"A History of Job Analysis"

I thought I was going to read this chapter -- Lowman, Rodney L., John Kantor, and Robert Perloff.  "A History of I-O Psychology Educational Programs in the United States." 111-138. -- However, there really wasn't anything relevant in it.  It really was a history of almost every I-O Pyschology program, but it was based more on location and people than theories and ideologies.  So, it wasn't that relevant.

I skimmed over the chapters after this, one on formal and informal organizations, another on the military, another on employee selection, and none of these seemed that relevant either.  Then I hit "A  History of Job Analysis" by Mark Wilson, and I found some things that I think might be useful.

Wilson defines job analysis as "the process of collecting, organizing, analyzing and documenting information about work" (219).  It's largely a descriptive process and is one of the first steps when investigating most issues within I-O psychology (219).  Wilson's goal in this chapter is to provide a history of job analysis (219).  He does this by providing a history of job analysis over the century, organizing this into schools of thought, and then making conclusions about the field.  The time periods that he focuses on include:

• The industrial age, 1903-1940
• The golden era, 1841-1980
• The information age, 1981-2003

While Wilson goes over these schools of thought and conclusions, these didn't appear to be as relevant for my study.  However, I did learn a lot about key social forces that impacted job analysis in the industrial, golden, and information ages.

In the industrial age, the key events impacting job analysis included: "the passage of the National Labor Relations Act in 1935 and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938" (224).  This gave workers the right to collective bargaining and set up rules for which jobs had working hour requirements and overtime rules (224).  This resulted in a division between labor and management which have continued to be divided (224).

In the golden era, the key events that impacted job analysis were the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and the Civil Rights Act of 1963 (Title VII) (225).  I knew this before, but Wilson goes into a bit more detail with what the implications of this were, writing "The Equal Pay act identified four compensable factors (skill, effort, responsibility, working conditions) on which jobs must be compared to determine their worth" (225).  Also, "Title VII of the Civil Rights Act was interpreted to require that nearly all employment-related decisions need to be job related" (225).  Wilson also states that, "It was during this era that 'management' as a job became increasingly important and influential in work life" (227).

In the information age, the key event that impacted job analysis "was the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)" (227).  Wilson explains that "the ADA requires that employers examine their jobs to determine 'essential functions' as the basis of determining eligibility for work by disabled applicants" (227).  Wilson also explains that the call center worker typifies the era because of ht combination of technology and information economy (229).

Again, I'm finding myself most interested in the historical development of the field.  Wilson reinforced what I read in other chapters about other acts and outside forces impacting the development of the field.  What I'd like to learn more about, though, is HOW the ADA, Civil Rights Act, Equal Pay Act, etc actually impacted the field.  What changes had to be made? I'm also interested in this development of a manager.  It reminds me of Donna's book and the development of the managerial unconscious in Writing programs.  I'm seeing similar things happen here in I-O Psychology.

This idea of job analysis is also getting my interested in relation to my teaching. Hmmm. Could I have my students do job analysis research?  If so, what would be the point?  What would they get out of it?  What would it look like?


 Wilson, Mark A. "A History of Job Analysis."  Historical Perspectives in Industrial and Organizational Psychology.  Eds. Laura L. Koppes, et al.  Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2007. 219-242. Print