BY: KARTIK SUBRAMANIAM

Has anyone of us ever really bothered to look beyond the position or title of a person to ascertain exactly what the person does for a living as there usually appears to be a mismatch between their position and job duties and responsibilities.

It is important before a title or position is awarded to a person to be right sized and this simply means that the job title or position must accurately reflect the job functions and duties of the person and not confuse or deceive.

It was quite enlightening when this Malaysian doctor went to the bank and at the counter asked a staff: “Excuse me, are you the clerk in charge?” only to hear the retort: “No, I’m a clerical officer in this bank.”

The doctor was puzzled about what the position of ‘Clerical Officer’ really meant and proceeded to ask around. Apparently in the good old days these employees were simply referred to as clerks but now there is an ‘upgrade’ of their status to Clerical Officer.

What is wrong with just calling them clerks as there is no change to their job duties and functions and if anyone cares to browse through the resumes of many workers here there is so much hype over their job experiences and qualifications nowadays.

Consider the experience of a man at a restaurant when a scantily dressed and attractive lady came up to him and dropped her calling card and rushed off. The card stated that she was a ‘Human Relations Consultant’ which he later found as being a sex worker.

-THE MALAYSIA VOICE

** The views expressed on this opinion is of the writer and not the publisher