CODESP Job Analysis and Description 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When an organization conducts a 'classification review,' the primary goal is to:
- Evaluate individual employee performance
- Determine whether a position's assigned class accurately reflects its current duties (Correct answer)
- Establish new pay scales for all employees
- Identify candidates for promotion
Correct answer: Determine whether a position's assigned class accurately reflects its current duties
A classification review examines whether the duties and responsibilities of a position still align with its current class specification, which may result in reclassification.
Question 2: Which of the following best illustrates the difference between a 'duty' and a 'task' in job analysis terminology?
- A duty is performed daily; a task is performed weekly
- A duty is a broad area of responsibility; a task is a specific, observable unit of work within that duty (Correct answer)
- A duty requires more skill than a task
- A duty is assigned by management; a task is self-initiated
Correct answer: A duty is a broad area of responsibility; a task is a specific, observable unit of work within that duty
In job analysis, a duty is a major responsibility area (e.g., 'processes financial transactions'), while a task is a specific, discrete activity within that duty (e.g., 'verifies receipt totals against ledger entries').
Question 3: The 'benchmark position' approach in job evaluation uses certain jobs to:
- Train new supervisors on job analysis techniques
- Anchor the evaluation system by representing well-understood points across the pay structure (Correct answer)
- Identify the highest-paid positions in the organization
- Determine which jobs require background investigations
Correct answer: Anchor the evaluation system by representing well-understood points across the pay structure
Benchmark positions are well-defined, stable jobs used as reference points to anchor the compensation structure and compare other positions against established pay relationships.
Question 4: Which factor most threatens the reliability of job analysis data collected through incumbent surveys?
- Using too many rating scales
- Incumbent inflation of job duties to justify higher pay or status (Correct answer)
- Surveying supervisors alongside incumbents
- Using standardized questionnaires
Correct answer: Incumbent inflation of job duties to justify higher pay or status
Incumbents may exaggerate the complexity or importance of their duties — a form of social desirability bias — which distorts the accuracy of job analysis data.
Question 5: In public safety job analyses (e.g., police, firefighter), which type of validity evidence is most commonly used and why?
- Construct validity, because it is easiest to document
- Content validity, because small incumbent populations make large-sample criterion studies impractical (Correct answer)
- Predictive validity, because test scores predict academy graduation rates
- Concurrent validity, because current employees can be tested easily
Correct answer: Content validity, because small incumbent populations make large-sample criterion studies impractical
Content validity is favored in public safety contexts because the relatively small number of incumbents makes it statistically difficult to conduct large-sample criterion-related validity studies.
Question 6: A 'job analysis committee' or 'job analysis panel' is convened primarily to:
- Negotiate collective bargaining agreements
- Review and reach consensus on task lists and KSAO ratings through group SME input (Correct answer)
- Approve individual employee performance ratings
- Set hiring quotas for underrepresented groups
Correct answer: Review and reach consensus on task lists and KSAO ratings through group SME input
Job analysis panels bring together multiple subject matter experts to review, discuss, and reach consensus on task inventories and KSAO ratings, improving data accuracy and defensibility.
Question 7: Under the Uniform Guidelines, if a selection procedure shows adverse impact, the employer must:
- Immediately withdraw the selection procedure
- Demonstrate validity evidence or modify the procedure to reduce adverse impact (Correct answer)
- Hire applicants in proportion to the applicant pool automatically
- Report the results to the NLRB within 30 days
Correct answer: Demonstrate validity evidence or modify the procedure to reduce adverse impact
The Uniform Guidelines require employers to either demonstrate that an adverse-impact selection procedure is valid and job-related or take steps to reduce or eliminate the adverse impact.
CODESP Job Analysis and Description 5
When an organization conducts a 'classification review,' the primary goal is to: