Electricity Producing Power Plants Supervisor With Lack Of Experience And Skills

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Acknowledgement

I would first like to express my gratitude for my research supervisor, colleagues, peers and family whose immense and constant support has been a source of continuous guidance and inspiration.

Declaration

I [type your full first names & surname here], declare that the following dissertation/thesis and its entire content has been an individual, unaided effort and has not been submitted or published before. Furthermore, it reflects my opinion and take on the topic and is does not represent the opinion of the University.

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Abstract

The problem addressed in the present study involves an assessment of the performance of inexperienced power plant supervisors working in electric power plant fields, and how their performance compares with the work of experienced supervisors. This study provide insight to electric power plants concerning opportunities to improve overall electric plant performance as the industry moves towards a deregulated environment.

Table of Contents

Chapter # 1: Introduction5

Background5

Statement of the Problem7

Change within Electric Utilities8

Research Question9

Significance of the Study10

Limitations11

The Following Chapters11

Chapter # 2: Literature Review13

Research on Supervision Variables13

On-Site Supervision Research14

The Relationship between Supervisor Behavior and Employee Creativity20

Supervisory Encouragement and Employee Creativity22

The Influence of Supervisor Behavior on Job Perceptions23

High Performance Organizations25

OAW Guide to High Performance Workplace28

OAW Guide Skills and Information28

Change within the Electric Power Industry33

Conceptualization and Measurement of Supervisor Development35

Supervisor Developmental Theories35

Chapter # 3: Methodology38

Research Methods38

Research Strategy and Design39

Population41

Instrument Development42

Data Collection42

Administration of the Survey43

Summary44

Chapter # 4: Results and Findings45

Supervisory Demographic Data45

Inexperience-Supervisory Demographic Data48

Research Question 151

Research Question 2 and 355

Factor Analysis56

Research Question 459

Summary60

Chapter # 5: Discussion and Conclusion62

Conclusions62

Recommended Actions to Address Areas of Non Congruence64

Recommendations for Future Research65

References67

Appendix77

Questionnaire77

Chapter # 1: Introduction

Background

Most human beings spend a substantial amount of their waking hours in some kind of work setting. Work environments are made up of a number of different factors that employees either consciously or unconsciously evaluate to determine whether their work climate is receptive to their creative ideas. One valuable source of signals is the supervisor. As a result of various interactions with the supervisor, employees reach conclusions as to whether the supervisor personally supports their creative efforts, and whether higher levels of management are supportive of employee creativity in general. According to Kozlowski and Doherty (1989):

“The leadership behavior of immediate supervisors is likely to be salient features and to be interpreted as representative of more molar organizational processes. Even features, events, and processes occurring at higher levels are likely to be mediated by local leadership behaviors, given that an individual's immediate supervisor is the most salient, tangible representative of management actions, policies, and procedures. Thus, the nature and quality of interactions with supervisors may be a key filter in the interpretations that provide the basis for subordinates' climate perceptions.” (p 547)

The main role of supervisors is to provide direct and close supervision of the tasks performed by the workers under them. Supervisors are familiar with the work processes and with their experience; they are in the best position to identify hazards in the workplace. As such, they are able to contribute significantly to the ...