CH-12-13 Managing Conflict, Stress, and Time – Supervisory Management: The Art of Inspiring, Empowering and Developing People : Chapter Notes

This Document Contains Chapters 12 to 13 Chapter 12 Managing Conflict, Stress, and Time The Facilitator: Developing Trusting Relationships John Duncan works for TSI Consultants facilitating partnering workshops for large-scale construction projects. His job involves coordinating pre-meetings with the key stakeholders, who typically include the owner(s), architect(s), prime contractor(s), and key subcontractors, to determine the main issues and establish an agenda for the partnering meeting. John’s task during the one- to three-day partnering retreat is to provide facilitation to the group such that they are able to create a project management culture focused on joint problem solving. One particular project involved the U.S. Navy and the city of Honolulu on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. The Navy was in the process of transferring a particular piece of property to the city to be used for administrative office space. In his premeeting conversations with the key stakeholders, John did not detect any noticeable anger or conflict. Therefore, the agenda he devised primarily focused on establishing common goals, creating a project mission statement, identifying potential issues, and developing action plans to address each issue. I. Causes of Conflict 1. Different goals or objectives • If departments or individuals within an organization are working toward different goals, then conflict is almost always dysfunctional. It is important to develop a common set of goals everyone supports. 2. Communication • Misunderstandings may be due to semantics, unfamiliar language, or incomplete information will surely lead to conflict. 3. Structure • Competition for scarce resources, power struggles may occur between departments with conflicting objectives or objectives or reward systems, or interdependence of two or more groups to achieve their goals occur with organizational changes such as downsizing. 4. Personal • Incompatibility of personal goals or social values of employees with the role behavior required by their jobs will lead to conflict, as will certain personality characteristics, such as authoritarianism or dogmatism. Individual stress can also be a source of intrapersonal and interpersonal conflict. 5. Change • Fears associated with having to accomplish a task differently, job security or the loss of personal power and prestige can cause abnormal behavior. • Change can be threatening. Even change perceived to be positive can cause conflict when individuals are responsible for new duties and tasks can be threatening. • Mary Parker Follett preferred solution was the integration process, whereby everyone wins, as opposed to a win–lose situation, or a watered-down compromise so neither side gets what it wants. II. Conflict Management Styles • The five conflict management styles are based on the concern an individual has for self and for others: 1. Avoiding • Avoiding is an unassertive, uncooperative style in which the individual’s concern for self and others is low. • It is a useful style when dealing with trivial issues or when the negative consequences of confrontation outweigh the need for resolution. 2. Accommodating • Accommodating is an unassertive, cooperative style in which the individual’s concern for self is low while their concern for others is high. • It is an appropriate style to use when the issue is more important to the other party or the other party is right. 3. Forcing • Forcing is an assertive, uncooperative style in which the individual’s concern for self is high while his concern for others is low. • This approach uses power to resolve conflict. 4. Compromising • Compromising is a somewhat assertive, cooperative style in which the individual has a moderate amount of concern for self and others. • The objective is to find a middle ground. The compromising style is appropriate when the parties have reached an impasse due to mutually exclusive goals. 5. Collaborating • Collaborating is an assertive, cooperative approach in which the individual has a high concern for self and others. • Collaboration is a problem-solving style. It is effective when dealing with conflict “head on,” trying to surface all of the pertinent issues, and attempting to interpret differing points of view. • Conflict management theory today supports collaboration as the appropriate approach to resolve conflict. • During the 1970s and 1980s, the contingency movement gained momentum. • Collaboration is a conflict management style more appropriate for ad hoc task forces and long-term strategic problems. III. Using Principled Negotiation to Resolve Conflict • Fisher and Ury of the Harvard negotiation project emphasize, whether negotiation involves a peace settlement among nations or a business contract, people often engage in positional bargaining. • Positional bargaining involves proposing and then giving up a sequence of positions. • For this form of negotiation to succeed, it must meet three criteria of fair negotiation: • It should produce a wise agreement if agreement is possible, it should be efficient, and it should improve, or at least not damage, the relationship between the parties. • When people bargain over positions, they tend to back, themselves into corners, resulting in either win-lose or lose-lose outcomes. • Arguing over positions often endangers an ongoing relationship. When negotiations involve more than two parties, positional bargaining makes it difficult to negotiate an agreement. • Fisher and Ury developed an alternative to positional bargaining they call principled negotiation, or negotiation on the merits. The four basic components of principled negotiation are as follows: ○ Separating the people from the problem ○ Focusing on interests, not positions ○ Generating a variety of possibilities before deciding what to do ○ Insisting that the result be based on some objective standard. IV. Overcoming Interpersonal Conflicts • Principled negotiation is an excellent approach for dealing with conflicts among departments within an organization or resolving conflicts in joint ventures or partnerships. • A more common problem is managing interpersonal conflicts. • This challenge has accelerated because of fears of downsizing, mergers, and unknown organizational futures. • Dysfunctional interpersonal conflict can lead to poor morale, low productivity, increased absenteeism, and higher turnover. • Supervisors must learn conflict resolution strategies and teach them to other employees. • Many interpersonal conflicts occur when one person finds another person’s behavior uncomfortable, bullying, or irritating. V. What Is Stress? A. Definition of Stress • Stress can be defined as any external stimulus that causes wear and tear on one’s psychological or physical well being. • Modern men and women sometimes react to the strains of work and everyday life the same way the primitive ancestors did, when there is danger a chemical reaction in the body that allowed them to either fight or flee.. • Job stress is “a condition arising from the interaction of people and their jobs and characterized by changes within people that force them to deviate from their normal functioning.” • Under normal conditions, our body and mind are in a state of equilibrium. Equilibrium may be disrupted by events on- or off-the-job. B. The Costs of Stress • Two thirds of all visits to doctors involve stress related symptoms. • Stress is a major contributor to heart disease, cancer, lung problems, accidents, cirrhosis of the liver, and suicide. • Stress symptoms play a major role in absenteeism, accidents, and lost productivity. • A person under severe and/or prolonged stress cannot function as effectively. C. The Positive Aspects of Stress • Moderate amounts of stress improve performance. • Life is full of stressors that can stimulate, energize, and aid in such positive outcomes as individual health and high productivity. VI. Major Causes of Stress A. Life Events • Stress occurs whenever people face situations that require changes in behavior and a higher level of activity. • Researchers have identified major life events, both positive and negative, that require changes in a person’s behavior. • A major life event is anything that causes a person to deviate from normal functioning. • The events are ranked in order of impact on a person’s life and given a point score. B. Personal Psychological Makeup • Americans are noted for their emphasis on work. • Some people, however, have become so caught up in the work ethic that work becomes the end itself rather than the means to an end. • Americans have become workaholics, and this excessiveness has behavioral consequences that take a toll over a period of time. • Researchers identified two basic types of behavior characterizing people in our society: Type A and Type B. 1. Type A behavior • Type A behavior individuals who exhibit Type A behavior tend to accomplish too many things in a short time. • Lacking patience and struggling against time and other people to accomplish one’s ends • Type A people tend to be workaholics and because of their psychological makeup they may be subject to stress over prolonged periods. • Type A individuals have a higher risk of heart disease than Type B people. 2. Type B behavior • Type B behavior tend to be calmer, to take more time to exercise, and to be more realistic than Type As in estimating the amount of time needed to complete an assignment. Type Bs also worry less and, in general, desire more satisfaction from their work. • Sixty percent of managers and supervisors exhibit Type A behavior. • Managers who exhibit extreme Type A behavior patterns tend to practice close supervision and find it difficult to delegate. • They are concerned errors might reflect on past achievements, so they become excessively task oriented. C. Organizational and Work-Related Factors • Many organizational and work-related factors can cause excessive stress. • If these factors exist in an organization over a period of time, they will cause extensive damage in form of dissatisfaction, high turnover, low productivity, incomplete goal, and job burnout. D. Burnout • Burnout is a stress-related malady that originates in the setting where people invest most of their time and energy. • Using an adapted version of the Maslack Burnout Inventory (MBI), researchers Golembiewsk and Munzenrider discovered that 40% of the people they studied suffered from advanced phases of burnout. A person scoring in phase I of MBI would be highly energized and motivated by the positive aspects of stress. • Difficulties occur when a person reaches phases VI, VII, and VIII, the advanced stages of burnout. • Candidates for job burnout have three distinguishing characteristics. First, they experience stress caused predominantly by job-related stressors. Second, they tend to be idealistic and/or self-motivated achievers. Third, they tend to seek unattainable goals. • In the short term burnout can be managed through use of any of a variety of strategies for coping with stress. VII. Ways to Cope with Personal Stress A. Physical Exercise • People who exercise minimum of two or three times a week are less prone to adverse symptoms of stress than those who do not. • The exercise should be vigorous to the point of inducing perspiration. B. Relaxation Techniques • Relaxation techniques are easy to use and are effective. These techniques are particularly useful to supervisors/team leaders because they are neither time-consuming nor costly. C. A Sense of Control • Supervisors having a sense of control over their own lives handle stress better than those who feel that they are manipulated by life’s events or other people. • Some of the things that can be done to gain control are: ○ Plan, look ahead, and identify both long-term goals and short-term goals. ○ Get to know and like yourself. ○ Perceive situations as challenges rather than problems. ○ Take a long vacation rather than a series of short vacations. ○ Do things for others. ○ Provide yourself with positive reinforcement when you do something well. D. Developing and Maintaining Good Interpersonal Relationships • Giving priority to close personal relationships is important for one’s mental health and happiness. • According to psychologists Alex Michalos, good interpersonal relationships are much more important to one’s happiness and well-being than either income or looks. VIII. Managing Your Time • Effective time management is essential for effective supervision. • Time management is the ability to use one’s time to get things done when they should be done. A. The Time Log: Where Your Time Goes • The first step in time management is determining how your time is actually being spent. • A conscientiously filled-in time log is an excellent way to get this information. B. Setting Priorities: A “Must” • Analyzing one’s time usage can show whether you are using time effectively. • The secret is to spend time on those activities that are most important and that contribute most to job success. • A rating system can be used for classifying the priority of activities. ○ A activities are the most important critical to your job. ○ B activities are medium priority important, but less so than “A”s. ○ C activities are low priority, routine, and/or relatively unimportant. • The efficient supervisor will spend a greater percentage of his or her time performing “A” activities. C. Handling the Common Time Wasters • Many activities during a typical day are inefficient uses of time, or time wasters. These may include doing routine work someone else could handle, socializing excessively, or fighting a losing battle against paperwork. IX. Chapter Review The PowerPoint slides correlated with the Lecture Outline above are available on the Instructors CD-ROM and on the product support website. PowerPoint Slide 12-1- Chapter 12 Title PowerPoint Slide 12-2 Learning Objectives PowerPoint Slide 12-3 Learning Objectives (cont’d) PowerPoint Slide 12-4 Causes of Conflict PowerPoint Slide 12-5 Interpersonal Conflict Management Styles (Text Exhibit 12-1) PowerPoint Slide 12-6 Conflict Management Styles PowerPoint Slide 12-7 Principled Negotiation PowerPoint Slide 12-8 Three-Step Program for Conflict Resolution PowerPoint Slide 12-9 Strategies for Coping with Difficult Behavior PowerPoint Slide 12-10 Stress PowerPoint Slide 12-11 Costs and Benefits of Stress PowerPoint Slide 12-12 Major Causes of Stress PowerPoint Slide 12-13 Organizational and Work-Related Factors that Cause Excessive Stress (Text Exhibit 12-8) PowerPoint Slide 12-14 Major Causes of Stress PowerPoint Slide 12-15 Phases of Burnout PowerPoint Slide 12-16 Ways to Cope with Personal Stress PowerPoint Slide 12-17 Ways to Cope with Personal Stress (cont’d) PowerPoint Slide 12-18 Relaxation Techniques PowerPoint Slide 12-19 Strategies that Make You Feel Great PowerPoint Slide 12-20 Time Management PowerPoint Slide 12-21 Eight Common Supervisory Time Wasters (Text Exhibit 12-12) PowerPoint Slide 12-22 How to Use Your Time More Effectively PowerPoint Slide 12-23 Important Terms 1. Identify the five conflict management styles and describe when each one would be appropriate. Avoiding is an unassertive, uncooperative style in which the individual’s concern from self and others is low. It is useful when dealing with trivial issues or when the negative consequences of confrontation outweigh the need for resolution. Accommodating is an unassertive, cooperative style in which the individual’s concern for self is low while the concern for others is high. It is an appropriate style to use when the issue is more important to the other party or the other party is right. Forcing is an assertive, uncooperative style in which the individual’s concern for self is high while the concern for others is low. This style is useful in an emergency situation, when quick decisions are needed. Compromising is a somewhat assertive, cooperative style in which the individual has a moderate amount of concern for both others and self. The compromising style is appropriate when the parties have reached an impasse due to mutually exclusive goals. Collaborating is an assertive, cooperative approach in which the individual has a high concern for self and others. Collaboration is a problem-solving style. It is effective when dealing with conflict head on, trying to surface all of the issues, and attempting to interpret differing points of view. 2. Discuss what is involved in principled negotiation. How does it differ from hard or soft negotiation? Principled negotiation is based on four components: (1) separating the people from the problem; (2) focusing on interests, not positions; (3) generating a variety of possibilities before deciding what to do; and (4) insisting that the result be based on some objective standard. In soft negotiation, the participants interact as friends with the goal being agreement. In hard negotiation, the participants are adversaries, each of whose goal is winning. In principled negotiation, the participants are problem solvers, and the goal is a wise outcome reached efficiently and amicably. 3. Compare and contrast Type A behavior and Type B behavior. People with Type A behavior tend to try to accomplish too many things in a short time. They lack patience and struggle against time and other people to accomplish their ends. They tend to be workaholics and be particularly subject to stress over prolonged periods. Type A people have a higher risk factor for heart disease than Type B people. Type B people tend to be calmer, to devote more time to exercise, and to be more realistic than Type A people in estimating the time it takes to complete an assignment. Type B people also worry less and desire more satisfaction from their work. 4. What are the major causes of stress on the job? Off the job? Organizational and work-related factors range from having poorly defined job descriptions to having autocratic or permissive leadership. Off-the-job causes of stress can be grouped into two categories. First, major life events, both positive and negative, require changes in a person’s behavior. If several of these events occur within a year’s time, one becomes susceptible to stress. Second, one’s personal psychological makeup can also have behavioral consequences. Type A people are particularly subject to stress. 5. Explain why exercise and relaxation techniques are helpful in coping with stress. Our muscles and circulatory system were not designed for a life of inactivity. If you exercise two or three times a week, you revitalize your body and are less prone to adverse symptoms of stress than those who do not. The relaxation response is a simple meditative technique that helps relieve tension, lower blood pressure, and improve physical and emotional health. Research confirms that this response relieves hypertension, counteracts the flight-or-fight response, and enables one to deal more effectively with stress. 6. What can a supervisor do to prevent stress in his or her unit? Over the long term, the best way to deal with excessive stress is to address the factors that are causing it. In the short term, burnout can be managed through several coping strategies. An effective strategy is engaging in physical activity at a fitness center or health club. 7. Why and how can time management help with stress and the achievement of effective results? Time is one of the greatest resources a supervisor has. Effective time management is essential for effective supervision. One definition of time management is “arranging to accomplish the things you choose to get done within the time available.” Without this ability, all other management skills are useless. To be effective as a supervisor, you must make effective use of your time. Skill Builder 12.1 Up in Smoke Are You Burned Out? Works with SCANS competencies: Information, Systems This is an individual test for job burnout. The scoring system is explained in the text. Skill Builder 12.2 A Planning Strategy to Cope with Stress Works with SCANS competencies: Resources List the things that are causing stress in your life at the present time. Determine which factors are causing positive stress and which are potentially negative and harmful. Develop an action plan that will enable you to cope with the negative factors more effectively. There is no suggested answer to this exercise, since the diagnosis will vary with each individual. A good way to proceed with this assignment is to have each person complete the assignment and then discuss and share the results with a small group. Once this has been done, the instructor may ask for volunteers to report similarities and differences in their groups. Skill Builder 12.3 A Personal Time Survey Works with SCANS competencies: Information, Resources, Systems This is an individual survey to calculate how many hours a student needs to study. Results will be individual. Case 12-1 Entrepreneur This case focuses on teams of three to five students assuming the role of a consulting team asked to help Sam Hinton get control of his company and his life. To do so, the following instructions are outlined below: 1. Drawing from your own experiences and from what you have learned in this chapter, develop some alternative for Sam. 2. Select the best alternative and present your recommendations to the rest of the class. 3. Each class member will then vote for the team (excluding his or her own team) that he or she thinks had the best plan for SHC. Case 12-2 The Missed Promotion 1. How should Bobbi approach Paul about the situation? Bobbi will have to approach Paul very carefully, realizing that he has had a major disappointment and will probably be defensive. The main theme of her discussion with Paul should probably be on developing his future potential. Paul could be encouraged to attend night classes to get his degree. Perhaps the company has an educational benefit program that can help him pay for classes. Above all, Bobbi must let Paul know how valuable he is to the company and find a way to use his talents. 2. What do you think Paul’s reaction(s) will be? Whatever the benefits of what Bobbi says to Paul, he will always remember that he was once her supervisor. Hopefully, he can overcome this and work with her. 3. Do you agree with the company’s policy of promoting only college graduates to the maintenance superintendent position? Why or why not? A company’s maintenance department is usually staffed with employees who don’t have college degrees. The person supervising them needs people skills and technical skills, but probably not a degree. Chapter 13 Exercising Control The City of Fairhope is a Resort Retirement Community The opening case focuses on The City of Fairhope ,a resort retirement community, situated along the shores of the gulf coast. Their mission statement is to continue to economically provide and improve the quality of life, to embrace, nurture and support open information and the exchange of information through public participation, and to a sustainable future. With the help of the leaders of The City of Fair Hope, James Gillespie, a longtime employee, initiated a citywide survey to obtain employee opinions and assess the morale and “health” of those that serve the citizens. The city leaders surmised from the data it would be wise to invest in additional employee support, such as supervisory leadership training to build strong, lasting relationships with employees, which would ultimately improve employee retention and service. I. What Is Control? • Managers and supervisors go along not knowing whether things are as they should be. • Unfortunately, many of them find things are not right only when it is too late to do anything about it. • Controlling is defined as the management function that compares actual performance with planned performance and taking corrective action, if needed, to ensure objectives are achieved. • Control has three phases: ○ Anticipating the things that could go wrong and taking preventive measures to see they don’t ○ Monitoring or measuring performance in some ways to compare what is actually happening with what is supposed to be happening ○ Correcting performance problems that occur A. Control’s Close Links to Planning • Planning and controlling are closely related. • Planning “sets the ship’s course” and controlling “keeps it on course.” • Controlling maybe thought of the process supervisors use to help carry out their plans. B. Importance of Controls • “Things never go as planned.” That truth is a primary reason supervisors need to perform the controlling function effectively. • Supervisors must use control to monitor progress and make intelligent adjustments as required. C. Examples of Controls • We live in a world of controls; for example, circuit breakers in our homes and offices. II. Characteristics of Effective Control Systems • To be effective, a control system must have certain characteristics. Among them, these are the most important: ○ Controls Need to Focus on Appropriate Activities. Effective controls should focus on critical factors that affect both the individuals’ and the organization’s abilities to achieve objectives. ○ Controls should be timely. Information needed for comparisons and control purposes needs to be in a supervisor’s hands for him or her to take effective corrective action. ○ Controls must be cost effective. The benefits of using appropriate controls should be worth the cost of their installation and operation. ○ Controls should be accurate and concise. Controls must provide information about operations and people in sufficient quality and quantity to enable managers to make meaningful comparisons to operations standards. ○ Controls should be accepted by people they affect. Controls and their applicability to specific situations should be communicated clearly to those responsible for implementing them and to those who will be governed by them. III. Types of Control Systems • There are essentially three types of control systems. • They are (1) feedforward controls, (2) concurrent controls, and (3) feedback controls. ○ Feedforward controls are preventive controls that try to anticipate problems and take corrective action before they occur. This type of control allows corrective action before a real problem develops. ○ Concurrent controls, also called screening controls, occur while an activity is taking place. Thus, an inspector or an inspection system can check items on the assembly line to see if they meet standards. ○ Feedback controls measure activities already completed. Thus, corrections can take place after performance is over. IV. Steps in the Controlling Process • The steps in the control process are illustrated in Exhibit 13-4. • Note that step 4 may require going back to any of the previous three steps. It may consist of modifying the original standard, changing the frequency and manner of measuring performance, or achieving more insight into the possible cause of the problem. A. Step 1: Establishing Performance Standards • This is really a part of the planning step. • The supervisor exercises control by comparing performance to some standard or goal. • A standard is a unit of measurement that serves as a reference point for evaluating results. 1. Types of standards • Standards can be either tangible or intangible. ○ Tangible standards are quite clear, concrete, specific, and generally measurable. ○ Tangible standards can be further categorized as numerical, monetary, physical, or time related. • Numerical standards are expressed in numbers, such as number of items produced number of absences, percentage of successful sales calls, or number of personnel who successfully complete training. • Monetary standards are expressed in dollars and cents, such as profit margins. • Physical standards refer to quality, durability, size, weight, and other factors related to physical composition`. • Time standards refer to the speed with which the job should be done. ○ Intangible standards are not expressed in terms of numbers, money, physical qualities, or time because they relate to human characteristics that are difficult to measure. ○ It is much more difficult to clearly explain intangible standards. 2. How Standards Are Set • The supervisor frequently sets standards based on familiarity with the jobs being performed. • Supervisors can gain insights from past records of performance, if available, and from fellow supervisors, employees, and their own boss. • Staff departments, such as industrial engineering or quality control, strongly influence the standards set. • Staff departments may also have a hand in setting standards for supervisors, such as cost standards developed by the budget department. B. Step 2: Measuring Performance • A supervisor must monitor performance to assure it complies with the established standards. • Two issues the supervisor must deal with are (1) how often to measure performance and (2) how to measure performance. 1. How Often to Measure Performance • Determining how often to measure performance is an important control decision supervisors make. • In some type of jobs, performance may be constantly monitored. • More often, the supervisor should establish a strategic control point. ○ Strategic control point is a performance measurement point located sufficiently early in an activity to allow any necessary corrective actions to be taken to accomplish the objective. • Measurement takes time, unless an automated system is in place. • Some jobs are crucial and should be monitored more closely than others. 2. How to Measure • A supervisor can measure performance in several basic ways: ○ Personal observation. ○ Written or oral reports by or about employees. ○ Automatic methods. ○ Inspections, tests, or samples. • In some jobs, supervisors and their employees work in the same area. The supervisor can easily move among the workers, observing their performance. • The supervisor may have workers spread out in various locations, making direct observation impractical. Such supervisors must depend on written or oral reports or occasional inspections as the primary means of measurement. • Supervisors need to find some manner of making sure the measurements are reliable. Because of pressures to conform to standards, employees may attempt to falsify reports to make themselves appear better. C. Step 3: Comparing Performance with Standards and Analyze Deviations • Failure to meet standards may result from a variety of causes. • A supervisor needs to analyze the reasons for below-average performance before undertaking corrective action. • It is also important to compare results that are substantially above standard to determine why they varied from standard. • It is important to find out the opinions of those close to a particular problem to determine why standards are not being met. D. Step 4: Taking Corrective Action If Necessary • The final step in the control process is to take corrective action if necessary. • Adjustments, fine-tuning, or more drastic actions may be necessary to pull off important tasks or maintain standards. V. Management by Exception • Given the broad range of areas over that supervisors exert control, it is essential to distinguish between critical and less-critical deviations. • Under management by exception, a supervisor focuses on the most critical control needs and allows employees to handle most routine deviations from standards. • The key issue is whether a deviation is exceptional. • Managers should set priorities for activities, depending on their importance, and then focus efforts on top-priority items. • Managers should be focused on exceptional, rather than routine, problems. • Temporary or minor deviations from standard should simply be monitored. • Significant deviations below standard should be investigated and corrective actions taken. • Significant deviations above standard also should be investigated. VI. The Impact of Technology on Controls • As the world’s economies—and their environments—continue to become more dynamic and complex, managers—including supervisors—must obtain, organize, and use huge amounts of information to make decisions and exercise control over them. • Progressive managers are realizing realize that a high-speed information infrastructure is needed to cope with the rapid pace of operations in all types of economic activities. • One result of this “information revolution” is the redistribution of power in today’s advanced organizations. • Decision making and control have been shifted downward to lower levels of management, including the supervisory level. • With practically unlimited types and sources of information at their fingertips, even operative employees no longer have to rely on others for facts and figures to make decisions. • Organizations now have information and monitoring systems that permit supervisors to give instructions and control operations from a distance away from those activities. VII. Chapter Review The PowerPoint slides correlated with the Lecture Outline above are available on the Instructors CD-ROM and on the product support website. PowerPoint Slide 13-1 Chapter 13 Title PowerPoint Slide 13-2 Learning Objectives PowerPoint Slide 13-3 Learning Objectives (cont’d) PowerPoint Slide 13-4 Control PowerPoint Slide 13-5 Murphy’s Laws (Text Exhibit 13-1) PowerPoint Slide 13-6 Some Common Examples of Supervisory Control (Text Exhibit 13-2) PowerPoint Slide 13-7 Types of Control Systems PowerPoint Slide 13-8 Tips for Establishing Preventive Controls (Text Exhibit 13-3) PowerPoint Slide 13-9 The Process of Control (Text Exhibit 13-4) PowerPoint Slide 13-10 Establishing Performance Standards PowerPoint Slide 13-11 Establishing Performance Standards (cont’d) PowerPoint Slide 13-12 Measuring Performance PowerPoint Slide 13-13 Setting Strategic Control Points in the Control Process (Text Exhibit 13-6) PowerPoint Slide 13-14 Comparing Performance with Standards and Analyzing Deviations PowerPoint Slide 13-15 Taking Corrective Action if Necessary PowerPoint Slide 13-16 Management by Exception PowerPoint Slide 13-17 Management by Exception (Text Exhibit 13-8) PowerPoint Slide 13-18 Impact of Technology on Control PowerPoint Slide 13-19 Important Terms 1. In what ways are planning and controlling related? Of all the management functions, planning and controlling are most closely related. In fact, the two functions are referred to as the “Siamese twins of management.” Controlling is the process of comparing actual performance with planned performance and taking corrective action, if needed, to assure that objectives are being met. The first step in controlling, then, is a planning stepCsetting objectives. 2. Discuss the following statement made by a supervisor: “I don’t have to worry much about controlling. My view is if you plan a job properly, things will go right; so you don’t have to worry about control.” The supervisor in question does not live in the real world. Granted, effective planning of a job or task is important. No matter how effective planning is, however, things can go wrong, and managers have to monitor results. Good planning makes control easier; it doesn’t eliminate the need for control. 3. Name the primary characteristic of effective control systems. Effective controls should: (1) focus on appropriate activities, (2) be timely, (3) be cost effective, (4) be accurate and concise, and (5) be accepted by people they affect. 4. Identify and explain each of the four steps in controlling. The four steps in controlling are: (1) establishing performance standards, (2) measuring performance, (3) comparing performance with standards and analyze deviations, and (4) taking corrective action if necessary. 5. Give an example of each type of standard: a. Numerical standards involve numbers C of times an employee is absent, number of defective products, or number of sales calls in a month. b. Monetary standards are expressed in dollars and centsCprofit margins, overtime costs, or dollar volume of sales. c. Physical standards involve some physical factor relating to the productCquality, durability, size, weight, and so forth. Examples could be number of ounces in the product container, percentage of butterfat in milk, or minimum size tolerances for lumber. d. Time standards relate to speed or other time related factorsCdeadlines for completion of a report, rates of production, or typing speed. e. Intangible standards are not expressed in terms of numbers, money, physical qualities, or time, because they relate to human characteristics that are difficult to measure. Examples include desirable attitude, professional conduct with clients, cooperation, and high morale. 6. Name and explain the three types of control systems. Feedforward controls are preventive controls that try to anticipate problems and take corrective action before they occur. This allows corrective action to be taken before a real problem develops. Concurrent controls (also called screening controls) occur while an activity is taking place. Feedback controls measure activities that are already completed; corrections take place after performance is over. 7. In management by exception, the supervisor focuses on exceptional deviations from standard, rather than every deviation. Will employees grow lax when they realize they can perform below standard, so long as they are not too far below? Discuss. Granted, some employees may have this attitude. But recall that management by exception assumes that employees will be able, on their own, to improve their performance in those “unexceptional” circumstances. If they do not, the supervisor should treat these as “exceptional” deviations and take corrective actions. Sometimes simply a reminder is all that is needed. 8. Explain the impact technology has on control. The growth of information technology has redistributed power in organizations, thus enhancing the position of supervisors. Decision making and control have now been shifted downward. As a result, organizations are becoming more integrated. Information and monitoring systems let supervisors give instructions and control operations from a distance. Skill Builder 13.1 The Overcontrolling Supervisor Works with SCANS competencies: Interpersonal Skill 1. What should Clarise do? Students’ answers may vary, but some of the following ideas can be discussed: Since Clarise is a new supervisor she needs to spend some time learning the current control systems by watching the employees at work. Once she has a good grasp of what responsibility each employee she supervises has, she should take a step back and put her trust in the employees. If problems start to arise once she has backed off, Clarise should hold a meeting with the employees in which they should discuss performance standards. 2. Suppose Clarise had just taken over one of the poorest performing departments in the company. Would this make a difference in the control techniques she should use? How? Yes. She would now be dealing with an entirely different situation that requires different control techniques. Skill Builder 13.2 Setting Standards and Measuring Performance (Group Activity) Works with SCANS competencies: Interpersonal Skill, Systems Instructions: Form into small groups to discuss each of the jobs listed below. Assume each group member directly supervises that position. In each case, indicate the major type(s) of standard(s) that would be used (physical, monetary, time, or intangible) and the frequency and manner of measuring performance for each job. Discuss with group members your ideas about how to handle each situation. The following standards could be used in each situation: • Bank teller: physical, monetary, time, intangible, bondable. • Postal letter carrier: physical, time, intangible, stamina. • Server in a large restaurant: physical, monetary, time, intangible, health. • Real estate salesperson: physical, monetary, time, intangible, knowledge of area. • Offensive-line football coach: physical, time, intangible, team leadership qualities. • Upholsterer in a furniture manufacturing plant: physical, time, intangible. • Third-grade teacher in an elementary school: physical, time, intangible, health. Skill Builder 13.3 Competitor Assessment (Group Activity) Works with SCANS competencies: Systems This is a group exercise where students in teams of three to five members will begin by choosing two well-known direct competitors (e.g., Jimmy Johns and Firehouse, Walgreens and CVS, and Walmart and Target), and using the Internet, find information (articles, blogs, company websites, etc.) about each organization. After making their selections, each team should do the following: Instructions: 1. Identify and classify (feedforward, concurrent, and feedback) the different types of control systems each competitor utilizes. 2. Pick one form of control for each company and evaluate its effectiveness based on the characteristics of effective control systems presented in this chapter. What improvements could each company make? 3. Prepare and give a 10-minute PowerPoint presentation of your overall findings to the class. Discuss with the class the effect of competition on businesses and consumers. Case 13.1 Controlling Absenteeism 1. What additional information should Anna attempt to obtain regarding the absenteeism problem? So far, all Anna knows is that there is an absentee problem that seems to be worse on weekends. She needs to specifically identify who is taking too many absences, when the absences occur, and whether there are unfair staffing patterns that may be causing the problem. 2. Advise Anna on the steps she should take to control absenteeism. She could take numerous approaches, ranging from minimal to very harsh. She should schedule individual meetings with the worst offenders, one at a time, and discuss what is causing the absences. At the same time, she needs to stress that, as of today, absences are going to be taken seriously. Beyond that, there are several options. One would be to require the absent worker to present a doctor’s excuse upon returning to work. Another strategy, successfully implemented in one large teaching hospital, is to have “sick” leave begin on the second day of an absence. The first day missed is counted against the employee’s personal leave or vacation time. 3. What types of standards should she use? There should be standards set for both the group and for the individual. The other nursing units in the hospital have only 2% absenteeism, giving Anna a benchmark of sorts for her department. On an individual basis, perhaps the standard could be one absence in any month. Above that, the control mechanism would begin. 4. What strategic control points should she establish? Obviously, Anna also needs to check daily to be certain that all shifts are adequately staffed. This can be done through reports. Anna needs to personally monitor absences on a weekly basis, perhaps through spot phone calls to absent workers’ homes. Instructor Manual for Supervisory Management: The Art of Inspiring, Empowering and Developing People Donald C. Mosley, Paul H. Pietri 9781285063003 Instructor Manual for Supervisory Management: The Art of Inspiring, Empowering and Developing People Donald C. Mosley, Paul H. Pietri 9781285063003