Job descriptions are an important tool to divide different processes throughout the workflow process for a product or service. This has to be accompanied by an intense job analysis. According to the article, Importance of a Job Description by Mary Massad, from entrepreneur.com, job analysis is used to know the mental/physical tasks involved, how the job will be done, the reason the job exists and the qualifications needed to perform. Consequently, big companies have been able to perform well because the right people have been placed in the right positions and know their roles.
A call for change
In our family business which belongs to the tire industry, we don’t have job descriptions because we want to accomplish various tasks at the fastest time. There are only three people in the managerial level, but we believe we get things done.
Our traditional way of running the business has not changed since the ‘70s. Another reason for not clearly defining roles is because we also want to be hands on with our business; all three of us know every aspect of our jobs. However, there are times when some tasks are forgotten when we get too busy. As a result, we have come to realize that there is a need to enumerate the different tasks in the company, combine them and assign each to a person.
The collaboration
As the management team, we need to first evaluate our various responsibilities and how each task combination will affect the company and the incumbent officer. All the tasks need to be laid out to make sure none is forgotten. Each one must be weighed so that the duties and responsibilities given out per office is fair.
To push through with this solution, every member of the managerial level must cooperate and embrace the change. In our action research class, I learned that there must be a commitment by the whole organization for change to manifest itself.
The antidote
Each member of the managerial level must be given job descriptions. There will be a balance of difficult and easier tasks assigned to each individual so each one will still have a significant role in the company. The job assignments will continually change depending on the need to extend an individual’s job description or introduce new tasks.
Initially, the older managers can be given risky tasks, while I try to familiarize myself with other relevant activities. I will accept more challenging tasks as I grow in the organization. Furthermore, once the tasks are identified, we will be able to accomplish all that we need to do. If something is not done or incomplete, we would know who is accountable, and this individual can do better the next time around.
Having a well-crafted set of job descriptions can help the management team to clearly understand the expectations of their individual roles, making it easier to manage expectations and performance.
The author is an MBA student of the Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business. This reflection was written as part of the course requirements for Strategic Human Resource Management.
The views expressed above are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official position of De La Salle University, its faculty and its administrators.