CH-2 The Managerial Functions – Supervision: Concepts and Practices of Management : Book Guide

Chapter 2 The Managerial Functions Learning Objectives 1. Identify the difficulties supervisors face in fulfilling managerial roles. Supervisors are the “people in the middle.” Employees see their supervisors as being management, but supervisors are subordinates to their own managers at higher levels. To supervisors of other departments, supervisors are colleagues who must cooperate with each other. Supervisors must have both good working knowledge of the jobs being performed in their departments and the ability to manage. 2 Explain why effective supervisors should have a variety of skills. Effective supervisors must have technical, human relations, administrative, conceptual, and political skills. It is most critical that supervisors use their emotions intelligently. Supervisors must understand the technical aspects of the work being performed. When attempting to manage job performance, understanding employee needs is essential. “People skills” help supervisors accomplish objectives with and through people. It is equally important for supervisors to understand the dynamics of the organization and to recognize organizational politics. These skills are important to all levels of management. Most supervisors come to the job equipped with some of these skills. Supervisors have daily opportunities to apply managerial skills and must continually strive to develop them. Blending these skills with a dose of common sense and applying them with maturity help accomplish organizational objectives and allow supervisors to stay on top of the job. Supervisors who effectively apply these skills can contribute suggestions to higher-level managers and can work in harmony with their colleagues. In short, skilled supervisors are candidates for advancement and additional job responsibilities. 3 Define management and discuss how the management functions are interrelated. Although there are numerous definitions of management, we define it as the process of getting things accomplished through people by guiding and motivating those people’s efforts toward common objectives. Supervisors should look at themselves as enablers, that is, by clarifying expectations for employees and giving employees the right tools, training, and opportunities to succeed. In short, supervisors should do all those things that enable their employees to be the best they can be while achieving organizational objectives. The five major managerial functions are planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling. These functions are viewed as a continuous flow—the functions flow into each other, and each affects the others. Planning is the first function of management. The performance of all other managerial functions depends on it. The five managerial functions are universal regardless of the job environment, the activity involved, or a person’s position in the management hierarchy. Typically, supervisors spend most of their time leading and controlling. A supervisor’s planning covers a shorter time and narrower focus than that of a top-level executive. 4 Discuss the important characteristics of the supervisor as team leader. Some companies have redefined the role of the supervisor as team leader. While team leaders must possess certain skills as identified earlier in the chapter, it is important to remember that teams are usually formed for such purposes as improving customer service, productivity, or quality. As such, developing a work environment in which team members share a purpose and goals is essential. Regardless of the term used, the first-line supervisor or team leader must be an enabler—helping others to be the best they can become in the continuous pursuit of organizational objectives. Information giving and information gathering allow team members to function most effectively. 5 Explain the difference between management and leadership. Leadership and management go hand in hand. As one of the management functions identified in this text, leadership is concerned with establishing a vision, aligning people behind that vision, and empowering those people to accomplish the intended results (doing the right thing) while management is getting things done. The distinction is more than a semantic one. 6 Discuss the concept of authority and power as it relates to being a good supervisor. A supervisor must have authority to perform well as a manager. Authority is the legitimate or rightful power to lead others. Authority is delegated from top-level managers through middle-level managers to supervisors who, in turn, delegate to their employees. All supervisors must be delegated appropriate authority to manage their departments. The acceptance theory of authority suggests that supervisors have authority only if and when their subordinates accept it. In reality, an employee’s choice between accepting and not accepting a supervisor’s authority may be the choice between staying in the job and quitting. Most supervisors prefer not to rely primarily on formal managerial authority but rather like to use other approaches for enhancing employee performance. Supervisors have power because of the positions they occupy. Position power increases as a person advances up the organizational hierarchy. Supervisors derive personal power from their relationships with others. Subordinates’ perceptions of the supervisor’s SKAs play an integral role in the supervisor’s ability to influence those subordinates. Theorists French and Raven identify five sources of power: reward, coercive, legitimate, expert, and referent or charismatic. Research indicates that supervisors who use expert power and referent power effectively have the greatest potential for achieving organizational goals. The supervisor’s power is based largely on the willingness of the employee to accept it. 7 Explain the need for coordination and cooperation and how they lead to good performance. Coordination is the orderly synchronization of efforts of the members and resources of an organization toward attaining stated objectives. Cooperation—as distinguished from coordination—is the willingness of individuals to work with and help each other. While cooperation is helpful, it alone will not get the job done. Efforts must also be coordinated. Both coordination and cooperation are attainable through good management practices. 8 Identify how labor unions affect the management functions. Unions are coming under attack from all sides. Union membership has declined substantially in the private sector. In several states, public-sector unions are facing politicians’ attempts to reduce their collective bargaining rights. Supervisors need to know how to apply the managerial functions when departmental employees are represented by a union. The supervisors are the key to good union–management relations because they apply the labor agreement from day to day. The presence of a labor union gives a formal mechanism for challenging a supervisor’s actions. PowerPoint Presentation Slides 2-2, Learning Objectives Lecture Outline I. The Person in the Middle The supervisory position is a difficult and demanding role. Supervisors are “people in the middle”—the principal links between higher-level managers and employees. The supervisor must also be a competent subordinate to higher-level managers. The supervisor is expected to maintain satisfactory relationships with supervisors in other departments. In general, the position of any supervisor has two main requirements: •The supervisor must have a good working knowledge of the jobs to be performed. •The supervisor must be able to manage the department. PowerPoint Presentation Slide 2-3, The Person In The Middle II. Managerial Skills Make the Difference Effective supervisors manage their departments in a manner that gets the job done through instead of doing the work themselves. The difference between a good supervisor and a poor one, assuming that their technical skills are similar, is the difference in their managerial skills and how they apply them. The managerial aspects of the supervisor’s position too often have been neglected in the selection and development of supervisors. People are selected for supervisory positions based on their technical competence, their seniority or past performance, and their willingness to work hard. Unfortunately, many organizations do not adequately prepare prospective supervisors for these responsibilities or equip them with the necessary skills. Managerial skills needed by supervisors can be classified into the following eight major classifications: •Technical skills—the ability to perform the jobs in the supervisor’s area of responsibility. •Human relations skills—the ability to work with and through people. •Communication skills—the ability to give and get information. •Administrative skills—the ability to plan, organize, and coordinate the activities of a work group. •Conceptual skills—the ability to obtain, interpret, and apply the information needed to make sound decisions. •Leadership skills—the ability to engage followers in all aspects of the organization. o Servant leadership—the notion that the needs of followers are looked after so they can be the best they can be. •Political skills—the ability to understand how things get done outside of formal channels. •Emotional intelligence skills—the ability to use one’s emotions intelligently. What Have You Learned? Question 1 Team Skill Builder 2-1: Attributes of a Successful Manager PowerPoint Presentation Slide 2-4, Managerial Skills Make The Difference PowerPoint Presentation Slide 2-5, Figure 2.1. PowerPoint Presentation Slide 2-6, Figure 2.2. PowerPoint Presentation Slide 2-7, Critical Managerial Skills PowerPoint Presentation Slide 2-8, Critical Managerial Skills (cont.) PowerPoint Presentation Slide 2-9, figure 2.3 A. Managerial Skills Can Be Learned and Developed Even though it is true that people are born with different potentials and that, to some degree, heredity plays a role in intelligence. Supervisor can develop the skills that make the supervisory job a challenging and satisfying career. The skills involved in managing are as learnable as the skills used in playing tennis or golf, for example. It takes time, effort, and determination for a supervisor to develop managerial skills. Supervisors will make mistakes, but people learn from mistakes as well as from successes. Supervisors go through a learning curve that offers very little room for trial and error. The supervisor cannot hit it out of bounds and tee it up again for another chance. To get the job done the right way, the supervisor must avoid some common mistakes. Even the best continually seek ways to sharpen their skills. Personal Skill Builder 2-1: Great CEOs Put Themselves Last, or Do They? PowerPoint Presentation Slide 2-10, Managerial Skills Can Be Learned and Developed III. Functions of Management In general management is the process of getting objectives accomplished with and through people. The term enabler—the person who does the things necessary to enable employees to do the best possible job—defines the new role of the manager. The better the supervisor manages, the better the departmental results. The supervisor who manages well becomes capable of handling larger and more complicated assignments, which could lead to more responsibility and higher-paying positions in the organization. Discussion Question 4 PowerPoint Presentation Slide 2-11, Functions of Management PowerPoint Presentation Slide 2-13, Functions of Management (cont’d) A. The Managerial Functions are the same in All Managerial Positions The managerial functions of a supervisory position are similar, whether they involve supervision of a production line, a sales force, a laboratory, or a small office. The primary managerial functions are also the same regardless of the level in the hierarchy of management: first-level supervisor, middle-level manager, or top-level manager. Supervisors, as well as other managers, perform the same basic managerial functions in all organizations. These functions can be classified under the major categories of planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling. B. Planning The initial managerial function—determining what should be done in the future—is called planning. It consists of setting goals, objectives, policies, procedures, and other plans needed to achieve the purposes of the organization. Many supervisors find that they are constantly confronted with crises. The probable reason for this situation is that these supervisors neglect to plan. It is every supervisor’s responsibility to plan; this task cannot be delegated to someone else. C. Organizing The supervisor defines various job duties and groups these duties into distinct areas, sections, units, or teams. The supervisor must specify the duties, assign them, and, at the same time, give subordinates the authority they need to carry out their tasks. Organizing means arranging and distributing work among members of the work group to accomplish the organization’s goals. D. Staffing Staffing is the tasks of recruiting, selecting, orienting, training, appraising, promoting, and compensating employees. In many companies most activities involved in staffing are handed by the human resources (HR) department. However, day-to-day responsibility for the essential aspects of staffing remains with the supervisor. E. Leading Leading means guiding the activities of employees toward accomplishing objectives. The leading function of management involves guiding, teaching, and supervising subordinates. It is the day-to-day process around which all supervisory performance revolves. Leading is also known as directing, motivating, or influencing because it plays a major role in employee morale, job satisfaction, productivity, and communication. F. Controlling Controlling involves ensuring that actual performance is in line with intended performance and taking corrective action. The supervisor must have the wisdom and foresight to take corrective action when necessary to achieve the planned objectives. G. The Continuous Flow of Managerial Functions The five managerial functions can be viewed as a circular, continuous movement. If one views the managerial process as a circular flow consisting of the five functions: planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling (See Figure 2.5), it is seen that the functions flow into each other and that each affects the others. All managers perform essentially the same managerial functions, regardless of the nature of their organizations or their levels in the hierarchy. PowerPoint Presentation Slide 2-12, Figure 2.5 IV. The Supervisor as Team Leader Many organizations have implemented a team-based organizational structure focused on customer satisfaction, productivity, profitability, and continuous improvement. Author, trainer, and consultant Fran Rees as identified several reasons for increasing use of teams: •Given the complexity of jobs and information, it is nearly impossible for managers to make all the decisions. In many cases, the person closest to the job is the one who should decide. •The focus on quality and customer satisfaction has increased attention on the importance of each employee’s work. •The shift from a homogeneous workforce to a diverse one requires managers to work effectively with multiple employee perspectives. •There is a growing realization that an autocratic, coercive management style does not necessarily result in productive, loyal employees. The fact that people support what they help create is behind the team approach. •People are demanding strong voices in their work lives, as well as meaningful work, respect, and dignity. PowerPoint Presentation Slide 2-14, The Supervisor as Team Leader V. Managers and Leaders: Are They Different? Debate has abounded among scholars regarding the differences between managers and leaders. According to John P Kotter, management involves keeping the current system operating through planning, budgeting, staffing, controlling, and problem solving while leadership is the development of vision and strategies , the alignment of relevant people behind those strategies, and the empowerment of people to make the vision happen. What Have You learned? Question 3 PowerPoint Presentation Slide 2-14, The Supervisor as Team Leader VI. Managerial Authority Authority is the legitimate right to direct and lead others. Managerial authority is not granted to an individual, but rather to the position an individual holds at that time. Included in positional managerial authority is the right and duty to delegate authority. Managerial authority includes the power and right to reward and discipline if necessary. When a subordinates performs well the supervisor has the power to give that subordinate a raise or another reward, within company guidelines. If a worker refuses to carry out a directive, the supervisor’s authority includes the power and right to take disciplinary action, even to the extent of discharging the subordinate. The acceptance theory of authority states that the manager only possesses authority when the employee accepts it. Numerous limitations to authority exist—union contract provisions, government or regulatory agency restrictions, company policies, and ethical considerations. Generally, supervisors find there are limits to their authority to use resources and to make certain managerial decisions. PowerPoint Presentation Slide 2-16, Managerial Authority PowerPoint Presentation Slide 2-17, Managerial Authority (cont’d) A. Avoiding Reliance on Managerial Authority Most successful supervisors know that to motivate workers to perform their duties, it is usually best not to rely on formal managerial authority but to employ other approaches. Employees are likely to perform better if they understand why the task needs to be done and have a voice in how to do it rather than simply being told to do it. B. Delegating Authority Delegation is the process of entrusting duties and related authority to subordinates. Just as the possession of authority is a required component of any managerial position, the process of delegating authority to lower levels in the hierarchy is required for an organization to have effective managers, supervisors, and employees. PowerPoint Presentation Slide 2-17, Avoiding Reliance on Managerial Authority; Delegating VII. Power—The Ability to Influence Others The effective supervisor understands the difference between the two. Behavioral scientists contend that a manager’s power comes from two sources: •Position power—power derived from the formal rank a person holds in the chain of command. •Personal power—power derived from the person’s SKAs and how others perceive that person. PowerPoint Presentation Slide 2-18, Power-The Ability to Influence Others Theorists such as John French and Bertram Raven, assert that power arises from the following five sources: •Reward power—supervisors have reward power if they can grant rewards •Coercive power—supervisors who threaten punishment and discipline use coercive power. •Legitimate power—some supervisors gain compliance by relying on their position or rank. •Expert power—knowledge or valuable information gives a person expert power over those who need that information. •Referent or charismatic power—people are often influenced by another person because of some tangible or intangible aspect of another’s personality. Supervisors who use expert and referent power effectively have the greatest potential for achieving organizational goals. The acceptance theory of authority is also relevant to the application of power. PowerPoint Presentation Slide 2-18, Managerial Authority (cont’d) PowerPoint Presentation Slide 2-19, Power—The Ability to Influence Others VIII. Coordination Coordination is the synchronization of employees’ efforts and the organization’s resources toward achieving goals. Coordination is not a separate managerial function; it is an implicit, interrelated aspect of the five major managerial functions. It is fostered whenever a manager performs any of the managerial functions planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling. Coordination can be understood as being a direct result of good management. Achieving coordination typically is more difficult at the executive level than at the supervisory level. Top management has to synchronize the use of resources and human efforts throughout numerous departments and levels of the organization. A. Cooperation as Related to Coordination Cooperation is the willingness of individuals to work with and help one another. While cooperation is helpful and the lack of it could impede progress, its presence alone may not necessarily get the job done. Efforts must be coordinated toward the common goal. PowerPoint Presentation Slide 2-20, Coordination B. Attaining Coordination Coordination is not easily attained, and the task of achieving coordination is becoming more complex. At the supervisory level, as the number and types of positions in a department increase, the need for coordination to obtain desired results similarly increases. Employees understandably are preoccupied with their own work and their personal baggage (off-the-job issues). Therefore, employees tend not to willingly become involved in other areas and often are indifferent to the fact that their activities may affect other departments. Networking is defined as individuals or groups linked together by a commitment to a shared purpose. It facilitates the flow of ideas across organizational barriers and thereby eases the coordination effort. C. Coordination as Part of the Managerial Functions While performing the managerial functions, the supervisor should recognize that coordination is a desired result of effective management. Proper attention to coordination within each of the five managerial functions contributes to overall coordination. When employees are involved in initial departmental planning, the supervisor’s chances of achieving coordination usually improve. When leading, the supervisor is significantly involved in coordination. The supervisor is also concerned with coordination when performing the controlling function. By checking, monitoring, and observing, the supervisor makes certain that activities conform to established plans D. Coordination with Other Departments Not only must supervisors coordinate activities within their own departments, but they also must coordinate the efforts of their departments with those of others. PowerPoint Presentation Slide 2-21, Coordination (cont’d) Cooperation and Coordination—Easier Said Than Done A group of employees becomes a team when its members share values and a purpose. How well the objectives are achieved depends on the supervisor’s coordination and team-building skills. Meanwhile, many supervisors have higher aspirations; they eventually want to be promoted to positions of increased responsibility. In reality, competition among supervisors may impede cooperation. What Have You learned? Question 5 Personal Skill Builder 2-4: Think Outside the Box PowerPoint Presentation Slide 2-22, Coordination (cont’d) IX. Labor Unions are Part of Supervisory Concerns Unions remain an important element of the workforce that supervisors should know about and be prepared to deal with appropriately. Most employees in the private sector of the U.S. workforce have legal rights to join or not to join labor unions under the National Labor Relations Act as amended. Federal government workers have their collective bargaining rights established under the Civil Service Reform Act. Teachers’ unions and other public-sector groups have been the target of cuts as states and local governments face budget shortfalls. Austerity is defined as the harsh and severe times requiring a tightening of the belt and budget. The terms labor union and labor organization are used interchangeably to describe any legally recognized organization that exists for the purpose of representing a group or bargaining unit of employees. The union negotiates and administers a labor agreement with an employer. A labor agreement, also called a union contract, is the negotiated document between union and employer that covers the terms and conditions of employment for represented employees. A. Complying with the Labor Agreement Wherever the labor agreement applies, supervisors are obliged to manage their departments within its framework. Higher-level managers or the human resources department can hold meetings with supervisors to brief them on the contents of the agreement and to answer questions about any provisions. What Have You Learned? Question 6 Team Skill Builder 2-3: Labor Unions and You PowerPoint Presentation Slide 2-23, Labor Unions B. Adjusting for the Union A labor agreement does not fundamentally change a supervisor’s position as a manager. The major adjustment required when a union is present is that supervisors must perform their managerial duties within the framework of the labor agreement. A labor agreement may spell out some limitations to the supervisor’s authority, especially in areas of disciplinary actions, job transfers, and assignment. However, they must manage within them and learn to minimize the effects of these contractually imposed requirements or restrictions by making sound decisions and relying on their own managerial abilities. The supervisor who follows just or proper cause ensures that the standard for disciplinary action requiring tests of fairness and elements of normal due process, such as proper notification, investigation, sufficient evidence, and a penalty commensurate with the nature of the infraction. Therefore, disciplinary action remains a managerial responsibility and right, but it must meet the just-cause standard. PowerPoint Presentation Slide 2-24, Labor Unions (cont’d) C. Relating Supervisory Decision Making to the Labor Agreement A grievance is a formal complaint presented by the union to management that alleges violation of the labor agreement. Most labor agreements specify several steps as part of a grievance procedure before a grievance goes to arbitration. An arbitrator is the person selected by the union and management to render a final and binding decision concerning a grievance. Procedures for arbitrating grievances are included in most labor agreements. PowerPoint Presentation Slide 2-25, Figure 2.8 PowerPoint Presentation Slide 2-26, Labor Unions (cont’d) D. Maintaining Employees’ Compliance with the Labor Agreement It is the supervisor’s duty to act whenever employees do not comply with provisions of the labor agreement. Supervisors should ensure that employees observe the labor agreement, just as supervisors must operate within the agreement. The supervisor’s involvement in union–management relations has two phases: learning what the labor agreement contains and applying the labor agreement fairly and consistently on a daily basis. PowerPoint Presentation Slide 2-27, Key Terms Answers to What have you Learned? 1. Identify the major managerial skills every supervisor needs. Why are these skills important? Although supervisors must possess many managerial skills, these can be broadly classified under the following headings: technical, human relations, communications, administrative, conceptual, leadership, political, and emotional intelligence. The definitions in the text are concise and self-explanatory. Individuals who become supervisors are often strong in their technical preparation and knowledge, but are lacking or unprepared in the other aspects and skills needed for effective supervisory management. Usually technical skills are given greater emphasis when a person is selected to fill a supervisory position. For many job situations, it is vital that supervisors have a thorough understanding of the jobs to be supervised. However, most experienced supervisors soon learn that knowing how to get results through people is more important than one’s technical skills. Whether political skills are essential for effective supervision is open to debate. Yet it is true that in most organizations a supervisor needs to be aware of organizational behavior patterns, know those who have authority and influence, and know the “rules of the game” in order to play the game. 2. It is often said that planning is the most important managerial function. Do you agree? Why or why not? Figure 2.5 in the text illustrates the circular concept of management functions. The circular concept shows that the managerial functions flow continuously into each other and that there is no clear demarcation among them. Although there is considerable disagreement concerning how many managerial functions do exist—and what they should be labeled—it is generally agreed that the flow of the managerial process starts with the critical function of planning. Whether or not the planning function is the “most important managerial function” has been debated by management scholars and practitioners. All of the managerial functions are important and interconnected. Since planning is recognized as the initiating function of management, it may be viewed as the most “crucial” or “strategic” function, if not the most important overall. The authors contend that all managers perform essentially the same managerial functions whether they work in a manufacturing firm, a retail store, a bank, a government agency, a church, or a food-distribution center. Every organization must have a vision of where it wants to be at some future point in time. Instructors should remind students that an organization by definition is “an artificial person.” As such, the organization does not determine where it wants to go; individuals in the organization do that. Organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling will still take place without planning, but will do so in a haphazard fashion. 3. Stephen Covey observed that “Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out.” Do you agree? Why or why not? What distinction have you observed between management and leadership? Why is the distinction important for one who desires to be a supervisor or team leader? While there is clearly not a right or wrong answer to this question, in making the case for whether there is a distinction or not, the student should consider not only the thoughts of Covey, Bennis, and Kotter, but also the text’s definitions of management and leadership and assumptions about the type of organization, the work to be done, and the people involved. Leadership characteristics identified are closely associated with those items that align corporate objectives, embody trust, challenge people to excel, and go beyond what is thought possible. Students will borrow from the ideas presented in this chapter and assemble their own distinction. Traditionally, management has relied on authority and leadership has relied on having followers. Increasingly, organizations are becoming team-based. Teams are a means to an end—and that end is superior performance to what team members would achieve working as individuals. Generally, workers view team leaders as one of them, and they will support whatever they help to create. Team leaders become “coaches” who listen to their “athletes” and implement the best decision. Instructors may want to ask students to distinguish how the characteristics depicted in Figure 2.6 are relevant to their work experiences. Chapter 5 will discuss leadership and followership in greater detail. Instructors may want to pose the following questions: •Who is someone that one would want to be their leader? (Instructors set the constraint that the person must be someone with whom everyone else in the class can identify.) •Why would one want to follow that person? Experience shows that many students will not answer the question, in part, perhaps because there is a leadership vacuum in society today. Some people in prominent leadership positions have recently fallen from grace. Instructors often ask students to read Peter Drucker’s article, “Not Enough Generals Were Killed!” Forbes ASAP (April 8, 1996), p. 104+, prior to beginning an in-depth discussion of leadership. Being a professor in 2000s is far different from being a professor in the 1970s. For example, in the 1970s, students were more willing to “get off the bench and into the game” for social issues they felt a passion for. Then and now, instructors could ask the same question: “Who would you like to be a follower of?” “Would you be willing to take a semester off and work in a volunteer capacity for that person’s cause?” Instructors still have students that would make that commitment for what they believe to be a “just and worthy cause.” 4. We suggest that supervisors should view themselves as enablers. The logical extension of this notion would be that the supervisor clarify the objectives that must be obtained, provide the training and tools needed to complete the task, and get out of the way. Should “management by getting out of the way” be an appropriate philosophy of management? Why or why not? The general purpose of this question is to get students to “think outside the box.” Traditionally, management has been defined as the process of getting things accomplished with and through people by guiding and motivating their efforts toward common objectives. To this end, people believe that the term enabler more closely defines the role of the 21st century manager. The chapter’s Supervisory Tips box further clarifies the things that effective supervisors should do. Students have grasped the concept of what one is trying to develop here. If—and it is a mighty big if—the supervisor does all of those things contained in the Supervisory Tips box , then the employee is fully equipped to accomplish the organizational objectives effectively and efficiently. Under these conditions, it is appropriate for the supervisor to get out of the way. A note of caution: Only when employees buy into the goals and objectives and have the willingness, motivation, and ability to do the job should the supervisor get out of the way. When one uses this question, the discussion always gets around to what is meant by “getting out of the way.” Instructors can respond by asking the students what they think it means or if they have known of a manager who manages by “getting out of the way.” While responses vary based on the student’s experience level, two distinct trends develop. One group usually takes the position that if one doesn’t watch people closely they will not do the necessary work. Others contend that they work best alone and without close supervision. Many examples will be used to illustrate and support their positions. Hopefully, the students will come to the realization that people are different and no one style of management works in all situations and for all people. 5. What are the obstacles that the supervisor may encounter when trying to gain cooperation by coordinating the department’s various activities? What could a mentor(s) or coach do to help a supervisor understand how cooperation, coordination, and communication have to work together to attain a satisfactory end result? Rapid change and organizational growth both complicate the activity of attaining cooperation by coordination. In addition, the human element of work adds additional problems. Not only do employees bring their “baggage cart” with them to work (i.e., personal off-the-job issues), but they are rewarded for individual performance and are therefore often indifferent to how their work may affect other departments. Meanwhile, supervisors often have higher career aspirations and eventually want to be promoted to higher-level jobs. The reality is that the competition among supervisors may impede cooperation efforts. Supervisors can achieve coordination by building networks that consist of people both inside and outside the organization who are focused on attaining common objectives. Additionally, they may wish to discuss plans and job assignments with their employees. When the employees are involved on the front-end, cooperation tends to improve. It is vital that supervisors consider coordination when building a team, assigning duties, and determining authority relationships. It is equally important to monitor and correct along the way. Coordinating—within or across departments—ultimately depends on a supervisor’s coordination and team-building skills. 6. What might be some reasons that cause some employees to feel the need to join a labor union? Unionization in this country has been historically and emotionally volatile. Employees who have had family members in a union often feel a strong need to support the union philosophy. In today’s climate of austerity, some employees may feel that joining a union will increase their opportunity to influence an organization’s policies, procedures, and actions. Employees who are frustrated with their job often believe that there is power and safety in numbers. A union is thought to give employees power in dealing with top management. The strength and influence of labor unions have declined considerably in recent years; however, unions continue to be a major influence in workers’ rights and negotiations. Answers to Personal Skill Building Personal Skill Builder 2-1: What Call Did You Make? From the employee’s standpoint, a labor union negotiates and administers a labor agreement with an employer. Most agreements cover wages, benefits, working conditions, hours of work, overtime, holidays, vacations, leave of absence rules, seniority, grievance procedures, and numerous other matters. It outlines union–management relationships. In essence, it is a policy manual that provides rules, procedures, and guidelines—as well as limitations—for management and the union. It may spell out some limitations to the supervisor’s authority, especially in areas of disciplinary actions, job transfers, and assignments, or a labor agreement may specify procedures concerning the seniority rights of employees with regard to shift assignments, holidays, and vacations. Union workers often work set hours, and they must take a certain number of breaks during the day, regardless of how heavy or how light the workload is. This means that it can be difficult for Dee to bring in new ways of working, as all changes need to be agreed with the union first. Union contracts can also inhibit the effectiveness of a team or department, especially when people take advantage of the system. Since there will be certain changes in the employees behavior after the implementation of a union agreement the supervisor should be ready to adapt to changes by coming up with ways that improve his or her management style. This change is totally dependent on the employee behavior. A mix of coercive and persuasive style might be suitable in this case. Networking is essential to Dee as she carries out her supervisory responsibilities. She should develop networks with others, both inside and outside the organization. Also, she must understand that network members must give as well as receive. Having a network inside the hospital would provide her with additional resources. Networking will allow Dee to balance autonomy on one hand and dependence on the other. Networking facilitates the flow of ideas across organizational barriers and thereby eases the coordination effort. At the same time Dee should strive to understand and manage the moods and emotions of others. Labor union help employees put their thoughts or complaints, if any, based on the provisions mention in the agreement without which the supervisors or managers might be biased depending on the overall effect of that issue on an organizational scale. The supervisor should effectively carry out the process of networking. He or she should then gather information as to what is the truth and what is not (the rumors). Based on this information one can decide whether to have a union or find ways to avoid one. Students’ answers may vary. However students should address the points mentioned above. Personal Skill Builder 2-2: Great CEOs Put Themselves Last, or Do They? This introductory skills application allows students to investigate the experiences of those who lead the best organizations. (A note of caution: Sometimes a particular organization will suffer a severe setback and disappear. Hypothetically, if one were to look at the Fortune listing for 1969 and compare it with the latest edition, there would be a dramatic difference in what companies were listed in the top ten. In 1966, Sam Walton had not even dreamed up Wal-Mart and no one had ever heard of Bill Gates or Microsoft.) Hopefully, this skill builder will help students learn how the leaders of the best apply the principles of management and leadership to “enable” their people to help the organization achieve success. Students are asked to identify specific desirable behavior that these leaders exhibit. Conduct a survey with the students to see if there is a consensus of which behaviors these leaders exhibit. Personal Skill Builder 2-3: Technology Tool—Collaborate, Coordinate, Create, then Celebrate! Student answers will vary depending on the project and the tool (“project management software”) that they select. Personal Skill Builder 2-4: Think Outside the Box This is the first in a series of skills applications that were adapted with permission from QCI International’s Timely Tips for Teams, a monthly Internet newsletter. Instructor can subscribe to Timely Tips for Teams. Go to http://www.qci-intl.com.htm. There is no cost and each issue has lots of suggestions and references for teams and quality initiatives. This skill builder is an exercise in reading the instructions and doing what is asked. Students really get upset when the instructor doesn’t tell them that the triangles do not have to be of equal size. But then they wouldn’t ask the instructor neither. It’s found that students will focus their efforts on building five triangles of equal size. Building four equal-sized triangles can be easily done by only moving three matches. However, the students’ mission was to make five triangles. The solution is: •Take the far left match (or far right—one can choose as to which side to start on. But it helps if you take all the matches from the same side) and place that match on top (horizontally) between the right and center triangles. •Take the bottom left match and place it at about a 60-degree angle connecting it with the far right-hand side match. •Take the last remaining match from the original far left triangle and connect it at approximately a 60-degree slope to the left side of the original center triangle. Now one will have four equal-sized triangles consisting of three matches each and one large triangle consisting of the six outer matches. Instructors can do an Internet search for “match stick teasers” to find similar skill builders. Answers to Team Skill Building Team Skill Builder 2-1: Attributes of a Successful Manager An analysis of successful supervisors will generally reveal a consistent list of skills, knowledge, or abilities. During the discussion that follows, instructors may want to list those attributes on the board or overhead. As mentioned in the text, successful supervisors will have a blend of human relations skills and technical skills. Students will identify clarifying goals, providing encouragement and positive feedback on performance, dealing fairly with employees, maintaining a sense of humor, helping employees, praising efforts, and the like. The factors that influence the students’ perception of successful supervision are the human relations skills. Increasingly, students are identifying supervisors who develop a work climate or environment of mutual trust and respect and are genuinely interested in them as individuals as their most admired managers. Team Skill Builder 2-2: A Night at the Movies Students’ answers will vary depending on the movie they select to watch. Team Skill Builder 2-3: Labor Unions and You Students’ answers will vary. Answers to Supervision in Action Questions Video Clip: Camp Bow-Wow: Innovative Management 1. “The biggest misconception about managers is that they sat around in offices and did nothing.” In the light of the above statement how does this video disprove this misconception? Students’ answers will vary. According to Candice, the manager at Camp Bow-Wow, managing involves a lot of work. She has to manage people, improve her own people’s skills, and also make sure that everyone stays organized and are available when they are needed. Also, juggling effectively between customer service and dog care is another part of her job as a manager. Managing people who are good at one particular aspect of the job but fail to perform well in any other work given to them might be a difficult situation, but it’s essential for a manager at Camp Bow-Wow to identify employees’ competencies and then assign them work accordingly. For example, the camp’s staff could be good at taking care of the dogs but was not be as competent when it comes to dealing with the customers. The qualities mentioned above are essential for a manager at a small scale organization. Large scale organizations demand different qualities covering a larger spectrum. 2. How has effective management helped cater to the growth of Camp Bow-Wow? Students’ answers will vary. Camp Bow-Wow has a flat organizational structure, where the staff operate at the same levels and it lacks hierarchy in the initial stage. This stems from the desire to have a relaxed culture for both the owner and the staff. The management techniques incorporated by the owner involved in recruiting people, promoting them, and mentoring them into more leading positions, and delegating authority, helps create a desired work culture. The owners now feel that there is a huge difference at the work place. 3. Does delegation of authority play an important role in management? How has it helped Camp Bow-wow’s owner Sue Ryan? Yes, delegation of authority does plays a vital role in carrying out managerial activities. Sue Ryan can see a major difference in the camp after a period of two years from the establishment of Camp Bow-Wow. Most of the tasks at the camp were taken up by the owner resulting in her being consumed with the business—resulting in a clash between her personal and professional life. Delegating her authority through management teams gave her support and took off a lot of her burden. This helped her draw boundaries between her work and personal life. 4. How did the camp manage to bring a balance between the service charges and the customer’s expectations? Students’ answers will vary. The balance was brought by improving the level of customer service and increasing the array of services offered to the customers. Also by giving importance to effectiveness over efficiency the camp was able to send out a message that it cared for the dogs which in turn made the customers come back. Also having a good manager like Candice who helps manage different tasks in the camp effectively adds to the camp’s balance. 5. In your opinion, what kind of innovative approach was taken by Camp Bow Wow toward management? Students’ answers will vary. It’s evident that certain individuals are good at a particular task while they lack expertise in others. Ignoring this issue would result in the reduction of customer satisfaction which would in turn stop them from coming back to the camp for dog care services. Sue, the owner of the camp, dealt with this issue by creating a flexible work schedule. This schedule assigned work for a particular employee during the time when the tasks required attention and was assigned to an employee who excelled in it. One example from the video would be that Candice comes early to work then leaves and comes back in the afternoon—a time period which demands balancing customer satisfaction and getting the dog out of the camp quickly. Chapter 2 IM Appendix Supervisor’s Guide to the National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act) of 1935, as amended What is a labor organization? “The term ‘labor organization’ means any organization of any kind, or any agency or employee representation committee or plan, in which employees participate and which exists for the purpose, in whole or part, of dealing with employers concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours of employment, or conditions of work” [Section 2(5)]. What are employee rights under the NLRA? “Employees shall have the right to self-organization, to form, to join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection” [Section 7]. Section 7 also says that employees may “refrain from any or all such activities.” What are considered unfair labor practices? “It is unlawful for an employer to (1) interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of their rights under the law; (2) dominate or interfere with the formation or administration of a labor organization or contribute financially to it; (3) discriminate in regard to the hire or tenure of employment or any term or condition of employment to encourage or discourage membership in any labor organization; (4) discharge or discriminate against an employee because he/she filed charges or gave testimony under the NLRA; and (5) refuse to bargain in ‘good faith’ with representatives of the employees” [Section 9]. What is the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), and what are its responsibilities? “The NLRB is a federal agency responsible for administering and enforcing the NLRA. When the NLRB receives authorization cards indicating that 30 percent or more of the eligible employees are willing to be represented by the union, it will conduct a secret ballot election. Under the Taft-Hartley Act, the NLRB will conduct union decertification elections when 30 percent or more of the employees request it. If a majority of the employees voting in the representation election desire to be represented by a union, the NLRB will certify that union as the ‘sole bargaining representative.” The NLRB receives charges of unfair labor practices, investigates, conducts hearings, and renders decisions. Sometimes, these decisions to remedy unfair labor practices are appealed through the judicial system. The Taft-Hartley Act also specified certain actions of the labor organization that can constitute unfair labor practices. SOURCE: Excerpted with permission from Edwin C. Leonard, Jr., and Roy A. Cook, Human Resource Management: 21st Century Challenges (Mason, OH. Thomson Custom, 2005), pp. 158-59. Also visit the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) web site for a complete presentation of the NLRA (http://www.nlrb.gov/about_us/overview/national_labor_relations_act.aspx) or the Bureau of National Affairs (BNA) web site (http://www.bna.com/products/labor/lelw.htm). Solution Manual for Supervision: Concepts and Practices of Management Edwin C. Leonard , Kelly A. Trusty 9781285866376, 9781111969790