1. Principles of Supervision
Defining The Supervisor’s Job

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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. Function by Organization Level

8. 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

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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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?

13. 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

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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

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

20. 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

27. Relative Importance of Types of Skills for Different Levels of Managers

28. 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.

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

30. General Functions of the Supervisor

31. 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.

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

33. 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

41. 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.

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

43. 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

44. 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.

45. 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.

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

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

48. 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.

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

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

51. 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.

52. Don’t rush to make changes in the department.

53. Characteristics of a Successful Supervisor