Supervisor

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Introduction

Special Olympics Ireland 00 � A fine example of effective Supervisory Management, involving organisations within and between many nations.

In our fast evolving economy the roles played by supervisors is changing on a daily basis. Ever since the days of the Industrial Revolution when the supervisor’s primarily role was to maintain authority over their subordinates. In today’s environment where change is constant, the supervisor’s responsibilities have never been greater. To be a successful supervisor in an organisation with positive or negative cash flow requires varied attributes.

As (Harvey 14, pp 15) states, supervision can be defined




‘Anyone at the first level of management who has responsibility for the work of others’.

Effective supervisors are persons who are good at doing their job and at getting other people to do theirs. As Gillespie (14, p1) comments

‘The supervisor gets the people in their departments to do what they want done, when it should be done and the way they want it done, because they want to do it’.

The supervisor is the link between senior management and shop floor operatives. As Likert (167) wrote

‘Supervisors are the linking pins between senior management and employees’.

The supervisor is responsible for ensuring work schedules are met, productivity i.e. input versus output levels achieved by his / her group of shop floor operatives.

In order for productivity to be met the supervisor must have the necessary skill, knowledge and ability to communicate, plan, organise, motivate his / her group of operatives and integrate with other groups within the organisation. In today’s ethos of Total Quality Management (TQM) advocated by Demming and Juran ‘Just In Time’ manufacturing concept is highly dependant on inter-company departments / groups working from the same schedule lead time / delivery due dates.

This document analysis the main skills, knowledge and ability required by today’s supervisor.

Discussion

Central to the classical management theories was the supervisor’s role to rule or maintain authority over their subordinates. For companies to maintain competitiveness in today’s marketplace they must be flexible and adaptable to change. The supervisor is seen as the key person ensuring the organisation’s ability to implement change by effectively motivating and leading their workforce. Therefore in today’s environment the classical theory of authority is not longer the norm. Today’s supervisor plays more a facilitator’s role.

To achieve organisational goals managers perform several major functions or activities planning, organising, staffing and personnel, leading, and controlling.

As Katz (1740-10) stated, there are three core competencies of management. Depending on his / her level within the hierarchy.

Human Skills

Technical Skills

Conceptual Skills

1. Human Skill

In order to work well with other people a supervisor requires good human skills. For supervisors to deal with their subordinates effectively, they must develop their abilities to motivate and communicate with others. Human skill is required by all supervisor’s and managers as they have to deal with others.

. Technical Skill

Technical skill is the ability to perform a specialised task involving a particular method or process. Most people develop a set of technical skills; the daily activities of most personnel involve the use of some technical skills. As people rise within the organisation they spend less time using technical skills.

. Conceptual Skill

Conceptual skills involve the ability of personnel to see the organisation as a whole, to recognise complex and dynamic issues and to examine factors that influence these problems and resolve such situations.

To be able to communicate, get on well with subordinates and other department supervisors, each supervisor requires good human skills. For supervisors to manager subordinates effectively they must develop their abilities to motivate and communicate. From my experience the human skills factor is the most important attribute to the successful delivery of output against required specifications.

Once the subordinates respect your decision or direction the greater drive or momentum will be present in achieving the common goal within the organisation. When speaking about the common goal it is imperative that all subordinates understand what exactly the common goal is. Effective communications is the ‘life blood’ of an organisation. Organisations that are highly successful have strong communications. One of the first signs that an organisation is struggling is when communications between top management and general operatives breaks down. In today’s every changing environment it can be quite a task for the supervisor to keep all his / her subordinates up to date. From my previous employment been a supervisor I found daily and weekly planned communication forum’s as the most effective means of keeping all informed. Holding daily and weekly meetings documenting action complete during the previous day and week, planning activities for the coming day and week to be most effective. Also utilising this forum for receiving feedback from the shop floor. En-stilling believe in subordinates that been the supervisor you are interested in the welfare of the subordinates.

A good supervisor must place high priority on coaching operatives. Good coaching involves working with operatives to establish suitable goals, action plans and time lines.

Supervision includes conducting basic management skills (decision making, problem solving, planning, delegation and meeting management), organising subordinates, noticing the need for and designing new job roles in the organisation, hiring new operatives, training new operatives, operative performance review (setting goals, observing and giving feedback, firing operatives, etc.) and ensuring conformance to personnel policies and other internal regulations

The supervisor delegates and also provides ongoing guidance and support to the subordinates as they complete their action plans. Rarely can job goals be established without considering other aspects of an subordinate’s life, e.g., time available for training, career preferences, personal strengths and weaknesses. A supervisor is sometimes confronted with walking a fine line between being a supervisor and the operative’s confident.

Often, the supervisor is the first person to tell subordinates about new policies and programs from management. Its not uncommon that subordinates are confused or frustrated by these new actions, and need further clarification and support from supervisors. In the rapidly changing world of todays organisations, it can be a major challenge to present new programs to subordinates without they being frustrated or even cynical. The supervisor must be authentic, yet tactful.

The supervisor has got to the balance right between the utilisation of each of the management theories. While Fayol’s fourteen principles where very much thought of as rules and were very inflexible they still serve as good guidelines to today’s supervisor. Taylor’s ‘scientific management’ breaks down each job into its simplest elements, this theory is still relevant in setting up workflows.

However, today’s supervisor must be careful not to transmit the feeling to his / her subordinates that they are basically a pair of hands and only take the place of a robot. The supervisor must contrive the fact that the subordinates own the process. I do not believe subordinates can be directly motivated, but must be empowered so they feel they contribute to the process.

From my own experience based on previous employment, I was tasked with the introduction of an automated system, which made the manual process redundant. Taylor’s ‘scientific management’ syndrome could have set in to the detriment of the organisation, however through effective communication, coaching and training there was a seamless introduction of the automated system. So much so that due to the extensive training provided and operative empowerment operatives contributed to substantial process improvements and subsequent cost savings. Cost savings that operatives were made aware of and rewarded for.

Having researched the different management style theories, I feel every supervisory situation requires the utilisation of elements from each theory and using ones own past experience. From a lecture

Byrnes (00) Roles of the supervisor’. Lecture. NCIR, October.

‘The skills of a supervisor are 70/0/10, 70% experience, 0% reading, 10% training’.

Real skill in working with others must become a natural, continuous activity, since it involves sensitivity not only at times of decision-making but also in the day-by-day behaviour of the subordinate(s). Human skill cannot be a ‘something’. Techniques cannot be randomly applied and personality traits be put on or removed like changes in the weather.

The supervisor is often responsible to represent the subordinate(s) requests to management, also representing the subordinate(s) case for deserving a reward. For example, if a subordinate deserves a promotion, the supervisor often must justify the case for promotion to management. If the subordinate has a rather unique personal situation that warrants special consideration by the rest of management, the supervisor must explain this situation and how it can be handled. Its not unusual for subordinates to sometimes see the supervisor as part of ‘management’ while at other times seeing the supervisor as a personal friend

Supervisors receive orders from top management, structure the order and implement it in an effective user friend way as possible is a fundamental ability for the successfully supervisor.

As Peter Ducker once wrote (The Peter Drucker interview www.business.com)

There is a 1th-century German proverb “Don’t go near your prince unless he calls for you twice.” You go ahead and do things. You don’t ask for permission because that implies the other fellow can say no. Yes, you risk ending up in jail. You have to take that risk.

In my view the risk that Drucker refers to can be significantly reduced by what I feel is the second most important supervisory skill, technical skill.

Conclusion

The role of supervisory management has come full circle in recent years. The origins of management suggests the need for an authoritative and commanding person, today’s supervisor is more of a coach or mentor to people rather than a director (or dictator).

The effective supervisor needs to learn how to approach each situation, and select from a body of skills and knowledge. Knowledge gained from training and experience, and in particular an understanding of people, processes and the law, are the keys to successful supervision. The art is in applying them.

Of all the skills required to be an effective supervisor it’s unrealistic to think that these skills are not interrelated, however I feel its well worthwhile developing them independently.



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