| Course | IOP-6100 Psychological Factors in Selecting and Growing Organizational Talent |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 2 |
| Paper type | Written assignment: job descriptions, job analysis and job performance |
| Length | About 559 words, 5 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Thomas Edison State University |
| Program | Graduate Certificate in Industrial-Organizational Psychology |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for IOP 6100 Module 2
What the Job Really Asks: A Job Analysis of the Transit Bus Operator
Student Name
Graduate Certificate in Industrial-Organizational Psychology, Thomas Edison State University
IOP-6100: Psychological Factors in Selecting and Growing Organizational Talent
Mentor Name
Month Day, Year
What the Job Really Asks: A Job Analysis of the Transit Bus Operator
Why the Agency Needs a Job Analysis
The current operator job description was written in 2009 and lists duties such as "operates bus safely" and "collects fares." It says nothing about handling a passenger in crisis, running a route with a fare system that is now mostly electronic or reporting a mechanical defect. Selection tools built on that description would miss much of what makes operators succeed or fail.
Methods
Three methods were combined so each could check the others, as Cook (2016) advises, since every job analysis method sees the job from one angle. First, a task inventory of 86 tasks was completed by 140 operators, who rated each task's frequency and importance. Second, two critical incident workshops brought together twelve trainers, street supervisors and senior operators. Flanagan (1954) developed the critical incident technique to collect specific examples of especially effective and ineffective behavior, which reveal what separates good performance from poor. The workshops produced 214 incidents. Third, the O*NET profile for transit and intercity bus drivers provided a national comparison.
Morgeson and Campion (1997) warn that job analysis ratings can be distorted by social and cognitive influences, such as incumbents inflating the importance of their tasks to make the job look more demanding, or raters relying on stereotypes of the job. To reduce those effects, task ratings were averaged across operators from all four garages, outliers were reviewed and incidents were required to describe observable behavior, not traits.
Findings: Performance Dimensions
| Dimension | Example of effective behavior | Example of ineffective behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Safe vehicle operation | Leaves extra following distance in rain on Route 13 | Pulls out of a stop without checking the mirror |
| Passenger interaction | Calmly explains a detour to a frustrated rider | Argues with a rider over a fare |
| Schedule and route reliability | Learns a new route from one ride-along and a map | Misses turns on a route driven for a week |
| Procedures and reporting | Reports a brake warning and pulls in as required | Finishes the run with an unreported defect |
Findings: KSAOs
The task inventory and incidents point to seven characteristics needed at entry: safe driving habits and record, attention to multiple stimuli, spatial orientation and route learning, emotional control under provocation, customer service orientation, conscientiousness in following procedures and dependability in attendance. Some, such as detailed fare policy knowledge, are learned in training and should not be selection criteria.
A New Job Description
The revised description lists the four performance dimensions with example behaviors, the seven entry characteristics and the licensing and medical requirements set by law. It will be reviewed every three years or whenever technology on the buses changes.
Using the Results
The four dimensions and seven characteristics now serve as the blueprint for every later step. Each assessment the agency considers must show which characteristic it measures, and each performance measure used to validate assessments must map to one of the four dimensions. That discipline keeps the selection system tied to the job rather than to whatever tools vendors happen to offer, and it gives the agency a defensible record if a selection step is ever challenged.
Conclusion
The job analysis shows that operating a bus is as much about attention, temper and reliability as about driving. Those findings set the targets for the assessments the agency will choose next.
References
Cook, M. (2016). Personnel selection: Adding value through people (6th ed.). Wiley-Blackwell.
Flanagan, J. C. (1954). The critical incident technique. Psychological Bulletin, 51(4), 327-358. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0061470
Morgeson, F. P., & Campion, M. A. (1997). Social and cognitive sources of potential inaccuracy in job analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82(5), 627-655. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.82.5.627
Reading the IOP 6100 Module 2 assignment instructions
Job descriptions, job analysis and job performance make up the second module of IOP-6100, and one of the six written assignments, which share 42 percent of the grade, is shown here with it. Pick a real job, analyze it with at least one method, describe good performance in terms an observer could check and list the qualities a hiring system must measure. Cook's text covers job analysis methods, and research on accuracy helps you defend your choices. Combining methods, and saying how you limited bias in the ratings, makes the analysis more credible than a single source. Separate what new hires must bring on the first day from what training will teach them.
How this IOP 6100 Module 2 example is built
The analysis begins by showing what the 2009 job description misses. Three methods are combined and justified: a task inventory rated by 140 operators, critical incident workshops built on Flanagan's technique and the O*NET profile. Morgeson and Campion's warnings about inflated and stereotyped ratings shape the safeguards. A four-row table defines performance dimensions with effective and ineffective examples drawn from the incidents. Seven entry characteristics follow, with knowledge learned in training set aside. The paper ends with a revised job description and a schedule for keeping it current, and a margin note explains why performance is defined before predictors. A closing section makes the dimensions the blueprint for every later assessment.
IOP 6100 Module 2 rubric: what earns full marks
Credit in this assignment comes from correct use of job analysis methods, a justified combination of sources, attention to accuracy, performance defined in observable terms and entry characteristics clearly separated from what is trained. Papers that describe what was done, with numbers of raters and incidents, read as real analyses. Citing research on rating bias and showing how it was reduced demonstrates professional practice. A table of performance dimensions with behavioral examples gives later assignments clear criteria. Clear APA writing and citation of the course texts complete the work. Strong papers draw a straight line from each finding to a later hiring step. Behavioral examples drawn from incidents also make later rating scales easier to build.
IOP 6100 Module 2 help from the desk
Students lose points by copying an existing job description, by listing traits such as "hard-working" without behavioral evidence or by choosing selection criteria that training could teach. Others describe job analysis methods without doing any. Use at least two methods, report how many people contributed, define performance with observable examples and separate what new hires must bring from what they will learn. Note how you limited bias. A free first draft of your IOP-6100 Module 2 job analysis can be built on the role you know. Report the number of incidents and raters you used, since a job analysis is only as strong as its sources.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Thomas Edison State University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
More IOP 6100 and Graduate Certificate in Industrial-Organizational Psychology sample papers
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IOP 6100 Module 2 questions, answered
Where can I find a free IOP 6100 Module 2 sample paper?
The written assignment above analyzes the transit bus operator job with a task inventory, critical incidents and O*NET.
What is the critical incident technique?
Flanagan's method of collecting specific examples of especially effective and ineffective behavior to learn what drives good performance.
What are KSAOs?
The knowledge, skill, ability and personal traits that job analysis shows a role demands.
Can job analysis ratings be biased?
Yes; Morgeson and Campion describe social and cognitive influences, such as inflating one's own tasks, that can distort ratings.
Should selection measure what training teaches?
Generally no; selection should focus on characteristics needed at entry, leaving trainable knowledge to the training program.