A job description is a summary statement of the
information collected in the job-analysis process. It is a written document
that identifies, defines, and describes a job in terms of its duties, responsibilities,
working conditions, and specifications. There are two types of job
descriptions: specific job descriptions and general job descriptions.
A specific job descriptionis a detailed summary
of a job’s tasks, duties, and responsibilities. This type of job description is
associated with work-flow strategies that emphasize efficiency, control, and
detailed work planning. It fits best with a bureaucratic organizational
structure with well-defined boundaries that separate functions and the
different levels of management.
"job description, A written document that identifies, defines, and describes a job in terms of its duties, responsibilities, working conditions, and specifications."
The general job description, which is fairly new
on the scene, is associated with workflow strategies that emphasize innovation,
flexibility, and loose work planning. This type of job description fits best
with a flat or boundaryless organizational structure in which there are few boundaries
between functions and levels of management. Only the most generic duties,
responsibilities, and skills for a position are documented in the general job
description.
For example, the
Arizona Public Service (APS), a public utility, moved toward general job
descriptions after discovering that it had 1,000 specific job descriptions for
its 3,600 workers. This massive number of specific job descriptions erected
false barriers among work functions, choked off change, and prevented APS from
providing high levels of customer service. By using general job descriptions,
APS was able to reduce the number of its job descriptions to 450.
An even more impressive
application of general job descriptions is seen at Nissan, the Japanese auto
manufacturer. Nissan has only one general job description for all its hourly
wage production employees. By comparison, some of the divisions of General
Motors have hundreds of specific job descriptions for their hourly production
workforce. This fact is partially explained by the vigilance of the United Auto
Workers’ Union (UAW) in defending the rights of its members to work in specific
jobs.