Leadership and Management in Operations: A Case Study of Morrison

This report examines the roles and characteristics of leaders and managers in the context of Morrison, a leading supermarket chain in the UK. It explores different leadership theories and models, including situational leadership, systems leadership, and contingency theory, and analyzes their application in various situational contexts. The report also delves into key approaches to operations management, such as total quality management, just-in-time, and Six Sigma, and assesses the impact of the business environment on operational management and decision-making by leaders and managers.

MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................5
LO1..................................................................................................................................................6
P1 Define and compare the different roles and characteristics of a leader and a manager of
Morrison..........................................................................................................................................6
LO2..................................................................................................................................................8
P2 Examine examples of how the role of a leader and the function of a manager apply in
different situational contexts............................................................................................................8
P3 Apply different theories and models of approach, including situational leadership, systems
leadership and contingency..............................................................................................................9
LO3................................................................................................................................................14
P4 Explain the key approaches to operations management and the role that leaders and managers
play................................................................................................................................................14
P5 Explain the importance and value of operations management in achieving business objective
.......................................................................................................................................................16
LO4................................................................................................................................................18
P6 Assess the factors within the business environment that impact upon operational management
and decision making by leaders and managers..............................................................................18
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................20
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................21
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TABLE OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Roles of manager..............................................................................................................4
Figure 2: Situational leadership.......................................................................................................7
Figure 3: System leadership.............................................................................................................8
Figure 4: Fiedler's Contingency Model...........................................................................................9
Figure 5: Total Quality Management............................................................................................12
Figure 6: Six Sigma Approach......................................................................................................13
LIST OF TABLE
Table 1: Comparison of manager and leader...................................................................................3
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4

INTRODUCTION
Operation management can be defined as controlling and designing the overall process of
providing quality products and services to its customers. It helps in designing the appropriate
strategies so that high level of customer satisfaction can be achieved in Morrison, a leading
supermarket in UK. The report mainly focuses on the role and characteristics of the manager and
leader of Morrison. Its various functions and responsibilities are analyzed for effective
functioning of the organization. Various examples are examined in Task 2 of the report on how
the role of manager and a leader can apply in the different situation. Various types of leadership
skills are compared in context of Morrison. Strengths and weaknesses of various types of
leadership are analyzed in this report.
The report evaluates the various approaches to operations management. It also focuses on the
role of managers and leaders in effective functioning of operational management to achieve the
objectives of businesses. The last part of the report assesses the factors of the business
environment that affects the operational management as well as how it affects the decision
making of leaders and managers of Morrison.
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LO1
P1 Define and compare the different roles and characteristics of a leader and a manager of
Morrison
Definition of Manager: Manager of Morrison is responsible for administration as well as
management of employees in an organization (Razin.et.al.2017). Manager also helps in
controlling the functions of an organisation for running the business in an efficient manner.
Definition of leader: Leader is responsible for commanding a group of people in an
organization. Leader must possess leadership skills as well as practical skills. They are
responsible for the completion of task and are more concern about accomplishing the goals in
Morrison.
Difference between Managers and Leaders
Table 1: Comparison of manager and leader
Manager Leader
Managers communicate with leaders related
to the completion of tasks
Leaders communicate with its team members
and motivate them to complete the task with
efficiency and on time.
Managers are responsible for setting certain
goals and objectives of an organization
Leaders are responsible for achieving the goals
set by managers of Morrison.
Managers in Morrison help in directing to the
large number of groups. They are responsible
for taking the report of ongoing work from
leaders.
Leaders direct their team members and ensure
that the task must be completed on time.
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Managers only focus on communicating the
policies to the leaders of Morrison.
Leader, on the other hand, is responsible for
implementing the policies as well as ensures
that the employees must accomplish the task as
per the policies of Morrison.
Developing of more ideas and methods for
improvement of Morrison business is main
responsibility of manager (Radaelli.et.al.2017).
Leaders take various measures for
implementing the ideas developed by
managers.
The main focus of managers is on task
completion
Main focus of leader is on how and when the
task will be completed
Roles and characteristics of managers and leaders in Morrison
Morrison is a leading supermarket chain in UK and managers, as well as leaders, plays an
important role in the growth of its business.
 The setting of Goals: Managers and Leaders in Morrison is responsible for planning and setting
the goals that help to increase the revenue of supermarket. Manager of Morrison focuses on the
development of strategies for accomplishing the goals while leaders are responsible for
implementing those strategies.
 Utilization of resources: Manager plays an important role in managing the resources in an
effective way to accomplish the goals. Leader motivates the employees and allocates the work
according to the skills (Tushman, 2017).
 Staffing: Managers and leaders both are responsible for selecting the best candidate by
identifying the skills according to the work of the department. Leaders assign the work to the
employees according to their skills and capabilities.
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 Directing: Managers and leaders must possess the quality of giving directions to employees so
that they can complete the work on the assigned time. They must have the capability to create the
best team out of so many employees according to the difficulty of the task.
Figure 1: Roles of manager
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LO2
P2 Examine examples of how the role of a leader and the function of a manager apply in
different situational contexts.
Managers and leaders play an important role in the efficient functioning of management. They
both focus on accomplishing the goals and objectives of an organization.
Role of leaders in Morrison
Leaders are mostly influenced by the managers and therefore according to the situational theory
of leadership, leaders adjust themselves according to the working style of managers. Leaders
select the most appropriate style of leadership for meeting the end goals of an organization
(Northouse, 2018). Role of a leader varies from one situation to another in Morrison which is
explained as below:
 According to the situational theory of leadership, leaders play an important role in resolving the
issue of high turnover of employees. In this situation, leaders are responsible for boosting the
morale of an employee and provide authorities to employee for taking decisions related to task.
 Leaders of Morrison also focus on maintaining a healthy relationship with their employees
according to Relationship Oriented Approach.
 Morrison mainly focuses on setting targets so that goals can be accomplished. For this, leaders
focus on increasing the sales by developing strategies. Leaders communicate with its employees
as well as motivate them for achieving the targets.
 According to the situational leadership theory, Leaders of Morrison selects the style of
coaching so that employees having less experienced can be trained.
 Leaders in Morrison are also responsible for evaluating the task by taking feedbacks from its
employees. Leaders are not directly involved directing the employees but they motivate them for
completing the task in an effective manner (Chemers, 2014).
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Function of managers in Morrison
 Managers in Morrison focus on Theory of management by objectives. Managers plan the
activities so that end goals and objectives of an organization can be achieved in an effective way
(Locke, 2015). Their planning activities related to Morrison includes management of inventory,
assuring quality of products and services and the most important one is to market its products
with the help of various advertising techniques. Managers give directions to leaders on how the
resources must be utilized according to their skills.
 If the work pressure is more in comparison to the workforce, then it is the responsibility of
managers in Morrison to increase the number of employees. In this case, staffing process is
performed by HR managers of an organization for hiring more skilled candidates for reducing
the workload of the team.
 Managers focus on managing the activities involved in completion of task. After the entire
planning, the manager assigns various responsibilities to team members so that goals can be
accomplished. Managers also focus on creating the healthy environment at the workplace.
 Managers of Morrison must monitor the performance of an individual employee with help of
their leaders.
 Managers also focus on resolving the issues of employees related to tasks by providing training
and development sessions. They communicate with employees on the regular basis so that they
can feel motivated.
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P3 Apply different theories and models of approach, including situational leadership, systems
leadership, and contingency
Morrison focuses on various leadership styles according to the need of an organization. Along
with the leadership styles, Morrison also focuses on management by objective. Management of
objective helps in resolving the disputes by communicating with the employees. In this,
managers trained employees for enhancing their skills. Managers also motivate their employees
to increase their efficiency.
Morrison also focuses on Chaos Theory in which manager focuses on developing strategies
according to the current market trend.
Various leadership styles are explained below:
Situational leadership: Situational leadership enables the leaders to adjust the style of
leadership according to the instructions of managers. Leaders adapt various strategies of
leadership so that Morrison can achieve the goals and objectives (Thompson and Glasø, 2015).
Situational leadership has 4 phases of leadership such as:
 Directing: This style of leadership is also referred to as micromanagement. In this leaders
observe the day to day activities of employees and various decisions are taken to increase the
efficiency of work. In this, the support of leaders is less. They are more into giving directions in
this phase of leadership.
 Coaching: In this, the leaders are very supportive and provide proper direction so that task can
be completed in an effective manner.
 Supporting: Leaders provide feedback to the employees which motivate them to increase their
efficiency. In this phase of leadership, the responsibility for an employee increase.
 Delegating: In this employee is responsible for completion of a task without any assistance of
leaders.
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Figure 2: Situational leadership
System Leadership: System leadership entirely controls the working of employees according to
the need of Morrison. Leaders interact with the employees and explain the situation of an
organization and therefore various strategies are developed accordingly. This type of leadership
enhances the decision taking the power of the leaders of Morrison (Senge et.al.2015). Benefits of
this type of leadership: Increased connectivity and employee relationship; Enhancement of skills;
increased the effectiveness of work as well as new developments and innovations with the help
of developed strategies.
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Figure 3: System leadership
Contingency Leadership: Contingency leadership enables the leaders to have control over the
various situations of an organization. This type of leadership mainly focuses on LPC i.e. Least
Preferred Co worker Scale in which leaders score the efficiency of employees according to their
performance and behavior (Fiedler, 2015). If an employee scores high, then the relationship is
relation oriented but if an employee score low, then the relation is task oriented. Relationship-
oriented style defines the job satisfaction of employees and on the other hand, task-oriented style
is referred to the completion of the task with efficiency. Contingency leadership depends on
factors that include cooperation and support by leaders; structuring of the task as well as
directing the employees.
Figure 4: Fiedler's Contingency Model
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LO3
P4 Explain the key approaches to operations management and the role that leaders and managers
play.
Operation management can be defined as the process used by various organizations that helps in
increasing the efficiency of operations so that end goals of an organization can be accomplished.
There are various approaches for operation management in Morrison which are explained as
follows:
Customized Product: Morrison focuses on providing high customer satisfaction by offering
customised products to its customers (Xu et.al.2016). Since it is a supermarket, it provides
customised food such as self-made salad bar in which customers can choose their own
ingredients. It also focuses on providing seasonal items to its customers.
Large range of products: Morrison focuses on providing a large range of products ranging
from food products to clothing. It provides around 30,000 items for attracting a large number of
customers.
Morrison also focuses on continuous improvement as well as total quality management.
Continuous improvement: Improvement in operational management is the key factor of growth
in Morison. Managers and leaders of Morrison focus on developing strategies for implementing
changes in already existing products as well as make new products according to too the demand
of customers. For bringing continuous improvement in an organization, it is important to
motivate the employees. It is important to support employees as well as to reduce the work
pressure for bringing out the efficient output in the businesses.
Quality Management: Managers and leaders in Morrison are responsible for maintaining the
quality of products and services (Goetsch and Davis, 2014). Morrison focuses on providing a
large range of standard products as well as customized products according to the customer
requirement. It is the core responsibility of managers to observe that tasks assigned to their
employees are correctly done at the first time. Managers are also involved in providing various
training sessions to its employees for enhancing their skills.
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Figure 5: Total Quality Management
Just in Time Approach: Just in time is an approach used by Morrison for managing the
inventory of the store. In this type of approach, manufacturers can switch from one product to
another product easily. Just in time approach also reduces the overall expenses of an organization
by eliminating the needs of storage in warehouse. Therefore, it is the responsibility of
managers and leaders to manage the stocks for sustaining the performance of an organization.
Six Sigma Approach: This approach is used by Morrison to eliminate any defect in any product
or services provided by an organization (Does and Mast, 2015). It is used for improving the
quality of operational management in terms of customer satisfaction, overall expenses of
organization as well as leadership skills. The main objective of six sigma approach is to improve
the process management as well as to reduce the losses in completing the process.
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Figure 6: Six Sigma Approach
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P5 Explain the importance and value of operations management in achieving a business
objective
Operation management plays an important role in maintaining the various functions of an
organization (Annarelli and Nonino, 2016). Management is related to products and services in
Morrison. It helps in minimizing the resources by fulfilling the needs of customers. It plays an
important role in maximizing the profit of business. Its various functions are efficient
distribution, designing of the process, management of inventor as well as scheduling of entire
operational processes. Importance and value of operation management can be explained by
implementing the below-mentioned elements:
Distribution System: Supply Chain Management is the key element that helps in maintaining
the efficiency of distribution system (Jacobs.et.al.2014). It helps Morrison to provide products
and services according to the requirement of customers. If an organization adopts proper
distribution system, then it also helps in increasing the satisfaction of customers which in turn
helps to develop the strong customer base.
Resource utilisation: Managers and leaders of Morrison are responsible for making the effective
utilisation of resources according to their skills and talent. If the resources are assigned tasks
according to their ability, then the chances of getting good quality of products and services
increase. This helps to increase the customer satisfaction and hence the overall sales of an
organisation can be increased. This can be achieved by motivating the employees.
Competition: Morrison must focus on developing strategies to withstand the competition in the
market. It must focus on improving the product line as well as check out facilities which are a lot
of time-consuming. Morrison also provides customised products to its customer along various
new innovative products. The competitive spirit of Morrison leads to its growth and
development.
Inventory management: Morrison focuses on maintaining the inventory such that no dead stock
exists in its warehouses (Wild, 2017). It focuses on just in time inventory management which is a
cost-effective method.
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Product Management: Morrison offers a wide range of product line ranging from clothing to
food products. It provides approx 33000 of products. It also provides customised products along
with the standard products to satisfy the needs of customers.
Quality management: Another most important part of operational management is quality
related to the offerings of Morrisons. It is necessary for managers and leaders of Morrison to
ensure the quality of products and services that are offered to the customers. Various techniques
are implemented to ensure the quality of products. Quality Management is necessary when an
organization takes various steps for improving the operational management.
Organisational Coordination: There are various approaches to coordinate in Morrison that
includes evaluation and distribution of product, marketing of product, as well as developing new
products.
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LO4
P6 Assess the factors within the business environment that impact upon operational management
and decision making by leaders and managers.
Business environment highly affects the operational management in both positive as well as
negative way. Business environment can be maintained by maintaining the healthy relationship
between managers and leaders of Morrison. There are several factors related to operational
management that affects the decision making of managers and leaders.
 Morrison must follow certain standards related to ethics and culture to maintain the relation
between leaders and managers.
 Morrison runs its business in the competitive environment and for gaining the competitive
advantage it focuses on maintaining the relationship between managers and leaders.
 Management and leadership play an important role in maintaining the corporate social
responsibility of an organization (Shin et.al.2015). Manager focuses on adopting the policies and
development of strategies that affect the responsibility of Morrison towards the society.
 Healthy environment at the workplace helps in maintaining the relationship between managers
and leaders.
 An effective relationship between managers and leaders help them to take decisions regarding
the promotions and wages of an employee (Lazaroiu, 2015). There will be no conflict of
opinions and if mix opinions do exist, then the issue can be resolved by mutual understanding.
 Technology is one of the important factors that affect the decision making of managers and
leaders of Morrison. Implementation of advancement in technology should be such that overall
cost does not exceed the budgeted cost of an organisation. Cost cutting in technology
advancement will help managers and leaders to invest in future for the growth of Morrison.
 Business Environment highly affects the relationship of Morrison with its stakeholders.
Employee and employer relationship helps in maintain the employee interest to work in an
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organisation. Motivation factor plays an important role in the retention of employees which
reduces the cost of hiring an employee.
 Morrison can operate it business in a sustained environment by implementing various tools and
techniques for management of operations in Morrison.
 It is the duty of managers and leaders to maintain the discipline and ethics of the workplace.
They are responsible for quality and time management of products and employees respectively.
Positivity and decorum in the employees will help to maintain the effective operational
management of Morrison.
 Managers and leaders must communicate with the employees regarding the issues related to the
work. Coordination between manager and leader helps in resolving the issues of employees
which in turn increases their efficiency. Various training and development programs are
developed by the mutual concern of manager and leader so that skills of employees can be
enhanced.
 Managers must ensure that there is no illegal activity going on in the premises of Morrison.
Work must be done according to the policies set by the organization.
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CONCLUSION
By studying the report, it can be concluded that efficient management of operations will result in
the growth of Morrison. Proper utilisation of resources plays an important role in maintaining the
effectiveness of the organization. The report considers the efficient functioning of businesses as
well as management of operations by following certain policies. Manager and leaders play an
important role in maintaining the operations of the organization. They focus on developing
strategies for meeting the needs of customers. Operational management also helps in motivating
the employees which help in reducing the cost of an organisation. The report also focuses on
quality management which helps the Morrison to increase the productivity of the businesses.
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