- Job Description: It is an important document. It is descriptive in nature. It is useful to identify a job for consideration by job analyst. Important questions to be answered through job description are:
- What should be done?
- Why it should be done?
- Where it should be done?
There is no universal format of writing job description. According to Ghorpade the following information is common in most of the job descriptions.
- Job title: title of the job and other identifying information such as wages, salaries, other benefits
- Summary: summary is written in one or two lines that describes what outputs are expected from job incumbents.
- Equipment: a clear statement of tools, equipment and other information required to perform job effectively.
- Environment: a clear description of the working conditions of the job, the location and other characteristics of work environment such as hazards, noise, temperature, cleanliness etc.
- Activities: a description about the job duties, responsibilities, and expected behaviour on the job. A description of social interactions associated with the job such as the size of work group, interpersonal interaction on the job is made.
Job analyst writes job description in consultations with the workers and supervisors. After writing draft job description, comments and criticism are invited to improve its content. Final draft is then prepared. Job description is written either by making personal observation or using questionnaire to collect relevant information from supervisors and workers. Job description should be reviewed from time to time.
2. Job Specifications: It also known as man or employee specifications is prepared on the basis of job specification. It specifies the qualities required in a job incumbent for the effective performance of the job.
Basic contents of a job specification are as follows:
- Personal characteristics such as education, job experience, age, sex, 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.
Various contents of a job specification can be prescribed in three terms:
- essential qualities which a person must possess
- desirable qualities which a person may possess
- contra-indicators which are likely to become a handicap to successful job
- performance
3. Job evaluation: It is a process of determining the relative worth of a job. It is a process which is helpful even for framing compensation plans by the personnel manager. Job evaluation as a process is advantageous to a company in many ways:
- Reduction in inequalities in salary structure - It is found that people and their motivation is dependent upon how well they are being paid. Therefore the main objective of job evaluation is to have external and internal consistency in salary structure so that inequalities in salaries are reduced.
- Specialization - Because of division of labour and thereby specialization, a large number of enterprises have got hundred jobs and many employees to perform them. Therefore, an attempt should be made to define a job and thereby fix salaries for it. This is possible only through job evaluation.
- Helps in selection of employees - The job evaluation information can be helpful at the time of selection of candidates. The factors that are determined for job evaluation can be taken into account while selecting the employees.
- Harmonious relationship between employees and manager - Through job evaluation, harmonious and congenial relations can be maintained between employees and management, so that all kinds of salaries controversies can be minimized.
- Standardization - The process of determining the salary differentials for different jobs become standardized through job evaluation. This helps in bringing uniformity into salary structure.
- Relevance of new jobs - Through job evaluation, one can understand the relative value of new jobs in a concern.
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