Roles and Characteristics of Leaders and Managers in Operations Management

This report discusses the different roles and characteristics of leaders and managers in operations management. It also explores the application of their roles in different situational contexts and the theories and models of approach in operations management.

Management and Operations

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Part-1................................................................................................................................................3
LO1..................................................................................................................................................3
Different roles and characteristics of a leader and a manager.....................................................3
LO2..................................................................................................................................................5
Application of role of leader and functions of manager in different situational contexts...........5
Different theories and models of approach, including situational leadership, systems leadership
and contingency...........................................................................................................................7
Part-2................................................................................................................................................9
LO3..................................................................................................................................................9
Approaches to operations management and role that leaders and managers play.......................9
Importance and value of operations management in achieving business objectives.................11
LO4................................................................................................................................................12
Factors within business environment that impact operational management and decision-
making by leaders......................................................................................................................12
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................15

INTRODUCTION
As defined by Management is the process of designing and maintaining an environment
in which individuals, working together in groups, efficiently accomplish selected aims.
Operations, is concerned with administration of business practices to create highest level of
possible efficiencies within organisation. This involves converting material and labour into
goods and services with highest possible effectiveness. Uber is an American company that offers
different services including vehicles for hire, food delivery, package delivery, couriers, and
freight transportation. Company was founded in 2009 by Garrett Camp and Travis Kalanick and
is headquartered at San Francisco, California, U.S. This report aims to discuss different roles and
characteristics of leaders and managers and application of role of leader and functions of
manager in different situations. Additionally report will also discuss about theories of leadership.
This will be followed by discussion regarding operations and their approaches and importance
and value of operations management in achieving business objectives.
Part-1
LO1
Different roles and characteristics of a leader and a manager
Leadership and management are two most important roles and elements that affect
organisational success and its growth. Uber also gets affected by leadership and managerial
success is its operations. Leadership and management often considered same but are significantly
different from each other. Roles and characteristics of leader and manager are very different
from each other, they are different on the basis of situations and their role also differentiate on
the basis of regular operations of Uber (Jiang and et.al., 2019). Leader can be defined as a person
who influences his subordinates to achieve a specified goal. Manager is a person who is
responsible to manage the organisation and is responsible for activities like planning, directing,
coordination and control.
Concerned with roles of leader and manager, difference is as follows-

Role Leader Manager
Creating
vision and
goals
Leaders have a role to create vision.
This means that leader create vision
where they want Uber to take in future.
Managers create goals because they
are responsible for creating plan so
that Uber can achieve its vision
through small elements.
Role in
change
Leaders play a role of change agents.
This means that leaders play role in
bringing change and also in facilitating
change implementation in organisation.
Managers on the other hand play role
in maintaining status quo within
organisation.
Risk
involvement
Leaders take risk because leaders are
willing to try new things and take risk
even if they are likely to fail.
Managers on the other hand work on
ensuring and minimising risk.
Managers also work to avoid
problems within Uber (Shastri, Hoda
and Amor, 2017).
Creating
Relationship
Leaders have a role to create
relationships. This means that focus of
leaders remain of people aspects of
operations. They remain aware of
stakeholders and their requirements.
Managers on the other hand have
their focus on building systems and
processes. They create structures
through which organisation can
achieve its goals and objectives.
Coaching and
directing
Leaders coach their subordinates and
followers and they make sure that they
are able to find solution to their
problems.
Managers on the other hand provide
and assign tasks to employees and
inform them how they can complete
their tasks.
Difference in characteristics of leader and manager
Uniqueness- This is one of the biggest difference in characteristics of leaders and managers. On
the basis of this leaders are unique, every leader is unique and have their style. Managers on the
other hand are not unique rather than copy styles and practices that have been proven successful.
Growth- Leaders grow personally, this means that leaders have strong focus on learning and
develop through their successful as well as failed experiences (Flogaites, 2019). Managers

whereas learn from skills and competencies that have been proven and also focus on improving
and perfecting existing skills.
Learning agility- This means that leaders learn agility and focused on identifying opportunity
and managers are focused on identifying and developing ways through which identified
opportunity can be utilised.
LO2
Application of role of leader and functions of manager in different situational contexts
Leaders and managers are both important for organisational and success of different
situations within organisation. However roles and functions of leaders and managers are different
in every situation in Uber. Application of role of leader and functions of manager in different
situations is as follows-
Launch of a new product
This is a situation whereby Uber aims to develop and introduce a new product ion its
target market. This is aimed at informing target market and potential customers regarding
product availability.
Role of Leader- Role of leader in this is to determine which product to be developed by Uber
(Covey, 2017). Leader also plays important role in determination of target market and what value
they are willing to provide to their potential customers and target market. Leaders also play
important role in setting context for launch of products so that Uber can achieve their objective
regarding launch of new product.
Functions of Manager- Manager also play important role in planning, organising, directing,
coordinating efforts and ensuring success of the launch event of Uber. Functions of manager also
involve linking efforts of different departments and determining and working on the methods
through which Uber can connect with its target audience.
Employee engagement

Employee engagement is concerned with approach that results in right condition for all
members of an organisation so that employees of Uber can perform best to their ability and
capacity. This also involves increasing and enhancing commitment of employees towards Uber
and increasing their retention within Uber.
Role of leaders- Role of leader in this is to project ideals and characteristics that are linked with
drivers of engagement in Uber. Role of leaders involve creating and communicating appealing
vision for employees and creating a culture of organisation and setting right values so that they
can encourage employees to engage with Uber. Certain activities that leaders in Uber have
undertaken to engage employees involve asking their opinions regardless of how hard they are to
listen, asking broad range of questions, and not to dismiss feelings.
Functions of Manager- Functions of manager related to employee engagement within Uber
involve ensuring a suitable workplace resourced with all requires equipments and tools to enable
employees to work effectively (Kruschke, 2018). Functions of manager also involve providing
training and guidance to employees in order to engage them with their job more effectively.
Performance management
Performance management is aimed at creating an environment where people can work to
best of their ability. This also involves linking employees’ goals and activities with
organisational goals of Uber.
Role of leaders- Role of leader in this is promoting high standards of work within Uber and to
motivate, coach and mentor.
Functions of Manager- This involve identifying and developing goals and objectives and them
identifying KPI’s and measuring performance of employees and controlling performance.
Change management
Change management is concerned with a practice and process of preparing, supporting,
and helping individuals and teams within Uber for the potential change taking place in Uber.

Role of leader- This involves identifying vision and motive behind change and communicating
effectively to prepare teams and individuals to accept change (Covey, 2017). This involves
creating, urgency and ensuring everyone for support and assistance to employees during change.
Functions of Manager- Preparing organisation according to change, providing training and
development, providing support and assistance while working in changed processes.
Different theories and models of approach, including situational leadership, systems leadership
and contingency
Situational Leadership
Situational leadership theory and approach is one in which leaders have to change their
style of leadership according to situations. Situations involve considering maturity level of
employees, maturity level depends on competency and commitment of employees (Thompson
and Glasø, 2018). There are four styles of leadership as per situational leadership, style are-
Telling- This is style in which every responsibility remains with leaders. This is because in this
situation employees and subordinates in Uber have low maturity in which their commitment as
well as their leadership both is low. Leaders in this style are expected to determine and inform
about what subordinates need to do and also how they can do given tasks.
Selling- This is another style of leadership suitable for medium maturity level, in which
subordinates and employees in Uber are committed but lack competency. This style involves
leaders inform employees about task and then give them different options from which employees
can select to complete the task.
Participating- This is also for medium maturity in which employees are competent but lack
willingness to task responsibility. Leaders in this style require motivating and encourages
employees in Uber and offer less direction and allow members to make decisions and complete
task.
Delegating- This style of for employees with highest maturity in which leaders delegate their
responsibility to members in Uber and allow them to take responsibility.

Advantage of this is that it enables leaders to change their style according to members in
Uber and members can perform best with suitable leadership. However disadvantage of this is
that it requires leaders to be highly efficient with adequate knowledge of different situations,
otherwise possibility of failures is high.
System Leadership
System leadership can be defined as leadership in which leaders in Uber create conditions
where people at all level of Uber can work productivity and effectively by utilising their best
potential. System leadership is based on principles of human behaviour and models of effective
leadership, organisational strategy, system designs, and social process (Boylan, 2018). System
leadership provides tools to leaders in Uber that they can predict behaviour of organisational
members and employees in Uber. Knowledge and awareness of behaviour of members and
employees enables to take best possible decisions to drive productivity, creativity and innovation
within Uber so that everyone can make best use of their potential in realising Uber’s objectives
and goals.
Advantage of this is that Uber as an organisation become equally effective and
productive rather than one part of it. Disadvantage of this is that it requires decentralised
approach of decision-making.
Contingency Leadership
This is another theory of leadership, this theory considers that effectiveness of leaders
and their style is contingent upon whether their style suits situation in Uber. As per this theory in
order to be effective it is important that situation within organisation is linked and matched with
style of leadership. In this theory favourable of situation for a leadership style is based on three
elements that are Leader-member relationship, task structure and leader’s position power (Vidal
and et.al., 2017). Additionally, in order to determine style of leaders least preferred co-worker
scale can also be utilised, a leader with High LPC score is more people oriented whereas a leader
with low LPC is likely to be more task-oriented. On this basis situation and leadership style can
be linked in Uber.

Advantage of this is leaders become able to bring effective results as they are aware of
style of leadership and disadvantage of this is only suitable for a particular situation.
Part-2
LO3
Approaches to operations management and role that leaders and managers play
Operations management is mainly concerned with planning, organising and controlling
production and manufacturing operations in Uber. There are different ways and approaches
through which this can be done, that are-
Lean Manufacturing
Lean manufacturing is an approach in operations management that focuses on minimising
waste within manufacturing system and at the same time maximising productivity (Marodin and
et.al., 2018). This approach considers that waste is not something that customers are willing to
pay for and does not add value. Principles in this involves-
 Identifying value from the perspective of customers
 Mapping the value stream
 Creating flow and eliminating functional barriers
 Establishing a pull system
 Pursue perfection with continual process improvement
Role of leaders in this is to develop values for processes and products so that waste is least
and productivity is highest. Operations management gets highly affected by organisational
culture and values and it is role of leader that they create culture in Uber through which waste in
Uber is least.
Role of manager in this is to implement best methods of production that involves least waste
and contribute highest productivity. This means that managers require to work on research
practices through which they can implement right practices and source required material for leam
manufacturing.

Total Quality Management
This is a approach of operations management that is based on long-term success through
customer satisfaction. In this approach of operations management in Uber every member of the
organisation participate in the process of improving products, services and processes and culture
in which they work. This means that every individual within Uber works to ensure highest level
of customer satisfaction that is aimed at success of Uber in long term (Pambreni and et.al., 2019).
Primary elements of this approach also involve customer-focus, total employee involvement,
process-centred and continual approach.
Role of leader in this is to create a culture where everyone can contribute in quality
management and everyone is focused on best quality. Uber considers opinion of everyone in
organisation, this helps it in work on improving quality by including everyone. Such practices in
organisation are started and managed by leaders.
Role of manager is to identify customer requirements and on the basis of that creating
and developing processes and practices to create highest quality. Practical application of total
quality management requires role of manager in Uber. This involves determination of standards
of quality, measurement of quality and application of new practices in Uber.
Six Sigma
This is a quality management methodology that Uber can utilise to improve current
processes, products and services of company. In order to do this, six sigma approach utilises
removing and eliminating defects of processes, products and services (Marzagão and Carvalho,
2016). Aim of this approach is to streamline quality control in manufacturing and business
processes of Uber so that is least or no variant throughout. Methodology for six sigma is based
on DMAIC that refers to-
Define- Project, customers, goals and expectations of customers
Measure- performance of current process by establishing a plan for data collection to determine
and gather matrix
Analyse- process to identify root cause for variation and defects to identify issue

Improve- process by eliminating the root cause of defects through innovative solutions
Control- new process to avoid falling into old habits and to ensure it remains on track
Role of leader in this is to create a culture of where focus is on quality and everyone is
aware of their work standards. Leaders are required to set standard of performance of Uber on
the basis of which actual performance can be analysed. Leaders also play important role in
implementing change within organisation as a result of application of six sigma which involve
identifying and eliminating defects.
Role of manager is to identify and analyse defects and developing solutions to remove
these defects from the process. Practical application of this approach requires role of manager at
every stage of the process.
Importance and value of operations management in achieving business objectives
Profitability
This is one of the most important reasons for employing operations management.
Profitability is one of the most important objectives of Uber and operations management help in
reducing cost and increasing productivity which ultimately lead to increase in profitability of the
organisation (Rigatou and et.al., 2018). Profit of the organisation gets significantly affected by
operations management by involving cost of practices, productivity, and quality that allows for
premium price, collectively these contribute in profitability of Uber.
Quality of Output
Another business objective that Uber has is quality of its services and this is also
achieved by implementing operations management in organisation. This is specifically achieved
by six sigma and total quality management approach for operations management. Quality is
output is very important for long term success of organisation and this is why it has very
valuable to have operation management.
Effective and efficient utilisation of resources
This is another importance of operations management in achieving business objectives,
that using its approach Uber becomes able to effectively and efficiently use its resources. All

resources including physical, monetary and human resources, application of operations
management enable their effective utilisation.
Competitive advantage
Competitive advantage is another objective of Uber and this make operations
management important as well as valuable for organisation (Lee and Tang, 2018). Competitive
advantage can be availed by Uber by cost effectiveness and by quality of the products and
services and for both these operations management is valuable and important.
LO4
Factors within business environment that impact operational management and decision-making
by leaders
There are several factors within Uber that affect operations management and related
decision-making of leaders and managers. These factors are-
Corporate social responsibility- Corporate social responsibility is a self-regulatory framework
for organisation. As per this Uber has to be socially accountable and this involves customers,
stakeholders and wider community. Decision making of leaders and managers gets significantly
affected by how their operations management practices will affect customers and wider
community where Uber operates. Concerned with Uber environment is also a important element
affecting operations decisions. This means as Uber is a company that operates through vehicles
Uber has committed to reduce carbon emission to 0% by 2040 and it has direct impact on
operational decisions taken by leaders and managers in Uber. This decision of leaders and
managers is based on environmental sustainability that affects through its operations.
Culture- Culture of Uber is an important element affecting decision-making of leaders and
managers regarding operations management (Sarıyer, Ataman and Kızıloğlu, 2018). This means
that if Uber has a culture that has main focus on quality then decision will be based on quality
aspects through operations management. Other than this, when main focus is on cost then
operations management will also consider cost aspects of operations management.

Values- Values are those principles and guidelines that Uber conform to while its decision-
making and other organisational practices. Values of Uber also sets criteria for decision-making
and decisions regarding operations management also gets affected by these values. It is important
that decisions are in criteria of organisational values. Values of Uber involve creating diverse
and inclusive workplace and for this they have implemented different policies in Uber. This also
has impact on wider community as well as on operations management. While applying decisions
of operations management leaders and managers in Uber have to consider how operational
management and its quality will get affected by these values of Uber.
Ethics- Ethics are also important to be considered during decision-making of leaders and
managers. This means that even if focus is on quality it is important to ensure a standard quality
of product and services and no element is likely to harm customers. This is involved and
considered during ethics and affect decisions. Ethics are those guidelines that differentiate
between right and wrong practices and on the basis of this leaders and managers can determine
what activities and decisions are right and wrong regarding operation management. Ethics also
involves considering impact on wider community as there should be no element in operations
management that is likely to cause harm to community for the profit of Uber.
Sustainability- Sustainability is another important factor that leaders and managers considers
while decision-making (Castellano, Presti and Del Gobbo, 2017). It is important to consider
whether operations management practices are sustainable or not. Sustainability involves
considering whether practices are successful for long term or not. Often practices that are likely
to give benefit for long term are adopted and accepted by Uber.
CONCLUSION
On the basis of above discussion, it can be concluded that leadership and management are
two crucial elements of organisational success. Leadership and management are often consider
similar and even same and but two are significantly different from each other. Report discussed
certain styles and approaches of leadership, and every style of leadership has some benefits as
well as some disadvantages and success is also based on leader. Report later discussed
approaches to operations management, these are styles and ways in which organisations can
carry out their operational practices. Report discussed Lean production, Total quality

management and six sigma approach of operations management. Suitability and effectiveness of
these approaches is based on several factors and elements like culture, values, CSR, ethics and
sustainability on the basis of which organisations’ leader and manager take decisions regarding
operations management.

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