Job Descriptions Essay

1. How important is job analysis to the development of job descriptions and job specifications? Discuss. Job analysis is important to the development of job descriptions and specifications because it needs to be formed before the job description and specifications. 2. What recommendations are given for improving committee effectiveness? They are having competent members, having committee properly charged, selecting or electing a competent chairperson, and recognizing/rewarding committee accomplishments. 3. Name the steps in the personnel management process. How does each step relate to the other steps? They are staffing, human resource planning, and auditing human resources. Each step is responsible for the success or failure of the next step. 4. Distinguish between job description and job specification. Job description is a written statement of all the duties and responsibilities to be performed on a particular job and job specification is a written statement of the personal qualities an individual should possess to perform a particular job. 5. List the steps in human resource planning (HRP). They are determine strategic operations, establish the time standard for reaching objectives, review internal and external environmental factors that affect staffing needs, project human talents/skills needed for achieving strategic objectives, audit human resources in the organization, determine human resource needs in the short-run and long-run to meet projected needs, and plan a program of recruitment and selection to fulfill human resource needs. 6. Discuss the meaning of motivation and the 3 conditions which must exist for employees to become highly motivated. Motivation is the psychological process that gives behavior purposes and directions. The conditions are the employee must have the ability to do the work and the work environment must be satisfactory. 7. Define morale and discuss the relationship to employee performance and motivation. Morale is the state of mind of an individual or group in regard to confidence, cheerfulness, and discipline. It is believed that high productivity results from high morale and motivation. 8. Distinguish between morale and job satisfaction. What are some of the methods used to increase employee job satisfaction in the workplace? Job satisfaction refers to the state of mind an individual has about his or her work environment but morale is in regards to the confidence and discipline. 9. Motivation theories tend to be classified as either content theories, process theories, or reinforcement theories. Distinguish between the three classifications. Content theories are motivational theories that focus on the needs within individuals that cause them to act in a certain way. Process theories are motivational theories that concentrate on rewards that individuals will possibly receive if they behave or perform in a certain way and reinforcement theories are those that base motivation on consequences of past actions to influence future actions. 10. Define leadership. Leadership is the activity of influencing people to strive willingly for group objectives. 11. Distinguish between leaders and managers. Leaders are a part of management. They have followers whereas managers are effective leaders because they get things done through others. 12. Describe the following leadership styles: (a) autocratic; (b) democratic; (c) Laissez-Faire. An autocratic leader makes all the decisions for the group. A democratic leader encourages and allows the group members to participate in the decision-making process. A laissez-Faire leader allows followers in the group to make the decisions themselves. 13. What is the importance of communication to the management function of planning? To organizing? To implementing? To controlling? All managers plan for the purpose of attaining the objectives in the proper time period and in the most efficient and effective way. Sound organization requires placing qualified employees in the right jobs and balancing the output of work between human resources and physical ones. Control programs are essential if employees and departments affected understand the importance of control. 14. Name the steps in the communication process. Where do most of the communication problems occur in the process. Why? The communication process consists of idea origination, the message, channel selecting and encoding, transmission, receiving, decoding, and feedback. Most of the communication problems occur during transmission because it is very possible for messages to get lost. 15. Of the communication principles that are mentioned in this chapter, which do you think is of the greatest importance to a practicing manager? Justify why. 16. What are the 3 types of organizational change and when does change need to occur? They are technological, environmental, and internal. Change needs to occur when problems arise. 17. Name the most common reasons employees resist change. The most common reasons employees resist change are job security and income, uncertainty, personal inconvenience, loss of status and power, and change in personal relationships. 18. Define conflict and name 4 major types of conflict. Â  Conflict is a clash of opposing ideas and interests which lead to disagreement. The four types of conflict are interpersonal, intergroup, interdepartmental, and organizational. 19. What are the essential steps in the control process? Explain each. The steps in the control process include setting standards, appraising conformance to the standards, and taking appropriate corrective or remedial action if the standards are not met or are exceeded. Standards are based on the goals and objectives of the organization. Appraising conformance happens in two steps which are measuring performance and comparing performance to the standards. 20. List and briefly discuss the characteristics of effective control. The details of each control program should be tailored to fit the needs of individual organizations because every organization’s products and services are different from each other’s. The establishment of controls must have the complete support of top management because without it, it would be difficult to convince either managers or employees that controls are essential. Control programs must be cost-effective. Control activities should possess enough flexibility to adapt to change because when new standards are needed, it is better to modify the existing control program than to create an entirely new system. Control programs should provide information in a timely way. Objective information is the essence of sound control. 21. Define performance appraisal. Performance appraisal is a process that involves determining and communicating to employees how they are performing their jobs and establishing a plan for improvement. 22. List and clarify the traditional steps in the appraisal process. They are determine objectives of performance appraisal, establish job expectations, select appraisal method, decide who will rate the employee, appraise performance, discuss results with employee, and review appraisal with superior manager. 23. Identify 4 common rating errors which can occur in appraising employee performance. They are halo effect which is rating an employee excellent in one quality which influences the rater to give higher than deserved scores on other qualities, horn effect which is rating an employee unsatisfactory in one quality and lowering the rating on other qualities as a result, central tendency which is tending to grade employees average on all qualities, and strict rating which is rating lower than the normal or average. 24. Distinguish between intrinsic and extrinsic rewards. Intrinsic rewards are internal to the individual and stem from the work itself and extrinsic rewards are distributed by higher management and are not under the control of the employee. 25. Discuss the meaning of information overload. Information overload suggests that a manager has more information than they can digest. 26. Explain 4 things that make information useful. They are accurate information is valid and correct, timely information means that managers have facts, data, figures, and such available for review before they must make decisions so that it can be used to the organization’s advantage, complete information provides the manager all of the facts and information that relate to the decision-making situation, and relevant information refers to a manager’s having the kind of information he or she needs for the particular decision-making situation.