The Three Basic Methods of Job Evaluation - Essay Example

The three basic methods of job evaluation are ranking classification, and factor comparison. The ranking method is one of the simplest to administer. Jobs are compared to each other based on the overall worth of the job to the organization. The 'worth' of a job is usually based on judgments of skill, effort (physical and mental), responsibility (supervisory and fiscal), and working conditions. The advantage of this method is that it is very simple. It is also very effective when there are only a few jobs (less than 30) to be evaluated. Its disadvantage is that it is difficult to implement when there are plenty of jobs to be evaluated. Furthermore, rank judgments are often subjective making them unreliable. There are also no standards used for comparison; thus, to determine the rank of new jobs it has to be compared always with existing jobs.

There are several types of ranking methods namely: simple ranking, alternation ranking, and paired comparison. Simple ranking ranks the jobs according to their overall value to the organization. In alternation ranking, the job descriptions are ordered alternately at each extreme.

An agreement is reached among evaluators on which job is the most valuable, then the least valuable; then the next-most valued, the next-least valued; and so on until all the jobs have been ordered. Paired comparison on the other hand involves comparing all possible pairs of jobs to be evaluated.

The second method of job evaluation is classification. In this method, jobs are classified into an existing grade/category structure or hierarchy. Each level in the grade/category structure has a description and associated job titles. Each job is assigned to the grade/category providing the closest match to the job. This method places groups of jobs into job classes or job grades. The advantage of this method is that it is less subjective than the ranking method. It is also easy to understand making it acceptable to most employees. The classification method takes into account all the factors that comprise a job. A major drawback of this method is that it is not effective when the jobs are very different from each other. Moreover, some jobs may seem to fit within more than one grade or category which sometimes makes the evaluators use their subjective judgments.

The third method of job evaluation is the factor comparison method. This method does not use ranking rather, the worth of the jobs is determined through a set of compensable factors. Examples of compensable factors are mental, physical, and skills requirements, responsibilities, effort, and working conditions. After determining the compensable factors, benchmark jobs are identified according to equitable pay and the range of factors. A job comparison scale will then be constructed to be used to evaluate the remainder of the jobs. The advantage of this method is that it is analytical and objective. It is reliable and valid because each job is compared with the other jobs in terms of key factors.

The disadvantage of this method is that it is difficult to understand, explain and operate. It is also very time-consuming and costly. Further, the pay for each factor is based on subjective judgments. Read More