ABSTRACT
Job analysis is a fundamental organizational practice all over the world. Within the United States, the nascency of scienti c job analysis as a systematic discipline can be attributed to early e orts in the industrial age to improve the process of work. Most recognized are Frederick W. Taylor (1911) and Frank and Lillian Gilbreth’s (1919) time and motion studies at the beginning of the 20th century. Building upon the success of such work, literature over the last century bears witness to the continued study and utilization of job analysis within the United States (e.g., Algera & Greuter, 1998; Brannick & Levine, 2002; Cronshaw, 1998; Gael, 1988; Landau & Rohmert, 1989); yet, less has been published (in English) about how these processes are studied and applied internationally. is is despite the fact that the analysis of jobs spans di erent cultures, societies, and historical epochsfor example, ancient China around 1115 B.C. (Mitchell, 1988), ancient Greece around the 5th century B.C., and France around the 17th century (Primo & Fine, 1988). To our knowledge, there is no up-to-date and comprehensive literature review of empirical job analysis as addressed outside of the United States. Because of the globalization of business and expatriation of workers, theorists and practitioners can no longer limit themselves to the practices of their home country. To help optimize the relationships and productivity between U.S. organizations and their counterparts abroad, it is necessary to understand the respective job analysis practices used in these countries.
