Supervisory Skills

Supervisory Skills

[Author Name(s), First M. Last, Omit Titles and Degrees]

[Institutional Affiliation(s)]

Supervisory Skills

In the current changing and demanding business environment, the success and survival of any organization are depending on its employees. Human asset is the most important in an organization and therefore an enterprise must develop its employees so that they are able to make a difference and enhance organizational productivity. In the scenario under discussion, the previous supervisors failed to apply the leadership theories and techniques, and owing to this fact employees are unhappy, their needs are not met, and they are less motivated that is depicted in their behavior of coming late and being absent from the work. The success of Bad Teddy Bear Manufacturing is based on its effectiveness to utilize its human resources. This paper seeks to develop a solution for the issues Bad Teddy Bear Manufacturing Facility is facing, delegate responsibilities to co-leads and take indispensable actions along with justifications for each action.

The need of the hour is to apply the leadership theories and use leadership skills to motivate employees and rebuild their morale by meeting their needs. I believe the reason for the previous supervisor was that he was more of a manager than the leader. There is a dire need for the co-leaders to comprehend the difference between management and leadership in order to take the leadership approach suitable for the employees and situation. Leaders have the ability to make people follow them automatically while managers direct the responsibilities of people. A combined application of leadership and management skills is needed to get people on board. The first thing is to set a vision and making people believe in that vision, rather than just dictating the tasks and ensuring that people perform day to day activities. Necessary skills that I have to depict and want my co-leaders to demonstrate is effective communication skills, sharing the vision, inspiring employees in all shifts and helping them with the roadblocks they face.

I want to set-up a workplace in which each and every employee feels important and realizes that he or she is an important asset for the organization. In addition, they must contemplate that supervisors believe, they can make a difference in the organization by applying their skills, knowledge, and abilities. Each of the supervisors is responsible to have better communication with employees aimed at solving their issues and making them realize their importance in the workplace. Along with that communication skills must be utilized to convey the vision and necessity to accomplish goals of the organization. Employees must also be communicated with the benefits associated with the accomplishment of goals.

Motivation and leadership are essential in promoting appropriate behavior among the employees. Leadership and motivational theories can boost employee morale. I recommend to assess the strengths and weakness of employees and assist them in setting goals to improve themselves. This leadership style is referred to as coaching style and it is very beneficial in boosting employee morale. I also suggest supervisors apply a participative style of leadership that is known for creating employee engagement and satisfaction (Kim, 2002). Supervisors must think that they can become effective leaders as the behavioral theory of leadership suggests that by depicting specific behaviors every individual can become a leader. Here the application of Management theory of leadership can also be very rewarding which focuses on the rewards and punishment to motivate employees.

An employee who has given 14 years of his profession to an organization must be rewarded as part of the loyalty he has depicted towards the company. This reward can be monetary or in the form of recognition, challenging task, promotion or something else. As part of recognizing his efforts and loyalty, he must be promoted as recognition is the motivational factor that produces positive long-term impacts and increases job enrichment (Bassett-Jones & Lloyd, 2005) according to Herzberg's two-factor theory. Herzberg also suggests that the absence of hygiene factors can reduce employee morale, which has application for the employee who is competent but often lacks competency due to her child responsibilities and needs a child care center. If we make an arrangement by providing a child care center membership to employees, employees’ efficiency can be enhanced.

Changes are always good and I propose that we must make an assessment of the most suitable timings for employees. Based on the information obtained from the employees, creating flexibility in shift timings may assist most of the employees. In this way behavior of latecomers and absent employees can also be modified. I also intend to assess the factors behind the behavior of late comer and an absent employee according to the McGregor's theory X and Y that if the employees are lacking intrinsic motivation or extrinsic motivation (Carson, 2005). If the reason behind such behavior is lack of intrinsic motivation, the authoritarian style of management is best suitable, according to theory X. On the other hand, participative style of management can support and assist employees is suitable that is the perspective of theory Y. Need assessment of employees is essential to motivate them and apply the most suitable approach to motivate employees as the need is the biggest driver of motivation.

Employee feedbacks is another essential tool and it helps the employees in improving their performance based on the feedback they receive from their supervisor. I encourage supervisors to give regular feedback to employees and help them identify gaps between what is expected of them and what they must do to achieve that. As mentioned above supervisors must participate with employees in removing the gap and achieving excellent performance. Supervisors can take part in the counseling of employees and one of the suitable approach they can adopt in this regard is management by walking around (MBWA). MBWA is the informal way of getting connected with employees by just moving around, talking to them, asking questions and assisting them where they need. I strongly believe that each shift supervisor must adopt this technique of deliberately roaming around staying abreast of employees’ performance, their issues and needs. It needs each supervisor to depict strong listening, observing keenly, recognizing and appraising employees’ performance.

MBWA will also bring employee engagement and participation and will resolve or lessen some of the issues employees are facing at Bad Teddy Bear Manufacturing. Some of the methods I have devised above must be implemented for a few weeks with due consideration and results must be examined after six months. Smart objectives must be set by each supervisor regarding their shift, smart objectives refer to specific, measurable, achievable, and realistic and time-bound goals. These goals must be set according to the strengths, weaknesses, and capabilities of the team, after conducting a SWOT analysis that is the assessment of internal and external factors. The success of these methods will be possible when supervisors will reduce and eliminate favoritism towards employees and will be ready to assist them without any discrimination of age, gender, and background.

In the end, I would want to encourage all the supervisors to implement these methods and get ready to face a few challenges such as employees’ resistance. However, the right assessment before the implementation of any leadership style or motivational theory will increase the likelihood of success of these techniques and methodologies.

References

Bassett-Jones, N., & Lloyd, G. C. (2005). Does Herzberg's motivation theory have staying power?. Journal of management development, 24(10), 929-943.

Carson, C. M. (2005). A historical view of Douglas McGregor's Theory Y. Management Decision, 43(3), 450-460.

Kim, S. (2002). Participative management and job satisfaction: Lessons for management leadership. Public administration review, 62(2), 231-241.