Dimensions of organizational role: a case study of the supervisor in a textile mill
Abstract
In this paper an attempt is made to understand the work role of
the first line supervisor (mistri) in the weaving department of a
large textile mill from the points of view of the supervisor him.
self, of his superiors, and of his subordinates. It is assumed
that congruence of perceptions and expectdtions among the people
concerned with the performance of an organizational role contri,
butes to the effective functioning of the organization. The work
role of the mistri is divided into specific segments of activity. The
data indicate the extent and quality of divergence in the percep
tions and expectations for each segment of the role among the
three levels of the organization as mentioned above. Although
the analysis fails to show a clear pattern of congruence or diver,
gence of role perceptions and expectations} it appears that officers
show greater expectations about the responsibility of the mistri
than mistris themselves. One important conclusion emerging from
the data is that there is considerable variation within each group
on the mistri's role, while intergroup divergence is not very
significant. At the same time, genuine consensus between groups
(reinforced by intragroup consensus) is rather low. The analysis
suggests that there is a higher degree of consensus among the
groups on the mistri's role in personnel and maintenance areas.
While the mistri is supposed to have low responsibility in per.
spnnel mdtters, his responsibility for maintenance is consistently
regarded as high. This observation conforms to the widely pre.
valent image of a mistri as mainly a person looking after main
tenance of machines.
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