This makes it seem as though only applicants who already work for the company will be given serious consideration and may discourage any outside interest in the position. This statement probably should be left off of the new job description in order to make it more flexible. One thing Mary has not considered is job rotation within the stores. Since there is an assistant manager for each department of the stores, the individual departments are what each store manager will have knowledge about. This approach will not be very customer friendly since customers have a tendency to ask anyone that appears to work for the store in general questions pertaining to their particular issue. They may ask an assistant store manager working in the shoe department a question about cosmetics. It is unacceptable to a customer when an employee of the store cannot answer a question, no matter what department it pertains to. Janis says this is the reason why it is important to build teams that are cross trained in order to provide the customer the best service possible (48).

In order that the new job description is not based on the opinion of a few workers, Mary should work with an HR consultant to write up a survey to be taken by the associate store managers in her region. The survey should be anonymous and place in a locked drop box after completed by the employees. It should contain multiple choice questions as well as open ended questions for the associate managers to respond to. Based on the feedback from the surveys, a new job description should be prepared which includes any pertinent suggestions received from the surveys.

It is important that Mary has some input, but that her input is limited so that the newly written job description is not biased. She will need the help of a Human Resource consultant so that she does not run into any issues with the new job description that could place the company at risk...

Grensing-Pophal says that while a job description is not legally required of a company, having one is a smart move because it provides a written source stating why the employee is requiring certain qualifications of the applicant and why they will be required to perform certain duties. Without a job description, she says it is difficult for a company to defend itself against any allegations of discrimination (32).
Creating a survey and working with an HR consultant to compile the results in order to write an effective job description makes good sense. The survey will show the current employees that the company is concerned with their working environment and finding ways to improve on it. It also shows that the company is seeking ways to develop clear and concise career paths for them should they decide to remain with the company long-term. Since they are the ones currently working in these positions, they can give firsthand knowledge of what the job should be like vs. what it actually is. Asking them for their input lets them know that they are of value to the company.

Hiring a Human Resources consultant to help sort and code the surveys and then write the new job description based on the input from the existing associate store managers takes away any bias if Mary decides to do the process with only her input. HR's input also helps protect the company in case of allegations of discrimination or any other type of lawsuit that it may encounter. Since Mary is not an expert in the Human Resources field, she is now aware of any hidden issues that might put the company at risk if she uses her version of the new job description. The recommendations made for Mary will present a win-win situation for everyone involved.

Works Cited

Grensing-Pophal, Lin. "Clear Expectations." Credit Union Management 23.10 (2000):

32-35.

Janis, Tiffany. "Create a Team That Will Get Results." Ophthalmology Times 34.9

(2009): 48.