Supervisor Expectations

Supervisors/bosses in the US are usually expected to do far more than simply oversee employees; they are often expected to motivate, reward, give feedback, boost morale, and ask for constructive criticism.  Our employee/employer paradigm is set up to encourage two-way communication, and evaluations are completed and reviewed from both parties about the other.  Superiors must earn the respect of those below them, and when they make mistakes they must accept responsibility and apologize.  Simply being higher in the hierarchy is not grounds for bossing others around, and simply being lower does not mean you take orders.  (With good supervisors, that is...)

That isn't the case in Argentina, and most certainly wasn't the case in Mozambique.  Forget all that junk about motivating, rewarding, and boosting morale.  Who cares about all that stuff?  That's not necessary.  Listen to the opinions and ideas of people below you?  No.  The only way to command respect is by not showing it so that others will fear you.  Ok, that's a slightly exaggerated description of even Mozambique, but you get the idea. 

I'll give you some real examples:

ARGENTINA
1. My boss has the cleaning women who clean the hostel rooms also clean his personal apartment for no extra pay.
2. They also wash and iron his clothes.
3. Usually I have my day off on Thursdays, but this week he told Silvia to tell me it had been changed to Wednesday.  He asked afterward if that was OK, but he'd already made plans and it was obvious that I couldn't really say no.
4. There's no Employee of the Month of Shout-Outs program.  Not that those are necessary, just pointing out the difference.
5.  There are no evaluations of bosses or employees where I work.  One of the women I work with didn't show up for work one day and no one knew why and everyone was pissed.  When she showed up the next day she didn't give an explanation and our boss didn't even ask or say anything to her about it.

MOZAMBIQUE
1. My Assistant Director asked me multiple times to draw large, colored posters of diagrams from the book or to type his tests from his handwritten drafts.  It was not a choice.
2. My director tried to demand that I give him soccer balls another Volunteer had gifted to me.  That was not supposed to be a choice, but it was right at the end of my two years so I said no, which caused huge problems and Peace Corps got involved.  But that was a right that culturally he had.
3. The Governor's wife was a teacher at my school.  I came up with a chart for showing various statistics, and she told the director it was her idea.  When I commented that actually no, it was my idea, people told me not to be so hot-headed.  Because culturally, it's ok for her to do that.
4.  It's perfectly ok to call out people in staff meetings and insult them in front of everyone.  Or for teachers to do the same to students.
5.  Teachers can ask their students (or any kids, for that matter) to do various tasks for them: go to the market to buy something, take a message to someone, carry something for them, etc.  It's not a choice.