work–Life Balance and Recovery

23.6 Worktime Control, Work–Life Balance and Recovery

23.7 Conclusion

Discussion Points

Suggested Further Reading

References

24 What Happens When I Get Older? Older Workers, Late Careers and Transitions to Retirement

24.1 Introduction

24.2 What Is Known About Stereotyping and Discrimination Against Older Workers?

24.3 Performance, Attitudes and Motivation of Older Workers: Decline or Change?

24.4 What Can Organizations Do for an Older Workforce?

24.5 Bridge Employment in the Final Stage of Working Life

Discussion Points

Suggested Further Reading

References

PART IV: ADVISING THE ORGANIZATION

25 How Do We Work with Organizations?

25.1 What Is the Context of Our Work?

25.2 What Are Our Working Models and Roles?

25.3 How Do We Work? The Consulting Process

25.4 What Are Our Professional Ethics?

Discussion Points

Suggested Further Reading

References

CASE STUDIES

26 A Strategic Approach to Improving Well-Being in a Large Railway Company

26.1 Background

26.2 Theoretical and Practical Issues

26.3 Action and Outcome

26.4 What Would We Do Differently Next Time? Learning Points

References

27 Humiliation: Why We Deserve Respect at Work

27.1 Background

27.2 Theoretical and Practical Issues

27.3 Action and Outcome

27.4 What Would We Do Differently Next Time? Learning Points

References

28 Resilience Development Through an Organization-Led Well-Being Initiative

28.1 Background

28.2 Theoretical and Practical Issues

28.3 Action and Outcome

28.4 What Would We Do Differently Next Time? Learning Points

References

29 Positive Action: Effectively Increasing Diversity at the Top

29.1 Background

29.2 Theoretical and Practical Issues

29.3 Action and Outcome

29.4 What Would We Do Differently Next Time? Learning Points

References

30 Age Management

30.1 Background

30.2 Theoretical and Practical Issues

30.3 Action and Outcome

30.4 What Would We Do Differently Next Time? Learning Points

References

Index

EULA

List of Tables

Chapter 1

Table 1.1

Chapter 2

Table 2.1

Table 2.2

Table 2.3

Chapter 3

Table 3.1

Chapter 6

Table 6.1

Table 6.2

Table 6.3

Chapter 8

Table 8.1

Table 8.2

Chapter 11

Table 11.1

Chapter 14

Table 14.1

Chapter 16

Table 16.1

Chapter 17

Table 17.1

Table 17.2

Table 17.3

Chapter 18

Table 18.1

Chapter 20

Table 20.1

Table 20.2

Chapter 21

Table 21.1

Chapter 22

Table 22.1

Chapter 24

Table 24.1

Chapter 30

Table 30.1

List of Illustrations

Chapter 1

Figure 1.1

: Information sources contributing to the design of competency models

Figure 1.2

: The Competency ‘Project Management'

Chapter 2

Figure 2.1

: Hierarchical structure of job performance

Figure 2.2

: Contingency factors in choosing selection methods

Figure 2.3

: Example of a targeted AC matrix

Chapter 3

Figure 3.1

: Job crafting within the Job Demands–Resources model

Chapter 4

Figure 4.1

: Example of a behavioural observational scale

Chapter 5

Figure 5.1

: A process model of job stress

Figure 5.2

: The Job Demand–Control model

Figure 5.3

: The Effort–Reward Imbalance model

Figure 5.4

: The Job Demands–Resources model

Figure 5.5

: The Demand-Induced Strain Compensation Recovery model

Chapter 6

Figure 6.1

: Great surges of technological, economic, and institutional development and their turning points

Figure 6.2

: Number of internet users worldwide

Figure 6.3

: Percentages of workers working with computers at least 25% of the time in selected European countries

Figure 6.4

: Multi-level framework of the antecedents and consequences of readiness for change

Chapter 8

Figure 8.1

: Simplified representation of Holland's hexagon of vocational personality types

Chapter 9

Figure 9.1

: The socialization process unfolds over a newcomer's first year

Figure 9.2

: Antecedents and outcomes of organizational socialization.

Figure 9.3

: Best practices during onboarding

Chapter 10

Figure 10.1

: Relationships between sources and bases of power and outcomes of influence attempts

Figure 10.2

: Psychological effects of power

Chapter 11

Figure 11.1

: Overview of leadership theories covered in this chapter

Figure 11.2

: Four combinations of Ohio State Studies' behavioural leadership dimensions

Figure 11.3

: Five leadership styles according to the Leadership Grid

®

Figure 11.4

: Full-range transformational leadership theory (Bass, 1985) depicting leadership styles ranging from active-constructive to passive-avoidant leadership

Chapter 12

Figure 12.1

: Outcomes of teamwork

Figure 12.2

: A model of team effectiveness

Figure 12.3

: Inputs that affect team processes and outcomes of teamwork

Figure 12.4

: Team processes and leadership processes that impact outcomes

Figure 12.5

: A summary and a model for enhancing team effectiveness

Chapter 13

Figure 13.1

: A sequential model of organizational change

Figure 13.2

: A stress perspective on employee reactions to organizational change

Figure 13.3

: Consequences of organizational changes

Figure 13.4

: Categorization of employee responses to organizational change

Figure 13.5

: The importance of individual and organizational factors for the appraisal and consequences of organizational change

Chapter 14

Figure 14.1

: The core–periphery perspective

Chapter 15

Figure 15.1

: A simple typology of organizational justice scholarship – with sample research questions across different streams of justice research

Figure 15.2

: Justice rules

Figure 15.3

: Overview of the consequences of justice perceptions

Chapter 16

Figure 16.1

: A reflective framework of the various healthy workplace models. Illustrative healthy workplace model based on previous healthy workplace models (Day & Randell, 2014; Grawitch et al., 2006; Kelloway & Day, 2005; Salanova et al., 2012)

Chapter 18

Figure 18.1

: The training delivery cycle

Figure 18.2

: The four levels of training evaluation

Chapter 19

Figure 19.1

: Overview of the different determinant of motivation (Adapted from Diefendorff & Chandler, 2011, Figure 3.1, p. 69. Reproduced with the permission of the American Psychological Association.)

Figure 19.2

: SDT's view on humanity

Figure 19.3

: Different types of motivation according to SDT

Figure 19.4

: Extrinsic and intrinsic values

Chapter 21

Figure 21.1

: Safety Performance Model

Figure 21.2

: Leadership in a multi-team system

Chapter 22

Figure 22.1

: Venn diagram to measure organizational identification as the perceived overlap between self and organization

Figure 22.2

: Research model of the link between identification and turnover intentions

Figure 22.3

: Simplified version of the integrative model by Meyer et al. (2006)

Figure 22.4

: Measuring job satisfaction with the Kunin faces scale

Figure 22.5

: How a crisis affects employees' morale

Chapter 23

Figure 23.1

: Factors that can affect work–life balance

Chapter 24

Figure 24.1

: Projected old age dependency ratio (i.e. ratio of older than 64 to the aged 15–64)

Figure 24.2

: Hypothetical trajectories of crystallized abilities and fluid abilities by age group

Chapter 25

Figure 25.1

: Systemic areas and levels of the organization

Figure 25.2

: The range of consultative roles

Figure 25.3

: The phases of the consulting process

Figure 25.4

: The nonlinear nature of the change process

Chapter 26

Figure 26.1

: The six essentials

Figure 26.2

: The well-being dashboard

Chapter 28

Figure 28.1

: The Five Ways to Well-being

Figure 28.2

: Self-reported absence due to illness (sickness absence) and days at work while feeling ill enough to stay home (sickness presence)

Guide

Cover

Table of Contents

Part

Pages

xi

xii

xiii

xiv

xv

xvi

xvii

xix

xx

xxi

xxii

xxiii

xxiv

1

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

49

50

51

52

53

54

55

56

57

58

59

60

61

62

63

64

65

66

67

68

69

70

71

72

73

74

75

76

77

78

79

80

81

82

83

84

85

86

87

88

89

90

91

92

93

94

95

96

97

98

99

100

101

102

103

104

106

107

108

109

110

111

112

113

114

115

116

117

118

119

120

121

122

123

124

125

126

127

128

129

130

131

132

133

134

135

136

137

138

139

140

141

142

143

144

145

146

147

148

149

150

151

152

153

154

155

156

157

159

161

162

163

164

165

166

167

168

169

170

171

172

173

174

175

176

177

178

179

180

181

182

183

184

185

186

187

188

189

190

191

192

193

194

195

196

197

198

199

200

201

202

203

204

206

207

208

209

210

211

212

213

214

215

216

217

218

219

220

221

222

223

224

225

226

227

228

229

230

231

232

233

234

235

236

237

238

239

240

241

242

243

244

245

246

247

248

249

250

251

252

253

254

255

256

257

258

259

260

261

262

263

264

265

266

267

268

269

270

271

272

273

274

275

276

277

278

279

280

281

282

283

284

285

286

287

288

289

290

291

292

293

294

295

296

297

298

299

300

301

302

305

306

307

308

309

310

311

312

313

314

315

317

318

319

320

321

322

323

324

325

326

327

328

329

332

333

334

335

336

337

338

339

340

341

342

343

344

345

346

347

348

349

350

351

352

353

354

355

356

357

358

359

360

361

362

363

364

365

366

367

368

369

370

371

372

373

374

375

376

377

378

379

380

381

382

383

384

385

386

387

388

389

390

391

392

393

394

395

396

397

398

399

400

401

402

403

404

405

406

407

408

409

410

411

412

413

414

415

416

417

418

419

420

421

422

423

424

425

426

427

428

429

430

431

432

433

434

435

436

437

438

439

440

441

442

443

444

445

446

447

448

449

450

451

452

453

454

455

456

457

458

459

460

461

462

463

464

465

466

467

469

471

472

473

474

475

476

477

478

479

480

481

482

483

484

485

486

487

489

491

492

494

495

496

497

498

499

500

501

502

503

504

505

506

507

508

509

510

511

512

513

514

515

516

517

518

519

520

521

522

523

524

525

526

527

529

530

531

532

533

534

535

536

List of Contributors

Michael Allvin

, Associate Professor of Psychology and Sociology, Department of Sociology, Uppsala University, Sweden

Neil Anderson

, Professor of Human Resource Management and Director of Research of the HRM-OB research group and the IDEAL (Innovation, Diversity, Employment and Law), Brunel Business School, London, UK

Arnold B. Bakker

, Professor of Work and Organizational Psychology and Director of the Center of Excellence for Positive Organizational Psychology, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa, and Adjunct Professor at Lingnan University, Hong Kong

Talya N. Bauer

, Cameron Professor of Management and Management Area Director, School of Business Administration, Portland State University, Oregon, USA. Associate Editor,

Journal of Applied Psychology

Debby G. J. Beckers

, Assistant Professor of Work and Organizational Psychology, member of the research group ‘Work, Health and Performance' of the Behavioural Science Institute at the Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands

Claudia Bernhard-Oettel

, Associate Professor and Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Sweden

Joseph A. Carpini

, PhD candidate, Department of Management and Organisation, Business School, the University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia

Nik Chmiel

, Professor of Psychology and Head of Department, Department of Psychology and Counselling, University of Chichester, UK. Past president of the European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology (EAWOP)

Catherine E. Connelly

, Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair, DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Arla Day

, Canada Research Chair and Professor of Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Department of Psychology, Saint Mary's University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Founding Board Member of the CN Centre for Occupational Health and Safety and Chair of the Nova Scotia Psychologically Healthy Workplace Program

Nele De Cuyper

, Associate Professor, Research Group Work, Organizational and Personnel Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Belgium

Jan de Jonge

, Professor of Work, Organizational and Sports Psychology, Department of Industrial Engineering and Innovation Sciences, Human Performance Management Group, Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands. Adjunct Professor, School of Psychology, Asia Pacific Centre for Work Health and Safety, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia

Evangelia Demerouti

, Professor of Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Human Performance Management Group, Department of Industrial Engineering and Innovation Sciences, Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands. Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa

Marco Depolo

, Professor of Work and Organizational Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Italy. Vice-Rector for Organizational Innovation at the University of Bologna. Past president of SIPLO (Società Italiana di Psicologia del Lavoro e dell'Organizzazione; Italian Society for Work and Organizational Psychology)

James M. Diefendorff

, Professor Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Akron, Ohio, USA

Julie Dinh

, Doctoral graduate student researcher, Department of Psychology, Rice University, Texas, USA. National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow

Christian Dormann

, Professor of Business Education and Management, Department of Law and Economics, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany. Adjunct Professor, School of Psychology, Asia Pacific Centre for Work Health and Safety, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia

Constanze Eib

, Lecturer in Organisational Behaviour, Norwich Business School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK

Allison M. Ellis

, Assistant Professor of Management and Human Resources, Orfalea College of Business, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, USA

Helena Falkenberg

, Post-doctoral researcher, Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Sweden

Franco Fraccaroli

, Professor of Work and Organizational Psychology, Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Italy. President of the Alliance of Organizational Psychology and past president of the European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology (EAWOP)

Adrian Furnham

, Professor of Psychology, University College London, UK. Adjunct Professor at the Norwegian Business School, Oslo, Norway. Visiting Professor at the University of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa

Stephanie Gilbert

, Assistant Professor of Business, Shannon School of Business, Cape Breton University, Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada

Gudela Grote

, Professor of Work and Organizational Psychology, Department of Management, Technology, and Economics, ETH Zürich, Switzerland. Associate Editor of

Safety Science

and President of the European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology

Nic Hammarling

, Partner and Head of Diversity, Pearn Kandola, Oxford, UK

Johnny Hellgren

, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Sweden. Extraordinary Associate Professor, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa

Daniel P. Hinton

, Lecturer in Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of Wolverhampton, UK

Henry Honkanen

, Organizational Psychologist, OD Consultant, Arena Nova, Finland. President of W/O-Psychology Forum in Finland. Former Secretary-General of the European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology (EAWOP), 2003–2011

Göran Kecklund

, Professor, Deputy Director and Head of the Sleep and Fatigue Division, Stress Research Institute, Stockholm University, Sweden. International research fellow at Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands

E. Kevin Kelloway

, Canada Research Chair in Occupational Health Psychology and Professor of Psychology at Saint Mary's University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Christian Korunka

, Professor of Work and Organizational Psychology, Department of Applied Psychology, University of Vienna, Austria

Barbara Kożusznik

, Professor and Chair of Work and Organizational Psychology, Department of Pedagogy and Psychology, University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland. President-Elect, Division 1, Work and Organizational Psychology, of the International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP)

Joana Kuntz

, Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychology, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand

Annika Lantz Friedrich

, Professor of Work and Organizational Psychology, Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Sweden

Gary Latham

, Secretary of State Professor of Organizational Effectiveness, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, Canada. President of Division 1, Work and Organizational Psychology, of the International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP)

Pascale M. Le Blanc

, Associate Professor of Work and Organizational Psychology, Human Performance Management Group, Department of Industrial Engineering and Innovation Sciences, Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands. Affiliate researcher, Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Sweden

Constanze Leineweber

, Associate Professor and Data Manager of the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH), Division of Epidemiology, Stress Research Institute, Stockholm University, Sweden

Hannes Leroy

, Assistant Professor, Department of Organisation and Personnel Management, Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, the Netherlands

Chang-qin Lu

, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Peking University, China

Sanna Malinen

, Senior Lecturer, Department of Management, Marketing and Entrepreneurship, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand

Francisco J. Medina

, Professor of Psychology and Dean of the Faculty of Psychology, University of Seville, Spain

Lucas Monzani

, Postdoctoral fellow, the Ian O. Ihnatowycz Institute for Leadership, Ivey Business School, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada

Silvia Moscoso

, Professor of Psychology and Dean of Faculty of Labour Relations, University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Fredrik Movitz

, Senior Lecturer, Department of Sociology, Stockholm University, Sweden

Lourdes Munduate

, Professor of Organizational Social Psychology, Department of Social Psychology, University of Seville, Spain. Chair of the Spanish Research Agency for Psychology (ANEP)

Megan Murphy

, PhD candidate, DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Katharina Näswall

, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand

Karina Nielsen

, Professor of Work Psychology and Head of Institute of Work Psychology, University of Sheffield, UK. Research affiliate, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden and CPH-NEW, a Centre of Excellence funded by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, USA

Anne-Sophie Nyssen

, Professor of Cognitive Ergonomics and Work Psychology and Head of the Cognitive Ergonomics Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of Liège, Belgium

Jaco Pienaar

, PhD, Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychology, Umeå University, Sweden. Professor, WorkWell Research Unit, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa

Ivan Robertson

, Founder Director, Robertson Cooper Ltd., Professor Emeritus, Manchester University, UK

Diana Rus

, Organizational Psychologist, Innovation Management Consultant, Creative Peas, the Netherlands

Eduardo Salas

, Professor and Allyn R. and Gladys M. Cline Chair, Department of Psychology, Rice University, Texas, USA. Former president of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP)

Jesús F. Salgado

, Professor of Psychology, University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Editor of

Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology

Guido Sarchielli

, Professor Emeritus of Work Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Italy

Matt Smeed

, Senior Business Psychologist at Robertson Cooper, now CEO and Business Psychologist, SISU Psychology, UK

Guillaume Soenen

, Apicil Chaired Professor of Health and Performance at Work, Associate Professor of Management and Head of the Cognitions-Behaviors-Transformations Research Center, EMLYON Business School, Lyon, France

Christian Stamov-Roßnagel

, Professor of Organisational Behaviour, Department of Psychology and Methods, Jacobs University, Bremen, Germany. Scientific Director of Germany's first Age Management Academy (ddn-Akademie)

Magnus Sverke

, Professor and Chair of the Division of Work and Organizational Psychology, Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Sweden. Extraordinary Professor, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa

Philip Tucker

, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Swansea University, UK. Visiting Researcher at the Stress Research Institute, Stockholm University, Sweden

Daniela Ulber

, Professor of Organizational Development and Management, Faculty of Business and Social Sciences, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Germany

Anja Van den Broeck

, Associate Professor, Research Centre for Work and Organization Studies, Faculty of Economics and Business, KU Leuven, Belgium. Extraordinary Professor, Optentia Research Program, North West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa

Rolf van Dick

, Professor of Social Psychology and Director of the Center for Leadership and Behavior in Organizations, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany. Visiting Professor at the Work Research Institute (AFI), Oslo, Norway

Matti Vartiainen

, Professor of Work and Organizational Psychology, Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Aalto University, Helsinki, Finland

Mo Wang

, R. Perry Frankland Professor of Management and Director of Human Resource Research Center, Department of Management, Warrington College of Business Administration, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA. Past president of the Society for Occupational Health Psychology (SOHP)

Vicky Ward

, Head of Occupational Health and Wellbeing Strategy, Network Rail, UK. A qualified nurse, with over 20 years' experience in health and well-being

Amanda Woods

, Doctoral graduate student researcher, Department of Psychology, Rice University, Texas, USA

Stephen A. Woods

, Professor of Work and Organizational Psychology and Head of Department, Department of People and Organizations, Surrey Business School, University of Surrey, UK, and a Chartered Occupational Psychologist

Fred R. H. Zijlstra

, Professor of Work and Organizational Psychology, Vice-Dean Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Work and Social Psychology, Maastricht University, the Netherlands

Foreword

Current times are exciting, not least for work and organizational psychology. Profound economic changes are taking place because of globalization and technological innovations. Also the workforce is changing as more women, aged workers and workers from ethnic minorities are employed than ever before. In addition, in many countries the level of education is historically high and expectations about work have increased; rather than working only for their pay check, today's employees demand meaningful work.

These changes trickle down to organizations and employees' jobs. Today's workplaces are characterized by continuous change (instead of stability); horizontal networks (instead of vertical hierarchies); self-control and empowerment (instead of external supervision and control); accountability and employability (instead of dependence on the organization); blurred boundaries (instead of fixed schedules and work patterns); team work (instead of individual work); and job crafting (instead of detailed job descriptions). Taken together, this means that mental capital and soft skills have become crucially important for employees and organizations to survive and thrive. For instance, working in teams within horizontal networks requires conflict management skills and empathy, working in a continuously changing environment requires flexibility and adaptability, dealing with uncertainty involves boundary management, and working in jobs that are not clearly defined requires crafting the job yourself.

In other words: a psychologization of work is taking place in today's organizations. The usual technical qualifications and competencies need now to be supplemented by psychological skills. For instance, service technicians not only have to fix a broken washing machine (their ‘real' job) but they also must leave a satisfied customer (their ‘psychological' job).

This psychologization of work is, of course, good news. It explains the increasing popularity of work and organizational psychology, for instance in Human Resource Management (HRM) programmes and business schools, as well as in psychology departments of universities. Rather than only focusing on administrative efficiency, HRM is now concerned with increasing employee motivation and performance. Moreover, organizational behaviour is a key element in the curriculum of most business schools.

However, all that glitters is not gold. There are also serious challenges for work and organizational psychology. Because the world of work is rapidly changing, it has to reinvent itself in order not to provide yesterday's solutions for current problems. I see three main areas where change is most urgently needed.

First, many models were developed in the 1950s to the 1970s so that their validity for current workplaces may be questioned. For instance, new stressors have appeared on the scene, which are associated with the use of ICT or the emphasis on customer satisfaction. Also the traditional stress models that associate work with damage, disease, disorder and disability should be supplemented by a more positive approach that views work as enriching, exciting, energizing and engaging.

Second, Spector and Pindek (2016) have recently argued that research should use more exploratory and inductive approaches instead of only testing deductive, theory-driven hypotheses. By investigating burning issues in organizational life, the relevance of work and organizational psychology is increased for professionals in the field. For instance, instead of testing hypotheses about organizational change that have been derived from existing theoretical models, the process of change itself should be described. That way, practitioners receive information about what is actually going on, and researchers may inductively enhance their knowledge of change processes.

Third, although a lot of adequate tools are available, new tools must be developed. Jobs are changing, new leadership concepts are being introduced, and employees need other competencies. Hence these new jobs need to be analyzed, and new assessment tools for leadership and competencies need to be developed. Another important, but relatively neglected area is intervention research. It is important to know which interventions are working so that organizations can spend their resources effectively. By investing in tool development and intervention research work and organizational psychology contributes to evidence based management.

This book is about modern work and organizational psychology that contributes to solving today's problems with today's solutions. It brings together the expertise of a fine selection of top-notch experts, who not only present the current state-of-the-art in their fields, but who, throughout the book, pay much attention to the current challenges of work and organizational psychology.

Wilmar Schaufeli

Reference

Spector, P., & Pindek, S. (2016). The future of research methods in work and occupational health psychology.

Applied Psychology, 65,

412–431.

Introduction

Nik Chmiel, Franco Fraccaroli and Magnus Sverke

We wanted to produce a book relevant to modern-day work and organizations where psychology rather than management held centre stage, but where the psychology concerned is related to the way managers manage, coworkers behave and organizations function. We wanted the book to be engaging to readers interested in why people behave the way they do at work. So each chapter title is in the form of a question that people at work could ask about their work or workplace because it is important to contemporary organizational life and where the answers matter to how people think, feel and behave when doing their jobs, working with others, grappling with technology, and contributing to the organization they belong to. The answers emerge, as they must do from a science-based field of inquiry, from systematic research into the issues involved and the careful accumulation of evidence that relates working conditions and organizational functioning to people's reactions and behaviour.

Peter Medawar, Nobel Prize-winner and leading light in understanding how the immune system of the body reacts to organ transplants, characterized scientific enquiry as

a logically articulated structure of justifiable beliefs about nature. It begins as a story about a Possible World – a story which we invent and criticize and modify as we go along, so that it ends by being, as nearly as we can make it, a story about real life. (1969: 59)

In this book our beliefs are formed around questions we might ask about working life and each chapter tries to articulate answers that are justifiable, having been subject to modification and critique through the research process. So what we have are narratives, as close to real life as we can make them with current knowledge, about important issues to people's working lives.

Karl Popper (1991) argued that science itself is a social institution, and therefore knowledge produced by its practice is necessarily influenced by politics, social considerations, economics and the particular interests and experiences of the scientists involved. This book is based, by and large, on a Western perspective, which carries implications for the way in which science and scientists may choose what is important to ask questions about, and what a good answer would look like. Previous editions were sub-titled ‘a European perspective' because the authors lived and worked in Europe and were asked to consider the European context in their writing. This edition, however, is sub-titled ‘an international perspective'. There are several reasons for this. First, although all the editors and many of the contributors are European (spanning from north to south, east to west) they have an international outlook. Second, other contributors are not from Europe; they live and work, in general, in North America, South Africa and Australasia. We believe widening the social group brings more to the table when a story about real working life requires justification, but also that our desire to bring many contributors to the book means an enriched range of particular interests and experiences are brought to bear on issues important to us all.

In his Foreword Wilmar Schaufeli highlights how much work has changed in the last few years and how much it is continuing to change. He characterizes the change as making mental work and soft skills much more prominent than hitherto, placing people at the heart of organizations and their success, and this observation chimes with that made by Schneider (1987) – that ‘the people make the place'. In short, it matters who we are and what we contribute to our organization, both for our own well-being and that of the organization. It is us that are being organized and doing the organization. So it matters what sort of questions we ask of ourselves and our workplaces, and it matters that we understand what type of contribution is made, why and by whom, to our collective endeavour and well-being. The emphasis on people though necessarily entails asking what happens to us when we leave work: What is our work–life balance like? What if we work part time? What if we are unemployed? What if we are moving towards retirement?

We have organized the book into four parts. The first three are: Job-focused; Organization-focused; and People-focused. The chapters in these three parts do just what they should do – focus on jobs, organizations or people, but without ignoring that jobs are offered within organizations and are done by people. Part I highlights that competencies, both technical and with people, have become a focus for organizational recruitment and selection. Thereafter a key message is that when work goals agreed with managers are committed to by employees there is a better outcome for both. Part II points to the ways that organizations gain by paying attention to how well they create healthy workplaces, how people are embraced and come to be a part of them, how well they are led, how fairly they are treated, and how well they are organized into teams. Part III concentrates on how and why people may make their contribution to organizational life as a function of their personalities, attitudes, values, and experiences of their organizations, management and working conditions.

The fourth part is about how organizations may be advised by work and organizational psychologists using the evidence and theorizing produced through the research that is so well discussed in the first three parts of the book. This part is introduced by two practising consultants with an excellent overview of how to advise organizations and the strengths and challenges in our field when doing so. There are also five case studies to demonstrate the kinds of effective contributions work and organizational psychologists can make to the ways organizations and people can function and thrive.

Psychologists trace the dawn of scientific psychology to the laboratory set up by Wilhelm Wundt in Leipzig in 1879, and along the way take in Harvard professor William James' hugely influential book The Principles of Psychology, published in 1890. So the fact that Münsterberg, born in Danzig, now modern-day Gdansk, published his book Psychology and Industrial Efficiency in an English edition in 1913 means the study of psychology related to the workplace is nearly as old as psychology itself. Throughout the twentieth century the field of work and organizational psychology developed at pace, particularly following World War II, with courses becoming established in universities, and associations being formed devoted to advancing research and practice in this area. The International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP) was founded already in 1920, making it the oldest international psychology association, and its Division 1 – Work and Organizational Psychology – represents the oldest field of applied psychology.

As editors based in Europe we'd like to make special mention of a person who made important contributions to the further development of work and organizational psychology both as a scientific field and as a profession – Robert Roe – who died recently. Robert was responsible, with others, for establishing the European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology (EAWOP) in 1991 and was its first president. The association has gone from strength to strength providing for a European forum to inform work and organizational psychology that attracts people from around the world to its congresses. Latterly IAAP (Division 1), EAWOP and the American Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) have founded an Alliance of Organizational Psychology (AOP) to further the impact of work and organizational psychology around the world.

Work and organizational psychology represents the combination of two sub-disciplines: work psychology and organizational psychology. We strongly believe that this combination is a fruitful one. Work psychology traditionally embraces areas such as recruitment and selection, career choices, working conditions and safety, as well as stress and health, which involve a focus on individual workers and their well-being. Organizational psychology, on the other hand, typically includes areas such as organizational governance and leadership, employee motivation and performance, and organizational productivity, thus representing a focus on organizations and their prosperity. The combination of these two sub-fields into work and organizational psychology thus highlights the importance of studying, and understanding, factors at work that are beneficial to both individual employees and the organizations in which they work. We believe that this Introduction to Work and Organizational Psychology contributes to an increased understanding of how jobs, organizations and people are mutually dependent on one another. We also believe that the book's international perspective will make it a valuable tool for work and organizational psychology students in various parts of the world.

References

James, W. (1890).

The principles of psychology

. New York: Holt.

Medawar, P.B. (1969).

Induction and intuition in scientific thought

. London: Methuen.

Münsterberg, H. (1913).

Psychology and industrial efficiency

. Boston: Houghton.

Popper, K. R. (1991).

The poverty of historicism

. New York: Routledge. (first published in 1957)

Schneider, B. (1987). The people make the place.

Personnel Psychology, 40

, 437–453.

PART IJOB-FOCUSED

1What Do People Really Do at Work? Job Analysis and Design

Stephen A. Woods and Daniel P. Hinton

Overview

What do people really do at work? Or to phrase the question differently, what is the content and nature of different jobs in organizations? What should people do in their respective jobs in order to deliver organizational strategy? This chapter introduces the means by which these questions are answered: job analysis. In this chapter, job analysis is defined, and its place within a number of wider organizational systems is explored. Following this, the distinction is drawn between two broad types of analysis: work-oriented and worker-oriented analysis in terms of their focus and the end products that they are used to generate. A number of both work- and worker-oriented methods for the collection of job analysis data are described, after which are considered some specific organizational contexts in which job analysis data is used in the form of training needs analysis and job design. Finally, two modern alternatives to the classical approach to job analysis are described: competency profiling and work analysis. These approaches are explored in terms of the benefits that they can provide to practitioners in overcoming some of the limitations of traditional approaches to job analysis in the modern working world.

1.1 What Is Job Analysis?

What do people really do at work? How do jobs vary such that one person excels in a role, while another struggles? When selecting someone for a job, how do recruiters know what to look for? And, when designing a training programme, how can we make informed decisions about what content should be included and what content is redundant? How can we analyse work design so that we know if it is motivating?

For a role with which you, the reader, are relatively familiar – for example, sales or retail positions – the answers to these questions might seem fairly straightforward. However, this becomes much more challenging for jobs with which you are less familiar. If someone were to ask you what makes an effective nuclear power plant operator, or what content might make up a training programme for pathology lab technicians, what would you say? How could a practitioner find out what people really do at work?

The answers to all of these questions may be uncovered through a process called job analysis. Job analysis allows practitioners to gain a thorough understanding of the nature of a job, and the characteristics required for someone to be able to be effective in that job, to a very fine level of detail. Brannick, Levine and Morgeson define job analysis as follows:

Job analysis is the systematic process of discovery of the nature of a job by dividing itinto smaller units, where the process results in one or more written products with the goal of describing what is done on the job or what capabilities are needed to effectively perform the job.

(2007, p. 8; emphasis added)

Bound up in this definition is the idea that job analysis is a robust process whereby a job and the person doing that job are very closely scrutinized. The methods of job analysis all examine work and workers in extremely fine detail, allowing the job analyst the same level of understanding of them as an expert in that field, even if the analyst had, prior to conducting the job analysis, been unfamiliar with the role.

It may appear, at first glance, that job analysis is a rather laborious and unnecessarily complex approach to the understanding of a job. However, it forms the foundation of a diverse range of organizational processes. In recruitment and selection, it provides the criteria by which one can assess a candidate's degree of fit to the job, and their likely level of future job performance. In training and development, it helps to identify gaps between actual performance and the expected level of performance in a job (this gap representing the training needs of an employee or group). In performance management, it allows one to quantify an individual's performance in more objective, behavioural terms. In short, without job analysis, many of the things organizations do would be fundamentally flawed in their approach.

1.2 Types of Job Analysis: Work- and Worker-oriented Analysis

Classically, there are two broad forms of job analysis: work-oriented analysis and worker-oriented analysis (McCormick, 1976). These forms differ in their focus, and by extension, the types of data which they generate.

Work-oriented analysis seeks to break down a job into its constituent parts through a process of continual narrowing of focus. Within work-oriented analysis, the parts of a job are arranged in a sort of hierarchy. At the top of this hierarchy is the job, which is made up of a number of positions. Positions are composed of duties, which, in turn, are made up of tasks. Tasks can be viewed as collections of activities, which are, themselves, made up of elements, the smallest units of work, which make up the bottom of the hierarchy. The nature of each of these constituent parts is explored further in Box 1.1. By systematically breaking down the job into increasingly smaller parts, work-oriented analysis allows the analyst to understand the nuances of a job role which would otherwise be hidden. The result of work-oriented analysis is a comprehensive picture of every aspect of a job, down to its finest details.

Box 1.1: Constituent parts of a job

Job

: The totality of the work conducted by individuals working in similar

positions

across all organizations (for example, the job of ‘receptionist').

Position

: A collection of

duties

for which a single individual in a specific organization is responsible (for example, ‘the receptionist at Company X').

Duty

: A collection of

tasks

that contribute towards a shared goal (for example, customer communication).

Task

: A collection of

activities

that contribute towards a related set of specific job requirements (for example, communicating with customers via telephone).

Activity

: A collection of

elements

that contribute towards a single job requirement (for example, redirecting customer calls to relevant departments).

Element

: The smallest and most basic unit of work, beyond which further meaningful subdivision is impossible (for example, lifting the telephone's receiver).

Worker-oriented analysis takes a fundamentally different approach to understanding a job. The aim of worker-oriented analysis is to understand the characteristics that define an effective worker in the role. These characteristics are, collectively, referred to by the abbreviation KSAOs, which stands for Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and Other Attributes, the four broad types of characteristics with which worker-oriented analysis is concerned. The distinction between these types of characteristics is explored in Box 1.2. Worker-oriented analysis, therefore, produces a profile of person characteristics that define the ideal person for a job, the person who, at least theoretically, should be a perfect fit to the job.

Box 1.2: KSAOs

Knowledge

: The learning necessary to be able to perform the tasks of a job effectively (e.g. product knowledge; knowledge of processes and procedures).

Skills

: Acquired physical, mental, and social capabilities related to specific job tasks, which are acquired through experience and strengthened through practice (e.g. machinery operation; leadership).

Abilities

: Innate physical and cognitive capabilities that can be applied flexibly to a number of different job tasks (e.g. verbal reasoning; manual dexterity).

Other Attributes

: Any other relevant characteristic of a person that cannot be classified into one of the categories above (e.g. motivation; attitudes; personality traits; values).

1.3 Products of Job Analysis

Work- and worker-oriented analysis can further be separated by their end products. As stated in the operational definition provided above, job analysis results in some form of written product. The end result of work-oriented analysis is the production of a job description. A job description is a statement of the overall purpose of the role and the key tasks and duties for which the job holder will be expected to be responsible.

By contrast, the product of worker-oriented analysis is a person specification. A person specification is a profile of the KSAOs, experience and overt behaviours necessary to perform effectively in the job. Typically, the characteristics in the person specification will be divided into those that are essential for the job (those which the job holder must possess to be effective), and those that are seen as desirable (which are non-essential for effectiveness, but might differentiate job holders in terms of their fit to the role and subsequent level of performance).

Both of these documents are critical to the understanding of the job role. Therefore, work- and worker-oriented analyses should not be viewed as competing processes. Rather, they should be viewed as complementary. Together, they provide a complete picture of the requirements of the job and the attributes which allow the job holder to be effective in it.

1.4 Methods

Job analysts have a very diverse range of methods available to help them understand jobs (see Brannick et al., 2007, for an overview). Different techniques have both strengths and weaknesses, and there is no single technique that can be relied upon to be the ‘magic bullet' to be able to effectively analyse all jobs in all contexts. In practice, when conducting job analysis, an analyst is likely to draw upon a number of techniques, as each will provide him or her with a unique perspective on the nuances of the job, providing information that other techniques may well have missed.

1.4.1 Desk research