Operational Management and Leadership in Amazon

This report discusses the operational system of Amazon, the roles of leaders and managers, different theories of leadership, key approaches to operational management, and factors impacting operational management. It includes a comparison of the roles and characteristics of leaders and managers, the importance and values of operational management in Amazon, and a PEST analysis of the business environment.

UNIT 4 ASSESSMENT
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
Comparison on the different roles and characteristics of a leader and manager.........................3
The role of a leader and functions of a manager in different situations......................................4
Different theories of leadership...................................................................................................5
Key approaches to operation management..................................................................................7
The importance and the values of operational management in accomplishing the aim of
Amazons......................................................................................................................................8
The factors within the business environment that impact upon operational management..........8
PEST analysis..............................................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
References......................................................................................................................................11
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INTRODUCTION
The organisational management refers to the process in which the organisation
transforms the raw material into final product and services for the welfare of the organisation.
with the assistance of operational management, the leader or the manger of the company can
bring the effectiveness in an appropriate manner. the present report is based on the famous retail
company Amazon in which the study discusses the operational system of the company and the
roles of the leader and manager of the organization. Furthermore, the report will highlight the
theories of the leadership and conduct the PEST analysis in order to determine the role of the
leader and manger in the situation. The amazon is the multinational organization which is
leading the market since many years by satisfying the large numbers of the customers in
effective as well as efficient manner.
MAIN BODY
Comparison on the different roles and characteristics of a leader and manager
Basis of difference Leader Manager
Definition Leader refers to the person who deliver
the guidance to the employees of the
organisation in effective manner. along
with that the person encourage the
worker to accomplish personal as well
as professional goal in adequate
manner.
The manger is the one who
mange all the function and
operation of the company with
the complete roles and
responsibility in order to
acquire success in the
marketplace.
Risk management Leader contributes in dealing with the
risk of the company and work
adequality on the solution( Bratton,
2020).
The manging person manage
and form plans of action to
prevent the organisation from
the risk that affect the value of
the company.
Goals The leader coordinate and cooperate
with the workers in order to
accomplish the goal of the firm in an
appropriate manner.
The person takes all the
responsibility and provide
training and development
programme to the employees
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of the workers. the person
bifurcate roles and
responsibility in two-part long
term as well as short term.
Focus The leader focuses on the workers that
they are working in a proper way or
not. The leader focus on the vision and
mission of the workers.
Whereas the manger focuses
on the vision and mission of
the organisation. Along with
that the anger offers rewards
Abd punishment to the
employees in order to
influence them for increasing
the production as well as
profitability of the
organisation.
The role of a leader and functions of a manager in different situations
The leader performs various roles and responsibility in accomplishing the goal of the company
and the manger contributes its skills and knowledge. Both the manger and the leader play
essential role in different situation which are mentioned as follow:
Planning: Planning refers to a pre-determined schedule for numerous conditions in
accomplishing the goal of the company in effective as well as efficient manner. Manger delivers
the roles and responsibility is to get the best performance from leaders, interact with workers,
and do their best to accomplish pre-planned goals. Amazon managers develop planning goals
and objectives to minimize costs and maximize profits domestic as well as international
marketplace. pre planning is the significant factor that play huge role in obtaining the profit
from the international marketplace.
Organising: organising is basically the function of manging all the raw material and resources of
the company in order to utilized them in the best possible way. it gives assistance in saving the
resources from unnecessary wastage (Al Khajeh, 2018). The leader makes sure that the workers
are utilizing the resources in adequate manner. along with that the manger develop the plans of
action to organised the plans for the further growth. In context to that the manger also encourage
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the employees with different tools and techniques in order to organised the plan in successive
manner. with the assistance of that the Amazon can survive in the marketplace.
Directing: directing is the most essential part for the leader as well as manger of the company as
they deliver right information and deliver guidance to the workers of the organisation that also
enhance the skills and knowledge of the employees. It brings the positivity within the
environment of the organisation. the motive of directing the employees of the Amazon is to
increase the value of the company and deliver proper services to the people. due to proper
services and alignment among the worker deliver the point to attract the customers and create
impression on them.
Staffing: Basically, it is process of hiring and manging the right candidate for the welfare of the
company. in order to satisfy the numbers of potential customer to increase sale the leader and the
manger recruit the adequate and skilled workers. in context to that the manger or the leader
deliver training and briefing to the employees that also increases the capability of working within
the firm. Beside that the manger and the leader treat the candidate or the employees of the
organisation as the assets of the company rather then the debt.
Coordinating: for the success of the company, it is important to have the coordination among
the workers. due to the coordination the workers will work in the alignment. The coordination
can be raised by bringing the communication among the people through which the individual
person can exchange their ideas. It helps in bringing the creativity within the that result in
providing competitive advantages. in this situation the manger or the leader involve the workers
in the process of decision making to determine the mindset of different people.
Controlling: the manager of the Amazon monitor and control the workers on the regular basis in
order to improve the quality of work and productivity in the market. in context to that the merger
deliver the feedbacks to the workers as per the performance of the employees in the activity. The
feedbacks can be delivered for the appreciation or punishing the workers ( Bratton, 2020).
Different theories of leadership
Contemporary management theory: Amazon utilized contemporary management theory to
deal with higher production cost in current situation of the covid 19 which affecting the citizen
highly. In the contemporary theory the individual person required continuous changes in order to
increase the value of the company. Organizational managers try to reduce material costs by
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negotiating with suppliers. Leaders push employees to face new suppliers and maintain their
performance.
Management by Objectives (MBO): The goals of the organization are achieved by Amazon
employees and management through their combined efforts. Here, managers lead the team to
complete the respective task relative to the level of performance. In context to that the manger
determine the roles and responsibility to the workers for accomplishing the objective of the
company.
Classical Management Theory: Classical management theory enhances organizational
productivity in the effective as well as efficient manner. This strategy enables continuous
improvement of the production process. The amazon follows a participatory leadership style for
decision making and production improvement. The leaders focus on the continues satisfaction of
the workers and make sure they are not having stress or workload.
Behavioural management theory: Transformational leadership is followed by leaders
according to behavioural management theory the amazon practices this theory in their operations
management, and all employee skills and abilities are closely observed by managers in order to
determine their behaviour ( Rukh, Shahrukh and Iqbal, 2018). Effective leadership is followed to
maintain communication between leaders and employees for better understanding.
Contingency Theory: Contingency Theory focuses on variations in plan with changes in
situations. Organizations practice this theory to mitigate risk, and in this situation, leaders play
the most important role in bringing about change and helping employees cope with changing
market conditions and circumstances. change.
Situational Leadership: Leadership strategy depends on the skills and ability of the employee to
get the job done in each time. amazon used this leadership strategy to fulfil their need for a
different situation. Furthermore, that increase the value of the organisation as they can deal with
the situations ( Bryar and Carr, 2021).
Systems Leadership: Used by leaders of the company to control employee performance and
communication in different situations. It influences the employees to comply with the
requirements of the organization. In context to that the manger first determine the taste and
preferences of the potential customer belongs to different race, culture, values, belief etc.
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Key approaches to operation management
The leader and director of the Amazon organization plays an important role in the main
approaches to operations management. Due to that the organisation can manage all the operation
of the company in effective as well as efficient manner.
The main approaches are mentioned as follows:
 Six sigma: The most important process, mainly focusing on the effectiveness of
teamwork in accomplishing organizational goals as well as performance management.
The manager of the company assigns roles and responsibilities to the employees
according to each person's skills and knowledge to bring about coordination and
cooperation among the employees, which leads to increased value of the company
( Deshwal and Ali 2020).
 Total Quality Management (TQM): managers and leaders of the organization increase
the efficiency of the company by ensuring the total quality of the production. The person
responsible for ensuring that the company produces and improves the quality of its
products and services to satisfy consumers. In this context, leaders and managers
motivate the company's employees to strengthen their commitment to provide the best
product that meets the tastes and preferences of buyers.
 Just-In-Time Inventory: This is a picking strategy in which an organization orders raw
materials or major products just before the product is manufactured. In this situation, the
leader or manager assigns orders to the supplier as part of the economy and manages the
employees by providing a schedule to achieve the goal on time.
 Continuous improvement process (kaizen): refers to updating and bringing innovation
to increase the efficiency of the company. For this, the leader brings about innovation and
creativity by involving employees in the decision-making process ( Geschwind, and et.al
2019.).
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The importance and the values of operational management in accomplishing the aim of
Amazons.
Operations management plays an important role in effectively and efficiently navigating the
market. importance and value are divided and evaluated as follows:
• Profit Maximization: The purpose of the organization is to maximize the profits of the
business efficiently and effectively. Operations management increases the company's
sales, which also leads to consumer satisfaction.
 Customer Satisfaction: To grow the business, it is necessary to increase the level of
consumer satisfaction. In that context, the company can offer products according to the
tastes and preferences of consumers. Along with this, provide the truth of the goods to the
buyer.
 Inventory management: The Amazon brand has used total quality management as an
action process to well manage the company's resources. Further the leader keeps records
of all the resources used by the employees of the organisation.
 Institutional capacity: Fixed investments are appropriately managed by operations
management. All resources and capital uses are properly implemented in different
workflows ( Harrison, 2018). Operations management avoids wasting idle capital and
provides security for the future.
 Improve product quality: Amazon pays special attention to product quality and
maintenance service. The company constantly tries to improve product quality to improve
and satisfy customers. This is one of the main concerns of the company's management.
 Develop strong operational skills: Enhance employee skill base through operations
management planning. Operations management helps build a strong employee base and
secures a supply of skilled workers to compete in the global marketplace.
 Improving working conditions: Working conditions are very important to employees'
willingness to be assured by management. Safety and comfort in the workplace depend
on operational management.
The factors within the business environment that impact upon operational management
The PEST is the most suitable framework in order to determine the business environment and the
impact on operational management.
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PEST analysis
Political factor: the Amazon enjoying the global presences in the marketplace due to the good
business relationship with the other boundaries. Due to the Brexit many of the policies cannot be
applied on the company that also increase the costing of production ( Kittikunchotiwut, 2019). In
context to that the manger or the leader increase the prices of the product and services due to that
the customer shift toward different brand. In that situation the manger and leader encourage the
workers to improve the quality of the product and provide discounts to the buyers in order to
attract them. through marketing the manger indicate that choose best product over price.
Economic factor: the raising scale of the inflation affect the operational cost of the company.
along with that the competitors of the company are providing the low budget product to the
customers that decrease the sales of the company. in that situation the manger make decision to
provide variety of the the product which are in trend along with that deliver. along with that the
manger target the potential high-class customer and provide them discount, transparency, and
quality product in an appropriate manner.
Social factor: in the modern era the taste and preferences of the consumer is changing rapidly
and continuously in the marketplace. According to market analysis, the demand for fashion
fabrics is constantly increasing. In this condition, the manager or leader collects feedback from
customers in the domestic and international markets, which further indicates the buyer's desire.
With that, managers or leaders determine the competitor's strategy to deal with these problems
effectively ( Medini and et.al 2019). Along with that, to satisfy consumers, managers provide
regular information to employees.
Technological factors: In the modern era, many people prefer to buy products and services from
online platforms to enjoy convenience. On the other hand, people have risk and safety issues that
alter consumer purchasing preferences. In this case, the manager plans to operate the business in
both online and offline modes. For the safety of the buyer, the manager will join a special
technology team to rescue the customer and provide a solution in any incident helping to gain
more consumer confidence.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it will be concluded that the leaders are the essential assets of the
organisation that are there responsible for performing and representing the company in
international marketplace in an appropriate manner. the role of the leader and merger is little bit
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similar as they both work toward the goal of the organisation.The presented report analysed key
differences among them. also, the study highlighted that for the effectiveness the leader or the
manger can consider various theories that help in leading the company. moreover, the report
shades a light on the operation management and roles and responsibility of the leader as well as
manager of the company.
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References
(Books and Journal
Al Khajeh, E.H., 2018. Impact of leadership styles on organizational performance. Journal of
Human Resources Management Research. 2018. pp.1-10.
Bratton, J. ed., 2020. Organizational leadership. Sage.
Bratton, J., 2020. Trait, behaviour and contingency theories of leadership. Organizational
Leadership, p.125.
Bryar, C. and Carr, B., 2021. Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside
Amazon. Pan Macmillan.
Deshwal, V. and Ali, A., 2020. A systematic review of various leadership theories. Shanlax
International Journal of Commerce, 8(1), pp.38-43.
Geschwind, and et.al 2019. The changing roles of academic leaders: Decision-making, power,
and performance. In Reforms, organizational change and performance in higher
education (pp. 181-210). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Harrison, C., 2018. Leadership research and theory. In Leadership Theory and Research (pp. 15-
32). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Kittikunchotiwut, P., 2019, July. Role of Transformational Leadership and Transactional
Leadership on Organization Innovation. In Proceedings of International Academic
Conferences (No. 8710470, pp. 2-17). International Institute of Social and Economic
Sciences.
Medini and et.al 2019. Highlights in customer-driven operations management research. Procedia
Cirp, 86. pp.12-19.
Rukh, L., Shahrukh, H.M. and Iqbal, K.Z., 2018. Effect of authentic leadership on organization
commitment: mediating role of job satisfaction. Journal of Entrepreneurship &
Organization Management, 7(3), pp.247-248.
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