Each employee has only one supervisor. In most of the SBI cases that dealt with personnel issues, the major problems occurred when employees did not know who their boss was. The owners also were very confused about who reported to whom. A simple organizational chart can quickly solve this problem. This creates ill will and destroys teamwork and productivity.
Supervisors have authority commensurate with responsibility.
Too often a supervisor has responsibility without the proper authority. This undermines the supervisor and confuses the employees. When owners do not delegate the necessary authority, they destroy their own profits. Often the ability to delegate authority properly has not been learned by small business owners. The cause of poor delegation is often simply the result of poor planning.