job description

Document that states what duties have to be performed by a worker holding a particular job and what place that worker holds within the organization.

For example, a job description may state that a secretary must undertake word processing and keyboarding tasks, as well as answer the telephone and keep a diary for his or her boss. It should state who is his or her superior in the organization and whether or not the secretary is in charge of any other workers. Job descriptions are often prepared when a new worker is being recruited. However, in a well-run medium-sized to large business organization, all workers should have a regularly updated job description that could, for example, be used in job appraisal, when an employer and a worker consider how well the worker has been performing in his or her job.