Supervision: Concepts and Skill Building 10th Edition by Samuel Certo Solution manual

 
The case is again referred to in the Skills Module – Part Two: Skill-Building exercise at the end of the chapter.
 

 

 

II. Teaching the Concepts by Learning Objectives

 
Learning Objective 1.1: Define what a supervisor is.
 
1.    Key Term:
 
Supervisor: A supervisor is a manager at the first level of management, which means that employees reporting to the supervisor are not managers
 
2.    Teaching Notes:
 
The Taft-Hartley Act defines a supervisor as “any individual having authority, in the interest of the employer, to hire, transfer, suspend, lay off, recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward or discipline other employees, or responsibility to direct them, or to adjust their grievances, or effectively to recommend such action, if in connection with the foregoing the exercise of such authority is not of a merely routine or clerical nature, but requires the use of independent judgment.”
 
The basic job of a manager is to see that an organization meets its goals, yet there are distinctions. For the top executives of an organization, managing is about making sure that the organization’s vision and business strategy will allow it to meet its goals through the years ahead. Managing at the supervisory level means ensuring that the employees in a particular department are performing their jobs so that the department will contribute its share to accomplishing the organization’s goals. Usually, supervisors focus on day-to-day problems and on goals to be achieved in one year or less.
 
3.    Teaching example for defining what a supervisor is:
 
Students may not be familiar with the structure of an organization and the functions of its managers. Use an organization chart to show where the supervisor is placed in the organization. The organization chart is covered in greater detail later, so use a very simple chart at this point.
 
The organization chart illustrates where the supervisor is in the hierarchy of the organization. It also illustrates the variety of work groups that include the position of supervisor.
 
The organization chart developed for this Learning Objective may be used again for later learning objectives. For example, Learning Objective 1.6 explains how supervisors are responsible to higher management, employees, and co-workers. On the chart, include at least four levels of employees and at least three divisions of management such as human resources (or personnel), purchasing, and a sales or production unit. By doing so, one has two divisions with which a supervisor interacts.
 
Develop the organization chart by using the following methods:

1. Ask students to help develop an organization chart for a local business they are familiar with such as a grocery store. Include at least four levels: for example, a CEO, managers, supervisors, and line workers. (Use a flip chart or black (white) board to illustrate a traditional organization chart)
2. In developing the organization chart, ask students to describe what has to happen in the organization to ultimately deliver products and services to the customer: for example, hiring people, buying goods and materials, paying the bills for goods and materials, waiting on customers, and so forth. Add the position of division manager if it is useful to the discussion.
3. Discuss the general responsibility of each level and the relationship of other positions to the supervisor, including positions higher, lower, and peers.
4. Discuss how the supervisor’s responsibilities, behaviors, and attitudes differ from the line worker and the boss of the supervisor. Remind students that the supervisor has a role in the organization that is different from those who are higher in the organization and the employees who will work in the supervisor’s work unit, even though there is a sharing of certain skills.

 
Typical organization chart, simplified:
 

 
4.    Exercise for defining what a supervisor is:
 
Draw on the experience of students in the class. Ask them to describe what supervisors do by using knowledge they have gained with work experiences or talking with other people about supervisors.

1. Ask students to think about supervisors they have worked with or information about supervisors they have gained by talking to other people. Have them list what supervisors do on the job and how they fit into the total organization. Allow two to five minutes for them to individually write their list.