Roles and Characteristics of Leader and Manager in Management and Operations

This report explains the roles and characteristics of a leader and a manager in the context of management and operations. It also discusses the importance of situational leadership, system leadership, and contingency in achieving business objectives. The report focuses on Sainsbury, the second largest supermarket chain in the UK, and analyzes the impact of leadership and management on operational efficiency.

Management and
Operations

TABLE OF CONTENT
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
LO1..................................................................................................................................................1
P1 Roles and characteristics of leader and a manager.................................................................1
A leader is a person who has the role of influencing a group of people which are the team
members towards achievement of goal, motivate them to work with strong functionality to
reach desired business goals........................................................................................................1
LO2..................................................................................................................................................5
P2 Role of leader and functions of manager in different situational contexts.............................5
P3 Situational leadership, system leadership and contingency....................................................6
LO3..................................................................................................................................................8
LO4..................................................................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Management and operations can be understood as administration of business practises in
a company to create the highest level of operational efficiency possible with the proper
utilization of resources. It is an important element for organization which refers to functions of
converting materials and labour into finished goods, services to maximize the profit of
organization and the overall productivity levels. Sainsbury is the second largest chain of
supermarket in United Kingdom with large variety of products and services catering to demands
of consumers. This report explains differentiation between role and characteristics of leader and
a manager and how it varies in different situational aspects. It evaluates various strengths and
weakness of various theories and models including situational leadership, system leadership and
contingency. This report also explains key approaches to operations management and the role of
leader and manager in achieving business objectives. This report also analyses various factors
within business environment impacting upon operational management and decisions by leaders
and managers of Sainsbury (Hoope and Potter, 2019)..
LO1
P1 Roles and characteristics of leader and a manager
A leader is a person who has the role of influencing a group of people which are the team
members towards achievement of goal, motivate them to work with strong functionality to
reach desired business goals. Leader is one of the biggest motivator in company who gives
vision to employees working in teams , motivates them and enlighten their vision
A manager is a person who is responsible for administrating or supervising the company
business structure for achieving essential objectives withefficiency (Lingenfelter, 2019)..
Basis of comparison Leader Manager
Leaders create vision,
managers create goals
 Role of leader in
building strong
productivity levels in
company can be
understood as
providing a vision and
a shared strategy and
 A manager’s role is
very crucial in
Sainsbury as he is a
planner, producer and
establishes strong
coordination between
roles of all hierarchies.
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Leaders inspire and motivate,
managers supervise the
structure
communicate it
powerfully to other
team members for
proper execution and
completion of tasks.
 Leaders at Sainsbury
have role to develop
leadership potentiality
in others and enhance
their performance
through consistent
feedback. Role of
leader is to be an
effective role model,
inspire others by
motivating teams
through timely
feedbacks regarding
their performance
levels and ensure
training needs are met.
Manager plays an
important elementary
role for success of
company by creating
goals and in utilizing
resources for achieving
business goals.
Managers at Sainsbury
are responsible for
supervising
management leaders
and guide them to
function out their
potential duties
effectively.
Leaders build relationships,
managers build systems and
processes
 Sainsbury's leaders
play an integral role of
building trust among
other members and
inspiring subordinates
with own character and
competence
(MacBeath, J., 2019).
 A manager is the
pivotal figure who
directs company in
advanced methods of
production, marketing
techniques and
executing the decisions
in proper utilization of
financial resources.
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With strong
communication skills, a
manager should have
potentiality to establish
clear communication
about company visions
to all subordinates
working in Sainsbury.
Leaders take risks, managers
control risks
 Leader has goal to hold
accountability
regarding functions of
team members and
subordinates for strong
coordination in
effective management,
increase in profit
margins and high
productivity results. He
is responsible for
establishing best
working standards for
subordinates and team
members to produce
high quality
competitive products
and services at
Sainsbury.
 Goal of an efficient
manager is to direct the
activities regarding
various projects, lead
production targets and
researching cost
effective methods to
create advance
technological up
gradation. First line
managers are usually
called supervisors.
Middle level managers
include all levels of
management between
supervisory level and
top-level of
organization(Sheninger
, 2019).
FUNCTIONS  Functions of leader at
Sainsbury can be
understood as
 Functions of a manager
is to create strategies
and enable
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establishing proper
coordination and link
in management and
workers. Directing and
organizing planned
functions to improve
functional operations in
company, cultivating
strong business ethics
at workplace between
team members
(Oakley, 2019)..
management at various
levels to compile
resources and lead
operations in efficient
directions. Reporting of
production targets in
company, monitor
outputs and enhance
the quality standards to
enable competitive
edge in company.
Characteristics of leader.
 Honesty and integrity towards work
 Commitment and Passion
 Accountability (Antonakis, Simonton and Wai, 2019).
 Decision making capabilities
 Strong communication skills
 Delegation and Empowerment
 Charismatic personality
Characteristics of a manager
 Experience and knowledge
 Time management
 Reliability
 Communication
 Organization management skills
 Capabilities to take effective decisions
 Intellectual resources (Eichenseer and Moser,2019).
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LO2
P2 Role of leader and functions of manager in different situational contexts
Role of a leader is to guide the team members and subordinates working in company,
establish effective time management between them and motivate to improve their performance
standards. The role of leader at Sainsbury, which is one of the biggest retail company in UK is to
establish efficient coordination and communication protocols between teams. It includes
outlining the chain of command between leaders and subordinates. Whereas the function of
manager is to plan operational structure of whole company, modification and revising of plans.
Managerial efficiency is of utmost importance for long term growth of company (Bernheim, and
Bodoh-Creed,2019).
Situation 1
Launching of new product
Role of leader - Sainsbury is launching new product category which relate to organic
food chain, offering various fresh organic grocery items and beverages with supreme ingredients.
Leaders have an integral role to direct team members working in production department for
efficient quality management in new organic products chain. Leaders play a pivotal role in
directing the duties of subordinates for establishing working standards according to set targets of
company (Bush, Bell and Middlewood, 2019).For launching new organic food products in
Sainsbury, leaders need to direct the resources of production to team members and supervise
them with strong accountability regarding quality standards. Leaders have role to provide vision
of company regarding new organic food products to all team members, establish proper ethical
code of conduct in communication protocols for maintaining the coordination (Lemoine, Hartnell
and Leroy,2019.)..
Functions of a manager- The functions of a manager in starting organic food chain at
Sainsbury can be understood as planning whole process related to production from raw materials
to finishing of final products. Determining course of actions to reach goals, researching about
advanced technologies to use in productions of organic food products to offer high quality range
to customers. Organizing and coordinating the resources by effectively directing them to various
teams to reach company goals. For launching new organic food products in Sainsbury the
managers have to function out their duties by analysing market about customer preferences,
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fixing optimal price range and construct the roles of various supervisors for producing high
quality products (Davidson,and Olsen III, 2019).
Situation 2
Conflicts in management
Role of leader- There is an increase in cases of conflicts between team members which
has given rise to various misunderstandings between the management hierarchies, affecting
production of goods and services. The new employees and old employees in company are not
able to coordinate the proper working standards. Leaders at Sainsbury have role to establish
ethical working criteria and strong communication between team members. An effective leader
has a specific role to enhance coordination between team members, explain company goals
regarding production and aim towards enriching their performance levels (Gong ,Zhang, and
Peng, 2019).
Function of a manager- Sainsbury managers have the function to resolve conflicts in
management hierarchies, motivate employees and correcting deviations in their working
standards. It involves taking appropriate actions to ensure organizational goals and objectives are
directed for efficient management. For resolving conflicts in team members managers have
function to implement significant steps for constructing performance review procedures and
improve the productivity levels at workplace. Managers have function to guide leaders for
functioning their respective duties with commitment, and entrust coordination among team
members (Bush,Bell and Middlewood, 2019)..
P3 Situational leadership, system leadership and contingency
Situational leadership can be understood as an adaptive leadership style with flexibility
and the dynamic approach in working standards. This strategy encourages leaders to meet
changing needs in employees and adapt to volatile business environment. Leaders must have
insight and potentialities to work with dynamic leadership style and establish strategies which
fits every new objective. Situational leaders working in Sainsbury must be able to build flexible
approach of working with strong problem solving skills and potentiality to guide team members
towards company goals. Situational leaders must enlighten the vision of employees in teams,
need to work with thoughtful analysis of what people need to develop in their working standards
for improved completion of profit targets (Bailey,2019. )..
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Strengths- Situational leadership enable leaders to work with high level of enthusiasm,
develops the capability to work with cautious business understanding. Leaders work with self-
reliance work attitude and enable company to establish competitive performance in volatile
environment.
Weaknesses- Situational leadership focuses on immediate needs of company rather than
long term goals. It is challenging for leaders to define their maturity of working and moreover it
is based on skills of leader.
System leadership
It refers to enabling the leaders in a company to create conditions where people working
at various levels can work productively together to their potential. It explains the use of sound
principles about human behaviour to create models of strong leadership, organizational strategy,
system designs and processes. This leadership can be understood as how leaders lead across
boundaries-organisational and department when there is need to influence others, work with
multiple uncertainties and organize solutions to various demands. The system leadership in
Sainsbury will enable faster growth in company, establish quick coordination among all
subordinates and brings efficient working criteria in company. Situational leaders will be able to
guide employees working in teams to work accordingly in changing situational scenarios in
various conditions, motivate each other and complete the assigned works in given time
frame(Sheninger, 2019).
Strengths- It boosts the employee morale and increases loyalty towards company. It also
leads to increase productivity and there is proper assessment of duties assigned to various
leaders.
Weaknesses- It is not always reliable approach of working for leaders and it is not
effective in completion of company goals with higher quality results.
Contingency leadership
It refers to the theory that best leaders are those who possess the adaptive skills in their
leadership to work in different situations. This leadership style in leaders of Sainsbury
emphasizes that effectiveness of leadership is dependent on matching a leader style to right
situation. Contingency leadership assumes that styles a leader adopts in his working conditions
while guiding subordinates and team members, are criteria of behavioural patterns that cannot be
influenced or modified. Contigent leaders in Sainsbury will be able to take quick descions nad
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agreements of business based on the dynamic needs of scenarios, market growth and targeting
new segments if custromers worldwide, which exaplins the critical importance of building
contigent laedrship skills (Bratton, 2020).
Strengths- The theory reduces expectations from leader and focuses on matching a
leader with the task. Contingency approach establishes predictable working model for leaders.
Weaknesses- This theory does not fully explain why some leaders are more effective as
leaders in some situations but not in others. It creates a complex structure in company which is
not always acceptable by all management hierarchies.
LO3
LO4
Covered in PPT
CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that leader and manager plays different role
that are crucial for the success and growth of business. It can also be explained that leader and
manager have different characteristic and role in the organization. Role of leader and function of
manager is different in different situation. There are three types of leadership styles such as
situational, system and contingency leadership. Sainsbury leader use various styles of leadership
in order to influence employees for better performance and productivity. It also concludes from
above analysis that operational management play important role in successful achievement of
organizational goals. There are various factors of environment that impact upon operational
management and decision-making of leaders and manager (Western, S., 2019)..
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Antonakis, J., Simonton, D. K. and Wai, J., 2019. INTELLIGENCE AND LEADERSHIP.
Leader Thinking Skills: Capacities for Contemporary Leadership. p.14.
Bailey, F. G., 2019. Humbuggery and manipulation: The art of leadership. Cornell University
Press.
Bernheim, B. D. and Bodoh-Creed, A., 2019. A theory of decisive leadership. Available at
SSRN 3012726.
Bratton, J. ed., 2020. Organizational leadership. SAGE Publications Limited.
Bush, T., Bell, L. and Middlewood, D. eds., 2019. Principles of Educational Leadership &
Management. SAGE Publications Limited.
Bush, T., Bell, L. and Middlewood, D. eds., 2019. Principles of Educational Leadership &
Management. SAGE Publications Limited.
Davidson, M. J. and Olsen III, J. A., United Parcel Service of America Inc, 2020. Systems and
methods for utilizing telematics data to improve fleet management operations. U.S.
Patent 10,540,830.
Eichenseer, M. and Moser, J., 2019. Leadership in dynamic public good provision: Endogenous
growth and inequality. Available at SSRN 3269341.
Gong C., Zhang, D. and Peng, R., 2019, January. Ways to Improve and Cultivate Scientific
Literacy of Minority College Students. In 2018 6th International Education,
Economics, Social Science, Arts, Sports and Management Engineering Conference
(IEESASM 2018). Atlantis Press.
Hooper, A. and Potter, J., 2019. The business of leadership: Adding lasting value to your
organization. Routledge.
Lemoine, G. J., Hartnell, C. A. and Leroy, H., 2019. Taking stock of moral approaches to
leadership: An integrative review of ethical, authentic, and servant
leadership. Academy of Management Annals. 13(1). pp.148-187.
Lingenfelter, S., 2019. Yap: Political leadership and culture change in an island society.
University of Hawaii Press.
MacBeath, J., 2019. Leadership for learning. In Instructional Leadership and Leadership for
Learning in Schools (pp. 49-73). Palgrave Macmillan Cham.
Mišić V. V. and Perakis G., 2020. Data analytics in operations management: A review.
Manufacturing & Service Operations Management. 22(1). pp.158-169.
Oakley, E. O., 2019. Team Leadership in Community Colleges. Stylus Publishing, LLC.
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Sheninger, E., 2019. Digital leadership: Changing paradigms for changing times. Corwin Press.
Sheninger, E., 2019. Digital leadership: Changing paradigms for changing times. Corwin Press.
Western, S., 2019. Leadership: A critical text. SAGE Publications Limited.
Zidan H. and Otálvaro Herrera, N. A., 2019. How does leadership develop contextual
ambidexterity in project–basedorganizations?.
Antonakis, J., Simonton, D. K. and Wai, J., 2019. INTELLIGENCE AND LEADERSHIP.
Leader Thinking Skills: Capacities for Contemporary Leadership. p.14.
Bernheim, B. D. and Bodoh-Creed, A., 2019. A theory of decisive leadership. Available at
SSRN 3012726.
Bush, T., Bell, L. and Middlewood, D. eds., 2019. Principles of Educational Leadership &
Management. SAGE Publications Limited.
Davidson, M. J. and Olsen III, J. A., United Parcel Service of America Inc, 2020. Systems and
methods for utilizing telematics data to improve fleet management operations. U.S.
Patent 10,540,830.
Gong C., Zhang, D. and Peng, R., 2019, January. Ways to Improve and Cultivate Scientific
Literacy of Minority College Students. In 2018 6th International Education,
Economics, Social Science, Arts, Sports and Management Engineering Conference
(IEESASM 2018). Atlantis Press.
MacBeath, J., 2019. Leadership for learning. In Instructional Leadership and Leadership for
Learning in Schools (pp. 49-73). Palgrave Macmillan Cham.
Sheninger, E., 2019. Digital leadership: Changing paradigms for changing times. Corwin Press.
Zidan H. and Otálvaro Herrera, N. A., 2019. How does leadership develop contextual
ambidexterity in project–basedorganizations?.
Mišić V. V. and Perakis G., 2020. Data analytics in operations management: A review.
Manufacturing & Service Operations Management. 22(1). pp.158-169.
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