What do you mean by Job Description?
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| What do you mean by Job Description and How to Write Job Description |
A job description is the immediate product of the job analysis
process; the data collected through job analysis provides a basis for job
description and job specification.
Job
Description: is a written record of
the duties, responsibilities, and requirements of a particular job. It is
concerned with the job itself and not with the jobholders. It is a statement
describing the job in such terms as its title, location, duties, working
conditions, and hazards.
Flippo has
Defined a Job Description as, “A job description is an organized,
factual statement of duties and responsibilities of a specific job. In brief,
it should tell what is to be done. How it is done why. It is a standard of
function, that defines the appropriate and authorized content of a job.
According
to Pigors and Myres, “Job description is a pertinent picture (in writing)
of the organizational relationships, responsibilities and specific duties that
constitutes a given job or position. It defines a scope of responsibility and
continuing work assignments that are sufficiently different from that of other
jobs to warrant a specific title.”
According
to Zerga, who analyzed 401 articles on job descriptions about 30 years
ago. 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)
Investigation 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 a case of personal merit;
(xii)
Studies of health and fatigue;
(xiii)
Scientific guidance;
(xiv)
Determining jobs suitable for occupational therapy;
(xv)
Providing hiring specifications; and
(xvi) Providing performance indicators.
“Job description” is different from “performance assessment.”
The former concerns such functions as planning, coordination, and assigning
responsibility; while the latter concerns the quality of the performance itself.
Though a job description is not an assessment, it provides an important basis for establishing assessment standards and objectives.
How to Write Job Description?
A Job description is a written statement of what the job
holder actually does, how he or she does it, and under what conditions the job
is performed. This information is in turn used to write a job specification.
This lists the knowledge, abilities, and skills needed to perform the job
satisfactorily. While there is no standard format you must use in writing a job
description, most descriptions contain at least sections on:
1. Job Identification:
It includes the job title, alterative title, department,
division, and 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 gives the name of the place. This
portion of the job description gives an answer to two important questions: to what
higher-level job is this job accountable. And who is supervised directly?
2. Job Summary: A job summary
describes the contents of the jobs in terms of activities or tasks performed. A job summary should clarify the nature of the job. Primary, secondary, and other
duties to be performed on the job should clearly be indicated separately.
3. Duties and Responsibilities: This is
the most important phase of the job description and should be prepared very
carefully. It describes the duties to be performed along with the frequency of each
major duty. Responsibilities concerning custody of money, supervision, and
training of staff, etc. are also described in this part.
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Example of a Job Description
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Job
Title: Record Clerk
Job No. 011 Supervisor: Record
Supervisor Job Grand –III Supervises:
None
Date: 2/21/12 Job Summary: Originate, process, and maintain
comprehensive records; implement required controls; collect and summarize
data as requested. Job
Duties and Responsibilities :
•
Review a variety of documents, listings, summaries,
etc, for completeness and accuracy. •
Check records against other current sources such as
reports or summaries; investigate differences and take the required action to
ensure that records are accurate and up to date; compile and summarize data
report format as required. •
Implement controls for obtaining, preserving, and
supplying a variety of information. Prepare simple requisitions, forms, and other routine
memoranda. •
Provide functional guidance to lower-level personnel
as required. Working
Conditions: Normal working
conditions. But visits sites on average twice a week. Eight hours per
day Relationships: •
With equivalent officers in other departments. •
Maintains formal and social contacts with local
officials. Job Characteristics: Skilled
operation of a computer, calculating machine, or keypunch machine is not
necessarily a requirement of this job.
The above information is correct and approved by: (Signed) (Signed) Job Analyst
In-charge Manager |
4.
Supervision: Under it is given several persons to be
supervised along with their job titles, and the extent of supervision involved
–general, intermediate, or close supervision.
5.
Relation to
Other Jobs: It describes the vertical and horizontal relationships f workflow. It also indicates to whom the jobholder will report and who will report
to him. It gives an idea of channels of promotion.
6.
Machine, tools, and
equipment define each major type or trade name of the machines and tools and
the raw materials used.
7.
Working
Conditions: The working environment in terms of heat, light, noise, dust, fumes, etc, the job hazards and possibility of their occurrence and working
conditions should also be described. It will be helpful in job evaluation.
8.
Social
Environment: It specifies the
social conditions under which the work will be performed. In this part, the size
of a workgroup, interpersonal interactions required to perform the job, and
development facilities are mentioned
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