Page 74 - DLIS003_LIBRARY ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT

Unit 4: Job Analysis and Evaluation

4.3.2 Qualitative Methods of Job Evaluation Notes

Job Ranking Method
This is the oldest and simplest method of job evaluation. This is generally used in smaller units
where the job raters know all the jobs quite well. In this method no effort is made to break a job
down into its elements or factors, but the aim is to rather judge the job as a whole and determine
the relative value by ranking one whole job against another whole job. In this technique ranking
is done according to ‘whole job’ rather than a number of compensable efforts.

In it a committee constituted of several executives’ studies job descriptions. Then jobs are arranged
from highest to lowest, in order of their value or merit to the library. Jobs also can be arranged
according to the relative difficulty in performing them. So jobs are ranked in order of importance
beginning with the most important to the least important jobs in the library. Job at the top of the
list has the highest value and obviously the job at the bottom of the list will have the lowest
value. This procedure is followed for jobs in each department and an attempt is then made to
equate or compare jobs at various levels among the several departments. When this is completed,
grade levels are defined and salary groups are formed. Jobs are placed into different salary
ranges more or less on a predominated basis in their rank order.
An expert committee consisting of well-informed executives may, in relatively short time, rank
several hundred jobs in various departments. In most of the instances, the ranking are not only
based on job descriptions but on the raters’ general knowledge of the position.
According to this method, Table 4.2 is a hypothetical example of ranking of jobs having done the
above ranking, additional jobs between already ranked may be assigned on appropriate place.
This method might serve the purposes of a small library with easily defined jobs but would
probably be most unsuitable for a large company with a complex library structure.

Advantages

Simple: The system is quite simple. A company does not face any difficulty in installing
this system.

Easy: As the workers understand the process there is no problem in administering this
system.
Less time: Less time is taken in evaluating the jobs.

Suitable for smaller concern: This system is suitable for smaller library where the rates are
fully acquainted with all the existing jobs in the enterprise.

Disadvantages

No scientific approach: As there is no standard for an analysis of the whole job position,
different bases of comparison may occur. Importance of the job may be arbitrarily ranked
resulting in differences in similar jobs and may be resented by the employees.

No fair judgement: This method decides the ranks of the jobs on the basis of their importance
but does not tell the reasons. So ranks judgements are subjective and the fairness of the
judgement cannot be advocated.

Difficult for large library: In a complex industrial library, it is not possible to be familiar
with all the jobs and thus general description will not enable correct assessment of the
relative importance of the jobs.

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