The functional monitoring is the existence of several supervisors, each specializing in a specific area and which has functional authority (relative only specialty) thereon subordinates. This functional authority is relative and partial. (Bañares, p. 19)
The functional supervision presupposes a relative authority, divided and distributed by area, reducing to the minimum the functions that each man should run, producing, high functional efficiency. (Fernández-Ríos, p. 103)
The functional supervision is one of the elements of the theory of scientific management, proposed by Taylor at the beginning of the twentieth century, it is basically the application of the principles of Control (control the work to ensure it is being executed according to the rules established) and execution (distributing work according to the different attributions of workers and managers) in order to make industrial work more efficient.
Functional supervision consists of two levels, planning and operations, each level has 4 supervisors:
The planning ones:
- Time and cost employee: determines the times, materials and costs of carrying out a job Route employee: in charge of the sequence, route, of the operation Discipline employee: deals with discipline problems and absenteeism in the organization.Instruction card clerk: gives instructions on how to do a particular job.
The operations:
- Band manager: responsible for the creation of the machines and tools and the direct supervision of the workers. Speed manager: responsible for maintaining an adequate working speed. Repair manager: responsible for the repairs and maintenance of the machines. Boss: He is responsible for maintaining the quality of production.
The theory of functional supervision preaches that to the extent that employees are not controlled and if the person who controls them is not aware of how much time and work the task requires, they (employees) will tend to be less productive.
Bibliography
- Bañares, Leticia. The culture of work in organizations. Ediciones Rialp, 1994. Fernández-Ríos,, Manuel and Sánchez, José C., Organizational efficiency: concept, development and evaluation. Ediciones Díaz de Santos, 1997. Taylor, FW Principles of scientific administration. The Editorial Athenaeum, 1981.
