HR Management Spring 2026
Given that my next career goal is moving into a management and/or administrative role, I imagine understanding how best to develop and maintain job descriptions will become increasingly important. As the week’s four lecture mentions, job descriptions are a basic Human Resource function. Well developed and well written job descriptions can impact the quality of applicant applying for the position. Appropriately written job descriptions can aid in the recruiting and hiring process by attracting certain individuals looking for specific job specification such as job design, compensation, performance expectations, working conditions, opportunities for training and development, and required qualifications.
This week’s lecture also explains that in addition to aiding in the recruiting process, a well written and accurate job description may become an important piece of legal defensibility. Depending on what is written and how up to date the job description its it could positive or negatively an employer or employee.
.Up to this point, my only real experience with job descriptions is them before applying for various positions. As I advance, I realize that reading and knowing your job description is extremely important. Understanding one’s job descriptions can help an employee clearly identify boundaries at work to ensure that they are not being ask to take on more then is outlined in their job description.
I work in heath care; a consistent theme is that we are being asked to do more with less. We work understaffed and do not have enough time to complete what is expect of us, yet we are expected to always perform at an extremely high level. Understanding out job descriptions can combat some of the unrealistic expectations placed on us as well as advocate for better staffing metrics.
Update Job Descriptions – It is Worth it
According to Kathryn Tyler’s article, job descriptions have immense value. They can be used to recruit, they can be used to help with performance management, and they can be used to determine appropriate compensation. They also can be a legal document that if not kept up to date could negatively impact the employer or employee, depending on the situation. For example, if a job description does not clearly state a performance measure, if an employee is asked to me a specific metric that was not clearly defined a grievance could be filed (Tyler 2013). I personally see this a lot in jobs where there is union representation. If an employer ask an employee to work outside of their job description, grievances are filed. Given the importance of a good job description Kathryn Tyler suggests that job description should be updated at least yearly, ideally during the performance review process. She does mention they can be updated more frequently for certain scenarios. This ensures the job descriptions or most accurate and relevant to current standards for each position.
It is important to note that a company can have amazing job descriptions and recruit and hire the best of the best due to well written job descriptions, but without a manager that is also good at identifying talent, hiring based just off the job description may not be enough. As the book First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently also explains that good managers take into account what goes beyond the job title and description, looking for talent that will blend with the company’s culture (Buckingham & Coffman, 2014)
References
Buckingham, Marcus, and Curt W Coffman. First, Break All the Rules : What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently, Gallup Press, 2014. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/osu/detail.action?docID=1584214.
Created from osu on 2026-04-25 05:03:29.
Tyler, K. (n.d.). Job Worth Doing: Update Descriptions The basic job description is the foundation of nearly every HR function. 2026,