DEFINITION OF A SUPERVISOR
A supervisor is any person who is given the authority and responsibility for planning and controlling the work of a group by close contact. Broadly speaking, this definition means that a supervisor may be delegated with the authority to engage, transfer, suspend, reprimand or dismiss an employee under his control. He may deal with grievances and take appropriate action. He is responsible for the quantity and quality of the output.
In fact, a supervisor is anyone who directs the work of other by giving instructions in production or other functional areas, by coordinating specialist departments and recommending courses of action to management.
THE MODERN SUPERVISOR
The modern supervisor must be educated, technically well trained and be an efficient leader of people to meet the competitive demands of high quality output at minimum cost.
An efficient management program requires a well trained supervisor who understands people, supervises people effectively, encourages teamwork and cooperation, develops and trains people, generates support from other Supervisors, manages time and technical aspects of the work effectively.
SUPERVISION AND MANAGEMENT
Supervision implies operating at close range by actually overseeing or controlling on the shop floor, dealing with situations on tile spot as they arise, whereas management implies controlling remotely by using other administrative means.
Supervision and management naturally overlap in practice, partly from necessity, where managers show close personal interest in order to achieve cooperation, and partly due to lack of management training.
The supervisor is concerned with day-to-day running of the section, which will entail a certain amount of attention to detail depending upon the size of the section. If the section is large, the supervisor will need to master the art of delegation, pass on the minor tasks to his subordinates, thus giving himself more time to plan and control the work effectively.
The manager is concerned with the mapping out of future corporate policies, explanation programs, new products, new markets and other business strategies, leaving the detail and less important tasks to the subordinates.
BASIC ELEMENTS OF SUPERVISION
What is Supervision? Supervision is defined as the management of a process, a worker or a project.
The basic elements as follows:
1. Building and maintaining an efficient organization;
2. Creating and maintaining an effective work force;
3. Controlling
The supervisor will improve his performance considerably by using the technique of each of the basic elements of supervision to supplement his technical knowledge. The ability to apply the right principles at the right time demands something more than knowledge alone. The three elements of supervision must interact closely although they are considered independently. For example, no decision should be made on the fact and theories alone; the human factor must also be given due consideration. Training and a balanced outlook are essential for successful of supervisory techniques.
Building and Maintaining an Efficient Organization
The supervisor must be able to appreciate the significance of the organization structure and reorganize the relationships within it, in order to improve coordination with other groups in the organization.
Within the sphere of organization, the supervisor should possess knowledge of the general industrial background, the work of management and the supervisor’s position and role in the management team.
A summary of duties concerning the first element of supervision is as follows:
l. Organization planning to achieve objectives.
2. Keeping subordinates informed and conscious of objectives.
3. Establishing and maintaining organization relationships among all subordinates.
4. Explaining, directing and controlling all the activities of the section and in turn of individuals.
5. Ensuring that the group is an integral part of the organization.
6. Recommending changes in organization where necessary.
7. Using specialists effectively.
8. Coordinating all activities within the group to achieve the objective.
Creating and Maintaining an Effective Work Force
Any aspect of supervision has some bearing on employees and their attitude towards work. The effective supervisor must be able to understand and motivate individuals, develop and maintain good communication and pay close attention to an employee’s opinion and behavior.
The scope of duties in this second element of supervision is:
1. Fostering good working relationship.
Mediating between workers and management, cooperating with fellow supervisors, and consulting shop floor workers.
2. Promoting good communication. Submitting production reports to management; making special reports where necessary, and attending meetings as directed.
3. Providing information.
Interpreting company policies and instructions and informing employees of their meaning to avoid ambiguity.
4. Promoting and maintaining high morale,
Keeping in constant touch with workers; dealing with grievances as they arise; operating a suggestion scheme and encouraging participation.
5. Maintaining general discipline and conducting disciplinary interviews.
6. Keeping up to date on wage systems in the company and rating employees accurately in their appraisals.
7. Interviewing candidates and orienting new employees.
8. Training new and transferred employees in their jobs.
9. Liaising with the Human Resource Officer on questions of transfers, promotions and termination.
Controlling the Work
Controlling the work covers a wide field, which begins at the planning stage of production and ends with the finished product. The field of control includes:
1. Division and delegating of responsibility to individuals.
2. Decision on the work content.
3. Budgeted costs of performing the work.
4. Regulation of work performance by such factors as human relations and motivation; cost reduction and progress.
5. Quality control.
The supervisor's duties with regard to control are as follows:
1. Planning production and setting up procedures, which will include routing, scheduling, job dispatching and follow up.
2. Maintaining plant and equipment.
3. Using work-study technique and procedures to develop the department.
4. Achieving and maintaining quality and keeping statistical records on quality control.
5. Recording and ensuring adequate supplies of materials in accordance with store and materials control guidelines.
6. Checking waste and establishing cost reduction control where necessary.
7. Keeping adequate records and controlling costs as budgeted.
8. Promoting safety and a healthy working environment.
THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE SUPERVISOR
Responsibilities for most supervisors encompass the following broad areas:
1. Responsibilities to management
Supervisors must dedicate themselves to the goals, plans and policies of the organization. These are laid down by higher management. It is the primary task of supervisors to serve as a link for management to ensure that these are carried out by the employees they supervise.
2. Responsibilities to employees
Employee’s expert their supervisors to provide direction and training; to protect them from unfair treatment and to see that the workplace is clean, safe, uncluttered, properly equipped, well lighted and adequately ventilated.
3. Responsibilities to staff specialist
The relationship between supervisor and the staff department is one of mutual support. The staff development is charged with providing supervisors with guidance and help as well as prescriptions to be followed and forms to be completed. Supervisors, in turn help the staff department by making good use of their advice and services by conforming to their requests.
4. Responsibilities to other supervisors
Teamwork is essential in the supervisory ranks. The goals and activities of one department must harmonize with those of other departments. This often requires the sacrifice of an immediate target for the greater good of the organization.
5. Responsibilities to union
If there is a union in the organization, union and management views are often in conflict and supervisor and shop workers arc often deadlocked. It is part of the supervisor's responsibilities to keep these relationships objective, neither to "give away" the department nor to yield responsibilities for the welfare of the organization and its employees.
TYPES OF SUPERVISORY SKILLS REQUIRED
To perform the supervisory function well, a supervisor needs the following skills:
2. Administrative skills Knowledge of the entire organization and how it is coordinated, its information and records system, its ability to plan and control work. These are related ideas, plans, and directives. The ability to see organization as a whole and to understand the overall effect of several departments.
3. Human relation skills Knowledge of human behavior, the ability to work effectively with individuals and groups-peers and supervisors as well as subordinates.
4. Conceptual skillThese are related ideas, plans, and directives. The ability to see organization as a whole and to understand the overall effect of several departments.
In order to be effective, a supervisor needs to pay as much attention to human relations as to technical and administrative matters. He has to spend as much time maintaining group cohesiveness and morale as he pushes for productivity or task accomplishment. Thus, a supervisor who focuses on job demands and without showing interest in the welfare and development of his subordinates does not get the results he is looking for. Conversely, the supervisor who bends over backward to make-work easy for his employees does not get good result either. It takes a balance between the two approaches.
