Job description

A job description is a list that a person might use for general tasks, or functions, and responsibilities of a position. It may often include to whom the position reports, specifications such as the qualifications or skills needed by the person in the job, and a salary range. Job descriptions are usually narrative,^[1] but some may instead comprise a simple list of competencies; for instance, strategic human resource planning methodologies may be used to develop a competency architecture for an organization, from which job descriptions are built as a shortlist of competencies.

According to Torrington, a job description is usually developed by conducting a job analysis, which includes examining the tasks and sequences of tasks necessary to perform the job. The analysis considers the areas of knowledge and skills needed for the job. A job usually includes several roles. According to Hall, the job description might be broadened to form a person specification or may be known as "Terms Of Reference". The person/job specification can be presented as a stand-alone document, but in practice it is usually included within the job description. A job description is often used in recruitment.

Roles and responsibilities

A job description may include relationships with other people in the organization: Supervisory level, managerial requirements, and relationships with other colleagues.

Goals

A job description need not be limited to explaining the current situation, or work that is currently expected; it may also set out goals for what might be achieved in the future.

Limitations

Prescriptive job descriptions may be seen as a hindrance in certain circumstances:^[2]

• Job descriptions may not be suitable for some senior managers as they should have the freedom to take the initiative and find fruitful new directions;
• Job descriptions may be too inflexible in a rapidly changing organization, for instance in an area subject to rapid technological change;
• Other changes in job content may lead to the job description being out of date;
• The process that an organization uses to create job descriptions may not be optimal.

See also

• Strategic human resource planning
• Competency-based management
• Competency-based recruitment
• International Standard Classification of Occupations
• Job description management

References

Aspects of jobs
Topics	Analysis Attitude Control Description Description management Embeddedness Enlargement Enrichment Fair Fraud Hunting Interview Lock Performance Rotation Satisfaction Security Shadow Sharing Strain Wrapping
See also	Corporation Employment Factory Job Office Organization Whistleblower
Templates	Aspects of corporations Aspects of occupations Aspects of organizations Aspects of workplaces Employment