Relationship between incongruity of supervisory strategy and satisfaction with the organization and/or supervision.

Abstract

Supervision is an increasingly important aspect of modern organizations and many organizations are struggling to change the old models of supervision to new models that will effectively meet the demands of the modern work environment. This study proposes a theory of supervision based on an interactional model of influence using a cognitive strategy of supervision. The supervisory strategy is made up of five tactics; (1) Administrator, (2) Parent, (3) Teacher, (4) Counselor, and (5) Peer. It is proposed that these tactics correspond to five basic needs that all persons in organizations have. By effectively facilitating the fulfillment of these needs through a supervisory strategy the supervisor is able to influence the supervisee's behavior and attitudes so that they are consistent with the needs of the organization. It was hypothesized that, as the incongruity increases between expected supervisory strategies and the perceived actual supervisory strategy, the level of satisfaction with the organization and with supervision would decrease. A study was conducted to determine the correlations between incongruity of supervisory strategy and (1) satisfaction with the organization and (2) satisfaction with supervision, at various levels in the organization. The results yielded significant correlations and that they are in the expected direction. It was concluded that those interested in organizational satisfaction need to take into account the supervisory process and its effects on employee attitudes, as satisfaction with supervision was found to be a moderator variable for satisfaction with the organization. In addition, the findings provide support for a theory of supervision based on the idea of a supervisory strategy composed of behavioral tactics that meet a supervisee's psychological needs within the context of an organization.