Public - Introduction to Supervisory Management

Introduction to Supervisory Management

Employers Confederation of the Philippines

Managers and Supervisors

Managers create and maintain an internal environment, commonly called the organization, so that others can work efficiently in it. Managers organize, direct, and control this internal environment. This environment has four basic elements that can be managed:

People

Technology

Capital goods

Jobs or postions

Supervisors are managers whose major functions emphasize leading, coordinating, and directing the work of others in order to achieve the group’s goals. (Basic supervision is concerned with the first or second level of supervision within the organization.) For example, managers my plan how to use machines in a production facility but may not consider the people who will use the machines as the central element in their planning process. Other managers may be concerned with markets, or money, or public relations. These activities involve people, but people are not the central thrust of the planning effort. Supervisors, however, belong to the part of management that considers people as the central element. Supervisors must be good at working with and through people. They must see that subordinate’s needs are met and that department objectives are also met, and they must try to achieve this coordination with a minimum of distress and a maximum of goodwill and harmony.

The term supervisor can be applied at all levels of the organization to those who direct the activities of others. In common usage, however, the title has tended to be used only in the lower ranks of the management hierarchy. If an organization were divided into top, middle, and lower managerial levels, the term probably would apply to the lower level.

For example, in a manufacturing or construction organization, supervisory titles may include supervisor, foreman, general foreman, and superintendent. In a service organization, supervisory titles may include supervisor, coordinator, specialist, and manager. These job’s titles may cover the first two or three levels of lower management, and the order of ranking may vary from company to company. In one company a supervisor may be higher in rank than a foreman. In another company this order may be reversed.

Technical Aspects: Structure

The supervisor is responsible for carrying out the assigned technical functions of his job. This means that the supervisor must understand production methods and processes, production control, jobs design, budgeting, disciplining, decision making, and control. Whether on a production line or in an office, the work has to be done in the most efficient way, and the process or system followed in order to get the work done efficiently is the responsibility of the supervisor.

Human Aspects: Activating

The supervisor tries to cooperate with the individual employees in order to maintain the motivation to work and to work well. This need becomes the human aspect of supervision. Success depends on the supervisor's’ ability to understand and use different leadership models, to introduce change, to counsel, and to delegate, to motive, and to interpret and communicate the goals and objectives of the organization effectively to the group.

practical “how to do it” approach

APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF SUPERVISORY MANAGEMENT

broad management theory approach

Among the many approaches to the study of supervisory management, we can categorize three basic approaches and a fourth, modified approach. We can describe these four approaches in terms of the major emphasis in each:

behavioral-organizational approach

modified behavioral-organizational approach.

The “How to Do It” Approach

The “how to do it” approach describes practical techniques and some extent how to develop them. All explanations of supervision incorporate a degree of this approach. Practical “how to do it” techniques are very widely studied. But the “how to do it” approach tends to minimize the need to understand why these techniques are working or not working. This is analogous to using a mathematical formula without knowing why. Thus this approach assumes (sometimes incorrectly) that very problem can be clearly defined and solved. Precise, clear thinking is always necessary, but if the solution formula does not have all the right variables or the formula itself is not right, then the entire procedure is pointless. Using the “right” techniques in the “wrong” place or at the “wrong” time can be awkward. Using the “right” technique in the “right” place can very rewarding. Obviously, the “how to do it” approach can be very useful on a day-to-day basis.

The Broad Management Theory Approach

Some of the shortcomings of the previous approach are overcome by the broad management theory approach. Here, supervision is treated as an integral part of management and all the functions and theory of top and middle management are also taught at the supervisory level. Supervisors should, of course, have an understanding of planning, organizing, directing, and controlling and how these management functions are used. But the broad management approach tends to minimize the study of the supervisor’s distinct and unique problems. The supervisor is the only manager who supervises non management people. The broad management theory approach tends to overlook the supervisory environment, supervisory problems, and the unique position of the supervisor within the total organization.

The Behavioral-Organizational Approach

This approach tries to incorporate the previous two approaches but within the framework of the supervisor’s organization and from a leader-manager-human relations perspective. The supervisor’s is a leader, and therefore must understand people, organizational structure and behavior, and the modern corporation and its environment. Furthermore, as a manger, the supervisor must understand the how and why of management as it related to the supervisory position. This approach emphasizes motivation, communication, counseling, and training. It explains how and what to do in particular instances and uses the techniques of group dynamics, role playing, and personal development. This perspective shows the supervisor from a behavioral science point of view. The approach tends to minimize the pragmatic “how to do it” and to de-emphasize the traditional managerial functions common to the two previous approaches. In addition, this approach minimizes the importance of economic and marketing realities.

A Modified Behavioral-Organizational Approach

This approach uses the methods of the behavioral-organizational approach while attempting to incorporate the major advantages of the other two approaches. It emphasizes that the supervisor, first of all, is a human being who has very close ties and relationships with subordinates, superiors, and staff or advisory people. Supervisors must understand and be able to work with and through people. This is , of course, true at all levels of management. However, the supervisory level of management places the highest priority not only on the ability to perform with other people, but also on the ability to reduce costs and meet production schedules. The supervisor must understand why the supervisory position is so vital within the organization. Business operates in a competitive environment that is worldwide. This competitive economic environment requires the organization to make a profit by creating the highest quality of product, priced at a level that provides the customer with the greatest value.

Scientific Management

Foundations of Management

Bureaucracy

Principles of Management

Foundations of Management

Scientific management

Foundations of Management

Bureaucracy

Foundations of Management

Principles of Management