Fundemetals of Supervision

Book: Supervision: Key Link to Productivity 8e, Rue, Leslie and Byaas, Lloyd
Chapter 1 The Supervisor's Job

1. What is supervision?
   
   1. the first level of management in organization
   2. Concerned with encouraging the members if work unit to contribute positively.
   3. Supervisor must have varied skills
2. Who are supervisors?
   1. First established in the Bible (Moses)
   2. Have various levels. Top. Middle. Supervisor
   3. Fair Labor Standards Act defines who a manager is.
3. Sources of Supervisory Talent
   1. From within organization
   2. Officers of Labor Unions
   3. College graduates
4. The Functions of Supervision
   1. Functions
      1. Planning - determine where you are at, determine the objective, and determine best way to reach goals.
      2. Organizing - distributing the work among the employees.
      3. Staffing - obtaining and developing good people.
      4. Leading - directing people to accomplish of work objectives.
      5. Controlling - see if objectives met and correcting
      6. Various levels of management will use these skills in different percentages, but all are necessary for good supervisory skills.
   2. Skills - Another way to look at skills breaks into 4 groups
      1. Technical - knowledge of how things are done
      2. Human Relations Skills - how to work with people
      3. Administrative Skills - how the organization works
      4. Decision making skills - analyze and make decisions
      5. Theses skills like above are in different mix based on level of management.
   3. Key Reasons for Supervisory success
      1. ability and willingness to delegate
      2. proper use of Authority
      3. setting a good example
      4. Recognize Change in roll.
      5. Desire for job
5. The Changing Nature of the Supervisor's Environment
   1. Changes in Information Availability
      1. Access to Internet
      2. Cell phones, teleconferencing and the like.
      3. These rapid changes require more skilled employees
   2. Changes in Outlook towards the Work Environment
      1. Workforce demographics
         1. Workforce has more woman
         2. Workforce has more Hispanics (taking over as primary minority)
         3. Workforce is getting older
      2. Opportunities and Challenges of Diversity
         1. Everyone is not the same and these differences presents challenges (and contributions)
         2. Glass ceiling
            1. Woman and other minorities cannot rise above a certain point in great numbers
            Organizations and government are looking on how to change this.
      3. Guidelines for Managing Diversity
         1. Focus on observable behavior
         2. Avoid stereotyping
         3. Evaluate output, not input
         4. Don't make assumptions about nonstandard behavior
         5. Provide feedback based on observations
         6. Don't tolerate nonbehavioral assumptions from anyone
         7. Test your own behaviors
6. Supervision: Key Link to Productivity