Management and supervision

There are 4 million managers and supervisors in the UK, of which 1.3 million are women. Certain personal qualities are helpful in management (sometimes defined as ‘doing things through people’):

- tough-mindedness

- decisiveness

- being an extrovert

- ability to tolerate uncertainty

- ability to thinks on one’s feet

- intuitive understanding of others

- high tolerance of stress.

Qualities that may get in the way of success include:

- perfectionism, especially in details

- a strongly rational approach

- self-consciousness

- shyness

- a desire to pursue knowledge for its own sake.

Some authorities call management ‘the achievement of objectives through other people’. This implies three key areas of responsibility:

- managing the tasks for which they are responsible

- managing themselves

- working within their organisational, political and economic context.

Managing the tasks breaks down into four key areas:

- operations – maintaining and improving the delivery of product or service to customers

- finance – monitoring and controlling the use of resources

- people – motivating and developing teams and individuals, appraisal, discipline, selection and dismissal

- information – effective communication, using information for problem-solving and decision-making.

Managing themselves includes:

- setting a good example

- controlling their use of time

- setting effective priorities

- avoidance of undue stress and other threats to their effectiveness.

The context of management involves:

- awareness of the effects on the outside world of what they do and do not do

- consideration of waste, pollution and noise

- relationships with the community

- effects of political and legislative change

- social and economic developments.

Supervision is ‘directing or managing work, workers, and so on’. Supervision and management exist in every organisation, and they go hand in hand – however, above all, they are about the control and use of people and material resources within an organisation. Changes in management structures, increasingly specialist technical skills, and a less blindly accepting workforce mean that today’s supervisor has to have skills that were not imagined 50 years ago. Use of teams and projects, identification of individual roles within the organisation and increased emphasis on the best possible use of all resources – all under a legal spotlight – make management and supervision more of a challenge than ever before.

Management in the Forces

Service careers involve a wide and varied experience of management – often in extremely difficult circumstances. This can be broken down into the management of personnel, logistics, facilities and the rest, or linked to command or administration.

Many Service people will have management skills and experience, and institute membership that reflects this. General management is practised by most people with authority and responsibility in the Forces, and is increasingly recognised with formal qualifications.

The award of certificates and the opportunity to earn other qualifications by some additional work on top of Service courses means that all levels of Service management can now be recognised. This happens from Masters degrees through to Level 2, so that all levels of military training are recognised and translated into terms that other employers will understand.

Qualifications and training

There are management qualifications available at each of the five levels that make up the UK’s hierarchy of awards.

At Level 1 in the vocational areaare the Key Skills that are the basic elements of knowledge that everyone needs to get on in the world. Everyone in the Forces should either be at this level on enlistment or reach it during the early years of their service.

Relevant vocational subjects include Business and Office Management, although there is no Management qualification at this level. Academically, there are GCSEs in Business Studies that are relevant for future management students.

At Level 2 the emphasis is still generally on an individual’s own performance, but qualifications will start to include responsibilities for others’ performance. There is a vocational qualification in junior supervisory management offered by some colleges, and its units examine several areas of competence.

The Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) has Level 2 programmes as part of its qualification schedule in Team Leading. They are delivered by ILM centres and approved training providers. The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) similarly offers Team Leading at this level.

At Level 3 the situation changes. Academically, A-levels and AS-levels in Business Studies are appropriate, but there are CMI and ILM certificates available for people on the vocational route. The ILM offers them in Management and First Line Management, while the CMI has them in Management and Business Start-up.

People can often switch from a specific area to Management. Their Level 2 qualification provides the background for entry to the more general management field.

Level 4 Management may be studied academically at any number of universities and colleges. Courses are full- or part-time, or taken through distance learning.

Vocationally, there are a number of Level 4 programmes accredited to CMI. These include Management, Registered Manager, Programme and Project Management, Business Development, Energy Management and Quality Management. The ILM offers Management and Management (Energy, Environmental and Quality) at this level.

Senior managers may wish to achieve a Level 5 qualification. Academically, this is a postgraduate award – a Masters degree, commonly a Masters of Business Administration (MBA). There are other appropriate postgraduate qualifications and variations of the MBA, which will usually include elective modules.

Vocationally, there are CMI awards – Management, Operational Management, Strategic Management, Programme Management and Project Management – while the ILM offers Management and Management (Operational and Strategic). All are aimed at individuals in positions of both authority and responsibility, who have the experience and intellect to benefit from the programmes.

There are many other courses on offer, with most business schools and both institutes offering a number of certificates and diplomas in management.

Employment

The spectrum of managers in the UK and what they actually do is vast. Many people with the word ‘manager’ in their job title do not in fact manage anything, and the difference between the managing director of a quoted multinational and a one-man family business is so great that any comparison is worthless.

With the rapid rate of technological change, better education standards and the need for fast response to meet competition at home and abroad, management organisation has become leaner and the structure flatter. Responsibility and authority for managing the enterprise has been spread more widely. Today, there is much more emphasis on team building and leadership.

Leadership skills are expanding and the need to learn new ones becomes more important all the time. The phrase ‘multi-skilling’ simply means that learning never stands still! Lifelong Learning and Continuing Professional Development are highly relevant, and this is as true in the management field as in any other.

Chartered Management Institute

The CMI has nearly 74,000 members throughout the UK. It also has nearly 500 corporate partners representing well over three million employees. Its 270 approved training centres deliver training from a menu of courses each year in a wide variety of subjects, and all members enjoy access to its Management Information Centre and publications.

The Institute has a close relationship with the Armed Forces and offers two routes to membership: assessed and non-assessed. Non-assessed membership covers the two most junior grades: student and affiliate. Assessed membership grades are awarded by a panel, and reflect formal management qualifications and experience.

As a guide, serving members of the Forces who apply for membership are asked to submit details of their postings during the previous ten years and these are examined by a specialist assessor. Fellowship is available for senior Officers, while Warrant Officers to Majors and equivalent may expect to become Members.

Institute of Leadership and Management

The ILM has over 25,000 members throughout the UK. Its 2,000 approved training centres deliver training on a huge range of courses each year in management and leadership, and all members enjoy access to its Information Service and publications.

Membership is through assessment of an application form and supporting documentation. As a guide, like the CMI, senior Officers may qualify for Fellowship while Membership is open to other Officers, Warrant Officers and senior NCOs above the rank of Petty Officer/Sergeant. Petty Officers and Sergeants with seven years in the ranks can also qualify for Membership.

Other Senior Rates/Senior NCOs may join as Associate Members, while Leading Rates and Corporals are accepted as Affiliate Members.

Case history: management and supervision

Been there, done that

Richard Harris

Open University Business School’s Director of Resources and Planning, Richard Harris, was a Wing Commander Engineering specialist until he left the RAF last October after 35 years in uniform. During service in the UK, Germany, Belize and the USA he had gained an OU distance learning MBA and a Diploma in Finance and Accounting from ACCA. Both provided skills and credibility when he left.

Although his technical skills were of little relevance to his new position, his general skills and managerial experience were extremely relevant and of considerable value. His Career Transition Workshop ‘was extremely useful’ in clarifying objectives, planning resettlement and improving his CV. He also took a two-week Potential Bursars Course and a one-week Managing Safely module at the Resettlement Training Centre: ‘well run and valuable’.

Harris ‘searched for jobs through a combination of reviewing job advertisements and searching through websites, and found the OUBS position on the OU website. It is the senior non-academic post within the School, and its responsibilities cover financial administration, planning activities, human resource management, and information technology provision and support.

Despite there being ‘too many meetings and too much paper’, he enjoys similarities with life in the RAF – teamwork, networking and ‘the politics of the situation’ – although there is no uniform and first names are used all the time.