Supervisor

Introduction

Special Olympics Ireland 2003 – A fine example of effective Supervisory Management, involving organisations within and between many nations.

In our fast evolving economy the roles played by supervisors is changing on a daily basis. Ever since the days of the Industrial Revolution when the supervisor’s primarily role was to maintain authority over their subordinates. In today’s environment where change is constant, the supervisor’s responsibilities have never been greater. To be a successful supervisor in an organisation with positive or negative cash flow requires varied attributes.

As (Harvey 1994, pp 15) states, supervision can be defined

‘Anyone at the first level of management who has responsibility for the work of others’.

Effective supervisors are persons who are good at doing their job and at getting other people to do theirs. As Gillespie (1994, p12) comments

‘The supervisor gets the people in their departments to do what they wan...