Ramesh is a supervisor in a commercial tool room in the machining section for the past seven years. He is a diploma holder in Mech-Engg., and joined the present organisation as an apprentice engineer and has grown to be the Supervisor. During all these years in the company, he had no occasion to attend any executive development programme and his concentration has been mostly on the technical aspects of the job. The present Works Manager (WM) has seen Ramesh grow from an apprentice to supervisor and is yet to reconcile with the change of responsibilities and designation of Ramesh.
On a particular day, Ramesh had prepared a schedule for the day for all machines and on the jig boring machine the top priority was for a job from HAL. When Ramesh came for his rounds, he was surprised to see that the operator had loaded some other job other than the job from HAL on the jig boring machine. At this Ramesh was annoyed and the following conversation took place:
Supervisor: Please take up this HAL job immediately. It is required on top priority.
Operator: The WM has given the other job. Only after finishing this I can take up the HAL job.
Supervisor: I don't want to hear all that. The WM has only told me that anything else has to be slopped and the HAL job has to be taken up first.
Operator: Agreed—whenever you have said a job is urgent I have been taking up immediately. But what have you done about my increment which has been due for over three months ?
Supervisor: These things—I am not answerable. The management is responsible. However, you are not the only person with such a grievance, there are many more. I am helpless in this regard. I suggest you go and sort it out with the WM.
Operator: As a supervisor it is your duty to sort out my problem as I report to you.
Supervisor: Don't tell me my job. I am not interested and as I have already told you, you may sort out your increment problem with the WM and right now I don't even care whether you take up this HAL job or not. I will simply report to higher authorities about your misconduct of refusing my order. Let them do what they want. Don't come back to me crying again.
Questions
(i) Highlight the statement given below from the point of view of the operator, the supervisor and the WM as to how each one projected his own feelings into the other. "Individuals tend to project their own feelings, tendencies or motives into their judgment of others."
(ii) What is the worker's perception of his supervisor's position in the organization on the basis of the conversation? Can you suggest how this could be changed, if necessary?
(iii) Suggest a managerial action plan to prevent such an episode in future.
