Ent 440—new product development—the north face the north face was

1. ENT 440—New Product Development—The North Face
The North Face was founded as an outdoor company which
made tents, sleeping bags, packs (which they referred to as
“hard goods”) and a few items of outerwear. The company built
is leading brand by producing the highest quality products
which were backed by a lifetime warranty and prided itself on
making long lived, sustainable products. As it grew the sales
and focus of the company shifted heavily towards fall outerwear
sales, This created some unique challenges for the company.
1).. The rate of growth of tent sales which was the largest
selling category of “hard goods” was slowing. Management
believed this was caused by two factors: One, the company’s
tents were so well made they lasted forever and, unlike
outerwear, most people didn’t need more than one tent. And
two, the original excitement regarding “hard goods” had been
around innovation but most of the innovation had recently gone
into developing apparel.
2) The North Face believed one of its key points of
differentiation as a brand from other outdoor apparel companies
was the fact that it created world class outdoor “hard goods”
which were used by influential outdoor explorers in doing world
class outdoor explorations. They were concerned that if its
image became one of being only an apparel company it might
undermine the unique brand they had developed.
3) Sales of apparel and outerwear was almost all in the Fall
and Winter months. Sales of tents, sleeping bags and tents were
mostly in the Spring and Summer months. Initially this nicely
balanced production and sales over the year, but as apparel sales
grew exponentially, the sales and production (and cash flow)
started to become imbalanced.
The North Face management pondered two questions:

2. 1.. How would it regain balance in its product mix?
2. Where should they go to rekindle the innovation in
their tent line.
What would the students suggest to The North Face
management?
BHR 4601, Staffing Organizations 1
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit III
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
3. Explore the significance of research methods used in job
analysis.
3.1 Define job analysis, including the various types of job
analysis methods and the steps to
complete the process.
3.2 Explain the legal reasons for conducting a job analysis.
3.3 Determine changes to a job description for a specific
position.
Course/Unit
Learning Outcomes
Learning Activity

3. 3.1
Unit Lesson
Chapter 4, pp. 127–156
Unit III Project
3.2
Unit Lesson
Chapter 4, pp. 127–156
Unit III Project
3.3
Unit Lesson
Chapter 4, pp. 127–156
Unit III Project
Required Unit Resources
Chapter 4: Strategic Job Analysis and Competency Modeling,
pp. 127–156
Unit Lesson
Dylan, human resource (HR) director for Company X, had been
receiving more and more complaints
about employees working out of classification, employees not
being compensated for the work they
were doing, and employees’ job descriptions not matching the
work being done. Production numbers
were being met; however, overtime, along with employee
absences and turnover, had increased.
Managers had also begun to come to HR to discuss their

4. concerns about this situation. Dylan
realized that he must do something, but what?
After receiving input from his team of HR professionals, Dylan
and his team decided to conduct
individual meetings with each department head to review
staffing, employee rosters, and job
descriptions for each position. He realized this would be a long
process; however, Dylan and his team
knew the importance of such meetings. Before having the
meetings, Dylan had to convince the plant
manager why this process was needed and how it would impact
business strategy and company
success. Dylan and his team had to do research to prepare a
presentation to present to the plant
manager. The presentation consisted of data to support the need
for this process.
After receiving the support of the plant manager, Dylan had to
communicate with each department
head about the need for a meeting and what the meeting would
address. Dylan called a roundtable
meeting with the department heads to present the information.
He included the plant manager in this
meeting. Including the plant manager showed the leaders that
Dylan had support and buy-in from the
plant manager. Although the support was there from the plant
manager, Dylan had to be prepared to
receive resistance from some department heads.
UNIT III STUDY GUIDE
Job Analysis—Is It Really Important

5. BHR 4601, Staffing Organizations 2
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
Dylan presented the information to the leaders and he opened
the floor for questions. One of the first
questions was asked by one of the leaders; “When are we
supposed to find time to do this? Don’t you
think we have enough on our plates already?” Another leader
chimed in and asked; “How do you
expect us to complete our daily tasks and sit down with you and
your team to go over job
descriptions? Can’t you and your team just do it?” Another
leader stated; “Why do we have to do this
if we are meeting production numbers? We are not cutting
profits. The employees like the overtime.
No one is going to stay here long anyway, so let’s keep doing
what we have been doing for the past
10 years.”
While these leaders voiced their opinion
and resistance to this process, some of the
other leaders agreed; however, there were
those who believed this process was well
overdue. Dylan remained firm and provided
the data again to support the importance of
moving forward with such meetings and
shared how it would improve overall
production, attendance, and turnover. Dylan

6. provided the leaders with the timeline for
completing these meetings and next steps.
Once the meetings had been conducted, it
was realized that some of the job
descriptions should possibly be rewritten;
however, before making changes, Dylan
realized that more detailed information
about the job was needed. What does the employee do from the
beginning to the end of the shift?
How long does each task take? Do any of the tasks overlap
within another area? What are some of
the constraints to doing the job? Dylan already knew the best
place to get this information from was
the employee doing the job. Dylan informed the leaders that
they should communicate this to the
employees, especially since Dylan or someone on his team
would be shadowing the employees and
having meetings with the employees to find out what the job
really entails.
Of course, you have those managers who communicate with
their employees, and due to resistance, you
have those managers who do not communicate with their
employees. This does not show good buy-in from
all involved. This can also have an impact on receiving proper
input and outcomes.
This leads to the “grapevine” conversations among employees—
Employees may hear “through the
grapevine” that their company will be conducting job analyses
for various positions within the organization.
Their immediate supervisor may not have told them about this,
so they begin to wonder: what is the purpose
of the job analysis, who will it impact, and what impact will the

7. analysis have on employee pay and job
stability? If asked, how much information should they share?
Will this increase job responsibilities or will some
of the responsibilities be shared with others? What will
management do with the information received? Will
they have a job or will some of them be terminated? These are
only a few of the many questions that
employees may have when they are not familiar with job
analysis or when management does not take the
time to communicate this process to the employees.
To avoid confusion, disgruntlement, and lack of cooperation
from the employees, and in order for
Dylan and his team to receive accurate information from the
employees, they must assure the
employees of the purpose and importance of this process. The
employee must understand that HR is
not there to do a performance evaluation but to gain a better
understanding of the job itself. The
employees must be assured that this process will only help to
improve working conditions.
As you begin to dive into reading Chapter 4, reflect on this
scenario. Also, begin to think about how this
relates to your current organization or somewhere you worked
in the past. Has the job description been
reviewed in recent past? Does it align with the duties performed
daily, or is it time to revisit job descriptions
and conduct a job analysis?
(Ragsac19, 2013)

8. BHR 4601, Staffing Organizations 3
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
In this unit, emphasis is place on job analysis. What is a job
analysis? Why is it important? What purpose
does it serve? Why does the supervisor need buy-in and support
from the employees? What if the employees
fail to cooperate? What if false information is given? How does
this impact company failure or success?
As you can see, there are many questions that may be asked in
regards to job analysis. Many of you have
heard the term job analysis. Some of you may have had the
opportunity to conduct a job analysis. As popular
as job analysis can be, there are some organizations that believe
it is a waste of time. Some jobs change so
rapidly that some companies feel as though it is a waste of time
and is worthless. However, based on
experience, a job analysis can help to determine the success of
an organization. You may ask, how so?
When a job analysis is conducted, the reviewer looks to find the
specifics
about the specific job. The job analysis does not look at the
person in the
job, but at the job itself. The reviewer tries to determine what
duties and

9. tasks are needed, the time it takes to complete the task, and the
process for
completing the task. The reviewer also tries to determine what
necessary
tools and/or equipment are needed to perform job tasks.
Although most
people believe the supervisor is the go-to person for this
information, the
person performing the job is the best person to provide such
information.
The person performing the job’s tasks on a regular basis can
generally
share information about the job that the supervisor may miss.
The job
analysis is a great tool when writing job descriptions or
revamping an
organization. The job analysis helps to create specifics about
the position
and essential functions. There are several job analysis methods
that
organizations utilize. Many organizations utilize more than one
method
because they typically utilize the one they feel will produce the
best
reliability and validity for a job class or family.
Now that the job analysis is complete, it is important to
understand how all
this works. The managers are now able to determine if the
proper
knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs)
have been
identified. They can determine if changes need to be made to
the job
descriptions. When changes are needed, the managers must
make certain

10. that essential functions are identified and are in compliance
with the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Managers can also
determine
specific rewards that need to be implemented in order to attract
and retain employees.
After completing this unit, you should have a better
understanding of job analysis, the legal ramifications of
job analysis, job analysis methods, and what it takes to plan and
conduct a job analysis. This unit will also
provide insight on job analysis rewards—to include intrinsic
and extrinsic rewards.
Reference
Ragsac19. (2013). Job description, ID 92325719 [Photograph].
Dreamstime.
https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photo-job-description-
responsibilities-many-uses-hr-industry-
image92325719
Suggested Unit Resources
In order to access the following resources, click the links
below.
The presentations below provide supplemental information to
this unit’s chapter readings. You are
encouraged to review them to further your knowledge on the
topics presented in this unit.

11. Chapter 4 PowerPoint presentation. PDF of this Chapter 4
presentation.
What tasks and
duties are needed?
How long does
the task take?
What is the process
for completing the
task?
What tools and
equipment are
needed?
Questions that are asked
during a job analysis.
https://online.columbiasouthern.ed u/bbcswebdav/xid-
125468694_1
https://online.columbiasouthern.edu/bbcswebdav/xid-
125468693_1
BHR 4601, Staffing Organizations 4
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE

12. Title
In this unit, you learned about job analysis. The article below
examines different job analysis strategies and
the effect they have on staffing decisions.
Morgeson, F. P., Spitzmuller, M., Garza, A. S., & Campion, M.
A. (2016). Pay attention! The liabilities of
respondent experience and carelessness when making job
analysis judgments. Journal of
Management, 42(7), 1904–1933.
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Learning Activities (Nongraded)
Nongraded Learning Activities are provided to aid students in
their course of study. You do not have to submit
them. If you have questions, contact your instructor for further
guidance and information.
Web Assignment
Using the Web browser of your choice, identify two poorly
written and two well-written job descriptions. Then,
reflect on the following questions:

13. Now, select one of the weaker job descriptions and rewrite them
by utilizing O*NET as one of your sources.
Check Your Knowledge!
Take a Unit III Quiz to check your knowledge of what you have
learned in this unit.
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http://www.onetonline.org/
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