IOintern,
Over the 2010 summer semester I am using a work project as part of APPL 707 Practicum in IO psych. As such, this summer you will receive (and read if you like) periodic updates from me. This email is the first.
The focus of this portion of the project is the examination of job classifications. This is part of a multi-year project in which we are revamping our officer management system to better track and develop talent (which we call specialties).
Several years ago an initial breakdown of job groupings was established by mapping a previous system of approximately 50 classifications into 18 specialties with 38 subspecialties. The old system was loosely based on tasks which each position needed to accomplish, but was not established to track talents of the individuals filling the position.
Last summer, I realized several limitations of this narrow view and have spent several months convincing them to use Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Other characteristics (KSAO) to combine with the tasks to better refine the job classifications. The team I work with and I have worked with subject matter experts from each subspecialty area to produce these KSAOs lists.
I am analyzing these lists, the known tasks, and the number of positions needed to support internal development into more senior positions (since we can’t hire external personnel). To this end, I have created a series of databases and excel spreadsheets which identify similarities, establish a standardized naming convention, and so far identify those KSAOs which are common across all subspecialties.
Today, I completed the compilation of 31 subspecialties KSAO lists into a consolidated master KSAO list. This included comparison of each individual KSAO to determine if there was redundancy between the subspecialty areas or similarities which should be combined. I eliminated several duplicate entries, consolidated several, and reclassified some.
The next step in this analysis is to identify those KSAOs which are common across all/most specialties.
Tom Olenchock