Role of Managers and Leaders in Operations Management

This article discusses the role of managers and leaders in operations management, focusing on the differences between them and their responsibilities. It also explores various theories of leadership and the techniques and tools used for improving effectiveness and efficiency in operations management. The case study of Marks and Spencer is used to illustrate these concepts.

Management and
Operations

INTRODUCTION
Management in operations are define as business operations that are performed in
particular manners. There are some organizations they have specific objectives that are to be
achieved by using management techniques. There are different departments present in an
organisation like finance production, mechanical, etc. Managers and leaders have to perform
business operations and functions in an effective manner. The company which is considered in
the following report is Marks and Spencer. This is a big retail store situated at London. Company
deals with home furnishing items clothing and eatables. This report also includes differences
between role of managers & leaders. It explains various theories related to leadership pictures of
BE that influence decision making and operational management .
TASK 1
P1
Managers as well as leaders are very essential in order to manage business activities and
business affairs effectively. This is important to get good results for the company in less time.
Introduction to organisation and its management structure
M&S is a renowned outlet in retail sector. The leaders and managers of this company
have the responsibility to maintain a good brand image of the company within industry. This is
done by evaluating and analysing market segment effectively. Customers are provided goods and
products according to the market trends and customer needs. The headquarters of marks and
Spencer are located in City of Westminster, London, UK. This organisation was started in the
year 1884. Current number of outlets are around 979 stores in the different areas of the world.
Marks and Spencer has an organisational structure which is based on the hierarchy that helps it
making effective decisions promptly.
Manager and leader are two different elements of the organisation. They have different
roles and responsibilities. This is given below –
Managers- Manager is defined as the person who works for different people for attaining
goals and targets. Managers have control over actions of employees and they can guide them to
do the right operation. They provide direction, guidance, motivation to workers for achieving set
targets. They have right to control operations performed by employees. In context of marks and
Spencer, middle level managers and high level managers guides the lower level managers.
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Leaders- Leaders are innovative than managers. They are involved in promoting
subordinates and making new innovative ideas and plans for the company. Leaders are needed
for performing business activities effectively. These leaders analyse working style of
subordinates and employees for getting positive results. The Difference between leader and
managers is given below -
Basis Managers Leaders
Role These are individuals who
perform different business
operations through planning,
staffing, directing, etc.
Leader is an individual who is
responsible for guiding and
making way for performing
actions in an effective manner.
Risk taking Managers are known as risk
avoiders. They are responsible
for performing business tasks
and activities in specified
benchmark.
Leaders are responsible for
taking risks and providing
effective services.
Opportunity to employees Managers are not able to
provide opportunities to
employees for making
innovative and new ideas.
Leaders give chance to
subordinates to come with new
and innovative ideas.
Resistance to change Managers of Marks and
Spencer resist to set
benchmarks and standards.
On the other hand, leaders
promote changes and they
come up with innovative ways
for performing tasks
effectively
ROLE OF LEADER
Motivation- The important role of leaders is to motive their employees for making them
effective in their functioning in business performance and activities. There are different policies
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and rules that are made for engaging employees and making them do their work in an effective
manner.
Team building- The company like Marks and Spencer has various departments like
manufacturing, production, Human resources, etc. These all operations must be effective so that
all work is done appropriately.
ROLE OF MANAGER
Effective planning- Planning is the most important thing that has to be done effectively
for managing business activities and tasks. Managers of the company are responsible for
planning various policies (Wilson, 2016). Planning of business task is important as this helps in
managing and controlling business activities and tasks.
Training- Training is defined as tactics and learning that is provided by managers and
leaders for developing skills and activities of employees. If an employee is trained in various
type of skills and learning then they are benefited. The employees of Marks and Spencer are
provided various trainings for developing their skills and making them competitive for business
environment.
P2
There is a crucial role of leaders and managers within an organisation. They are
responsible for managing and controlling business activities effectively. The main thing that
managers and leaders have to do is the managing of employees and subordinates. They must
ensure whether all functions of the organisation are done effectively or not. The different
managers and leaders have various functions listed below - Planning:- This is known as the making of strategies and plans for achieving
organisational goals and objectives. It is responsibility of leaders and managers to take
care that they are making effective and strong plans and strategies by which goals can be
accomplished in less time. Organising:- This includes organising all business tasks and activities effectively. This
includes prioritising tasks and activities in an effective manner. This means how to do the
work properly and manage all business activities in an appropriate manner. Initiating actions – The major function is to take the initiative in different matters of
interest of the group. Leader has to take right kind of decisions without taking any body's
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help. Thus it is important that the manager must not float new ideas that reflects original
thinking. Coordination – A leader must be responsible for reconciling the interest of employees
within the organisation. They must develop interest in achieving the goals and objectives
of the organisation.
 - Direction and motivation - This is a primary function of leader i.e. to direct and guide
the subordinates and employees to achieve organisational goals. Leaders must develop
interest of employees towards working hard and achieving organisational goals and
objectives in less time.
Role of leader and function of manager in different situation:-
 Stable situation:- This is a particular scenario where there are changes that are present
within the organisation due to internal or external factors. Managers have to predict the
future environmental condition as per the data of past. They formulate new plans and
strategies for accomplishing organisational objectives.
 Stable to moderate situation:- This is defined as business situation in which business
environment has different changes. The responsibility of managers in this condition for
developing plans and strategies for improving business operations. On the other hand,
Role of leader is to motivate subordinates and employees for maintaining quality of
business operations and functions in that time.
P3
There are various leadership theories that are adopted by different leaders for managing
employees and subordinates in effective manner. Different theories adopted by leaders of
Marks and Spencer are listed below -
 Situational leadership theory:- This theory was given by Paul Hersey and Ken
Blanchard in year 1969. According to this theory, there is no particular leadership style
that can be used by leaders.. The leaders must change their leadership style according to
the business situation. An effective leader is one who is adaptable to different styles that
are needed for doing job correctly.
Strength weakness
 It is helpful in managing various  According to this approach, leaders
focus on short term goals and not long
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business activities and tasks.
 This is helpful in managing good
relationship with managers and
subordinates of the company.
term goals.
 This theory is not profitable for
accomplishing tasks and goals in an
effective manner.
 System leadership theory:- According to this theory, business activities and operations
are performed in effective manner. According to this theory, the manager and leader is
allowed to set activities and operations in specific manner.
Strength Weakness
 In this theory, managers can easily
work according to the change in
business environment
 There is integration of various factors
by leaders for achieving goals and
objectives of the company.
 This is not applicable on all business
situations.
 This consists of managing different
management situations and sometimes
it leads to problem in managing
different activities.
 Contingencies leadership theory:- According to this theory, there is no particular way
for performing business tasks and activities. The leaders and managers of Mark &
Spencer are focusing and guiding employees and workers on the basis of different
events. Contingency leadership helps company leaders to analyse customer trends and
needs.
Strength Weakness
 There is presence of information related
to development of human resource
planning.
 This is very helpful in managing and
controlling various business situations.
 This is a complex theory and not
managed by leaders effectively.
 The effectiveness of leaders is not
identified.
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Contingency leadership theory is adopted by Marks & Spencer for managing employees
and subordinates effectively. Organisational objectives are achieved if leaders properly guide
their employees to work effectively.
Recommendations
It is recommended for the managers of M&S that they must have strong rules and
regulations for managing and controlling various functions and business operations of the
company.
TASK 2
P4
There are different techniques and tools used for improving the effectiveness and
efficiency of the company. Some of the methods of this are listed below –
Total quality management:- This is an approach used for managing the quality of
offerings provided to customers. The main objective of this method is to improve the quality of
products or services offered by the company. Total quality management is is defined as the
process for managing the description of long term success of M&S. It will help in improvising
processes, services and products in which an organisation works. There is need to manage and
develop good reputation among the customers by providing them standard quality apparels.
M&S deals in retail sector and thus it takes care that it focuses on improving the quality of
products it is offering. The main motive of this company is to provide a very amazing shopping
experience to customers. Total quality management is used within Marks and Spencer in order to
improve the quality of products provided to customers. There are various feedback and survey
taken from customers for improvising the quality within apparels.
Six Sigma:- This is defined as statistical approach for the improvement of product,
services and process of the company. The main objective of six sigma process is to improve the
quality of output product. This is done by removal of main reason of manufacturing process’s
defect. This tool is applied in Marks and Spencer for enhancement of product and services this
company is offers. Also latest technology must be used in the organisation for improving the
efficiency of working. So there is reduction in production time and cost. With the help of
machines there is less requirement of manual work and perfection can be achieved. Six sigma is
known as method that helps in improving capability of business activities within Marks and
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Spencer. There is need to improve profits and quality of products. For this, M&S is using this
method. It is helpful in managing the key people involved in developing of a good business
strategy. There is need to develop and interpret good data and statistics that can be managed
properly. It is concluded that problems of M&S are solved effectively by using the business
strategy in rightful manner. When six sigma is used within Marks and Spencer then quality of
products is enhanced. M&S solved the need of customer assistance at self service checkouts and
improved the customer experience. It is seen that six sigma principles are implemented in this
company for enhancing the customer satisfaction.
Lean production:- The main objective of this method is to minimise wastage without
compromising in quality and attractiveness of product or services. This method is applicable in
different organisations for designing, production and distribution. Wastage of products is
reduced within Marks and Spencer by cutting down the company's cost and not compromising
for the quality of product. This approach can help in improving the efficiency which in turn will
assists in becoming responsive to market needs. Lean production has an objective of minimising
the waste and producing products at the time of customer's demand.
P5
O and M is defined as the process that is adopted by Marks and Spencer for conducting
work and business operations in appropriate manner. This helps in attaining the goals and
objectives of the company in less time. There are a lot of approaches used by Marks and
Spencer for conducting business operations in appropriate manner. Some of the approaches are
given below -
 Behavioural approach – According to this approach, the behaviour of employees
affects the way in which business activities are performed in effective manner. In
context of Marks and Spencer, it is important that proper analysis and research is
conducted for doing work in effective manner. The leaders of Marks and Spencer provide
effective training to their employees so that they are motivated towards working for the
company's goals. In this way, the organisational objectives and goals can be achieved in
less time.
 Situational approach: As per this approach, managers and leaders can solve issues on
the basis of situations that occur within the organisation. An analysis is conducted within
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market so that leaders are able to develop effective plans and strategies. This helps in
building new strategies on the basis of situation that occur at workplace.
P6
BE is defined as internal as well as external factors which will help in managing and
focusing on functioning of the company. The different factors present in business environment
are employees, customers, economic, technological, political and social factors. Such factors
affect business performance. This also affects decision making of leaders and managers of
Marks and Spencer. Some of the factors are mentioned below -
External factors:
Political Factors: This includes various factors like government laws, tax
policies,political stability etc. These affects decision making of leaders and managers. It is
essential for M&S to follow all political regulations and rules for planning and formulating
strategy.
Economic factor: The different economic factors like inflation, deflation, unemployment
rate, interest rates etc. These have a great impact on business operations. Marks & Spencer has to
take care in which economic condition it can build successful business.
Social factors: These include customer behaviour for buying a product or service. The
managers and leaders of Marks & Spencer conducts effective analysis of market in order to
prevail needs and trends of customers. This helps in increasing customer satisfaction.
Technological factor: It is very important that technology plays an important role in
success of the company. There is necessity for success of every organisation to adopt new
technology for sustaining in competitive business environment.
Role of managers and leaders
Managers of M&S have to develop strong and effective strategies to perform business
operations and activities. M&S is dealing around the world and thus it should focus on customer
needs and demands (Skinner, 2017). Leaders have to provide guidance to employees for
working according to the customer preference.
Recommendations
It is recommended for the managers of M&S that it is important to maintain effective and
good relations with outer parties. They must update update technologies for having good
communication with external parties. The products of marks and Spencer are made effective by
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using Quality check method. The research and development department of Marks and Spencer is
involved in analysing current trends of customers and providing them good products and goods.
CONCLUSION
It is analysed that management and operation is an integral part of the organisation.
There are heavy chances of benefits of customer satisfaction and profitability if there is presence
of effective leadership. Leaders and managers of the organisation have different traits and
characteristics that help achieving targets of the organisation. There are various leadership
approaches used by leaders for managing their employees. This helps in obtaining profit
maximisation and utilising the resources in an effective manner.
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Leadership Theories. 2017. [Online]. Available through:
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