Human resources management personnel have been encouraged to develop a job analysis approach capable of grasping work situations that are more complex, less defined, and in a state of flux. In France, this perspective has given rise to Emploi Type Etudie dans sa Dynamique (ETED) or "typical job studied in its dynamic," an approach that reflects the goal of generating job descriptions and the need to take the dynamic, fluid context of work situations into account. Competences in the ETED approach are understood as knowledge, abilities, and qualities in action. Jobs represent the meeting point of two levels--the organization and abilities of the job holder, and ETED analyzes them in this double context. Relative to these jobs, the concrete forms of particular work situations tend to vary depending on choices or local circumstances (variability) and according to the way the job-holder fills the job (elasticity). Variability and elasticity reflect the two kinds of dynamics the ETED approach seeks to bring out: individual advances in the mastery of the job and emerging structural movements significant for development of the occupations. They are identified as development trends (factors of change that influence the jobs studied) and job bracket (a basic core that corresponds to the activity common to experienced employees and possible extensions that exceed the core). The ETED analysis allows the work situations described to be placed in context while emphasizing their complexity and brings out collective reference units through the groups of typical jobs it proposes. (Contains 10 references) (YLB)