CHAPTER 01
SUPERVISION
MANAGEMENT The process of achieving the organization’s aims through the activities of planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling.
Management is the process of coordinating and administering the firm’s activities to reach its goals. It is the art of getting things done by the people.
In the achievement of these objectives, businesses classify their managers by level according to whether they are top management, middle management, lower management, or first line management. This forms the management pyramid of the organization. We will discuss these in the following chapters.
Another terminology we will be coming across frequently will be organization.
Organization is a group of people who come and work together for the realization of a common goal. If we look around us; the university where we are is an organization, supermarkets, charity organizations like Society for Protection of Children, gas stations, football clubs, hospitals such as Bayındır Hospital, are all organizations that consist of specific common characteristics.
Formal organization is a body that has a clearly set goal, divisions of labor among specialists, a rational design, and a hierarchy of authority and accountability.
Informal organization is developed by the employees themselves through friendly relations, and work to undertake the task of the organization.
Before we go further in our subject course, let us take some time to review the important terms we will be using most throughout this semester.
Supervisor is a first-line manager who is responsible for the welfare, behavior, and performance of the operative or non-management employees – workers. What makes them unique is that they oversee the work of operative employees
In our studies in this course, subordinates or the employees who are under the supervisor will be referred to as workers, team members, associates and subordinates.
Supervisor is a person under the higher-level of managers and above the workers. In today’s efforts to be more close to the customers, to save time and effort in the overall operation, decision making, planning the subordinate’s work, making decisions and exerting control at all levels is no longer practiced. Instead, supervisors tend to coach, counsel their people acting as a consultant and trying to meet their needs and group’s needs.
This brings us to two new terms: Team Leader and Team facilitator.
Team Leader is a supervisor who is working in a team and who is responsible for the members of the team.
Team Facilitator is a supervisor who is in charge of the team but who is working outside the team.
In most organizations supervisors are being transformed into team leaders and team facilitators. As stated above, team leaders serve and lead a team of employees. Team facilitators take care of one or more teams of their subordinates.
MANAGEMENT SKILLS
First of all let us try to define what is skill. Skill is the ability to display a system and series of behavior that is functionally related to attaining (reaching) a performance goal. As an example let us look at the work done by a butcher in preparing the meat. People who are trained to do this work know the anatomy of the animal and know where to start, what type of meat is prepared from what part of the body, how each piece is treated. They usually follow a certain pattern. Each of the final produced elements might not require a skill, but on the whole skill is a system of behavior that can be applied to the situation or work, as a whole.[1/1]
We have discussed these management skills in the Introduction to Business course. These are basic skills that are necessary at all levels of management. The most important of these, which are more intended for the supervisors, are interpersonal skills, technical skills, and conceptual skills.
Interpersonal Skills are human, or people, skills. This underlines the manager’s ability to understand his subordinates, work in harmony with the team, and built supportive effort within his group. This skill also enables the manager to coordinate the interaction between his group and other groups that they have business relations with.
Supervisors who have developed these skills know themselves well. They are tolerant and understanding of the viewpoints, attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs of others and they are skillful communicators.
Technical skill involves specialized knowledge, analytical ability within that specialty, and facility in the use of the tools and techniques of the specific discipline. Supervisors with technical skills understand and are proficient in specific kinds of activity. Technical skills are much more important for the supervisors than the middle and upper level managers. They must thoroughly understand the work they supervise and they must be able to train others to do it.
Conceptual skills give the managers the ability to see their organization as a whole with many parts that are interrelated and interdependent. Supervisors must be able to perceive themselves and their associates, teams, and sections as part of and, contributors to, other sections and the entire organization.
Acquiring (obtaining) a conceptual point of view becomes more important as the manager climbs higher on the management steps. Keeping in touch with other supervisors, e-mails official memos reports, reading the official correspondence, meetings, workshops will help him to be part of the team and help him to be up-to-date on all developments.
THE SUPERVISORS RESPONSIBILITIES
Relations with Subordinates
It is important that supervisors get to know their subordinates as individuals to create a good communication with them. This way a supervisor can tailor his approach to each subordinate individual working in his team. Subordinates will appreciate this attitude and they would enjoy working much better if they know that the supervisor cares about them. A very good sign that the supervisor cares for his people, as a common courtesy, is by using a person’s first name.
Some of the major responsibilities of the supervisor towards his/her subordinates can be listed as follows:
· Getting to know them as individuals
· Giving them the respect and trust they deserve
· Valuing their uniqueness and individuality
· Assigning subordinates work that fits their abilities
· Listening to their concerns
· Treating them as they want to be treated
· Providing them with adequate instruction and training
· Enabling them to do and give their best
· Encouraging them to be lifelong learners
· Handling their complaints and problems in a fair and just way
· Safeguarding their health and welfare while they are on the job
· Praising and providing constructive criticism
· Providing examples of proper conduct at work
Among these the most important is the last one. A team leader must “walk the talk” – make their action match their words.[1/2]
Relation with Peers
Peer is a person with the same level of authority and status as another. A supervisor’s peers are all the other supervisors within the whole company. Each supervisor’s peers normally are the bulk of their friends and associates at the work. They represent enormous pool of talent and experience that can be obtained and contribute to the work if relations are kept at friendly levels.
A supervisor’s responsibility towards his peers would include:
· Getting to know them individually
· Valuing their uniqueness and individuality
· Giving them the respect and trust they deserve
· Treating them as they would want to be treated
· Fostering a spirit of cooperation and teamwork
Relations with Superiors
Supervisors normally report to the middle managers. Middle manager is a manager of other managers or supervisors, who reports to the top management. Just like a supervisor the manager must develop and keep a sound working relationship with his/her subordinates, peers, and superiors. The responsibilities of supervisors towards their superiors would be as follows:
· Valuing their uniqueness and individuality
· Giving them their best effort and support they require
· Passing on information about problems, together with recommendations for solving them
· Operating within company policies
· Striving for constant improvement
· Seeking their council and using them
· Using the organization’s resources effectively
· Keeping them informed about the unit’s status
Being Effective and Efficient
Regardless the level of the manager, they are expected to do their job effectively and efficiently. Managers who reach the determined goals plan their work carefully, and keep up with their plans.
A manager’s effectiveness would be reaching his goal in the shortest possible time and effort. If he has a certain job on his hands to be completed his efficiency would be how long it would take to finish it with least amount of effort.
Efficiency, therefore, is performing the work in minimum amount of time, with minimum funds, and other resources.
SUPERVISORY ROLES
In many instances a supervisor can be looked upon as an actor. Just like actors, a supervisor must learn and act specific roles in fulfilling his duties. The exact role of each supervisor depends on his understanding of the job, as well as on the pressure, rewards, penalties (punishment), and guidelines brought to bear on them from inside and outside the organization.
Role Prescription is collection of expectations and demands from supervisors, subordinates, and others that share a manager’s job description and perception (view) of his/her job. The supervisor’s employees, peers, superior’s friends, family, and surrounding shapes up these roles that the supervisor plays.
Role Conflict is a condition that takes place when contradictory (clashing) or opposing demands are made from a supervisor. How they would handle this conflict and what action they would take to handle these situations depends on their own knowledge, and perception (insight) and on the situation at that particular time.
Role Ambiguity is uncertainty about a role the supervisor is expected to play. This will happen when there are contradictory demands made. When this happens a supervisor may do things they should not do, or may fail to do things he/she is expected to do. They may find it rather difficult to determine where one manager’s job begins and the other’s ends.
Role Performance. In a well operating organization everyone is expected to play his or her role properly. This will affect how well a firm is managed and reflects the harmony among the employees. In most private sector companies the employee’s do all kinds of work, regardless of their status in the management, in fulfilling their job.
CURRENT TRENDS AFFECTING SUPERVISORS
Supervisors are facing a much more challenging work environment today than in the past. Their job is increasing in its complexity. With the changes that are taking place in the company’s work force, and global competition, new problems and opportunities arise for the supervisors.
q Information and technology
q Quality and productivity improvement
§ Productivity
§ Quality
§ Reengineering
q Education
q Foreign ownership of businesses
q Valuing diversity
q Work schedules
§ Flextime
§ Compressed work week
§ Job sharing
§ Permanent part-time workers
§ Temporary workers
§ Telecommuting
q Utilization of teams
DISCUSSION
1. What is Management? Please give a definition.
2. Explain what you understand from Formal organization. What is the difference with Informal organization?
3. What are Conceptual skills?
4. What are some of the important responsibilities of the supervisor towards his/her subordinates?
KEY WORDS
Conceptual Skills
Formal organization
Informal organization
Effectiveness
Efficiency
Interpersonal Skills
Organization
Role Ambiguity
Role Conflict
Role prescription
Supervisor
Team facilitator
Technical Skills
Team leader
Technical Skills
CHAPTER 01
Review Questions
A) Fill-in-the-blanks in the following statements:
1. ______is a group of people who come and work together for the realization of a common goal.
2. ______ is a body that has a clearly set goal, divisions of labor among specialists, a rational design, and a hierarchy of authority and accountability.
3. A manager’s ______would be reaching his goal in the shortest possible time and effort.
4. ______serve and lead a team of employees from within that group, whereas ______look after one or more teams made up of their subordinates.
B) Place a circle (O) around the correct answer in the following statements:
1. All of the following are elements of planning, EXCEPT:
a) developing specific objectives.
b) developing a course of action.
c) developing and training new employees.
d) developing forecasts.
2. Acquiring a ______point of view becomes more important as the manager climbs higher on the management steps.
a) human
b) interpersonal
c) technical
d) conceptual
e) managerial
3. A manager’s ______would be reaching his goal in the shortest possible time and effort.
a) efficiency
b) effectiveness
c) supervision
d) ability
e) capability
4. ______ is the composition of the workfroce to include men, women, whites, blacks, Christians, Moslems, the disables, exconvicts, and similar people.
a) Formal organization
b) Informal organization
c) Workforce diversity
d) Global workforce
e) Multinational workforce
5. The collection of expectations and demands from supervisors, subordinates, and others that share a manager’s job description and perception (view) of his/her job, is referred to as;
a) role prescription.
b) role playing.
c) role ambiguity.
d) role conflict.
e) role performance.
C) Explain what you understand from formal organization? What is the difference of formal and informal organization?
CHAPTER 02
SUPERVISION IN THE 21st CENTURY
GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS
After the Second World War companies in the United States started opening to the world market because there was almost no competition. They eventually ended up buying or merging with developing European firms to strengthen their hold in this part of the world. In the recent years we have seen Ford growing stronger by buying Volvo, Chrysler by merging with Daimler Benz.[2/1]
In the same manner, most world leading companies started opening plants or selling their products in the United States. This led the US market to call upon the Americans to “buy national”. This also happened in the other countries. In Turkey people were asked to buy “Turkish products”. But what is “national product”? Is Sony television made in the US, or Spain, American or Japanese? What about Honda made in Adapazarı, Renault in Bursa? Or Arcelik that sells Samsung refrigerators under their own brand name. What about BMW. Is it a German or English car?