This simulation assignment provides you for an opportunity to integrate key concepts from the course found in the text and exercises found in the course content section from each of the week(s) material to a practical setting.

The job simulation exercise is an individual exercise. A heavy emphasis is placed on the quality of the response that integrates course content to each of the steps below. Be sure to provide a full rationale for each of the steps that follow. Integration of course material should be evident. References should be made to course material.

In this simulation, you will experience what it is like as an HR Professional to develop, modify a job evaluation system, evaluate jobs, weight subfactors and band the results.

Simulation company

High Energy (HEP) is a manufacturer of its own-brand soft drinks and healthy products which are sold in grocery stores and supermarkets in across Canada. Its main manufacturing base is in Oakville ON. HEP also has facilities in Brampton and Mississauga. At its main location, the company employs around 300 staff of whom 175 are factory-based production, with a further 75 based in the head office, undertaking support activities including finance, legal, marketing, purchasing, sales, product development, human resources and logistics.

HEP operates in a highly competitive environment. Retention of key personnel is critical, particularly in the marketing and distribution areas. Key to HEP's success is fostering relationships with its key suppliers and high-volume customers. Given the competitive nature of HEP's industry, product innovation and differentiation are also critical as consumers are always looking for the next generation of healthy foods and drinks.

You have recently been appointed as a new HR Director. Your first task is to create a job evaluation system. In doing so, you will identify subfactors that will capture the content of their jobs and need to value them in a way that reflects the skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions needed to complete the work.

The following roles have been selected for review:

1. Labourer: works in the warehouse as a production employee.

2. Logistics Manager: oversees the distribution of product to the stores and supermarkets.

3. Vice President Operations: oversees the warehouse and distribution of all products.

4. Purchasing Administrator: provides general administration and entry of purchasing transactions into the purchasing system.

5. Research Director: Conducts scientific research on nutrition.

6. Foreman - oversees up to 50 labourers in the warehouse, completes paperwork on production.

7. Administrative Assistant: provides administrative support to the Senior Management team.

8. General Accountant: supports the VP Finance by preparing the day-to-day accounting records and financial statements

Step 1: Job Evaluation System Design (20 marks)

You are provided with some options in developing your job evaluation system. Read the profiles of the following 17 subfactors and choose between 8 and 10 that you feel are appropriate to HEP's environment. When choosing, you will want to review the description above. Keep in mind that you must choose at least one subfactor in each of the categories of skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions.

Tip Be careful not to double count, which occurs when you choose subfactors that give value to the same element of work twice. For example, when you evaluate Communication skills under "Communication Skills/Contacts", make sure don't also value these skills under "Responsibility for Supervision / Human Resources".

You can choose other factors from the textbook but be sure to have at least one subfactor for each of the headings (skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions)

Review Your Subfactors and Rationale

Review your subfactors you have chosen for your job comparison system (copy them below).

Provide a rationale and link to course material where appropriate. Be sure to clearly explain your rationale and integration of knowledge from the course.

	Subfactor	Rationale	Link to course material including commentary and page number
1
2
etc.

Note the subfactors you choose in step 1 will carry over to steps 2 and 3

Step 2: Evaluate the Jobs

Before you evaluate the jobs, you must provide a measure for each of the subfactors that you selected in step 1. For example, if you chose Effort, you would have to provide a ranking for say mental demand

Mental Demand

This factor measures the level of intensity regarding mental demands required to perform the job.

Use table 8.1 in the text as a guide

Step 3: Weight the factors

The next step involves weighting the subfactors from step 2. You need to weight the subfactors according to their relative importance to the organization. In this exercise you need to weight jobs using a scale of 1000 points. Use figure 8.1 in the text as a guide

Use the following to rate the subfactors from step 2 - see next page to enter results

Subfactor from step 1/2	Degree 1	Degree 2	Degree 3	Degree 4
Mental Demand

Checklist

In the box on the next page, provide a full rationale for why you chose the weighting e.g., why did you come up with the hierarchy of ratings for each of the subfactors in the order that you did.

Grades will be based on integration of core knowledge to the question and what would be most appropriate for this organization. Grades will depend on quality and depth of answers. Answers should be a maximum of 2 pages.

Step 4 Evaluate the jobs

Your next step is to evaluate jobs using system you just created. The expectation is that you will complete evaluations for the 11 jobs identified in the overview.

Summarize the results similar to table 8.2. Provide a full rationale for your answer for each of the roles

Fully explain why you chose the top two ratings and bottom one rating for each of the roles. For example, if you chose Education / Job Knowledge and Dexterity as the highest two ratings for a job and environment as the lowest rating, provide a rationale for your choices

Rank the jobs from highest to lowest

For this simulation, you will need to evaluate each job separately. Please use the table below to complete your evaluation results

Subfactors from step 1 (illustration only) similar to table 8.2

Position	Education/Job Knowledge	Dexterity	Physical Demand	Environment	Etc.	Total
Writer
Labourer
Logistics Manager
Vice President Marketing
Lawyer
Purchasing Administrator
Research Director
Foreman
Compliance Analyst
Administrative Assistant
General Accountant

Checklist

Are all jobs evaluated Yes___ No___?

Did you check to ensure all job content was reasonably captured? Yes___ No___

(If no, please go back and add subfactors)

Provide a full discussion of your rationale for each of the jobs. Grades will be based on overall quality and consistency of your answers for each of the roles and integration of core knowledge from the course and exercises in the content section of this course.

Step 5: Assignment pay grades / ranges to each of the jobs (20 marks)