Principles of Supervision

Supervisors and Their Roles

• A supervisor is an employee who has the power and authority to give instructions and/or orders to subordinates, be held responsible for their work and actions, and can be called assistant manager, department head, head coach, team leader, shift leader/captain, or foreman.

The Transition: Where Supervisors Come From

• Supervisors can come from internal promotions, which have advantages such as:
  • Inside person understands the organization and its culture
  • Management has firsthand knowledge of the employee’s track record and can use this as a predictor of success
  • Serves as a reward and incentive for the person promoted
• Internal promotions also have disadvantages, including:
  • Promoted employee may not have the requisite skills/qualification
  • Resentment from fellow employees – especially those that applied and were not successful
• Supervisors can also come from the external environment, which has advantages such as:
  • Introduction of new ideas
  • People have a wider range of experience
• External hiring also has disadvantages, including:
  • May cause resentment among present employees
  • Demotivation

Functions of Supervision

• The functions of supervision include:
  • Planning, which involves developing the business' mission and objectives and determining how they will be accomplished
  • Organizing, which involves determining which subordinates are best qualified to perform certain tasks
  • Staffing, which involves selecting new employees, orienting and training them, appraising them, etc.
  • Directing, which involves leading, motivating, developing, and appropriately recognizing subordinate efforts
  • Controlling, which involves comparing actual results with anticipated results, using appropriate standards, and then taking corrective action when necessary

Characteristics of Effective Supervisors

• Effective supervisors have characteristics such as:
  • Getting others to cooperate by convincing them that higher management is dependent upon them and answering their questions
  • Listening to others, which requires being tuned in to the message being communicated as well as the feelings being communicated
  • Delegating responsibilities, which helps extend the supervisors’ capabilities, encourages teamwork, and results in higher productivity
  • Understanding employees, which requires understanding a number of background characteristics, including ability to think, social traits, personality traits, character, work habits, and relationship with others
  • Treating others fairly, which is essential for building trust and avoids damaging the supervisor-subordinate relationship

Special Skills of Supervisors

• Effective supervisors have special skills, including:
  • Conceptual skills, which enable them to analyze a wide variety of situations
  • Human skills, which enable them to work effectively with others, including subordinates, peers, and superiors
  • Technical skills, which enable them to better understand the nature of various operations and tasks for which they have responsibility
  • Teaching skills, which enable them to train their subordinates
  • Coaching skills, which enable them to develop their subordinates
  • Counseling skills, which enable them to help subordinates in a variety of ways
  • Communication skills, which enable them to relate well with their subordinates

Other Important Aspects of Supervision

• Supervisors should help subordinates deal with stress as soon as possible, as excessive stress can cause burnout
• Stress can be caused by various factors, including having too much to do in too short a time, not having clearly defined goals, not being involved, not being challenged, and having personal problems
• Supervisors are responsible for avoiding sexual harassment of their subordinates and for stressing that their subordinates avoid sexually harassing one another
• Supervisors should know what constitutes sexual harassment and implement policy that prohibits it
• Disciplining employees should be seen as teaching, enabling, or correcting endeavor, and should be done effectively to avoid causing irreparable damage
• Terminating employees should be the last and only remaining viable alternative, and supervisors should use proper procedures when doing so

This quiz covers the basics of supervision, including the definition of a supervisor, their responsibilities, and different levels in the traditional organizational pyramid.