The Role and Value of Supervision and Appraisal in Today's Organizations - Essay Example

? The role and value of supervision and appraisal in today’s organisations, and how leadership helps effective implementation of these. Introduction Supervision and appraisal are two important parts of modern organisations. They allow for performance to be maintained at a high level, and for structured communication between employees and management. Supervision has a wide range of definitions and applications, but can generally be defined as the exchange between two individuals, in order to promote the professional development of the individual or individuals being supervised. Supervision can have a variety of purposes, such as ensuring the productivity of a worker or many workers, watching over workers performing a task as they do not have the required authority or skill set to do it on their own, or supervising workers with the motive of appraising their performance. Generally there is a form of hierarchy attached to supervision, with the supervisor being of higher authority within the organisation than the individual being supervised . An appraisal is an evaluation of the performance of an employee that occurs within an organisation and usually focuses on how individual employees perform compared to expectations, where they could improve, and where they are doing well. Appraisals provide information to the employee that allows them to know how they are performing, and also how their performance is viewed by management . Most forms of appraisal involve supervision of the employee by an external party, a supervisor, over a short or an extended period of time. In some cases multiple supervisors may be involved to decrease potential bias . Supervision is important to appraisals. Generally, an appraisal is carried out by a member of the organisation who spends time with and time supervising the employee. Supervision can occur in a number of ways. The supervisor may spend time with the employee while they are performing a practical task, it may be informal or passive, such as the supervisor working in the same room as the employee and thus aware of the employees work in this way, alternatively supervision may occur by peers, or one supervisor may simultaneously supervise many employees . An example of supervision and appraisal is within the medical industry. Here a trainee is almost constantly under supervision as they learn the processes and procedures that they are part of, and their role. Supervision has been shown to help the trainees to develop the ability to care for the patient, and those that are supervised are more effective at patient care than those that are not. Coupled with supervision of trainees is regular appraisal to ensure that both the trainee and the supervisor agree on what is expected of the trainee . Effective supervision and appraisal systems can result in the increased productivity of the company overall as well as the individual employees, as well as increased workplace morale and better relationships between employees . Supervision and Appraisal in the Workplace Generally, supervision in an organisation is with the intent either passively or actively of determining the effectiveness of employees and correcting mistakes. In the health industry supervision is also used to teach and train nurses, with this taking the predominant role over the regulatory function . However, in most organisations the regulatory function of supervision and its link to appraisals remains the key focus of supervision of employees. Within a company there may be many employees that perform the same role. However, within this group of employees, there is likely to be substantial differences in experience, knowledge and performance . As a consequence, appraisals of employee’s performance are used widely in organisations, and are often considered a key part of the success of an organisation. If done correctly, appraisals work to reconcile the needs and desires of the employees and management, allowing the establishment of goals that contribute to personal growth of the employee and growth of the company as well as allowing unsatisfactory behaviour to be addressed . Appraisals generally take place at the individual level, with a supervisor being assigned to an employee, and looking at their work ethic, skills, personal development and role within the company, as well as addressing any concerns that the individual may have. Because of the nature of this, the relationship between the supervisor and the employee is important. A supervisor needs to be able to observe the employee on tasks, passively or actively depending on the needs at the time, as well as talk with them about objectives and levels of performance. This can become a problem if there is personality differences between the supervisor and the employee, or if the supervisor lacks effectiveness. One important factor to consider supervision and appraisal is developing an effective system. Employees need to feel that the appraisal is fair , and that they are being treated consistently in respect to other employees. Often employees are told in advance what they are being appraised on, as the key role of appraisal is improving performance, not reward and punishment . While appraisals can be done well, and boost company and employees productivity as a consequence, they can also be done poorly, consequently becoming little more than a joke to employees . Tying the role of the individual employee’s productivity to the entire team, department or company’s productivity is often effective; providing an important sense of team work, and that the employee’s individual performance makes a difference on a larger scale . Being a supervisor generally consists of more than being involved in appraisals. Often supervisors have management roles, are responsible for training new employees, and can be responsible for the performance of many employees under their supervision . Supervision and appraisal in an organisation can be used to promote change in a manner that is acceptable rather than unreachable. In general people have a tendency to fear the unknown, and this applies strongly to employees who are often stressed, worn down, and tired. If the organisation tries to make a big change to policies, practices or business direction then under normal circumstances employees would resist such a change. Supervision and appraisal systems are able to break down the change into manageable steps, placing manageable targets for employees with regular appraisals and using supervision as a method of providing support and mentoring for the employees . Leadership plays an important role in supervision, both the leadership qualities of the supervisor and the support of the supervision and appraisal process from the organisation’s leadership . Effective leadership creates a sense of purpose within the appraisal system, helping employees feel that what they are doing is worthwhile and isn’t a waste of time. The Role of Leadership Leadership Qualities in the Supervisor Leadership is a part of human nature that has made a large difference throughout history. Leaders have driven sweeping changes throughout the course of history, through people such as Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King and even men like Hitler. Having leaders and leadership at the level of an organisation can be critical to its success. Leaders are important at the management level in organisations, but they are also important at the level of supervisors . Supervisors play an important role, acting as an intermediate between the needs of the company and the needs of the individual employees . Supervisors with strong leadership abilities have a tendency to set the same standard for themselves as for their employees, to lead by example, and not to ask anything of the employees that they themselves are not willing to do. This manner of leadership is sometimes known as transformational leadership . As a consequence they act as a positive role model for employees, and employees have a tendency to develop respect and trust for them, making the employees more likely to perform tasks asked of them by the supervisor . Alternatively, supervisors may exhibit transactional leadership. This results in a different type of relationship between the supervisor and the employee, and is often based of employees being rewarded for accomplishing required tasks. Transactional supervisors work through the use of constructive criticism and negative reinforcement and employees tend to do what supervisors want them to do because they have to, rather than out of inherent respect for the supervisor . Ineffective supervisors do not show any level of leadership, instead they fail to engage with the employees, do not have any exchange with them, and are not willing to mentor or help employees instead leaving them mostly to their own devices. The consequence of this is that neither the needs of the employees or the company are advanced , and the system can become a joke among employees . There is more involved in effectively supervising employees than simply observing them. The role of a supervisor entails driving employees to perform well, coaching, monitoring and mentoring them, and using the combined resources and talents of the employees to further the company . Indeed, in any supervision relationship there is risks for both the supervisor and the employee. The supervisor faces risks of the employee being incompetent or lazy, while the employee faces risks of bias in terms of how they are assessed and rewards . A concern with supervision and appraisals is bias in the approach of the supervisor. If an employee is being appraised by a single supervisor, then there is a chance of either real or perceived bias on the part of the supervisor. The relationship between the supervisor and the employee may be biased by personality differences, the ability to establish rapport or other external factors . Support from Organisation Leadership It is also important that the leadership of the organisation in question fully supports and encourages the appraisal process. This makes the process appear beneficial for both the employees and the supervisors involved. One way in which the leadership can get involved in the appraisal process is to provide training for supervisors . Conclusion Supervision and appraisal have a large role in today’s organisations, contributing significantly to the economic effectiveness of the business, as well as the learning and morale of employees. Supervisors are often assigned to many employees, and their role is to either actively or passively supervise employees, correcting poor behaviour, mentoring and guiding them. This is often tied directly into the appraisal process. Appraisals generally occur on a regular basis, although their frequency is dependent on the organisation, and are carried out by a supervisor or a team of supervisors. Appraisals act as periodic ways of ascertaining employees levels of productivity and effectiveness, as well as setting a pre-determined standard and letting employees know how their performance is thought of by the company. Both appraisals and supervision are best accomplished when the supervisor has strong leadership skills and is backed by support from the leadership of the organisation. Strong leaders tend to command respect, leading by example and earning the alliance and obedience of employees through this. Leadership through critique for poor behaviour, and rewards for good behaviour or work also occurs. Both types of leadership result in a system of appraisal and supervision that works to increase the organisations productivity, while mentoring and guiding employees. References Bass, B.M., Bass, R., & Bass, R.R. (2008). The Bass handbook of leadership: Theory, research, and managerial applications: Free Pr. Bella, J. (2008). improving leadership and management practices. EXCHANGE-EXCHANGE PRESS-, 182, 6. Boice, D.F., & Kleiner, B.H. (1997). Designing effective performance appraisal systems. Work Study, 46(6), 197-201. Campbell, C. (2011). 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Journal of Global Management, 2(1), 66-83.  Read More