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Representing Jobs and Positions

In many enterprises the basic management units are roles, not individuals. In theory at least, organizations are able to continue in unchanged existence, in spite of frequent changes in staff. However, the definition of a 'role' varies from one enterprise to another. Like organization structures, it reflects the culture of the enterprise.

You define roles to represent the ways that different groups of employees work. In Oracle HRMS you can use jobs or positions, or a combination, to define roles.

Job A job is a generic role within a Business Group, which is independent of any single organization. For example, the jobs 'Manager' and 'Consultant' can occur in many organizations.
Position A position is a specific occurrence of one job, fixed within one organization. For example, the position 'Finance Manager' would be an instance of the job of 'Manager' in the 'Finance' organization. The position belongs to the organization. There may be one, many, or no holders of a position at any time.

Example

In a large structured organization, you may have a permanent establishment of positions for most of your employees.

However, you may also have groups of employees hired to perform specific tasks. This can be on a temporary or a permanent basis. Staff in this category can include agency workers, consultants and contractors. For these staff, you can define the role more flexibly as a job.

See Also

Adding Information About Jobs and Positions

Deciding How to Use Organizations, Jobs, and Positions

Job and Position Names

Position Reporting Structures

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