1. THE CHANGING STATUS OF THE SUPERVISOR.
- Author
-
Bowey, Angela M.
- Subjects
SUPERVISORS ,INDUSTRIAL management ,SHOP stewards ,DECISION making ,PROBLEM solving - Abstract
The article focuses on the task and prestige of supervisors on industries in Great Britain. There have been major changes in the tasks and prestige of the supervisor in industry in the past twenty years. These changes can be attributed to a number of different processes resulting from different causes. These processes include advancing technology and automation, increasing trade unionism of the shop floor, changes in top management philosophy, increasing standards of education of manual workers, increasing supply of college graduates into industry etc. This paper contains the results of empirical studies in a number of industries which were used to develop a method of identifying specific processes of change rather than vague directions of change. This will provide a more realistic and pragmatic approach to the problem than has been achieved previously. The material used in this paper which is presented is drawn from intensive interview programs of supervisory staff which were conducted in five factories in the period October 1969 to January 1972. The results of the study indicate that the supervisors were not involved in areas such as decision-making and planning which they had traditionally regarded as part of their job.
- Published
- 1973
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