An Examination of Differences between Supervisors in Large and Small Companies

AN EXAMINATION OF DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SUPERVISORS IN LARGE AND SMALL COMPANIES A review of the literature reveals relatively little research which compares managements of small businesses to managements of large businesses. Welsh and White (1981) claim that little is known about how managing small businesses differs from managing large businesses. They argue that in the financial management area small business managers must adopt a different outlook and apply different principles than their large business counterparts. Harrell and Alpert (1979) present findings that Stanford MBAs who seek "autonomy," defined as "the quality or state of being independent, free, and self directing," show more interest in working for small companies (those employing fewer than 1,000 persons). Paolillo (1984) assessed ten roles deemed essential to managers in both small and large companies and concluded that seven of these roles were influenced by company size. Anderson and Anderson (1988) found female managers in small (having fewer than 100 employees) and large firms to be very similar, but women in small firms were less inclined to change jobs, were more decisive, and had a lower need for power. Certainly, organizational structure and size are related. In a study of organizations employing 35 to 17,000 persons, Yasai-Ardekani (1989) found that structural complexity is positively related to size. In the manufacturing area, there is a growing belief that small size is related to organizational effectiveness. For example, Schmenner (1976) presents arguments in favor of smaller organizations. RESEARCH FOCUS This article presents research evidence regarding differences between supervisors in small and large organizations. Supervisors are defined as persons holding at least a first-level supervisory position in their organization. The major research questions examined include the following: 1. How do the supervisors differ in their perceptions and opinions of various job conditions affecting operations? 2. How do the supervisors differ in their opinions about their employees and in their managerial style? 3. How do the supervisors differ in their feelings about their relationships with their peers and superiors? 4. How do the supervisors differ in their perceptions of their own skills? RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The research methodology consisted of a field survey conducted by the College of Business at James Madison University. The National Survey of Supervisory Management Practices (1983) produced data on 7,725 supervisors from 564 different organizational units located in 37 states. The study questionnaire included 150 items for which the respondents checked appropriate responses. Most of the supervisors completed the instrument in group sessions at professional meetings or within their company setting. This article examines data collected on 1,206 supervisors who worked for companies employing 50 or fewer persons (small organizations) and 6,519 supervisors who worked for companies employing more than 50 persons (large organizations). Industry sectors most heavily represented include manufacturing companies, hospitals and educational institutions, retailing and wholesaling establishments, and general services, including data processing and distribution. The dominant functional work areas included were production and operations; sales, marketing, and customer relations; clerical, record keeping, and data processing; and accounting and finance. In order to evaluate the statistical significance of the percentage differences observed throughout the paper, Z-values calculated for a two-tailed test of the difference of two proportions are shown in the tables. The difference is always computed as the proportion of large company supervisors subtracted from the proportion of small company supervisors. …