| Course | HRMG 3001 Human Resource Management |
|---|---|
| Week | Week 3 |
| Paper type | Job analysis |
| Length | About 830 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Walden University |
| Program | BS in Business Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for HRMG 3001 Week 3
A Job Analysis of the Finisher Role at Birchline Cabinet Works Using the Critical Incident Technique: Eight Incidents, the Tasks They Reveal, the Working Conditions and a Posting That Says What the Job Is
Student Name
Walden University
HRMG 3001: Human Resource Management
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
A Job Analysis of the Finisher Role at Birchline Cabinet Works Using the Critical Incident Technique: Eight Incidents, the Tasks They Reveal, the Working Conditions and a Posting That Says What the Job Is
Why the Finisher Role
Birchline Cabinet Works, a composite twenty-two-person custom cabinet shop in Spokane, Washington, employs three finishers, who stain, seal and lacquer cabinet doors, boxes and trim in a ventilated spray booth. Last season the shop hired two finishers who each left within six weeks. In exit conversations, one said the job was "nothing like the ad," which had described it as "light finishing work in a clean shop." The owner asked for a job analysis to find out what the job actually involves before the next hire.
Method
The analysis used the critical incident technique, developed by Flanagan (1954) to study jobs through specific examples of especially effective or ineffective performance. Rather than asking people to describe the job in general terms, which tends to produce vague lists, the technique asks for concrete moments: what happened, what the worker did and what resulted. I interviewed the shop lead and the two experienced finishers separately for about forty minutes each and asked each person for two or three moments when finishing work went especially well and two or three when it went badly. Eight distinct incidents emerged. Dessler (2020) notes that job analysis is the foundation for selection, training and pay decisions, so its accuracy matters beyond the posting.
The Incidents
Table 1
Critical Incidents in the Finisher Role
| Incident | What happened | What the finisher did | Task revealed | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Customer's sample door was a warm cherry tone | Mixed and tested stain on scrap until it matched under shop and daylight | Matching stain color to a customer sample | |
| 2 | Lacquer began to run on a tall pantry door | Spotted the run within a minute and brushed it out before it cured | Inspecting wet finish and correcting defects | |
| 3 | A new finisher sprayed without a fitted respirator | Experienced finisher stopped the work and arranged a fit test | Using respiratory protection correctly | |
| 4 | Doors stacked too early stuck together | Finisher had not checked cure time in cool weather | Judging drying and cure times by conditions | |
| 5 | Twelve doors arrived with glue squeeze-out | Finisher sanded and reported the issue to assembly | Inspecting incoming parts and giving feedback | |
| 6 | Spray gun spat droplets mid-job | Finisher stripped and cleaned the gun and reset pressure | Maintaining spray equipment | |
| 7 | Rush order needed finishing in two days | Finisher sequenced parts so each coat dried while the next was sprayed | Planning work around cure times | |
| 8 | Wrong sheen used on a whole kitchen | Finisher had not checked the work order | Reading and following work orders | |
Incidents reported by the shop lead and two finishers; summarized by the analyst.
Tasks
From the incidents, the finisher's main tasks are:
1. Read work orders for species, color, sheen and deadlines.
2. Inspect incoming parts and report defects to assembly.
3. Prepare surfaces by sanding and cleaning.
4. Mix and match stains to customer samples under different light.
5. Apply stain, sealer and lacquer with spray equipment.
6. Inspect wet and cured finishes and correct defects before they set.
7. Plan the sequence of work around drying and cure times.
8. Clean and maintain spray guns and booth filters.
Working Conditions
The job is physically demanding and is performed in conditions the old posting did not mention. Finishers stand for the whole shift and lift cabinet doors and drawer fronts weighing up to forty pounds onto drying racks. They work in a spray booth with solvent-based finishes, which requires a fitted respirator worn for long periods; under the federal respiratory protection standard, 29 C.F.R. § 1910.134, an employer that requires respirators must fit test and train the people who wear them (Occupational Safety and Health Administration, n.d.). The booth is warm in summer. Mistakes are visible and costly, since a ruined finish on a kitchen's worth of doors can mean several days of rework.
Draft Posting
Finisher, Birchline Cabinet Works. Apply stain, sealer and lacquer to custom cabinets using spray equipment in a ventilated booth. Match stain colors to customer samples, inspect and correct finishes, and plan work around drying times. The job involves standing all shift, lifting doors up to forty pounds and wearing a fitted respirator for much of the day; we provide fit testing, training and all protective equipment. Experience with spray finishing preferred; we will train a careful person with good color sense. Full time, day shift.
This posting solves the problem the analysis found: applicants will know what the job involves before they apply, so those who accept it are more likely to stay.
Limits
Eight incidents from three people give a useful picture of one role at one shop but not a complete one. A second round of interviews after the next hire's first month would test whether the task list missed anything.
References
Dessler, G. (2020). Human resource management (16th ed.). Pearson.
Flanagan, J. C. (1954). The critical incident technique. Psychological Bulletin, 51(4), 327-358. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0061470
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (n.d.). Respiratory protection (Standard No. 29 C.F.R. § 1910.134). U.S. Department of Labor. https://www.osha.gov/respiratory-protection
What the HRMG 3001 Week 3 instructions ask for
In Week 3 you analyze one job using a recognized method. Explain why you chose the job and what problem the analysis should help solve. Describe your method in plain terms, including who you gathered information from. Present what you found in an organized way, such as a table of incidents or tasks. From that evidence, build a task list and a description of working conditions, including physical demands and hazards. Then write a short draft job posting based on the analysis, and say in a sentence what problem it addresses. Note the limits of your method and evidence.
How the HRMG 3001 Week 3 example is put together
The paper explains that the finisher role was chosen because of two early quits and an inaccurate posting. The method section describes the critical incident technique, citing Flanagan, and the three interviews. An eight-row table records incidents from stain matching and lacquer runs to an unfitted respirator and a wrong sheen. Eight tasks follow, then working conditions, citing the respiratory protection standard on fit testing. The draft posting names the physical demands and offers training to careful applicants. The last line states that applicants will now know what the job involves, and a limits section suggests a second round of interviews after the next hire.
HRMG 3001 Week 3 rubric: what earns full marks
Job analyses are graded on method, evidence and usefulness. The method should be named, explained and applied as described, with sources identified. Findings must be specific: incidents or tasks that describe observable behavior, not personality traits. Strong analyses derive the task list and working conditions directly from the evidence and include the physical demands and hazards that postings often omit. The draft posting should reflect the analysis faithfully. Connecting the analysis to the problem that prompted it, such as early turnover, shows purpose. Acknowledging the limits of a small sample demonstrates judgment. Analyses that rely on one source, such as only the manager's view, should say so. The posting should also avoid promising conditions the analysis did not find, such as a clean shop, since that recreates the mismatch it was meant to fix.
HRMG 3001 Week 3 help from the desk
Pick a job where something has gone wrong, such as quick turnover or frequent mistakes, so your analysis has a purpose. Ask two or three people who know the job well to describe specific moments when the work went very well or very badly. Write down what happened and what the worker did, not general praise or blame. Look across the stories for the tasks they reveal. Then ask what the job is like physically: standing, lifting, heat, noise, protective equipment. Those conditions belong in the posting. Common weaknesses are generic task lists and leaving out the hard parts of the job. Tell us which role you are studying and a model analysis can be shaped around it.
Get a HRMG 3001 Week 3 example written to your instructions
Name the job your prompt assigns and send the rubric with it; the analysis turns that job into a task list and a statement of working conditions ready for a posting. The first custom sample costs nothing and arrives in 24 to 48 hours. Both painters, the finishers they replaced and the shop itself are fiction.
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HRMG 3001 Week 3 questions, answered
Where can I find a free HRMG 3001 Week 3 sample paper?
The finisher job analysis, incident table and draft posting are all on this page to read freely.
What method does the HRMG 3001 Week 3 job analysis use?
The critical incident technique, gathering specific examples of especially good or poor performance from the shop lead and two finishers.
Why was the finisher role chosen?
Two finishers hired in one season left within six weeks, and one said the job was nothing like the posting.
What working conditions did the old posting leave out?
Solvent fumes, a fitted respirator, standing all shift, lifting doors up to forty pounds and a warm spray booth.
How does the new posting help?
It tells applicants what the job really involves, so those who accept it are more likely to stay.