Effective Supervision: A Guidebook for Supervisors, Team Leaders, and Work Coaches
Editorial Reviews
Book Description
BACKGROUND One of the most valuable assets an organization can have in today's hypercompetitive global marketplace is talented supervisors who know how to achieve consistent peak performance from their direct reports and who know how to help their direct reports improve continually. A good supervisor makes the same kinds of contributions to an organization's success that a good coach makes to a professional sports team's success. Supervisors go by many names in today's workplace team leader, work coach, foreman, and many other titles. Regardless of what they are called, supervisors are people who are responsible for the performance of a given unit and the people, processes, and procedures that, together, generate that performance. Carrying out this responsibility has become an increasingly complex undertaking. There are many reasons for this. Prominent among them are rapid and continual technological advances; the unrelenting pressure of global competition; a steadily growing body of law relating to employee rights, safety, and health; a national trend toward more conflict and violence in the workplace; the persistent problems associated with substance abuse; the worldwide "quality revolution"; and demands from the public for ethical business practices. WHY THIS BOOK WAS WRITTEN AND FOR WHOM This book was written to satisfy the need for (1) an up-to-date teaching text that allows students in colleges, universities, and technical schools to learn "hands-on, real-world" supervision skills in addition to the foundational theories, principles, and concepts on which those skills are built; (2) a practical "how-to" teaching tool for use in business, industry, and government training settings such as seminars, workshops, and short courses; and (3) a "hands-on" oriented text that can be used for teaching supervision in a distance learning format (on-line, simulcast, or self-paced/text-based). Effective Supervision was developed in a "worktext" format so that it could meet all three of these needs. All of the text material one would expect to find in a traditional textbook on supervision is contained in this book. In addition, each section of text in each chapter is followed by real-world "Application and Discussion" activities that require learners to discuss and apply the material just presented. These activities help learners transform theoretical and conceptual material into practical, hands-on skills. At the end of every chapter, comprehensive "On-the-Job Scenarios" require learners to apply all of the material from the chapter in solving the types of actual problems supervisors confront on the job. The goal of Effective Supervision is to develop individuals who don't just know about supervision, but who know how to supervise. HOW TO USE THIS BOOK This book was designed to be used in any one or all of the following approaches: (1) as the principal teaching tool in a traditional classroom setting; (2) as a "hands-on" supplement to another text in a traditional classroom setting; (3) as the principal teaching tool for seminars, workshops, or short courses provided for business, industry, and government organizations; and (4) as the principal teaching tool in a distance learning course on supervision. Strategies for using this book most effectively in each of these settings follow. Traditional Classroom Setting In this setting, learners should read the text material in the usual manner. The "Application and Discussion" activities can be used in two ways. They can be used to guide and generate discussion during class, and they can be used as written assignments to be completed outside of class. The "On-the-Job Scenarios" at the end of each chapter can be used as group projects, written assignments, or tests, or as the basis for individual or group classroom presentations and research papers. Having students "act out" the scenarios in small groups in class is also an effective learning strategy. Having done so, the rest of the class can then discuss and critique their solutions. Tests are provided as a supplement. Supplement in a Traditional Classroom Setting Effective Supervision can be used to supplement other texts, particularly in providing realistic hands-on, skill-building activities. The "Application and Discussion" activities and the "On-the-Job Scenarios" from each chapter are flexible enough to be used in conjunction with any supervision text. Tests are provided in the supplement. Seminars, Workshops, and Short Courses Effective Supervision was designed in such a way as to be a complete "seminar in a book." Everything that is needed to provide a comprehensive seminar, workshop, or short course on supervision can be found within its covers. In addition, each chapter can be used as a one-topic seminar that focuses on a particular area of need or concern. The "Application and Discussion" activities and the "On-the-Job Scenarios" are especially effective for helping people who are already working to develop the knowledge and skills needed to be successful supervisors. Distance Learning Courses Effective Supervision, along with the supplemental Instructor's Manual that accompanies it, makes an excellent tool for use in a distance learning course. All of the theories, concepts, and principles needed are contained in each chapter. The "Application and Discussion" activities can be used to guide and generate on-line discussion in chat rooms. They can also be used as written assignments that can be submitted electronically. The "On-the-Job Scenarios" can be used for assigning larger projects. Tests are provided in the supplement. Various web page linkages are listed in Appendix A. HOW THIS BOOK DIFFERS FROM OTHERS There are many excellent books available on supervision. Effective Supervision contains all of the material one would expect to find in these and any other current book on the topic, and it has the following strengths not associated with most supervision texts: (1) All of the discussion, application, and on-the-job activities come from actual work cases and are designed to place learners in the shoes of practicing supervisors and require them to answer the question, "Based on what you just learned, what would you do in this situation?" Learners read about no more than one subtopic at a time in a chapter before being required to apply that reading in dealing with an actual on-the-job problem; (2) All material in this book has been field-tested and revised based on instructor, student, and trainer input. Activities that worked well in a live setting were kept; others were replaced. The material contained herein has been tested in traditional classrooms, seminars, workshops, short courses, and distance learning settings. In all of these settings it has been well received, the practical hands-on approach being its most popular feature; and (3) Effective Supervision is up-to-date in terms of both the text material and the hands-on activities. All activities contained in this book are of the kind that supervisors can expect to confront in today's workplace. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to acknowledge the reviewers of this text: Constantine Ciesielski, East Carolina University (NC); Brian Hoyt, Ohio University; and Allen B. Young, Bessemer State Technical College (AL).
From the Back Cover
Effective Supervision: A Guidebook for Supervisors; Team Leaders, and Work Coaches presents hands-on, real-world supervision skills that are supported by coverage of the theory and principles of supervision. The text covers many important topics related to supervision, including facilitating change, decision making/problem solving, conflict management, and teambuilding and teamwork.
This text is appropriate for the traditional classroom as well as for seminars, workshops, and distance learning environments.
Effective Supervision: A Guidebook for Supervisors, Team Leaders, and Work Coaches
Effective Supervision: A Guidebook for Supervisors, Team Leaders, and Work Coaches,David L. Goetsch,Prentice Hall,0130315834,Allied Health Services - Medical Technology,Business / Economics / Finance,Engineering - Mechanical,Entrepreneurship,Human Resources & Personnel Management,Medical,Supervision of employees,Business & Economics / Management
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