Advantages And Disadvantages Of Job Evaluation

A job evaluation is a systematic way of determining the value/worth of a job in relation to other jobs in an organization. It tries to make a systematic comparison between jobs to assess their relative worth for the purpose of establishing a rational pay structure.

Job evaluation needs to be differentiated from job analysis as job analysis is a systematic way of gathering information about a job and job evaluation method requires at least some basic job analysis in order to provide factual information about the jobs concerned. Thus, job evaluation begins with job analysis and ends at that point where the worth of a job is ascertained for achieving pay equity between jobs.

7.2 Meaning & Definition of Job Evaluation

Job evaluation is the rating

Drawbacks of job evaluation:

In spite of many advantages, job evaluation suffers from the following drawbacks/limitations:

1. Job evaluation is susceptible because of human error and subjective judgment. While there is no standard list of factors to be considered for job evaluation, there are some factors that cannot be measured accurately.

2. There is a variation between wages fixed through job evaluation and market forces. Say Kerr and Fisher, the jobs which tend to rate high as compared with the market are those of junior, nurse and typist, while craft rates are relatively low. Weaker groups are better served by an evaluation plan than by the market, the former places the emphasis not on force but on equity”.

3. When job evaluation is applied for the first time in an organisation, it creates doubts in the minds of workers whose jobs are evaluated and trade unions that it may do away with collective bargaining for fixing wage rates.

4. Job evaluation methods being lacking in scientific basis are often looked upon as suspicious about the efficacy of methods of job

Given the changes in job contents and work conditions, frequent evaluation of jobs is essential. This is not always so easy and simple.

8. Job evaluation leads to frequent and substantial changes in wage and salary structures. This, in turn, creates financial burden on organisation.

How to Improve Job Evaluation?

Following measures and steps for improving the work of evaluation programmes;

1) A job evaluation scheme should be chosen cautiously. It should be devised and administered on the basis of employment market, demand for labour, bargaining power of the parties & job conditions.

2) The details of the scheme should be drawn up in such a way that they do not conflict with other provision of a collective agreement. The scheme should be sold to all concerned and suggestions sought. Give major importance that the number of job titles and classification is kept to a minimum.

3) Any anticipated changes in methods should be carried out before a scheme is installed and all modifications in it should be resisted until it becomes fully established.

4) In preparing job descriptions it is a sound practice to emphasis in them the things which makes one job different from another rather than to find a comprehensive statement of all the duties of the