Michael T. Brannick and Edward Levine.

Job Analysis: Methods, Research, and Applications for

Human Resource Management in the New Millennium. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2002,
$79.85 cloth, $34.95 softcover.

Reviewed by Frederick L. Oswald, Assistant Professor, Michigan State University

We all have pet theories, now dont we? Why just this last millennium, I was killing
some time, and I developed a pet theory on job analysis: You will never see a job analyst with
insomnia, given the soporific double whammy they get from reading job analysis material and
writing it. However, Id better quickly retire this old theory, given Brannick and Levines new
book, Job Analysis: Methods, Research, and Applications for Human Resource Management in
the New Millennium. Given the engaging and accessible writing style with the authors frequent
directives to drink coffee, take aspirin, and eat chocolate, reading this book is bound to keep you
awake. But going beyond its bare minimum of keeping your eyes open, lets dig into the
substantive material of the book.
Chapter 1 presents the lay of the land for subsequent chapters, first describing job
analysis as a generic label for information-gathering methods, whose critical considerations
include the type of job and worker data collected, the sources of the data, the methods of
gathering the data, and the level of substantive and measurement/analytic detail required. The
introductory chapter then outlines the many uses to which job analysis is put: On the job side
there are job descriptions, performance appraisal, job evaluation and job redesign (Chapter 7),
and on the worker side there is selection and training (Chapter 8). In addition to these general
uses, Chapter 5 goes into more specific uses for job analysis as it applies to managerial jobs or
for team-based work (teamwork KSAs and team functions). These specific applications tie into
Chapters 2 and 3, which reflect related general considerations concerning the scope and nature of
information collected from both the job (e.g., Functional Job Analysis, critical incident
technique, task analysis) and worker (e.g., Job Element Method, PAQ, and cognitive task
analysis).
Importantly, the authors go on in Chapter 4 to illustrate how hybrid methods of
information gathering might be appropriate to understand both of these sides of the job-analysis
equation. This chapter on hybrid methods, along with Chapter 9 (Doing a Job Analysis Study),
may turn out to be the most useful chapters to many, because the authors expertly bring together
method and practice by way of relevant examples and practical considerations that reflect their
past (and vast) experience in addressing organizational issues. As the authors state, The more
you know about the interface between methods and applications, the better you will be able to
avoid potential pitfalls [in job analysis] (p. 187). All the practical examples given help the
reader to understand the realistic constraints and costs inherent in carrying out any job analysis
project (e.g., time, effort, money) as well as the fact that implementation may differ from what
might be implied from traditional job analysis texts (e.g., The phrase critical incident has
connotations that bring to mind unbidden images of the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl. When
explaining the method to SMEs, it is best to call the method something else, such as behavioral
examples. p. 61).
I would say that the overarching theme of the book is what the authors advance as the
particular theme for Chapter 7: [D]ifferent applications require different sorts of information.
The implication is that you should know your application or purpose before you start (p. 187).
Given particular job analysis application, the authors impress upon the reader that job analysis
takes place not only within organizational and research contexts, but within a legal context as
well (e.g., ADA and EEOC requirements, Chapter 6), and it is both art and science to implement
a competent job analysis that acknowledges and skillfully manages these contexts in light of all
relevant parties intents and purposes. Next, in providing further information about the context
of job analysis, the authors detail in Chapter 10 how work and worker characteristics may very
well change over time with the introduction of new technologies, job redesign, and
organizational change. This concluding chapter presents ties to and thoughts about the new
O*NET occupational data base and, in general, about the future of job analysis in light of
changes in society, technology, and the business environment. Has the job been so amoebic
that we cant analyze it any more? Should the Yellow Pages replace their listings of jobs with
listings of clusters of worker competencies instead? Perhaps more questions than answers come
out of this final chapter, but such is the nature of speculating about the future.
The book does a nice job of satisfying its stated goals: It is accessible and useful for
academics at the graduate level (perhaps for a specialized undergraduate course), though
graduates, and the professors teaching them, would likely also want to supplement this text with
the current literature the book cites. Similarly, practitioners and researchers would find this book
to be a well structured user-friendly guide that points the reader, as needed, to more detailed job-
analysis research that these authors point to as important and useful. Throughout the book I liked
the practical guidance provided, which tends to be based more on principles than on rules-of-
thumb. There are some of the latter (e.g., how many task statements might be generated for a
job, or a set of points to consider when interviewing incumbents), but more of the former,
because different situations do in fact call for different job analysis approaches.
No book, of course, can satisfy every goal, and this book is no exception. Other purposes
for job analysis are recognized but not detailed, such as job classification, worker mobility and
workforce planning, and efficiency/safety; you would really need to consult other sources to
better understand these aspects of job analysis. Another area some readers might like greater
attention to, as the scope of organizations becomes increasingly international, would be the
cultural and cross-cultural considerations in the design and implementation of job analysis
methods. Psychometric concerns (e.g., reliability and agreement indices) are somewhat glossed
over, but useful references are provided. Finally, as a final caveat, I noticed the authors
recommend their own products (e.g., the C-JAM for hybrid job analysis methods, MAP for team-
based job analysis). This may make ultimate sense (they are experts after all), but one should be
a healthy skeptic, just like when a sellers agent is excited to sell you some real estate
(particularly relevant for me, a recent first-time home buyer).
To conclude, this book is a long-awaited-for gift to researchers, practitioners, and
academics who desire a job analysis book that informs beyond a cursory level yet is accessible,
engaging and sophisticated in its treatment which is based on thoughtful reviews of the current
state of the literature. In some places the writing style may come off as a bit too punchy (e.g.,
sample KSA for a corporate vice president: willingness to stay inactive for extended periods),
but I bet most folks well versed in the job analysis literature will be quick forgive them and, like
me, will add this terrific reference to their library.