Supervision is an indispensable part of management. It is essentially part of the necessary internal functions of an organization. Supervisory development is usually done internally by the managing authorities. Type of organization, level of employees, objectives, etc. obviously vary from one organization to organization. However, the basic functionality of the supervisor is essentially to the same. There may be minimal change in the supervisory functions based on the employees, strategies of the company, and other variables.
Supervision is very often mistaken as “leadership”. However, management, supervision and leadership have interrelated functions in each organization. The development of supervisory duties usually—and almost always has close association with leading and managing.
The supervisory function has been for years defined with a different outlook by differing regulating laws. Some studies on supervision state that it is considered the most important aspect for achieving the desired result. Several others pronounce that supervisors’ skills and knowledge are limited to technical aspects and the lack of other competencies resulting in ineffective output by employees. For instance, a supervisor may have good knowledge on the technical aspects of the organization to guide the employees; however the lack of proper communication can affect the outcome.
Similarly, a supervisor with poor interpersonal skills is more likely to ruin the performance of the subordinates, which obviously has an adverse effect on the organization. Eventually, development of supervisory function has become an important task as well as the responsibility of every manager for accomplishment of objectives and goals.
Supervisory development is a critical task that involves fulfilment of various needs of management and employees. The supervisor should be competent enough to perform the duties with great efficiency and effectiveness as well. Below are some of the essential basic aspects considered vital for supervision, to be met in development of supervision:
- · Great Responsibility
- · Excellent Communication – Oral and Written
- · Great interpersonal skills
- · Adaptability
- · Ability to make decisions and solve problems
- · Ability to deal with all level of employees
Supervision is a challenging task which supervisors should be well-versed in and able to handle the versatile functions effectively. Hence, the basic aspect of supervisory development includes the requirement of knowledge and skill on the all essential supervisory functions.
In addition, other major functions of supervisory development involve recruitment, delegating and directing the task, evaluation of the task performed, streamlining the work, etc. Additional or secondary functions involves the supervisor’s duty to allocate work, promote the employees, recall the work done, take disciplinary actions on irresponsible employees, suspend or terminate the employees with poor performance, grievance review, ensure performance appraisal and rewards for the employees at appropriate time, etc and other duties as assigned by the management from time to time.
Although supervision involves multifaceted responsibilities, the power of the supervisor is limited over the power of the manager. However, it is the ultimate responsibility of the supervisor to motivate the employees towards accomplishing the objectives of the organization in a timely fashion. In organizations where supervisors are trained properly, there should be essentially no drop in the performance and efficiency of employees. Supervisor development should be focused on filling the gaps between the management functions as well the technical aspects. Training may seem like a waste of company funds to some. However, in the long-run it provides un-calculable returns and greater profits for the organization.
