Research Topics: Staff Motivation

Sample Essay on Employee Motivation of Nordstrom

Employee Motivation: the of the Nordstrom Legend   Identified Problems of Nordstrom           Different perception and understanding of the employees on the tradition and policies of the company         Lack of training that will inculcate the values and beliefs of the company         Weak company culture that divides the workforce       Theories included in the Report           Good Customer Relations         Motivation-hygiene Theory         Training as a means of educating the workforce   Introduction               Nordstrom is one of the biggest department stores in the United States. The beginnings of Nordstrom can be traced more than 100 years ago to a small shoe store in downtown Seattle. The humble beginnings of the store soon caught the attention of the market and they were able to expand their business to other states. From selling shoes, the store expanded their business by offering clothing lines for the whole family.               It has always been a family for Nordstrom. The management of the business has been handed down from one generation of the Nordstrom family to the next. The family affair perception of the business led the company to believe that customers must also be treated like family if the company wants to ensure that they will return. This started the legendary customer service that Nordstrom provides to its shoppers.   According to Bain and Co. (qtd. in Bhaskaran), it is more expensive to gain new customers rather than retaining them. The cost is estimated to be 6 to 7 times higher. They also stated that if customer retention increased by 5 percent, profit can increased between 25 to 95 percent. This numbers are significant given that on the average an American business looses about 50 percent of their customers every 5 years (qtd. in Bhaskaran). However, on average American companies lose 50 percent of their customers every 5 years.  This, to a certain degree, it proves that there is an indirect relation between customer satisfaction and increase in sales through increased customer retention.   This numbers also indicates that building lasting customer relations can be beneficial to the company. The importance of building a lasting customer relation runs in the tradition of Nordstrom. From the management level to the salespeople that they employee they instill the value of good customer relations. The legend of Nordstrom when it comes to customer relations is not just supported internal stories; customers also validate the claim that Nordies are willing to go beyond the call of duty to ensure customer satisfaction (Pohlman and Gardiner 140).   However, the very culture that catapulted the Nordstrom business brought about a wave of controversies that sprang from within their ranks. Some employees have claimed that due to the desire of the company to please each and every customer that enter their stores, employees are the ones who are forced to take the burden. Heeding to the call of the customers became obligatory, if an employee wishes to continue working for Nordstrom. Off-the-clock work became a normal routine in among Nordstrom employees in order to deliver the kind of service that customers expect. Former employees claim that this kind of working condition is oppressive.   On the other hand, majority of the Nordstrom employees feels the opposite. They believe that the company policies are called for and that nothing should be changed. This division among the Nordstrom employees sparked the need to write this report. The aim of the report is to present possible explanations for the occurrence of the different views regarding the Nordstrom culture among its employees. The report will be focusing on the subject of employee motivation and how it affects the perception of the employees regarding their jobs and how this perception affects their performance.   Employee Motivation in Nordstrom               It has often been said that prevention is always better than cure. Medical doctors have advised their patients repeatedly that the best way to stay healthy is to avoid getting sick. They also advised that maintaining good hygiene is one way to ensure that viruses and bacteria will not find their way into the human system and disrupts its normal operations. One such manifestation of good hygiene is constant hand washing. This is recommended to kill bacteria that pose potential life threatening outcomes.               In the business world, maintaining good hygiene is also important. However, the definition of hygiene factors within the business world is different from its medical counterpart. Nevertheless, the premise behind the usage of the term is relatively based on a common notion of prevention rather than cure.   In the same way that the medical profession recognizes the presence of bacteria and viruses, the business community recognizes the presence of factors that can result to poor work attitudes of employees (Mausner, Snyderman and Herzberg 114). These factors are known as hygiene factors and include supervision, working conditions, security, peer relationships, salary and company policies (Herzberg).   In the case of Nordstrom, employee salary is one of the key factors that allows the business to keep its employees. The business is performance –based. This means that employees will be compensated based on metrics. One of the decisive metrics that affect the compensation of the employees at Nordstrom is sales per hour (SPH). Commissions are large part of employees’ salaries.   The commission scheme of the company is designed to go with the performance-based rating of the Nordstrom. The commission system of Nordstrom is called draw. In this system the employees will be compensated based as follows, commission percentage times the total sales for the pay period or hourly rates times the total work hours, depending which is higher. This implies that an employee has greater chances of being paid higher if he or she has a high sales margin.               According to Mausner, Synderman and Herzberg (114), factors that result to positive attitudes are able to do so because they satisfy man’s need for self-actualization or self-realization. According to many personality theorists, man have the innate yearning to experience the feeling of fulfillment in various aspects of life. One of the most important aspects of life is job fulfillment.  This fulfillment can prove that man is unique based on his/her own personality in relation to the boundaries of reality.               The statements abovementioned suggests that the factors help man realize his/her life goals. It gives them the drive to excel in various aspects of life. In the workplace setting, these factors function in the same way. Hygiene factors, for example, prevent the proliferation of dissatisfaction among employees. This means that the absence of low levels of hygiene factors will result to the dissatisfaction of the employees and thus affecting their job performance.                However, studies have shown that the increase of hygiene factors do not translate in the increase of job satisfaction. This means that another set of factors affect the increase of job satisfaction and that hygiene factors are present just to control the levels of dissatisfaction. Factors that help increase job motivation are known as motivators. Motivators include recognition, advancement and growth to name a few (Internet Centre for Management and Business Administration, Inc).               Let us take some of the presented hygiene factors and analyze their absence result to dissatisfaction.  First, there is salary.  People work to gain financial independence or stability. This means that they expect companies to compensate the work that they do with financial incentives. If employees feel that the financial gain does not compensate the work output that they give the company, chances are they will feel that the company does not recognize their efforts to help the business succeed. This attitude towards work and the company itself can result to a decrease in job performance.               The case of some Nordstrom employees supports this point. Majority of the employees who stated that they are dissatisfied with the policies of the company claimed that the long hours of work are not fully compensated. The case of Patty Bemis, as presented in the case study, stated that she worked overtime to deliver cosmetics to customer and unpacking boxes of make-up. However, those hours that she worked were unpaid overtimes. The grueling hours became one of the factors that pushed Patty Bemis to leave Nordstrom for another job.               Another hygiene factor mentioned is peer relationships.  Humans are social beings; they need to constantly see themselves on others to assure them that their experiences are not isolated and that others feel the same way they do. They need constant affirmation of the actions that they do.  This means that people develop interpersonal relationships. In turn, these relationships help them get by obstacles. In the workplace, employees need to develop harmonious relationships with their co-workers if they want to perform well in their jobs.                Another employee story presented in the case study was that of Lois Lucas. Her case stated that their manager had accused her and other employees of not being team players. This is a tough call especially in the Nordstrom working environment where affirmations are expected. The tension between employees and mangers often result to the decrease of job satisfaction since employees fail to realize their capabilities especially when their co-workers or superior gives them the feeling that they are not exerting efforts to excel even if they really are doing so.               In conclusion, the presence of motivators and hygiene factors means that management must ensure that both factors are present in order to ensure the quality of performance that their employees provide.  This means that it is not enough that the level of employee dissatisfaction is low; employee satisfaction rating must also be high in order to maximize the potential of each employee.   Possible Cause of Perception Differences among Nordies               In the case study that was the basis of this report, it was stated that employees received modest formal training upon being hired or promoted. Seasoned employees, through on-the-job communication, hand down the knowledge and skills of new hire and newly promoted employees. However, it is the case that people have different understanding or interpretation of the knowledge that they were able to acquire through the years. This means that the information that seasoned employees pass onto new hires may not be the perception that the company wished to inculcate to its personnel.                       There are various reasons why employee training must take place. These reasons are closely linked to the company’s sustainability and profitability. According to Noe and Colquitt, training is being used to facilitate education (53).  In addition, training is also seen as a tool to retain employees, improve corporate culture and design incentive programs for employees (Tannenbaum 29).                The formation of the appropriate corporate culture is important. The beliefs and values dictates the business ethics of the organization as well as code of conduct of the members of the organization. Therefore, corporate culture also determines the human relationships formed within the organization including business and personal activities. The perception of truth and reality by the members of the organization and the organization itself is also created through the corporate culture.               If the perception being handed down to new hires are different from the values and beliefs of the organization, then problems may arise. Every employee will be using their own interpretation to decode the policies of the company. Therefore, their understanding of the system will not be unified and thus the division of perception. This might very well be the case of Nordstrom. Due to the lack of formal training, employees were not properly educated about the culture of the company. The feeling of dissatisfaction may have been due to the different understanding of some employees regarding the policies of the company.               A company must be unified by the desire of its employees to attain a certain goal that is also being shared by the whole organization. Through the collective understanding of the employees, they will be able to work together towards the realization of their goals. It is also the case that  training allows the organization to reiterate the importance of their mission or objectives. Through training employees will be able to familiarize themselves with the expectations of the company. They can also be motivated through training.   The results of training and development start a chain reaction.  When the company is able to produce effective employees then their profitability will increase.  When this happens, they will also be able to compensate their employees based on their contribution to the company’s growth.  In turn, it will create a feeling of satisfaction that will motivate them to improve further their efficiency and then the cycle will once again begin (Parker).   Recommendations               In order to resolve the issue being faced by Nordstrom, it is being recommended that formal training be implemented especially for the new hires. New hires must be given importance when it comes to training programs since they basically know nothing about the company. If a business organization wants it employees to be accountable for their actions while working within the business organization, companies must make them feel that they are indeed part of the organization. Trainings are great opportunities to tell employees about the tradition of the company and how things are done within the organization.               The training program to be implemented must give emphasis on the tradition of building lasting customer relations. This will allow the employees to understand the logic behind the need to go out of one’s way in order to please the customer. The training can incorporate the existing training program with the new one.               For example, the existing training being given to new hires include practical issues such as scheduling, salary commissions and benefits. The new training program can be incorporated by relating the practical concerns with the benefits of creating lasting customer relations. It can be the case that the new training program state that an employee have the opportunity to receive higher commissions if more customers return to the store and purchase regularly.               This can motivate the employees to start doing their best to ensure that customers see and feel the good shopping experience offered by the store and return. By making the employees see that the benefits they will be getting is worth their efforts then they will continue on with the Nordstrom tradition.               In addition, trainings will allow the employees to master and put into practice the tradition of the company as the company intended it to be. A unified perception and understanding of the information will be achieved and thus the employees will be working with the same line of thinking which is to ensure the success of the business. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Sample Essay on Employee Motivation of Nordstrom

Employee Motivation: the of the Nordstrom Legend Identified Problems of Nordstrom Different perception and understandin...

A Staff Motivation System on Nordstrom

Nordstrom, a major player in the retail industry, applies the sales per hour (SPH) motivation system so as to encourage is sales staff to work harder, generate more sales as well as climb towards the top level of their career ladders. In this case, the number of hours and the sales made by the staff are the factors considered in the SPH ratio. Each staff must meet a certain sales quota so as to receive the incentive; otherwise less work hours and even termination may be the end result. While this helps the company in terms of ensuring strong sales level, the work environment it creates is not as pleasant. Specifically, this system makes the staff employees against each other. The competition tends to be unfriendly as employees steal the credit of other colleagues; the pressure such system can also get too intense, making it even more difficult for other employees to perform well and get the much-coveted incentive. These effects make this motivation system ineffective; hence, it should be removed or changed.             From the description of the company’s case, the main fault of this system is that is solely focused on sales generation. In other words, SPH only works for the company’s benefit. This type of ineffective motivation is similar to the description of Herzberg (2002) where the employees are not working hard for SPH because they are willing to but because they have to. In order to improve the motivation system of the company, several factors considered as employee performance drivers should also be considered. As a motivation theory stated, employees have different sources of motivation (Herzberg, Mausner & Snyderman, 1959); thus, the company must discover what these sources are.             One suggestion is to develop a multi-faceted motivation system. This is similar to an employee assessment or appraisal wherein different aspects of the sales staff’s performance are considered. In particular, this system considers the staff’s level of customer orientation; this feature refers to the ability of the staff to attract customers as well as generate repeat customers. Another factor to consider is sales generation capability; this pertains to the level of sales the staff can make within a period of time. Finally, the company will also consider the staff’s work principles; this includes the employee’s ability to comply with company expectation, attitude, creativity, responsibility and other relevant features. Employees who pass the criteria set by the company using these features will then receive standard salary increments, promotions or incentives.             One of the benefits of this multi-faceted approach is that the company will be able to determine the strengths of its staff. By drawing their strengths and potentials, the company can then plan on how to enhance them (Nicholson, 2002). In this way, the employees are more motivated as they have more room for growth and achievement (Herzberg, 2002). This also enables the company to recognize well-rounded employees or the real “all-star” employees and not only those who can generate sales. Recognizing the distinct contributions of all staff can help lessen negative competition; the development of a friendlier work environment can also be a good means of motivation. With these gains, it can be said that the use of this system is more helpful considering that it is beneficial for the company as well as for the employees. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

A Staff Motivation System on Nordstrom

Nordstrom, a major player in the retail industry, applies the sales per hour (SPH) motivation system so as to encourage is sales staff to...

Fundamentals of Staff Development

Fundamentals of Staff Development Introduction The challenges associated with the dynamic changes of the nature of work and the workplace environment is what makes or breaks employees and employers themselves. Rapid and fast paced change brought about by the changing times requires a skilled, knowledgeable workforce with employees who are adoptive, flexible and focused on the future. It is on this paradigm which human resource managers acknowledges that a staff development program is critical to an institution.  Staff Development Program (Academic Sector)             Staff and educational development is a relatively new field of activity in higher education ( 2003). This is still an emerging concept to the widely accepted and systematic activity in higher education. In fact staff development is not yet strongly and not consensually theorized. Few human resource specialist “practice” this new domain in a sense that there are few common activities and processes as compared to the widely accepted “activities” such as workshops, training program for new teaching staffs and the provision of written and multi media material, that would be recognized widely as characterizing a staff development program.             As a professional function, staff and educational development borders with various degrees of closeness and comfort to programs such as teaching and training, human resource development and management, organizational development, management, and the production and implementation of policy and strategy on teaching and learning. Its academic neighbors include the academic counterparts of these professional areas, together with theories and models of learning, teaching and assessment, concerns over academic roles and responsibilities, and action and other forms of research ( 2003).             Staff and educational development have a substantive and complex history. At the local level of institutions, there is considerable variation in detail, like for example remit, staffing, location, resourcing, management and priorities. Such variety would imply that local policies, strategies and issues are dominant, determining arrangements and dictating outcomes ( 2004). Within the academic institutions, staff and educational development are generally required to assist the demands and priorities of three constituencies, namely: the academic institution itself, the individual disciplines/subjects, and most importantly the individuals. The latter will always and presume to include staff, more particularly the academic staff, or depending upon the focus of a particular provision. The Impact of a Staff Development Program              (2003) suggests three main sets of reasons to evaluate any staff or educational development undertaking. These are to account for monies and effort and expended, deliverables delivered, goals achieved; to improve the project as it proceeds; and to understand the undertaking, the reasons for its effects, successes and failures. The ultimate merit of professional development for teachers is the crucial role it plays in the improvement of student learning. The education system has evolved so much, mostly because of the advent of technologies that is slowly being integrated to the teaching curriculum. Whether technology should be used in schools is no longer the issue in education. Instead, the current emphasis is ensuring that technology is used effectively to create new opportunities for learning and to promote student achievement. The challenge of a staff development program is to develop a flexible and knowledgeable workforce in relation to current technologies and paradigm of teaching. Teachers not only have to develop new skills and roles with technology but also have to learn how to integrate it into the curriculum. Technology use in the schools can be the basis for positive changes in teaching and learning. Evidence indicates that when “used well, technology applications can support higher-order thinking by engaging students in authentic, complex tasks within collaborative learning contexts” (1993). As with all change, all the same, the success of technology resides on the ability of the individual teacher to use technology in the classroom to raise and reinforce student learning ( 1999).                 Professional development therefore is a crucial and important part of effective technology use, and only high-quality professional development can ascertain the maximum benefits from the time and money spent. Educational technology necessitates educators not only to become familiar with the technology available in their schools but also to totally revolutionize the teacher role. Professional development aids teachers acquire new roles and teaching strategies that will eventually improve their students’ achievement. The J.D. Spencer Staff Development Program             The J. D. Spencer’s fundamentals of a staff development program is divided into a series of steps that would ensure a successful development of the staffs and efficiency of the academic institution to deliver quality teaching and learning to the students. The following steps are (1) recruitment and selection, (2) induction, (3) supervision, (4) evaluation, (5) planned individual development, (6) further professional development, (7) career path planning, (8) heterogeneity, (9) altruistic vision and lastly (10) accountability and responsibility. Recruitment and selection             Good people management is about having the right people in the right place with the right skills. That’s why it is so important to get it right at the beginning. Recruitment and selection are fundamentally concerned with finding, assessing and engaging new employees or promoting existing ones. Intrinsically, its focus is on matching the capabilities and interests of potential candidates with the demands and rewards of a given job. Recruitment and selection decisions are amongst the most important of all decisions that managers have to make because they are a prerequisite to the development of an effective workforce ( 1991). It should be noted that recruitment is only one aspect of human resource management. It needs to be corroborated by a clear linking of the objectives and strategy of the organization to the jobs people are asked to do.             Induction             Staff induction activities are designed to provide new-starters with the information they need, as well as getting them up to speed on how the organization works. Induction processes are vital to ensuring that new staff are productive as quickly as possible, and should play a key role in knowledge management initiatives (2003). Staff induction often and fundamentally focuses on the corporate policies such as safety, security, anti-discrimination, etc. This is useful information, if not the most interesting to participants.             Supervision             Supervision is an allocated time held regularly between the worker and supervisor, which may be a line manager or an experienced staff member who has been trained in giving supervision (2004).  It is an opportunity to discuss, in confidence and in a one-to-one situation, how the worker is getting on with their work and what issues are arising for them. Supervision should identify the worker’s needs and support and develop the skills and abilities they require to carry out their functions effectively.             Evaluation                 Evaluation pertains to a periodic process of gathering data and then analyzing or ordering it in such a way that the resulting information can be used to ascertain whether an organization or program is effectively accomplishing planned activities, and the degree to which it is achieving its stated objectives and its predicted results. Managers can and should lead internal evaluations to acquire information about their programs so that they can make intelligent decisions about the implementation of those programs. Internal evaluation should be conducted on an ongoing basis and implemented religiously by managers at every level of an organization in all program areas. In addition, all of the program’s participants (managers, staff, and beneficiaries) should be regarded in the evaluation process in appropriate ways. These coactions helps ensure that the evaluation is fully participatory and builds dedication on the part of all involved to use the results to make critical program improvements ( 2005).             Planned and Further Individual Development             The role of the classroom teacher is the crucial factor in the full development and use of technology in the schools (1999). Yet, many teachers do not have the technical knowledge or skills to recognize the potential for technology in teaching and learning. Just knowing how to use a computer is not enough. Instead, teachers must become knowledgeable about technology and self-confident enough to integrate it effectively in the classroom. Teachers, in other words, must become “fearless in their use of technology” and empowered by the many opportunities it offers (1999). To reach the goal of preparing teachers for effective technology use, a well-designed professional development program is essential. Professional development in a technological age involves new definitions and new resources. It cannot take the conventional forms of individual workshops or one-time training sessions. Rather, it must be viewed as an continuing and integral part of teachers’ professional lives. Career Path Planning             Well-established, successful companies oftentimes have well-defined career paths, especially if they rely on drawing effective people and keeping them working hard. As organizations mature, they require more and more people at all levels. This means that if people work hard and have the right skills, energy and aptitude, they can be promoted promptly as new roles open up.             Heterogeneity             Organizational heterogeneity pose a big challenge to an organization. Every organization or institution aspire organizational “inclusion” where staffs collaborate with each other actively in sharing new knowledge, ideas or technology. But because of stiff competition in the industry, we also expect a high turn-over rate within the organization, therefore a constant change of staffs making it hard to realize inclusion. On the other hand, heterogeneity can be advantageous to an organization, there exists in the organization a diversity of human capital and talents and the creativity and innovativeness which is directly available for the organization. But without proper staff development program, the positive impact of diversity of cultural and skill assets could be mitigated by the fact that diversity and polarization may pose a threat to the cohesiveness and preservation of existing organizational and corporate structures.             Altruistic Vision Business ethics is a polemical issue, although it is seen as a vital part of everyday business life. The importance of ethics has commonly been justified by suggesting that most people want to live in a society in which justice and charity triumph. Concern for business ethics is also a matter of practical life when the economic system is considered. The economic systems can endure only if they operate in such a way that the majority of the people believe that at least some degree of justice prevails there. If the system lacks legitimacy, it is likely to fail (2005). As further analyzed by  (1996), charismatic leadership in its positive form is altruistic, influences in empowering ways, emphasizes vision by changing followers’ core attitudes, beliefs and values, and manifests needs that are self-developmental. Accountability and Responsibility What is accountability and why is it important? Accountability is the willingness to assume responsibility for the outcomes produced, whether those outcomes meet expectations or are disappointing. In every sector of society the subject of organizational accountability is being taken seriously. While individuals are held accountable for their actions by personal mores and judicial parameters, organizations do not have an innate sense delineating right or wrong. It is, therefore, up to the individuals who own, manage, and direct organizations to put in place policies, procedures, and a code of ethics that work to ensure the organization is answerable for its actions. In the academic institutions, students are expected to meet higher standards, teachers are held accountable for student results, and professional developers are asked to show that what they do really matters. Efforts to create a quality teaching force include new approaches to accountability, designed and implemented through teacher leadership and the participation of large numbers of teachers. Among teachers, parents, and business leaders there is a growing recognition that teachers who are not performing adequately must receive training, mentoring and all other forms of effective assistance as needed and quickly. Teachers who fail to improve, no matter what the reason–poor preparation, burn out, or lack of interest in professionalism–and who are judged incompetent must be counseled out of the profession or dismissed in order to ensure students’ success in school. The new approaches to accountability emphasize early intervention, peer review, and recognition of exemplary teachers who serve as mentors or lead teachers. The Importance of “Supervision” in J.D. Spencer Model             Most staff developers would agree that the goal of staff development is change in individuals’ knowledge, understanding, behaviors, skills – and in values and beliefs ( 1994). Instructional supervision should be an important component of a successful staff development program. Professional development is a vital component of ongoing teacher education and is central to the role of principals and teachers. This development is concerned with improving teachers’ instructional methods, their ability to adapt instruction to meet students’ needs, and their classroom management skills; and with establishing a professional culture that relies on shared beliefs about the importance of teaching and learning and that emphasizes teacher collegiality. Instructional supervision, with its emphasis on partnership and professional improvement, may be an important tool in building an effective staff development program (2000). Teacher professional development is one of the primary domains of instructional supervision ( 1999; 1997; 1993). According to  (1993), the staff development frame of supervision of instruction “views teaching as a profession within which the development of professional expertise through problem solving and inquiry are considered to be the main focus of supervision”.             A survey of the literature reveals many definitions of supervision-each one unique in its focus and purpose-ranging from a custodial orientation to a humanistic orientation. For example, at the custodial end of the continuum, supervision can mean general overseeing and controlling, managing, administering, evaluating, or any activity in which the principal is involved in the process of running the school (  1999). A more humanistic definition suggests that supervision of instruction is a multifaceted, interpersonal process that deals with teaching behavior, curriculum, learning environments, grouping of students, teacher utilization, and professional development ( 1982).  (1989) regard instructional supervision as a multifaceted process that focuses on instruction and provides teachers with information about their teaching so as to develop instructional skills to improve performance. The focus of this improvement, according to  (1993), may be on a teacher’s knowledge, skills, and ability to make more informal professional decisions or to solve problems better, or may be to inquire into his or her teaching. Such a goal permits instructional supervisors to focus on teachers’ instructional improvement which, in turn, improves the quality of learning. Purposes of Supervision             Supervision caters to many different purposes which were evidenced by the outcome of different studies on the subject of importance of supervision with in the teaching profession.             The purposes include the following: 1. Improving instruction (1989; 1997;  1997; 1997;  1993;  1997). 2. Promoting effective teacher staff development (1997; 1989;  1984; 1997; 1996). 3. Helping teachers to become aware of their teaching and its consequences for learners (1997;  1997). 4. Enabling teachers to try out new instructional techniques in a safe, supportive environment ( 1997). 5. Fostering curriculum development ( 1997; 1997;  1996). 6. Encouraging human relations (1996). 7. Fostering teacher motivation (1997). 8. Monitoring the teaching-learning process to obtain the best results with students (1988). 9. Providing a mechanism for teachers and supervisors to increase their understanding of the teaching-learning process through collective inquiry with other professionals ( 1992). Supervision as a Professional Growth Model             The fundamental purpose of supervision is for teachers and the supervisors to engage in focused study groups, teacher collaboration, and other long-term professional partnerships to generate knowledge and increase their understanding of the teaching-learning process. By this way, they learn from each others experiences where such knowledge they can use when facing same situation. Supervision is an underlying part of the total service provided by school systems. It must have an identity within the organizational hierarchy and it must be administratively supported if its purposes are to be achieved. Supervision cannot take place in isolation if it is expected to be effective and to occur over time (1989). The development of trust is very critical in the supervisory relationship ( 1997). Shared authority, expertise, and expectations as a consequence of supervision opportunities are preferable to conventional “top-down” strategies designed to realize “top-down” expectations (1997). Supervisors and teachers must be involved in and committed to rigorous educational and training programs to improve the validity, reliability, and acceptability of data collected and the inferences made during the supervisory process (1993). Supervision is about learning, reflecting, and teaching (1995).  Supervision requires the active use of linguistic skills (1995). Supervision is heavily dependent on the exchange of ideas among individuals working in conjunction with each other. Participants in the supervisory process must be able to communicate their intended meanings clearly and coherently. Finally, the self-governance of professional development by educators ensures bureaucratic restraint and a balance between individual and institutional interests (1995). Conclusion             Supervision plays a vital role in many models of staff development program. This claim is evidenced by the numerous studies conducted to prove the significance of supervision to a successful staff development program. Supervisions main objective is to meet a long term goal wherein a teachers’ development through supervision and facilitation of supervisors can fully assume responsibility which is also focused with the individual teachers’ instructional improvement.  In fact, teacher development is a vital function of supervision. Teachers performing at higher developmental levels incline to use a broader variety of instructional behaviors associated with successful teaching; teachers who have themselves reached higher stages of cognitive, conceptual, moral, and ego development are more likely to foster their students’ growth in those areas. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Fundamentals of Staff Development

Fundamentals of Staff Development Introduction The challenges associated with the dynamic changes of the nature of work and the workpla...

The Impact Of Motivation Of Employees In An Organization

THE IMPACT OF MOTIVATION OF EMPLOYEES IN AN ORGANIZATION       Most companies highly consider training and development, performance appraisal, promotion and benefits not just to give their employees the proper skills required in their work but also to motivate them in order to achieve their objectives in the organization or department they represent this will boost their moral in order to grow and basically become the asset of the company. Human Resource Management must continue to find the way in order to understand what is really needed to establish a long term relationship between employees and employer. Motivation is the key; if companies are able to identify the needs of their employees most probably then it will be the foundation and solution to employee’s non motivated practices.       Most of the company employees needs more than just the monetary reward or basic salary and bonuses they can gain, they will soon get bored in this routine system but what they really need in the long run is the opportunity for advancement if they have already achieved one of the most important motivating factor which is the salary and wages they will definitely seek more growth potentials, they will soon realize that a stagnant position is tiresome and exhausting they will soon be pre occupied to seek more and lack of consideration of the organization makes them even more bored in their line of work. They will behave as if they just like a bundy clock employee who simply watch time and go home knowing that they have no purpose.       The needs for advancement, financial reward, power and authority and employee relation is basically the most important factors in order for them to grow considerably. It is very easy to identify if employees are less motivated it usually shows in their productivity and performance, they may even show insubordination and other Human Resource Management problem such as company violation, absenteeism, misconduct non performance or worst, rebellion in the form of strike or rally. But if the employees are highly motivated the impact would definitely be in a different perspective.       Motivated employees are usually a part of the solution in most of company problems. They will strive to succeed by doing anything beyond their capacity; they will become proactive in most of the company activities in order to contribute to the productivity. They will focus for their objectives or even suggest ways and means no matter what position they belong. Motivated employees always renew their strength and they will usually attract to influence others who are less motivated. Most importantly the impact of motivation to employees creates a harmonious employee to employer relationship in an overall communication which opens up an opportunity to talk about problems before they occur.       A more creative ideas, suggestions and contributions are usually the outcome of the most highly motivated employees for the future of the company. Human Resource should identify employees who show this kind of character in order to identify the future leaders of the organization. Organization and company must invest in their employees in order to establish and create these kinds of highly motivated employees. Encourage and inspire them more than in a financial reward but through social, intellectual, emotional and humanitarian ways to boost their potentials because many employers fails to understand the basic significant in providing them the motivating factor their employees deserved but they sometimes equate material approach as enough motivating factor for their employees.       If the employees are satisfied about what they get in the company does not necessarily mean that they are motivated but eventually if they learned to establish trust and loyalty within the company this is the highest form of motivation. According to Donald Trump money is only second to motivation of employees, but if employees learn to love what they are doing every single day they will increase in wisdom and interest in their work, the most serious problem occur if the employees do not learn to love and be happy with their work and their work environment but if they do the daily task will be easier and lighter in every circumstance. Motivated employees will be committed to their work and they will avoid most of the negative impacts about problems that may occur.       In an organization or company who have learned to appreciate to balance the life of their employees even in their workplace and at home are usually the most successful one and it shows in their company. Like Federal Express or FedEx as one of the most successful company and voted as one of the best company in handling the most motivated employees has also become one of the most successful parcel delivery company or the world because of their employees and it is usually its natural effect. Persistence and determination is the innermost quality of the most successful and highly motivated employees. If all else fail it will be their employees who can extent their help to achieve the most productive representation of the company and if the company succeed, the employees themselves are also the ones to benefit.         Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

The Impact Of Motivation Of Employees In An Organization

THE IMPACT OF MOTIVATION OF EMPLOYEES IN AN ORGANIZATION Most companies highly consider training and development, performance appr...

Critically analyse the role of the principal in staff development and staff appraisal.

THE ROLE OF THE PRINCIPAL IN STAFF DEVELOPMENT AND APPRAISAL           INTRODUCTION                 Every organization needs a leader. The leader basically orchestrates all the activities and efforts of the members of the organization towards the fulfillment of an ultimate purpose. Schools and academic institutions are not exempted from the leadership requirement. Schools are organizations which handle one of the most meaningful functions in society – teaching people so that they would become productive members of the community. This crucial responsibility necessitates competent leadership that would direct equally competent staff and produce knowledgeable individuals.             The academic environment today is not spared from the influences of globalization. Effective schools of the modern world have to be changing and evolving to suit the needs of the staff, students and the society at large. In order to do this, all the authorities of the school have to be aware of their changing roles. Flexibility and continuous improvement should be the mindset. According to  (1995) school improvement requires the principal to be enthusiastic and capable of developing a culture where the staff would adopt a mission to modify practices, values and knowledge toward a fruitful end. Two important roles connected to this requirement is staff development and staff appraisal. THE ROLES OF THE PRINCIPAL IN STAFF DEVELOPMENT AT SCHOOL                 The key role of school principals is to advance organizational development through staff empowerment and professional growth. They are to put in place and maintain staff management practices that motivate and support a high level of personnel commitment and teaching performance (1998).                 Staff development in school is a process that poses certain expected actions and behaviors from the principal. First, the principal must be a “director”. He must have foresight of the future. He should know what he wants his school to accomplish, how it should be accomplished and what the staff needs to accomplish it. As a director, the principal must conceptualize a “vision” or a defined “end” for all staff performance. This role is founded on the fact that a school without a clear vision or purpose would not be able to acquire any determined direction. The vision must be formulated based on the needs of the students and the staff. Thus, the workability of the vision would only be secured if the principal is able to share it with the staff, student body and the entire school community through solicitation of ideas on a realistic and sincere vision that the school would adopt. The vision must be accompanied by strategies or the means of accomplishing it. The principal has to sit down with his staff to tackle and detail the steps to take for fulfilling the school purpose. Furthermore, the principal should determine and advocate a set of shared values in school. The values refer to the specific behaviors and attitudes necessary to fulfill the purpose. The values describe the standards of conduct that the staff would need in order to effectively carry themselves towards the vision. The principals should be knowledgeable on the necessary attitudes that would make the staff more capable of fulfilling the purpose and give more meaning to their work as educators. Second, the principal must be a “manager” of school practices. Relative to this role are the principal’s responsibility to monitor and oversee every teaching function inside the school. The principal as a manager necessitates monitoring activities like classroom observation, assessment of instructional procedures and evaluation of student performance. These activities are the primary means for the principal to check the things that are going on inside the school premises. The principal can gather information regarding the sufficiency of school materials and the level of staff competence. Staff development takes place if the staff can see that the principal is interested in staff efforts, endeavors and outcomes. Also the role of principal as a manager who monitors teaching processes would help the school to identify any training needs of the staff that would assist them in making their teaching function more responsive to student needs. Third, the principal must be a “motivator”. He should foster and maintain a collaborative atmosphere in school so that all teachers would feel a sense of belongingness. Feeling of isolation among the teachers is not healthy. A teacher who feels isolated would not be encouraged to teach well or to contribute to the fulfillment of the school purpose. Thus, principals must make collaboration the rule of thumb in their schools. Collaboration paves the way for sharing of knowledge, issues and concerns so that everyone can contribute to the steps for resolution and ensure better practice. Corollary to this, school principals must commit to open communication and continuous learning. Teachers must be able to enjoy unrestricted dialogues with their colleagues, whether formal or informal. Open and honest communication makes the staff voice out grievances that may have an impact on the whole school setting. Collaboration can be encouraged by the principal through regular staff meetings, peer observation and coaching.  Principals who commit to continuous learning persuade teachers to learn new skills and competence, assist them in the adjustment stage brought about by practicing a new technique, appreciate efforts, and celebrate remarkable improvement. Collaboration, communication and continuous learning make the staff feel free in their work and also give them a chance to share their ideas to others as well as learn from their colleagues in return. Fifth, principals must be “innovators”. They should not be afraid to experiment on new and better ways to deliver education to the students. The principal must adopt the thinking that schools that do not change cannot adapt to the changing environment and are likely to yield incompetent staff and graduates. Innovation means that the principals persuade their personnel in a professional manner to adopt varying perspectives and strategies in the daily performance of their jobs, or identifying teachers who do not deliver expected results. Principals should recognize established and research-based teaching methods but should also value the essence of continuous trainings, action research, and study groups. These activities would expose the school to updated methods of teaching based on new situations in the education setting. The principal must be open minded and must be able to identify the new methods and procedures relevant to the purpose of the school in order to ensure that teachers have contemporary instructional methods. Finally, principals must be “advocating educators”. They should advance individual and collective efficacy as well as confidence. Principals as advocates and educators support teachers’ procedures that are helpful to the school, and display steadfast confidence and faith to the staff’s ability to improve teaching and learning practices. Staff who can see that their principal is not supportive and confident would not be encouraged to pursue continuous professional growth. Moreover, principals must develop and communicate concise and ongoing school practices and development initiatives. School practices and development initiatives should be continuous and focused to the desired outcomes so that the staff would think that they are not mere ad-hoc tasks to be haphazardly accomplished and thus, would motivate them to do more (1995).   THE ROLES OF THE PRINCIPAL IN STAFF APPRAISAL AT SCHOOL                 Every academic institution has to establish a teacher appraisal system that would assess teaching performance, identify best practices, and detect any areas of improvement. The principals take the general roles of director, manager, motivator, innovator and advocating educator in staff appraisal. As a director, the principal plans the entire appraisal system. The planning phase requires the effort and intellect of the principal and all personnel. The principal’s key role as director and planner is focused in formulating strategies and procedures for the appraisal system. The principal must be able to seek the cooperation of the staff in conceptualizing the components of the appraisal system including the aspects to be evaluated and the grading system, and how the whole scheme should be executed in the school (1998). The components of the appraisal system and the strategies for doing it must be aligned with the articulated vision and values of the school. The principal has to have a through understanding of the vision and values that govern the vision in order to identify the best strategies that would capture the essential issues of professional evaluation in the school (2003).  Second, the principal’s role as a manager and motivator in the teacher appraisal requires him to oversee, lead, coordinate and support the entire appraisal system and negotiate it with all the entities in the school. After the teachers and principal have discussed and approved the components and strategies of the system, the principal must disseminate a concise written outline of the teacher appraisal system to all personnel to guarantee a unified understanding of how the process would be administered and implemented. The principal would set a specific period of doing the appraisal and must communicate it to all staff. He should ensure strict adherence to the schedule and should impart to the staff the thinking that the appraisal is not a means to criticize their performance. Rather, it is a way of recognizing their achievements and identifying areas of improvement so that the school can come up with strategies to help them address their difficulties. The principal can also manage the appraisal system by participating in certain activities life classroom observations in order to monitor teacher’s behaviors inside the classroom, how well he or she delivers the lesson, how he or she answers student inquiries or clarify vague matters, and how he or she effectively solicits the participation of the students in the lesson. Third, the principal’s roles as innovator and advocating educators can come together as he designs actions on the results of the appraisal. All results of the teacher appraisal process must be kept confidential between the staff being evaluated, the supervisor and the principal. The principal’s role as advocate means that he protects the interests of the staff. Thus, he should commit to the confidentiality on the entire appraisal system. He should not compare the performance of the staff with each other to avoid any prejudices or favoritism. Furthermore, since the appraisal can detect areas of improvement, the principal’s roles as innovator and advocating educators come into being in case of teacher inefficiency. The principal should be able to consistently monitor the performance of the staff identified as being inefficient; engage the staff, upon his or her consent, in a formal assistance or improvement program; professionally meet with the teacher in order to explain the whole procedure, schedules and any decisions obtained from the procedures as well as listen to the staff’s responses and opinion regarding the whole thing; and prepare all pertinent documentations, details and reports to the highest school authority regarding the teacher’s situation. The principal must also ensure that all actions derived from the staff’s assessment should be carried out by the staff or the supervisor. The essence of the appraisal system comes to completion when the results are used to support staff development (1998). Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Critically analyse the role of the principal in staff development and staff appraisal.

THE ROLE OF THE PRINCIPAL IN STAFF DEVELOPMENT AND APPRAISAL INTRODUCTION Every organization needs a l...

Fundamentals of Staff Development

Fundamentals of Staff Development Introduction The challenges associated with the dynamic changes of the nature of work and the workplace environment is what makes or breaks employees and employers themselves. Rapid and fast paced change brought about by the changing times requires a skilled, knowledgeable workforce with employees who are adoptive, flexible and focused on the future. It is on this paradigm which human resource managers acknowledges that a staff development program is critical to an institution.  Staff Development Program (Academic Sector)             Staff and educational development is a relatively new field of activity in higher education (2003). This is still an emerging concept to the widely accepted and systematic activity in higher education. In fact staff development is not yet strongly and not consensually theorized. Few human resource specialist “practice” this new domain in a sense that there are few common activities and processes as compared to the widely accepted “activities” such as workshops, training program for new teaching staffs and the provision of written and multi media material, that would be recognized widely as characterizing a staff development program.             As a professional function, staff and educational development borders with various degrees of closeness and comfort to programs such as teaching and training, human resource development and management, organizational development, management, and the production and implementation of policy and strategy on teaching and learning. Its academic neighbors include the academic counterparts of these professional areas, together with theories and models of learning, teaching and assessment, concerns over academic roles and responsibilities, and action and other forms of research ( 2003).             Staff and educational development have a substantive and complex history. At the local level of institutions, there is considerable variation in detail, like for example remit, staffing, location, resourcing, management and priorities. Such variety would imply that local policies, strategies and issues are dominant, determining arrangements and dictating outcomes (2004). Within the academic institutions, staff and educational development are generally required to assist the demands and priorities of three constituencies, namely: the academic institution itself, the individual disciplines/subjects, and most importantly the individuals. The latter will always and presume to include staff, more particularly the academic staff, or depending upon the focus of a particular provision. The Impact of a Staff Development Program              (2003) suggests three main sets of reasons to evaluate any staff or educational development undertaking. These are to account for monies and effort and expended, deliverables delivered, goals achieved; to improve the project as it proceeds; and to understand the undertaking, the reasons for its effects, successes and failures. The ultimate merit of professional development for teachers is the crucial role it plays in the improvement of student learning. The education system has evolved so much, mostly because of the advent of technologies that is slowly being integrated to the teaching curriculum. Whether technology should be used in schools is no longer the issue in education. Instead, the current emphasis is ensuring that technology is used effectively to create new opportunities for learning and to promote student achievement. The challenge of a staff development program is to develop a flexible and knowledgeable workforce in relation to current technologies and paradigm of teaching. Teachers not only have to develop new skills and roles with technology but also have to learn how to integrate it into the curriculum. Technology use in the schools can be the basis for positive changes in teaching and learning. Evidence indicates that when “used well, technology applications can support higher-order thinking by engaging students in authentic, complex tasks within collaborative learning contexts” (1993). As with all change, all the same, the success of technology resides on the ability of the individual teacher to use technology in the classroom to raise and reinforce student learning ( 1999).                 Professional development therefore is a crucial and important part of effective technology use, and only high-quality professional development can ascertain the maximum benefits from the time and money spent. Educational technology necessitates educators not only to become familiar with the technology available in their schools but also to totally revolutionize the teacher role. Professional development aids teachers acquire new roles and teaching strategies that will eventually improve their students’ achievement. The J.D. Spencer Staff Development Program             The J. D. Spencer’s fundamentals of a staff development program is divided into a series of steps that would ensure a successful development of the staffs and efficiency of the academic institution to deliver quality teaching and learning to the students. The following steps are (1) recruitment and selection, (2) induction, (3) supervision, (4) evaluation, (5) planned individual development, (6) further professional development, (7) career path planning, (8) heterogeneity, (9) altruistic vision and lastly (10) accountability and responsibility. Recruitment and selection             Good people management is about having the right people in the right place with the right skills. That’s why it is so important to get it right at the beginning. Recruitment and selection are fundamentally concerned with finding, assessing and engaging new employees or promoting existing ones. Intrinsically, its focus is on matching the capabilities and interests of potential candidates with the demands and rewards of a given job. Recruitment and selection decisions are amongst the most important of all decisions that managers have to make because they are a prerequisite to the development of an effective workforce (1991). It should be noted that recruitment is only one aspect of human resource management. It needs to be corroborated by a clear linking of the objectives and strategy of the organization to the jobs people are asked to do.             Induction             Staff induction activities are designed to provide new-starters with the information they need, as well as getting them up to speed on how the organization works. Induction processes are vital to ensuring that new staff are productive as quickly as possible, and should play a key role in knowledge management initiatives (2003). Staff induction often and fundamentally focuses on the corporate policies such as safety, security, anti-discrimination, etc. This is useful information, if not the most interesting to participants.             Supervision             Supervision is an allocated time held regularly between the worker and supervisor, which may be a line manager or an experienced staff member who has been trained in giving supervision (2004).  It is an opportunity to discuss, in confidence and in a one-to-one situation, how the worker is getting on with their work and what issues are arising for them. Supervision should identify the worker’s needs and support and develop the skills and abilities they require to carry out their functions effectively.             Evaluation                 Evaluation pertains to a periodic process of gathering data and then analyzing or ordering it in such a way that the resulting information can be used to ascertain whether an organization or program is effectively accomplishing planned activities, and the degree to which it is achieving its stated objectives and its predicted results. Managers can and should lead internal evaluations to acquire information about their programs so that they can make intelligent decisions about the implementation of those programs. Internal evaluation should be conducted on an ongoing basis and implemented religiously by managers at every level of an organization in all program areas. In addition, all of the program’s participants (managers, staff, and beneficiaries) should be regarded in the evaluation process in appropriate ways. These coactions helps ensure that the evaluation is fully participatory and builds dedication on the part of all involved to use the results to make critical program improvements (2005).             Planned and Further Individual Development             The role of the classroom teacher is the crucial factor in the full development and use of technology in the schools (1999). Yet, many teachers do not have the technical knowledge or skills to recognize the potential for technology in teaching and learning. Just knowing how to use a computer is not enough. Instead, teachers must become knowledgeable about technology and self-confident enough to integrate it effectively in the classroom. Teachers, in other words, must become “fearless in their use of technology” and empowered by the many opportunities it offers (1999). To reach the goal of preparing teachers for effective technology use, a well-designed professional development program is essential. Professional development in a technological age involves new definitions and new resources. It cannot take the conventional forms of individual workshops or one-time training sessions. Rather, it must be viewed as an continuing and integral part of teachers’ professional lives. Career Path Planning             Well-established, successful companies oftentimes have well-defined career paths, especially if they rely on drawing effective people and keeping them working hard. As organizations mature, they require more and more people at all levels. This means that if people work hard and have the right skills, energy and aptitude, they can be promoted promptly as new roles open up.             Heterogeneity             Organizational heterogeneity pose a big challenge to an organization. Every organization or institution aspire organizational “inclusion” where staffs collaborate with each other actively in sharing new knowledge, ideas or technology. But because of stiff competition in the industry, we also expect a high turn-over rate within the organization, therefore a constant change of staffs making it hard to realize inclusion. On the other hand, heterogeneity can be advantageous to an organization, there exists in the organization a diversity of human capital and talents and the creativity and innovativeness which is directly available for the organization. But without proper staff development program, the positive impact of diversity of cultural and skill assets could be mitigated by the fact that diversity and polarization may pose a threat to the cohesiveness and preservation of existing organizational and corporate structures.             Altruistic Vision Business ethics is a polemical issue, although it is seen as a vital part of everyday business life. The importance of ethics has commonly been justified by suggesting that most people want to live in a society in which justice and charity triumph. Concern for business ethics is also a matter of practical life when the economic system is considered. The economic systems can endure only if they operate in such a way that the majority of the people believe that at least some degree of justice prevails there. If the system lacks legitimacy, it is likely to fail (2005). As further analyzed by  (1996), charismatic leadership in its positive form is altruistic, influences in empowering ways, emphasizes vision by changing followers’ core attitudes, beliefs and values, and manifests needs that are self-developmental. Accountability and Responsibility What is accountability and why is it important? Accountability is the willingness to assume responsibility for the outcomes produced, whether those outcomes meet expectations or are disappointing. In every sector of society the subject of organizational accountability is being taken seriously. While individuals are held accountable for their actions by personal mores and judicial parameters, organizations do not have an innate sense delineating right or wrong. It is, therefore, up to the individuals who own, manage, and direct organizations to put in place policies, procedures, and a code of ethics that work to ensure the organization is answerable for its actions. In the academic institutions, students are expected to meet higher standards, teachers are held accountable for student results, and professional developers are asked to show that what they do really matters. Efforts to create a quality teaching force include new approaches to accountability, designed and implemented through teacher leadership and the participation of large numbers of teachers. Among teachers, parents, and business leaders there is a growing recognition that teachers who are not performing adequately must receive training, mentoring and all other forms of effective assistance as needed and quickly. Teachers who fail to improve, no matter what the reason–poor preparation, burn out, or lack of interest in professionalism–and who are judged incompetent must be counseled out of the profession or dismissed in order to ensure students’ success in school. The new approaches to accountability emphasize early intervention, peer review, and recognition of exemplary teachers who serve as mentors or lead teachers. The Importance of “Supervision” in J.D. Spencer Model             Most staff developers would agree that the goal of staff development is change in individuals’ knowledge, understanding, behaviors, skills – and in values and beliefs (1994). Instructional supervision should be an important component of a successful staff development program. Professional development is a vital component of ongoing teacher education and is central to the role of principals and teachers. This development is concerned with improving teachers’ instructional methods, their ability to adapt instruction to meet students’ needs, and their classroom management skills; and with establishing a professional culture that relies on shared beliefs about the importance of teaching and learning and that emphasizes teacher collegiality. Instructional supervision, with its emphasis on partnership and professional improvement, may be an important tool in building an effective staff development program (2000). Teacher professional development is one of the primary domains of instructional supervision ( 1999; 1997; 1993). According to  (1993), the staff development frame of supervision of instruction “views teaching as a profession within which the development of professional expertise through problem solving and inquiry are considered to be the main focus of supervision”.             A survey of the literature reveals many definitions of supervision-each one unique in its focus and purpose-ranging from a custodial orientation to a humanistic orientation. For example, at the custodial end of the continuum, supervision can mean general overseeing and controlling, managing, administering, evaluating, or any activity in which the principal is involved in the process of running the school (  1999). A more humanistic definition suggests that supervision of instruction is a multifaceted, interpersonal process that deals with teaching behavior, curriculum, learning environments, grouping of students, teacher utilization, and professional development (1982).  (1989) regard instructional supervision as a multifaceted process that focuses on instruction and provides teachers with information about their teaching so as to develop instructional skills to improve performance. The focus of this improvement, according to (1993), may be on a teacher’s knowledge, skills, and ability to make more informal professional decisions or to solve problems better, or may be to inquire into his or her teaching. Such a goal permits instructional supervisors to focus on teachers’ instructional improvement which, in turn, improves the quality of learning. Purposes of Supervision             Supervision caters to many different purposes which were evidenced by the outcome of different studies on the subject of importance of supervision with in the teaching profession.             The purposes include the following: 1. Improving instruction (1989; 1997;  1997;  1997; 1993;  1997). 2. Promoting effective teacher staff development ( 1997;  1989;  1984;  1997; 1996). 3. Helping teachers to become aware of their teaching and its consequences for learners (1997;1997). 4. Enabling teachers to try out new instructional techniques in a safe, supportive environment ( 1997). 5. Fostering curriculum development ( 1997; 1997;1996). 6. Encouraging human relations (1996). 7. Fostering teacher motivation (1997). 8. Monitoring the teaching-learning process to obtain the best results with students ( 1988). 9. Providing a mechanism for teachers and supervisors to increase their understanding of the teaching-learning process through collective inquiry with other professionals (1992). Supervision as a Professional Growth Model             The fundamental purpose of supervision is for teachers and the supervisors to engage in focused study groups, teacher collaboration, and other long-term professional partnerships to generate knowledge and increase their understanding of the teaching-learning process. By this way, they learn from each others experiences where such knowledge they can use when facing same situation. Supervision is an underlying part of the total service provided by school systems. It must have an identity within the organizational hierarchy and it must be administratively supported if its purposes are to be achieved. Supervision cannot take place in isolation if it is expected to be effective and to occur over time (1989). The development of trust is very critical in the supervisory relationship (1997). Shared authority, expertise, and expectations as a consequence of supervision opportunities are preferable to conventional “top-down” strategies designed to realize “top-down” expectations ( 1997). Supervisors and teachers must be involved in and committed to rigorous educational and training programs to improve the validity, reliability, and acceptability of data collected and the inferences made during the supervisory process ( 1993). Supervision is about learning, reflecting, and teaching (1995).  Supervision requires the active use of linguistic skills (1995). Supervision is heavily dependent on the exchange of ideas among individuals working in conjunction with each other. Participants in the supervisory process must be able to communicate their intended meanings clearly and coherently. Finally, the self-governance of professional development by educators ensures bureaucratic restraint and a balance between individual and institutional interests (1995). Conclusion             Supervision plays a vital role in many models of staff development program. This claim is evidenced by the numerous studies conducted to prove the significance of supervision to a successful staff development program. Supervisions main objective is to meet a long term goal wherein a teachers’ development through supervision and facilitation of supervisors can fully assume responsibility which is also focused with the individual teachers’ instructional improvement.  In fact, teacher development is a vital function of supervision. Teachers performing at higher developmental levels incline to use a broader variety of instructional behaviors associated with successful teaching; teachers who have themselves reached higher stages of cognitive, conceptual, moral, and ego development are more likely to foster their students’ growth in those areas. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Fundamentals of Staff Development

Fundamentals of Staff Development Introduction The challenges associated with the dynamic changes of the nature of work and the workpla...