Marks & Spencer Operational Management Analysis

This assignment explores the crucial role of leaders and managers in Marks & Spencer, focusing on their responsibilities and decision-making processes that influence employee behavior and organizational environment. It delves into various leadership styles like contingency theory and situational leadership, emphasizing the importance of operational management in policy making while considering internal and external environmental factors.

Management and Operations

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION:..........................................................................................................................1
P 1 Roles and characteristics of leader and manager..................................................................1
P 2 How functions of managers and leaders apply in different situations .................................2
P 3 Different theories and models of approach...........................................................................3
P 4 Roles of leaders and managers in approaches to operations management..........................4
P-5 Importance of operations management in achieving business objectives............................5
P-6 Factors within business environment that impact operational management and decision-
making.........................................................................................................................................6
M 1 Difference between leader and manager by applying theories and concepts......................7
M-2 Strengths and weakness of different approaches.................................................................8
M-3 How efficiency can be improved by mangers and leaders in operational management.....8
M-4 How different factors affect business environment.............................................................8
CONCLUSION:...............................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES:.............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION:
In every organisation managers and employees works together to achieve common objectives
and goals, this is known as management operations. This is done to evaluate the individual
performance of employees and enhance their growth and development. This report will show the
roles and characteristics of leaders and managers. It will give description about various
leadership theories. It will give brief about the importance operational management in achieving
business objectives. Also, the various factors that affect the business environment in decision-
making.
For undertaking this present organisation selected is marks and Spencer. The cited firm
belongs to clothing industry and operates globally. The existence of the company on such a great
level requires experienced managers and leaders in developing business strategies.
P 1 Roles and characteristics of leader and manager
Leader creates vision- They change the vision into reality by encouraging and inspiring
employees. They believe that working in team will accomplish goals more effectively than
working individually whereas manager set targets and measures the performance by controlling
the situations (Alderton,. and Saieva,., 2013)
Managers maintain status- they focus on policies and process and stick with them to
accomplish the task whereas leaders focus on changing process by innovating it.
Leaders are unique- they create image of their own by doing task in innovative way and
creating ideas while managers copy different leadership style and adopt them.
Risk- leaders often take risk to discover new ways of doing a task. They try new things to create
change while managers minimise risk by controlling it and taking proper measures.
Goals- leaders thinking is based on vision that means for long term growth but managers think
for short term goals to achieve rewards.
Growth- leaders wants to develop his personal growth by trying and learning new things. On the
other hand managers relay on other growth to make them successful.

Relationship- leaders gain the trust of owners and stake holders by building relations with them
while managers build structure to achieve goals and objectives.
Leaders coach- they only guide the people as they know skills and capabilities of every people.
Whereas manager direct employees on how to accomplish task and assign task according to their
skills and abilities (.Chiarini,. and Vagnoni,., 2015).
Leaders create fans- they create fans because of their work done through innovating way while
managers create employees by giving them direction to follow.
P 2 How functions of managers and leaders apply in different situations
Mangers and leaders play an important role in managing and controlling different situations that
occurs in organisation. These situations can be related to various context:
To increase sales- It is the responsibility of manager and leader to frequently modify their
strategies to increase marks and Spencer sales. This can be done by taking corrective measures
and then implementing them. Managers should develop new strategies and implement them
while the leader can involve employees in decision-making process to take their views and
opinions on how to increase sales. This will help in improving their productivity and hence
increasing overall sales. Also, marks and Spencer will gain more market share.
Product development- For developing new product or making changes in existing products in
marks and Spencer it becomes necessary to develop new strategies. In this planning is done both
by the managers' ans leaders on how to implement new strategies. Managers plan and develop
strategies to achieve individual employee targets. Further, they control the overall working of
employees by making alternative strategies Also, they ensure that proper roles and duties of
employees are determined so that they perform according to it. On the other hand leaders role is
to influence stake holders by communicating and coordinating with them. They describe new
products features and characteristics to suppliers, customers and employees so that it becomes
easy to sell product in the market. It helps in creating awareness about new product of marks and
Spencer in the market that will lead to sales. Their overall profits will also rise.(Ferguson,and
et.al., 2017)

Implementation of change- it is the most important situation that occurs in marks and spencer
as it leads to changing the overall operations and functioning. Employees have to adopt these
changes to improve their as well as business performance. Here a manager defines new roles and
duties to employees by identifying the areas where changed has occurred. If there is change in
policies or procedures it is important to have proper flow of communication between mangers
and employees. This enables employees to know what changes has occurred and where. While
leader motivates employees to implement these by showing them their benefits. Once leader
knows what changes has occurred, rather than implementing them they create changes (Gillen,,
Jacquillat, and Odoni,, 2016)
P 3 Different theories and models of approach
There are various theories and models of leadership that are followed in different organisations
depending upon the situation. These models and theories are described below:-
Situational leadership style- in this the strategies are made in accordance with the working
environment and needs of organisation. It is much flexible as changes can be made based on the
skills of employees. Moreover, leader modifies the style of management.
Blanchard and heresy theory- It contains four different leadership styles that states that it is not
based on single solution but on the situation that occurs.
 Telling style- in this the leader closely supervises work and gives direction wherever
needed. Not all the decisions are taken by leaders as experienced team know where they
need help.
 Selling- sometimes leaders have to convince other team members to follow a specific
way of doing things. Leaders is more closely engaged with his team to increase
cooperation.
 Participating- It is a style in which leader tries to build relationship with its team
members. Employees take final decision by participating in decision making process and
under the guidance of leader.

 Delegating- In this leader do not provide much direction to employees to complete a
task rather than they pass on responsibility to them (Heizer, 2016).
System leadership- it means by combining the management development and organisation
techniques and psychology.
Contingency theory-. It consists of two factors to determine the leadership style. First one is
leadership trait that shows leaders personality and second is situation that describes the situation
in which he operates.
Leader trait- In this the traits of leaders was developed on a scale that were based on eight
points such as cooperative, friendly, etc. Leaders were given points according to their traits.
High point achieving leaders were relationship oriented while low point achieving leaders were
task oriented. It states that high points leaders first develop relationship and then complete task
whereas low point leader develop relationship after completing the task (Radnor, and et.al, 2015)
Situational factor- It shows that situation can be determined with the help of three factors:-
 Position power- It determines the power given to leader in the organisation structure and
flexibility in taking decisions
 Task structure- It shows that flexibility in task structure is been clearly defined and
described.
 Leader member relations- It shows the extent to which group members trust the leader
and their willingness to follow leader instructions and guidance.
P 4 Roles of leaders and managers in approaches to operations management
Marks and Spencer provides a wider role of leaders and managers in their operations. Their roles
are dependent on nature and size of operations. The various approaches are:-
Total quality management- It can be achieved through customer satisfaction. It ensures that the
long term success of marks and Spencer can be done by improving the culture, product or
services. Managers are responsible for developing new strategies and implementing them. It

enables them to evaluate employees performance and take appropriate actions to improve them.
If strategies are not properly implemented it becomes difficult for managers to manage and
control the results. Leader on the other hand motivates and encourages employees to enhance
their performance (Venkat, and et.al, 2015) They communicate with stake holders to provide a
clear vision of strategies that are been followed in the organisation. Also, motivating other
people to follow them by creating change.
Business process re engineering- Its main purpose it to reduce the per unit production cost. This
is done by innovating and redesigning processes. Managers plans to develop new strategies so
that objectives and roles can be defined. New process requires managers to plan what task will
be done by whom. The leader role is to make employees achieve those objectives by motivating
them. For this they use various motivational techniques like giving benefits, bonus, share in
profits, etc (Alderton, and Saieva,, 2013)
Six sigma- It is used to improve the business process in marks and Spencer. This leads to
increase in productivity and quality of product and services. Managers make plans on how this
can be done and what areas will be improved. They identify those areas and accordingly make
plans to achieve objectives of business. The role of leaders is to provide guidance and direction
to employees to help them in achieving objectives. They regularly communicate with employees
to take their views and opinions to improve their performance and easily accomplishing task.
P-5 Importance of operations management in achieving business objectives
Business operations helps in achieving the goals of marks and Spencer by implementing new
strategies. This can be done in various ways:-
To improve productivity – The overall productivity of marks and Spencer is dependent on its
employees. Productivity must be improved to increase sales and profits. Management of marks
and Spencer should focus of improve by increasing the efficiency of employees. This can be
done by innovating new techniques of production that will bring change in working environment.
It will automatically motivate employees to adopt these changes and it will affect their

productivity. With this overall process of organisation will change and it will lead to effectively
working of each individual (Ferguson,and et.al., 2017)
Total quality management- it focuses on improving the products, services t increase to sales.
A small change in product quality will affect the overall production process and working of
employees. The operations of marks and Spencer will increase productivity of employees and
their efficiency. Change in product quality will increase customer satisfaction and building a
good brand image of marks and Spencer in industry. This can be done by redesigning the
production process and implementing changes in strategies. Through this more customers will be
attracted towards them that will lead to rise in demand. If there will be rise in demand it means
more sales will be generated. This will automatically affect the productivity of entire company
and employees productivity. This will also ensure long term success of company.
Logistics management- It is also known as supply chain management that controls and manages
incoming and outgoing of raw materials and finished goods. It is necessary to make changes in
this to do smooth production of goods. If raw materials are there in proper quantity and quality it
will be easy to meet the demand in market. It also ensures that quality of good is maintained and
customer are satisfied. This will create a smooth flow of production and greater productivity in
marks and Spencer. With this there will be proper communication between all departments that
will lead to increase in overall organisation efficiency (Heizer,., 2016).
P-6 Factors within business environment that impact operational management and decision-
making
There are two main elements involved in business environment. These are:-Internal environment
that exists within the business and consists of owners, employees, culture, etc. whereas external
environment is outer side of business and consists of customers, government, etc. internal
environment is described as follows:-
 Board of directors- Shareholders select these people who manages and control the
overall functioning of marks and Spencer. They appoint experienced and skilled
managers in different departments and also set goals and objectives.

 Owners- They are also known as shareholders and are the people who have invested in
marks and Spencer. They with the help of board members can change the policies and are
having the voting rights also.
 Employees- Also known as work force of marks and Spencer. They are the people who
by performing the given task helps in achieving the organisation goals and objectives.
 Culture- It is the collection of individuals values, beliefs, etc. that shows their actions
towards the organisation. The culture of Marks and Spencer id determined by the
behaviour of managers and leaders with their employees.
It is very important for manager to understand the cultural environment of marks and Spencer. It
will help in achieving their goals and objectives. If manager is not able to understand this will
lead to poor performance of employees thus affecting entire organisation (Radnor, and et.al,
2015)
Competitors, customers, suppliers, partners and government are part of extremal environment.
Competitors- They are the entities that operates in the market to give competition. Every
competitor policy, price and strategies differs from one another. Number of competitors, their
market share, products, etc. are influenced while making policies.
Customers- they are people from whom the products or services are made. Marks and Spencer
fulfil their demands and earn profits. A slight change in taste and preference of them put pressure
on managers to modify or develop new strategy.
Suppliers- They provide raw materials to marks and Spencer for production.. A good and strong
relationship between the organisation and supplier is important to keep steady flow of quality
input and output materials.
Government- It is also known as task environment that controls the authority of marks and
Spencer.. Government agencies, trade unions, chamber of commerce control and influence marks
and Spencer policies (Gillen., Jacquillat, and Odoni,., 2016.)
Partners- an individual firm that is dealing with marks and Spencer. Their activities regarding
products influence organisation to make changes in their strategies.

M 1 Difference between leader and manager by applying theories and concepts
The function of manger and leader is completely different from each other. Managers develops
plans and strategies for employees while leaders motivate employee to achieve that objectives.
Manager assign tasks and decides who will do it while leader guides people in completing that
task. Managers care about whether the objectives has been achieved or not while leaders care
about people. Managers takes whole credit of achieving the objectives whereas leader takes the
responsibility. Managers react to change but leaders create change. Managers have power over
people while leaders develop power with people.
M-2 Strengths and weakness of different approaches
The various styles followed have their own strengths and weakness. Situational leadership style
will be successful only when decisions are taken by leaders but sometimes it fails because
leaders take decisions for their benefit and force employees to follow in that way only. On the
other hand contingency theory will be beneficial if leaders are given opportunities to take
decisions according to their qualities. But sometimes decision taken are wrong and not according
to situation that affects the organisation (Chiarini. and Vagnoni, 2015)
Marks and Spencer belongs to clothing industry so customers taste changes according to change
in fashion. In order to gain customer satisfaction marks and Spencer have to improve their total
quality management. This will lead to develop new products according to demand and it will
help in increasing sales. Similarly to design quality products business process engineering can be
used that will bring change in production process. But it requires huge fund and experience
persons to manage that process.
M-3 How efficiency can be improved by mangers and leaders in operational management
Leaders and managers are responsible for improving the performance of employees. This can be
done continuously evaluating their performance with the set standards. It will help in modifying
the strategies and taking corrective decisions. Proper implementation of strategies and decisions
will ensure completion of task in effective way. Flexibility provided by management in decision

making will help mangers to control critical situations by taking appropriate decisions. It will
lead to enhance in employee productivity and their growth (Chen,, 2017.)
M-4 How different factors affect business environment
Leaders and manager develop strategies while considering the external and internal environment.
These strategies affect the working of employees in achieving their goals. Policies defined the
culture within the organisation. Any change in these factors affects the whole industry in which
marks and Spencer operates. Having flexibility in policies will help in changing them according
to the situation. This will lead to better and quick decision-making and increasing productivity.
Therefore, customers demands will be fulfilled and there will be increase in profits. In this way
marks and Spencer will be able to retain their customers. Also, the customer satisfaction will
increase that will help marks and Spencer in gaining larger market share.
CONCLUSION:
From this report it is concluded that leaders and managers plays crucial role in marks and
Spencer. They both have different roles and responsibilities and according to it they take various
decisions. How these roles bring changes in the behaviour of employee and how the entire
environment of organisation can be changed. Further the various approach of leadership styles
like contingency theory, situational leadership, etc is discussed. .It shows the importance of
operational management in making policies while considering the internal
environment(employees, culture and owners) and external environment(competitors, suppliers,
customers, partners, etc.).

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