Supervision and Group Process

Approximately a decade ago the Survey Research Center at Ann Arbor, Michigan studied the effect of different styles of supervision upon productivity and morale among workers. Supervisors stressing work output had groups with lower production than supervisors who were more group oriented and cared for subordinates' needs and welfare. The latter liked their jobs better and had higher morale than workers under the production-centered supervisors. While these studies are suggestive, the fact that they rely on the personality of the supervisor, or his role performance, provides scant explanation why this paradox of production and style of supervision occurs. There appears an assumption that "a nice guy" cares for his subordinates, and the "nice-guy-supervisor" is the one who can get things done. A psychological framework, not concerned with such phenomena, offers no explanation of intervening group processes. The purpose of this paper is to explore some of the sociological variables and replicate part of the earlier studies. The major hypothesis is that different group structures will form under different styles of supervision, and different norms develop which govern output

Economics · Management · Personality · Political science · Production (economics) · Productivity · Sociology · Style (visual arts) · Supervisor · Welfare · Law · Psychology · Social Psychology · Social Work Education and Practice