The Dual Role: Exploring Whether a Manager Can Also Be a Supervisor

This essay explores the question of whether a manager can also function as a supervisor, based on personal experience and observations within a team setting. It delves into the distinct responsibilities of managers and supervisors, highlighting how managers often perform supervisory duties such as guiding employees, ensuring task execution, maintaining safety standards, and fostering team motivation. The essay argues that while managers traditionally focus on broader goals, strategic planning, and inspiring teams, they also engage in supervisory tasks like monitoring daily operations, allocating resources, and addressing short-term objectives. The author concludes that a manager can indeed be a supervisor, as the scope of a manager's role often encompasses the responsibilities of a supervisor, ensuring efficient and effective organizational functioning. The essay references scholarly articles to support its claims about leadership approaches, organizational change, and the role of managers in decision-making and employee engagement.

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Introduction:
Managers of the organization play important role in the management of the organization, as they
are responsible to manage the teams and employees working in the organization. Generally,
managers lead the teams of employees and also responsible to supervise the team members.
Supervision is defined as an act through which those people who perform the work are guided. In
other words, activities of these people are guided. It mainly includes the planning, organizing,
directing, and controlling activities. It must be noted that, skills related to the supervision and
leadership are completely different from each other (Crocket, 2007.
In this essay, I mainly discuss the statement whether manager can be my supervisor also. In this
context, structure of the paper includes the brief discussion of the stated statement which is
followed by the conclusion.
Discussion
While working with my manager as the team, I participate in number of tasks assigned by him
and also get the opportunity to closely monitor the activities and conduct of my manager while
leading the team. While working with the team, he assigns tasks and also monitors the execution
of tasks in proper manner. While executing the tasks, he ensures the maintenance of safety and
upholding standards. Before working with him, I believe that manager is only responsible to lead
the team, which means, in terms of ensuring the execution of the task manager needs to focus on
motivating the team.
It must be noted that, success of any organization mainly depends on the employees of the
organization, and on those towards whom employees are accountable that are managers and
supervisors of the organization. Managers hold very important position in the organization, as
they are responsible to guide the complete team of workers in terms of achieving the common
goals and objectives of the organization. Managers are deemed as those individuals who control
and administer the whole organization. On the other hand, managers are also responsible to
perform the duties of the supervisors also, which means, they are responsible to manage the work
and performance of the employees in the organization (Murphy, Nierenberg, Monson, Laird,
Sobol, & Leighton, 2002).
As managers of the organization are responsible for completing the tasks and the supervisors is
accountable in terms of maintaining the safety and upholding the standards. While leading the
team, managers need to focus on the inspiration and motivation of the team. Role of manager has
the wide scope, as they are responsible for number of things. There are number of duties of the
managers which stand them in the position of the supervisor. Leadership approach adopted by
the managers of the organization works well if they adopt both the skills that are leadership and
the supervision (Santos & Garcia, 2006.

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As managers like the supervisors hold the power to make the decisions without consulting their
subordinates. I observe that my manager adopt the participative style and invite options from the
team members. Manager’s focus on completing the work and reaching the quotas, and this
discourage the conflict and any activity that takes away from productivity. Leadership approach
of my manager thinks differently in taking the advantages of the skills and knowledge of the
team. As operational metrics of the managers reveal problems such as product errors or the low
customer satisfaction, and in this context managers ask the team members for giving their advice
on improving the performance. As this function of the manager meet the role of the supervisor
also because manager ensures the involvement of the employees also.
Another function of my manager which reflects the qualities of the supervisor is the response to
change. As managers of the organization are only responsible to catalyst and trigger the change,
but supervisors can actually make then necessary alteration in the procedures and processes in
terms of dealing with that change. Leaders are responsible to represents the compelling vision of
the future so that employees of the organization are able to maintain the competitive edge. My
manager reflects the traits of the charismatic leaders by expressing his passion and enthusiasm,
as his focus is on the present situation and also on the future changes. Managers mainly identify
all the threats and the opportunities which can be exploited by the organization, and in this
context they are able to take the action to reduce the risk or take the advantage of the forecasted
situations. I remember one incident in which team requires the guidance in context of executing
the tasks and at that time manager gives the required guidance by forecasting the future changes
of the organization.
While supervising the team, my manager focuses on the daily operations which include the
scheduling resources to get the work done. This mainly involves the evaluation of spread sheets
for resource utilization. As manager mainly focus on the short-term goals in terms of identifying
the opportunities and reducing the costs. Managers are accountable towards the top management
in terms of ensuring the efficient working in the teams and execution of the tasks in effective
manner. As few managers are responsible for the planning, communicating and motivating the
employees and their teams, but does not perform the tactical work. However, these approaches of
the managers are not right because tactical work is also the part of their responsibilities
(Popovici, 2012).
Manager can be the supervisor of the organization also because ultimately he is responsible to
ensure the effective and efficient working of the organization. It is the duty of the manger to
ensure that tasks assigned by them are executing in smooth manner. Therefore, my manager can
also be my supervisor.
Conclusion
After considering the above facts, it is clear that my manager can also be my supervisor because
while conducting his function he performs all the responsibilities of the supervisors. It is clear,

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that manager can be the supervisor of the organization also because ultimately he is responsible
to ensure the effective and efficient working of the organization. It is the duty of the manger to
ensure that tasks assigned by them are executing in smooth manner. As stated above, scope of
manager’s duty is wide in nature and not narrow and it includes all the responsibilities of the
supervisor as well.
References
Murphy, J.M., Nierenberg, A.A., Monson, R.R., Laird, N.M., Sobol, A.M., & Leighton, A.H.
(2002). Self-disparagement as a feature and forerunner of depression: Findings from the Stirling
County study. Comprehensive Psychiatry, volume 43, 13–21.
Santos, M. & Garcia, M. (2006). Organizational change: The role of managers' mental models.
Journal of Change management, Volume 3(6).
Popovici, V. (2012). "Similarities And Differences Between Management And Leadership,"
Annals - Economy Series, Constantin Brancusi University. Faculty of Economics, volume 2,
126-135.
Crocket, K. (2007. Counselling supervision and the production of professional selves,
Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, Volume 7(1), 19-25.