Supervisory Issues

Supervisory Issues

Introduction

A supervisor is an individual having a position of authority over another person or within an organization. He is an overseer whose major responsibility is to make sure that his subordinates endow with an assigned level of output within standard levels of costs, safety and quality. The activity carried out by these individuals to oversee the progress and productivity of those employees who report directly to them is known as supervision. Supervisors, typically, are considered to have a management role in the organization and hence supervision is termed as a management activity. For instance, middle managers supervise first level supervisors who in turn supervise entry level employees.

An employee is a supervisor if he has the authority and power to do the below mentioned actions. If an employee cannot do the below mentioned activities, legally he is probably not a supervisor.

Give orders or instructions to subordinates

Be held responsible for the actions and work of other employees

Although it has become customary to apply this term only to the persons of lower levels of the administrative hierarchy, yet the figure of the supervisor is present at all levels of an organization. He is, undoubtedly, a key element within any organization. The quality of work, performance, morale and the development of good attitudes by workers depend heavily on him.

Difference between Supervisor and Manager

A Supervisor is accountable for the actions and productivity of a certain number of employees who fall under his domain. Even though he has various responsibilities, roles, and powers similar to that of a manager yet there are some crucial differences between these two. These differences include;

Lack of authority to hire or fire

Lack of authority over budget

Lack of authority to hire or fire indicates that a supervisor can neither employ new personnel nor does he have the authorization to terminate an employee. He may contribute in the course of recruitment by being a part of assessing and interviewing candidates, but the definite authority to hire rests in the hands of a manager. Conversely, he can only advise the management that a specific worker should be terminated by documenting the activities which lead to the advice but the definite authority to fire rests in the hands of a manager.

Lack of authority over budget indicates that a supervisor is only given a budget which is developed and approved by the management. He is expected to provide a constructive environment for the ...