Leadership and Management in Operations: A Case Study of Brakes Group

Unit 4- Management and Operations
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Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................3
LO1.............................................................................................................................................................4
P1 Define and compare the different roles and characteristics of a leader and a manager.......................4
M1 Analyse and differentiate between the role of a leader and function of a manager by effectively
applying a range of theories and concepts...............................................................................................5
LO2.............................................................................................................................................................7
P2 Examine examples of how the role of a leader and the function of a manager apply in different
situational contexts..................................................................................................................................7
P3 Apply different theories and models of approach, including situational leadership, systems
leadership, and contingency.....................................................................................................................9
M2. Assess and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to situations within the
work environment..................................................................................................................................11
D1. Critically analyze and evaluate the different theories and approaches to leadership in given
contexts.................................................................................................................................................12
LO3...........................................................................................................................................................13
P4. Explain the key approaches to operations management and the role that leaders and managers play
...............................................................................................................................................................13
P5 Explain the importance and value of operations management in achieving business objectives......15
M3. Evaluate how leaders and managers can improve efficiencies of operational management to
successfully meet business objectives....................................................................................................16
LO4...........................................................................................................................................................17
P6. Assess the factors within the business environment that impact upon operational management and
decision-making by leaders and managers.............................................................................................17
M4. Analyse how these different factors affect the business environment and wider community.........18
D2. Critically evaluate the application of operations management and factors that impact on the wider
business environment............................................................................................................................19
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................20
References.................................................................................................................................................21
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Introduction
This unit introduces different roles and characteristics of the managers and the leaders that help
the organization in achieving the targets. The difference in the working of the leaders and
managers are discussed in detail in this unit. It gives a better understanding of the roles and
functions of leaders and managers in different situations that arise in the company with the help
of different theories and the approach models. The operations management in an organization is
discussed along with the key approaches that are used are discussed in detail. The effect on the
working and decision-making of the operational management is assessed along with the factors
that affect them due to the role and functions of leaders and managers. The organization has
taken for better understanding this unit is Brakes Group which is a food and distribution
company for the catering industry and operates through more than 20 different distribution
centers in the UK.
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LO1
P1 Define and compare the different roles and characteristics of a leader and a manager.
The different roles and characteristics of leader and managers come under different basic
concepts of the management.
Leaders:-The leaders lead and motivate the individuals who work for achieving targets of the
organization. In a big organization like Brakes Group responsibility of the leaders is more as
they are the ones who help in motivating and guiding different groups of the people and thus
helping in eliminating the pressure of the work that builds due to the workload.
Managers:-The managers assign the work to the employees and works towards accomplishing
the objectives of the organization. The managers first assign the work and then make sure that
the work is completed within the given time. It is the work of the management to assign work
and get the work done in any condition.
The roles and characteristics of the managers are similar with few differences only and both of
them work hard to accomplish the goals of the organization. The comparison of the roles and
characteristics of the leaders and managers is done below:-
Managers Leaders
Major work is planning and implementing
the work.
Leaders help in organizing and influencing to
get the work done.
Managers focus on getting the work done Leaders motivate employees to work for
accomplishing the targets.
Managers focus on giving directions to the
group to get the work done.
Leaders help in providing directions to the
employees so that they do not face problems in
getting the work done.
Managers have to be great leaders along
with great management skills.
Leaders are motivators and they possess the
ability to influence people to work harder to
accomplish the goals and objectives.
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M1 Analyse and differentiate between the role of a leader and function of a manager by
effectively applying a range of theories and concepts.
The leaders’ roles as well as managers’ functions are very important in the management process
to accomplish the goals of Brakes Group. The managers and leaders help in providing guidance
to the employees for achieving various objectives of the goals. The managers are the important
personnel that are involved in the business activities. The role of leadership depends on the
various traits and skills that the leaders need to possess in their personality for providing great
leadership (Rahim, 2017). The leadership theories include trait, behavioural, and contingency
and the important points that are necessary for leaders are shown in the table below:-
Trait Theory Behavioural Theory Contingency Theory
It relies on the efficacy It relies on the behaviour of
employees
Relies on the task nature as
well as the leader personality
that varies from one another.
It emphasizes the quality of
the personnel
It emphasizes on getting the
work done using different
styles like laissez-faire and
being democratic
It emphasizes that there is no
systematized way to get the
work done.
It is task oriented. It is people-oriented Depends on the leader
personality and nature of the
task.
The functions of the managers include the planning, organizing, coordinating as well as
controlling. Planning function helps the organization in listing all the actions that are required
to complete the task and helps in performing all the activities for achieving objectives.
Organizing function of managers helps in organizing different techniques and tools to get the
work done by the employees. This function of management helps in achieving the target in a
proper managerial way. Coordinating function helps in coordinating the team members for
doing the work that is allotted to them and the coordination can be done via the help of various
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skills of communication for proper implementation of work. Controlling is important for getting
the work done with the help of proper strategy formulation and also keeping an eye and
monitoring the work that is allotted to different members of the team.
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