What do you mean by Job Description and How to Write Job Description

 What do you mean by Job Description?

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.

Example of a Job Description

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