RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT AND JOB ANALYSIS TASK RATINGS

This research examined whether differences among job incumbents in the ir task ratings could be attributed to systematic as well as random va riation. Data collected from 83 respondents showed that there was a si gnificant degree of interrater agreement regarding task importance but not for ratings of task time spent. Moreover, measures of job context were significantly correlated with ratings of time spent but not task importance. These results suggest that within-job variation among rat ers can have both systematic and random components. Thus, practitioner s should collect data on the job context as well as on incumbents' dem ographic characteristics and experience. Personnel practices based on task analyses may need to be examined to ensure that they are compatib le with local variation in the job.