Chapter 1 - Tradition & Contemporary Supervision Trends

_____ is an example of a technical skill.

Developing a new accounting system

Identify the most basic needs, such as physiological needs of a human being?

Food and shelter

Identify a true statement about an individual who is new to the role of supervisor.

He or she should not rush to make changes in his or her department.

Identify a true statement about the views of Henri Fayol.

He asserted that all managers have primary management functions to perform in an organization.

In the context of the general functions of a supervisor, determining a department's goals and the ways to meet them is a function of _____.

Planning

Jason is trying a new method for managing maintenance on the machinery in his area. If this new method works it will save time and money, but if it doesn't work he will probably be fired.

Taking risks for change

According to the video, Panera Bread requires front-line supervisors to possess human relations skills and master

Technical skills

A company can hire a recent college graduate as a supervisor if that person demonstrates the leadership abilities or specialized skills that are required for the position.

True

A new supervisor should first understand how a department functions and what employees expect before implementing changes in the department.

True

A supervisor's responsibilities include determining the department's goals and the ways to meet them.

True

True or false: Today almost one in six workers in the United States are immigrants.

True

The relative importance of human relations, technical, and conceptual skills depends on

the level of management a person reaches.

Increasing numbers of workers from different countries and cultural backgrounds, of different genders, and from different age categories indicate that ________ in the United States ________.

Diversity; is growing

Mackenzie is recognized for her skills in designating duties and responsibilities to subordinates who are skilled enough to handle them.

Empowering

Higher-level managers are responsible for executing the duties assigned to them by supervisors.

False

Brian worries that if he is laid off he will lose his home.

Focus on people

According to Abraham Maslow, _____ would be an example of a physiological need of human beings.

Water

_____ is an example of a safety need of an individual in a workplace as prescribed by Abraham Maslow.

Medical insurance

Which of the following are tactics for managing diversity through improving employee and coworker attitudes towards employees from diverse backgrounds?

Model appropriate behaviors; encourage employees of different backgrounds to work together; do not tolerate offensive remarks.

The practice of imposing penalties for failing to adequately carry out responsibilities and providing rewards for meeting responsibilities is known as _____.

Accountability

Henry Fayol is often regarded as the pioneer of _____.

Administrative theory

Lane meets with new hires to explain their tasks and roles in the department. During this meeting they also discuss goals and performance expectations.

Clarifying roles

Pablo evaluates the performance of each individual in his unit and of the unit as a whole. He checks both the timely progress and the quality of the work performed.

Monitoring operations

Ricky meets with workers who will be affected by a given decision before making that decision in order to gain their input on the issue.

Consulting

Brett is a supervisor in the accounting department of a law firm. He notices that his expenditure on supplies is much greater than the allocated budget for the month of June. Later, he realizes that he had approved a large purchase of stationery supplies to take advantage of a volume discount. In this scenario, Brett has performed the management function of _____.

Controlling

Monitoring performance and making needed corrections is the management function of _____.

Controlling

Rayan meets monthly with her subordinates to ask for ideas to improve the work, relationships, communication, or other aspects of the department.

Encouraging innovative thinking

Leslie is reading a report from consultants in Africa detailing the threats and opportunities of expanding the business into that region.

External monitoring

In an organization whose management is not committed to developing a diverse workforce, supervisors should not indulge in providing advice and coaching to female and nonwhite employees.

False

True or false: A supervisor need not continue the learning process once he or she is on the job.

False

True or false: The management functions of planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling are independent of each other and do not depend on the preceding function or functions.

False

Jack applies scientific principles to management.

Focus on efficiency

Jolene determines the best way for each job to be performed.

Focus on efficiency

Helene makes a list of the daily tasks her workers must accomplish and posts the list each morning.

Focus on functions

Henri Fayol is a French industrialist and pioneer of administrative theory.

Focus on functions

Rudy checks the output of each worker to determine if the worker is finishing on time and creating a quality product.

Focus on functions

Kathleen loves her job because her supervisor frequently compliments her on what a good job she does.

Focus on people

Psychologist Abraham Maslow determined individuals have certain needs that are met in a hierarchical pattern.

Focus on people

What type of focus should supervisors possess as part of their daily activities?

Focus on people

Who is often referred to as the "father of scientific management"?

Frederick Taylor

Whom does Panera's CEO encourage to make dynamic decisions to sustain the company's brand and continued success?

Front-line managers

Identify a true statement about Frederick W. Taylor.

He suggested that the application of science to the study of production can result in maximal employee efficiency.

Max, a supervisor in an IT firm, clearly conveys to new employees what is expected of them. He conducts weekly sessions to inspire them to learn their jobs quickly and perform well. He also encourages them to maintain the behavioral standards of the firm. In this scenario, the management function performed by Max is known as _____.

Leading

Supervision is management at the _____ level of any organization.

Lowest

At the supervisory level, activities such as scheduling projects and assigning duties to employees are part of the management function of _____.

Organizing

Bella is the supervisor of the sales department for a chain of salons. Her responsibilities include setting daily targets for employees and enabling employees to work toward achieving these targets. These responsibilities are examples of the management function of _____.

Organizing

In the context of the general functions of a supervisor, determining how to set up a group, allocating resources, and assigning work to achieve goals efficiently is known as _____.

Organizing

Lee, a supervisor at an apparel manufacturing unit, prepares a budget for his department that projects all the possible expenses for the coming quarter. In this scenario, Lee has performed the management function of _____.

Planning

Which of the following is true of the supervisory function of planning?

Planning by top managers results in organizational goal.

Match the following terms (in the left column) with their descriptions (in the right column).

Power - The ability to do certain things Authority - The right to do certain things

Zachary makes a habit of sending short, handwritten personal notes to his workers when they do a particularly good job or make important contributions to the department.

Recognizing

Michelle coordinates staffing for her department, which runs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. She assigns schedules on a monthly basis and tries to balance the needs of the company with employee shift requests.

Short-term planning

The activities involved in identifying, hiring, and developing the necessary number and quality of employees are known as the function of _____.

Staffing

When a manager decides on what kind of people his or her organization needs to meet its goals and then recruits and trains the right people, he or she is involved in the management task of _____.

Staffing

Identify a true statement about the relative importance of the types of skills for different levels of managers in an organization.

Supervisors rely more on technical skills than do higher-level managers.

Identify a true statement about the relationship between the management functions and hierarchy of managers.

Supervisors spend most of their time leading and controlling.

Megan has an open door policy. She is willing to listen and help her workers with both task related and personal problems. She is known to be both sympathetic and encouraging.

Supporting

An example of a people-related activity in an organization is _____.

developing employees' skills

Aaron is appointed as a supervisor of the marketing department at a publishing firm. As a supervisor, Aaron should _____.

maintain error-free employee records

Supervisors with many Hispanic workers

need to give very specific instructions.

When Julie heard another supervisor comment that she really didn't like working with her minority workers because "everyone knows they are lazy and ignorant," Julie pointed out to the other supervisor that her comments were not only incorrect, but that they were offensive and damaging. Julie asked the other supervisor to avoid making such negative, incorrect comments in the future. This encounter demonstrates

one tactic to improve coworker attitudes toward diversity.

In an organization, the efforts taken by managers to empower employees to solve problems is an example of _____.

People-related activities

In general, employees who report to supervisors are managers.

False

True or false: A mechanic's ability to bring an automobile engine back to life relies on decision-making skills.

False

Identify a true statement about the traits of successful supervisors.

They should refrain from doing personal tasks on the job.

Frederick Taylor is known as the father of Scientific Management.

Focus on efficiency

Frederick W. Taylor is often referred to as the father of _____.

Scientific management

The most reliable sources of information for a supervisor to get to know employees are _____.

The employees themselves

The _____ defines a supervisor as any individual having authority, in the interest of the employer, to hire, transfer, suspend, lay off, recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward or discipline other employees, or responsibility to direct them, or to adjust their grievances, or effectively to recommend such action, if in connection with foregoing the exercise of such authority is not of a merely routine or clerical nature, but requires the use of independent judgment.

The Taft-Hartley Act

managing diversity

Is becoming a larger part of a supervisor's job

Influencing employees to act (or not act) in a certain way is the function of _____.

Leading

A(n) _____ is a manager at the first level of management in an organization.

Supervisor

Match the following types of immigrant workers (in the left column) with their features (in the right column).

Immigrant workers with a college degree - Their numbers are rising especially in the eastern United States. Immigrant workers without a high school diploma -They tend to be concentrated in the western states

Characteristics of an unsuccessful supervisor

Isaac gripes about problems with subordinates, workgroup, job, and the company without offering any solutions to the problems. Madison has favorites among her subordinates. Her favorites get the best shifts, the best days off, and the easiest tasks. Diana insists that subordinates follow all the rules, but sees no problem in personally choosing which ones to follow and which ones to break. Peter is very friendly with subordinates, gossiping with them about the job and other supervisors, and partying with them. Calvin spends a lot of time continuing to improve the technical skills that originally got him the promotion to supervisor.

Jenna supervises eight Hispanic workers and expects them all to behave in the same manner; after all, she thinks, "they all identify themselves as Hispanic. That means they are all the same, right?" Choose the following statement that best relates to Jenna's views.

Jenna is incorrect in her views of their behavior.

According to Abraham Maslow, _____ is an example of a safety need of an individual.

Job security

Characteristics of a successful supervisor

Krystal is proud of the company, talks positively about her coworkers and subordinates. David makes the hard decisions that will enhance the organization even if those decisions may be unpopular. Bryant sets clear goals for subordinates and keeps them informed on decisions that will affect them. Jesse finds the challenges of supervision stimulating, enjoys solving problems, making decisions, and fitting the right people into the right jobs. Katlyn spends time getting to know subordinates, finding out who are the shy quiet workers who always do a good job, and who are the flashy workers who are sometimes unreliable.

Identify the traits exhibited by successful supervisors. (Check all that apply.)

They are loyal. They have a positive attitude.

Identify the tactics that supervisors can use to prevent discrimination at a workplace. (Check all that apply.)

They can question negative stereotypes. They can have employees work with different individuals.

At Panera, middle managers are expected to focus on which type of management skills?

They focus on a balance of each type of management skill.

Identify the responsibilities of supervisors. (Check all that apply.)

They should abide by appropriate hiring practices. They should keep their subordinates up to date and informed. They should follow workplace safety rules and regulations.

Identify a true statement about the fact that different skills are more important at different levels of management.

Top managers tend to rely more on decision-making skills than supervisors.

Cooperating with coworkers in other departments is one of the responsibilities of a supervisor.

True

True or false: An organization holds a supervisor accountable for carrying out his or her responsibilities.

True

True or false: Supervisors must use the kind of behavior they expect employees to exhibit, including demonstrating respect for others, in order to improve the attitudes of workers and prevent discrimination at a workplace.

True

Consistently ignoring the input from the one Hispanic woman on the team

can be a form of subtle discrimination.