ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the history, theory, methodology, and application of functional job analysis (FJA). The late Dr. Sidney A. Fine developed and refined FJA during several decades beginning in the late 1940s. FJA relies on the controlled and disciplined use of job language as the primary medium to describe task-based work. Widely referenced in the literature of human resources management (HRM) and industrial/organizational (I/O) Psychology, FJA is based on a comprehensive theory of the work-doing system and has seen extensive use in many organizations as an informational platform to support a broad range of HRM applications, including recruitment, selection, training, and performance appraisal. In the current chapter, six key FJA principles are discussed along with the job analysis methodology and applications that derive from them. An extended FJA example from the firefighter occupation is used throughout the chapter to illustrate the seamless interconnections between FJA theory, methodology, and application. The chapter concludes with a list of commonly asked questions about FJA and responses to them, along with recommended readings.
