Job Analysis for Orange Athletics - Research Paper Example

?Executive Summary Orange High School Athletics is an interscholastic sport organization which comprises of different staffs working together to achieve goals. The main focus of this paper covers the following: staffing which talks about staffing needs assessment; job analysis in which the main purpose is to gather information on the job, the operations, the duties and responsibilities involved, working conditions, and other critical elements; job description that provides information on what kind of abilities and talents, education, and experience are required to perform the job adequately. Moreover, it talks about job specification which outlines the human qualities needed to carry out a certain job; recruiting that involves the process of gathering a pool of prospective and capable applicants and encouraging them to apply for a position; and training which focuses on developing skills concerning how various tasks are to be performed and how to develop customer relationship skills. Furthermore, the HR portfolio speaks about performance appraisal, reward systems, motivation, and job design, leadership and decision style, and on how these can be applied into the Orange High School Athletics. This portfolio is in line with the purpose of describing the entirety of the sport organization and improvement of the human resources which are essential to the improvement of the organization. Introduction The mission of Orange County High School Athletics Department is to let students explore in an environment of positive, supportive, nurturing and safe where they have room to grow, excel and succeed in their endeavors in all aspects such as academics and sports. Students are expected to develop critical-thinking and civic-minded values, and contribute to the local community and to the global society. The members of the organization believe in the following: (1) the core business of the Orange Schools is to provide students a learning environment, and make their studies and physical activities valuable, satisfying and challenging; (2) students will be able to reap something worth keeping if they are exposed, guided, and taught; (3) the environment that the students stay must be nurturing, safe, and conducive for learning (4) all students need adults’ supervision and care; (5) all individuals such as staff and employees shall adhere to commitment for excellence and teach students with values (6) cooperation and gathering among all members of the organization and the community help build stronger relationships with the students in their learning (“Orange County Schools,” n.d.). Meanwhile, following the hierarchical organizational structure, these are the ranks/positions within the organization: the principal, the athletic director, the interscholastic athletic director, and coaches. In order to carry out the goal well, the staffs and employees are in constant coordination. They connive to each other’s office to achieve desired results. For example, in Orange County School’s Interscholastic Athletic Program, the principal is responsible for the operation of the entire school in cooperation with the Athletic Director. The main function of the athletic director is to oversee all school athletic programs to ensure that all interscholastic athletic programs are conducted in accordance with the North Carolina State Board of Education, North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) requirements, policies established by the State Board of Education, the Orange County Board of Education, and the General Statutes of North Carolina (“Mission Statement,” n.d.). All program leaders must construe to the duties and responsibilities set forth by the organization’s Constitution and by-laws. Staffing 1.1 Staffing Needs Assessment First and foremost, before jumping into the more critical points in the organization like doing the job analysis, job description, job specification, hiring and so on, the Human Resource personnel should consider the assessment of the current staffing situation of the organization. It is very important that employees behind the assessment must be aware of the needs in terms of number of jobs and type of persons needed for the company. Further, according to Clark and MacCreaigh (2006), staffing needs assessment focuses on close examination on jobs--meaning the Human Resource personnel identifies and determines the types and number of jobs to be filled. Second focus is on the people. HR must be wise and keen enough to identify the appropriate people to be hired for the company. 1.2 Job Analysis For the benefit of the organization, it needs to hire one (1) Athletic Director, and five (5) coaches. These human resources need to be successful for the betterment of the organization. Job Analysis for Orange Athletics TABLE 1. Athletic Director Element Job Identification Athletic Director Job Summary “Designed for a broader range of athletic programs for males and females. He or she is accountable for safety matters, and managing funds for various athletic expenditures with a limited budget” (Mission Statement,” n.d.); for the management of interscholastic sports program. Duties These are his duties but not limited to: “Prepare eligibility lists as required by the state association; evaluate each athlete’s grade at the end of each grading period; secure physical history and insurance forms from all participants; enforce all state association rules and regulations; prepare entry list for tournaments and meetings; supervise and observe coaching; ensure that fields are ready for athletic events (“Mission Statement,” n.d.).” Responsibility “Provide leadership for the athletic department while focusing on the important connection between academics and being a student-athlete; assist principal in securing competent school personnel for athletic staff through interviews and recommendations; prepare, maintain and communicate a calendar of school athletic events and related activities to all affected” (“Mission Statement,” n.d.); responsible for specific areas such as organization (how he/she manages the entire sport organization), planning (which requires organizational and time management skills), and evaluation (primary responsible for the performance appraisal of the whole staff). Human Characteristics He/she must be organized, detail-oriented person; physically fit and able to handle pressure; with good communication and leadership skills; has completed an undergraduate course, and preferably has completed Master’s degree in Athletics Administration; preferably with experience (Devantier & Turkington, 2006). Working Conditions The job may be time consuming, an athletic must be able to cope with this demand; he/she should be capable of handling work pressure. Health and safety features Provide safety measures and tips to the organization; Physical examination is often conducted to ensure the health condition of the staff and student-athletes; Keep training and practices free from any threat of harm. Performance standards Athletic Director is expected to observe and follow all the guidelines set for the organization, staffs and, student-athletes, parent and to the community; perform all the duties and responsibilities without any form of bias and injustice; promulgation of policies and procedures affirm to the goals, mission, and vision of the organization. TABLE 2. Coaches Element Job Identification Coach Job Summary “Designed to accept certain obligations and responsibilities to players, fellow Coaches, and to the game each Coach directs; set a pattern of behavior for each student-athlete, for he/she influences those student-athletes more than any other person (Mission Statement,” n.d.).” Duties “To emphasize sportsmanship, ethical conduct and fair play; to eliminate all possibilities which tend to destroy the best values of the game; to stress the values of playing the game fairly; to respect the integrity and judgment of sport officials (Mission Statement,” n.d.).” Responsibility Coach must “promote and teach clean, aggressive and fair play while stressing good sportsmanship at all times; he/she must be the leader and a role model, and treat all players with respect; the safety and welfare of players should always be uppermost in the Coach’s mind (“Mission Statement,” n.d.).” Human Characteristics must be active and physically fit; he/she must have a good communication skills, good organizational skills, leadership skills, analytical skills, tact being able to balance criticism with finding good points; has deep knowledge about sport and the factors that affect performance; he /she must satisfy State requirements for certification; completion of relevant tertiary course such as Sport and Event Management or Physical Education. Working Conditions A coach is expected to perform his job with all his all heart, might, mind and strength and helps athletes improve their capacity through constant training and practice. Health and safety features PPE is to be complied to the coaches and student-athletes as it is needed to ensure the safety of coaches during heavy training and competition; this procedure is divided into three steps: medical history, physical examination, and clearance; it’s goal is to avoid the risk of sudden death, and screening for conditions that may become worse during sports participation (“Personal Protective Equipment,” 2008). Performance standards He/she is expected to treat players fairly, and make coaching to athletes interesting; a coach should perform his job professionally, and try his best to inspire and lift them when they get down and discouraged; a good coach must know how to resolve arising problems, and teach athletes with new techniques and strategies to achieve success. 1.3 Job Description and Job Specification (200) Job description and job specification are the result of job analysis. As the name suggests, job description provides a description of the responsibilities needed to perform a job. It also provides an outline of specific tasks that are also essential to carry the goals, objectives, and vision of the organization. On the other hand, Job specification entails a description of qualifications needed to the job. The job position Athletic Director is the focus on this section. Position: Athletic Director Job Summary: Manage funds for the organization’s expenditure; secure staffs and student-athletes safety measures Job Requirements; Responsibilities: Lead the organization with into proper direction; assist the principal in matters pertaining to the staff and the organization; organize and oversee the coach’s organization of all aspects of team travel; responsible for the purchase of equipment needed by the coaches and athletes, and provide inventory and storage of equipment; responsible for proper planning of competitive schedules for practice and games, and facility scheduling; ensure the training, supervision, and appraisal of all staff; responsible for all the sport programs and see to it all are in line with the standards provided; Serve as manager of all home games, as well as secure major and minor officials (MacLean, 2001). Responsible to: High School Principal Job Specification: Physically fit Degree holder in Master’s in Athletics Administration Excellent leadership skills Good leadership skills Preferably with good communication and technical skills Able to work under pressure With good listening and analytical skills With organizational skills 1.5 Recruiting In this task, HR personnel are expected to follow necessary procedures and policies in order for the recruitment process to end successful. According to (Chelladurai, 2006), recruitment refers to a “process of finding and attracting capable applicants for employment.” Prior to recruiting, the numbers and type of person to be employed is already determined. Careful planning to attract potential employees must be his or her priority. Following are the basic strategies that could be utilize in recruiting: (1) the organization should not limit its eyeing for potential employees on one area. It must go beyond the websites and publication advertisement; (2) Reach out for personal and professional networks such asking for recommendations from the head of universities and colleges (deans or department chairs of graduate programs), in order to have wide pool of selection of best candidates. It is in the corners of universities and colleges that young leaders and professionals are molded (Chelladurai, 2006); (3) Employee Referral system--this strategy refers to manager’s way of encouraging current employees to find qualified persons (friends or relatives), and encourage them to apply for the positions. This strategy will invite best candidates because current employee is already acquainted with the organization’s goals, processes, and knows who will fit in the position. Meanwhile, aside from making job postings on the Internet, it is better to send announcements to areas where young leaders are usually in such as graduate schools with good reputations in the community. However, there are policies that need to be followed in the course of finding potential workers. These policies protect the interest of applicants, as well as employees against any form of irregularities and discrimination. It is a rule that before any organization can start its recruitment process, it must construe to the guidelines set forth through government legislation. Thus, the personnel in charge in the recruitment process is barred from doing discrimination against applicants and employees, directly or indirectly, based on the following grounds: race, color, ethnicity, language, age, sex orientation, marital status, origin, belief, culture, family responsibility, disability etc. Moreover, the Labour Relations Act (LRA) 66 OF 1995 is a legislation which strictly prohibits employers from making promises and taking advantage on employees (Erasmus & Schenk, 2009). 1.6 Hiring In this task, the recruiting personnel should take careful plan on how to carry out the assignment. Planning must include number of potential candidates to be hired and type of persons needed who fit the profile and standards set forth by the organization and the aforementioned characteristics specified. It is essential to know that hiring qualified people should be a priority. The Orange Athletics, as a sport organization, needs people with special expertise and job knowledge to carry out duties and responsibilities which are primarily dealt with physical activities and sports. That is why job analysis and job description must be done in order to have a guide in the hiring process. Hiring is a process which involves selection of qualified individuals or group of qualified persons gathered in the recruiting process. As mentioned above, there are policies concerning recruiting, and most of which are focusing on inhumane discrimination. Applicants during recruitment must be treated fairly and unjustly. Likewise, in the hiring process discrimination on the grounds of race, age, sex preference, religion, ethnicity, nationality, marital status, gender and so on is a no. Government has laid down these policies in order to protect the people seeking job. Meanwhile, the selection of people to be hired must compromise with the standards and profile being set. That is why during recruitment, the recruiting personnel should carefully identify potential employees, not just qualified but have met the required standards. Also, strategies on how to attract potential employees have been applied in the recruiting process before jumping to the crucial point--the selection process. 1.7 Training (300) Next to recruiting and hiring process is training. In this task, planning is very important. Several things need to be considered like programs and goals for the development of the newly hired employees. According to Gronroos (1990, as cited in Chelladurai, 2006), the focal point why training is very essential lies in developing skills which are needed to the jobs that the newly hired staffs will perform. In a sport organization like Orange Athletics, communication and service are highly valued, because these are the tools in achieving harmonious atmosphere. In Orange Athletics, the Athletic Director, coaches, event coordinator, resource management, staffs, student-athletes and their parents interact within the walls of the organization, so communication and service skills must be enhanced. Further, training is designed to achieve learning. Employees need to undergo the process to carry out their duties according to how it should be performed. In addition, Sears, Rudissil, & Mason-Sears (2006) stated that training has the purpose of changing the behavior of the employees performing the job. The training personnel may create a module basically for training program for example six month physical and communication training. In a module, there must be a list of skills and goals that trainees must attain within a span of time. A goal is very important, without it nothing could be reaped at the end of the training program. Furthermore, there are training methods that could be used to train employees as suggested by Sears, Rudissil, & Mason-Sears (2006): written material (where trainees would need to use manuals and books); lecture (trainees would hear instructions and class lectures from the trainers); video (trainees are exposed and expected to learn from television and class videos); question and answer (this method provides an avenue for both the trainers and employees to learn from each other through queries); discussion (trainers present and discuss topics related to the organization and the jobs which they will perform later); programmed learning (in this method, a computer or a book is used to present material, followed by a question or a problem from the trainers; trainees are to respond to the questions, and will be given feedback based on their answers) Performance Appraisal The Athletic Director ensures the appraisal and sees to it that the policies and producers concerning it are properly established (MacLean, 2001). To specify, using the “Tell and Sell” method--a method in which the employees are given the chance to defend him and explain the reasons why he or she got negative results in the performance evaluation. It’s a good opportunity to allow open conversation between Athletic Director and the staffs. In this method, there is freedom and “right to be heard” mechanism--democracy is still maintained not only in leadership but also in evaluation. Moreover, the next concern would be the criteria for evaluation. Making a list of specific job tasks and worker behavior must be dealt with careful thinking and planning in order to at least lessen errors and biases. Job tasks to be included in performance appraisal include planning and organizing (how the staffs make plan which are realistic and thorough), analytical and decision making (pertains to staff’s initiative and way to identify key issues and the quality of the decision), and problem resolution (how staffs work toward problem and recognize best solutions). In addition, worker behavior factors answer the question how well did the person in handling unusual situations; plotting objectives and set priorities; dealing with assignments without being prompted; determining and evaluating issues and offered solutions (Grote, 1996). The primary purpose of performance appraisal is for the management to know how the employees are doing, and address issues if there are any. Also, it is a means to acknowledge their performance and receive feedback for improvement and identify areas that need assessment. Reward System, Motivation, and Job Design Reward is something that makes an employee motivated. Motivation is a concept which could be in the form of internal and external motivation, and determines employee’s achievement. Achievement is facilitated by a job design--which also recognizes the capabilities and needs of the employees performing the job (Hernandez, 2009). All these three have great impact both on the part of the organization and the employees as well. Those impacts would determine the success or failure of the organization. In order to increase the level of motivation of the employees in the Orange Athletic, its management may adapt what Heneman (2002) suggested--intrinsic motivators (e.g., feeling of accomplishment drawn by behavior like performing the job) work more effectively than extrinsic motivators (e.g., pay, recognition from peers, or praise from a supervisor); and job design would increase intrinsic motivation. In contrary, contemporary scholars contended Heneman’s argument. They stressed that extrinsic motivators works smarter. Compensation system as a form of reward system would contribute most to the employee motivation. However, in the view of Jenkins and colleagues (1998, as cited in Heneman, 2002), both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation should go hand-in-hand if the goal of the organization is to lift the spirit of the employees. There is much positive impact to the performance of the employees if they are motivated not only from inside but also with physical matters. Thus, giving reward and designing an effective job design would mean higher productivity, good performance, and satisfaction. In addition, job design approaches, which is design to motivate employees, has two methods that would satisfy the behavioral needs of the employees as they do their job--this is to back up compensation system in its role to aggravate employee motivation (Hernandez, 2009). Extrinsic motivation is good but does not guarantee behavioral change of employees that is necessary to be effective. First method is called Job enrichment--making jobs more rewarding and satisfying through adding meaningful tasks. There are factors that enrich jobs towards satisfaction of employees: Level of difficulty and responsibility must be aggravated, reports pertaining to job performance should be given to the employees for feedback, tasks that would enable employees to utilize their skills and capabilities shall be given in order for them to improve and grow, and ultimately develop individual values (Hernandez, 2009). Leadership and Decision Styles In an organization where different types of personalities are working in a common workplace, unity and oneness are things that must be obtained to achieve development and success. One leadership style that fits to the Orange Athletics is the democratic leadership. In terms of decision making, what suits to the organization is the Group Decision making style. It is a kind of decision making style that requires many heads to tackle issues and concerns. Democratic Leadership or also called as Equalitarian Leadership denotes freedom. A number of persons handling or formulating a decision are many--it is the group who decides on a particular matter. Athletic Director in Orange Athletics does not just simply implement a policy or address an issue to which the decision is applied, but involve the group in shaping up solutions (Andin, 1985). He or she is expected to lead the organization in every activity concerning interscholastic sports program. The employee and the employees usually gather in a meeting to deliberate agenda and decide together. Most of the time, they use an approach such as casting of votes or the majority to come up with a decision. In Orange Athletics, the board members consider their staff’s views and opinions, and this makes up a democratic sport organization. In addition, leaders are viewed as considerate and freedom advocates. Using the Group Decision Making Style makes every employee feels that their opinions and thoughts are valued and given credits. Thus, Group Decision Making is a method which involves all the staffs of an organization or company (Andin, 1985). The following are the characteristics of a democratic leader: he or she allows group participation, and respects the sentiments and suggestions of subordinates; a democratic leader is open for consultation through which new ideas are generated; with regard to the delegation and division of duties and responsibilities, group members are encouraged to participate in the decision--as to whom they want to work with. This leadership is advantageous to the Orange Athletics knowing that it is an organization composed of many students from different schools under the supervision of a principal and athletic director, many heads are better than one. This leadership encourages individuality and creativity (Andin, 1985). Democratic leadership and Group Decision Making Style are essential to keep the workplace united. References Andin, C. T. (1985). Organization and management of physical education and sport. Philippines: Rex Bookstore. Chelladurai, P. (2006). Human resource management in sport and recreation. US: Human Kinetics. Clark, S., & MacCreaigh, E. (2006). Library services to the incarcerated: Applying the public library model in correctional facility libraries. US: Libraries Unlimited. Devantier, T., & Turkington, C. (2006). Extraordinary jobs in sports. US: Infobase Publishing. Erasmus, B., & Schenk, H. (2009). South African human resource management: Theory and practice. South Africa: Juta and Company Ltd. Grote, R. C. (1996). The complete guide to performance appraisal. US: AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. Heneman, R. L. (2002). Strategic reward management: Design, implementation, and evaluation. US: IAP. Hernandez, S. R. (2009). Strategic Human resources management in health services organizations. US: Cengage Learning. MacLean, J. (2001). Performance appraisal for sport and recreation managers. US: Human Kinetics. Mission statement. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.orange.k12.nc.us/academic_dept_pages/student _services_links/student_services_docs/OCS_Athletic_Handbook.pdf Orange County Schools: Environmental health & safety. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.orange.k12.nc.us/support_services_pages/eh&s_drivered.html Personal protective equipment (P.P.E.) Policy. (2008). UK: RedTapeDoc. Sears, R. W., Rudissil, J. R., & Mason-Sears, C. (2006). Consultation skills for mental health professionals. US: John Wiley and Sons. Read More