Supervisor in an Organization

Supervisor in an Organization

Introduction

Any organization or establishment cannot continue to persist without the effective management and supervision. Managers and supervisors play a crucial role in the organizations in managing and supervising the employees. This paper aims to focus on the thought that “even though supervisors are internal focused and act as intermediary, supervisor plays almost same roles as managers since the diverse roles played by supervisors integrates into the essential management functions.”

The paper describes the roles and responsibilities of the supervisor in an organization. The paper than describes three traits that are possessed by an effective manager and also describes the way in which these traits can be related to the functions of management. Subsequently, the relationship between managers, supervisors and employees has been discussed. Lastly, the paper describes the importance of hiring the right person for the right job as well as the challenges faced by the supervisor in a multicultural society.

Discussion

Role of supervisor in a typical organization

Different organizations and establishments have varying philosophies in how an organization is to be functioning and which positions are necessary to execute the plan. One of the crucial positions that make the establishment function is that of a Supervisor. The term supervisor is a word with Latin roots which means “to look over,” however, a supervisor is viewed as a person who is an immediate overseer to an employee at a workplace. The supervisor is the person an employee would directly report to for any work related situation. A supervisor plays an essential part of the management team that gives an organization purpose and leadership by being responsible for employees' progress and productivity (Lehman, 2007).

A supervisor plays varying roles in the typical organization. There are a number of responsibilities on the supervisors in an organization that they need to execute. The multi faceted roles of the supervisor in a typical organization include the roles of planner, manager, counselor, guide, inspector, mediator and leader. The supervisor acts as an intermediary between the management and the employees in an organization. The supervisor as the title entails supervises the overall activities and tasks of the employees and thus acts as a coach, mentor and controller of the employees (Newstrom, 2002).

The typical responsibilities of the supervisor are similar to the typical functions of the manager in an organization. These include planning, organizing, staffing, leading and controlling. A supervisor is supposed to plan the operating schedules, set the deadlines, and determine the expense budgets and quality specifications. After planning, the supervisor aligns all the departmental resources including the tools, equipment, time, budget and the work force to divide the tasks. A supervisor also plays the role of staffing people in that he determines the number and type of the employees that is needed for the department and subsequently hire and trains those employees (Newstrom, 2002).

Supervisor also plays the role of a leader in that he motivates and leads the employees under his supervision. The supervisor also acts as a monitor and controller in ...