Page 71 - DLIS003_LIBRARY ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT

Library Administration and Management

Notes The major steps in this system consist of the following:
(i) Selection of factors: They may be skill, mental and educational requirements, physical
requirements and responsibility, working conditions. The persons writing job
specifications are generally provided with a set of dimensions within which they have to
perform this important work.

(ii) Selection of key jobs: Key jobs serve as a standard against which all other jobs are compared.
Generally a key job is one whose contents has become stabilized over a period of time and
whose wage rate is considered to satisfactory and acceptable by the management and
union. The key jobs should be a good sample representing the entire range. It is suggested
that 15 to 20 jobs should be picked. All of these should be clearly describable and capable
of analysis in terms of factors.
(iii) Ranking of Key jobs: Rank the selected jobs under each factor (by each and every member
of the job evaluation committee) independently. Ranking is made individually and then
a meeting is held to develop a consensus.

(iv) Assign money value: Money value is assigned to each factor so as to determine the wage
rate for each key job. The basic pay for each ‘key’ job is allocated to each factor. This should
reflect a range from the lowest to the highest.
(v) Comparing all jobs with key jobs: All other jobs are compared with the list of key jobs.
This is done to know their relative importance and position in the scale of jobs.

An illustration of how the factor comparison method works is given below:

Table 4.1: Allocation of Money Value to the Different Factors and
Ranking of Jobs under the Factor Comparison Method

Job Skill Mental Physical Responsibility Working
Requirement Requirements Requirements Conditions
Toolmaker 1 1 2 1 4
Mechanist 2 2 3 2 3
Electrician 3 3 4 3 5
Assembler 4 4 5 5 2
Janitor 5 5 1 4 1

Source: http://www.whatishumanresource.com/Quantitative-methods-of-job-evaluation

Example: If tool making is a benchmark job and its wage rate is 20 money units; it may
be decided to assign nine of these to skill, five to mental requirements, two to physical
requirements, three to responsibility and one to working conditions. Similarly, if the wage rate
for another benchmark job. For example that of a machinist, amounts to 18 money units, eight
of these may be allotted to skill, three to working conditions and so on.

Advantages

Factor comparison method permits a more systematic comparison of jobs than the
non-analytical methods. It is a systematic, quantifiable method for which detailed step by
step instructions are available.
The system results in more accurate job evaluation as it is more objective because weights
are not selected arbitrarily.

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