Module 2

Module Title: The Supervisor “The Firing Line”

Module Description: This module help the students fully understand the varied title,
working supervisors, views about the supervisors role, The Supervisor and Productivity,
Personnel Management, Skills required, Picking
subordinates, their mistakes and why they fail to their job

Purpose of the Module:

This module help the students fully understand the role of the supervisor/manager,
learn the skills required by supervisor/manager and appreciate a career of
supervisor/manager.

Module Guide:
 This module shall be use by those students who do not have gadgets and internet
access in their area.
 The answered quizzes or activities must be submitted to the instructor on or before the
specified deadline.
 There must be no erasures when answering the quizzes or activities.
 Contact your instructor trough mobile phone or messenger if you have questions
regarding this module.

Module Requirements:
At the end of this module, the students must answer a quiz and comply the assignment
or activities given by the instructor. Lastly, the students must submit a compilation of Case
Study. These must be submitted on or before the specified date of submission.

Let’s Read:

The Supervisor – “The Firing Line”

Owing to the changing as well as the constantly increasing roles of supervisors in
many companies, as evidenced particularly in highly industrialized countries as the United
States, Britain, and others, such a circumstance account for the various titles given to them:
foreman, working supervisor, key man, man-in-the-middle, marginal-man, first level
supervisor, and many others.
Martin M. Broadwell in his book entitled “The Supervisor and On-The-Job Training”
used the term supervisor and foreman interchangeably. Getting the best out of his
subordinates in an industrial plant makes him popularly known as a foreman. Such foreman
may be a salaried one who spends much of his time directing the work of others; or hourly-
paid and spend much of his time doing actual production work. In the latter case, he is called
as the working supervisor.

George Strauss in his article entitled “The Changing Role of the Working Supervisor”
which appeared in The Journal of Business of the University of Chicago in 1957, throws
interesting light on the subject of the working supervisor in industry as a key man whose
position is often misunderstood. In fact, according to him, in a number of companies, it is
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unfortunate to observe that his job is at time, if not oftentimes downgraded. In so doing,
management may help defeat its own purpose of increasing supervisory efficiency. Such
observation has not lost its significance even present time.

He said, among others, the following: “Most people think of the foreman as the lowest
level of supervisor. In fact, many workers take orders from their working supervisor - the
setup man, straw boss, crew chief, or group leader. In contrast to the foreman, the working
supervisor spends most of his time in actual production.” Although in a formal sense, he does
not have the right to hire and fire or even to discipline; he is the one through whom the
foreman channels his orders to the rest of the work group. He is the technical coordinator
who keeps the team pulling together. And his job is often considered a stepping stone to
higher managerial position.”

According to Phillips in his article entitled Supervisors really do matter, the reasons
for the primacy of the supervisor's role in employee perceptions of the company are not hard
to understand. For the average employee, the supervisor is the company. The supervisor is the
daily conduit between workers and management. The supervisor gives work directions,
evaluates performance, provides assistance or grief, relates well to employees or doesn't, and
is a source of comfort or friction.
While everyone knows that upper management and the senior leadership team have
more influence in the overall direction of the company than first-level supervisors, no
member of management has as much influence on the daily lives of the individual worker.
The fact that other managers have more authority is relatively unimportant to workers
because it is the supervisor who has authority over them. No other member of management
spends as much time every day with employees as does their supervisor. So supervisors can
either make or break your company's efforts to create a favorable workplace, which
ultimately has a major impact on how employees view the company.

Working Supervisors or the so called First Line Management

The working supervisor or the First line managers generally supervise production on line
tasks in the manufacturing business, and typically consist of positions such as foreman,

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section head and shift boss. First line managers are an important source of information about
worker satisfaction for higher management to take into account in their organizational
planning process.

Performing well as a first-level managers are like walking the circus high wire. In both
positions, the ability to maintain one’s balance when shifting forces pull in opposite directions is
a measure of one’s success. First-level managers must be able to harmonize the demands of
management, the demands of the collective work force (often represented by unions), and the
demands of workers with the requirements for doing the tasks at hand. These needs are more
often than not conflicting and even at times mutually exclusive. First-level managers usually
have mixed emotions about their situation and often lose their sense of identity as they try to
perform this precarious balancing act. Today these supervisors and managers are part of
management, but chances are they were once among the employees they are now trying to
supervise. Although first-level management have the responsibility for implementing the goals
of upper management, their organizational authority to carry out the necessary actions is
frequently unclear and often insufficient. By allowing these lowest-level managers to use the
levers of influence inherent in their position, higher-level managers will be improving the
performance of the whole organization.

Being a first-level supervisors or managers are one of the most difficult, demanding,
and challenging jobs in any organization. Buried in an organizational web, this person must be
adroit at administering a unit and at perceiving which, among all the daily tasks delegated
downward, are the most important to accomplish. Through such administrative competence, he
or she must be able to link the unit’s accomplishments to the functioning of other
organizational sub-units.

Even at the first level, a supervisor or manager must be able to think and act in terms of
the total system of operation. This includes defining and assigning priorities, planning and
organizing, and programming and coordinating the operating tasks of a department so that the
objectives of both the department and the company as a whole are achieved.

Furthermore, the first-level supervisor or manager must excel in interpersonal skills.

More and more, the trend is for employees to be a heterogeneous group of individuals, many of
whom are not especially dedicated to their jobs, their departments, or their companies.
Handling the variety of attitudes and values in this multiple-generation worker base has become
extremely difficult. Also, the work force is aging as the post-World War II babies reach middle
age, and challenges to mandatory retirement are widening the age spread.

Decline of the Position

Although a person serving as a first-level supervisor or manager is performing a major

function, the position has often been labeled “the man in the middle,” “the forgotten man,” “the
master and victim of double talk,” and “the marginal man.” Such descriptions not only indicate
the male domination of the position but also its degeneration to one of “being on the edge,”
“being victimized,” and “fading in importance.”

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Confusion of roles

The causes for the decline of the first-level position are manifold. Over the years
confusion has developed about what to expect of supervisors and what role to give them. The
position has two very separate roots.

One root is the master craftsman of the past. He was a real entrepreneur—bidding on
jobs, hiring employees to perform required tasks, and managing their progress. Like the
subcontractor of today, the master craftsman took on the difference between the revenues for
jobs completed and the costs associated with those jobs as his own profits or losses. The master
craftsman’s skill and knowledge of the job were the key ingredients on which these profits or
losses depended.

The other root is the “lead man,” the foreman of a gang of workers performing manual
labor. Like the lead dog or lead horse of a work team, the lead man served as an example for
other work-crew members. He often set the pace by calling out a cadence to synchronize the
crew’s physical movements. The lead man was part of the actual work, and yet he was
responsible for the behavior of the whole group.

The amalgamation of these two roles has resulted in today’s confusing hybrid. Peter
Drucker notes: “From the master craftsman the supervisor of today has largely inherited what is
expected of him. From the lead man he has, however, largely inherited his actual position.”

The word supervisor has conflicting connotations. A supervisor not only commands,
directs, controls, and inspects but also takes responsibility for, leads, shepherds, administers,
guides, consults, and cares for. Just how the connotation varies from situation to situation and
from person to person is in itself a reason for the ambiguity—and the decline—of the first-level
supervisor’s role.

Views About the Supervisor’s Role

Earlier, the supervisor has been pointed as being known under various titles based on
their role in the organization. Be that as it may, the question is: Which should be predominant?

The Foreman. The Foreman is both a subordinate in the organization and as a

management representative dealing with union organization. As a subordinate, he/she should
have a sound understanding of organizational procedure. But management cannot reasonably
expect that this “organization sense” will develop spontaneously in each official. The
independent type of person often selected as management representative is especially apt to
need training along their lines. No less essential for the first-line supervisor’s success is his
capacity to understand, administer, and explain company policies. Training for this proves an
especially good investment when a company foreman deals with the union in connection with
complaints

Not infrequently, he/she is known as a first-line supervisor. These are others who call
him/her as section or department manager. As first-line supervisor, he occupies a strategic
place in the hierarchy of an organization. As manager’s representative he/she is undoubtedly

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a vital link in the upward and downward flow of communication. The extent to which work is
done, and the quality of that work are oftentimes circumscribed by his influence and behavior.

MacFarland describes him in the following words:

“He/she is often a key individual in the lives of the men who work for him. To the
extent that he/she obtains their confidence as a leader, they depend on him/her for his ideas,
information, suggestions, approval, and criticism. They look to him/her for decisions, for
timely information, for friendly counsel guidance, and for answers to questions that may arise.
They expect him to be fair and to use common sense in working with them.”

In some companies, he adds, “there may be considerable antagonism between workers

and their foreman. Sometimes workers develop fears, hatreds, and frustrations which produce
conflict and stress in their jobs. Resentment and anger are expressed toward him/her. The
attitudes of subordinates toward their supervisor are conditioned by general company
decisions, policies, and values and by their own experiences with particular supervisors.”

He concludes with no little amount of emphasis: “The supervisor is the distributor of

rewards and punishments and, hence, may elicit positive or negative feelings on the part of
the subordinates.

The Man in the Middle. Studies made by social scientists tend to show the supervisor
as the “man in the middle,’ a description popularized by F.J. Roethlisberger in an article
which appeared in 1945. His job differs from that of other managers because the group he
supervises is different. This situation requires him/her to deal and interact in an authoritative
relationship with two group, first, workers who are his subordinates, and second, managers
who are his superiors.

As described by Keith Davis, the supervisor known as the man in the middle is
pressed between opposing social forces of management and workers. In “Human Behavior at
Work: Human Relation and Organizational Behavior”, he said among others the following:

“Management has one set of expectations from him/her. It wants to prevent waste,
keep her/his men disciplined, control production, and otherwise carry out its plants. It
demands her/his loyalty and maximum effort. Its expectations are largely technical or
production-centered. The pressures brought by workers are, on the other hand, largely matters
of feeling. They want him/her ‘to be a good supervisor’, to keep them out of trouble, to
interpret their fears and wants to management, and to be loyal to them. In short, management
expects one set off reactions from the supervisor, and workers expect another. He is caught
between opposing forces, knowing that he cannot meet the expectations of both. All he can
expect is frustration. As key man, he is agent of both, but as a man in the middle he is merely
a mediator and buffer between their opposing pressures,”

Undoubtedly, the man in the middle is the victim of the situation, not supervisor of it.
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The marginal man. The marginal-man concept, on the other hand, is a sociological
one referring to the fact that the supervisor is left out of, or on the margin of, the principal
activities and influences which affect his department.

Davis observed: “Unaccepted by management, ignored by the staff, and not one of the
workers, the supervisor is truly the how walks alone. Top management has stockholders,
other mangers, and staff specialists supporting it. Workers have their union, their shop
stewards, and their informal group.”

But how support the supervisor? Who are his associates, professional and social?” he
asks. The picture of the marginal supervisor is bleak indeed, although he is found in some
organizations. Yet, as Meggison has observed, the “marginal man” concept lends itself to the
best analysis of the position of the supervisor today. According to this concept, these
individuals stand between, and among, groups and have a feeling of both belonging to and
not belonging to those group. Thus, the supervisor is caught between having to report to his
superiors and being a representative of management in his relations to his subordinates.
Research has shown ‘that he does not play an important role in decision making, as claimed
by top management, nor is he merely a representative of management,” a view expressed by
Donald E. Wray in “Marginal Men of Industry: The Foreman” published in the American
Journal of Sociology, in January 1949. Instead, he is observed merely as a transmitter of
decisions made by superior and has authority for making recommendation.

Marginal supervisors exist principally in small companies where an owner-manager

or other officer can bypass the supervisor as effectively as he is bypassed by staff in larger
companies. In either case, the union can exclude him by working mostly with higher
management. Marginal foreman also are prevented on night shifts because they are outside
the mainstream of daytime activities.

Another view of the supervisor is that only his name is changed because he still
primarily an employee. Such a view however fails to take into account his multifarious role in
an organization, a view that is not subscribed by many.

James W. Driscoll, Daniel J. Carroll, Jr., and Timothy A. Sprecher, in recent research,
asked first-level supervisors about the amount of control they had over factors that motivated
their subordinates.

“Unfortunately, these first-level supervisors are still ‘the man in the middle.’ (The only
change is a semantic update in gender.) They report no more control over the things they
consider important than over the things they consider unimportant. It is quite likely this lack of
control generates very high levels of frustration in first-level supervisors. They are held
responsible for producing organizational results through their subordinates, but they lack
control over the means to motivate these workers.”10

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Research they conducted confirms that this attitude is widespread. A quote from a
general foreman summarizes a common complaint: “They (upper management) have
completely taken away our ability to get things done. We are still responsible for things that we
have little control over—absenteeism, purchasing parts, quality, labor relations, maintenance.
When we go to them with some problem, to get some help, all we get is, ‘Fix it, make it go
away.’”

By giving control of these factors to first-level supervisors, middle and top management
could help the supervisors motivate their subordinates. Driscoll, Carroll, and Sprecher
discovered that the higher-level managers very accurately perceived this control discrepancy
between what is important and what the first-level supervisors control: “Basically, these first-
level supervisors seem to be in an un-unwinnable situation. They need help, and their bosses
seem to know it.”

The Supervisor and Productivity

Not all supervision is effective. General supervision, rather than close supervision, has
been found to be associated more frequently with high production. This fact applies not only
to the personnel working under the first-line supervisors but also to the supervisors
themselves. The heads of low production sections usually are more closely supervised than
the heads of high-production sections. The high-producing supervisors and manager are
shown to be effective in making clear to their subordinates what the objectives are and what
needs to be accomplished. Then they give the subordinates the freedom to do the job.
Supervisors of low-producing groups, on the other hand, spend more time with their
employees, but much of the time is spent in telling employees to “Do this, do that, do it this
way, etc.” Apparently close supervision of this type hinders rather than facilities the effective
performance of the trained employee who would like an opportunity to move at his own pace
in his own way, within acceptable limits.

While employees apparently do not need a close type of supervision, nevertheless,

this should not give the impression to mean that the supervisor should not give them the
attention they need and desire. It has been found that genuine interest and unselfish concern
on the part of a superior in the success and well-being of his subordinates have a marked and
favorable effect on their performance.

Rensis Likert in “Motivation: The Core of Management,” pointed out that while in the
past there has been a tendency to emphasize the relationship between supervisors and
employees as individuals, within recent years, however, there has been increasing evidence to
indicate that the supervisor’s skill in supervising his subordinates as a group is equally
important factor in determining his success. The University of Michigan studies according to
him reveal that “the greater the supervisor’s skill in using group methods of supervision, the
greater the productivity and satisfaction of the work group is likely to be. In the high-
producing work groups it was found that employees cooperate more and help one another in
getting the work done on their own initiative. “The willingness to help one another seems to

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come from a better team spirit and better interpersonal relationships that has developed in the
group,” Chruden and Sherman have concluded based on their own personal observations.

The Supervisor in Personnel Management

Simply put, owing to the multifarious roles of a supervisor in an organization, he
cannot completely dissociate himself from the various aspects of personnel management. In a
small enterprise where there is no personnel manager, he often is involved in personnel
selection and placement. From the time the new employee is assigned to a particular job until
he leaves the organization, the supervisor is very much involved in the task of personnel
management. He has the responsibility to provide the training that will permit the employee
to be of invaluable asset to the company just as he is able to develop his potentials. In fact, he
is able to do this through an almost day-to-day assistance extended to the employee. And
following up his work.

When the employee leaves, the supervisor may have to conduct an exit interview.
This is important to every management in that it will help it to understand if anything
unsalutary exists in the company as to make the employee decide to leave. If so, then the
management can institute remedial measures to correct the same. In this respect, the
successful supervisor doesn’t leave things to chance. He studies each problem carefully to
determine the best way of solving it.

In putting the employee on-the-job training, it is important to take into account the
following helpful guides:

A. Explain why. When an employee understands the reason for doing a job in a
certain way, he undoubtedly is able to learn how to do the job quickly. A person must
find interest on what he is doing, otherwise, he is likely to waste a great deal of his
time doing the task. Anybody how is animated by intense interest about the job will
seek ways and means of improving his job without any prodding from anyone in the
management level.

A. Encourage the worker to participate. The easiest way to learn the job is through
active participation. During the orientation and training period, a worker should
not only be made to observe but put his hands to work as well. Participation
stimulates a worker’s interest in this way.

B. Allow time for open discussion. A good supervisor always finds time to talk with
his workers and employees. The efficiency and morale of all the personnel from
top management to lowest levels within a company depend upon the effectiveness
of communication in the organization. It is of primary importance for the workers
and employees to know about their job duties and moreover know whether they
are going or coming.

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C. Build confidence. An experienced supervisor knows that a worker or employee

learns best when he is armed with confidence. It is therefore a moral obligation
on the part of the supervisor to strive in creating a healthy climate where the
worker or employee has no reason to fear of failing on the job.

D. Review job performance periodically. Unless job performance is reviewed

periodically, chances are that the worker or employee may start to lose interest on
his job. This is because his efficient performance is taken for granted and
promotion takes a long time in coming.

Skills Required by Managers and Supervisors

For the purpose of effective supervision, two sets of skills are required by managers
and supervisors, namely: analysis skill and interaction skills. Such skills are important, not to
say, indispensable to their multifarious functions.
Through the use of analytical skills, managers as well as supervisors are able to study
problem situations and others aspect of management, break into the minutest details and as
such have a clear grasp and understanding of them. With everything set in clear perspective,
they are able to formulate and implement the steps that may be found warranted by the
circumstances in relation to the work system. Among these skills are the following:
A. Planning
B. Scheduling
C. Measuring outcomes
D. Cost benefit analysis
E. Problem analysis

Interaction skills, on the other hand, include all the techniques managers and
supervisors use to relate to their employees for purposes of providing direction and feedback.
Among these skills are:
1. Direction
Leading meetings
Assigning work
2. Formative feedback
Work improvement
On-the-job training
Conflict mediation
Dealing with complaints
3. Motivational feedback
Hiring and promotion
Performance appraisal
Rewarding good work
Discipline

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When a manager or supervisor develops a balanced set of analysis and interaction

skills, he becomes effective in coordinating by which it relates to other system both within its
own organization and in the society as a whole.

Challenge of the First Level Managers/supervisors

In addition to the increasing pressure for administrative and clerical efficiency at the
first level, two areas of supervisory competence that are continually problematic are human
relations and technical knowledge. Workers are no longer conformists who without question
accept the rules and procedures that management lays down. No longer do they take authority
at face value.

Human Relations

Many workers view their jobs as necessary evils to provide the resources for fulfilling
their lives in leisure time, which they are pressing harder and harder to increase. It is the first-
level supervisor who must cope with such workers face to face and day to day. Being able to
communicate effectively is vital. In a recent study of 25 middle managers, the materials
manager of an electrical company expressed a theme common to the group: “Being able to
work with people is the most important characteristic a first-level supervisor can have. I can
buy technological expertise, but it’s hard to find someone with good, basic communication
skills.”

Technical Competence

First-level supervisors must of course have technical competence in the areas they
supervise. The supervisors must be able to perform the specific tasks they ask their workers to
do and must, to some degree, understand the equipment and the process technology they
manage.

Technological changes continue to occur rapidly, though, and supervisors can no longer
hope to understand completely all the complex equipment and processes they are in charge of.
New products and new processes abound—computers, plastic molding, electronic test
equipment, temperature-and pressure-sensitive distillation, component machining, complex
metal alloy foundries, acoustic devices, and synthetic rubber, to name but a few.

Having good technical skills gives supervisors both enough understanding to deal with
the many specialists brought in to accomplish the units’ objectives and the ability to train
subordinates in their tasks.

Mix of Skills

Despite the difficulty and challenge of the first-level supervisor’s job, many upper-level
managers fail to appreciate its merits or its requirements. Although most of them agree that the
human relations aspect of the job is important, they often promote a supervisor for such skills
as record keeping. Although the mix of skills needed for each position varies from situation to
situation, managers often fail to perceive the particularity of the task required, the type of
people being supervised, or the stage the organization is going through.

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Picking Key Subordinates

An experienced supervisor should have no trouble picking the best there is in the
labor market, In fact, his success or failure as a supervisor is by and large influenced by the
kind of workers and employees he is able to bring into the organization. In a number of
instances, though, the good materials are already attached to certain organizations so that the
supervisor is left with no option but to use his sound judgement of those who have the
potentials to do on the job.

Specifically, some personnel functions of a supervisor are:

1.Picks key subordinates. The best manager is the man “who knows how to surround himself
with people how can do things he can’t do,” remarked a successful president of a prestigious
company. This is true in many fields of human endeavor where the selection of able and
competent employees is a big factor to the success of the organization. (In fact, this holds true
in running the affairs of the nation where the president must have the help of top assistants.
He cannot do the job reposed upon him by the electorate single-handedly.)
A president of the large company has won a reputation as a man who gets things done.
It is because his ability is many times multiplied by the many capable men women around
him.
The following are some of the traits that a skilled manager or supervisor looks for in
choosing people to give him help in backing in the direction of a company, a department or a
working group:
A. Ability to think. Most of us is familiar with THINK, which IBM has made as a by-
word in industry. In fact, you see it printed on many plaques and signs in executive offices.
Perhaps, you may have also seen the cartoon of a puzzled employee who, when confronted
with the instructional sign asks, “About what?”
The key subordinate thinks about the things and problem that are happening in his
company and how he could of be help of solving them. His ability to think and think will
makes a big asset to any organization. He cannot relish the idea of being a driftwood and
carried by the current to wherever place it may be. A great doer must first be a great thinker.
a. Courage. Out of courage come stamina and perseverance, qualities that are
needed by every management. If a manager has a difficult assignment that will
take determination and hard work to complete, he will undoubtedly require the
cooperation of an intelligent person to do it. However, intelligence is far from
enough. He must be a man who has guts – one who doesn’t quit simply
because the going is getting rough. He must have drive and sufficient pride
and the ability to take a fresh approach to every problem he may be confronted
with.

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b. Ideas. The creative person always comes up with suggestions that makes the
manager pause and think about possible answer to the problem. Such people
have imagination and prove as able assistants. Competent people never run out
of good idea. Such quality sets them apart from the ordinary.

c. Loyalty. No matter what other qualities an employee may have, if he lacks of

loyalty to his superior and to the company that provides him with bread and
butter, he poses as a great veritable risk. He could be snake in the grass
waiting for an opportune. Time to strike.

It is said that Benedict Arnold had one of the best minds in the military
organization during the American Revolution. Sadly enough and very unfortunate, he
used if for both sides. A case of “balimbing”, so to speak. However, Loyalty should
not be exacted through threat or intimidation. Loyalty must be freely given out of
one’s goodness and a pure heart.
Insecure managers demand of their employees blind loyalty which is both
wrong and immoral. Any attempt to do so could only boomerang against the
organization because such “loyalty” would only be fleeting and not anchored on solid
ground.
d. Memory. The employee who can tell his superior what he wants to know at a
particular time without having to consult the company files a valuable asset –
provided, of course, that the information he gives is correct.
One with keen memory can be a mine of reliable facts which can be of
invaluable help to management when making on-the-spot decisions as
called for by an emergency situation.
B. Coaches on a job. It is not only a saying but in fact a truism that if an organization
wants a person to grow he must be given ample room to grow and develop his
potentialities. This facilitated by proper encouragement and proper coaching.
Indeed, it goes without saying that the fastest and surest way kill initiative and
stifle ambition is to keep an employee on a short run that he is not given much
leeway in doing his job – to the best of his ability and in the best wat he knows
how. As aptly pointed out on a number of occasions, a mechanical man is of no
value to a company in an emergency. Such employee always depends upon others
to do the thinking for him, and if the supervisor is not present and something goes
wrong, he simply waits for further orders. By the time the supervisor arrives, a lot of
trouble may have ensued.
This not simply to say that the supervisor delegates and forgets. The wise supervisor
has a sure knowledge of the ability, resourcefulness, and experience of each
subordinate who must be properly coached and given chance to use his ingenuity.

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On-the-job coaching is personalized and thorough process of making the

employee grow and develop his potentialities to the fullest extent.
C. Gives Assignment. This is not an easy task for a supervisor to do. Whether it is or
it is not, he must farm out of job assignments to his subordinates based on their
educational background, experience, training, aptitudes and others. As such, the
supervisor must know the capabilities of each worker under him. To fail to do so, he
could fall into the trap of putting square pegs in round holes.

D. Instructs Subordinates. Corollary to the above, he should not only give job
assignment but must at the same time instruct them what to do, that is, make them
conversant of what management expects of them. He must discuss the assignment
with the employee concerned and encourage him to speak out his mind. A good
supervisor under any circumstances must never be a straight-jacket manager.
Nor should he be a speed merchant. Rather, his words of instructions must
be coached in clear understandable language that would not provide any room for
doubt.
1. Schedules Work. This means setting deadlines. The supervisor should no allocate and
farm out work assignments on an open-end basis. Otherwise, the workers will not
have any idea of the urgency of the work to be undertaken. Moreover, it will
contribute to the slowing down in the level of productivity.

At all times, though, all deadlines must be reasonable and justifiable. It is

grossly unfair and uncalled for to set a deadline where it is impossible for the worker
to finish the job within the date indicated even if he has to forego hours for his lunch.

2. Keeps Track of Progress. A good supervisor cannot simply delegate certain work to
be done and forget it. Rather, he must keep an eye on its progress. This is one way of
ensuring effective supervision. Under no circumstances must the supervisor give
over-the-should criticism, in the presence of other members of the work group and
more particularly when it is premature. Such unethical act on the part of the
supervisor generates depressing effects and tends to demoralize the employee
concerned – a circumstance which will take the employee a long time to forget.
If an employee makes mistakes, he should find out the reason why. Could it be on
account of the fact that the supervisor and the employee are on different wave
length brought about by wrong and power communication or the instruction
given were beyond the comprehension of the employee? Or simply on account of
poor follow-up?
In many instances, it will be wise to review the job assignments periodically.
This will provide a chance for a frank, two-way discussion- and thus be able to
discuss the employee’s mistakes in a constructive way and in an atmosphere of
cordiality.

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3. Offers Unstinted Support and Cooperation. Cooperating with various technical

experts, the supervisor serves as a leader and a teacher of employees who have human
needs which by and large are not identical with those of management. Therefore, part
of the job of a supervisor is to serve as a personal counselor and as one willing to
listen to complaints, because he is deeply interested to hear whatever grounds or
causes are responsible for employee dissatisfaction. In this way, he helps build a
healthy and desirable climate of human relationships within the organization.

4. Shapes the Attitude that Motivates Employees Toward Better Performance on the Job.
Looked upon as their counselor, friend, and ally, all rolled into one, the supervisor
becomes instrumental in forging better management-labor relations climate and thus
insure the continuous and smooth operation of the organization. Without good and
harmonious management-labor relations, the two parties, that is management and
labor, would be working at cross purposes not only resulting in low productivity and
ill-feelings toward one another, but could result in impairment of industrial peace
wrought havoc to the nation’s economy.
Mistakes Supervisors Should Avoid
Several mistakes of supervisor could easily be avoided if they try to take cognizance
of them. Some of them are:
a. Getting the credit of another. Consciously or unconsciously, some supervisor
err in trying to grab the credit for a job well done from their employees. This
is unethical and does not speak well of them.
b. Eavesdropping. No supervisor can succeed and be happy if time and gain he
spies or eavesdrops on his employees. It means that he does not trust them. In
like vein, he is one man who cannot be trusted as well.

Frequently the reason behind such a nasty habit is the feeling of

insecurity on the part of the supervisor. In many instances, he wants to know
whether his employees want to leave the company. If so, what can he do about
that when his employees do not trust or respect him?

c. Slandering subordinates. If a subordinate commit a mistake, his attention

must have to be called to avoid its repetition in the future and if a reprimand is
called for, it is only justified that it should be given to him. But to slander an
employee regardless of the gravity of his offense is not only demeaning. It
creates contempt not for the erring employee but to the supervisor who is
bereft for good manners and right conduct. And yet, surprisingly enough, these
are supervisors who try to insult or slander his employees in public so that his
being “boss” will be taken notice of. The easiest way to weaken management-
labor relations is for the superior or the supervisor to engage in tongue-lashing
every time he has the opportunity to do so.

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Why Supervisors Fail on their Job

In a study conducted by the “National Management Association” of 86 companies
in the United States, the following are the most common faults of supervisors which make
them fail on their jobs:

a. Poor personal relations with workers or with management people. This is rated
highest on the list.

b. Individual shortcomings such as lack of initiative, emotional instability, and

other.

c. Lack of understanding of the management’s point of view.

d.
Lack of skill of planning and organizing work.
e.
Inability to adjust to new and changing conditions. Some supervisors are
dogmatic in their ways and attitudes.

Ways to Improve Your Role as a Supervisor

Are there ways to improve your supervision skills? Do you believe that your
employees are always expecting the best from you? A supervisor should always work on
improving themselves to set an example for the employees.
Here are 4 ways to improve yourself and your supervisory skills:

 Be a Mentor: Being a supervisor, leading by example also means that you should be
a mentor to your employees. As a mentor, you should examine the highest potential of
your team members individually and push them forward to achieve their best. Being a
role model to your team is also essential and is achieved by setting rules and
guidelines and following them as well as handling problems and risks properly.
 Know when to Discipline: Leaders make hard decisions all the time, it can include a
decision to take a risk that might help the business success, or a decision to terminate
an employee. Discipline to an employee is a necessity to make sure no one steps over
the limits.
 Give Positive Feedback: Employees whom achieve a goal or complete a task always
look for a feedback. Leaders should give positive feedback to their employees even if
they did not do the right thing. Instead of telling them that what they did was wrong,
tell them that they can improve.
 Be up to date: Any employee should always be up to date with the current business
situation and updates on the field. With your help as a leader and a supervisor,
guidelines, and workshops can help increase the team’s knowledge.

Great Leaders always look forward towards improving themselves as they

develop their supervisory skills. Improving yourself makes you a role model to your
employees and helps on increasing the productive outcome of your team members.

Pitfalls you Should Avoid as a Supervisor

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Here are 5 pitfalls you should avoid as part of your supervisory skills development:

 Not Planning Properly: Project Management is essential to complete all the tasks
assigned. Your job as a supervisor is to plan ahead of time for every detail and
schedule all tasks beforehand to avoid exceeding an assigned deadline.
 Laying off work: Although you are a supervisor, laying off work is an act that should
not be practiced because it sets a bad example for your employees. It also increases
the load on your team members which in turn delivers an unacceptable outcome and a
decline in productivity rate.
 Not Giving your employees enough work: Just like how you should not lay off
work, you should not do all the work yourself. Distribute the work per the job
designations and responsibilities of your team members. Not having an even
distribution of work might also cause a decline in productivity, as well as having your
employees slacking due to the lack of tasks assigned.
 Being too Friendly: At all costs, avoid being too friendly. Moderation is the key,
allow your employees to trust you and rely on you, but do not let them step over you
or exceed their limits.
 Recruiting the wrong people: As a supervisor, you sometimes need to recruit more
team members. Recruiting the wrong people gives off a bad impression on your
judgment as a supervisor. Instead, you can make sure that the candidate gets a proper
briefing and training before getting the job.

Mistakes are easily made but can be easily avoided. Being a supervisor,
making a mistake is expected, so work on avoiding it next time and make sure you
teach that pitfall to your team.

References/Sources:
Flores, Marivic F. Administrative Office Management (OBE Approach). Unlimited Books
Library Services & Publishing Inc. 2016
Miranda, Gregorio S. Supervisory Management. National Bookstore. 2008
Leonard Jr., E.C. (2015). Supervision: Concepts and practices of management,13th edition,
Leonard Jr., E.C. (2013). Supervision: Concepts and practices of management,12th edition
https://books.google.com.ph/books?hl=en&lr=&id=LDJBBAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&ot
s=amfmGP_OL7&sig=rKByPxMQ6WcdiVfMvW_iXYWgyLk&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q
&f=false, retrieved on August 14, 2019, 11:30am
Mc.Namara. Field Guide to Leadership and Supervision in Business, 2010
Leonard Jr., E.C. (2008). Supervision: Concepts and practices of management,11th edition
https://scholars.fhsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=management_oer
Betts, P.W. Supervisory management7th ed. Pearson Education. 2000
https://www.potential.com/articles/supervisory-skills/ retrieved September 1, 2020
https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=4492f9d1-5a37-49a1-809c-44bce6843d7e
https://web.archive.org/web/20150223110958/http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/hs/pdf/gl
_supervisor.pdf
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/first-line-manager.html
https://hbr.org/1980/03/let-first-level-supervisors-do-their-job

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Acknowledgement
All the figures, information and lessons contained in this module have been compiled and
were taken from various references/sources enumerated above. Hence, the author of this
module has no proprietary right on the same. This module is for Educational purposes only.

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