In supervising a new employee, the one of the following which is not generally accepted as a good basic principle is to:

• A. prevent any temporary dependence on the supervisor
• B. allow the employee to take immediate responsibility for some assigned work
• C. hold the employee to the perfect execution of every rule of the department until he or she learns all the policies
• D. allow the employee to make mistakes, without any advance instructions, and to learn by experience, because he or she will be more sure to remember the right way

Answer: (D)

In supervising a new employee, the aim is to balance guidance with autonomy so work is done correctly while the person grows more capable. The principle that is not generally accepted as a good basic approach is letting the employee make mistakes without any advance instructions and learn by experience because they’ll remember the right way later. This ignores the need for initial training, clear expectations, and timely feedback. New staff benefit from a basic orientation and some coaching on how things are done, plus support as they try tasks. You also want to avoid leaving them with complete dependence on you, and you want to grant early responsibility, but with guidance. Being unrealistically rigid—demanding perfect execution of every rule before they learn—stifles learning and can create avoidable errors. The point is to provide direction and feedback up front, not to rely on unstructured trial and error.