Principles of Supervision Defining The Supervisor’s Job

Organization A systematic grouping of people brought together for some specific purpose

3 Characteristics All Organizations Have in Common People It takes people to make decisions & to perform the activities which turn goals into reality Systemic Structure division of labor that defines the roles of the members in the organization, creates rules & regulations Purpose Typically expressed in terms of goals & objectives

The Organizational Pyramid Top Management Middle Managers Top management – a group of people responsible for establishing an organization’s overall objectives and developing policies to achieve those objectives Middle managers – next level down, manage other managers. They are responsible for establishing and meeting specific departmental or unit goals Supervisors – oversee the work of operative employees Operative employees – employees who physically produce an organization’s goods or services by working on specific tasks First Line Supervisors Operative Employees

Management The process of getting things done, effectively & efficiently, through & with other people Efficiency – doing a task right, refers to the relationship between inputs and outputs Effectiveness – doing the right task; Translates into goal attainment

4 Functions of Management: A Circular Process Planning Organizing Controlling Planning – defining goals, establishing an overall strategy to achieve the goals, developing a comprehensive set of plans to integrate and coordinate activities Organizing – the division of labor, determining what tasks are to be done, who does them, how tasks are grouped, who reports to whom, when decisions are made Leading – directing, motivating, communicating and resolving conflicts Controlling – monitoring/measuring an organizations performance, comparing results to plans, if needed correcting actual performance Leading

Function by Organization Level

Function by Organization Level Top management focuses on long-term, strategic planning and structuring the overall organization Supervisors – focus is on short-term, tactical planning and structuring jobs of individuals and work groups

Supervisors Go By Many Titles Assistant manager Department head Head coach Team leader Shift leader/captain Foreman

Changing Expectations of Supervisors Then (50 years ago) Overseer Disciplinarian Enforcer of policy “Do as I say, not as I do” mentality Now Trainer Advisor Mentor Facilitator Coach

Key Supervisory Tasks Motivate Provide feedback Resolve performance problems Blend employee goals with work requirements Improve communications & keep employees informed Responsible for employee training & skills

Roles Supervisors Play Key person Person in the middle Just another worker Behavioral specialist Key person – the critical link in the organization’s chain of authority Person in the middle – the reconciler (buffer) between opposing forces and competing Expectations of higher management and employees Just another worker – perform tasks alongside the People they manage Behavioral specialist – supervisors must be able to understand the varied needs of their staff and be able to listen, motivate, and lead What can you add?

Supervisors are More Important in Today’s Organization As Change Agents Fewer Middle Managers As Trainers As Change Agents To cut costs and increase productivity Continuous quality improvement Introduction of work teams Flexible work hours Accident prevention and stress reduction programs Fewer Middle Managers Organizations are thinning middle management Significantly expanded responsibilities As Trainers Training important more than ever and supervisors carry the primary burden of designing and training Many new employees are poorly prepared for work or have language or communication deficiencies The use of technology requires more training

A Supervisor Needs to Be a Coach? The Boss: Decides, Directs Orders, Controls VS The Coach: Guides, Listens Trains, Assists

Is the Transition to Supervisor Difficult? Initial view of manager as “boss” is incorrect Unprepared for the demands & ambiguities of the job Technical expertise is no longer the primary determinant of success and failure Supervisor’s job comes with administration duties The “people” challenge

Is the Transition to Supervisor Difficult? NOW – Key communicator Paperwork Accountability Stuck between operatives and managers Usually promoted from peer group Left out of the decision-making process Must have a much more personal relationship with employees

Required Competencies of Supervisors Technical Interpersonal Conceptual Political Technical Competence – ability to apply specialized knowledge and expertise, ability to understand what each worker does Interpersonal Competence – ability to work with understand, and motivate other people, individually and in groups, ability to communicate well Conceptual Competence – the ability to understand the the big picture, ability to analyze and diagnose complex situations, enhance problem-solving and decision-making capabilities Political Competence – the “game,” establishing the “right “ connections, ability to enhance power, building a power base Just included officially as a necessary competency in recent years

Key Supervisory Skills What is a skill? The ability to demonstrate a system & sequence of behavior that is functionally related to attaining a performance goal, no single action constitutes a skill, is a system of behavior that can be applied in a wide range of situations

Key Supervisory Skills Organizing, staffing, & employee development Empowering others Interviewing Providing feedback Coaching Planning & control Goal setting Creative problem solving Developing control charts

Key Supervisory Skills Stimulating individual & group performance Designing motivating jobs Projecting charisma Listening Conducting a group meeting Coping with workplace dynamics Negotiation Stress-reduction Counseling Handling grievances Career development

Types of Supervisory Skills A supervisor is a manager at the first level of management. Technical Human relations Conceptual Decision making

Categorizing the Skills Technical skills the specialized knowledge & expertise used to carry out particular techniques or procedures.

Categorizing the Skills Human relation skills the ability to work effectively with other people.

Categorizing the Skills Conceptual skills the ability to see the relation of the parts to the whole & to one another.

Categorizing the Skills Decision-making skills the ability to analyze information & reach good decisions.

Categorizing the Skills Knowledge skills the ability to utilize various communication technology to manage and distribute continuous streams of data

Relative Importance of Types of Skills for Different Levels of Managers

Supervising a Diverse Workforce Opportunities & challenges Current trends enable supervisors to draw on a greater variety of talent & gain insights into a greater variety of perspectives than ever before. The even greater diversity expected in the future requires supervisors to work successfully with a much wider variety of people.

Subtle discrimination Subtle forms of discrimination persist in every workplace, & everybody holds some stereotypes that consciously or unconsciously influence their behavior.

General Functions of the Supervisor

Planning It is the supervisor’s job to determine the department goals & the ways to meet them. Organizational goals are the result of planning by top managers.

The purpose of planning by supervisors is to determine how the department can contribute to achieving the organization’s goals.

Organizing Planning is the what. Organizing is the how. How to set up the group How to allocate resources How to assign work to achieve the goals efficiently

At the supervisory level, organizing usually involves activities such as scheduling projects & assigning duties to employees.

Staffing Staffing is the activities involved in identifying, hiring, & developing the necessary number & quality of employees.

A supervisor’s performance depends on the quality of results that the supervisor achieves through his or her employees.

Leading The supervisor is responsible for letting employees know what is expected of them & for inspiring & motivating employees to do good work.

Influencing employees to act (or not act) in a certain way is the function of leading.

Controlling Monitoring performance & making needed corrections is the management function of controlling.

In many organizations, the supervisor is still responsible for controlling, but he or she works with others to carry out this function.

Relationships Among the Functions Usually planning comes first, followed by organizing, then staffing, then leading, &, finally, controlling. This order occurs because each function depends on the preceding function or functions.

Typically, supervisors spend most of their time leading & controlling.

Supervisor Responsibilities Carry out the duties assigned to them by higher-level managers Give managers timely & accurate information for planning Keep managers informed about the department’s performance Cooperate with co-workers in other departments

Responsibilities in a Changing Organization Today’s supervisors have to be skilled at online as well as face-to-face communication, & they have to be prepared to change as fast as their employers do.

The changes occurring in the modern workplace require supervisors to rely less on their technical expertise & more on their ability to understand, inspire, & build cooperation among people. Information technology has made it easier for employees to do work in many locations, so supervisors need to motivate & control employees they may not see face to face every day.

Responsibilities and Accountability Whatever the responsibilities of a particular supervisor, the organization holds the supervisor accountable for carrying them out.

Accountability refers to the practice of imposing penalties for failing to adequately carry out responsibilities, & it usually includes giving rewards for meeting responsibilities.

Becoming a Supervisor Typical candidates to be made supervisors: An employee with a superior grasp of the technical skills needed to perform well in the department. A person with the most seniority. An employee with good work habits & leadership skills. Recent college graduates.

Preparing for the Job Learn about management through books & observation. Learn as much as possible about the organization, the department, & the job.

Once on the job, continue the learning process. Acknowledge another person’s feelings if they were also a candidate for the position.

Obtaining & Using Power & Authority Have the new supervisor’s boss make an official announcement of the promotion. State your expectations, desire to work as a team, & interest in hearing about work-related problems.

Don’t rush to make changes in the department.

Characteristics of a Successful Supervisor