Focuses Action
Analyses information to see what will make a difference, then prioritise, plan and make decisions that will make it happen.
Seeks Improvement
Open and supportive of change. Supportive attitude towards students giving them correct direction in improving student’s results.
Drives Results
Approaches tasks with energy and commitment even when under pressure and puts in the effort to make them happen.
The competency profile shows the knowledge, skills, traits, motives, self-image, perception of the role which leads to effective performance (Boyatzis (1982))
Evaluation
The job analysis is worker-orientated with the identified specific characteristics Business School Lecturer is required to demonstrate.
To evaluate job analysis techniques Pearn & Kandola (1994) suggested eight points:
- Orientation – worker or job
- Sophistication
- Quantification
- Structure
- Proximity to job
- Applicability
- Sensitivity
- Packaging
Critical Incident Technique
The critical incidents technique was used as a set of procedures for systematically identifying behaviors that contribute to success or failure of a Lecturer’s specific situations.
The methods of the critical incident were used to describe specific examples of behavior which was observed and good examples of either superior or inferior performance was noted.
Each critical incident is a factual description of an event which was observed or experienced; involved a particularly effective or ineffective performance in achieving an aim; had a clear-cut consequence that was observable.
(Twelker, 2003)
The job analysis shows a Lecturer should be confident to offer support to student. Through critical incident technique effective support is shown through lecturer providing student with their contact information such as e-mail. Lecturer lets student know that help is available at anytime, lecturer is confident to answer any questions when the student needs. Ineffective support is shown when lecturer does not reply to student emails when needed, this leaves students frustrated and having difficulties progressing in their work.
Lecturer should effectively make use of class time showing plan and control and organisation. The ineffective incident is time wasting for example telling joke or anecdote that students felt are irrelevant showing the competency of planning and control.
The communication competency is important for lecturers. The use of the critical incident technique showed how effective communication with students is vital, lecturer did not leave the class when set work to help with any potential issues, lecturer also questioned students to make sure they were on the right track, ineffective communication showed how there is a poor performance in the class, if lecturer left the class student decided to also leave.
Both divergent thinking and results driven was shown where lectures showed involvement in the class, and used initiative by using resources such as YouTube, videos for discussion based work and not leaving students in the dark of their tasks. An ineffective performance from a lecturer showed where they used the same resources for two separate pieces of work where other resources would have been more useful.
Critical incidents were collected using individual interviews, focus groups, questionnaire surveys.
The critical incident technique presents demonstrations of the impact of behavior, showing what is effective and what is not, making it clear to distinguish between a good performance of the job. It is easy and economical to administer and provides rich in-depth data that increases validity and also many people enjoyed sharing their stories and because of the direct involvement. Marrelli (2005)
To use the Critical Incident Technique by collecting direct observations of human behavior in clear situations in such a way can be used the information in solving practical problems.
However the observations are ‘filtered’ through perceptions, memory, honesty and biases and may not be entirely accurate and lacks reliability (e.g. relies on memory and truth) it can be forgotten or distorted.
It can be difficult and time-consuming to analyze the data and wad difficult to get individuals to report by questionnaire.
The incident is any observable human activity, such as the lectures performance in teaching, and “predictions can be made about the person performing the act." In order for the incident to be considered "critical," it "must occur in a situation where the purpose or intent of the act seems fairly clear to the observer and where its consequences are sufficiently definite to leave little doubt concerning its effects." (Flanagan, 1954)
The Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ)
(McCormick et al., 1972)
The PAQ job analysis technique was a structured questionnaire of 194 questions covering Information input, mental processing, work output, job context, relationships with others (e.g. staff and students) and also other job characteristics.
Each job element is rated on six scales such as extent of use the importance, time, possibility of occurrence, applicability.
The results were summarized as and the data from the position analysis questionnaire can be analyzed in several ways:
For the specific Business school lecturer, individual ratings can be averaged to yield the relative importance of an emphasis on the various job element and competencies.
Repertory Grid
The repertory grid job analysis technique was a means of eliciting what people think makes good and poor performers. This Method is where the names of performers (known to the subject such as Lectures) are written on cards.
The cards are put into two piles of ‘good’ performers pile or the ‘poor’ performers pile
It is then asked what is different from the good performer to the bad performer.
With the good performers it is asked something that these two have in common that makes them different from the poor performer. Through this technique we can then probe down to find out what the difference is in terms of the personal constructs.
We are then able to construct suitable competencies of a business school lecturer for example two good performers were described as having good control over the class and had an authoritative trustworthy approach, where as the poor performer was unapproachable made a boring atmosphere, from this we can say that confidence is a suitable competency for a lecturer and a focussed action towards the class. Also the authoritative approach shows the competency of discipline where the lecturer is able to control the students making sure there are no late comers distracting the lecturer and students are clear of what is expected of them.
References
Roberts, G. (2005): Recruitment and Selection, CIPD
Skills for an Effective Rep Grid Interviewer, Dr Valerie Stewart found at: www.enquirewithin.co.nz/HINTS/skills1.htm
Arnold, J. (2005) Work Psychology: Understanding Human Behavior in the Workplace, FT Prentice Hall
Cook, M. (2004): Personnel Selection: Adding Value through People; (4th edition), London, and John Wiley
Pearn, M. and Kandola, R. (1994): Job Analysis: a Practical Guide for Managers, (2nd edition), London, IPD.
Searle, R. H. (2003): Selection and Recruitment; a critical text, Open University
