Approaches to Operations Management and the Role of Leaders and Managers

This document discusses various approaches to operations management, including lean production and Six Sigma, and explores the roles of leaders and managers in implementing these approaches. The focus is on the case of John Lewis Partnership.

Management And
Operations.

Introduction:
Management of operations is a process where business practices which helps in achieving
profits in the management. It is a process where raw material is converted into goods and
services in the company for maximizing the profit for the organisation. It helps in maintaining
the balance between the cost and the revenue of particular activities in the management of the
company. It is a managerial activities which include various things like various stages of
management activities in the organisation. The main purpose is to provide good quality of
product and service in the market and gain profit in lieu of the services provided. This
assignment is stated on London company, John Lewis Partnership , it is a organisation founded
in 1929 by the John Spedean lewis in the London. This company provides clothes, watches and
jewellery and various housewares in different stores in UK market. Under this report, various
roles of leader and manager are discussed.
LO 1:
P1: Explain the role and responsibilities of the leader and manager
Leader : He is personality who have a influence on the management term for obtain the
objectives of the organisation on the large scale. In the other words, leader is a individual person
in the organisation who motivate the employees to complete the given task on time and in
efficient ways. In the context of John Lewis partnership Inc., This company have a good leaders
and manger in their organisation so that pre-determine goals and objectives can be achieved on
time and in efficient ways(Balasubramaniam and et.al., 2016)
Roles of leader: he is person who have to handy the performance of the overall organisation for
the betterment of the company. Look the following roles of the leader are as following:
Encouragement : Here employees needs to be motivated to perform and provided with tools to
perform their duties in efficient ways. Leader always encourage its workforce to perform better
in the management activities so that goals and objectives can be achieved.
Setting mission and vision: Here leader influence the worker to evaluated their performance
according to the vision of the organisation.
Characteristic of leader : He is individual who have different quality to lead a group of people
in the organisation to obtain the standard outcomes. In the context of John Lewis, a good leader
should have following characteristic with them.
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Positive attitude and leadership skills : These skills are difficult to learn as they are more
behavioural in nature of the leader. A positive leader will always motivates and guide its
employees to perform better in the task and have clear vision about the organisation goal in the
long run(Gerasimov and Gerasimov 2015)
Ability to face challenges: A good leader always face challenges with the confidence in its
approaches such that people will look up to their methods in the organisation. . Their are not
afraid of the coming challenges in the organisation and in the industry.
Manger: Manger is a individual who is incharge of group of people for performing a particular
task in the company. A certain set of people who are answerable to the manager about their
duties in taken task. Manager and its team work for the generating the predetermine results in
the company. In the context John Lewis partnership. Following are some of the roles and
characteristic of the manger:
Roles of manger: Manger has to perform different responsibility about the overall performance
of the organisation .Manger should have ability to execute a vision by making a strategic vision
into small steps and follow such step to complete the given task on time. And another role is to
make work rules in the team followed by the processes and standards to execute the task in the
team. Manger has to make sure that all the member of the team are allotted with the respected
duties so that activities are followed smoothly in the team(Hitka and et.al., 2018)
Characteristics of the manger: With the references of John Lewis partnership, manager should
have a strong characteristics which can influence the whole team for the betterment of the
organisation. Some of the them are as follows:
Strong communication: A good manager is a one who have a strong communication skills in the
term, so that they can deliver important information to all the employees and see what needs to
be communicated in the organisation for achieving the set goals on time.
Delegation: Manger should be delegated towards the responsibility given to them so that task
can be completed on time and in efficient ways.
Comparison between the Managers and leaders:
Basis Managers Leaders
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Meaning
Vision
Subordinates
Risk taker
Style
Manager is a individual who
have a reasons for managing
the different activities in the
organisation .
A manager has a vision to
complete the given task on
time and in efficient
ways(Johnstone, 2016)
Manager has a team of
followers for the particular
task .
Manger take less risk in the
task.
Manager follow
transformational
He is one who focus on the
influencing its employees to
perform better in the
organisation.
A good Leader is one to
takes steps for development
and growth of the organisation.
Leader have employees as a
subordinates.
Leader take risk in its
approaches for completing
task.
Leader follows transactional
style.
M1: Apply different theories and concepts about the manger.
There are different concepts and theory in the management which can be utilized by the leader
and manager to have a effective administration and have effective workforce in the organisation.
In the context of John Lewis , following theories are implemented in the company for better
performance(Karangelos and Wehenkel, 2016)
Transformational Theory of leadership: Under this leadership , a positive change is seen in a
individual and in social system. Here followers are converted into leaders by creating measurable
changes in the attitude of the worker . it is the best suitable in the organisation that aims for
good future of the company in the market.
3

Classical management theory: this approach is based on the facts that worker have
economic needs in the organisation . It is suitable for the company here production is aim aim in
the team.
D1: explain the leadership in the contest of approaches:
In the context of John Lewis partnership, leader and manager have used different theories and
concept to increase their productivity and enhance growth of the organisation .transformational
theory of leadership provide ways to transform follower into leader and on other hand, this lead
discrimination among the employees according to their performance. Whereas, classical theory
of management take into account needs of economic and physical needs but it ignore other
needs of the team. (Liu and et.al., 2014)
LO2:
P2: provide different situational function of the manger
The role of a good team and the functions of it manager are evaluated under various situations
of the company. in the context of John Lewis partner,the following two situation are discussed
as follows:
Fast changes: In the dynamic environment, where taste and preferences of the customer are
changing with the new trends in the market. Here organisation have to change their product
and ,desire and wants of their target market and to stay in the market. For example John lewis is
retail stores provide the clothes, housewares and electronic devices. Now , if new trends is seen
in the market and such changes attract customer then John lewis has to change their product and
services and alienated them according to needs and wants of the customer and attain their
customer in the market. Technology changes are occurred at highest rate in the market so
accordantly company have to changes its technology before its gets obsoleted in the market.
Manger and leader make sure that they keep a see on every small steps in the market(López
and et.al. 2015)
Conflict resolution: Under this situation, employees have conflict among the team member due
to ineffective communication within the team and between the manager and its team . Conflict
can be raised due to different point of view, following different method in the task and
ineffective interaction with the manager or with the leader. Under such condition, leader has a
4

good involvement in solving the conflict of the management for having better performance and
enchaining the profit for the team member as well as for the organisation.
Their are many situation where manger and leader have to perform together to achieve the goals
and objectives of the organisations.
P3: Apply different theories and modes of approach, including situational,systems and
contingency leadership .
There are various approaches and theories for having effective leadership in the organisation to
have a profit. In the context of John lewis partners, manager and leader comes together for
having effective outcomes in the long run.
Situational leadership: under this leadership, a leader can not base on one of the management
style method in the company. Here manager and leader should be flexible in their leadership
styles to get best result in the market. It include four leadership style such as selling,
participating and delegating the task which are beneficial for the company. John lewis uses such
theories as it is flexible in the nature,develop effectiveness according to different situations and
have a good cooperation between the team members and analysis different levels of maturity of
individual.(Mazidi and et.al. 2017)
System leadership theory : this enables that leader in the organisation create a conditions where
all the people are working at their full productivity levels .In the context of John lewis, this
theory helps in providing safe, secure, healthy and friendly situation for the employees so that
they can work in effectively ways. This theory uses principle about the human behaviour to
create models of good leadership, organisational strategy, system design and social process.
Contingency leadership theory: Under this leadership,their is one things that leader does not
reply on his ability . There are various factors such as company culture and work environment
which have impact on the success of the leader. This approach is beneficial because it changes
according to situations and changes policies of the organisation. It states that leader
effectiveness is contingent upon leadership style matches to the situation and can be flexible due
to change in the situation(Mendis, Muttaqi and Perera 2014)
5

M2: Examine strengths and weaknesses to appraise different approaches to situations within the
work environment.
different theories of leadership are discussed as follows :
Theories Strengths Weaknesses
Situational  The empowers
followers to be
responsible for their
action and decision.
 Leader who delegate its
duties, have time to
focus on other matters.
 This leadership is open
to abuse the power.
 A leader who delegate
the tasks but
accountability still lies
with the leader.
System theory  It increase the
organisation
adaptability to the
changing environment
 focus on achieving
individual as well as
organisation goals.
 The decision are delay
in the management I
 Nature of inter -
dependence is not
stated.(Minchala
And et.al; 2016.)
Contingency leadership  It changes according to
the situation
 provide leader to
increase their
leadership skills
 helps in designing the
organisational
structure.
 It is reactive in nature
which is difficult to
handle the situations
 it have complex
approach when its
come to practical
things. ( White,
2016)
6

LO 3:
P4. Key approaches to operations management and the role that leaders and managers play
There are several conception of operation management in which various roles are played
by the leaders and administrators. In Context of John Lewis there are diverse approaches are
described as below:
Lean production- It is an tool and technique which mainly concretes on reducing
wastage in the production process and increasing the productivity. It can be implemented to all
characteristic of a business concern such as from create, by manufacturing to arrangement. The
major motive of this approach is to cut costs by devising business more efficacious or efficient
and accountable to marketplace requirements. In John Lewis, if the administration of the
company applied it then the firm can minimise the waste of origins in manufacture which help in
rising the productivity and profitability of the firm.
Roles of leaders- In this, leader play a crucial role because they assists the employees to
their duties and responsibilities in context of lean production. Leaders also direct their
subordinates for the maximisation of the manufacturing.
Roles of managers-They play an effective role because they conduct analysis about the
efficiency of the products and checks the production process that no useful materials are wasted
and destroyed (Wright and et.al., 2014)
Six sigma- It is an approach which is explained as a concept that is controlled in quality
and information provided. This tool acts as a method for obviating imperfections in any activity
ranging from producing to transactional and from goods to services crosswise several company.
If the management of John Lewis implement this approach in the operational management
activities of the firm then the organisation can accomplish maximum level of consumer
satisfaction in term of decreasing defects, enrich return on sales, investment, attain employment
development in the production procedure and prevent imperfections in the manufacturing
activities. With the assist of this method the administration of the respective company can make
improvement in the capableness of their business concern activity. It help in maximising
execution and minimising in process variation. This approach bis effective for the company
because it assist in developing the culture of the company where workforce perform effectively.
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Roles of leaders- In it, leaders help in providing training and resources bin context of six
sigma. They support employees to apply this approach and provide information about the
importance of it.
Roles of managers- The administrators help in determining the application of this
approach in the company and reviewing or supporting workforce and top management in context
of implementation of this tool(Zhang. and et.al., 2016) .
TQM- It define as a consumer oriented procedure and aims for continuous improvement
of business operations. TQM is the ongoing activity of minimising issues and problems within
the production process, contouring supply chain management, enriching the consumer
experiences and assuring that workforce properly speed up with the training. With the
implementation of this approach the management of John Lewis can make improvement in its
manufacturing process and minimise the issues which are arising within it.
Roles of leaders- The leaders assure efficient involvement and use of the total employee
simply employees are performing effectively in the organisations activities. They set
performance measurement for the activities and procedures.
Roles of managers- The administrators play a crucial role by assuring continuous
development of the business and manufacturing procedures. They also make focus on internal
and external consumers so that the needs and demands can be analysed and improvement can be
make as per their needs.
P5. The importance and value of operations management in accomplishing business objective
Operation administration indicates to the process and activity of managing the business
enterprise functions, acts and operations which are executing by the administration of the firm to
operate the business. In John Lewis, the management of the company assess in determining and
dominating the actions of manufacture and program business concern enterprise activities in the
manufacturing of products and services. The grandness and value of operations administration in
accomplishing business impersonal can be defined by different operation management functions
which are explained as below:
Process design- This function is crucial for the company because it can assist in
designing and generating production activities of the company. It is important for John Lewis
because with the assistance of it, the administration of the respective organisation can make
improvement in the manufacturing activities and manufacture products as per the need and
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requirement of the consumers. It is crucial for the organisation because it assist in accomplishing
the business aims and objectives in term of providing goods and services to target audiences as
per their requirements.
Logistic and inventory- It is another important function to the company because if the
firm will not have effective support of the logistic, products then it can not be supply in the
marketplace when there are level of requirement is high cause of its consumers. In John Lewis,
with the help of it, the administration of the firm can make focus on product management to
stock the worthless product of production. It is essential for the organisation because it help in
making the effective administration of the products and services which are required in the market
so that the firm can effectively fulfil the consumers needs on time.
Control and distribution system- It is an effective substitute in operation management
which assist to devise power on manufacturing process of the company. This function is
important for the companies because it is responsible to control the production activity and
assuring effective allocation of the goods in context to fulfil the objectives of the company. The
effectiveness of this control and distribution method can be developed by accepting a strong and
appropriate control method and to enrich the supply infrastructural of the firm in context of
attaining the business concern aims of the firm. In John Lewis, with the assistance of this
function, the administration of the organisation can effectively manage the resources and
minimise the wastage.
M3: Evaluate how leaders and mangers can improve efficiencies of operational management to
successfully meet business objectives.
In the context of John lewis partnership, Manager and leader of this company focus on
increasing the productivity of the organisation by reducing the wastage of unwanted process of
task. They both tries to have a effectively operational management in the organisation by
following the six sigma, it is controlled, data -driven approach which provides constant
improvement by eliminating default in the product and service. sigma represents the standard
deviation which is a measure of the variation. Another method their follow is total quality
management, under this approach manger and leader tries to reduces the problems while
conducting production process. Overall operational performance of the organisation are
improved by decreasing the unwanted process in the management.
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D 2: Critically evaluate application of operations management and factors that impact on the
wider business environment.
The of management of the team which can effect the productivity of the organisation as whole. .
Their are different types of leadership which provide a efficient ways performing the task and
maximised the profit in the marketplace. Company maintain the responsibilities of the manager
so that their preform their duties in effective ways and on time. Their are various method which
provide different ways to increase the profit of the organisation by eliminating the unwanted
process and steps which consume the lot of time of the management team.
LO 4:
P6. The factors within the business environment that impact upon operational management and
decision making by leaders and managers
The business environment gets impacted by numerous external components that affects the
operation of the business organisation and also the decision making of the firm. To analyse the
impact of business environment factors upon operational management and decision making, the
management of John Lewis can use PEST analysis which is as beneath:
PEST analysis
It is a structure or tool which is utilised by the management to determine the factors of
external environment that create impact upon organisation's activities and operations. It consist
various components like political, social, technological and others.
Political factor- It consist authorities policy, political stableness and unstableness
corruptness, foreign trade policy, taxation policy, trade restrictions and others. Free trade is an
effective factor which positively affect the John lewis. Because with the assistance of it the
administration of the organisation can trade its products and services without pay tax. It
favourably impact operational administration and determination devising of leaders and
manager. Because due to it, the company can operate its business effectively and leaders and
administrators also take appropriate decision which help in the development of the company.
Economical factor- This factor include growth rate, exchange rate, inflation, interest rate,
currency rates, monetary policies and raw material costs etc. In UK, the economic system of the
nation facing recession and very sensitive to changes in interest rates. This negatively affect John
10

Lewis because when changes are occurred in interest rates and in this situation the management
raise fund for effective running the business then the firm pay more interest rate. It negatively
affect the company, it operational management and decision making. Because in change situation
the leaders and mangers will not decide that how much fund they should raise and where should
they raise in term of sources of finance.
Social Factor- It consider customer service, need, demands, taste & preferences, religion,
culture, life style and others. Change in consumer needs and demands is the major factor which
highly affect John Lewis. When changes are occurred in clothing products due to trend and
fashion, changes are also generated in consumer's desires. So if the company do not provide
products as per their needs and demands then target audiences of the firm switch to another
organisation. It negatively affect the firm and decision making because the due to ineffective
decision of leaders and managers, the firm did not able to fulfil their potential clients needs.
Technological factor- It consist technology and abstractions infrastructure, laws around
technology, rival technology, automation, advance technology, research and creation, technology
incentives and others. Now these online shopping or internet shopping is the major trend in retail
sector which instantly affect the sales approach of the company. In John Lewis, it positively
affect the company because decision of utilisation of online shopping techniques assist in
improving sales and profitability of the company. Paperless operation and the effective
management by using IT systems make flexibility in the operations of the firm.
M4: Analyse how these different factors affect the business environment and wider community.
In the context of John lewis partner inc. there are various reasons that have different impact on
the business environment such as social environment ,technology and economic impact present
in the environment effect productivity of the organisation. Their are inside and outside things
that can affect the business operation in the large scale. Operational management is very
important aspect of any organisation which needs to be performing good in the activities. To
increase the profits in the organisation manager should make sure that all the activities are
carried out in effectively in the organisation.
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Conclusion:
After in-depth discuses on operation management, it is conclude that it is important factor which
provide a right direction to the manger to obtain results so that business can earn the desire
profits in the specific time period. In any organisation ,manger and leader are important human
resource which are used to enhance the productivity of the management. Their are different
types of culture, ethics, values in the organisation which have a different impact on the ways the
manger perform their duties on time.
12

REFERENCES :
Books and journals:
Bahmani-Firouzi, B. and Azizipanah-Abarghooee, R., 2014. Optimal sizing of battery energy
storage for micro-grid operation management using a new improved bat algorithm.
International Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems 56. pp.42-54.
Balasubramaniam, K. and et.al., 2016. Energy management system for enhanced resiliency of
microgrids during islanded operation. Electric Power Systems Research. 137. pp.133-
141.
Gerasimov, B. N. and Gerasimov, K. B., 2015. Modeling the development of organization
management system. Asian Social Science. 11(20). p.82.
Hitka, M. and et.al., 2018. Strategic tool of human resource management for operation of SMEs in
the wood-processing industry. BioResources. 13(2). pp.2759-2774.
Johnstone, S., 2016. Labour and management co-operation: workplace partnership in UK
financial services. Routledge.
Karangelos, E. and Wehenkel, L., 2016, June. Probabilistic reliability management approach and
criteria for power system real-time operation. In 2016 Power Systems Computation
Conference (PSCC) (pp. 1-9). IEEE.
Liu, B. and et.al., 2014. System operation and energy management of a renewable energy-based
DC micro-grid for high penetration depth application. IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid.
6(3). pp.1147-1155.
López, M. A. and et.al., 2015. Demand-side management in smart grid operation considering
electric vehicles load shifting and vehicle-to-grid support. International Journal of
Electrical Power & Energy Systems. 64. pp.689-698.
Mazidi, P. and et.al., 2017. Impact of health indicators on maintenance management and operation
of power systems. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part O:
Journal of Risk and Reliability. 23 (6). pp.716-731.
Mendis, N., Muttaqi, K.M. and Perera, S., 2014. Management of battery-supercapacitor hybrid
energy storage and synchronous condenser for isolated operation of PMSG based
variable-speed wind turbine generating systems. IEEE Transactions on smart grid. 5(2).
pp.944-953.
Minchala-Avila, L.I. And et.al;., 2016. Optimal energy management for stable operation of an
islanded microgrid. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics. 12(4). pp.1361-1370.
Parisio, A., Rikos, E. and Glielmo, L., 2016. Stochastic model predictive control for
economic/environmental operation management of microgrids: An experimental case
study. Journal of Process Control. 43. pp.24-37.
Pavlineri, N., Skoulikidis, N. T. and Tsihrintzis, V. A., 2017. Constructed floating wetlands: a
review of research, design, operation and management aspects, and data meta-analysis.
Chemical Engineering Journal. 308. pp.1120-1132.
Peng, C. and et.al., 2015. Uncertainty management in power system operation. CSEE Journal of
Power and Energy Systems. 1(1). pp.28-35.
Reim, W., Parida, V. and Sjödin, D. R., 2016. Risk management for product-service system
operation. International Journal of Operations & Production Management. 36(6).
pp.665-686.
Strande, L. and Brdjanovic, D. eds., 2014. Faecal sludge management: systems approach for
implementation and operation. IWA publishing.
13

Ulewicz, R., 2016. Quality Management System operation in the woodworking industry. Path
forward for wood products: A global perspective, proceedings of scientific papers, pp.51-
56.
White, P. R., 2016. Public transport: its planning, management and operation. Routledge.
Wright, S. and et.al., 2014. The design, management and operation of flexible transport systems:
Comparison of experience between UK, Japan and India. Research in Transportation
Economics. 48. pp.330-338.
Zhang, Y. and et.al., 2016. Model predictive control-based operation management for a residential
microgrid with considering forecast uncertainties and demand response strategies. IET
Generation, Transmission & Distribution. 10(10). pp.2367-2378.
Bahmani-Firouzi, B. and Azizipanah-Abarghooee, R., 2014. Optimal sizing of battery energy
storage for micro-grid operation management using a new improved bat algorithm.
International Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems 56. pp.42-54.
Balasubramaniam, K. and et.al., 2016. Energy management system for enhanced resiliency of
microgrids during islanded operation. Electric Power Systems Research. 137. pp.133-
141.
Books and journals:
Gerasimov, B. N. and Gerasimov, K. B., 2015. Modeling the development of organization
management system. Asian Social Science. 11(20). p.82.
Hitka, M. and et.al., 2018. Strategic tool of human resource management for operation of SMEs in
the wood-processing industry. BioResources. 13(2). pp.2759-2774.
Johnstone, S., 2016. Labour and management co-operation: workplace partnership in UK
financial services. Routledge.
Karangelos, E. and Wehenkel, L., 2016, June. Probabilistic reliability management approach and
criteria for power system real-time operation. In 2016 Power Systems Computation
Conference (PSCC) (pp. 1-9). IEEE.
Liu, B. and et.al., 2014. System operation and energy management of a renewable energy-based
DC micro-grid for high penetration depth application. IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid.
6(3). pp.1147-1155.
López, M. A. and et.al., 2015. Demand-side management in smart grid operation considering
electric vehicles load shifting and vehicle-to-grid support. International Journal of
Electrical Power & Energy Systems. 64. pp.689-698.
Mazidi, P. and et.al., 2017. Impact of health indicators on maintenance management and operation
of power systems. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part O:
Journal of Risk and Reliability. 23 (6). pp.716-731.
Mendis, N., Muttaqi, K.M. and Perera, S., 2014. Management of battery-supercapacitor hybrid
energy storage and synchronous condenser for isolated operation of PMSG based
variable-speed wind turbine generating systems. IEEE Transactions on smart grid. 5(2).
pp.944-953.
Minchala-Avila, L.I. And et.al;., 2016. Optimal energy management for stable operation of an
islanded microgrid. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics. 12(4). pp.1361-1370.
Parisio, A., Rikos, E. and Glielmo, L., 2016. Stochastic model predictive control for
economic/environmental operation management of microgrids: An experimental case
study. Journal of Process Control. 43. pp.24-37.
14

Pavlineri, N., Skoulikidis, N. T. and Tsihrintzis, V. A., 2017. Constructed floating wetlands: a
review of research, design, operation and management aspects, and data meta-analysis.
Chemical Engineering Journal. 308. pp.1120-1132.
Peng, C. and et.al., 2015. Uncertainty management in power system operation. CSEE Journal of
Power and Energy Systems. 1(1). pp.28-35.
Reim, W., Parida, V. and Sjödin, D. R., 2016. Risk management for product-service system
operation. International Journal of Operations & Production Management. 36(6).
pp.665-686.
Strande, L. and Brdjanovic, D. eds., 2014. Faecal sludge management: systems approach for
implementation and operation. IWA publishing.
Ulewicz, R., 2016. Quality Management System operation in the woodworking industry. Path
forward for wood products: A global perspective, proceedings of scientific papers, pp.51-
56.
White, P. R., 2016. Public transport: its planning, management and operation. Routledge.
Wright, S. and et.al., 2014. The design, management and operation of flexible transport systems:
Comparison of experience between UK, Japan and India. Research in Transportation
Economics. 48. pp.330-338.
Zhang, Y. and et.al., 2016. Model predictive control-based operation management for a residential
microgrid with considering forecast uncertainties and demand response strategies. IET
Generation, Transmission & Distribution. 10(10). pp.2367-2378.
15