INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, AHMEDABAD

Job Description: - Relevance in a Dynamic

Business World
A report submitted to
Instructor: Prof. Rajesh Chandwani
In partial fulfillment of the requirements of the course
Human Resource Management I (2016-17)
By
Manisheel Gautam, Arnab Barua, Rajesh Ranjan, S Preetham Gandhi, Vipul Verma,
Sukrit Singh Raghuvanshi
Group E2
Section: E
On
5 August 2016

CONTENTS
Introduction

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References

JOB DESCRIPTION - RELEVANCE IN A DYNAMIC

BUSINESS WORLD
INTRODUCTION
In todays world of multinational corporations and nimble start-ups, the traditional job is being
transformed by automation, digitization and an increasingly global workforce. Fixed job roles,
responsibilities and working conditions are increasingly harder to define. In this context, the job
description, as we know it, is undergoing a radical change to be relevant in the dynamic business world.
A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF JOB DESCRIPTION
Job description is related to the acquisition part of the AMO [Acquisition, Motivation and Opportunity]
framework. For acquisition of the proper future employee, the first task is to enlist the knowledge, skills
and abilities (here-after KSA) requirements for that particular post. The document which enlists these
requirements is called the job description.
Preparing the proper job description is essential both for the organisation recruiting and for the
candidates applying for the job. An organisation can realise its goals from the new recruitments only if
the proper requirements and expectations from that particular post are passed on to the candidates. It is
also useful for the candidates as they can assess the KSAs they are having in comparison to the KSAs
required for the job, and hence make an informed, proper and effective decision.
The job description is a list of duties, responsibilities, reporting relationships, working conditions and
supervisory conditions. It also summarizes the personal qualities, skills, and background required for
getting the job done. A job description should essentially consist of the requirements which will fulfil the
conditions for individual-job fit as well as organisation-job fit. For preparing a proper job description, it
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is essential to carry ann analysis involving all the stakeholders of the jobs. While its important to
consult the employees having the relevant experience in that particular division, it is also necessary to
consult other divisions which work in coordination with that divisions. So, well thought-out job
description shall involve all the stakeholders and benefit everyone involved.
Although there is no standard format of job descriptions, most descriptions contains the following
sections1 :1.
2.
3.
4.

Job Identification : - It includes name, location, grade/level, division/department of the job.

Job Summary: - It includes a brief of essence of the job.
Responsibilities and Duties :- It includes jobs significant duties and responsibilities.
Authority of Incumbent :- It describes the authorisation limit which may be financial or other decision

making power of the jobholder.

5. Standards of performance :- It specifies the standards that the company expects from the jobholder with
for each duties and responsibilities mentioned in job description.
6. Working conditions :- It includes conditions such as hazardous conditions, heat, indoor or outdoor, noise
level, etc.
7. Job Specification :- It specifies the traits, qualities, experience and qualification required for the job.
The advent of the enhanced computation power and extensive digital connectivity has led to a
phenomenon which the many experts refer to as the Fourth Industrial Revolution. It is expected that its
going to change our way of life and the business environment at a never seen before pace. So, it
becomes imperative to have a look at the importance and relevance of job description in the dynamic
business world which is expected to change much faster in the coming years. This paper starts with the
discussion on how the job description has changed vis-a-vis the business environment in the past. Then,
its relevance and importance are discussed in the present scenario in detail along with the latest trends
observed in job descriptions due to changing business environment. Then, finally the relevance of job
description is discussed taking few sectors into consideration.
Importance of Job Description

Throughout history, there was little importance of job description. A person was born into a position and
a line of work. An artisan's son was an artisan and a peasants son would be a peasant. But things have
changed now. People have the choice to choose different jobs. Also, with changes in technology, new
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kind of jobs are being created which are significantly different from the old ones. For example, there has
been a boom in the software engineering jobs in the past two decades, which no one would have even
imagined fifty years back. So, with the prospective employee having more options, providing proper job
description became imperative for the employer. Job description is important for the employer from the
HR perspective, for performance evaluation and as a filtering tool. Job description is also important for
the employees from the career growth perspective. So, the various importance of job descriptions in
present dynamic business environment are discussed below in brief :-

IMPORTANCE FROM HR PERSPECTIVE

To make sure the hiring process is done efficiently and smoothly, Job description is of utmost
importance from an HR Managers perspective in selecting the right candidate. It helps HR Manager
understand hiring demand of respective business departments and eliminates confusion
IMPORTANCE FROM CANDIDATE PERSPECTIVE
A good job description gives a candidate complete picture of requirements and demands of an
organization. It also helps in selecting competent and relevant people for the job. In the absence of a
good JD, unwanted candidates might be selected in the organization leading to time-wasting and
increased costs in rehiring.
IMPORTANCE AS A FILTERING TOOL
A good Job description helps in filtering candidates and evaluate their commitment to the startup as it is
important to hire dedicated employees. Job description based questions will help both HR and business
managers to check seriousness and relevance of the candidate
IMPORTANCE IN PERFORMANCE EVALUATION
Metrics defined in the JD can be used for performance evaluation of an employee. It also serves as a
benchmark and guideline for employees to measure their own performance and take corrective measures
if necessary
IMPORTANCE FROM CAREER GROWTH PERSPECTIVE
Every candidate applies for a job with a career trajectory in mind; it is important for them to know their
future in an organization. In a startup, job growth is uncertain and may lead to skilled candidates not
applying for a job. A good job description will give a candidate confidence about his roles and scope of
growth in the organization. From a managers perspective under which the employee is being hired, it
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will help the manager understand the role requirement and future growth, leading to better planning for
the employee and better retention.

New Trends in Job Descriptions

The recent modifications in the business environment have led to the new trends in job
description. The two such trends discussed here are Strategic Job Description and
Competency Based Job Description

Strategic Job Description2

Conventionally, job descriptions have been defined in terms of tasks, duties, responsibilities, and
characteristics and specific requirements. Traditionally, the focus has been on the tasks on which the
employees are expected to engage and complete, and employees are evaluated on the basis of these
completed tasks. All this made the job descriptions quite narrow by defining the boundaries within
which the employee shall focus. It leads to a disconnect between what the employee focuses on and
what the organisation focuses. Eventually, employees are paid on the basis of completed tasks
irrespective of whether their performance had a positive effect on the organisation.
All these reasons have led to the need of looking at job descriptions as a potential strategic tool. This
need can be achieved by writing job descriptions in terms of outcome and organisational centric rather
than employee and task focused. This approach can enhance the employees performance and eventually
increase the chances of organisational success. So, in a strategic job description, a job is defined in terms
of how it will contribute to the organisational success. Even the employees feel significantly motivated
when they can see how they are contributing to the organisations success. Since, job description also
forms the basis of performance evaluation, in a strategic job description, employees are evaluated on the
basis of how successful they are in achieving organisational goals rather than in terms of how well they
complete discrete tasks. There is substantial shift in motivation and performance of an employee if we
shift from task-centered job description to organisation-centred job description. For example, if we go
for task-centred job description, the job of an librarian may be listed as keeping library organised and
maintaining catalogues. But if we shift to strategic method, the job description of a librarian may be
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described as instilling a love of learning among the members, increasing the membership of library. If
we provide strategic job description like this, it will lead much more satisfaction and motivation and
improve the performance of the employees vis-a-vis organisational goals.
In the dynamic business world, a lot of organisation are giving more importance to job description than
ever before and are shifting to strategy based job description so that the employees can be more aligned
towards organisational goals.
Competency-based Job Description3
Another recent trend in this field has been the change to competency based job description. The
competency based model evolved as a need to bring out more productivity from the employees.
Increasing productivity requires a more flexible workforce which is multi-skilled and able to perform
more than one job which is in contrast to the traditional singularly focused job descriptions. This
requires that the nature of todays job descriptions shall reflect the nature of todays work. So, in
competency based job description, job-holders role is defined in terms of skills and experience one will
need to successfully handle the position. A competency based job description helps in developing
structured selection tool which helps in identifying the best candidates. How the key elements of job
description in a competency based job description is different from traditional job description is
summarized below :1. Job Title :- In traditional environment the job title would be specific like second shift supervisor but in
competency based job description, it would be flexible like team leader so that he/she can be used in any
shift based on the companys requirement.
2. Relevance of the Position :- It would be much broader in competency based job description and it will
focus on how the competencies will help in achieving the organisational goals rather than the the
position specific focus in traditional environment.
3. Major Responsibilities :- In traditional job description, this section would include very specific tasks
(e.g. review the progress of project with team members) and duties to be performed regularly and a
flexible job description would include broader responsibilities (e.g. facilitating team meetings).
4. Critical Criteria :- This forms an important part for the selection process. In traditional job description,
this section would require only specific requirements (e.g. time and location of work and the abilities

required) but a flexible job description would include critical competencies required for the job (e.g.
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technical knowledge, excellent teamwork skills, etc).

Preferred Criteria :- This may be more or less similar for the traditional and competency based job

description.
6. Reports to :- In traditional there may be a single reporting officer who focuses on specific tasks while in
competency based job description there may be multiple reporting officers or a single reporting officer
(e.g. Group Leader) who may be responsible for diverse tasks.
For preparing a competency based job description, performing the competency analysis of jobs is
necessary. In competency analysis, various competencies required in the organisation to achieve
organisational goals is listed down and then the levels of these competencies required for the specific
jobs is specified. For example, for a particular job, the following levels of competencies may be required
:1.
2.
3.
4.

Teamwork :- level 4
Self confidence :- level 5
Negotiation skills :- level 3
Leadership :- level 4
By shifting from the traditional to competency based job description, the organisation can better manage
their human resources and even the employees feel more motivated. The need to shift to competency
based job description has increased recently owing to the dynamic nature of the business environment.
After having looked at recent trends in job descriptions and how it is becoming much more important
and relevant for the organisation in the dynamic business environment, let us look at the relevance of job
descriptions in three diverse sectors namely Information Technology, Finance and Startups.
Relevance of Job Descriptions in Different Sectors
In order to better understand the relevance of a job description in the current business environment,
different sectors with differing requirements of job descriptions can be observed. Information
technology, finance and startups are three dynamic sectors with varied job descriptions to best support
employees through challenges and opportunities, unique to them.
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The relevance of a Job description for each of these sectors is discussed below:

Job description in Information Technology

Job description in Information Technology has evolved over time for both managers and engineers. For
managers, primary responsibilities include developing project requirements, managing developers,
assessing risks and creating project documentation. As the industry is extremely dynamic, it is important
to keep the job description flexible and generic. It should focus on the expectations and responsibilities
instead of exact work duties. This means that the manager has to continue familiarizing himself with the
incoming technologies and the associated challenges.
Competency based job description is being widely followed in Information Technology
sector nowadays. In terms of competencies, managers are required to also evaluate outsourced work

now, apart from only supervising work of engineers. Also, familiarity with new development and
program management methodologies including Agile and Waterfall, is also a required core competency
for managers. Some basic competencies, however, have remained consistent over the years and hold
significant value in todays dynamic work environment. Good communication, coordination across
teams and overseeing team level activities are some of other relevant competencies.
As competition in the IT industry has considerably increased over time, experience in working in a fast
paced competitive environment holds a lot of importance nowadays. In terms of qualifications, relevant
Bachelors or Masters degree is strictly needed for engineers by large firms which prefer quality hiring
over mass hiring. For most managerial roles too, IT background is preferred as managers to required to
understand technology. Hence, job descriptions usually mandate a technology related degree or
considerable job experience in the sector as required qualifications.

Job Description for the Finance Sector:

The advent of the new millennium posed an existential crisis for the old players in the commercial
banking sector. Technological advancements and the outreach of the internet was helping the new-age
banks create a more customer-centric approach, thereby catering to the need of the customer more
efficiently and smoothly.
The bureaucratic and the traditional banking norms were becoming a hindrance for the modernization in
banks like the State Bank of India. Working hours, modes of transaction and other processes were rigidly
defined and were regulated by employee unions. If it had to get out of the situation , SBI had to redefine
the working pattern.

The most important component of job analysis is the job description. We use this information to write
the job specification, which lists the knowledge, abilities and skills required to perform the job
satisfactorily. Most job descriptions contain sections that encompass job identification, job summary,
responsibilities, authority, working conditions and job specifications. The following categories relate to
job descriptions in the finance domain.
Job Identification:
The job title specifies the name of the job such as investment banker, financial analyst, stockbroker,
accountant, ledger clerk, controller, manager, etc. There might also be a space to indicate who approved
the description and perhaps also the location of the job in terms of its facility and department. This
section also includes the information regarding the salary and pay scale.

Job Summary:
The job summary summarizes the essence of the job and includes only its major functions and activities.
For example, a financial analyst may use fundamental principles and tactical evaluation of the market
environment and provide a rating recommending an investment action, e.g. to buy, sell or hold a

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security. Financial analysts use spreadsheets and statistical software packages to analyze data, spot
trends, and develop forecasts.

Relationships:
There may be a relationship that shows the jobholders relationships with others inside and outside the
organization.

Employees in an organization would want to know the job expected of them and the way they would be
evaluated. Job description generates a perfect thought process that gauges how critical a job is and helps
in determining the perfect fit for a role. And considering the complexities underlying the financial sector,
every job has its nuances and specific job descriptions pertaining to every task is imperative in providing
the appropriate framework for an effective functioning of an organization.
Relevance of Job Description in Startups
There has been a startup boom in recent years leading to increased hiring in startups. This boom has led
to a surge in the importance of job description as a single person is given multiple roles. The startup
industry is in its nascent face and the roles are dynamic and constantly changing. It becomes important
to create a job description which encompasses all possible roles that might pertain to the individual
being hired. So in case of startups, both strategic and competency based job description is widely used
owing to dynamic business environment.
Relevance of Role Clarity
Every startup needs people with both specialised and generic skill set due to dynamic nature of work and
changing role requirements. It is important to create a job description which takes care of both soft and
hard skills required for a specific company. If it's a new startup, a jack of all trades would be an ideal fit
whereas in a later stage startup-specific role requirements are there. In these startups, strategic job
description holds the key as it is important that the new employees are aligned with the vision of the
company. The candidate being selected should have clarity of what he is being hired for and also HR
should have clarity of the type of candidate they are looking for
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REFERENCES
1. HRM by Gary Dessler and Biju Varkkey
2. http://www.businessalignmentstrategies.com/articles/job-descriptions.php
3. http://www.waljob.net/download/hrbook/HRM%20-%20Briefcase%20Books%20-%20Hiring
%20Great%20People.pdf
4. http://www.financialwisdom.com/ResourceLibrary/FF/SmallBusiness/JobDescriptions.shtml
5. HRM by Gary Dessler and Biju Varkkey
6. http://www.mynewsdesk.com/sg/startupjobsasia/blog_posts/why-is-a-good-job-descriptionimportant-for-a-startup-21700

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