Supervision

Chapter 1: Supervision
 Supervision
• Many managers are never formally trained
to be managers.
• The earliest theories of management
primarily consisted of three different views:
– the traditional model.
– the human relations model.
– the human resources model.
• The only thing these three theories have in
common is that each one attempts to
construct a single model of motivation that
would apply to every employee in every
situation.
 Management Models
Traditional Model: Arose partly due to need to
increase worker productivity. Assumes:
– More efficient workers should be paid more
than less‑efficient workers
– Most people do not like work and will avoid it
if at all possible
– What people do is less important than what
they earn for doing it
– Few people want/can handle work that
requires creativity or self-direction
 Management Models
•The Human
Relations
Model
proposes,
managers can
motivate their
employees by
making them
feel useful and
important.
 Management Models
• Human Resources Model criticized
both models as being oversimplified
&flawed.
• Theory X management assumes that
people are inherently lazy and need to be
driven to perform.
• Theory Y assumes that people basically
want to do a good job.
• Compromise - Good managers inspire
employees to do their best and establish
an environment that allows them to reach
their goals – they listen, encourage, guide.
Management Challenges
• Managers today face a new reality in the
partnership of managers and workers.
• Managers are finding out that they can’t
command their employees’ best work—they
have to create an environment that fosters
their employees’ desire to do their best work.
• The best employees will leave the old-model
companies in droves, seeking employers who
treat them with respect and who are willing to
grant them greater autonomy and
responsibility.
 New Functions of
Management
• Functions of the new manager:
– Trusting employees
– Energizing employees
– Empowering employees
(get out of the way)
– Supporting employees
– Communicating with employees –
(Set expectations)
– Learning from employees
• You can always learn something from other
managers—whether they’re good managers or
bad ones.
 Improving Your Skills
• To take advantage of the lessons that you
learn, you have to put them into practice.
Keep these key steps in mind.
– Assess your organization’s problems –
attempt to solve most important ones, first
– Do you help or hinder, give authority,
support, create positive results?
– Try out techniques you learn from your
reading or from observing other managers
change begins with you
– Step back and watch what happens.
 Laws
There are numerous federal and state
employment laws that managers must obey
in making daily, routine management
decisions.
•Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
prohibits employment discrimination based
on an individual’s sex, race, color, religion,
and national origin
•The Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC) oversees Title VII +
other EEO laws 
 Sexual Harassment
• Sexual harassment in the workplace generally
occurs in one of two ways:
– A manager or a supervisor sexually harasses an
employee by virtue of the power held over that
employee by promising or withholding a raise or
a promotion in return for sexual favors – quid
pro quo
– Creating a hostile work environment occurs
when a manager allows employees to engage in
telling dirty jokes or allows employees to
circulate offensive pictures, Web sites, or email
messages
• Supervisors must have well-established guidelines
for preventing the sexual harassment of employees
 Employment Laws
• The Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA)
covers five areas
including employment.
• Protected groups include
individuals who use
wheelchairs, walkers, the
speech, vision, or
hearing impaired; people with mental retardation or
emotional illness; and numerous other health issues
•EEOC suggests reasonable accommodations (< $50)
•ADA stipulates wheelchair accessibility unless it is not
readily achievable or would cause undue hardship
 Employment Laws
• The Age Discrimination in Employment Act
(ADEA) of 1967 prohibits discrimination against
individuals who are forty years of age and older.
• Equal Pay Act of 1963 is to prevent huge
disparities in pay and wages between men and
women – equal wages for equal work.
• Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of
1986 imposes civil (up to $10,000 fine) and
criminal penalties on employers who knowingly
hire illegal aliens.
• States, cities, and towns have enacted their own
laws, e.g., covering marital status, disability, age,
and sexual orientation – stricter law prevails
 Summary
• As a manager, it is important that you are
good not only in the technical aspects of
your field but also in dealing with
others. Empowering, trusting, and
supporting your employees are ways you
can bring out the best in others and
improve your organization. It is also
important that you are familiar with
employment laws because they affect
virtually every aspect of the employee–
employer relationship.