JOB

DESCRIPTION
 Job Description

- Statement of the tasks, duties, and responsibilities of a job to be performed.

 Job Specification

- Statement of the needed knowledge, skills, and abilities of the person who is to perform
the job.
 The Job Title

● Defines Duties
● Indicate Level Within Organization
(junior, etc.)
● Qualifiers on Same Job (I, II, III, etc.)
 Job Identification Section

● Department
● Reporting Relationship
● Date of Last Review
● Classification Level
 Job Duties

● Define each task

● Start with a Verb
● Rank in Order of Importance
● Usually 8-20 words
● 1 to 3 line Statements
Characteristics of Job Descriptions

● No set format
● Basic Parts (Title, Duties, Specifications)
● Qualifications, Separate Section
 Qualities of a Good Job Description

● Direct Statements
Simple
Terse

■
 Concise
■ Direct
● Begin Statements with Verbs
■ Maintains
 Coordinates
■ Supervises
 Operates
■ Performs
 Directs
● Umbrella Statement:
■ "Other duties as assigned"
Key Elements of the Job Description

JOB TITLE
● Ideally three words or less
● Non-sexist
● Indicates job duties and organizational level

STATEMENT OF THE JOB

● Distinguishes job from all other jobs

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS (JOB DUTIES)

● Listed in the order of importance or time required
● Indicate:
○ weight or value of the duties
○ results to be accomplished
● Start phrases with active verbs; subject implied
Importance of Job Description

1. Clarifies employer expectations for

employee
2. Provides basis of measuring job
performance
3. Provides clear description of role for job
candidates
4. Provides a structure for company to
understand and structure all jobs and
ensure necessary activities, duties and
responsibilities are covered by one job
or another
Importance of Job Description

5. Provides continuity of role parameters

irrespective of manager interpretation
6. Enables pay and grading systems to be
structured fairly and logically
7. Prevents arbitrary interpretation of role
content and limit by employee and
employer and manager
8. Essential reference tool in issues of
employee/employer dispute
 Importance of Job Description

9. Essential reference tool for discipline issues

10. Provides important reference points for training and
development areas
11. Provides neutral and objective (as opposed to
subjective or arbitrary) reference points for appraisals,
performance reviews and counseling
12. Enables formulation of skill set and behavior set
requirements per role
 Importance of Job Description

13. Enables organization to structure and manage roles in

a uniform way, thus increasing efficiency and
effectiveness of recruitment, training and development,
organizational structure, work flow and activities,
customer service, etc.
14. Enables factual view (as opposed to instinctual) to be
taken by employees and managers in career progression
and succession planning
 Writing Job Descriptions

Job
identification

Job Job
specifications summary

Sections of a
Typical Job
Working Description Responsibilities and
conditions duties

Standards of Authority of
performance the incumbent
Information Contained in a JD
● Job title/job identification
● Job summary
● Relationships
● Responsibilities and duties
● Standards of performance
● Environmental conditions
 Job Identification

● Job title/job identification includes:

○ Job title

○ Location of the job in terms of department, division or section.

○ May also include immediate supervisor’s title

○ Information regarding salary and /or pay scale

○ Grade/level of the job

 Job Summary

● Presents the purpose of the job and what outputs are

expected from the incumbents
● Describes general nature of the job and includes only the
major functions of the job or activities e.g. the marketing
managers job is to plan, direct and coordinate the
marketing
 Relationships

● Shows job holders relationship with others inside and

outside the company. Includes:
○ Reporting to
○ Supervises
○ Works with
○ External contacts
 Duties and Responsibilities
● List the major duties and responsibilities of the job

● Describe the behavior and social interaction performed on the job

(e.g., size of the work group, amount of dependence in the work)

● Define supervision and decision making limits of the jobholders

● Include general statements like “performs other assignments as required”

 Standards of Performance or Competencies

● List the standard the employee is expected to achieve under each of the job descriptions
main duties and responsibilities e.g., accurately post accounts payables, meet daily
production targets, etc.
 Environmental Conditions

● Environment/conditions – description of the working conditions of the job, the location an

environment such as hazards and noise levels
Sample Job Description, Pearson Education
Sample Job Description, Pearson Education (cont’d)
Marketing Manager Description from
Standard Occupational Classification
Using the Internet in Writing Job Descriptions
 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Major Groups of Jobs

Source: © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

Publishing as Prentice Hall
 Writing Job Descriptions

Step 1. Decide on a Plan

Step 2. Develop an Organization Chart

Step 3. Use a Simplified Job Analysis Questionnaire

Step 4. Obtain List of Job Duties from O*NET
Step 5. Compile the Job’s Human Requirements
from O*NET

Step 6. Finalize the Job Description

4–27
Preliminary Job Description Questionnaire

4–28
Using O*Net for Writing Job Descriptions

4–29
Using O*Net for Writing Job Descriptions (cont’d)

4–30
Using O*Net for Writing Job Descriptions (cont’d)
 Initiating a Competency-Based
Job Description

• Interview job incumbents and their

supervisors
Ø Ask open-ended questions about job
responsibilities and activities.
Ø Identify critical incidents that pinpoint
success on the job.
• Use off-the-shelf competencies
databanks
 Sample: The Skills Matrix for One Job at BP

Note: The lighter color boxes within the individual columns indicate
the minimum level of skill required for the job.
 Job Specification

● This evolves from the JD

● It is a statement of employees’ characteristics and qualification
required for satisfactory performance of defined duties and tasks
comprising a specific job or function.
● It addresses the question “what personal traits and experience are
needed to perform the job effectively”
● Specifically useful in offering guidance for recruitment and selection
e.g. the job for HR manager would require a university degree, 5 years
of experience in HRM
 Components of a Job Specification
● Personal characteristics such as education, job experience, and extra co-
curricular activities.
● Physical characteristics such as height, weight, chest, vision, hearing,
health, voice poise, and hand and foot coordination, (for specific
positions only).
Mental characteristics such as general intelligence, memory, judgment,
foresight, ability to concentrate, etc.
Social and psychological characteristics such as emotional ability,
flexibility, manners, drive, conversational ability, interpersonal ability,
attitude, values, creativity etc.
 Maintenance of JD and JS
● Job descriptions and specifications must be kept
current to reflect changes in:
○ Work practices and processes.
○ Tools and equipment used on the job.
○ Levels of discretion
○ Licensure or certification.
● Annual review during performance appraisal.
● Review when incumbent turns over.
 References

BOOKS

Boyatzis, R.E. (1982). The Competent Manager: A Guide for Effective

Management, New York: Wiley.

Dubois, D. & Rothwell W. (2004). Competency-Based Human

Resource Management, Mountain View, California:Davis-Black
Publishing.

Spencer, L.M. & Spencer, S. (1993). Competence at Work: Models

for Superior Performance, New York: Wiley.