Management and Operations: A Comparative Analysis of Leadership and Management Roles

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
LO2............................................................................................................................................5
P2 Examine examples of how the role of a leader and the function of a manager apply in
different situational contexts..................................................................................................5
P3 Apply different theories and models of approach, including situational leadership,
systems leadership and contingency.......................................................................................6
LO3............................................................................................................................................7
P4 Explain the key approaches to operations management and the role that leaders and
managers play.........................................................................................................................7
P5 Explain the importance and value of operations management in achieving business
objectives................................................................................................................................9
LO4..........................................................................................................................................12
P6 Assess the factors within the business environment that impact upon operational
management and decision making by leaders and managers...............................................12
Conclusion................................................................................................................................13
References................................................................................................................................14
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Introduction
This analysis will study about the functions and roles of managers and leaders in an
organization. The task one will consist of the case study of BMW Motor Company. The first
part of the analysis will compare the role of leaders and the functions of the managers. This
part will consist of a brief analysis of the leadership roles and managerial functions. It will
also consist of a comparison between management and leadership. The second part of the
analysis will explain the functions and roles of managers and leader of BMW in different
situational contexts. The part three of the analysis will explain about the three types of
leadership theories and their role in operation management.
The next part of the assignment consists of the case study of Amazon.com, Inc. The
part four will analyze the six key approaches to operation management. It will also discuss
the role of leaders and functions of managers in operation management. The sixth part of the
analysis will explain the importance of operation management in order to achieve the
business objectives. The sixth and last part of the assignment will assess the factors that affect
the decision making by managers and leaders and impact on the operation management.
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LO1
P1 Define and compare the different roles and characteristics of a leader and a
manager.
Definition
Leaders:
A leader is someone who leads a group of persons and influences them towards the
achievement of a particular goal. They use their interaction skills and leadership qualities to
cheer and control the team mates and the workers for fulfilling the company’s aim (Burns,
2012). Motivating and encouraging the work force for getting higher efficiency and
productivity of the company is one of the main purposes of a leader.
Three group of leadership roles
1. Informational role: Informational role of a leader include managing and analyzing
the performance and productivity level of the workers. Distribution of work among
the workers is also done by a leader and he also appoints the goals and roles to the
workers.
2. Interpersonal role: For ensuring right deployment and implication of the workforce,
BMW’s management functions as a leader of the company for achieving the firm’s
goals.
3. Decisional role: The intrusions taking place within the organization are managed by
the leaders and he also takes the decisions regarding the resources.
Managers: A person working for an organization and administrating and deciding the
methods that are to be used for completing the work for reaching the pre-decided aims and
goals of the firm are known as managers. For attaining the organizational objective, a
manager has a number of functions such as developing policies and strategies to schedule the
task of the supervisors and the employees (Brennan, 2011). Managers have been
distinguished into a variety of categories according to the departments and the type of work
done by them. Important functions of managers include monitoring the workers performance
over a particular time interval.
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