Supervisory Management: Duties And Responsibilities Essay.

Duties and Responsibilities of Supervisor

Discuss about the Supervisory Management.

The supervisory management is an important practice in the business management. The supervisory management activities involve the management of the front line workers by keeping close contact with them and scrutinize the work done by them. The managers in charge of the human resources of the organization belong to the supervisory positions and their main function is to align the operations of their teams with the organization’s objectives. The supervisors are the first managers and their primary function is to assure that the work is done. They supervise the work completed by the employees under them and several times participate in the organization’s operations (Mosley, Mosley and Pietri, 2014). In a business organization, there are three levels of management senior management, middle management and the first-line management. In addition to it, the other employees belong to the non-managerial positions. The supervisors belong to the front-line manager positions. Although supervisory management is a managerial position, it is different from other management positions in a number of ways. The degree of authority in the supervisory management is limited as well as it involves much more direct contact with the employees. However, the supervisors have wider responsibilities in comparison to the managers. The people in the supervisory positions perform functions related to the management of the resources and the responsibilities of the employees, management, fellow supervisors, customers and the suppliers. With the changes in the global business scenario and the realization that human resource are the most critical resource of an organization, the role and the demand of the supervisors has been changing (Evans, 2001). In this regard, this paper examines the duties of the supervisors and the precautions and responsibilities of the duties.

The primary function of the supervisor is to oversee the work at the facilities of the organization. However, there role is not limited to it and the supervisors are also responsible for employee coaching, manage workplace conflicts and serving as a communication medium between the subordinates and the management. The primary responsibilities of the supervisor are to serve as a coach or mentor, production, assuring safety health and physical welfare and development of cooperation (Management Help, 2017).

Coaching and Employee Mentoring: Since the supervisors work as a link between the employees and the organization, they are significant in employer-employee relationship. The coaching and the employee mentoring are a significant aspect of the employee-employer relationship. The coaching involves training the employees for their job roles. In coaching, the employees make suitable goals, action plans and timelines to coach the employees for their job roles. The supervisor also provides support and opportunity to the employees to achieve their targets. The targets for the individual employees can only be determined by examining the time available for training, personal strengths and career preferences of the employees.  With the experience, the employees have adequate experience of the profession and the organization than the employee. The supervisor can provide advice to the employees for direction and development in their career.  

Coaching and Employee Mentoring

Production: As a manager, the primary responsibility of the supervisor is to ensure that all the work is done correctly and as per the time provided. In this regard, the supervisor must manage the work in such a way so that the work is organized and managed so that maximum production can be achieved with minimum efforts. The supervisor is also responsible for delegating the authority for completing the tasks so that the tasks can be completed successfully. He is also responsible to manage the work flow and complete the tasks correctly.

Safety and Physical Welfare of Subordinates: The safety of the workplace is directly associated with the productivity of the organization. Creating a safe work environment is integral for the organization. If the work center professions take leaves due to the workplace incidence and hazards, it creates huge dent to the finance of the organization. Moreover, when the employees take leaves from the organization, it hinders the productivity of the organization. An efficient supervisor emphasis the workplace safety, implement laws and regulations to reduce the workplace hazards and increase awareness regarding the workplace safety. When the supervisor shows concern regarding the safety of the workplace, it increases the confidence and the trust of the employees towards the supervisor. Increasing the concern for the workplace safety can increase the cooperation among the employees. It is crucial for increasing the production of the organization (Reh, 2016).

In the present highly competitive workplace, it is important for the organizations the confidentiality of the sensitive information is highly critical for a number of reasons. Firstly, the loss of confidential business information can result in the loss of business or clients. Secondly, the confidential information can be used to commit illegal activities which can result in loss of employer trust and confidence. It is the responsibility of the supervisor to manage the confidentiality of sensitive information of the employees and the organization. There are certain instances of the management information which needs to be protected such as employee relation methods, disciplinary actions, impeding investigation of employee misconduct or termination (Hayes, 2013). Although the disclosure of this information is not illegal, it can create a negative organization environment. Along with it, the business manager needs to protect the propriety information and the trade secrets. It includes the information which is not publically disclosed and the competitors desire to know it through illegal or inappropriate means. For instance, the financial data, business plans, budgets and the financial data or customer lists. The trade secrets do not refer to the information voluntarily available to the public outside the company. In order to protect the confidentiality of the information, the supervisor must take several steps. They should identify the information which needs to be protected and establish the procedures which are needed to be followed for protecting the confidentiality of the information. The supervisor can follow the following procedures to increase the confidentiality of the information:

• A separate folder should be created for sensitive information which includes the employee trade secrets and the management information.
• The confidential documents should be stored in a specific place which is accessible only to the employees who must have access to it.
• The management information stored in electronic mediums must be protected through firewalls, encryption and passwords.
• The supervisor should also implement policies so that the employers do not leave any sensitive information at their desk
• The employees should abstain from leaving their workstations unsupervised while dealing with sensitive information
• The supervisor should also assure that all the confidential information should be disposed properly
• The employees should not use their private emails to transmit sensitive information to their colleagues
• The supervisor should also make sure that the employees are familiar with the confidentiality policy of the organization.
• The supervisor should also control the access to the confidential data to the general employees
• Moreover, the employer should also conduct pre-employment background checks.
• When the confidential information is no longer in use, they should be released for destruction. The supervisors must make sure that the records are destroyed entirely and can no longer be of use (Price and Wix, 2002).

Production

A primary function of the supervisory management is to ensure the workplace safety. In this regard, the supervisor has to identify the potential hazards which can occur at the workplace and implement risk management practices to mitigate them. The identification of the activities involves observation of the activities, processes and the substances which can injure the health of the employees. In this regard, the supervisor has to take several steps to identify the potential cause of risks. In the manufacturing workplace, supervisor needs to check the manual instructions of all the raw materials. It will be beneficial in the identification of the hazards and the extent to which they can harm the workplace. The supervisor should also look at the accident and health records of the employees to recognize the potential threats. It is also the responsibility of the supervisor to check the long term health hazards with the supervisor such as high level of noise or exposure to harmful substances. A large number of potential risks can be controlled by maintenance, cleaning and creating changes in the production cycles. A supervisor should implement these procedures to control the risks at the workplace (Clarke & Cooper, 2004).

The workplace hazard can be categorized into physical, behavioral and ergonomic hazards. The physical hazards are the most common type of workplace injury; however, the supervisors often overlook them due to the disregard as a potential threat and required investment in time and money. Some common examples of physical hazards include electrical hazards such as improper wiring or frayed cords, unguarded machinery and moving machinery parts, constant loud noise and high exposure to cold or warm temperatures. The behavioral hazards refer to the attitude of the employees towards the organization. In behavioral hazards, an employee tries to achieve a potential, personal gain with the damage to the employees. It often involves theft of the organization’s trade secret. The ergonomic hazards include hazards which impact the health of the employees in the long run. It refers to the body position and the work conditions which can damage the health of the employees. These risks are difficult to identify as the supervisors and the workers cannot immediately identify the harm that these risks can pose. These risks could be mitigated by training the employees regarding safe and proper handling of devices and postures. The employees should also be encouraged to take frequent breaks and stretch their muscles to reduce tension (AWrtz, 2001).

Safety and Physical Welfare of Subordinates

With the existence of several workplace hazards and risks, it is important for the organization to insure themselves against these risks. There are certain types of insurances which can be used for to mitigate these risks. The professional liability insurance is an insurance type which protects the organization against negligence claims from the organization mistake or failure to perform. Each industry has its own standards and concerns and the insurance policy must be customized accordingly. Other than that, there are also property insurances which are important for every business. It safeguards the organization’s property against several risks such as fire, storm or theft. This insurance covers to inventory, furniture and the equipment of the organization against these risks. The property insurance is necessary for an organization irrespective of the fact that whether the organization owns the property or leases space for the operations (Guzik, 2013).

The employers are legally obliged to take care of their employees by implementing safety measures within the workplace. However, they cannot control the instances of the workplace accidents. When these accidents occur, the workers’ insurance cover can provide the cover to the organization in controlling the financial impact of the accident. There are two primary purposes of the workers’ insurance cover, firstly, it assures that thee workers get the compensation and the portion of their income while they are unable to return to work as well as protect the organization from any potential law suits from the employees. The workers receive the compensation regardless of who is at fault. If a worker is killed during the accident, the compensation is received by the dependents of the employees. Each worker’s compensation insurance is different in terms of the injuries covered, how the injuries are evaluated and the medical care which can be delivered with the insurance. The government also has a critical role in the determination of the amount of the worker’s insurance, how the claims are needed to be handled and how the employer-employee disputes can be resolved. These insurance covers the injuries endured in the organization’s premises as well as the injuries sustained in the course and the scope of the employment. It also includes the illness and the occupation diseases developed during the course of employment (Moore, 2008). 

The supervisor needs to manage all the work-related records as assists the organization to abide by the law, identify the issues in the business management and perform administrative responsibilities accurately. The supervisor needs to manage the employer and the enterprise records. With keeping good records, a supervisor can provide evidence to all the expenses claimed and assist in the tax obligations. It also assist in the year end budgeting and verification of the records. It also provides information regarding strengths and weaknesses of the business and help in implementation of new policies and change management process. It also assists the organization in financial commitments and getting a loan or selling the business. It also assists in distributing the profits to the shareholders and partners. The business records can be maintained manually or can be kept in electronic mediums (Andeson, Anderson and Parker, 2013).

Precautions to Safeguard Information and Records

On the other hand, keeping accurate employee information is a legal obligation. However, maintaining the up-to-date employee information can be beneficial for the employees in a number of ways. The employee records can be beneficial in recruitment, employee training and even dismissal. The productivity and the performance of the employees can also be effectively monitored with the maintenance of the employee records. It protects the employer from legal litigation. The termination of the employees can result in legal actions and the proper documentation and the justification of the event can provides defense for the organization. With the documentation, an organization can determine the overall competency of employees. The employers can determine the competency gaps and provide training to the employees to enhance their competency. It is also beneficial for the organization to keep records regarding whether the employees have agreed to the training. The record keeping can also assist an organization in identifying the training requirements of the employees (Attorney, 2008).

It is important that an organization develop a range of procedures for related to work-related communication and maintaining effective standard of services. In relation to the line of communication, all the employees should use a formal and polite tone while communicating with the clients. In addition to it, they should prepare a document all the communication which takes place between them and the customers.  The employees should follow the company’s guidelines in every communication (Attorney, 2008).

Conclusion

It can be concluded from the above discussion that supervisory management is an integral part of the business management. It refers to the management of the front-line worker. They act as a communication medium between the management and the human resources. The function of the supervisory manager is different from other managerial positions such as they have limited power; however, more communication with the front-line employees. The major responsibilities of the supervisory manager are to impart training and development to the employees, overseeing the production process and ensuring the workplace safety. They implement different strategies to assure that the proper workplace safety practices are implemented in the organization. They are also responsible for maintaining the work-related records and ensuring their safety.

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