Management and supervision

There are 4 million managers and supervisors in the UK, of which 1.5 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 and Exploring Enterprise. These 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, First Line Management and Business Start-up, 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.

The CMI will soon also offer Level 4 and 5 qualifications in Automotive Retail Management.

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 over 74,000 members throughout the UK. It also has around 500 corporate partners representing well over three million employees. Its 90 local branches and 17 ‘women in management’ groups run a series of talks and other events, while 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.

Institute of Leadership and Management

The ILM has over 25,000 members throughout the UK. Its 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. The ILM recognises the supervisory and leadership skills possessed by many members of the Armed Forces, and is prepared to look at applications from Service men and women for membership at the various levels, depending on the experience offered by the individual applicant. Final decisions are made by the Institute’s Membership Committee.

Case study Management/supervision

Been there, done that …

David Sayer

Commander David Sayer left the Royal Navy in 2002 after a 34-year career that took him all over the world, included the Falklands War, and exchange service with Australian and Dutch Navies. He was a warfare specialist who commanded a Type 42 Destroyer, led the Devonport Public/Private Partnership Team and served in the MoD.

He attended a ‘useful’ Career Transition Workshop and a ‘very well run’ Business Management course. He also gained a European Computer Driving Licence to add to the attributes he developed in the Service of ‘a positive and enthusiastic ‘can do’ attitude, the ability to mix freely with all types of people, the exercise of common sense, getting to grips with issues of the day, working under pressure, prioritising and reliability.’

Sayer found his job through a local newspaper as local operations manager of Tomorrow’s People in Plymouth – a nation-wide charity to help unemployed people to work. Sixteen months later, his responsibilities include ‘finance, contracts, people, business development and planning, as well as being the ‘face’ of Tomorrow’s People in Devon.’

He likes ‘being in charge, working with own team/others, using initiative, management challenges, making a difference in the local community, positive PR and successful outcomes.’ However, he dislikes ‘bureaucracy, and a constant battle to secure major funding to sustain operations.