Management / Supervisor Training

Management and Strategy Institute

The subsequent material is for the following program:

Management / Supervisor Training

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What is Supervision

By the end of this session

you will be able to:

Approach a supervisory
role systematically and
confidently by knowing the
requirements for success
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 What is Supervision?

• In just about any industry and in just about any role, you will
eventually find yourself in a supervisory role. As you gain
technical skills and become experienced, you may find the
need to lead others so you and your team can get more done.

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 What is Supervision?

• Alternatively, the management may want to promote you to a

supervisory position so that you can work at a higher level
and you and your team as a whole becomes more productive
and skilled.

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 What is Supervision?

• Supervision itself is however a whole new skill to learn and no

matter how technically skilled you are, supervising and
managing people is something that needs your focus, time and
resources for mastering it.

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 What is Supervision?

• This course helps you understand what supervision is all

about and what it conveys. People are complex and
managing them is not always a straight forward task. The
course covers a number of best practice guidelines along with
real-world examples that will help you address management
issues to get the best outcome.

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 What is Supervision?

• In this introductory session you will learn what supervisory is

all about and how it differs from other specific forms of
management.

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 Who is a Supervisor

Director

Sales &
Design Manufacturing HR & Office
Marketing
Manager Director Manager
Director

PR Shop floor R&D

Supervisor Supervisor Supervisor

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 Who is a Supervisor?

• Supervisor means “watching over”. In reality supervision is a

lot more complex than just keeping an eye on staff. Before
examining the roles of a supervisor, it is useful to see how
management structures are held in a given organization.

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 Who is a Supervisor?

• In formal organizations, there is usually a top-down hierarchy.

Here, authority flows downwards and each manager is
accountable for his subordinates. This hierarchy helps to
show the following:
– Who reports to whom
– What are the formal positions of authority
– How does authority and accountability flow
– What are the lines of communication
– What are the lines of promotion

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 Who is a Supervisor?

• In addition, many organizations also give functional authority

to managers. This way, a manager’s decision about his area
of operation can affect other departments and managers.

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 Who is a Supervisor?

• The upside of this is that a decision can be made by a

specialist manager and the policy would then be applied
everywhere. This increases efficiency since other managers
don’t have to make the decision independently and commit
resources several times throughout the organization. The
downside is that a given manager may feel that he has many
bosses.

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 Who is a Supervisor?

• In this hierarchy a supervisor is a manager who directs the

activities of non-management employees or workers. A
supervisor is managed by higher-up managers but can also
be influenced by other supervisors who are in charge of other
teams.

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 Who is a Supervisor?

• For example, a supervisor might be in charge of a team of

designers who design the look and feel of a product such as
its general shape, size and color, the packaging, the website
describing the product and so on. Another supervisor can be
in charge of a team of manual assembly workers who
assemble the components together to make the product.

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 Who is a Supervisor?

• The supervisors can use their respective specialist authority to

instruct other supervisors to follow up with a particular policy.
For example, a design supervisor may require the assembly
supervisor to follow a specific protocol when packaging
products to achieve a certain aesthetic standard.

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 What is Involved in Supervision?

• As a supervisor you have four major functions. These are

planning, organizing, directing and controlling. Let’s explore
each function in more detail.

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What is Involved in Supervision?

Planning
Organizing
Directing
Controlling
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 What is Involved in Supervision?

• Planning
• Having understood company objectives and having set your
own objectives, an important function is planning to make
sure those objectives are achieved.
• There are 5 steps in planning:

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 What is Involved in Supervision?

• Planning
– Set objectives. Set SMART objectives, short term and long term.
– Determine alternatives and limitations. Create a course of action
that leads to the objectives.
– Evaluate alternatives. Analyze each option to identify its advantages
and disadvantages so you can choose the most ideal option.

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 What is Involved in Supervision?

• Planning
– Implement a course of action. Plan how the series of actions will be
carried out by qualified and experienced subordinates.
– Follow-up. Monitor progress towards achieving the objectives.

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 What is Involved in Supervision?

• Organizing
• Organizing is directly related to planning and they both must
be considered together.
• Organizing involves the following:

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 What is Involved in Supervision?

• Organizing
– Tasks and subtasks. Determine what tasks need to be performed.
You may need to subdivide large tasks to smaller ones in preparation
for the assignment to individuals.
– Assignments and accountability. Identify who will be accountable for
what and who needs to carry out what task.

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 What is Involved in Supervision?

• Organizing
– Resource allocation. Allocate appropriate resources so your staff can
accomplish the tasks and achieve the objectives.

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 What is Involved in Supervision?

• Directing
• Directing is about overseeing staff, motivating them and
encouraging them to achieve above-average performance.
• This includes the following:

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 What is Involved in Supervision?

• Directing
– Staffing. People are valuable resources for a company and must be
constantly looked after to make sure they are happy and perform at a
high standard. Staffing covers areas such as recruiting, placement,
promotions, transfers and terminations.

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 What is Involved in Supervision?

• Directing
– Appraisal. Periodic evaluations of staff help a supervisor to
understand an individual’s needs, concerns and aspirations. The
ultimate purpose of a formal appraisal is to increase the performance
and satisfaction of an employee which in turn will greatly benefit the
organization.

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 What is Involved in Supervision?

• Directing
– Disciplining. This is primarily about constructive criticism that leads to
growth. It should not be confused with negative feedback and
punishment which can have drastic consequences on moral, not just
for the person involved but also for others in the team who hear about
the incident. While directing, it is important to gain respect of the
employees, appear confident and fair.

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 What is Involved in Supervision?

• Directing
– Training. In a dynamic market, employees must constantly learn new
skills to remain competitive. This requires carefully selected training
programs tailored for each individual.

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 What is Involved in Supervision?

• Directing
– Incentives. Motivated employees are more productive. This can be
achieved through target-based incentives as well as creating a working
environment that makes people happy. Incentives are usually seen as
monetary such as bonuses, raises and promotions.
– Directing is the most demanding function of all supervisory functions.

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 What is Involved in Supervision?

• Controlling
• Controlling is about identifying deficiencies in a business
operation and addressing them accordingly.
• Essentially control is about:

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 What is Involved in Supervision?

• Controlling
– Establishing standards. Identify Key Performance Indicators so
performance can be measured and evaluated.
– Evaluating against standards. Measuring subordinates’ efforts and
activities against these standards
– Handling deviations. Taking corrective action when deviations occur.

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 What is Involved in Supervision?

• Controlling
• Consider the following when planning to implement a new
control or policy:

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 What is Involved in Supervision?

• Consider the following when planning to implement a new

control or policy:
– Focus on critical points. Focus on areas that matter the most such as
production, financial and interpersonal communication.
– Acceptance. Must be accepted by people who must enforce them or
those who the controls are enforced on.

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 What is Involved in Supervision?

• Consider the following when planning to implement a new

control or policy:
– Cost efficiency. Controls must be worth the cost of implementation.
Otherwise, there is a danger that the control leads to unnecessary
bureaucracy.

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 What is Involved in Supervision?

• Consider the following when planning to implement a new

control or policy:
– Timing. Controls are necessary to handle deviations. Any delay in
collecting information, decision making and implementation of controls
can prolong deviations with potential unwanted consequences.

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 What is Involved in Supervision?

• Consider the following when planning to implement a new

control or policy:
– Precision. Control must be accurate, informative and have just the
right amount of detail.
– Clarity. Controls and their implementation must be absolutely clear so
those who need to enforce them and those whom the controls are
enforced on know exactly what is involved and why.

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 End of Course

• Please click on the Black X at the top right of the screen to

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