Job analysis for a changing workplace

Abstract

Job analysis sits at the heart of all human resource practices, making it a critically important management activity in every organization. However, with increasing competition, shorter product life-cycles, rapid technological innovations, and the changing nature of organizational structures, its underlying assumptions are becoming increasingly questionable in today's dynamic work environment. Moreover, the methods used by traditional job analysis are simply not applicable to many new and emerging jobs and some authors feel it may even be an obstacle to organizational success. This has led to calls for a more proactive and strategic approach to job analysis so that the procedures will continue to be relevant. In this article, I emphasize the need for a strategic approach to job analysis, present a strategic job analysis framework, and discuss implications for organizations.