Job Evaluation Systems Research Articles

The Value of Work: The Gendered Outcomes of Organizational Wage Reforms

ABSTRACT This study explores the influence of organizational practices on gender in/equality in a unique setting: the reformed Israeli kibbutz. The transition of the kibbutz from all members receiving an allowance to waged labor provides an opportunity to explore the impact of wage determination systems on gender pay inequality. The study uses a mixed-method approach: descriptive statistics of administrative data, in-depth interviews, and a focus group with kibbutz management. The findings demonstrate that a “market-based logic,” embedded with gendered preconceptions of “women’s work,” can seep into an organization through a shift in the wage determination system, and increase gender inequality. The findings also highlight the lack of organizational awareness about the gendered consequences of this shift, or even their uncritical acceptance of the “value hierarchy” as ordained by the market. The study thus supports the theory positing gender as a hidden but integral aspect of reward systems in contemporary labor markets. HIGHLIGHTS The choice of a wage determination system is critical for gender inequality. “Women’s work” is valued higher by analytical job evaluation systems, which reduce gender biases. Market-based wage determinations introduce biases and increase organizational gender inequality. Management prefers market-based wage determinations due to competition and costs. The “free market” not only obscures gender hierarchies but also legitimizes them.

Implementasi E-SDM Di PT. Asia Pacific Fibers Tbk. Karawang

Technology has played a very significant role in changing the way organizations operate and has drastically affected human resource management (HRM) practices, further increasing its influence. The implementation of technology in HR management practices can improve organizational efficiency and effectiveness. The implementation of technology in HR management can include things such as: (a) electronic organizational structure, business processes, and document tracking; (b) electronic workforce planning; (c) electronic recruitment systems; (d) personal information systems, salary accounts, leave, and electronic exit procedures; (e) electronic job evaluation and electronic remuneration systems; (f) electronic performance management systems; (g) electronic training and development; (h) career management and electronic talent management. PT Asia Pacific Fibers, located in Kiara Payung Village, Klari District, Karawang, West Java, aimed to understand the implementation process of E-SDM in their HR activities. This research uses a qualitative research design with a case study approach and involves interviews with 5 respondents as well as data collection methods through observation, in-depth interviews, and documentation to support information related to the implementation of E-SDM in HR activities.

Fostering Internal Pay Equity Through Gender Neutral Job Evaluations: A Case Study of the Federal Job Evaluation System

The principle of pay equity implies that work determined to be equally demanding in terms of skills or qualifications, responsibilities, efforts, and working conditions should be valued and paid equally. However, prevailing gender-based stereotypes and prejudices about female-dominated jobs get in the way of achieving pay equity. Gender biases in compensable job (sub) factors could result in undervaluation and/or omission of relevant job (sub) factors associated with female-dominated jobs, and/or unbalanced/biased interpretation of job (sub) factors by associating them mostly with male-dominated jobs. Using a case study of the Federal job evaluation system for white-collar, non-supervisory Federal jobs the present article argues for a proactive and an intentional inclusion of gender-neutral (sub) factors in job evaluation systems in service of fostering internal pay equity within organizations.

Development and validation of an instrument in job evaluation factors of physicians in public hospitals in Beijing, China.

BackgroundJob evaluation has been widely used to establish a foundation for internal equity and other human resource functions. The United Kingdom adopts the National Health Service (NHS) Job Evaluation scheme to determine the pay bands for most NHS staff and ensure equal pay for work of equal value. The challenges of recruiting and retaining physicians in Chinese public hospitals have heightened the need for a reliable job evaluation system to ensure the equality of physician compensation. The aim of this study was to construct job evaluation factors of physicians in Chinese public hospitals based on the NHS Job Evaluation scheme and to examine the reliability and validity of the established system.MethodsQuestionnaire surveys and statistical analyses were used to determine the job evaluation factors for physicians. The preliminary screening of the evaluation factors was based on a literature review, focused interviews with physicians and the Delphi method. Based on the results of preliminary screening, a questionnaire with 25 factors was designed to survey physicians regarding the importance of each factor in physician job evaluation. After the pretest, final questionnaire data were collected from 900 physicians by adopting a stratified sampling from 6 tertiary public hospitals in Beijing. A principal component analysis was used for factor extraction and structural validity analysis. The reliability was determined using Cronbach’s alpha.ResultsThe results of the principal component analysis showed that the 25 physician job evaluation factors were grouped into the 5 dimensions of Task Characteristics, Knowledge, Responsibility, Effort/Environment, and Skills. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of the five dimensions ranged from 0.841 to 0.909, which indicated a high level of reliability. The result of the factor analysis indicated fair structural validity. The content validity was established by building onto the NHS Job Evaluation scheme and other well-established job evaluation systems.ConclusionsOur study indicates that the Chinese version of physician job evaluation is an instrument with fair reliability and validity, which fully reflects the characteristics of physicians in Chinese public hospitals. This system can provide an important basis for developing a physician compensation plan and ensuring internal equity in healthcare organizations.

Merit‐based Rewards, Job Satisfaction and Voluntary Turnover: Moderating Effects of Employee Demographic Characteristics

AbstractThis paper draws on the reflection theory of compensation (Thierry, H. (1998). ‘Compensating work’. in P. J. D. Drenth, H. Thierry and C. J. de Wolff (eds), Handbook of Work and Organizational Psychology, 2nd edn, pp. 291–315, Psychology Press: Hove; Thierry, H. F. (2001). ‘Job evaluation systems and pay grade structures: do they match’, International Journal of Human Resource Management, 8, pp. 1313–1324) to examine the influence of individual merit‐based rewards on voluntary turnover via job satisfaction. It also tests the moderating effects of employees’ gender, age and education level between merit‐based rewards and job satisfaction. Data were collected from 636 employees in Japan at three points in time over a 12‐month period. The findings show that merit‐based rewards have a direct, positive effect on job satisfaction and an indirect effect on voluntary turnover. The effect of merit‐based rewards on job satisfaction was moderated by gender and education, providing evidence that merit‐based rewards are more important for male and highly educated employees. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.

Subjectivity Rating Systems Posts

The limits of current job evaluation systems, their inability to fulfill its mission for which they were designed especially unable to determine through these techniques increased the overall level of employee satisfaction, is the topic of this article.

ISOS: a job evaluation system to implement comparable worth

A fair pay structure is an essential element of the personnel policy of a firm. If the pay structure is perceived as arbitrary by the members of the staff, it becomes a cause of disturbance of the labor relations. Particularly, a pay structure is unfair if it discriminates against women. Job evaluation is a traditional tool used by companies to assist in the process of determining pay structures that can be also useful to detect and combat wage discrimination, since allow determining whether two jobs are of comparable worth or not. Although there are many kinds of systems, authors agree when defining point factor methods as the most appropriate and fair job evaluation systems. However, even being well defined from a technical point of view, most existing systems give discriminatory results regarding to gender. ISOS, a new job evaluation system which is described in this paper, has been designed, with the aim to define a neutral system with regard to gender, based on present jobs characteristics, existing job evaluation systems and job description questionnaires, international experts’ knowledge and a wide body of literature on gender discrimination and its relation with job evaluation. Using ISOS

Administrative factors affecting employees absenteeism in academic and public libraries in Jordan

Absence from work is a persistent and challenging problem confronting organizations. This study aims to analyze the effect on absence rates of the following administrative factors: line of authority, work climate, leadership, communication, employment, supervision, decision-making, and innovation; the extent of occupational variables: library type, specialization, and organizational department; and employees’ characteristics: gender, age, marital status, and experience, at eight state academic and six public libraries in Jordan.Data was collected via field visits, personal interviews and a questionnaire. Of the 132 staff applicable to the study objectives, 115 (87.1%) responded. ANOVA, T-test and “Duncan dimensional comparisons” methods were used for statistical data analysis. Study findings revealed that poor organizational structure, improper work climate, poor leadership and communication processes, the absence of sensible employment policies, poor supervision, and managers’ passiveness are administrative factors negatively affecting employees’ absence from work. Statistical analysis of mean values revealed that there is a significant statistical difference, at the α≥0.05 level, between all administrative factors attributed to respondents’ personal characteristics and occupational variables.Recommended solutions include establishing sensible organizational structures delegating authority, promoting teamwork practice, developing job descriptions and evaluation systems, allowing employees’ freedom of choice to perform job duties, supporting cooperative working relations, promoting managers’ attitudes towards delegation of authority, open-door communication policies, and providing employees with training opportunities and motivations.

Administrative factors affecting employees absenteeism in academic and public libraries in Jordan

Absence from work is a persistent and challenging problem confronting organizations. This study aims to analyze the effect on absence rates of the following administrative factors: line of authority, work climate, leadership, communication, employment, supervision, decision-making, and innovation; the extent of occupational variables: library type, specialization, and organizational department; and employees’ characteristics: gender, age, marital status, and experience, at eight state academic and six public libraries in Jordan.Data was collected via field visits, personal interviews and a questionnaire. Of the 132 staff applicable to the study objectives, 115 (87.1%) responded. ANOVA, T-test and “Duncan dimensional comparisons” methods were used for statistical data analysis. Study findings revealed that poor organizational structure, improper work climate, poor leadership and communication processes, the absence of sensible employment policies, poor supervision, and managers’ passiveness are administrative factors negatively affecting employees’ absence from work. Statistical analysis of mean values revealed that there is a significant statistical difference, at the α≥0.05 level, between all administrative factors attributed to respondents’ personal characteristics and occupational variables.Recommended solutions include establishing sensible organizational structures delegating authority, promoting teamwork practice, developing job descriptions and evaluation systems, allowing employees’ freedom of choice to perform job duties, supporting cooperative working relations, promoting managers’ attitudes towards delegation of authority, open-door communication policies, and providing employees with training opportunities and motivations.

Towards a learning networked organisation: human capital, compatibility and usability in e-learning systems

In all parts of organisations there flourish developments of different new subsystems in areas of knowledge and learning. Over recent decades, new systems for classification of jobs have emerged both at the level of organisations and at a macro-labour market level. Recent developments in job evaluation systems make it possible to cope with the new demands for equity at work (between, for example, genders, races, physical abilities). Other systems have emerged to describe job requirements in terms of skills, knowledge and competence. Systems for learning at work and web-based learning have created a demand for new ways to classify and to understand the process of learning. Often these new systems have been taken from other areas of the organisation not directly concerned with facilitating workplace learning. All these new systems are of course closely interrelated but, in most organisations, a major problem is the severe lack of cohesion and compatibility between the different subsystems. The aim of this paper is to propose a basis for how different human resource systems can be integrated into the business development of an organisation. We discuss this problem and develop proposals alternative to integrated macro-systems. A key element in our proposition is a structure for classification of knowledge and skill to be used in all parts of the process. This structure should be used as an added dimension or an overlay on all other subsystems of the total process. This will facilitate a continued use of all existing systems within different organisations. We develop Burge's (personal communication) model for learning to show that learning is not a successive linear process, but rather an iterative process. In this way we emphasise the need for greater involvement of learners in the development of learning systems towards increased usability in a networked system. This paper is divided into two parts which are closely related. The first part gives an overview of the lack of compatibility between the different subsystems. In this first part we note two paradoxes which impact learning and for which we propose solutions. The second part deals with ‘usability’ aspects of these competency-related systems; in particular, usability in e-learning systems. In this second part we describe an example of a new organisational structure. We conclude by discussing four key concepts that are necessary conditions for organisations to address when developing their human capital. Establishing these conditions helps ensure compatibility and usability in e-learning systems.

Librarian Compensation Handbook: A Guide for Administrators, Librarians and Staff (review)

Reviewed by: Librarian Compensation Handbook: A Guide for Administrators, Librarians and Staff Linda Maria Golian-Lui Librarian Compensation Handbook: A Guide for Administrators, Librarians and Staff, David A. Baldwin, Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2003. 356 p. $52.25 cloth (ISBN 1-56408-970-X) From library administrators to clerical aides, compensation policies and practices affect all library employees. Simply stated, employee compensation involves everything an employee receives in return for work performed and includes, but is not limited to, wages and benefits. In today's world of expensive library materials, employee compensation remains a major cost in all types of libraries, and it is not unusual that salaries and benefits demand the largest portion of a library's budget. Astute library administrators realize that organizations that effectively handle compensation issues rarely become engrossed in compensation discussions except during performance evaluations or contract renewal periods. However, organizations that do not effectively communicate and handle compensation issues quickly find themselves entangled in a discouraged working environment where employees are constantly discussing their dissatisfaction and are less motivated to strive for stellar performances. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly important that today's library administrators have a basic understanding of compensation issues, as well as the ability to effectively communicate established policies and procedures with employees. They have an obligation to not only communicate to employees the availability and types of compensations, but they also have the increased responsibility of helping staff understand how compensations are determined and how the compensation process can be effectively influenced. It is surprising, therefore, that training for library administrators concerning an organization's compensation plans, policies, and procedures is rarely provided. This situation is quickly compounded by the fact that compensation and benefits is one area that is not often or fully addressed as part of a library management course curriculum. The Library Compensation Handbook: A Guide for Administrators, Librarians and Staff fills a foundational void faced by many library administrators. It is a welcome tool on the management bookshelf, with the chapters on compensation laws and compensation administration the most helpful. This Handbook is organized into 13 chapters. Several of the beginning chapters provide a basic understanding of compensation issues that would be highlighted in an entry-level business compensation course. These issues include historical background, the development of internal job structures, job analysis, how to develop a pay structure, and the pros and cons of various job evaluation systems. The information in these chapters provides accurate basic information in an easy to read format. The usefulness of this information for administrators, librarians, and staff is questionable, [End Page 436] however, since most library administrators play no role in the development and revision of compensation programs. Nevertheless, as a recent MPA student, I see great value in these chapters and would strongly support purchasing the book as an additional text for librarians in MPA or MBA programs or for librarians with significant responsibility for administering compensation programs. The strength of this book is found in several chapters toward the end. The chapters "Wage Gap and Pay Equity," "Addressing Pay issues in Libraries," and "Compensation Administration in Libraries" provide sound advice for the administrator trying to fairly manage an organization and equally sound advice for librarians or staff members interested in addressing a current compensation discrepancy. The chapter entitled "Laws Affecting Library Compensation" is especially well documented, organized, and written. This is the chapter that makes this publication a handbook for future reference. This is a well researched and clearly written resource that provides assistance for administering compensation issues in most library situations. Complex compensation issues are presented in an understandable fashion with in-depth explanations of principles, and several of the ending chapters provide especially helpful suggestions. While the title suggests that the book is helpful for administrators, librarians, and staff, this book is most helpful as a reference source for library administrators who have significant personnel management responsibilities. Linda Maria Golian-Lui University of Hawaii at Hilo golianlu@hawaii.edu Copyright © 2004 The Johns Hopkins University Press

Gillian Creese, Contracting Masculinity: Gender, Class, and Race in a White-Collar Union, 1944–1994. Ontario: Oxford University Press of Canada, 1999. vii + 278 pp. $21.95 paper

Based on the meticulous examination of company and union records and enlightening interviews with workers, Contracting Masculinity is a successful attempt to show how “doing gender” at the provincial utility British Columbia Electric (BE) created systematic sexual inequality from the 1940s to the present. Tellingly, the first union organization at BE was formed in 1944 and the first personnel management department followed in 1945. Creese's aim is to show how the leadership of one white-collar union collaborated with company executives and personnel managers to institutionalize job evaluation (or classification) systems and collective bargaining agreements that normalized “the rights of male breadwinners to higher pay and career mobility” (107). In the process, the (white) male worker became the norm and the object of most union strategies.

Job and Work Evaluation: A Literature Review

Classification and job evaluation systems have come under attack in the public sector. A literature review was conducted to help public sector human resource professionals make informed decisions about whether or not to change or even abandon traditional classification and job evaluation systems for compensation purposes. It is concluded that traditional classification and job evaluation procedures continue to have relevance in public sector settings. However, current classification and job evaluation systems need to be broadened to adapt to the changing nature of work in public sector organizations. Recommendations to shift the focus from “job” to “work” evaluation are offered.

Job evaluation systems and pay grade structures: do they match?

Job evaluation is usually applied in an organization in order to assess the relative value of jobs on the basis of which jobs are assigned to classes of pay grades. Thus, the assumption is that job value scores match with pay grade structures, and allow adequate predictions of basic job wages or salaries in practice. The validity of this assumption is questioned in this article. Data of five job evaluation systems (number of jobs: 16,809) were used to assess the effects of three system manipulations, concerning the number of anchors per scale (characteristic), the nature and the number of scales, and the weights of scales. Total job value scores of the manipulated data and the associated pay grades were compared with the non-manipulated ('original') scores. It turned out that even when two sets of job value scores are highly correlated (around 0.99), pay grade classification agreement was always less than 90 per cent, and in many instances much less. This result has important implications for the use of job evaluation in practice: when a fine grained system of pay grades applies, total job value scores may be deficient. Implications for a better match between total job worth values and pay grade classes are discussed.

Emotional Labor in Job Evaluation: Redesigning Compensation Practices

Few client-oriented organizations compensate those who perform emotional labor. Traditional job evaluation systems, used by employers to construct a wage hierarchy, fail to recognize the value of emotional labor. Through the pay equity movement, this bias was identified. This article offers a technical attempt to design a new job content questionnaire and evaluation framework that measure the actual tasks, activities, and situations in which incumbents of differentially female jobs perform emotional labor. Four general dimensions of emotional labor are discussed: human relations skills, communication skills, emotional effort, and responsibility for client well-being. These instruments offer the most detailed measurement of the components of emotional labor available and represent a starting point for refinement of this increasingly important type of work.

Cognitive Processes and Computer Advances in Job Evaluation: Innovation in Reverse?

AbstractSubjectivity has been an issue of long‐standing concern in job evaluation. Every so often attempts are made to apply well‐established quantitative techniques in an effort to improve the objectivity, precision, and accuracy of subjective processes inherent in job evaluation. This paper examines one such approach—the use of a linear programming approach to job evaluation—and argues that it runs counter to the underlying cognitive processes. It is suggested that, in general, an algorithm must be logically and theoretically consistent with the process it is trying to capture, if it is to be of practical value. In a more general sense, it is hoped that this paper will stimulate a critical and fundamental look at uncritical use of quantitative techniques.RésuméDepuis longtemps la subjectivité inhérente à l'évaluation des tǎches fait l'objet de questionnement. De temps en temps, des essais sont effectués pour appliquer des techniques quantitatives éprouvées dans le but d'améliorer l'objectivité, la précision et l'exactitude des processus inhérents à l'évaluation des tǎches. Cet article examine l'une de ces approaches—l'utilisation de la programmation linéaire pour l'évaluation des tǎches—et démontre qu'elle agit à l'encontre des processus cognitifs sous‐jacents. Il est suggéré qu'en général un logarythme doit ětre logiquement et théoriquement consistant avec le processus qu'il cherche à cerner si l'on tient à sa valeur pratique. Selon une portée plus large il est souhaité que cet article pousse à un examen critique et fondamental de l'utilisation des méthodes quantitatives.

Incomparable worth: pay equity meets the market

Comparable worth, or pay equity, is now an established policy in some US states, such as Minnesota, and the UK and Australia. Yet Steven Rhoads's research on those jurisdictions indicates there is no consensus on how to compare the value of dissimilar jobs involving 'comparable' amounts of effort, skill and responsibility. Consultants whose job evaluation systems are used in states adopting comparable worth policies do not agree on the factors to be included or how they should be weighed and arbitrary results produced by comparable worth policies have led to inefficient functioning of the labour markets. These policies have generated ill will among the workers who lose pay-equity cases, with political as well as economic consequences. The book argues that jobs are truly incomparable using the methods comparable worth relies on, and that the principles of comparable worth are not reconcilable with those of a market economy.

FOCUS: Sex‐Discrimination in Job Evaluation

Job evaluation systems are becoming increasingly important in Europe to counter sex‐discrimination, but evaluation criteria can themselves be discriminatory. Dr Jeanne de Bruijn is Professor in Women and Policy at the Free University of Amsterdam.

Pay inequity: it's still with us.

This article explores reasons for the continued existence of pay inequity. Throughout the past 3 decades, pay equity proponents have applied a number of remedies for inequity. For example, civil rights legislation has helped somewhat, but narrow interpretations hinder the usefulness of law. Labor market surveys do more to perpetuate inequity than to cure it. Collective bargaining offered by traditional unions benefits nursing to a lesser extent than nurses commonly believe. Job evaluation systems combine with multiple pay scales and inequitable pay formulas to perpetuate discrimination. Finally, there remains a danger that nurses' own lack of sophistication regarding pay equity issues may work against the interests of the profession on the pay equity scene. Nurses, therefore, need to keep abreast of current pay equity issues.

TECHNICAL AND MANAGERIAL CAREER PATHS: AN UNRESOLVED DILEMMA

Reports a study aimed at using fuzzy ratings to examine the relationship of satisfaction to the fit between career path preferences and perceived career path opportunities among 53 senior engineer managers and 96 trainee engineers. Satisfaction was related to the perceived fit between preference and opportunities. Senior respondents′ actual career paths (managerial, technical, or those waiting for promotion into one or other path) were not well matched to their preferences, with those in paths that were less well matched being less satisfied. Despite a strong recognition of the importance of technical excellence in organizations, the managerial career path was perceived as providing the major opportunity for promotion. Outlines possible ways of dealing with the inherent conflict between managerial and technical roles; including recommendations for job evaluation systems, job redesign, and incentive payments to keep up with technical skills.