Chapter 1 - The Supervisor's Job in a Changing Environment

Question 1

The workplace in the 1970s was:

Answer 1

Relatively predictable
Power based
Competitive
Emphasis on independent work
Emphasis on “working harder”

Question 2

Today the workplace is:

Answer 2

Uncertain
Relationship based
Cooperative
Emphasis on team work
Emphasis on “working smarter”

Question 3

Four factors changing the character of local government

Answer 3

Demographic changes
Technological changes
Changes in legal accountability
Shifts in employees’ expectations and attitudes

Question 4

Demographic changes

Answer 4

Increasing cultural diversity
Aging population

Managing a diverse workforce means being more flexible and adaptable, and keeping up with new trends.

Question 5

Technological changes

Answer 5

Internet and e-mail
Computer advances
Cell phones
These and other technological advances have made possible telecommuting and other flexible work arrangements.

Clarity about expectations and accountability have become increasingly important.

Question 6

Legal accountability

Answer 6

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

These and other state and federal mandates help supervisors by providing a standard of conduct and fair treatment.

Question 7

State and federal mandates may also

Answer 7

Increase the complexity of managing the workforce
Reduce supervisors’ flexibility
Add to administrative burdens
Diffuse responsibility for the implementation of public policy
Expose local governments to greater risk of litigation.

Question 8

To protect the organization from lawsuits, supervisors must be

Answer 8

proactive. They must keep records, refer to departmental policies and procedures, and focus on objective outcomes and results.

Question 9

Changes in employees expectations and attitudes

Answer 9

Many employees today
Expect their jobs to fulfill needs for friendship, affirmation, and acceptance
Seek a balance between work and home
View their talents and skills as commodities to be marketed
See their careers as cyclical, not linear
Look for jobs that are interesting, meaningful, and enjoyable.

Question 10

Top-down hierarchical management is giving way to

Answer 10

self-managed teams in which the supervisor plays the role of liaison.

Question 11

Four fundamental tasks of supervisors

Answer 11

Achieving predefined results and outcomes
Sustaining a spirit of teamwork and cooperation
Continually developing the skills and talents of employees
Fostering a work environment that is flexible but in which accountability is maintained

Question 12

To build good working relationships,

Answer 12

Respect and listen to employees
Help set goals
Involve employees in decisions
Communicate frequently 
Delegate responsibility effectively
Find the right balance between being “one of the gang” and being the person in charge
Relate to everyone on the work team equally well
Be fair, compassionate, and predictable.

Question 13

If you are not quite sure how to be a better supervisor

Answer 13

try asking your employees.

Question 14

To cultivate a management attitude

Answer 14

Learn the larger goals and processes of the organization
Help employees understand how their work fits into the organization’s goals and processes
Encourage employees to develop a forward-looking attitude.

Question 15

Protestant Ethic - A set of values centered on:

Answer 15

Hard work
Self reliance
Thrift,
Respect for traditional authority

Question 16

Local Governments are more likely to be sued because of ______ than for any other reason.

Answer 16

Human resource actions

Question 17

Supervisors and nonsupervisors see their careers as

Answer 17

cyclical

Question 18

Today’s employees expect to make more decisions about the issues that

Answer 18

directly affect them.

Question 19

Many people today expect their carers to lead to

Answer 19

self-actualization and fulfillment, So they want to know how the work they are doing serves the larger good. Especially public sector employees.

Question 20

Jobs need to be

Answer 20

interesting
meaningful
enjoyable

Question 21

The supervisor may be a

Answer 21

coach
team leader
process facilitator
mentor
change agent
but not necessarily the sole or principle decision maker

Question 22

The increasing diversity of the workforce requires supervisors

Answer 22

familiarize themselves with different expectations, traditions, work styles, and perspectives.

Question 23

Managing a diverse workforce means

Answer 23

being more flexible and adaptable, and keeping up with new trends.

Question 24

With the advent of new technologies, supervisors have become accustomed to

Answer 24

handling their own research and communicating directly with others, instead of relying on support staff.

Question 25

Computers have largely transformed what traditionally was regarded as

Answer 25

clerical work

Question 26

Telecommuting has a number of advantages

Answer 26

made it possible for central offices to be downsized, | encouraged employers to focus more on results and outcomes than on "face time"

Question 27

When work is decentralized through nontraditional arrangements

Answer 27

both the supervisor and employee must have a clear understanding of what the expectations are & the employee must understand that he or she will be fully accountable for the timely completion of tasks.

Question 28

Clarity about _______ is especially important if the nature of the work allows personal time to overlap with tasks performed for the employer.

Answer 28

expectations and accountability

Question 29

While some mandates can be helpful to supervisors by providing a standard of conduct and fair treatment,

Answer 29

the complexity and uncertainty created by mandates can slow the decision-making process and may limit the supervisor's ability to be creative and responsive in dealing with the needs of individual employees.

Question 30

As a supervisor, you probably have to assume that nearly everyone of your actions and decisions can be

Answer 30

litigated

Question 31

While the risk of litigation may make supervisors more careful and deliberative,

Answer 31

it also slows down the responsiveness of government and makes the work environment far more rule bound.

Question 32

A rule bound environment can

Answer 32

stifle creativity hurt morale creating additional challenges for the supervisor

Question 33

To protect their local governments from lawsuits, the supervisors of today must

Answer 33

be proactive: they must keep more records than they did in the past, refer more often to departmental policies and proceedures, and focus more on objective outcomes and results than on relationships with individual employees.

Question 34

Today stability and loyalty are often supplanted by other criteria:

Answer 34

fulfilling their human needs including: friendship affirmation acceptance

Question 35

The Protestant Ethic has gradually enlarged by the idea that

Answer 35

productive workers are entitled to certain basic necessities such as decent housing, a job, assistance with their health care expenses, and a reasonable retirement in exchange for their efforts.

Question 36

Some workers are interested in having careers that

Answer 36

are less consuming- providing more of a balance between life and work

Question 37

Workers are beginning to view their talents and skills differently as

Answer 37

commodities to be marketed to various employers over the course of a career

Question 38

The 21st century supervisor is often more of a ____ than a commander.

Answer 38

broker

Question 39

Supervisors still wield a formal power and authority but relying on the "weight" of the supervisory role is not usually the most effective way to

Answer 39

``` motivate employees manage stress and conflict delegate, build effective teams facilitate change or solve problems creatively. ```

Question 40

Supervisors must learn to function as

Answer 40

liaisons,fostering communication and cooperation between members of the same team, between different teams or departments, between external customers and internal agencies, and between frontline workers and top management.

Question 41

Supervisors must learn to function as liaisons,fostering communication and cooperation between

Answer 41

members of the same team, between different teams or departments, between external customers and internal agencies, and between frontline workers and top management.

Question 42

Only one of the Four fundamental tasks of supervisors stems from the traditional view of supervision:

Answer 42

Achieving predefined results and outcomes

Question 43

The other three fundamental tasks of supervisors derive from the

Answer 43

uncertainty of the work environment, and from its emphasis on relational and behavior-based supervision and leadership

Question 44

You and the skills you bring to your position

Answer 44

are essential to getting the government's mission accomplished.

Question 45

You have a great deal of responsibility because you must keep your unit on schedule, decide what tools and resources it needs, determine how to assign the work, and ensure that your employees remain motivated. Four personal habits will help you do this:

Answer 45

Developing self-awareness, building good working relationships with employees, cultivating a positive management attitude, learning to broker competing interests.

Question 46

The first step to being a good supervisor is

Answer 46

self-awareness - understanding yourself

Question 47

To build good relations with employees and strenghten their willingness to work harder, better, and smarter, today's supervisor must

Answer 47

appreciate human complexity and understand the sources of motivation.

Question 48

The best way to obtain an understanding of others is to

Answer 48

strive to understand yourself.

Question 49

_______ wil help you to sense and to adapt to changes in employee needs.

Answer 49

Healthy self awareness

Question 50

________ can also help you keep your personal beliefs from interfering with your supervisory decisions

Answer 50

Healthy self awareness

Question 51

Effective supervisors build good working relationships by

Answer 51

creating an atmosphere of trust on the job

Question 52

As a supervisor, you must

Answer 52

``` respect and listen to employees help them set goals, involve them in decisions, and keep them up-to-date, communicate frequently and honestly, delegate responsibility effectively. ```

Question 53

You must meet two personal challenges:

Answer 53

find our own balance between being "one of the gang" and being the person in charge, and you must relate to everyone in the workforce equally well.

Question 54

Building a good working relationship does not mean

Answer 54

building a personal friendship with every employee

Question 55

Building a good working relationship does mean

Answer 55

being fair, compassionate, and predictable.

Question 56

Employees respond positively to supervisors whom they

Answer 56

respect and admire

Question 57

When asked for their ideas and creative input, individuals and small groups can be remarkably effective at

Answer 57

planning, organizing, and carrying through on specific assignments.

Question 58

The modern supervisor must alos work effectively with employees who have

Answer 58

unique needs and expect to be dealt with as individuals.

Question 59

In a diverse workforce, you may spend more time

Answer 59

cultivating and maintaining productive and effective relationships with employees and strengthening their willingness to contribute to common goals.

Question 60

The results are likely to be

Answer 60

a stronger sense of commitment to the organization's objectives, increased creativity, and a greater ability to adapt to change.

Question 61

Wherever possible, match employees _____ to the job

Answer 61

Talents.

Question 62

People are usually ________ when they are doing what they enjoy and what they do best.

Answer 62

happier and more productive

Question 63

The Management Attitude is

Answer 63

Supervisors who understand the larger goals and processes of the organization, and how toe work of individual employees advances those goals and processes.

Question 64

The supervisor must have _______ to be effective.

Answer 64

The Management Attitude

Question 65

Successful supervisors help employees understand

Answer 65

how their work fits into the organization's long term goals.

Question 66

The supervisor must encourage emplyees, especially those who may one day be supervisors themselves, to develop a

Answer 66

forward looking management attitude.

Question 67

One of your best tests as a supervisor is whether your employees

Answer 67

work as hard when you are away from the job site as when you are there.

Question 68

The effective local government supervisor is skilled at

Answer 68

competing interests, values, and perspectives so as to best serve internal and external customers.

Question 69

As a supervisor you are a member of

Answer 69

management and a member of a work team

Question 70

______ is critical

Answer 70

first line supervision

Question 71

The people most vital to an organization's success are its

Answer 71

first-line supervisors

Question 72

Whatever an employee's stated reasons for making a job change, the actions of the ________ are most likely to influence a job decision.

Answer 72

supervisor

Question 73

7 questions for the supervisor to help measure the strength of a workplace

Answer 73

Do I know what is expected of me? Do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day? In the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for doing good work? Does my supervisor, or someone else, care about me as a person? Is there someone who encourages my development? Do my opinions seem to count? In the last six months, has someone talked to me about my progress?

Question 74

The supervisor must be able to get work accomplished

Answer 74

with and through others.

Question 75

Success depends on your effective management of three competing interests:

Answer 75

Your obligations to the local government, your duty to function as a change agent, your relationships with your own supervisor and employees.

Question 76

Entities to which you are accountable

Answer 76

Yourself Your employees or work team Your supervisor and management Citizens and other customers of the local government