Principles of Supervision

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 First Line Supervisors Operative Employees

Management The process of getting things done, effectively & efficiently, through & with other people

4 Functions of Management: A Circular Process Planning Organizing Controlling Leading

Function by Organization Level

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

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

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

Supervisors are More Important in Today’s Organization • As Change Agents • Fewer Middle Managers • As Trainers

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

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

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

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.

Principles of Supervision