Roles and Characteristics of a Leader and a Manager

This document discusses the different roles and characteristics of a leader and a manager in the context of management and operations. It explores how these roles and functions apply in different situational contexts and evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to situations within the work environment. The document also applies different theories and models of approach, including situational leadership, systems leadership, and contingency.

Management and
Operations

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
LO1..................................................................................................................................................3
Define and compare the different roles and characteristics of a leader and a manager.........3
Analyse and differentiate between the role of a leader and function of a manager by
effectively applying a range of theories and concepts............................................................5
LO 2.................................................................................................................................................5
Analyse how role of a leader and function of a manager apply in different situational contexts
................................................................................................................................................5
Assess and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to situations within
the work environment.............................................................................................................7
Apply different theories and models of approach, including situational leadership, systems
leadership and contingency....................................................................................................8
LO 3.................................................................................................................................................9
Discuss the key approaches of operations management along with the role the managers and
leaders play.............................................................................................................................9
Explain importance of operations management to attain business objectives.....................10
Determine how leaders and managers can improve the efficiency of operational management
for attaining business objectives...........................................................................................12
LO 4...............................................................................................................................................12
Discuss the factors of business environment that affect operational management and decision-
making of managers and leaders..........................................................................................12
Analyse how these different factors affect the business environment and wider community13
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................14
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................15

INTRODUCTION
In business sector, there are wide range of operations and functions which are performed
by enterprise. Management & operations is defined as part of business administration &
practices that focuses on high level of efficiency in entity (Chefalas, 2020). It mainly pays
attention on converting of manufacturing labour into goods as well as services. In each & every
type of business operation management is being carried out in proper way. Main aim of this
report is to critically understand the importance of operations and management within business.
Sainsbury, a largest supermarket headquartered in U.K. Firm deals in providing of daily
consumable items & groceries products. Company is located at global level & they are
expanding their business at larger scale. This report comprise of comparison between roles &
characteristics of leader and manager, role of leader & function of manager in situations,
different theories and models and factors affecting operational management & decision making.
LO1
Define and compare the different roles and characteristics of a leader and a manager
There are many roles and characteristics are played by the leaders and managers. First of
all discuss about the definitions of leaders and manager.
Definitions
Leader: Leader is the one who leads the team and support them. He motivates them them
gives them direction to work in a certain way. Leader is the person in very organisation who
controls and evaluates the performance of this team.
Manager: Manager is the one who manages the organisation. He perform many
functions starting with planning, organising, supervising and controlling the actions. He directs
all the activities of teams and evaluates them.
Roles of Manager
 Decision-making: The first role of a manager is to make decisions regarding his
subordinates. Training related decisions, allocation of resources decisions, negotiation
decisions should be taken for outsiders etc. For that managers needs to be innovative and
creative. Managers in Sainsbury take decisions effectively.

 Maintains budget: Managers needs to maintain budget of the organisation. They are
responsible if something mistake in the budget happen. They need to decide resource
allocation, training needs and quality of a product in the planned budget.
 Quality roles: Managers in Sainsbury needs to decide the quality of a product or services
that is offered to the public. They need to follow policies of company and listens to the
feedback given by the public and handles there complaints.
Roles of a Leader
 Organisation representative: The major role of a leader is that he is the representative
of an organisation. As he needs to conducts seminars, orientations, meetings etc. so he
has be active for that. His responsibility is to communicate with his team members.
 Supports and provides training: Leader is the one who supports his team and guide
them. He directs their actions and evaluates their performance. This is done through
performance appraisal. Leader in Sainsbury encourage the workers and increase their
efficiency by giving team proper training.
Characteristic of a leader
 Empathetic: Leader should be aware about the common causes. He is the one who
always ready to defend his team, evaluate employees performance and supports them.
Leader is free from racism, caste, age, and gender etc.
 Trustworthy: This is the another characteristic which a leader have. Leader is a
trustworthy and he build trust among his team regarding any actions. He also needs to
build trust in the organisation. If he works honestly and truly in the organisation then it
leads to increase in organisation profits and also brings respect in the staff members.
Characteristic of a manager
 Experience: If a manager is not experienced then it is hard to work in an organisation.
As manager is the one who manages the organization. So this needs some experience of
leading a team, proper skills and capabilities.
 Respect for subordinates: Mangers in Sainsbury respect their employees working under
him. If he doesn’t then there might be conflicts and misunderstanding between them.
Respects of employees improves there way of communication.

Analyse and differentiate between the role of a leader and function of a manager by effectively
applying a range of theories and concepts
In this competitive world, it is essential to use or apply these roles & functions in such a
way that objectives are achieved appropriately. Furthermore,, in every enterprise there are
different types of leaders roles & managers functions depending upon which they make
decisions. So, several types of roles and functions are discussed as follow-
Role of leader
 Facilitator- It is essential role of leader in which leader act as facilitator & assist their
member's in their work or problems. In context of Sainsbury, leader assist their members
in day to day activities (Clarke, 2016).
 Strategy implementer- In this role, leader implement various types of strategies on basis
of which it is easy to achieve goals & objectives in proper manner. As a strategy
implementer, they are liable for carrying out effective strategies.
Function of manager
A manager has wide number of functions in entity which are discussed below-
 Controlling- It is important function of manager in which main manager control all
activities & employees within business enterprise. In relevance of selected firm, manager
is liable for managing every activity & which makes it easy for them to achieve
objectives in proper manner.
 Organising- This is another important function of manager in which main work is to
keep everything in organised and systematic way so that they are easily used at time of
emergency. In relevance of selected firm, they have large database system which
managed by manager (Fu, 2020).
Therefore, after analysis of above matter it has been examined that it is necessary to
focus on these role of leader as well as function of manager so that decisions making process is
carried out in effective manner.
LO 2
Analyse how role of a leader and function of a manager apply in different situational contexts
Managers & leaders both are crucial part of business that are responsible for achieving of
goals & objectives. In market, different types of situations occur & it is crucial to be aware about

them so that it is easy to make effective decisions. There are various types of situations in which
these roles as well as functions are being applied. It is not possible for an entity to
These types of situations are further discussed below-
Situation one- Conflicts situation
It is type of situation in which conflicts arise due to internal and external factors & then
these roles of leaders & function of manager are applied.
Role-
 Problem solver- In this role, leader act as problem solver & leader of Sainsbury assures
that cause due to which this problem has arisen is determined by leader (Groen, 2018).
 Coach- This is another role which is performed by leader as in this leader of chosen firm
guides and directs and directs the members of team that how they can deal with these
conflict management situations.
Functions of manager
 Planning- This is important function in which manager is responsible for implementation
of planning within organisation for specific purpose. In relevance of selected firm,
managers make assures that planning is done in such a way that situations is examined
properly. Making a proper plan assists in using of resources & other sources in most
effective way.
 Monitoring- It is another crucial function in which main aim is to analyse & track
performance as well as progress of employees & other procedures so that decisions are
undertaken in correct way. Control is observing current processes and operational
systems in order to avoid mistakes, identify improvements, ensure objectives are
accomplished, & consider the big picture. Organizations are made up of operational
systems, each of which can be iterated upon and optimized for improved performance.
Situations 2- hypothetical situations
Role of leader-
 Strategy implementer- This is another role of which is applied by Sainsbury leader in
hypothetical situations. Hypothetical situations are those when something is being
assumed. So, this role is applied when new products are produced by company (Omilion-
Hodges, 2017).

 Influencer- It is also crucial role in which main purpose is to change decisions of others
effectively during such situations. In relevance of selected firm, leaders has capability to
influence others decision in proper manner.
Functions of manager
 Organise- In this function, information and data is kept in organised way. Through
properly applying this role, it is easy for manager of Chosen Corporation to use
information in appropriate manner without wasting any time.
Situational contexts- Stable or unstable
Role-
 Strategist- In stable and unstable situation decision making is being done in proper. In
context of selected organisation, leader of a company implemented strategy of merger
and acquisition of Asda to expand the business.
Functions of manager
 Evaluation- Function of manager in situations context as because evaluation of
performance and progress is done by manager on the basis of which strategies are further
used for a longer period.
Thus, it has been examined that it is essential to be aware about these different types of
situations in proper manner so that it is easy to for Sainsbury to achieve higher productivity
within business enterprise. Furthermore, both these functions and roles are necessary to be
considered with proper considerations so that problem does occur in future period of time
(Pavlopoulos, 2020).
Assess and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to situations within
the work environment.
Approach for conflict management- In this type of situation, monitoring is being used
as approach.
Monitoring
Strength-
 Main strength of using of this approach is that through using it, analysis is easily made &
problems are being monitored easily.
 Also by using of monitoring in conflicts situations, company is able to produce effective
results within work environment.

Weakness-
 It is time consuming approach to use for this situation. Through using of this method, it
is to possible to understand other situations.
 Moreover, another weakness is that it requires deep level of skills & expertise to monitor
everything or situations in proper manner.
For hypothetical situations- Approach- Market research
Strength
Main strength of this method is that by conducting market research it is easy to assume
and apply them assumption into real course of action (Pierce, 2019).
Weakness
Weakness of this is that it is difficult to conduct proper market research because it is cost
expensive. Also, when conducting market research it is essential to have correct information &
data to carry out the research.
Above discussed paragraph shows that it is essential to understand different types of
situations in work environment so that it is easy to adopt measures to deal with those situations
accordingly. So, strength & weakness is being explained which shows to use which type of
approach as an effective one.
Apply different theories and models of approach, including situational leadership, systems
leadership and contingency.
In business management, there are several types of situational approaches which are
being adopted by enterprise. In context of Sainsbury, they also uses these models & approaches
on the basis of which they are to make decisions effectively & proper manner. Through using of
these different type of methods & models better results are likely to be achieved. Thus, different
approaches are further described as follows-
 Situational leadership- According to this approach, situational leadership is one in
which leadership style of leaders is being used by leader depending upon different types
of situations. In context of Chosen Corporation, leader of company uses their style
depending upon type of situation. With help of this approach it is easy to maintain a
appropriate balance within team and work environment. This situational leadership is
mostly used by leaders when there is need of achieving highly efficient output.
Depending upon types of situations, it is easy make used of proper leadership style.

 System Leadership- An organisation is large management system that includes wide
range of operations. In relation of Sainsbury, they too use this approach of system
leadership style on basis of which it is easy for them to make decisions at workplace.
According to this system leadership, it states that organisation is viewed a whole system
rather than sub-component. Main reason for adopting of this leadership approach is that
productivity is achieved at higher level. Moreover, through focusing on this leads to
developing a positive relationship with people of entity. By properly using of this
leadership, correct type of decisions are used (Chefalas, 2020) So, Sainsbury focus on
the system leadership which helps them to engage with employees and other individuals
in effective manner.
 Contingency leadership- Further comes contingency leadership in which it shows that
there is no best way of using leadership styles within business sector or for particular
situations (Clarke, 2016). In this contingency approach, it is easy to use appropriate styles
in proper manner. Furthermore, with help of this method, more effective results are
obtained by leader as well as members of team. It is a critical process & approach which
being needed to use by selected entity.
Hence, from explained matter it has been stated that it is crucial to use these different
types of methods so that most effective decision making is implemented. Also, through
applying these approaches of styles, leaders are able to use their style of leadership appropriately.
When using of these approaches, correct decision-making processes is required to be carried out.
LO 3
Discuss the key approaches of operations management along with the role the managers and
leaders play
Operations management is a function which is essential to improve productivity and
efficiency of organisation (Ravindran, 2016). It helps in effective conversion of raw material into
finish goods that is crucial to provide quality products and services to customers. There are
several techniques which are undertaken by managers in order to improve operational efficiency
of company and achieve predefined goals and objectives. Here, some crucial methods are
adopted by Sainsbury to provide effective products to customers that are given as under:
Total quality management:

In this, main emphasis is on quality of products and services to satisfy customers. In
current competitive environment, it is essential to offer quality products to consumers to survive
at market place for longer run. Here, managers keep focus on the quality throughout the
production process.
Advantages
 Main benefit of TQM is that it helps in improving quality of products and increasing
customer satisfaction level.
Disadvantages-
 Drawback of this approach is that it is difficult for Sainsbury to achieve this commitment
of providing total guarantee to customers due to changing behaviour and consumer
trends.
Role of managers and leaders:
Here, managers of Sainsbury are responsible to analyse the quality of products
throughout the production process (Meredith and Shafer, 2019). For this, effective strategies are
formulated by leaders to eliminate unnecessary activities and wastage to produce quality
products. Here, managers are also responsible to keep a check on the activities of employees on
regular basis that will help to render standardised products to end users.
Just in time:
It is a technique under which managers keep proper control over inventory. They place
order for raw material only when it is required as it helps to manage lower ordering as well as
inventory management cost. Main aim of this approach is to reduce down overhead expenses by
keeping appropriate control over inputs and outputs. In context of Sainsbury, it undertakes just in
time method to manage maintain necessary inventory level within organisation at any point of
time.
Advantages-
 Advantage of this approach is that it help enterprise in using of resources at limited on
needed scale so that it they can be also used in future period.
Disadvantages
 Drawback of this method is that market internal analysis required which is a time
consuming process.
Role of managers and leaders:

Here, role of managers is to keep a check on availability of necessary raw material within
company and place order as per requirement. They need to prepare appropriate strategies and
communicate it to subordinates in order to get their support. It will help to manage higher
efficiency and outcome.
Lean production
It is another method which is used in which main focus is on providing best output
without compromising with quality and through reducing wastage in manufacturing process. In
relevance of chosen entity, they are being reducing use of plastic bags and resources.
Advantages
 Benefit of this method is that it increases goodwill of a company as for providing better
results within market and two customers.
Disadvantages-
 To carry out this method huge amount of money is needed to be invested in
manufacturing process and which can also disturb the business environment.
Kaizen:
It is a significant technique of operation management in which continuous improvements
are undertaken in production process. In this, all the individuals work together for the evolution
of manufacturing process (Van Aken, Chandrasekaran and Halman, 2016). Here, main emphasis
is to build such a culture in which employees provide suggestions for further improvements. It is
analysed that managers of Sainsbury adopt effective strategies to produce higher quality goods
and operate business effectively.
Advantages
 In this method, main benefit is that through continuous improvement high level of
efficiency is achieved by Sainsbury.
Disadvantages
 Limitation of this approach is that it deep level of organisational and business knowledge
so that improvement is done at continuous level in proper manner.
Role of managers and leaders:
Here, managers are responsible to assign necessary task to employees and motivate them
to come out with necessary suggestions for the betterment of company. For this, role of leaders is

to analyse prevailing working conditions and prepare appropriate strategies for further
improvements. In addition, they are also required to keep a check on the activities of employees
on continuous basis and render them required support & assistance.
Explain importance of operations management to attain business objectives
Operations management is an essential function of overall organisation that need to
perform in better manner in order to attain predefined goals. It helps to improve the efficiency
and outcome of overall business setting. In addition, these methods are also helpful to inflate
sales and profit margin of company. In context of Sainsbury, significance of operations
management is given as under:
Increase in sales: To survive for longer term in market, it is essential to increase in sales
and profit margin. Here, operations management techniques are helpful to produce quality
products and services for customers. It is essential to attract more number of buyers which will
increase sales of entity. In context of Sainsbury, managers adopt appropriate methods of
operations management such as TQM, just-in-time and more which not only essential to produce
standardised goods but also inflate sales and profitability of organisation.
Improve Quality: Now, customers are more conscious about quality and ready to pay
extra amount for that. It is analysed that techniques of operations management are essentials and
help to produce standardised products and service. Managers of Sainsbury focus on improving
quality of its products that is crucial to get higher competitive advantage. With this, they are able
to enhance overall productivity and efficiency.
Enhance operational efficiency: Operational efficiency is essential to minimize overall
production cost thus increase in sales and profit margin. Several methods of operations
management are adopted in order to enhance overall productivity and outcome. In reference of
Sainsbury, it is engage in mass production which helps to reduce down per unit cost of
production. It makes company enable to offer products to customers at lower price thus maintain
higher sales. With this, organisation is able to attain its predefined goals and objectives of higher
productivity and efficiency.
Cost reduction: To earn substantial profit margin, it is significant to maintain production
cost at minimum level. Effective methods of operations management are helpful to increase
overall productivity and outcome. In addition, wastage and unnecessary activities can also be
eliminated with this which will further lead company towards higher growth and success.

Sainsbury is able to produce goods at minimum cost due to its efficient operations management
approaches. Therefore, it helps to attain organisational goals and objectives in stipulated period
of time.
Customer satisfaction: Customers are key stakeholders of business and play an essential
role in overall growth and success of organisation by purchasing necessary goods and services in
regular intervals (Choi, Guo and Luo, 2020). Quality goods are provided to consumers in order
to enhance their satisfaction level. Appropriate methods of operations management are essential
to produce operate business effectively. In context of Sainsbury, it provides higher quality goods
to consumers to remain ahead in competition and sustain at market place for longer run.
Functions of operation management-
Finance- It is an important function of operation management in which main purpose is
to examine and analyse that all finance and financial resources are used at optimum level. In
relevance of Sainsbury, their operation management also carry out this function with proper
considerations so that issue does not arise
Strategy- It is also another important function in which tactics and strategies are being
planned and carried out which helps in making effective decisions.
Determine how leaders and managers can improve the efficiency of operational management for
attaining business objectives
It is analysed that leaders and managers are key person of an organisation and play a
significant role in overall growth and development of company. There are several techniques of
operations management such as TQM, just-in-time, Kaizen and more are undertake by managers
in order to improve overall efficiency and productivity of organisation. Here, leaders and
managers are responsible to carry out several tools of operation management and to analyse its
impact over organisation on continuous basis. It will help to improve operational efficiency of
entity which is vital to attain predefined objectives.
LO 4
Discuss the factors of business environment that affect operational management and decision-
making of managers and leaders
Business environment is combination of both external as well as internal environment
which affect its performance. Here, these elements need to be consider by managers and leaders

while taking decisions. In reference of Sainsbury managers are required to analyse business
environment in order to take effective decisions. These factors are given as under:
Culture and Values: It refers to the attitude, behaviour, personality of individuals within
company. To maintain positive environment at work place, it is essential to follow proper work
culture and values (Brandon-Jones, Slack and Johnson, 2016). Here, managers of Sainsbury are
responsible to take effective decision on the basis of culture and values prevailing at work place.
Thus, it is an important factor which needs to be considering at the time of decision-making. It
will help to bring positive synergy at work place and create healthy work environment. Culture
and value influences decision making of managers as well as leaders at wider range of context
because every activity and divisions are been undertaken by considering these two so that they
does not violates the society activities.
Corporate social responsibility: As per the current environment, it is essential for
company to contribute a significant part of its profit margin towards overall societal development
and growth. It is essential to maintain higher brand image of company at market place. For this,
managers use effective practices of recycling and reuse in order to maintain existing goodwill of
entity. They also adopt appropriate techniques for waste management and control the emission in
order to protect environment. In context of Sainsbury, it also gives significant contribution for
societal development and welfare. At the time of decision making, managers also consider the
impact of their activities over society and environment. They provide employment opportunities
to people within country in order to improve their living standard (Schönsleben, 2016). Further,
various approaches are adopted by entity to operate business effectively and to protect
environment.
Business ethics: It is a set of rules, regulations and principals which need to be follow by
companies in order to ensure well fare of all the parties who are associated with it. Here,
managers need to ensure higher transparency and follow corporate governance in order to protect
the interest of shareholders within organisation. In regards of Sainsbury, it follows all the morals,
rules, regulation and policies to maintain positive environment at work place. They need to
consider ethics at the time of decision-making to maintain brand value of organisation among
stakeholders.

Analyse how these different factors affect the business environment and wider community
Factors within business environment are of wide ranges & it is essential to focus on these
so that decisions are made appropriately. Factors such as corporate social responsibility, ethics,
shared values etc. have wider impact on community as well as business environment at larger
context. It is duty of manager as well as leader to assures that correct type of sources are used to
deals with such situations. In relevance of Chosen Corporation, they are affected by CSR at
wider level. With these changing market situations, it is necessary focus on these factors so that
appropriate strategies are implemented (Fu, 2020). Moreover, selected firm operates their
business operations & functions within competitive market, so it is essential for them to carry out
all activities with proper considerations so that issue does not arise because of these discussed
factors.

CONCLUSION
After a brief analysis of above report, it has been concluded that management &
operations are needed to be examined properly so that objectives are achieved. Also,
understanding of this concept leads to using of all resources in most efficient way so that higher
productivity is accomplished. So, discussions has bee made about following things such as
difference between manager & leader, characteristics, role and functions, different situations,
several types of models & theories, .approaches to operations & management, importance of
value of operations management and factors impacting operational management. Therefore, it
has been evaluated that it is crucial to understand this overall concept of operations as well as
management so that activities are carried out in proper manner. Leaders & managers are
required to achieve goals in time period.

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