Learning Objectives:

After studying this chapter, you should be able to:

1. Describe the nature of the supervisor’s position in a management team.

2. Identify the key principles of management and explain how the supervisory
role differs from other levels of management.

3. Describe the major competencies supervisors are expected to bring to their

work, the resources supervisors must manage, and the results to be
obtained from them.

4. Discuss the need for balancing a concern for output and a concern for the
people who perform the work, while avoiding the tendency to abuse
supervisor’s power.

5. Discuss the general expectations employees have for their jobs, and explain
how and why different people have different perceptions of the nature of
their work.
Key Terms
The following key terms are present throughout chapter 1, and at the end of the chapter you
should have a basic comprehension of them.

Chain of Command: The formal channels in an organization that distribute

authority from top to bottom.

Division of Work: The principle that performance is more efficient when a large job
is broken down into smaller, specialized jobs.

Employee-centered Supervision: A method of supervision that places an

emphasis on a genuine concern and respect for employees, and on the
maintenance of effective relationships within a work group.

Executive: A top-level manager in charge of a group of subordinate managers; this

person establishes broad plans, objectives, and strategies.

Flexible Work Schedule (flextime): A system by which employees can choose—

and periodically change—the blocks of time in which they work.

Job Sharing: The process of taking one job and splitting its duties into two so that
the combined time and efforts of two persons will satisfy all the work demands.

Management Process: The major managerial functions of planning, organizing,

staffing, leading, and controlling, as carried out by all managers in a repetitive
sequence, for the attainment of results.

Management: The process of obtaining, deploying, and utilizing a variety of

essential resources in support of an organization’s objectives.

Manager: An individual who plans, organizes, directs, and controls the work of
others in an organization.
Middle Manager: A person who reports to an executive and who directs
supervisory personnel toward the attainment of goals and the implementation of
plans of an organization.

Nonmanagerial Employees: Often referred to as “employees” or “associates”;

workers who receive direction from supervisors and then perform specific,
designated tasks.

Performance Management: The ongoing process of clarifying and communicating

performance expectations to employees, and then providing coaching and
feedback to ensure the desired actions.

Supervisor: A manager who is in charge of, and coordinates the activities of, a
group of employees engaged in related activities within a unit of an organization.

Task-based Work: Jobs that allow employees to work away from the office, while
still making them accountable for results and staying connected via technology.

Task-centered Supervision: A method of supervision that places an emphasis on

the job or task that employees are expected to perform to produce results.

Telecommuting: Working at one’s home while being connected electronically to

the employer’s office.

Unity of Command: The principle that each individual should report to only one
boss.

Unity of Direction: The principle that there should be a single set of goals and
objectives that unifies the activities of everyone in an organization.

Workplace Bullies: Persons (supervisors or employees) who humiliate and abuse

others through their words and actions.
Outline

I. Members of a Unique Team

A. What is management? Why is it important?

1. Management

i. Management is the process of obtaining, deploying, and

utilizing a variety of essential resources to contribute to an
organization’s success—both effectively and efficiently.

ii. Managers are effective if they achieve their goals.

iii. Managers are efficient if they achieve their goals with a

minimal amount of resources for the amount of outputs
produced.

2. Managers

i. Managers are individuals who plan, organize, direct, and

control the work of others in an organization.

ii. Managers direct and guide the work of others rather than
perform the work themselves.

B. Where do supervisors fit in the management process?

1. Supervisors perform exactly the same functions, to a greater or

lesser degree, as all other managers in their organization—up to
and including the chief executive.
2. Management Process

i. The management process if the major managerial functions

of planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling, as
carried out by all managers in a repetitive sequence, for the
attainment of results.

a. Planning

• The function of setting goals and objectives and

converting them into specific plans.

• The planning process also establishes policies,

standard operating procedures, regulations, and
rules.

b. Organizing

• The function of lining up all available resources,

including departmental tools, equipment,
materials, and—especially—the workforce.

• During this stage the organizational structure of a

department is designed and its work is divided up
into jobs.

c. Staffing

• The function of adding employees to the

organizational structure.

• Supervisors interview, select, and train those

people who appear to be most suitable to fill the
open jobs.

d. Leading
 • The function of energizing the vital human
resources of a department by providing motivation,
communication, and leadership.

e. Controlling

• The function of measuring results, comparing them

with what was expected, judging how important
the differences may be, and then taking whatever
action is needed to bring results into line.

• Controlling is closely linked to planning, because

control actions are guided by the goals established
during the planning process.

C. How do managers differ by organizational level?

1. Managers, and the work they do, differ somewhat by the

organization they are in, the size of the firm, their industry, their
country’s cultural norms, their personal values and experiences,
and especially their level in the organization’s hierarchy.

2. Organizational Hierarchy

i. Executives

a. A top-level manager in charge of a group of subordinate

managers; this person establishes broad plans,
objectives, and strategies.

b. Executives motivate, direct, and monitor the work of the

managers who report to them.

ii. Middle Managers

 a. Managers who plan, initiate, and implement programs
that are intended to carry out the broader objectives set
by executives.

b. Middle managers motivate, direct and oversee the work

of the supervisors and employees who report to them.

iii. Supervisors

a. Managers who normally report to middle managers and

are responsible for getting the “line” employees to carry
out the plans and policies set by executives and middle
managers.

b. Supervisors plan, direct, motivate, and monitor the work

of nonmanagerial employees.

iv. Nonmanagerial Employees

a. Often referred to as “employees” or “associates”; workers

who receive direction from supervisors and then perform
specific, designated tasks.

D. Do employees ever do the work of supervisors?

1. It has become a common trend for members of self-managed

teams to share many of the responsibilities that supervisors
previously performed.

2. This has increased the need for supervisors to become better

coaches to develop supervisory skills in their employees.

II. A Body of Knowledge from Which to Draw

A. How can a supervisor become a manager?

1. Individuals who move into supervisory roles must being to think in

a systematic way.

2. Supervisors need to approach their work positively, rather than

passively.

3. Supervisors need to become aware of their involvement in a

complex system of organizational activities, and act accordingly.

B. How can you make a successful transition to a supervisory

role?

1. Some valuable tips for newly appointed supervisors include:

i. Accept that your prior relationships with co-workers will be

different now.

ii. Recognize that change creates problems for people;

introduce it slowly and carefully.

iii. Be careful not to play favorites among your employees.

iv. Do your homework so you can provide factual basis for your
decisions.

v. Invite and encourage knowledgeable employees to take

initiative.

vi. Thoroughly communicate in all directions, but listen intently

for at least the first three months.

vii. Don’t be afraid to ask for help from formal or informal

mentors.
 viii. Take good care of yourself—mentally, emotionally, and
physically—to forestall stress.

C. What are the basic principles of management?

1. Work should be divided so that each person will perform a

specialized portion.

i. Division of work

a. The principle that performance is more efficient when a

large job is broken down into smaller, specialized jobs.

2. Managers must have the authority to give orders and instructions,

but must also accept responsibility for whether the work is done
correctly and be accountable for their actions and use of resources.

3. Managers are responsible for exacting discipline and building

morale among members of their workforce, but must reciprocate
by offering something of value.

4. An individual should have only one boss.

i. Unity of command

a. The principle that each individual should report to only

one boss.

5. Every organization should have only one master plan, one set of
overriding goals.

i. Unity of Direction
 a. The principle that there should be a single set of goals
and objectives that unifies the activities of everyone in an
organization.

6. All individuals, especially managers, should plan their personal

interests second to those of the total organization.

7. Pay and rewards should reflect each person’s efforts and, more
important, each person’s contribution to the organization’s goal.

8. Orders and instructions should flow down a chain of command

from the higher manager to the lower one.

i. Chain of command

a. The formal channels in an organization that distribute

authority from top to bottom.

9. Employees should be treated equally and fairly, so that employees

feel a sense of equity.

10. Managers should encourage initiative among employees.

D. How do supervisory job roles differ from those at other

levels of management?

1. Supervisory roles can be divided into three different types:

i. Technical Skills

a. Job know-how; knowledge of the industry and its

particular processes, equipment, and problems.

ii. Administrative Skills

 a. Knowledge of the entire organization and how it is
coordinated, knowledge of its information and records
system, capacity to interact with key constituents, and
ability to plan and control work.

iii. Interpersonal Skills

a. Knowledge of human behavior and the ability to work

effectively with individuals and groups—peers and
superiors as well as subordinates.

E. How do time horizons differ?

1. Higher-level executives are more concerned with the long-term

future than are supervisors.

2. Executives and middle managers are paid to plan for and create
results that will happen next month or next year.

3. Supervisors have a shorter time horizon that evolve around hour-

by-hour and day-to-day problems.

III. Many Competencies Required

A. Where do new supervisors come from?

1. Three out of four supervisors are promoted from the ranks of the
organization in which they serve.

2. About 10 percent enter a supervisory position directly from college

or technical institute or are specially prepared by a company-
sponsored training program.
 3. About 15 percent are hired into the position from another
company or organization.

B. How does the transition into supervision take place?

1. The transition from worker to supervisor often moves through fiver

overlapping stages over several months or years:

i. Taking Hold

a. Usually a short phase, where the focus is on learning how

to run the department, establishing personal credibility,
and beginning to build a power base.

ii. Immersion

a. Phase lasts longer as a supervisor gets to know the real

problems of the department and becomes fully informed
about the operations there.

iii. Reshaping

a. During this phase a supervisor gradually rebuilds the

department to fit his or her style.

iv. Consolidation

a. In this phase the supervisor works to remove deeply

rooted problems while perfecting the changes made in
previous periods.

v. Refinement

a. During this phase the supervisor fine-tunes the

operations, consolidates the gains, and seeks new
opportunities for making creative improvements.
C. What personal characteristics does higher management look
for in selecting supervisors?

1. The most sought-after qualities in a supervisor include:

i. Job-related Technical Competence

a. Job knowledge

b. Grasp of financial information

c. Results orientation

ii. Career-related Skills

i. Problem solving

ii. Communication

iii. Leadership

iv. Teachability

v. Ability to adapt to change

vi. Capacity to build a cohesive team

vii. Demonstrated ability to get along with people

viii. Capacity to present oneself professionally in public

iii. Personal Characteristics

a. Integrity and credibility

 b. Tenacity, dedication, and perseverance

c. Flexibility

d. Risk-taking propensity

e. Willingness to take initiative

f. Tolerance for stress

g. Positive attitude

h. Dependability and reliability

i. Creativity

j. Energy and good health

D. What main supervisory behaviors are associated with

results?

1. There are a number of regularly performed duties of the

supervisory job that require attention, the broadest being
performance management.

i. Performance management

a. The ongoing process of clarifying and communicating

performance expectations to employees, and then
providing coaching and feedback to ensure the desired
actions.

E. What two major end results are supervisors seeking?

 1. The purpose of the management process is to convert the
resources available to a supervisor’s department into a useful end
result, such as a product or a service.

i. Product

a. A product might be an actual finished product such as a

smartphone or computer, or it may be a component of a
finished product, such as a camera lens for a
smartphone.

ii. Service

a. A service may be provided directly to a consumer, or may

be a service that is provided to other organizations of
businesses.

2. The management process is designed to make sure that the result

is at least as valuable as the cost of the initial resources and the
expense of the operating process.

i. A profit is made when the end result (product or service) can

be sold at a price that is higher than the total cost of
providing.

ii. If the sold price is lower than the total cost of providing than
a business assumes a loss.

F. What do supervisors need to know about systems?

1. All organizations are systems with inputs and outputs and every
department and individual within an organization play a role in
making those systems work.

2. Elements of a systems approach include:

 i. Recognition of the many variables in operation.

ii. Casual connections among parts of the system

(interdependencies).

iii. Subsystems nested within larger systems.

iv. Cyclical repletion of inputs, processes, outputs, and

feedback.

v. Consequences (results) that may be positive or negative,

intended or unintended, and short- or long-term in nature.

vi. Recognition that there are often multiple paths to the same
end result.

3. A systems perspective encourages supervisors to engage in

analytical and critical thinking, search for causes that underlie
problems, and see problems from a holistic and integrative
viewpoint.

G. How is supervisory performance judged by higher

management?

1. Supervisory performance is judged by two measures:

i. How well supervisors manage the various resources made

available to accomplish an assignment.

ii. How good the results are in terms of several criteria.

2. Management of Resources
 i. Resources include facilities and equipment, utilities,
materials and supplies, human resources, information
technologies, and money.

ii. Supervisors need to manage resources effectively by holding

waste to a minimum while focusing on cost savings and
improvements in efficiency.

3. Attainment of Results

i. If supervisors manage resources properly they should get

the desired results.

ii. Results are judged by how well supervisors meet four key
objectives:

a. Quantity

b. Quality and workmanship

c. Costs and budget control

d. Management of human resources

IV. A Concern for Both Work and People

A. Supervisor balance: What does it mean?

1. Supervisory balance is when as much attention is paid to

interpersonal factors as to technical and administrative matters
combined.

2. Supervisors need to be as employee centered as they are job or

task centered in their interests.
 i. Employee-centered Supervision

a. A method of supervision that places an emphasis on a

genuine concern and respect for employees, and on the
maintenance of effective relationships within a work
group.

ii. Task-centered Supervision

a. A method of supervision that places an emphasis on the

job or task that employees are expected to perform to
produce results.

B. What’s a normal day in the life of a supervisor?

1. There is no such thing as a typical day for a supervisor.

2. A typical supervisor handles from 50 to 80 problems a day.

3. Supervisors should try their best to put order and system into their
workday.

C. What kinds of pressures do new supervisors face?

1. Supervisors face both internal and external factors on a daily basis.

2. Supervisors need to be focused on micro and short-range issues.

3. Some environmental factors that affect supervisors include:

i. Technology, existing and changing.

ii. Legal restrictions.

 iii. Organizational policies and procedures.

iv. Pressures for meeting quantity, quality, and cost control

goals.

v. Competition with other supervisors for scarce resources.

vi. A sometimes overwhelming amount of information.

vii. Rising expectations of employees for meaningful work, work-

life balance, and opportunities to participate in decision
making.

viii. Globalization of business, with employees, operations, and

markets thousands of miles away.

ix. Changes in the composition of the workforce.

x. Economic uncertainty.

4. Supervisors can handle pressures best by:

i. Admitting that they need help, and seek it from peers, higher
level managers, and employees.

ii. Providing a strong role model for employees by

demonstrating good work habits.

iii. Anticipating both changes and crises and preparing for them.

iv. Listening a lot and minimizing arguments with others.

v. Learning to handle the inevitable stress from the job.

D. Workplace bullying: What is it and what are its effects?

 1. Workplace Bullies

i. Persons (supervisors or employees) who humiliate and

abuse others through their words and actions.

ii. Bullies are often described as nasty, rude, insensitive,

tyrannical, self-centered, and oblivious to their effects on
people.

2. The consequences of bullying in the workplace to employees

includes:

i. Psychological distress (worry, anxiety, depression, emotional

exhaustion).

ii. Performance declines (lowered job interest, mistakes, work

slowdowns, sabotage).

iii. Undesirable behaviors (absenteeism, turnover, lowered

commitment, lessened cooperation and helpfulness).

iv. The spread of bullying by recipients towards their co-

workers, suppliers, and customers.

3. When bullying exists, supervisors must confront the behavior and

demand that it cease.

V. Understanding Employee Expectations and

Perceptions

A. How widespread is employee job satisfaction?

 1. About 50 percent of all employees are reasonably satisfied with
their jobs.

2. Job satisfaction appears to improve with age, as younger people

are far more dissatisfied with their work.

B. What do today’s workers expect from their jobs?

1. Employees expect a job that challenges their skills, provides

autonomy and flexibility, creates an opportunity for balance
between work pressures and home life, and offers fair pay in
return for extra effort.

C. What should supervisors call subordinates and why does it

matter?

1. The two terms “employee” and “worker” have traditionally been

used to differentiate lower-level, non-exempt employees from
managerial (or exempt) employees.

2. The terms “subordinate” implies a lesser status and may be

offensive to some employees.

3. A recent trend by many organizations is to call employees by the

term “colleagues”, “team members”, or “associates”.

D. What should supervisors know about employees in general?

1. All employees differ through two important factors—individual

differences and the role of perceptions.

2. Individual Differences

i. People differ in physical dimensions and appearance as well

as in emotional and intellectual capacities, which in turn
 produces predictable differences in their desires for jobs and
rewards.

3. Individual Perceptions

i. Perceptions are what individuals develop through past

experiences, mental models, and even trivial events.

E. What causes employees to perceive similar kinds of work

differently?

1. The way people perceive things, including their jobs or the work
they are asked to do, is influenced by five factors:

i. Past experiences with similar work.

ii. Assumptions about the motivation of others.

iii. Expectations about what will happen.

iv. The reliability of information.

v. The present state of mind.

F. What programs or systems can improve employees’

perceptions of their work environment?

1. Flexible Work Schedule (Flextime)

i. A system by which employees can choose—and periodically

change—the blocks of time in which they work.
 ii. Under flextime systems, employees have the chance to tailor
their work schedule to their personal needs and reduce the
number of commutes per week.

2. Job Sharing

i. The process of taking one job and splitting its duties into two
so that the combined time and efforts of two persons will
satisfy all the work demands.

3. Telecommuting

i. Working at one’s home, while being connected electronically

to the employer’s office.

ii. Telecommuters avoid the hassles of commuting, experience

fewer interruptions, and can spend more time with family
members.

iii. Productivity of employees often rises 10 to 20 percent for

telecommuting employees.

4. Task-based Work

i. Jobs that allow employees to work away from the office,

while still making them accountable for results and staying
connected via technology.

ii. The basic requirements of task-based jobs are:

a. Specify the results expected and make employees

accountable for attaining them.

b. Allow employees to work from anywhere they choose,

depending on contemporary technological networking
capabilities.
c. Assess employee performance based on the quantity and
quality of work produced.

d. Make physical attendance at the office voluntary. Reduce

the number and length of meetings.