Job Design and Job Description

Week 5
Lecturer: Rabia Muhammad Ali
Course: Human Resource Management
Code: HRM-2012
 Learning outcomes
• Job Characteristics Theory
• Core job dimension
• Job Design
• Job design Techniques
 Definition

Job design means to decide the contents of a job. It fixes the

duties and responsibilities of the job, the methods of doing the

job, and the relationships between the job holder (manager)

and his superiors, subordinates, and colleagues.

 Job characteristic theory
• The job characteristic theory proposed by Hackman & Oldham (1976)

• stated that work should be designed to have five core job characteristics, which stimulate three

critical psychological states in individuals

– experiencing meaning

– feeling responsible for outcomes

– understanding the results of their efforts.

• In turn, these psychological states were proposed to enhance employees’ intrinsic motivation,

job satisfaction, quality of work and performance, while reducing turnover.

 Core job dimensions
• Skill variety
– This refers to the range of skills and activities necessary to complete the job.
– The more a person is required to use a wide variety of skills, the more satisfying the job is likely to be.
• Task identity
– This dimension measures the degree to which the job requires completion of a whole and identifiable piece of work.
– Employees who are involved in an activity from start to finish are usually more satisfied.
• Task significance
– This looks at the impact and influence of a job. Jobs are more satisfying if people believe that they make a difference,
and are adding real value to colleagues, the organization, or the larger community.
• Autonomy
– This describes the amount of individual choice and discretion involved in a job. More autonomy leads to more
satisfaction.
– For instance, a job is likely to be more satisfying if people are involved in making decisions, instead of simply being
told what to do.
• Feedback
– This dimension measures the amount of information an employee receives about his or her performance, and the extent
to which he or she can see the impact of the work.
– The more people are told about their performance, the more interested they will be in doing a good job.
– So, sharing production figures, customer satisfaction scores etc. can increase the feedback levels.
 Job Design techniques

• Job Simplification.
• Job Rotation.
• Job Enlargement.
• Job Enrichment.
1. Job Simplification
– Job is simplified. The job is broken down into small parts, and each part is assigned
to an individual.
– To be more specific, work simplification is mechanical pacing of work, repetitive
work processes, working only on one part of a product, predetermining tools and
techniques, restricting interaction amongst employees, few skills requirements.

2. Job Rotation
– Job rotation means systematically moving workers from one job to another.

– Here jobs remain unchanged, but the incumbents shift from one job to another.

– it increases the intrinsic reward potential of a job because of the different skills and
abilities needed to perform it.
– Workers become more competent in several jobs, know a variety of jobs, and
improve the self-image, personal growth.
3. Job Enlargement

– Job enlargement means assigning workers additional same-level activities.

– Job enlargement changes the jobs to include more and/or different tasks.

– It means expanding the number of tasks or duties assigned to a given job.

– Job enlargement is naturally opposite to work simplification.

– Adding more tasks or duties to a job does not mean that new skills and abilities are needed.

– Job enlargement may involve breaking up the existing work system and redesigning a new

work system.
4. Job Enrichment

– Job enrichment is the improvisation of both task efficiency and human satisfaction by building into

people’s jobs, quite specifically, greater scope for personal achievement and recognition, more

challenging and responsible work, and more opportunity for individual advancement and growth.

– An enriched job will have more responsibility, more autonomy (vertical enrichment), and more

variety of tasks (horizontal enrichment) and more growth opportunities.

– The employee does more planning and controlling with less supervision but more self-evaluation.
 Job Description

• A broad, general, and written statement of a specific job, based on the findings of a job analysis.

• It generally includes duties, purpose, responsibilities, scope, and working conditions of a job along with

the job's title, and the name or designation of the person to whom the employee reports.

• Job description usually forms the basis of job specification.

 Purpose of Job Description

• The main purpose of job description is to collect job-related data in order to advertise for a

particular job. It helps in attracting, targeting, recruiting and selecting the right candidate for

the right job.

• It is done to determine what needs to be delivered in a particular job. It clarifies what

employees are supposed to do if selected for that particular job opening.

• It gives recruiting staff a clear view what kind of candidate is required by a particular

department or division to perform a specific task or job.

• It also clarifies who will report to whom.

 How to Develop JD
• Step 1: Perform a Job Analysis

• This process of gathering, examining and interpreting data about the job's tasks will

supply accurate information about the job so that an organization can perform

efficiently.

• Performing a job analysis includes the following steps:

– Interviewing employees to find out exactly what tasks are being performed.

– Observing how tasks are performed.

– Having employees fill out questionnaires or worksheets.

– Collecting data on jobs from other resources such as salary surveys.

• Knowledge—comprehension of a body of information acquired by experience or
study.
• Skill—a present, observable competence to perform a learned activity.
• Ability—competence to perform an observable behavior or a behavior that results
in an observable product.
• Physical characteristics—the physical attributes an employee must have to
perform the job duties with or without a reasonable accommodation.
• Environmental factors—working conditions (inside or outside the office).
• Credentials/experience—the minimum level of education, experience and
certifications acceptable for the position.
• Step 2: Establish the Essential Functions
• Once the performance standard for a particular job has been made, essential
functions of the position must be defined.
• Defining the essential functions encompasses the following steps:
– Ensure that the tasks as part of the job function are truly necessary or a
requirement to perform the job.
– Determine the frequency at which the task is performed or how much time is spent
performing a task.
– Determine the consequences of not performing the function and whether this
would be detrimental to the employer's operation or result in severe consequences.
– Determine if the tasks can be redesigned or performed in another manner.

– Determine if the tasks can be reassigned to another employee.

Step 3: Organize the Data Concisely
• The structure of the job description may vary from company to company; however, all the job descriptions within an
organization should be standardized so that they have the same appearance.
• The following topics should be included:
– Job title—name of the position.
– Classification—exempt or nonexempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
Salary grade/level/family/range—compensation levels, groups or pay ranges into which jobs of the same or similar worth are
placed, including minimum and maximum pay bands.
– Reports to—title of the position this job reports to.
– Date—date when the job description was written or last reviewed.
– Summary/objective—summary and overall objectives of the job.
– Essential functions/ duties and responsibilities—essential functions, including how an individual is to perform them and the
frequency with which the tasks are performed; the tasks must be part of the job function and truly necessary or required to
perform the job.
– Competency—knowledge, skills and abilities.
– Supervisory responsibilities—direct reports, if any, and the level of supervision.
– Work environment—the work environment; temperature, noise level, inside or outside, or other factors that will affect the
person's working conditions while performing the job.
– Physical demands—the physical demands of the job, including bending, sitting, lifting and driving.
– Position type and expected hours of work—full time or part time, typical work hours and shifts, days of week, and whether
overtime is expected.
– Travel—percentage of travel time expected for the position, where the travel occurs, such as locally or in specific countries or
states, and whether the travel is overnight.
– Required education and experience—education and experience based on requirements that are job-related and consistent with
business necessity.
– Additional eligibility qualifications—additional requirements such as certifications, industry-specific experience and the
experience working with certain equipment.
Step 4: Add the Disclaimer

• It is a good idea to add a statement that indicates that the job description is not designed to cover

or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the

employee.

• Duties, responsibilities and activities may change or new ones may be assigned at any time with

or without notice.

Step 5: Add the Signature Lines

• Signatures are an important part of validating the job description. They show that the job

description has been approved and that the employee understands the requirements, essential

functions and duties of the position.

• Signatures should include those of the supervisor and of the employee.

Step 6: Finalize

• A draft of the job description should be presented to upper management and the position supervisor for

review and approval. A draft allows a chance to review, add or subtract any detail before the final job

description is approved.

• The final job descriptions should be kept in a secure location, and copies should be used for job postings,

interviews, accommodation requests, compensation reviews and performance appraisals. Employers may

also wish to post them on their intranet.

The End