Management and Operations: Approaches, Roles, and Functions

This report explains the different approaches, roles, and functions in management and operations. It discusses the characteristics and roles of managers and leaders, examines their application in different situational contexts, and explores various models and theories. It also highlights the key approaches in operations management and the importance of leadership in achieving business objectives. Additionally, it assesses the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches and discusses the impact of environmental factors on decision-making.

Running Head: MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS
MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS

2MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
LO1............................................................................................................................................3
P1 Defining and comparing the different characteristics and roles of a manager and leader 3
M1 Analysing and differentiating between the leader’s role and manager’s function by
effectively applying a range of concepts and theories............................................................4
LO2............................................................................................................................................5
P2 Examining the example of how leaders role and manager’s functions apply in different
situational contexts.................................................................................................................5
P3 Applying different models and theories of approach, including systems leadership,
situational leadership and contingency...................................................................................6
M2 Assessing the weaknesses and strengths of different approaches to situations within the
work environment...................................................................................................................8
LO3............................................................................................................................................9
P4 Explaining the key approaches in operations management roles played by managers and
leaders.....................................................................................................................................9
P5 Explaining the value and importance of operations management for achieving business
objectives..............................................................................................................................10
M3 Evaluating how managers and leaders can improve operational management
efficiencies to meet business objectives...............................................................................11
LO4..........................................................................................................................................11
P6 Assessing the factors within the business environment which have an impact over the
decision making and operational management of leaders and managers.............................11
M4 Analysing how different factors affect the business environment and wider community
..............................................................................................................................................12
Conclusion................................................................................................................................13
References................................................................................................................................14

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Introduction
The main aim of the present report is to explain various approaches that are widely used for
implementing and managing the business operation. The report is going to clarify the
importance of leadership and management along with their differences. Further, the
importance and functions that operation management play in an organisation and how the
roles and function of a leader and a manager are important in supervising such processes will
be elaborated within this study. Also, the report will throw the light of how various
environmental factors like economic, sociocultural or technological can have significant
impacts of the decision making of the leaders and managers, on the business environment of
the organisation and also the community at large.
LO1
P1 Defining and comparing the different characteristics and roles of a manager and
leader
One of the key characteristics of a manager is that they are people who are given the
authority by the nature of the role they play in the organization. The work of a manager is to
get the job done; their focus is the day to day jobs and also manage the other activities.
However, on the other hand, a leader's characteristics are demonstrated by being focused
strategically as they motivate and inspire employees to get the job done. Good leadership
skills are far more behavioural in nature in comparison to management skills. According to
Miner (2015), leaders are focused on the big picture and motivated to see the change for the
good. In order to be completely packed, one must be able to manage the tasks in a day to day
basis and also see the change and the big picture.
Hollingsworth- Reid and Sanders (2015) mentioned that Hollingsworth in 1989 listed six
fundamental differences between a leader and a manger-
- A leader innovates where a manager administrates.
- A leader focuses on the people whereas the manager's focus is the structure
and the system
- A leader develops but a manager maintains.
- I leader inspires trust whereas a manager relies on control

4MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS
- A leader's eyes are on the horizon but the eyes of the manager are always set
on the bottom line.
- A leader does the right thing and a manager does things right.
Colenso- Slack and Brandon-Jones (2018) added Colenso in 1997 made a table to summarize
the distinctive characterization of a leader and a manager-
- A leader addresses why but a manager addresses how.
- A leader is focused on inspiration but a manager is focused on clarification.
- A leader is focused on the service but the manager is focused on the profit.
- A leader strategizes and a manager operates.
- A leader innovates but a manager improves.
- A leader is focused on fulfilment and the manger is focused on performance
- A leader must be versatile but the manager must be consistent.
- A leader is focused on alignment but the manager is focused on accountability.
Ravindra Kanungo's distinction- Reid and Sanders (2015) also stated Ravindra Kanungo
provided the following behavioural attributes of charismatic leadership-
- Articulation and vision are important to become a charismatic leader.
- A leader must have environmental sensibility.
- A leader must be sensitive to the needs of the members.
- At times a leader must behave unconventionally.
- It is a must for the leader to take personal risks for the welfare of the
organization.
- A charismatic leader should never maintain a status quo.
M1 Analysing and differentiating between the leader’s role and manager’s function by
effectively applying a range of concepts and theories
John Adair's action centred leadership model is a simple management model and it is a great
blueprint for management and leadership for any group or team of an organization (Higgs and
Dulewicz, 2016). This action-centred leadership model is represented by Adair's 'three
circles' diagram that illustrates the three core responsibilities of the management-
● Achieving the tasks
- Identification of the aims and vision of the group.
- Maintain and control activities.

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- Identify people, resources, systems, process and tools.
● Managing the group or the team
- Establish and agree on the standards of behaviour and performance.
- Development of the team-working, morale, cooperation and team spirit.
- Identify and meet the training needs of the team.
● Management of the individuals
- Understanding the team members as individuals, their personalities, skills etc.
- Training and development of the individual team members.
- Give praise and recognition to the individuals.
According to Chen et al. (2015), the behavioural theories of leadership was created after the
disciples of trait leadership theories ran out of explanation for a group of people being good
leaders and the other could only be followers. The main graphs of behavioural leadership are
as follows
● Concern for the task- This behaviour is represented by calculable and tangible
achievements linked with motivation and improved productivity.
● Concern for people- This behaviour is indicated by the tangible concern for people
working in the company and the desire to maintain proper relations with them.
● Directive leadership- This behaviour is represented by the ability to give instructions
and expecting others to bluntly follow them.
● Participative leadership- this behaviour is represented by the desire of the leader to
increase the commitment of the employees.
LO2
P2 Examining the example of how leaders role and manager’s functions apply in
different situational contexts
The role of a leader and the functions of a manager very is depending on the situation that we
handle. Different situations need different methods of management. The rules of been
discussed below under the context of different situations.

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● Stable situation - Stable situations are the ones where the company is not going
through any changes in its operations and will supposedly stay like that for some
while. For instance, if there are not alterations in the market like recession or
inflation, the conditions in the market will remain stable or uniform (Hitt et al. 2016).
Hence, in such situations, the leaders and managers work to maintain the stability of
the production and its quality.
● Slow to a moderate changing situation - In such situations, the organization faces
either very little changes or moderate changes. These situations, if monitored and
managed wisely, do not have a bad influence on the organization. For instance, a little
rise in the inflation results in moderate changes in the production of the company.
Leaders and managers during this situation should be communicative and implement
decisions that are needed to walk the organization through moderate changes without
making any drastic alterations.
● Fast changing situations - These situations include, rapid and drastic changes in the
organization and the market environment. For instance, rapid and sudden rise or fall
in the stock market that affect the investors which in turn has serious effects on the
organization. Through such times, the role and function of the leader and manager
become most important. They are required to be patient, make proper decisions and
manage the employees according to the demands of the situation (Barkema et al.
2015).
No matter how the situation stays or varies the role and function of the leader and
manager remains crucial to the operation and management of any organization.
P3 Applying different models and theories of approach, including systems leadership,
situational leadership and contingency
Mintzberg's managerial roles- In 1990, Professor and management expert Henry Mintzberg
published his ten management roles in his book “Mintzberg on Management: Inside our
Strange World of Organisations" (Brandon-Jones et al. 2016). These ten roles are as follows
- Leader
- Figurehead
- Monitor

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- Disseminator
- Liaison
- Entrepreneur
- Disturbance handler
- Spokesperson
- Negotiator
- Resource allocator.
These ten roles are divided into three categories that are interpersonal, informational and
decisional.
There are four managerial functions spanning around the industry which are as follows-
- Planning- In this step the management will create a detailed plan of action
aimed at an organizational goal.
- Organizing- Here the management is to determine the distribution of resources
and the employees according to the plan.
- Leading- The management should connect with the employees at an
interpersonal level.
- Controlling- The management should control the internal management.
Teece (2016) opined four main leadership styles in the Tannenbaum and Schmidt continuum
of leadership are as follows-
- Tells- the leader identifies the problems and makes a decision which is
announced to the subordinates.
- Sells- the leader, through persuasion and discussion, attempts to overcome
resistance while making decisions.
- Consults- the leader presents the problems to the team and listens to advice
before making a decision.
- Joins- the leader passes on the problems and the decision-making process to
the group.

8MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS
Lam et al. (2015) mentioned Fielder's favourability of leadership situation depends on three
distinct factors.
- Leader-member relationship- this is the level of trust the team has in their
leader. A more trusted leader gains a more favourable situation.
- Task structure- it refers to the task in hand; whether it is clear or vague,
structured or unstructured.
- Leader's position- it refers to the power and authority the leader has.
The Hersey and Blanchard leadership model takes a situational perspective of leadership.
According to them, leadership behaviours are identified and determined into two paths which
are directive behaviour (close supervision of performance, one-way communication, follower
roles clearly communicated) and supportive behaviour (listening and providing
encouragement and support,two-way communication, the involvement of the followers).
M2 Assessing the weaknesses and strengths of different approaches to situations within
the work environment
The strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to the situation are as follows-
● Strength
- Different approaches help in empowering leadership styles.
- The returns are maximized with the help of different approaches.
- It helps in providing great assistance towards increasing productivity.
- Use of different approaches helps keep the work environment stable.
- Increased productivity provides a high chance in increasing profitability and it
helps in doing so.
- Followers of the different leadership styles are bound to feel more trusted and
more confident in improving their morale (Cumberland et al. 2016).
● Weaknesses
- One of the weaknesses of using different approaches is the improbabilities of
measuring techniques.
- The reviewing techniques also become uncertain because of the different
approaches to the situation.

9MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS
- Controlling the operations becomes very difficult when different approaches
are used (Johnstone, 2016).
- The number of competitors being high is also another concern.
- There is a high chance that the followers may take advantage of the low
intervention from their managers.
LO3
P4 Explaining the key approaches in operations management roles played by managers
and leaders
Lean synchronization aims at achieving the flow of services and products that are capable of
delivering exactly what the demands of the customers are that is, exact quality, the exact time
of need and the exact place where it is needed at the lowest cost (Noe et al. 2017). Lean
synchronization has a number of positive effects on operation management. Such an
approach helps in increasing the seed of production and decreasing the speed of delivery. Due
to its cost efficiency, it helps to increase the profit from the products and services. The
efficiency of the employees in an organisation can also be improved with the help do this
approach. Simply speaking, the lean approach is to work smarter than harder with a sense of
purpose driven by value. It helps to respond quickly to the changing desires of customers
with high variety, high quality and yet low-cost productions.
Total Quality Management or TQM is a management approach that ensures success and
customer satisfaction of long term (Dhiman et al. 2018). In such an approach, all the
employees of the organisation work to improve the products, services, processes and the
environment they work in.
● Employee empowerment - In this approach, all the employees work together toward
the same goals. The managed work-teams help to empower the employees.
● Continual improvement - Continuous success and improvement are one of the major
benefits of this approach. It makes the organisation more and more efficient.
● Just in time (JIT) - These systems include the production of the products just a few
hours before they are utilized (Lloret, 2016). Such a system saves the hustle of
managing unnecessary inventory.
No matter what approach is taken up by the organisation, the role and function of the leader
and manager remain to supervise and guide the organisation through these approaches. It is

10MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS
their responsibility to choose the suitable approach for the organisation and to make the
employees adjusted to the approaches.
P5 Explaining the value and importance of operations management for achieving
business objectives
Operation management plays an important role in any organisation as they ready professional
managers who are capable of achieving the strategic goals of an organisation. Since operation
management controls the whole system of operation within the organisation, it can also be
called the heart of an organisation. Teece (2016) stated that it handles various issues like
operation, maintenance, improvement and design of the systems that produce the vital
services and products of the company. It also has clear responsibilities in the Department of
Finance and marketing. The main objective of any organisation is to increase production and
sales, to make a profit and look after the development of the company. Operation
management helps to achieve this main goal of maximizing its shareholders and making
profits through the company's activities. Production cost is reduced to prevent the stretching
of tangible and tangible assets (Lloret, 2016). Good use of services and product management
can be made with the help of operation management.
Quality management is another use of operations management. Quality management helps
the organisation to continuously improve the products so that they can match the preferences
and taste of consumers.
Additionally one of the most important functions of operations management in an
organisation is management coordinating and control function. These include various types of
activities that make sure the goals of the company are constantly met in an efficient and
effective way. Organisational control and coordination are used to find out whether a
company is actually doing what it is supposed to do or not. Operation Management solves
various problems that arise from increasing quality expectations, demands for improved
service or more options of choice that arise revolving the production in the company. Chen et
al. (2015) opined that an effective organisations management help in increasing the
production speed, lowering the cost per unit, control on the manufacture and increased
efficiency in the process of production, all these, in turn, leads to the achievement of the
goals of the company.

11MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS
M3 Evaluating how managers and leaders can improve operational management
efficiencies to meet business objectives
Leaders and managers in operation management are responsible for ensuring that the
objectives of an organisation are achieved. In order to achieve those objectives, an operation
manager should optimise the process of decision making through process layout and design.
The managers should rely on fulfilling the five performance objectives that are related to each
other. They are:
● Cost - To produce services and goods at a cost which will enable the organisation to
price the products appropriately. It focuses on achieving low price and high margin
for products along with an increase in total productivity.
● Dependability - This concerns the on-time delivery of services and products. Miner
(2015) argued that being on time is an important aspect to increase the sale of the
company's production. This requires reliable processes that work on the required time
and dependable and fast delivery of the production.
● Flexibility - Flexibility is seen as the ability to adapt to change quickly to suit the new
demands and requirements (Barkema et al. 2015). It a quality required both in the
organization and the manager. With this, the organisation will be able to keep up with
the changing demands of its customers.
● Quality - The manager should also focus on the quality of the service and products
produced by the organisation. It means to do things in the right way which will help to
gain the satisfaction of the customers ensuring long term relationship and the
opportunity to cross-sell services and products.
● Speed - A manager should look into the speed of producing and delivery of goods in
the organisation. This is the most important factor influencing all the other factors.
LO4
P6 Assessing the factors within the business environment which have an impact over the
decision making and operational management of leaders and managers

12MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS
The different factors in the business environment that influence the operational management
and the decision making of the managers and leaders are discussed below.
● Economic dimension- Economic dimension in an organisation is the entire status of
an economic system in which the operation of the organisation takes place. Important
factors of this dimension are production costs, profits, inflammation, unemployment
and interest rates. Economic factors always have an influence on operation
management and the leader's decision making. For instance, in the time of inflation,
the company has to pay more for the resources and in order to cover those costs, they
decide to raise the prices of the commodity produced (Higgs and Dulewicz, 2016).
The manager also needs to be very selective while hiring workers during the time of
unemployment which affects his decision making.
● Technological dimensions- Technological dimensions are the ways that are capable of
changing resources into finished services or products. Managers are required to be
very careful about this dimension. Decision made regarding the investment in new
technology, should be accurate and taken by considering its profitability (Reid and
Sanders, 2015). A manager also needs to be sure about the company's capability to
adapt to these new technologies.
● Socio-cultural dimension- The socio-cultural dimension in a business environment is
made up of mores, values, customs and demographic features of the society, the
organisation operates in. A manager should study the cultural and social dimension of
the business environment as it will help him to understand the types of conduct
standards, services or products is valued by the consumers in that environment. These
factors vary from culture to culture along with the necessity and taste of services and
products (Khanna, 2015). With a good understanding of this dimension, the manager
can make decisions and influence the operation according to what will be beneficial
for the company and preferable by its consumers.
M4 Analysing how different factors affect the business environment and wider
community
The three factors affecting the manager's decision making and management discussed earlier
were the economic dimension, technological dimension and the socio-cultural dimension

13MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS
(Teece, 2016). These three are the most important factors that have an influence on the
business environment and the community at large.
To begin with the most influential factor, economic dimension influences all the aspects of an
organisation and its business environment. Economic conditions in an organisation decide the
salary, incentives, and production costs in the organisation affecting its business environment.
When there is a change in the pricing of a commodity or a service, its consumers tend to
increase or decrease depending on whether the price has decreased or increased. Therefore
affecting the consumption of the community.
In case of technological dimension, the implementation of new technology in an organisation
results in different work patterns and also operating classes for its employees for that
technology changing situations in the environment (Cumberland et al. 2016). The community
mostly benefits from such changes as they are supplied with better or faster production of
goods, or even both due to the new technology being used by the company.
The socio-cultural dimension consists of the social and cultural elements in the business
environment and the community. These elements affect the codes of conduct in the business
environment. Organisations nowadays have employees that come from a variety of cultural
backgrounds having different belief and behaviour patterns. As stated by Johnstone (2016) it
is therefore important to maintain respect for all the employees irrespective of their
backgrounds in a business environment. The socio-cultural background of the community is
also important as it affects the type of goods the organisation produces. That is, the products
are produced to meet the needs of the community keeping in mind their socio-cultural
preferences.
Conclusion
This study of leadership and operation management is a report that explains various
approaches that can be used to implement operation management. The study clarifies the
importance of leadership and management along with their differences. It states the
importance and functions that operation management has to play in an organisation and how
the roles and function of a leader and a manager is important in supervising such processes. It
also throws the light of how various environmental factors like economic, sociocultural or
technological can have significant impacts of the decision making of the leaders and

14MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS
managers, on the business environment of the organisation and also the community at large.
The study complies all the important factors including, and being influenced by operational
management making the report complete and significant.
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