Identify Responsibility Areas
The first step in a job analysis is to identify the major responsibility areas. Use this definition to look for them:
•Very broad, general areas of a job rather than specific duties.
•Each responsibility area usually take up a major portion of job time.
•A responsibility area results in more than one specific outcome.
•Responsibility areas are generally independent of each other- the job holder operates with one responsibility area at a time.
•They usually involve different tools, equipment and procedures within each area.
Most jobs can be divided into general areas of responsibility. But some jobs are so narrow in scope that only one area of responsibility is really involved. For example, in one organization, word processing responsibilities are performed by a general office clerk who may have a number of other responsibilities, such as administrative, personnel, etc. Other organizations, however, may use a word processing specialist who performs no other function. In the latter case,there is only one area of responsibility: word processing.
It all depends on how the job is viewed. Do not try to invent levels of the job analysis that do not apply. If the job is narrow in scope and does not appear to contain more than one area of responsibility, simply jump to the next level.
Position of Responsibility Areas in the Job Analysis Hierarchy
Example Responsibility Areas
Here are some examples of responsibility areas:
•Operations
•Maintenance
•Personnel
•Supervisor
•Public Relations
•General Administrative
•Training
•Project Management
