Discuss the Role of the Supervisor in Organizational Planning

One Stop Production is a garment manufacturer specializing in the production of school uniforms. Ms. Susan Holford shared the management of the business with her father Mr. Amos Holford over the past two years and will assume full responsibility for leadership of the company upon his retirement. She has a team of supervisors whose length of tenure with the business exceeds her own involvement with One Stop Production, and in general employees have performed the same functions from the business’ inception. The leadership styles of Susan and her father differ drastically.

Motivated by her intention to manage the business in a different manner than her father, Susan is overwhelmed by the difficulties facing her – particularly the declining production and sales figures, and what she views as the refusal of the employees to improve production levels. This report outlines the challenges facing the business and its new manager Susan. It will first summarize the existing problems, and then establish specifically the core problem and satellite problems that exist; where necessary reasonable assumptions will be drawn and supported by evidence from the business.

The report will then provide recommendations that will empower Susan, as leader, to chart the future course of the organization. This will be followed by a conclusion that unifies the various elements of the report.

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Statement of the Problem Within

Different organizations one will find varying organizational structures and environments which contribute to the overall organizational culture. Entwined in here are the management and leadership styles, values and beliefs that exist within the organization.

As this case analysis was thoroughly investigated, we discovered that the One Stop Production Company had some major problems (Please refer to Exhibit 1. 0). After careful consideration and collaboration it has been established that the core problem which hinders the success of the company is “Ineffective Leadership and Organization Management”. Whilst the satellite problems include: ? Poor Organizational Structure ?Poor Management * No Clear Goals ?Ineffective Communication

Core Problem

Ineffective Leadership In this company, we will examine the leadership skills within the organization.

A leader’s role is to set the direction for establishing a clear vision by taking risks, sharing and communicating the vision with others so that they will follow willingly. It also includes motivating and inspiring staff by expanding energy through producing change, aligning contingencies by bringing everyone together and balancing the conflicting interests of all members or stakeholders. (www. businessdictionary. com) “The art of getting employees together on a common platform and extracting the best out of them refers to effective organization management. ” (www. managementstudyguide. com)

Satellite Problems

Poor Organizational Structure An organizational structure defines how job tasks are formally divided grouped and coordinated (Robbins & Judge 2010, p. 488). Within the One Stop Production Company the organizational structure was not clearly defined which often resulted in conflicts due to mixed instructions. Mr. Holford, although delegating the majority of functions and running of the operation to his supervisors, still constantly moved around giving random instructions to different employees regardless of department. Ms. Holford wants to restructure the organization having roles and job functions clearly defined.

In addition she intends to appoint specific supervisors to specific departments which would define the levels of authority - Line or functional; allowing both employees ad superiors to know who was responsible for what. Poor Management Management involves coordinating and overseeing the work activities of others so that their activities are completed efficiently and effectively (Robbins & Coulter p. 6). “Ms. Holford never found the time to pursue management because her father had left the management of all three areas of the organization largely up to her” Ms.

Holford exhibits a type of autocratic style of management and does not trust the knowledge of the staff. This lack of trust has resulted in her inability to select specific supervisors to specific department. She has very good ideas and intentions for the organization however a lack of management training proves to be a major deficiency. She does not have the co-operation of the workers and as a result her suggestions are not acted on. Ms. Holford believes the selection of a manager to run things for her is imperative however she does not know how to go about this process.

Ineffective Communication Communication is ‘the transfer and understanding of meaning. It serves four major functions within a group or organization; control, motivation, emotional expression and information. ’ As seen in this case the flow of communication serves one main purpose and that is control. Employees are made aware of Ms. Holford’s suggestions and intentions at meetings however there appears to be no facility for feedback or input from the employees. The lack of trust in the workers’ knowledge results in a ‘one way’ flow of communication. No Clear Goals / Targets The goals of the organization have not been clearly defined and relayed to the workers.

The levels of production and sales which are being sought have not been laid out to the workers.

Recommendations

Management and Leadership training for Ms. Susan Holford. This is very important so as to develop within her the skills which are necessary for her to manage the organization as well the workers. Leadership & Learning are indispensable to each other. It is known that effective Leaders are not always born but can be trained. Hire a Human Resources Manager - Human resource managers have a key role to play to help a company achieve its objectives and run effectively. HR managers assist employees with matters relating to their employment and also help employees with questions regarding health insurance and other benefits.

Hiring and firing employees are both important functions performed by the human resources department because there are certain procedures to be followed. However, a crucial role of human resources is to work closely with upper management as well as the staff to ensure positive company relations at all times. To assist with the hiring of the Human Resources Manager, we have attached the following document. Please see Exhibit 2. 1, 2. 2, 2. 3 and 2. 4) * Implement a five year strategic plan - This should include the Goal setting theory which involves establishing specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely  (S. M. A. R. T )  objectives. Work on the theory of goal-setting suggests that it's an effective tool for making progress by ensuring that participants in a group with a common goal are clearly aware of what is expected from them if an objective is to be achieved. Delegation of work – A General Manager should be chosen with the overall responsible for the day to running and they would report directly to Ms. Holford. In addition specific supervisors for the various departments should be put in place to oversee the running of those departments. Training should also be organized for all supervisors. The supervisors are a direct link between management and the workers. (Please refer to Exhibit 3. 0). * Communication has to become a ‘two way’ process and allow for feedback from the workers. Ms.

Holford must spend time with key supervisors and staff and learn the business, while also truly learn about the staff. She should form a committee of Management from among the key stakeholders in the Company. The Supervisors should be able to communicate any new production and sales targets to their teams directly. * Goals / Targets - Production and Sales targets should be set and the targets should be known to all members of staff. The overall goals of the company should be clearly stated and ensure that the operation of each department coincides with the overall goals of the organization.

Sales records for the past five years should be analyzed so as to pick up on trends and a comparison done with a company in a similar market. For instance sales maybe tied in to the start of the school year where for obvious reasons they will be at their highest. This research would aid in the setting of the targets and goals and also identify reasons for drops in sales at particular times. * Production Levels – The workers have been doing the same jobs since inception.

New technology may be available to increase the efficiency of some processes and the training of workers in the use of new technology or processes to increase productivity and overall job efficiency. * Staff Morale – Despite receiving annual wage increases the employees still appear unhappy and are unwilling to improve production. Ms. Holford should pay attention to what the needs of the workers are. Look at improving the working environment, staff relations. Incentive schemes can be devised to encourage workers to produce more and build up their morale.

Conclusion

The members of our group believe that after thoroughly analyzing the main issues of the company, and implementation of the recommendations stated would improve the daily operations and production at the One Stop Production. However it should be noted that these recommendations have to be implemented overtime and the changing process should be a gradual one as from the case it appears that the employees are very resistant to sudden change. It should be gradually incorporated into the activities and employees should be clearly shown the importance of it to the company and also the benefits that can be reaped through their assistance.

References

1. Kotter, John P. John P Kotter on what leaders really do: Harvard Business Press, 1999
2. Robbins, SP. ; Coulter, M. Management. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. , 2007
3. Robbins, SP. ;Judge, TA. Organizational Behavior Thirteen ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2008
4. Robbins, Stephen P. and Judge, Timothy A. Organizational Behavior. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc, 2009
5. Mullins, Laurie J, Management and Organizational Behavior 8th Ed, p. 382 www. businessdictionary. com Barbados Institute of Management and Productivity – Course Manual 2012

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