Supervision: Concepts and Skill Building 10th Edition by Samuel Certo Solution manual
- Good communicator: Supervisors must keep their employees and bosses informed of what is happening and expectations for action. A situation where good communication is especially important is the orientation and training of new employees. New employees need greater detail in instructions and expectations for their performance. Supervisors must make sure employees have sufficient levels of skill and knowledge to carry out the work of the department.
- Able to delegate: Supervisors must be able to assign work to others and resist doing work themselves because it is faster or easier than telling someone else how to do it. It is tempting to do the work when a new employee is assigned to the job. A better approach is to get another employee to help the new employee rather than for supervisors to do the job themselves. The supervisor’s job is to see that the entire department has guidance and assistance. Doing the employee’s job takes supervisors away from their own work.
- Want the job: The job of the supervisor is not always easy. The supervisor who wants the job is more likely to stick with it through good and not-so-good times. Really wanting the job helps the supervisor do unpleasant tasks such as reducing the workforce.
- Exercise to identify characteristics of a successful supervisor:
Students will understand the concepts better and will be more likely to remember the information if they practice the application of the material. Have the students think of examples of each of the characteristics and share them with the class.
A method of getting students involved is to let them know that the instructor will be going around the class asking for one example from each of them. Give students several minutes to come up with examples. Then start the sharing by randomly asking students for their example of each characteristic.
Remember to be a good role model for the students by being positively reacting to them, loyal to the rules and norms of the organization, fair in selection, a good communicator, and delegating tasks to students.
III. Answers to Review and Discussion Questions
- What are some ways that a supervisor’s job is similar to those of managers at other levels? How does a supervisor’s job differ from those of other managers?
A supervisor’s job is similar to those of managers at other levels in that both of them carry out the functions of planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling. A supervisor’s job differs from those of other managers in that typically, supervisors spend most of their time leading and controlling, because they work directly with the employees who are producing or selling a product or providing support services. Planning, staffing, and organizing take up less of a supervisor’s time. In contrast, higher-level managers are responsible for setting the overall direction for the organization; thus, they spend more time on planning and organizing.
- Imagine that you have just been promoted to supervisor of the cashiers in a supermarket. List specific technical, human relations, conceptual, and decision-making skills you think you might need to succeed at this job. How might you develop them continually to achieve the job of store manager?
- Technical skills might include knowledge on how to use the cash register, procedures for punching the time clock, procedures for scheduling breaks, how to authorize a personal check, and the like.
- Human relations skills include the ability to inspire cashiers to process customers quickly and accurately, to schedule cashiers’ breaks, vacations, and other time off satisfactorily, and to deal directly with customers when necessary.
- Conceptual skills might include understanding how the efficiency and attitude of cashiers affect the overall sales in the store.
- Decision-making skills might include determining when it is appropriate to authorize or decline a customer’s personal check, when to call in more workers or open up an extra counter, how to assign baggers to certain registers, and so forth.