Principles of Supervision

Defining The Supervisor’s Job

Organization

A systematic grouping of people brought together for some specific purpose

•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

3 Characteristics All Organizations Have in Common

The Organizational Pyramid

TopManagement

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

Leading

Controlling

Function by Organization Level

Top Management

Planning28%

Organizing36%

Leading22%

Controlling14%

Middle Managers

Planning18%

Organizing33%

Leading36%

Controlling13%

Function by Organization Level

Supervisors

Planning15%

Organizing24%

Leading51%

Controlling10%

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

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, DirectsOrders, Controls

VS

The Coach: Guides, ListensTrains, 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

•TechnicalTechnical•InterpersonalInterpersonal•ConceptualConceptual•PoliticalPolitical

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

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

Types of Supervisory Skills

Technical Human relations Conceptual Decision making

A supervisor is a manager at the first level of management.

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

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.

Typical candidates to be made supervisors:

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