Management and Operations: Roles and Characteristics of a Leader and a Manager

Management and
Operations

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
P1 Define and compare the different roles and characteristics of a leader and a manager.........1
P2 Examine examples of how the role of a leader and the function of a manager apply in
different situational contexts.......................................................................................................3
P3 Apply different theories and approaches of leadership..........................................................4
P4 Elaborate the key approaches of operation management.......................................................6
P5 Importance of operation management in achieving business objectives...............................7
P6 Impact of business environment on operational management...............................................8
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Management and operation plays a very important role in an organisation to facilitate the
smooth conduct of a business(Bai, Fügener, Schoenfelder, and Brunner, 2018). The project is
based upon ALDI which is a renowned brand in UK that provide wide range of groceries and
home appliances. The aim of firm is to provide excellent goods and services to meet the needs of
customers. The firm has expanded its operation in different parts of the country as it has open
10,000 stores worldwide. This report includes the comparison of role of leader and manger. The
manager perform various functions such as planning, organising, directing and monitoring the
performance of employees to facilitate coordination in an enterprise. The role of leader and
function of a manger behave differently according to a situation. The report cover key aspects of
operation approaches such as total quality management, six sigma, just in time and so on to
improve the quality of products and to reduce the defects. The report comprises of importance of
operation management that adds value to the customer. This also includes internal and external
factors that have direct impact on operation management.
P1 Define and compare the different roles and characteristics of a leader and a manager
Leadership is the process in an organisation which initiates people working in an
organisation towards the achievement of goals and objectives(Damnjanovic, and Røed, 2016). A
leader refers to a person who sets a vision for the company, motivates and guides employees
through the work process and builds their morale.
Role of a leader-
 To provide leadership at all levels- Leadership is required at all levels of management
in an organisation. At the top-level it is required for formulation of policies and at the
middle and lower level it is needed for their implementation. Leader in ALDI has a
responsibility to implement decisions which have been taken by higher-level
management.
 Representative of organisation- A leader represents the organisation and therefore acts
as a link between the enterprise and general public. The leader of ALDI represents it at
various levels and thus has a task of communicating the rationale of company to the
people of society.
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 Integration of goals- A leader must make sure that the personal goals and objectives of
employees are integrated with organisational ones. In the context of ALDI, it is important
that the leader ensures that its workers are working with a common purpose in mind.
Characteristics of a leader-
 Ability to delegate- The leader acts as as superior to many subordinates in the
organisation. Therefore, leader has authority to delegate tasks to workers according to
their capability. In ALDI, leader uses delegation to give different type of works to
employees and sets a parameter for their performance.
 Communication- A leader acts a link between higher-level and lower-level of
management. If the workers are having issues and grievances then they can communicate
the same to leader. The leaders of ALDI have to use the skill of communication
effectively so that there is no miscommunication between top-level management and
employees.
 Ability to inspire- Inspiration is essential for subordinates so that they can perform the
tasks allotted to them effectively and efficiently. Thus, a leader needs to inspire the
workers to achieve objectives. In the context of ALDI, it is necessary that its leaders can
inspire employees so that they have a strong desire to achieve long-term targets of
company.
Contingency theory of leadership- This theory states that effective leadership comprises
traits, behaviour and situation(Gibson, and Parkman, 2018). The leader's decisions can vary on
the basis of prevailing situation in the organisation. In a big company like ALDI, there are
dynamic situations which require quick action and thus its leaders need to act according to the
situation to take a right decision for benefit of firm.
A manager is a person who has the charge of exercising managerial functions, overall
management of operations in an organisation. It is the duty of manager to ensure that the
functioning of firm is conducted smoothly.
Role of a manager-
 Monitor role- A manager has to perform the role of monitoring subordinates so as to
ensure that they are working efficiently. The manager of ALDI has to make sure that the
employees are working to achieve the organisational objectives. For this, monitoring is
essential.
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