1. Reaching Goals and Objectives6
Reaching Goals and Objectives
Whenever an individual or a business decides that success has been attained, progress stops.
—Thomas Watson

2. Planning in Organizations
Why supervisors and managers plan:
Knowing what the organization is trying to accomplish helps them set priorities and make decisions aimed at accomplishing their goals.
Planning forces managers to spend time focusing on the future and establishes a fair way for evaluating performance.
Planning helps managers use resources efficiently.
The functions that managers perform all depend on good planning.
Supervisors rarely have much input into the way an organization does its planning; they participate in whatever process already exists.
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3. Objectives Planning centers on the setting of goals and objectives.
Objectives specify the desired accomplishments of the organization as a whole or as a part of it.
Goals are objectives with a broad focus.
An organization’s goals identify what its people should be striving toward.
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4. Characteristics of Effective Objectives
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5. Policies, Procedures, and Rules
Broad guidelines for how to act
Procedures
Steps that must be complete to achieve a specific purpose
Rules
Specific statements of what to do or not do in a given situation
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6. Action Plans
The supervisor creates an action plan by answering the following questions:
What actions need to be taken?
Who will take the necessary steps?
When must each step be completed?
Where will the work take place?
How will the work be done?
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7. Contingency Planning Review all objectives
Look for areas where something might go wrong
Determine how to respond if those problems do arise
Contingency planning
Planning what to do if the original plans don’t work out. Does not have to be formal or written down.
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8. Management by Objectives
Management by Objective (MBO) involves three steps:
All individuals in the organization work with their managers to set objectives, specifying what they are to do in the next operating period.
Each individual’s manager periodically reviews the individual’s performance to whether he or she is meeting the objectives.
The organization rewards the individuals based on how close they come to fulfilling the objectives.
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9. The Supervisor as a Planner
In most organizations, supervisors are responsible for the creation of plans that specify:
Goals
Tasks
Resources
Responsibilities
Providing information and estimates
Higher management relies on supervisors to provide estimates of the personnel and other resources they will need to accomplish their work.
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10. Allocating Resources Allocating human resources
Determining how many and what kind of employees the department will need
Allocating equipment resources
Determining how much equipment is needed to get the job done
Allocating money resources
Developing a budget
Scheduling
Gantt charts
PERT networks
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11. Involving Employees
Employees who are involved in the process tend to feel more committed to the objectives, and they may be able to introduce ideas that the supervisor has not considered.
To get employees involved:
Set objectives and have employees write down what they think they can accomplish in the coming year.
Hold a meeting of the entire work group at which employees and supervisors develop objectives as a group.
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12. Planning with a Team and Updating Objectives
Many times teams, not individual managers, are charged with planning.
Supervisors should clearly communicate the scope of the plan and encourage team members to cooperate
After objectives have been set, the supervisor should monitor performance and compare it with the objectives and update objectives as necessary.
Organizations with a regular procedure for planning will specify when supervisors must review and update their objectives.
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13. The Supervisor as a Controller
Supervisors need to know what is going on in the area they supervise.
Do employees understand what they are supposed to do, and can they do it?
Is all equipment operating properly?
Is work getting out correctly and on time?
Detection of problems is at the heart of the control function.
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14. The Process of Controlling
Establish performance standards
Effective performance standards should be written, measurable, clear, specific, and challenging but achievable.
Monitor performance and compare with standards
The supervisor should focus on how actual performance compares with the standards he or she has set.
Variance
Exception principle
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15. The Process of Controlling (continued)
Reinforce successes and fix problems
If performance is satisfactory or better, the supervisor needs to encourage this.
If performance is unacceptable, the supervisor needs to make changes that either improve performance or adjust the standard.
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16. Types of Control Feedback control Concurrent control Precontrol
Control that focuses on past performance
Concurrent control
Refers to work that is being done
Precontrol
Refers to efforts aimed at preventing behavior that may lead to undesirable results
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17. Tools for Control Budgets Performance reports Personal observation
A plan for spending money
Performance reports
Summarize performance and compare it with performance standards
Personal observation
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18. Characteristics of Effective Controls
Timeliness
Timely controls enable the supervisor to correct problems in time to improve results
Cost-effectiveness
The cost of using the controls should be less than the benefit derived from using them
Acceptability
The controls should be acceptable to supervisors and employees
Flexibility
Supervisors should be able to ignore a variance if doing so is in the best interest of the organization
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19. Summary
Managers engage in strategic planning; supervisors engage in operational planning.
Effective objectives are written, measurable or observable, clear, specific, and challenging but achievable.
Management by objectives is a process in which managers and employees set objectives for what they are to accomplish, after which their performance is measured against those objectives.
Supervisors are responsible for the creation of plans that specify goals, tasks, resources, and responsibilities for their own departments.
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20. Summary (continued)
Controlling enables supervisors to ensure high-quality work and to keep costs under control.
The control process:
Establish performance standards
Monitor performance and compare with standards
Reinforce successes and fix problems
Types of control: feedback, concurrent, precontrol
Tools of control: budgets, performance reports, and personal observation
Characteristics of effective control: timely, economical, acceptable to all, flexible
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