Week Four Writing Assignment:

For the Week Beginning Monday, July 22, 2013

OLRM 272 Foundation of Supervision #2426

Demetra Barrington Geubelle

Professor: Phillips Mathew, Ph.D.

July 24, 2013

Part I: Theme of the week: Delegation When discussing the core responsibilities of a supervisor I often use Basketball as an analogy. During my childhood and two year during college I was very active in basketball; I was a player, a team captain, and coached during my off season. Many of the skills I learned during that time have been very useful for me in the workforce. As a coach I was essentially the supervisor of my team. To be affective at my job I needed to have the ability to communicate, motivate, train, as well as evaluate my team’s performance. Additionally, as it pertains to delegating, it was my job to “know my players”. This meant I had to understand their mental make-up and know there talent level in order to properly delegate what their role (position) was going to be for my team. Failing to properly delegate these positions would inevitably result in poor game performance. Furthermore, we also learned in chapter 9 Rue and Byars the principles of supervision as it relates to authority. They refer to a several principles that are important to follow, one being “Unity of Command”. “Unity of command states that an employee should have only one boss at any given time” (2010, p.164). Referring back to my original analogy as a coach, “unity of command” is very important especially during a game. If my assistant coach were to delegate plays concurrently with me; my player would become confused and overwhelmed which would also lead to performance issues. In conclusion, regardless of the analogy used, being able to competently delegate within an organization is an essential tool to have in order to reach the maximum potential.
Part II: Incident 10-1
Q #1: Did the company make a good selection in Ruth? This could be debated either way; but in my opinion her company is defiantly taking a risk. On the other hand, if I were to take an optimistic approach I could see the benefits of Ruth being appointed supervisor. The incident report highlights Ruth’s faith in her team; she believes that her team has the potential to do great things. She also understands that there will need to be an enormous amount of energy put toward damage control.
Q #2: What suggestions would you make to Ruth? Ruth should be focused on how she can influence the team’s cohesiveness. It also is imperative that she address the likely negative reaction that her staff will have toward her promotion. More importantly, Ruth must find away to ensure her character as an individual has not been compromised. It is likely that her team will find it hard not to question her loyalty and motives. Consequently, Ruth must be genuine with her team and explain that she is aware of her negative attitude and that she was wrong in the way she handled the issues with the last supervisor. She should share her dedication to her team and demonstrate her understanding of their issues, as well as her willingness to commit time and energy to improving their situation. Overall Ruth has quit a load on her shoulders; it will take a lot of time to analyze how to strategically approach this situation.

Q: III: Are work groups necessarily opposed to working toward organizational goals?

I believe this is quite the contrary. According to Rue & Byars “work groups can have a very positive benefits if its goals are compatible with the organization goals (2010, p. 187). Work groups can be an effective way for a supervisor to lighten his/her work load. I would also say that this is yet another great example of synergy. In other words, work groups can potentially produce an outcome that was greater than if the group members decided to work on the project individually. Thus, making work groups very beneficial for the overall