$2.$ Should written job descriptions be developed for each employee$$s position? Why or why not? What are the benefits and disadvantages of job descriptions?

After receiving Jessie$$s harsh email, Ashton asked her to come to the store so that they could talk in person. When Jessie opened up about all of her concerns and frustrations, they were able to talk things out and design a more equitable way to divide the work and responsibilities of owning and operating the store. Jessie and Ashton developed a list of their individual responsibilities, and this information was shared with employees. This allowed everyone to fully understand which owner was responsible for different workplace issues.

Furthermore, Jessie and Ashton worked together and successfully wrote an employee handbook, which included policies regarding safety, overtime, holidays, and respect in the workplace. Creating this document as a team helped remind Jessie and Ashton that they worked well together and really did have the same vision for providing high$-$quality mock perfume at reasonable prices. As well, they had taken all employees out for a night of pizza and bowling, and the event was a huge success. Everyone got along well, and the atmosphere in the store seemed better after this evening out.

More Employees Needed?

Ashton was still convinced that they needed to hire more employees, so he emailed Jessie about this. He wanted to hire $2$ more sales clerks and an inventory specialist. Jessie wrote back indicating that these people would cut into profits and they shouldn$$t hire more people until they were sure that they were needed. $$Besides$,$ our current employees seem to be managing inventory, so we don$$t need someone specifically in charge of this task,$$ wrote Jessie. Ashton wrote back indicating that on $3$ separate occasions when he was in the store customers had asked for a specific product only to be told that it wasn$$t in stock. Ashton noted, $$Business is being lost because of ineffective inventory management. I happen to know that my cousin Ashley could take on this role and would enhance and grow our profits.$$ Jessie once again replied and suggested that they interview each employee individually to gain a better understanding of the work each performs. $$Only then can we determine if we need more sales clerks and an inventory specialist. Also, other employees will find out if we hire your cousin, and this could be seen as unfair.$$

Ashton was becoming frustrated with the back$-$and$-$forth communication. Maybe things weren$$t going as well as he had thought. One more email back to Jessie was worth a try, so he responded, $$We will figure out what each employee does. If we need to hire an inventory specialist $($and I$$m betting we do$),$ we can put together an effective and efficient recruitment plan to hire the best person for the job. I$$m not sure why employees would care whom we hire, but I$$m putting an action plan in place to address all of your ongoing concerns.$$

Job analysis is referred to as the cornerstone of HRM because the information it collects informs and supports so many HRM processes. Job analysis is the process of obtaining information about jobs $($or work$)$ by determining what the duties, tasks, or activities of those jobs are and the necessary skills, knowledge, training, and abilities to perform the work successfully. The procedure involves undertaking a systematic approach to gathering specific job information, including the work activities, worker attributes, and work context. This being the case, when job information is accurate, it will be easier to recruit, select, manage performance, plan for training and development and health and safety issues, and compensate an individual doing this work. The ultimate purpose of job analysis is to improve organizational performance and productivity. Figure $4\mathrm{.}1$ illustrates how job analysis is done and what the information is used for.

Job analysis is concerned with objective and verifiable information about the requirements of a job $($compared to $$job design,$$ which reflects subjective opinions about the ideal requirements of the job$).$ Job analysis is not done in a vacuum: it is important that the organization$$s goals and strategies be known and understood. Without the organizational context or an understanding of the organization as a whole, the requirements identified may not reflect foreseeable future requirements. A proactive strategic approach would link the jobs to the organization$$s performance

Job analysis is typically undertaken by trained HR people; however, a manager with good analytical abilities and writing skills can also do it$.$ The HR professional can provide assistance to the manager in gathering the relevant information by ensuring that appropriate questions are asked and that the job is not $$inflated$($made to sound more difficult or important than it really is$).$ Therefore, as previously noted, the employee performing the work also has a critical part to play to