Questions and Answers of Supervision Concepts Skill

Reginald DeBeers hates conducting appraisal interviews, so he has the process down to a science. Fifteen minutes before the end of the workday, he meets with the employee who is to be appraised. He
Which type of bias does each of the following situations illustrate?a. Anne Compton is a new supervisor. To make sure that her employees and her manager take her judgments seriously, she gives each
Give an advantage and a disadvantage of using each of the following types of appraisals.a. Essay appraisal.b. Behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS).c. Checklist.d. Critical-incident appraisal.
At a company that sells X-ray equipment, an important new sales territory is opening up. Patrick O’Day, the supervisor of the company’s sales force, wants to assign the territory to the
What type of performance appraisal is used most frequently? What are advantages and disadvantages of this approach?
At a manufacturing company in the south suburbs of Chicago, one policy stated that each manager and employee must be appraised at one-year intervals. At the same time, the company conducts a review
How can a supervisor avoid illegal discrimination in performance appraisals?
How can organizations reduce bias in performance evaluation?
Which of the following are appropriate ways to measure an employee’s performance?a. Day after day, more than three customers are lined up at Janet’s cash register, so her supervisor concludes
Are there sources of bias that can enter the performance evaluation process? Describe them.
Name and describe briefly the five kinds of causes of poor performance.
What are some advantages/disadvantages of frequent performance evaluations? Consider this from the perspective of a supervisor and also from the perspective of an employee.
June Pearson was just promoted to a job as supervisor of the bookkeeping department at an insurance company. According to the company’s schedule for appraising performance, she needs to conduct an
1. Name two things that Bill needs to do after his meeting with Randall to investigate Abbe’s claim.2. Why do you think Bill wants to talk with Abbe separately? Do you think this is wise? Why or
1. Chapter 15 talks about the halo effect—the practice of forming an overall opinion on the basis of one outstanding characteristic. One could say Robert and Paul have let this error in judgment
Would a blend of self-evaluation and standard supervisor evaluations be effective? Why or why not?
1. Consider the steps in the appraisal process. Based on the information in this case, would you adapt any of them to review the performance of Millennials you might supervise? Why and how?2. What
What is a mentor? What steps might a mentor take to help a Japanese employee who has been transferred from the Tokyo office to company headquarters in the United States? How might these actions help
What is coaching? Why is it especially appropriate in organizations that encourage employee involvement and teamwork?
Which type or types of training would you recommend in each of the following situations? Explain your choices.a. Teaching air-traffic controllers how to help planes land safely.b. Improving the
Who determines when training is needed? What are some indications of a need for training?
What are the steps in the training cycle?
When Al DeAngelis started his new job as a computer programmer, he arrived in his department at 9:30 a.m., after having spent time in the human resources department filling out forms. Marcia
What training techniques were used? Would additional or alternative techniques have made the skill easier to learn? What changes would have helped?
Which type or types of power is the supervisor exerting in each of the following situations?a. A sales supervisor promises a $50 bonus to the first salesperson to close a sale this week.b. One day a
What responsibilities do supervisors have to each of these groups?
State whether each of the following groups is formal or informal. Then state whether it is a functional group or a task group.
Define bounded rationality. Describe a situation in which you resorted to bounded rationality as a method of decision-making. What were the results of your decision? Do you think this was the best
Did the supervisor do a good job of applying the techniques selected? What did the supervisor do well? What could the supervisor have done better?
Did the employee and supervisor arrive at a workable solution? Explain.
How can the supervisor follow up to see whether the employee is improving?
1. Reflecting back on “A Supervision Challenge” at the opening of the chapter, consider the challenges faced by supervisors in a career or local business that interests you. How could those
In what ways was the supervisor effective in resolving the conflict? How could the supervisor improve his or her approach?
Identify each of the following conflicts as interpersonal, structural, or strategic.a. The production department’s goal is to make parts faster, and the quality control department wants slower
What other possible solutions might the supervisor and employees have considered?
Why does compromise generally leave both parties feeling frustrated?
Rachel Gonzalez supervises servers at a restaurant. She knows that many of them have been upset about the hours she has scheduled for them, but she believes that people should not argue. So she
Ron Herbst is a supervisor in a clinical laboratory. He has noticed that one of his employees regularly comes to work in a surly mood. The employee is getting his work done on time, but his attitude
The managers of a soft drink bottling company decide that production workers will each learn several jobs and rotate among those jobs. They have read that this technique improves productivity, and
What are the factors that can affect the success of a change?
How can a supervisor overcome resistance to change?
What is the primary reason that efforts for change within an organization fail? What can a supervisor do to avoid this failure and to ensure that change will be successful?
What are the two basic sources of power available to a supervisor? Which do you think is more important to the supervisor’s effectiveness? Why?
1. Suggest three ways Honda R&D Americas could recruit engineers to fill jobs at its research and development facility in Raymond, Ohio.2. If you were interviewing a candidate for a job at this
A business executive said that people tend to make the mistake of hiring in their own image. What does this mean? How does this tendency make it more difficult for organizations to build a diverse
In recruiting for each of the following positions, what source or sources of candidates would you recommend using? Explain your choice.a. A receptionist for a city government office.b. A lathe
Describe what happens during the screening process. What does the human resources department look for when reading employment applications and résumés?
Supervisor Lisa Kitzinger is interviewing candidates to add a social-media expert to her sales team. Kitzinger works in a cubicle, and she has an assistant who could help out during the interview
How can an interviewer combine the techniques of the structured and unstructured interview?
Donald Menck, the supervisor on a boatbuilding line, interviews a male job candidate who comes to the interview dressed in a jacket and tie. Menck is surprised by the candidates clothing, which is
An airline has a policy that all its employees must receive a physical examination before they start working for the company. At what point in the selection process should the company request the
Which of the following actions would be considered discriminatory under federal laws? Explain your answers.a. A company creates a policy that all employees must retire by age 65.b. A supervisor gives
What steps must employers take to ensure that they are complying with the Immigration Reform and Control Act?
Describe a job or activity for which you received training. What was the purpose of this training?
1. Suppose you have been asked to set up an emergency response plan for a company whose manufacturing processes require the safe handling of carbon dioxide. The purpose of the plan is to ensure
How can you evaluate whether this training was successful? If possible, try conducting an evaluation of what the class learned. What do the results of this evaluation indicate?
Did the supervisor and employees solve the problem? Was the solution a good one?
1. Based on this description of mediators, what kinds of supervisory skills are needed for mediating a conflict? 2. When might a supervisor benefit from using trained mediators, such as NCRC
Imagine you are a production supervisor at a hand-tool manufacturer such as Snap-On Tools. Your boss says, “I know you were looking forward to your trip to Hawaii next month, but we will be
On her first day on the job, Jenna’s supervisor introduces her incorrectly to her co-workers, mispronouncing her name. For several weeks after that, Jenna’s co-workers, intending to be friendly,
1. The text talks about certain counseling techniques a supervisor may use in a discussion with an employee: directive and nondirective counseling. How does Kathleen use both of these techniques in
Did the supervisor understand the real problem? If not, what was the real problem?
1. Reflecting back to the chapter’s opening case study and imagine that the employees in a department at an IBM location will be losing their department supervisor. Working as a group, list the
You know that you have an important assignment to complete by the end of the week, but you put off starting it on Monday because you want to get everything else out of the way first. In addition, you
1. Imagine you are a sales supervisor who works primarily in an office at headquarters, staying in touch with traveling sales representatives to coach them and oversee their performance. Why might
Andrea is in charge of scheduling the work for the service department of a car dealership. Lately, people in the sales department have been taking telephone calls from customers and promising that
Identify the leader relationships error in each of the following situations. Suggest a better way to handle each.
Identify whether each of the following skills relates most to task-related, people-related, or change-related activities.
Which supervisory skills would be most important to you in this situation and why?What types of responsibilities does Clougherty undertake?How important do you think Clougherty’s experience as a
1. Chapter 14 lists four types of conflict that may arise within an individual or between individuals or groups. After listening to Juan and Rita’s situation, choose two of the four types of
How do the following responses help a person cope with stress?a. Exercising.b. Using biofeedback.c. Meditating.d. Participating in a wellness program.e. Psychotherapy
Name five job factors linked to stress over which a supervisor could have some control.
Describe the signs of burnout. Describe the three stages of burnout. What should a supervisor do when he or she observes burnout in an employee?
Sales supervisor Anita Feinstein doesn’t understand all the fuss about stress. She feels stimulated by a job that’s exciting and contains many challenges. Does her attitude show that stress is
Which of the following is a source of stress? Explain.a. A supervisor who gives vague and confusing instructions and then criticizes your results.b. Buying a house.c. Working at a boring job.d.
Imagine that you came to work an hour early so that you could get started on a large proposal that you have due in a week. Fifteen minutes into the project, a co-worker stops by to tell you about her
Assume you are the supervisor of social workers at a hospital. One of your coworkers, a nursing supervisor, asks you to meet with him in his office to discuss a mutual problem. When you arrive at the
Demetrius Jones prepared the following list of things to do:Performance appraisal for Angela–AClean out files–CFinish report due Wednesday–APrepare a plan for training employees–BFind out why
For one week, keep a time log of your activities at work or at school. Follow the format of text. What does it tell you about your own time management habits?
1. Was it appropriate for the station to suspend Giangreco for expressing his personal opinion on his Twitter feed? Why or why not?2. If you had to make the decision about whether to discipline
Review the chapter’s opening case “A Supervision Challenge–A Troublesome Worker takes Chevron to Court” to prepare for your group work. Together, list all of the disciplinary actions
Tom Chandra has a problem with one of the production workers he supervises. The worker has been ignoring instructions about the new procedures for operating a lathe, preferring instead to follow the
Rick Mayhew’s nine-year-old son was recently diagnosed with a chronic illness that is difficult and expensive to treat. In addition, Mayhew’s elderly mother-in-law is going to be moving in to
What steps should a supervisor take in confronting an apparently troubled employee?
a. What are some signs that an employee has been abusing alcohol or drugs?b. Why should a supervisor avoid making a statement such as “You’ve been coming to work high lately.”
Jackie Weissman supervises a group of technicians in a laboratory that conducts medical tests. It is extremely important that the technicians follow lab procedures to obtain accurate test results.
Describe four guidelines for disciplining employees effectively.
What additional type of information should be included in the following warning to an employee?“I noticed that you returned late from lunch yesterday and three days last week. This upsets the other
What are the steps in the discipline process? In what kinds of situations would a supervisor take all these steps?
How can a supervisor at an organization with self-managing work teams help the organization avoid violations of federal labor law?
Peter Wilson is a supervisor who also leads a team that has been working on revamping an old product—snow saucers—to make them seem new and more attractive to a new generation of customers. The
A supervisor observes that the members of a committee seem to spend a lot of time complaining and have trouble focusing on the issues the committee was formed to address. How can the supervisor help
Yolanda Gibbs supervises employees in the reference department of a public library. Her team meets once a month to discuss ways to improve the quality of services delivered at the library. Yolanda
Why do supervisors need to know about each of the following characteristics of groups?Roles of group membersStatus of group members
Joseph Dittrick is a supervisor in the marketing department of a toy manufacturer. He is responsible for leading a group of employees in finding ways to improve a problematic product. In what ways
While counseling an employee, a supervisor made the following statements. What is wrong with each statement? What would be a better alternative for each?a. “Your laziness is becoming a real
An employee explains to her supervisor that her performance has been slipping because she has been distracted and frightened by threats from her former husband.a. Should the supervisor counsel the
What is the difference between directive and nondirective counseling? Give an example of each in the form of a brief dialogue.Supervisor: I see that you have been having trouble meeting your sales
Dennis McCutcheon supervises the employees who work in the building supplies department of a large discount hardware store. One of his employees, Kelly Sims, has been late to work every Tuesday and
How could a supervisor use this information to motivate employees?

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