Supervisor has got an important role to play in factory management. Supervision means overseeing the subordinates at work at the factory level.

The supervisor is a part of the management team and he holds the designation of first line managers. He/She is a person who has to perform many functions which helps in achieving productivity.

Therefore, supervisor can be called as the only manager who has an important role at execution level. There are certain philosophers who call supervisors as workers. There are yet some more philosophers who call them as managers. But actually he should be called as a manager or operative manager. His primary job is to manage the workers at operative level of management.

A supervisor plays multiplinary role at one time like -

1. As a Planner - A supervisor has to plan the daily work schedules in the factory. At the same time he has to divide the work to various workers according to their abilities.

2. As a Manager - It is righty said that a supervisor is a part of the management team of an enterprise. He is, in fact, an operative manager.

3. As a Guide and Leader - A factory supervisor leads the workers by guiding them the way of perform their daily tasks. In fact, he plays a role of an inspirer by telling them.

4. As a Mediator - A Supervisor is called a linking pin between management and workers. He is the spokesperson of management as well as worker.

5. As an Inspector - An important role of supervisor is to enforce discipline in the factory. For this, the work includes checking progress of work against the time schedule, recording the work performances at regular intervals and reporting the deviations if any from those. He can also frame rules and regulations which have to be followed by workers during their work.

6. As a Counselor - A supervisor plays the role of a counselor to the worker’s problem. He has to perform this role in order to build good relations and co-operation from workers. This can be done not only by listening to the grievances but also handling the grievances and satisfying the workers.

Therefore, we can say that effective and efficient supervision helps in serving better work performance, building good human relations, creating a congenial and co-operative environment. This all helps in increasing productivity.