A generalization of the direct method of Clarkson and Kruskal for finding similarity reductions of partial differential equations with arbitrary functions is found and discussed for the generalized Burgers equation. The corresponding reductions and the exact solutions due to the methods of the ordinary differential equations are then given by the methods. The results given here answer partially an open problem proposed by Clarkson, that is how to develop the direct method to seek symmetry reductions of nonlinear PDEs with arbitrary functions.