Job Description

“Job description” is an important document which is basically descriptive in nature and contains a statements of job analysis. It provides both organizational information (location in structure, authority etc.) and functional information (what the work is). It defines the scope of job activities, major responsibilities, and positioning of the job in the organisatoin. It provides the worker, analyst, and supervisor with a clear idea of what the work must do to meet the demands of the job.

“Job description” is different from “ performance assessment.” The former concerns such functions as planning, coordinating, and assigning responsibility, which the latter concerns the quality of performance itself. Though job description is not assessment, it provides an important basis for establishing assessment standards and objectives.

            Job Description describes the ‘jobs’ not the ‘job holders’ the movement of employees due to promotion, quits, etc. would create instability to job description if people rather than jobs are described.

USES OF JOB DESCRIPTION

Job description has several uses , such as:

(i)     Preliminary drafts can be used as a basis for productive group discussion, particularly if the process starts at the executive level.

(ii)   It aids in the development of job specifications, which are useful in planning recruitment, if training and in hiring people with required skills.

(iii) It can be used to orient new employees toward basic responsibilities and duties.

(iv) It is basic document used in developing performance standards.

(v)   It can be used for job evaluation, a wage and salary administration technique.

A job description enables the manager to frame suitable questions to be asked during an interview. It is particularly helpful when the application form is used as a tool for eliminating the unfit personnel. According to Zerga, a job description helps us in:

(i)     Job grading and classification

(ii)   Transfers and promotions

(iii) Adjustments of grievances;

(iv) Defining and outlining promotional steps;

(v)   Establishing a common understanding of a job between employers and employees.

(vi) Investigating accidents;

(vii)                       Indicating faulty work procedures or duplication of papers;

(viii)                     Maintaining, operating and adjusting machinery

(ix) Time and motion studies;

(x)   Defining the limits of authority

(xi) Indicating case of personal merit;

(xii)                       Facilitating job placement.

(xiii)                     Studies of health and fatigue

(xiv)                     Scientific guidance

(xv)                       Determining jobs suitable for occupational therapy;

(xvi)                     Providing hiring specifications; and

(xvii)                   Providing performance indicators.

 

Components or Contents of Job Description: A job description contains the following data:

(i)     Job identification, or Organizational Position which includes the job title, alternative title, department, division, plant and code number of the job. The job title identifies and designates the job properly. The department, division, etc., indicate the name of the department where it is situated – whether it is the maintenance department, mechanical shop, etc. The location givers the name of the place. The portion of job description gives answer to two important questions: to what higher level job is jobs accountable, and who is supervised directly?

(ii)   Job summary serves two important purposes. First it provides a short definition which is useful as additional identification information when a job title is not adequate. Second, it serves as a summary to orient the reader towards an understanding of detailed information which follows. It gives the reader a “quick capsule explanation” of the content of a job usually in one or two sentences.

(iii) Job duties and responsibilities give a comprehensive listening of the duties together with some indication of the frequency of occurrence or percentage of time devoted to each major duty. It is regarded as the heart of a job. It tells us what needs to be done? How it should be done? And why is should be done? It also describes the responsibilities related to the custody of money the supervision of workers and the training of subordinates.

(iv) Relation of other jobs: This helps to locate the job in the organisatoin by indicating the job immediately below or above it in the job hierarchy. It also gives an ideal of the vertical relationships of work flow and procedures.

(v)   Supervision: Under it is given the number of persons to be supervised along with their job titles, and the extent of supervision involved – general, intermediate or close supervision.

(vi) Machine, tools and equipment define each major type or trade name of the machines and tools and the raw materials used.

(vii)                       Working conditions usually give us information about the environment in which a job holder must work. These include cold, heat, dust, wetness, moisture, fumes, odour, oily conditions etc. obtaining inside the organisation.

(viii)                     Hazards give us the nature of risks to life and limb., their possibilities of occurrence, etc.

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DEVELOPING JOB DESCRIPTIONS OR GUIDELINES FOR WRITING A JOB DESCRIPTION

Opinions differ on how to write job descriptions. Some experts are of the view that these should be written in detail and in terms of work flow. Others feel that these should be written in terms of goals or result to be achieved, in other words as performance standards (or what is popularly known as “management by objectives”) the prevalent thinking is that job ‘descriptions should be written’ in terms of duties and responsibilities, i.e., in terms of functions performed.

Job descriptions are written by Personnel Departments or its representatives.

Although there is no set way of writing of job description, the following pattern is fairly typical, and used by many companies.

(i)     A paragraph is allocated to each major task or responsibility.

(ii)   Paragraphs are numbered and arranged in a logical order, task sequence or importance.

(iii) Sentences are begun with an active verb. e.g. “types letters.” “interviews the candidates, “collects, sorts out, routes and distributes mail.”

(iv) Accuracy and simplicity are emphasized rather than an elegant style.

(v)   Brevity is usually considered to he important but is largely conditioned by the type of job being analysed and the need for accuracy.

(vi) Examples of work performed are often quoted and are useful in making the job description explicit.

(vii)                       Job descriptions, particularly when they are used as bases for training, often incorporate details of the faults which may be encountered in operator tasks and safety check-points.

(viii)                     Statements of opinion, such as “dangerous strantions are encountered, “should be avoided .

(ix) When job descriptions are written for supervisory jobs, the main factors (such as manning, cost control, etc.) are identified and listed. Each factor is then broken down into a series of elements with a note on the supervisor’s responsibility.

The British Institute of Management Publication adds four more guidelines:

(i)     Give a clear, concise and readily understandable picture of the whole job;

(ii)   Describe in sufficient detail each of the main duties and responsibilities;

(iii) Indicate the extent of direction received and supervision given.

(iv) Ensure that a new employee understands the job if he reads the job description.

LIMITATION OF JOB DESCRIPTION

The job specification takes the job description and answers the question “What human traits and experience are needed to do the job well?” it tells what kind of person to recruit and for what qualities that person should be tested.

Job specirfications translate the job description into terms of the human qualifications which are required for a successful performance of a job. They are intended to serve as a guide in hiring and job evaluation. As a guide in hiring, they deal with such characteristics as are available in an application bank, with testing interviews, and checking of references.

Job specification are developed with the co-operation of the personnel department and various supervisors in the whole organisation. The personnel department co-ordinates the writing of job descriptions and job specifications and secures agreement on the qualifications required.

These specifications relate to:

a)      Physical characteristics, which include health, strength, endurance, age-range, body size, height, weight, vision, voice, poise, eye, hand and foot co-ordination, motor co-ordination, and colour discrimination.

b)      Psychological characteristics or special aptitude which include such qualities as manual dexterity, mechanical, aptitude, ingenuity, judgment, resourcefulness, analytical ability, mental concentration and alertness.

c)      Personal characteristics or traits of temperament, such as personal appearance, good and pleasing manners, emotional stability, aggressiveness or submissiveness, extroversion or introversion, leadership, cooperativeness, initiative and drive, skill in dealing with others, unusual sensory qualities of sight, smell hearing, adaptability, conversational ability, etc.

d)      Responsibilities, which include supervision of others, responsibility for production, process and equipment; responsibility for the safety of others; responsibility for generating confidence and trust: responsibility for preventing monetary loss.

e)      Other features of a demographic nature, which are age, sex, education, experience and language ability.

Job specifications are mostly based on the educated guesses of supervisors and personnel managers. They give their opinion as to who do they think be considered fro a job in terms of education, intelligence, training etc. one of he most extensive “judgmental” approaches to developing job specification is contained in a Dictiornay or Occupational Titles, published by the U.S. Training and Employment service. Its description for a Personnel Managers’ job is as follows:

“Personnel Manager: Director Personnel; manager, employee relations; Personnel supervisor.

“Plans and carries out policies relating to all phases of personnel activities.”