Management and Operations in HSBC Bank: An Analysis of Leadership and Management Concepts

Unit Number and Title Unit 4 - Management and Operations
Project Title Leadership and Management Concepts (Part 1)
Leaders and Operations Management (Part 2)
Statement of Authenticity:
I certify that the work submitted for this unit is my own and the research sources are fully
acknowledged.
Learner Name:

Table of Content
Assessment Part 1
1. An introduction to the college/ chosen organisation management structure
3
2. Definition and roles of both managers and leaders, highlighting the differences
between management and leadership
3
3. An analysis of the different roles of management and leadership in application to
different organisational situations, supported by theories and concepts
5
4. An evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to
leadership and management to draw conclusions that support theories of
leadership
7
5. Conclusions on how managers and leaders have made an impact on the
organisation and recommendations for future improvements
8
References 9

1.0 An introduction to the college/ chosen organisation management structure
I was selected to be part of the Human Resources Department of HSBC as an intern with the task
of conducting a study into the company’s business operations and the effect of proper
management and leadership.
HSBC is a British multinational investment and financial services bank, one of the largest in
Europe and it has over 4.000 offices worldwide.
Legally, the HSBC holding is a public limited company that is listed on both the London Stock
Market and Hong Kong Stock Market and it is divided in three main groups: Comercial Banking,
Global Banking and Markets and Wealth and Personal Banking.
As a structure, HSBC Bank is surprisingly airy, limiting the amount of time needed to make
accurate decision and also reducing bureaucracy.
It consists of the various subsidiaries around the world, regional offices and the headquarters
situated in Canary Wharf, London.
Currently, the top organisational structure of the company which enables fast and clear decision
making is encompassed by two key figures the Noel Quin, the CEO of the holding and the Group
Chairman Mark Tucker.
2.0 Definition and roles of both managers and leaders, highlighting the differences
between management and leadership
Given that there is extensive research that is focused on the benefits of employee engagement in
the business field (Bakker, 2017; Kidron and Peretz, 2018) it is very important to emphasise the
role and function of leadership and management into engagement and discretionary effort.
A leader serves as the model for subordinates to adopt in order to achieve corporate objectives
and goals. He is in charge of the whole company and aims for results. Leaders encourage
workers to produce the best possible outcomes for the company. They assist staff in improving
their success and the the effectiveness of their talents. They defined the organization's new
strategy and vision.

A manager is a person in an organisation who leads a staff for a particular mission, designs job
methods, and schedules. A manager's primary duty is to formulate and execute plans in a
corporate enterprise. There are many administrators at various levels of the organisation. They
wisely retain each level of staff and their team. Managers direct workers' success and assess it in
order for them to improve. (circlebizz.com, 2021)
Leaders oftentimes provide the team with a vision/concept and develop strategies to achieve
success, motivating along the way and providing support for employees. Yukl (2010) argued that
leadership influences individuals so that collective efforts have a shared objective.
On the other hand, managers ensure a higher degree of organizational skills and full efficiency
and performance with the available resource at hand. Therefore, leadership can have a positive
impact upon employees. (Besieux et al, 2015; Lee, 2014)
Because of the intersectionality of these two terms there are some controversies around them
because they are often use indiscriminately in-between. Bass (2010) and Yukl (1989) argue that
the two terms overlap but they are not synonymous, and the overlap is actually disputed between
researchers. Some even argue that they are extreme
opposites, that leaders cannot be managers and vice versa.
There is a fine line between leadership and management but the two of them are interconnected
in some respects. For example,in order for both of them to be effective managers should seek to
be perceived as a leader and leaders should definitely have management skills.
Shaw and Gupta (2015) have stated that managers can use monetary and non-monetary strategies
as mechanisms to produce more employee engagement. Monetary incentives have been argued
by researchers that it has a negative connotation and non-monetary a positive and more
successful outcome. Some researchers suggest that some beneficial practices and behaviours at a
leadership level such as setting performance goals, providing feedback and a sense of
recognition, implementing a healthy work culture including trust and support, can boost
employee morale and performance. (Zaitouni and Ouakouak, 2018; Maurya and Agarwal, 2018)