Case Study

MAINTAING JOB DESCRIPTION

ANIKA TASNIM ID: 1721161
TASNUF AHMED SADID ID: 1630105
SHANJIDA SHANTA ID: 1821468
SHUVO DATTA ID: 1711286
NOWSHIN SHARMIN MIM ID: 1821715
Summary:
In and Out Inc is a company that supplies digital printing and distribution services for various firms and
booksellers. They custom around a very well-mannered chain of commands and communicate about the
reported duties to their designated supervisors. However, with increasing demand the company seems to
be lacking behind, so according to Marvin, a HR intern needs to be hired to fill in those gaps.

Keywords:

1. Printing and distribution service

2. Handled by experts
3. General manager
4. Business Growth
5. Update job description
6. Recruit new workers
7. Fix HR responsibilities

Problem of the case:

1. The firm has not updated its job description for a number of years which is a set back for In and
Out.
2. Lack of clear job description. Their job description was too vague. They offer minimal information
about the open position, which makes it difficult for potential applicants to gauge whether or not
they meet the qualifications.
3. Lack of effective workforce. The person who holds the job currently, or employees who have filled
the role may not be efficient enough for the firm.
4. Need faster order fulfillments. As the firm can’t get the target workforce, so they are not being able
to get the job done within the deadline for which they can’t coop with the upcoming orders as they
keep getting demands as a firm.
5. No HR manager to handle employees. Marvin being the one-man army for the firm, very naturally
he couldn’t handle all the sectors. So, its crucial at this point to hire an HR manager.

Background of the problems:

The job description that was followed by the company was around 8 years old, this was never updated,
therefore this was creating problems for the firm, the marketing representative does not have a job
description as the job itself was created a few years back. There was no clear job description for the
employee work shift. Due to this, they had to work for long hours without any break. There was no HR
manager to handle the situation of the employees. The general manager, Marvin Olson was managing the
whole company which eventually became very difficult. The company was growing rapidly so the
publishers were demanding quicker output, but more productivity requires more workforce which was
lacked in the company. Therefore, they decided to hire more people within the next year, however, this will
only be effective if they have an HR manager with a proper job description, who can make the work faster
to fulfill their publisher’s future demands.

Options and actions taken in the case:

In and Out Incorporation should take into account the following process.

The firm’s management team should identify the job description that requires to be updated. In this stage,
the organization should take into consideration a number of elements which include the employee in the
current position, the department in which he or she is positioned and to whom the employee reports to.

Secondly, the management team should note of the changes that have occurred within the organization, for
example changes in organizational features and functions.

The third step entails identification of changes that have occurred with respect to the particular job. Some
of these changes may relate to increment in the amount of responsibilities.

The fourth step entails evaluating the various tasks associated with the particular job position that are no
longer important. These tasks should be marked to ensure they are removed.

The organization should consider both the short term and long term progression that should be undertaken
with regard to the particular job description. A list of the tasks that should be undertaken by a particular
position both in the short term and long term should be developed.

The organization should also evaluate the current and future skills that are necessary in the firm’s operation.
Finally, an establishment of the reporting relationship and comparing whether the updated job description
is in line with the organizations strategic plan should be undertaken.

Conclusion:
If a firm’s job description is outdated, there is a high probability of its competitiveness in the market being
adversely affected. That is why updating job description is also important in that it contributes towards
development of an open communication between a firm’s management team and the employees. This will
enhance its ability to offer its customers high quality products and services.
Case questions answer:
Q1: Reasons why it is important to update or write new job descriptions.

Answer: It is important to update or write new job descriptions as jobs are the base structure of an
organization. Jobs are designed and aligned in such terms that it enhances the production of the
organization’s goods and services. So, In and Out not having an updated job description for over 5 – 8 years
seems utterly irresponsible. Job description itself has no standard format but it must have a title, summary,
task statements, dimensions, importance indicators, job context indicators, and the date of when the job
analysis was conducted. Hence, it’s the organization’s duty to circulate these points to job seekers in support
of the company rules and regulations. This increases the quality of hiring. Also, each passing year tasks,
compensations, authority and much more keeps changing. It is always a good option to review the job
description as it keeps the firm at a continuous improvement track. An effective job description is a living
document and should keep shifting and changing as often as the company does.

Q2: An outline of a process for doing this that will yield a set of thorough, current job descriptions.

Answer: An ideal sample of an outline which could be used for yielding a thorough current job description
is to conduct a detailed analysis of all the job requirements of all positions within the company. In order to
do this effectively one can use the pre information that are currently available to them, also they can emphasize
on pre-existing jobs as well as conducting a questionnaire with their employees for the new job offered by
the company. By doing so, they can pin point the level of different knowledge, skills, and attributes listed
by the employee’s answers from the questionnaire.

Q3: A process to be used in the future for periodically reviewing and updating job descriptions.

Answer: Job descriptions should be constantly renewed and reviewed for updates according to changing
dynamic environment. Especially for those job that require the use of technology as technology in the
modern era is changing drastically every day. For instance, in the banking sector they have many different
platforms that they use for better efficiency and accuracy, such as Mambu, EBANQ, T24 Transact etc.
These systems have major updates almost every week for better efficiency and are even replaced by newer
software versions yearly if not sooner. Thus, reviewing and updating is extremely crucial.

Therefore, if Marvin had asked for suggestions and ideas then as a human resources specialist it’s the HR’s
responsibility for recruiting, screening, interviewing and placing workers to their designated positions. HR
also handles employee relations, payroll, benefits, and training. Human resources managers plan, direct and
coordinate the administrative functions of an organization. These will keep a proper track on the In and Out
company by the management skills of the HR and help to achieve the goals accordingly.