Roles and Characteristics of a Leader and a Manager

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.