Introduction: Ovania Chemical Corporation is a specialty chemicals producer.

Its core product is polyethylene terephthalate (PET) thermoplastic resins, which are used mainly to make containers and packages for bottled water, soft drinks, foods, and pharm aceuticals. Their main plant is located in Steubenville, Ohio. Though smaller th an other chemical producers that produces globally, it has competed successfully in its niche of the US specialty chemical business. Recently advances in techno logy have changed the nature of chemical production, and like all competing firm s, Ovania must take steps to modernize its facilities. Not surprisingly, these t echnological advances are accompanied by redesign in employee jobs, especially t he system analyzer position. Objective: On the basis of the assigned case we will try to learn the process of conducting a job analysis that does not yet exists. We will also examine the reasons the s election committee had for choosing only those factors for the selection process that could not be acquired in a two year training program. Finally, we will try to determine if gender discrimination was a issue in the selection process as t he job requirement included getting down into the dirty treatment tanks. Main Body: 1. How would you go about conducting a job analysis for a job that does not yet exist? Job analysis is the process of obtaining information about jobs by determining w hat the duties, tasks, or activities of those jobs are (Bohlander & Snell, 2003, p.94). Job analysis is the base of Human resource management. The purpose of Jo b analysis is to systematically study the nature of jobs to identify the work ac tivities, tasks, and responsibilities associated with a particular job. Job data obtained by job analysis serves a variety of organizational purposes and provid es a basis for decision making in job transformation, recruitment, selection etc . It provides objective evidence of the skills and abilities required for effect ive performance in the job. The job analysis should determine the most important and critical aspects of the job. It is upon these that the key attributes and selection and evaluation for the job should be based. For instance, if the purpose of the job analysis is to seek out the competencies for a job that currently does not exist, we have to ta ke a future-oriented approach. This approach should take into account the organi zational needs when restructuring the job. The job analyst need to identify and predict the new job activities, as well as, knowledge, skills, and abilities req uired for those activities. To do this the job analyst might seek out the person s, especially those, that satisfy the organizational requirements. "Work analysi s is a very strong technique work; generally speaking, it should be operated by professional personnel, personnel of this position and supervisor"(Wanghao, 2003 , p.38). This may include human resources staff, consultants and the experts for this job (managers, supervisors, etc.). Together they can find out the future i ssues that are to affect the job. Consultation with individuals who are knowledg eable about the expected future job changes helps to identify, skills, abilities and knowledge required for the job. Finally, identifying the critical knowledge , skills, and abilities for the future job is crucial. The use of Job Analysis to design selection procedures not only gives users the obvious benefits of using appropriate selection techniques, but also provides evidence of their relevance should any questions arise (The Commission For Racial Equality, 1993). That's why it is good practice to take a sample of people who are representative of the ta rget population in terms of age, gender, ethnic origin and background. Different perspectives on the job can produce a more rounded picture. As a result of the modernization of the company, Ovania Chemical Corporation has had to redesign its employees jobs. Perhaps one of the most important changes to be made at the Ovania plant involves the job transformation of the system analy zer position. The system analyzer is primarily responsible for monitoring the production funct

ion and the position was once classified as semiskilled (i.e., maintenance techn ician). However, with automation, the requirements for the job are expanding dra matically. A system analyzer will soon have to know pneumatics, hydraulics, info rmation technology, programming, and electrical wiring. Ovania has estimated tha t within two years, a system analyzer s tasks, duties, and responsibilities will h ave changed by over 70 percent. The three men who currently hold the position a dmit that they will be incapable of performing the new aspects of the job. Ovani a is forced to redesign the job of a System analyzer and recruit new people for the survival of their organization. They formed a selection committee and conduc ted a job analysis for the new position of system analyzer. The Selection commit tee included Ovania s Steubenville plant manager Jack Sarabe, the HR manager Emily Claire, and two senior engineers, Dave Packley and Mark Young. The two senior e ngineers could give important insight about the potential skills whose deficienc ies were holding them back. The selection committee s challenge will be to analyze the new job that does not e xist yet and to recruit the new employees based on the newly identified skill se t. They could use current job description as a base and looking at similar compa nies equipped with the same machinery to gain some perspective. The job analysis made the selection committee project into the future to identif y potential skill set that they feel will be needed to perform the job adequatel y. Figure 3A lists the major performance dimensions of the job; it also indicate s the specific tasks that will be characteristic of each dimension. Figure 3A Performance Dimensions (Duties and Tasks) Maintaining Spares and Supplies 1. Anticipates future need for parts and supplies and orders them. 2. Stocks parts and supplies in an orderly fashion. 3. Maintains and calibrates test equipment. Troubleshooting 4. Applies calibration standards to verify operation by subjecting the syst em to known standards. 5. Decides whether the problem is in the sensor, in the processor, in the p rocess stream, and/or in the sample system. 6. Uses troubleshooting guides in system manuals to determine the problem a rea. 7. Uses test equipment to diagnose the problem. 8. Makes a general visual inspection of the analyzer system as a first trou bleshooting step. 9. Replaces components such as printed circuit boards and sensors to see if the problem can be all eviated. Handling Revisions and New Installations 10. Makes minor piping changes such as size, routing, and additional filters . 11. Makes minor electrical changes such as installing switches and wires and making terminal changes. 12. Uses common pipefitting tools. 13. Uses common electrical tools. 14. Reads installation drawings. Record Keeping 15. Maintains system files showing historical record of work on each system. 16. Maintains loop files that show the application of the system. 17. Updates piping and instrument drawings if any changes are made. 18. Maintains Environment Canada records and logbooks. 19. Disassembles analyzers to perform repairs on-site or back in the shop. 20. Replaces damaged parts such as filters, electronic components, light sou rces, lenses, sensors, and values. 21. Uses diagnostic equipment such as oscilloscopes, ohmmeters, and decade b oxes. 22. Tests and calibrates repaired equipment to ensure that it works properly

. 23. 24. 25. 26. lts 27.

Reads and follows written procedures from manuals. Routing Maintenance Observes indicators on systems to ensure that there is proper operation. Adds reagents to systems. Decides whether the system or the lab results are correct regarding resu (i.e., resolves discrepancies between lab and analyzer results). Performs calibrations.

Work analysis isn't accumulating work information mechanically, instead of explai ning characteristic and request overall, and to public the main work contents an d key factor of position according to analyzing and summarizing"(Zhangde, 2001, p.72). That s why the selection committee analyzed the list of tasks from Figure 3 A to arrive at a set of personal qualities that system analyzers will need. Thes e qualities include the twelve abilities shown in Figure 3B. Beside each ability are numbers corresponding to the tasks to which it is related (see Figure 3A). The abilities marked with an asterisk (*) are considered by the committee to be c ritical. Any applicant not scoring well on each of the critical dimensions will b e considered unqualified for the job. Figure 3B Abilities and Tasks Numbers represent tasks cited in Figure 3A. Asterisks indicate abilities conside red critical by the committee. Skills Task Numbers *Finger dexterity 3, 4, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 19, 20, 21, 22, 25, 27 *Mechanical comprehension 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 7, 14, 19, 20 , 22, 23, 24, 27, 11, 17 *Numerical ability 11, 3, 4, 24, 10, 21, 12, 13, 14, 27 *Spatial ability 2, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 14, 19, 20 *Visual pursuit 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 27 *Detection 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 14, 19, 20, 23, 7 Oral comprehension 1, 2, 5, 6, 26, 7, 8, 9, 19, 21, 25 Written comprehension 1, 15, 16, 17, 18 Deductive reasoning 1, 5, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 19, 21, 20, 22, 2, 26, 27 Inductive reasoning 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 19, 21, 20, 22, 2, 26, 27 Reading comprehension 3, 6, 14, 7, 22, 23, 21, 9, 27 Reading scales and tables 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 21, 23, 24, 27, 2, 6, 14 This is how Ovania Chemical Corporation did the Job Analysis of a job that does not exist yet. 2. What reasons did the selection committee have for selecting only those factor s which could not be acquired through a two-year training program? Now we will discuss about the reason behind choosing of only those factors for t he selection process that could not be acquired in a two year training program. With lot of competitors and rapid change in technology, companies look for candi dates working in similar domain of different skills and uniqueness to improve th eir business. Employees within a company might lack modern technology process. U nlike Internal employees, external candidates can bring lot of changes to the co mpanies with innovative ideas and creative skills which help the company get str onger. In order to compete with other companies, external employees with latest skills and thorough knowledge are responsible for company's growth. When interna l employees fail to do so, employers go for searching external candidates with r ich source of latest skills to fill the positions. External Recruitment brings new people with fresh and innovative ideas to the or ganization. They will also bring experience they have gained from other organiza

tions, which can be a huge benefit for the organization. An example of a complet e changeover was of Selfridges where they got rid of all the old managers whose management style was based on old traditional approach, they were replaced by ne w young innovative women who changed the traditional approach to a more modern d ay approach to business. It has made Selfridges one of the most successful retai ler in the UK today.(Soomro, 2008) External Recruitment also allows the organiza tion to be selective when selecting a candidate and allow them to define the rig ht requirements, which fits in the organization most effectively. Initially the selection committee of Ovania Chemical Corporation wanted to recru it new blood , however after deliberation decided to recruit both internally and ex ternally. Ovania chemical estimates that the task, duties, and responsibilities of a system analyzer will have changed by over 70 percent within two years. Beca use there was a two-year lead time before the job would be put in place there wo uld be a lot of time to train the new employees and prepare them for the positio n. Keeping this in mind, any skills or knowledge that could reasonably be acquir ed or trained during a two-year lead time was not part of the selection committe e s factors. 3. Should the concern for women getting down into the dirty treatment tanks have been a selection issue? Any form of discrimination, be that gender discrimination or racial discriminati on, during recruitment process should be avoided completely. Equal Employment op portunity is protected by laws and in employment discrimination lawsuits, the bu siness always loses. Consequently, creating a work culture and environment for e mployees that encourages diversity and discourages employment discrimination in any form is critical for the success of the company. While recruiting for the system analyzer position in the Ovania Chemical Corpora tion, concerns were raised that female candidates may not find it comfortable to perform the job properly, based on some of the requirements, such as, entering dirty treatment tanks to read gauges. As Ovania had some history of employment d iscrimination charges, managers were extra careful this time and were committed to making the procedures and decisions fair and objective. The selection committ ee adopted new strategy to encourage minorities and women, ignoring past employm ent history. Among the 56 applicant for the new position, 21 of them were women. Recommendation: We feel that Ovania Chemical is taking all the right measures towards finding th e right applicant for the job. More and more companies today are administering b attery tests and crunching numbers to get information about present or future em ployee performance. The use of Job Analysis to design selection procedures not only gives users the o bvious benefits of using appropriate selection techniques, but also provides evi dence of their relevance should any questions arise. (The Commission For Racial E quality, 1993) Research has shown that the Realistic Job Preview (RJP) technique to be effectiv e in improving the recruitment process. As the name implies, the RJP gives the p otential candidate a realistic preview of what is actually involved in the job. RJP s allow potential candidates to self-select as to whether they really want to co ntinue with the process based on what they have learned about the job. For examp le, the issue raised about if women would want to get down to dirty treatment pl ant as a part of their job requirement could be resolved by asking for the appro val of the women candidates during the time of their selection. The importance o f the system analyzer position is likely to grow and as it includes extensive an alytical skills in an unsanitary environment, attractive remuneration packages f or this position, will be more appealing to the applicants. This may help Ovania get candidates irrespective of their gender and races. If they can create a mor e diverse pool of employees, it ll help Ovania erase the past history of its emplo yment charges. A diverse talent pool will assist this company to hold its reputa tion in the competitive market.

Fifty six employees applied for the new position of system analyzer in Ovania. T wenty one were female, fifteen were black. Only two of the three current system analyzers reapplied for the new position. The company had decided that a total s core of 800 on the twelve tests would be the cutoff score for an applicant to be seriously considered for the position. Each of the aptitude tests has been published, standardized (100 points possible for each test). It would be better if they could introduce weighted scores for the 12 criteria. The six critical criteria would have more weight than others. S o, rather than just summing up the 12 skill test scores, Total score could have been calculated like this: Total Score = ? (Skill test Score Skill Weight). Conclusion: In this paper we discussed the Job Analysis and Hiring decision of a system anal yzer Job in Ovania Chemical Corporation. Modernization of technology has forced Ovania to transform the responsibilities of a semi-technical system analyzer pos ition to a highly prospective knowledge and skill oriented position. Ovania had to redesign the job that does not exist yet. We firstly have solved how to condu ct an analysis of a new job that does not exist yet. including preparation stage , decision program, data collection, write a job analysis report.

References: 1. George Bohlander &Scott Snell, Managing Human Resources , Dalian: Dongbei Univer sity of Finance & Economics Press, 2003. 2. Wanghao, Human resources Management , Beijing: Huawen Press, 2003 3. Zhangde, Human Resources Management and Development, 2rd Edition , Beijing: Qing hua University, 2001. 4. Clifford, James P., "Job Analysis: Why Do It, and How Should It Be Done?" Pub lic Personnel Management, Vol. 23 No. 2 (Summer, 1994). 5. Ghorpade, Jai and Thomas J. Atchison, "The Concept of Job Analysis: A Review and Some Suggestions.", Public Personnel Management Journal. 6. McCormick, Ernest J., Job Analysis: Methods and Applications , AMACOM, 1979. 7. Women and Workplace Discrimination: Overcoming Barriers to Gender Equality , Ray mond F. Gregory. Rutgers University Press, 2003 8. Realistic Job Previews: https://uic.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/institution/cla sses/dhd547