Position management is generally thought to be a dry science of little interest to anyone but a few specialists in human resource departments. Such a notion is full of irony and paradoxes, if not outright misconceptions. First, position classification is as much an art as a science: It is actually composed of different systems, each with distinctly different value biases.

Furthermore, the biases of each system shift over time. The art, then, lies in understanding the different values that exist in various systems; the science is found in the rational implementation of that set of values. Unfortunately, when system values become too rigid and when classification and compensation issues are treated as laws based on hard science, an unbalanced characterization of position management exists.

Second, the rational order conveyed by classification systems is generally overstated. Most systems of large organizations are quite fragmented, and sometimes they are haphazard because competing stresses such as politics, market forces, merit, social equity, and union influence distort them over time. The classification systems of most small organizations (including the vast majority of American state and local governments) are actually piecemeal personnel systems rather than ideal classification systems.

Third, although formal methods of job analysis and job evaluation are often preached in management texts and elsewhere, they are not always used in practice. Informal methods are as common, and the skills needed to use such methods are equally important for employees and managers. Finally, although classification may seem to be a subject of little utility to those who are not human resource specialists or managers, it is actually a critical source of knowledge and, by extension, a source of power in agencies.

Understanding a system’s central organizing structures is as important as understanding budgeting or management principles. Decisions about position management are very important in all professional lives, as well as in the health of organizations. Mastery of a general knowledge of the tools used in classification is a critical competency for today’s manager.