"The supervisor is usually regarded as being the first of the management hierarchy of an organisation. Although the role varies between organizations, generally the supervisor is the management person most directly concerned with the workforce and with whom they have the most contact." (Lewis R and Trevitt R (1995): pg. 355).
They have a prime responsibility for seeking that others do work. At the authors par time job "Boots the Chemist" the supervisor constructs a rota, which entails what each employee will be doing for the rest of the day at different times. For e.g. 9-10 chemist counter 10-11 cash and wrap 11-12 break etc.
It is the supervisor's responsibility that tasks are carried out. It is the employee's duty to carry out the task and the supervisor's responsibility to make sure the tasks are carried out. We also have job rotation therefore have a multi -skilful workforce. As the store is very busy and sometimes there is short of staff, others can do the job as they have been trained. It is important to have good teamwork. Group work is also an important management activity. Group work would enable employees to share ideas with others. However, group work is not always effective if employees dislike one another of have conflicting opinions.
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Brech (1957) identifies four main elements of management and these being planning, control, co-ordination and motivation. Today motivation is an important management activity. I.e. "getting the members of the teams to pull their weight effectively."(E.Brech, (1975): pg. 12) Whether of not workers carry out tasks effectively will depend on the degree to which the manager motivates them. As management is about getting things done it is therefore important to motivate people so that tasks are carried out. In the authors part time job at "Boots the Chemist" employees receive performance-related bonus. Whether or not you receive a bonus is dependent on the contribution made by an employee to the success of the firm.