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Discuss the distinction between Employee-centred and Production-centred Supervision
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According to the Michigan researches, there are two distinct styles of Supervision, viz. (1) Employee-centred supervision and (2) Production-centred supervision.
Employee-centred Supervision
A supervisor is said to be employee-centred if he considers supervision of his people, rather than expediting production to be his main job. His method of getting the work done by the people is to satisfy than by providing them the necessary information, material and organisation and guiding them on their work as to how the work is to be accomplished. He does not keep close watch on how the work progresses. He believes the workers and assumes that the workers are responsible enough to assume their own responsibilities without any pressure of looking over, though he is always available for any technical assistance and for securing necessary facilities from the management.
Production-centred Supervision
A supervisor is rated as production-centred if he considers the production his main job and regards his men primarily the instruments for getting the work done rather than as human beings with needs and emotions similar to his own. He is more detached and more objective than the employee-centred supervisor. He does not hesitate to insert himself in the daily flow of work; if he thinks i hat work is not going in a way. He is hard to his instructions and does not like and deviation from them.
Employee-centred Vs. Production-centred Supervision
The problem as to whether the supervisor should be employee-centred or production-centred should be decided on the merit of the individual case. The Michigan studies have made it clear that the employee- centred supervision is more effective than the production-centred supervision. The studies show that the higher productivity at the expense of worker's dignity is the surest way of defeating the very purpose. They have also brought out the fact that interest and responsibility on the part of the workers are affected by the behaviour of the supervisor which follows the attitude of workers towards production and also affects the group motivation and morale researches concluded that the employee-centred supervision definitely leads to higher productivity and greater employee satisfaction. This fact is not confirmed by the other researches. 
According to other researches production-centred supervision, under certain conditions may yield as good a production record, at least in the short run. But the Michigan team maintains that in the long run the employee-centred group develops into a better equipped and a more healthy group and is better able to maintain its productivity gains than the production centred-group.