The Changing Nature of Work Implications for Occupational Analysis (1999) / Chapter Skim
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5 Implications for Occupational Analysis Systems
5 Implications for Occupational Analysis Systems
Pages 164-215
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From page 164... ...
More specifically, we ask: What are the implications of the changing world of work for occupational analysis tools and methods, and for occupational structures? How can occupational 164
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From page 165... ...
For example, sociologists and economists would ascribe additional meaning to the term occupational structure, including patterns of occupational recruitment and retention and inter- and intragenerational patterns of occupational mobility. For us, occupational classification has two general meanings: (a)
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From page 166... ...
Choices of methodology and technology for occupational analysis are guided by theories of work and occupations, represented most clearly by existing occupational structures. The primary consideration in occupational analysis is to devise a system that provides a basis for understanding the world of work, one that is grounded in this reality.
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From page 167... ...
At about the same time, the U.S. Census Bureau began to do more formal grouping and analysis of occupational titles, beyond mere listing (National Research Council,1980~.
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From page 168... ...
That includes the DOT, the Standard Occupational Classification System (SOC) , the Occupational and Employment Statistics Classification System (OES)
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From page 169... ...
Initial versions of dictionaries usually were developed between the 1940's and the early 1970's. Most statistical occupational classification systems [enumerative]
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From page 170... ...
Occupational Attributes (e.g., required work activities, skills, knowledge, number of incumbents, compensation) Occupational Categories (e.g., occupations, occupational families)
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From page 171... ...
These systems rely on a variety of data sources described in Appendix B They are listed below: · Position Analysis Questionnaire: This is perhaps the bestknown example of a worker-oriented job analysis technique
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172 cn cn CD C~ .
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From page 173... ...
· Common Metric Questionnaire: This is a more recently developed "worker-oriented" job analysis instrument intended to apply to a broad range of jobs and to overcome some of the perceived inadequacies of earlier systems, particularly the relatively difficult reading level of descriptor items and the relative (as opposed to absolute) nature of the ratings obtained for jobs (Harvey, 1991~.
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From page 174... ...
to provide international occupational data for research, decision making, and other activities; and (3) to serve as a model, but not a replacement, for countries developing or revising their national occupation classifications.
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47 (SOC) 139 Major work performed NOTE: Canada employs two slightly different classification structures; see appendix for details.
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From page 176... ...
In the past, a patchwork of cross-walks has been required to link the occupational categories across these systems (National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee, 1993)
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From page 177... ...
Since the census data are available only every 10 years, the Current Population Survey (CPS) was established; this survey is conducted monthly by trained interviewers who visit a carefully selected sample of households to obtain responses from a household member, whose responses are coded by Census Bureau staff using the alphabetical Index of Industries and Occupations (U.S.
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From page 178... ...
It will also replace the Census Bureau's 1990 occupational classification system and will be used for the 2000 census. In addition, the new SOC will serve as the framework for information being gathered through the Department of Labor's Occupational Information Network (O*
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From page 180... ...
The SOC Revision Policy Committee, noting that it has been 18 years between revisions of the SOC, recommended the establishment of a standing committee, the Standard Occupational Classification Review Committee, to maintain the currency and appropriateness of the SOC to the world of work. We regard the
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From page 181... ...
This would relieve the need for cross-walks for rapidly changing or emerging occupations. Likewise, deficiencies in the system for particular consumers of occupational information could be routinely identified and handled, again mitigating the need to form new structures for consumer needs not properly addressed in the decennial revisions.
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From page 182... ...
Evaluations of the DOT lauded its value and high level of use by government agencies, researchers, and others concerned with occupational information, but they tended to criticize its unwiel~y size and the growing disparity between its definitions and the real world of work (National Research Council, 1980; Spenner et al., 1980; Advisory Pane] for the Dictionary of Occupational Titles, 1993~.
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From page 183... ...
NET_ is an electronic database of information, rather than a book. In it, the information about each occupation has been considerably expanded and the number of occupations included in the system iThe material in this section was heavily borrowed from the Occupational Information Network (O*
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From page 184... ...
The system was designed to address an impressive array of tasks, including: · determining aptitude and skill requirements for jobs, · assessing a person's suitability for an occupation, · developing training standards and competency standards for jobs, · comparing the skills required for a displaced worker's previous and prospective jobs, and · documenting physical and contextual demands of jobs. Although it may seem difficult to envision an occupational information system capable of serving so many goals and the needs of so many users, this was nonetheless the design goal for O*
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From page 185... ...
These work activities, however, are influenced by requirements imposed by the job environment or work context, as well as requirements imposed by the organizational structure or context. As such, these contextual variables are also subsumed in the occupational requirements domains.
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From page 186... ...
` & interests Datjkes Work Styles l Machines, Tools, and Equipment Occupation Characteristics Labor Market Information Occupational Outlook Wages FIGURE 5.2 Descriptive domains of the O* NEI~ content model.
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From page 187... ...
These include such noncognitive, stylistic reinforcers as authority, creativity, security, and variety. Finally, work styles refers to personality characteristics that are either directly relevant to job performance or that may facilitate development of requisite knowledge and skills.
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From page 188... ...
Those seeking jobs or career guidance would most likely be interested in the amount and type of education or licensure required, whereas potential employers would be most interested in evidence of competence signified by completion of a particular educational or training regimen. Occupational Requirements Three major areas are included within the occupational requirements domain generalized work activities, work context, and organizational context.
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From page 189... ...
The 42 generalized work activities included in O* NET_ were identified through earlier factor analyses of job analysis inventories, with generalized work activities subsumed under four general categories: information input, mental processes, work output, and interacting with others inside and outside the organization.
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From page 190... ...
Field Test and Prototype Evaluation The current O* NET_ is a prototype for an eventual fully developed system, the goal being a comprehensive, flexible occupational information and analysis system that is national in scope and that tracks changes in a way that provides a basis for future projections and the design of new jobs.
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From page 191... ...
This includes a discussion of cross-domain analysis, grouping operations, aggregation of descriptor variables, and linking job analysis to assessment using the job component validation model. The Electronic Database The O*
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A... FIGURE 5.4 Computer display screen showing cross-walks across O*
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Writir~n a program ire PANIC to sort oLiects ire a database. FIGURE 5.6 Computer display screen showing details of rating scale anchors for the O*
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From page 194... ...
NET_ job descriptor hierarchy, through "Worker Requirements," to "Crossfunctional Skill," to "Negotiation." Note that an importance rat ing is also available for this skill. Figure 5.6 shows the details of the rating scale anchors for "Programming." These are the actual anchors used by job incum
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Advances In the committee's judgment, O* NET_ offers several important advances over previous systems in its job description variables and associated data collection instruments, in its electronic databases with job incumbent and occupational analyst ratings, and in the initial technical evaluations.
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From page 196... ...
This would allow, for example, infor c~ mation collected in the Current Population Survey or the Occupational and Employment Statistics Surveys to be merged, providing continuous updates of selected occupational information in the O* NET_ database.
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From page 197... ...
NET_ to cIassifying military occupations. Chapter 6 takes up the discussion of the Military Occupational Specialty System and the application of O*
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From page 198... ...
As organizations shift toward self-managing teams to organize individual workers, there is a decrease in the vertical dimension and an increase in the horizontal dimension of work. As the nature of work changes, so do worker requirements that is, the character of the job influences the attributes of the people who will fill the jobs (represented as the persons component in the figure)
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From page 199... ...
Current changes indicate that job incumbents must have greater abstract analytical knowledge. As work is increasingly performed in teams, teamwork skills are becoming more critical.
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From page 200... ...
NET_ as superior to any alternative enumerative or descriptive occupational classification system. Its database and viewers will permit searching, sorting, and ciassifying on the basis of job titles, and also on the basis of hundreds of other building-block work descriptors in the content model.
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From page 201... ...
This in turn has potential implications for such procedural details as sampling of subject-matter experts, rating instructions, and survey contents. CONCLUSIONS The quality and usefulness of particular occupational structures and data can be summarized by considering two related questions: Is the world of work adequately represented in the occupational information system in question?
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From page 202... ...
NET_, the most recent attempt to develop a comprehensive occupational information system. Representativeness of Occupational Structures and Data Occupational information systems are created from data about what people do at work.
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From page 203... ...
Nevertheless, one must be careful in drawing inferences from such a sample. Occupational information contained therein probably generalizes to work as it is done in establishments that participate in such surveys (which may be most of them)
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From page 204... ...
Usefulness of Occupational Structures and Data Issues of the usefulness of an occupational information system like O* NET_ include the quality level of the data, enabling potential for coping with change, cross-walks among related systems, system maintenance and control, and further technological developments.
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From page 205... ...
As with the 1998 SOC, accommodating new occupational information that has implications for content and structural changes to an existing database is a technical challenge that should be addressed by a standing O* NET_ Revision Policy Committee.
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What are the legal implicationsif occupational classification technologies are misused, who will be liable? What are the costs of fully developing and maintaining O*
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From page 207... ...
Given that random sampling, stratified random sampling, and nonrandom targeted sampling approaches are likely to be used and that, at any given point in time, data sources may include occupational incumbents, supervisors, job analysts, or some other type of occupational expert, it seems important that extreme care be taken in both aggregating data to the individual occupational level and in labeling the approaches taken and sources used in the collection of data for occupations.
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From page 208... ...
NET_ occupational ciassification scheme. Using the standard of five years for currency of occupational information, it becomes clear that the populating and maintenance of the O*
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From page 209... ...
NET_'s databases. Throughout this volume we have repeatedly emphasized the need for up-to-date occupational information systems that serve the needs of job seekers, career counselors, training specialists, public- and private-sector employers, and state and federal labor and manpower specialists.
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From page 210... ...
NET_-based occupational information technology could be used to address today's workforce challenges. Consider the cases of Sal Carpinella and Stan Adamchick, two workers displaced by a defense shipyard in Philadelphia.
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From page 211... ...
NET_ occupational code number, or SOC code, to produce a somewhat broader range of options (jobs that require the skills of an electrician but that have a different title would also appear) and could filter the solution further according to employer requirements (e.g., amount of related work experience required, work schedule)
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From page 212... ...
Likewise, there is little need to consider other more general types of work descriptors for this purpose, such as generalized work activities and personality and interest variables, as the issue is work process redesign rather than staffing or vocational counseling. Comparing jobs on knowledge, skill, and ability requirements is the appropriate level of detail, as it addresses the capabilities of the workers to perform the work.
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From page 213... ...
A timely and flexible national occupational information system, although a monumental undertaking, is an indispensable public resource and should be supported by public funds. If these data collection and quality control functions are left to
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From page 214... ...
One missing element in the present vision of an occupational nformation system is a closer tie-in of the day-to-day labor transactions and the occupational information system. If daily recruiting, hiring, and firing activity could be linked with occupational categories and, in turn, with the associated skills, abilities, and other attributes of the categories, then trends in desired or required occupations and occupational attributes could be more dynamically monitored.
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From page 215... ...
However, the existence of an accurate, comprehensive, current occupational database, especially if it is linked to labor transactions as mentioned above, should provide an empirical base for making statistical, algorithmic projections as well as a solid footing for subjective estimates by occupational experts of all stripes.
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