Abstract:
The study examines the effect of role ambiguity as
experienced by production supervisors, upon their attitudes
to work and investigates the supervisory role with
reference to perceptions of managers and supervisors. Role
ambiguity is considered by several theorists to have a
negative influence upon work attitudes generally. The study
aims to identify which work attitudes are most
significantly influenced and how much the presence and level
of role ambiguity explains the variation in levels of
motivation of supervisors.
The sample of supervisors and managers for the pilot study
was drawn from 3 manufacturing organisations in the food
industry, the main study relies on a sample of supervisors
and managers from 6 organisations.
Whilst the major research objective has been to examine the
effect of role ambiguity upon supervisors' attitudes, a
significant element of the research has been directed
towards clarification of the supervisory role, investigating
such commonly-quoted situations as the supervisor as the
"man in the middle" who suffers more than others in the
organisation from role ambiguity.
The practical outcomes of the research are presented with
reference to their use and potential value in an
organisational context. The findings of the study indicate
significant relationships in 5 out of the 6 predicted
associations comprising the hypotheses. The theoretical
model which has been developed lacks power as an
explanatory instrument. The model is useful, however, as
a descriptive tool, relating some of the variables which
are associated with supervisors' work motivation.