Business Process and Environmental Strategy

This assignment examines the intersection of business process management, leadership styles, and environmental strategy. It delves into how effective leaders and managers can implement environmentally responsible practices within organizations. The analysis considers various leadership theories, the impact of environmental factors on business operations, and mitigation strategies for reducing negative environmental impacts.

Management and
operations

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
a) Different roles and characteristics of leaders and managers..............................................1
b) Application of role of a leader and function of manager in organisation..........................3
c) Different theories and approaches of leadership................................................................5
d) Difference between role and functions of a leader and manager.......................................6
e) Strengths and weakness of different approaches................................................................7
f) Evaluation of different theories and approaches.................................................................8
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................8
a) Key approaches to operations management and the role of leaders and managers in it....8
b) Significance and value of operations management in accomplishing the undertaken
organizational goals................................................................................................................8
c) Assessing the factors within the business environment that impact upon operational
management and decision-making by leaders and managers.................................................9
d) Evaluating ways in which the operational management efficiencies can be improved by the
leaders and mangers.............................................................................................................10
e) Analyzing ways in which different factors impact upon the business environment in a wider
set of community..................................................................................................................10
f) Evaluating the application of operations management and its factors impact upon the
business environment...........................................................................................................11
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Management and operation is a concept used to control different actions or activities of
enterprise. Under this manger design or decide process of various business operations perform by
organisation. It is responsibility of manager to adopt that process which helps in reducing cost of
commercial activities and maintain cost of firm's products (Bujak, Carvalho and Sriramulu,
2012). In this manger tries to manage the process of making products with ensuring proper
utilisation of resources. Leaders and managers play an important role in achieving efficiency in
business activities. The present report is based upon a renowned food organisation called
McDonald’s established in the year 1940 and serving in more than 40, 000 different locations all
over the globe.
TASK 1
a) Different roles and characteristics of leaders and managers
Role of a leader in organisation can be understood by following: Setting a vision: Setting a clear is the first role of leader in organisation. Communicating
the same with employees give them information about what firms wants to achieve
(Closs, Speier and Meacham, 2011). It is possible that workers of the cited firm do not
perform as ordered by top managers than it is the responsibility of leader to motivate and
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Illustration 1: Role and Responsibility of leader and manager
(Source: Differences Between Managers and Leaders. 2017)

give direction to worker’s actions by communicating with them about vision and its
importance. Motivate employees: It is one of the main and important role of a leader. This can be
done by providing incentives to workers to perform best. It is a duty of leader to
understand needs and wants of workers. A motivated person gives his best to achieve set
goals and objectives of the quoted organisation. Building morale of workers: It includes provide a same direction to actions of all
subordinates or pulling them to work toward to achieve a mutual goal (Rosemann and
vom Brocke, 2015). This can be performed by a leader by telling employees about
appreciation of their work and how they are useful and important for McDonald’s. Guiding subordinates: It means provide employees needed tools and resources to
achieve the same as set by enterprise. A good leader communicates employees in telling
and describing their roles and responsibilities and provide them guidance and resources to
perform them.
Characteristics of a leader includes the following: Transparency: Transparency is one of the main characteristics of leader. It is very
necessary that he or she should make transparent decisions at workplace. This will
increase trust of employees on leader and motivate them. Inspiration: Leaders should have a capability to inspire employees to perform their best.
This help the enterprises like McDonald’s to timely achieve their objectives in an easier
way. Passion: Passion means love what you do and leader should have this characteristic. Its
leader will love his work that he can inspire his followers to do the same and this will
increase their productivity. Innovation: A leader should try to search an innovative way of doing the work. It helps
in making the work innovative and interesting.
Role of a manager involves the following: Liaison role: It includes that it is the responsibility of a manager motivate, communicate
and encourage team spirit in organisation (Nagurney, Masoumi and Yu, 2012). It is his
responsibility to bring coordination among all activities of workers. Other than this it
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includes hire skilled candidates to perform various jobs and at the same time provide
training and motivate them. Monitor role: Manager monitors all important activities of enterprise. He receives
relevant and important information through various sources which help him in making
and give direction to company's policies to achieve set targets. Resource allocator role: Managers provide necessary resources to employees to perform
their duties and tasks. They make and take decisions to timely complementing all
projects. Negotiator role of a manager: Under this, manager of McDonald’s does negotiations
with outsiders to gain competitive advantage (Drake and Spinler, 2013). He negotiates
with employees to get their commitment and increase their morale. Disturbance handler: Managers take all corrective and remedial actions to solve issues
and conflicts arises at the workplace. It helps in reducing cost of operations and save lot
of time. Entrepreneurial role: Manager tries to make innovative and improved products as
playing a role of entrepreneur. He encourages all activities to increase creativity of
employees to gain competitive advantage.
Characteristics of a manager: Problem solving: Good managers are able to identify any issue exist in enterprise and do
efforts to solve the same. A manager should have the ability to find innovative solutions
to problem. Planning: Ahead planning is one of the main characteristics of a manager. It is his
responsibility to set about future activities to be done and make resources available. Communication: Managers should have a trait to communicate well in organisations like
McDonald’s. Effective communication will help employees knows about what firm
wants from them and they can do the same.
 Relationship quality: It is very important for a manager to maintain healthy and good
relations with employees, this will help in increasing productivity and output of overall
organisation.
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b) Application of role of a leader and function of manager in organisation
Leader plays an important role in every organisation and its roles are applied in
organisation for the following: Setting a clear vision: Leader play an important role in setting a clear vision for
enterprise and its workers. They collect relevant and essential data for setting an effective
vision for firm. Communicate same with employees to let them know about what
company wants to achieve. Leader then give shape or direction to employee’s actions to
achieve end results. Guides worker: Leader provide guidance and necessary support to workers for
accomplishing tasks (Bureau and Hua, 2010). He tells them and remind them about their
duties and responsibilities.
 Motivate subordinates: Motivate employees to improve their performance and increase
their productivity is one of the important task a manager fulfils in enterprise. For this
leader can first study or evaluate about different needs of workers and then motivate them
by providing the same. This improves morale and commitment of workers for
organisation.
Like a leader, manager also perform various activities in organisation to achieve given
targets or aims. Application of managers functions in an organisational context can be
understood by the following: Planning: Make a layout of future activities in written is come under planning. It is the
main responsibility of a manager to decide future activities and make resources available
to perform them (Su, Li and Fu, 2011). It helps in deciding and choosing effective
method of completing the task and reducing the cost of operations, which help in
achieving efficiency. Organising: It is the next task of manager after planning, in this manager decide and
allocate funds to different commercial activities. Under this, manager tries to achieve
maximum production with minimum number of resources or tries to achieve optimum
utilisation of resources. Directing: Under this manager provide guidance or give diffraction to employees to
achieve set tasks. For this effective communication take place in organisation to make
employees know about duties and tasks they have to perform.
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 Staffing: Hiring skilled and talented workforce is important task manager. It is
responsibility of manager to recruit right people for right job for attainment of
organisational objectives (Brandenburg and et.al., 2014). Controlling: Controlling of all important operations of enterprise is an important task of
a manger. Comparison of actual performance with standard performance is done and
remedial action is taken by him, if required.
 Leading: It includes encourage and motivate workers perform their best. It helps in
increasing organisational productivity and its effectiveness.
c) Different theories and approaches of leadership
Theories of leadership: Great man theory of leadership: This theory of leadership believes or assumes that
leaders are born and made. It believes that successful leaders are these who have in born
or intrinsic qualities. It states that to become a great and successful leader there some
basic qualities which cannot be taught to a person. Trait theory: This theory believes or says that there are some basic traits or qualities
which should be there in a person to become a good leader. These qualities can be in born
or can be taught. This theory give emphasis on physical, social and mental characteristic
of a people. Contingency theory: This theory of leadership states that there is a no standard way to
leading large number of people. Leadership quality and style should be based on
according to situations. Leader should change his style of doing work in order to get
maximum of employees. Transactional theory of leadership: This theory states that leadership is a process of
exchange. It is a positive and mutually benefit process. It believes that leader should
provide appreciation or incentive to employees who perform better this will increase the
workforce motivation. Transformational theory: This theory of leadership states that leadership is a process in
which one person (leader) make or builds relationship with employees to gain their trust,
which help him in motivating employees (Leadership Theories, 2017). System leadership: Under this function of leadership is understood as process. In which
leader take input from outside world including men, resource and due process on them by
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giving direction and then provide output to outside world by accomplishing goals and
objectives. Situational leadership: This theory of leadership states that a leader should have the
ability to change his method and procedures of doing the work according to the change
rise in business environment. There is a no standard way of performing leadership
functions, so a leader should understand the changes and then should act accordingly to
get maximum output of employees. Whenever a big change arises or take place in
business environment a leader can do changes in following:1. Work procedure: Old process of doing the work can be changed to get effective results in
changing situation.
2. Coaching: Changes can be done on method of providing guidance and coaching to
workers.
Approaches of leadership: Historical approach: This approach of leadership states or believes that leaders are born
and not made. Qualities which are needed to become a successful leader are intrinsic not
extrinsic. That traits cannot be taught to a person these are inborn. Under this, leaders
believe in controlling of employees by giving them directions and commands.
Empowerment was employees was not undertaken in this. It is assuming that there is a
standard method of getting effective results in enterprise. This approach fails to
understand the impact of changing business factors on employees and its performance.
 Modern approach: This approach is opposite of historical approach, it says that there are
some basic qualities required to become a good leader and that qualities can be in born or
can be taught to a person. Different style of leadership is formed under this approach.
Under this, leader believe and treat employee as an important asset of enterprise and
believes in their empowerment. Participative decision making encouraged under this
approach. This theory suggests that leader should do the necessary changes of doing the
work in order to get effective results. This approach is well applied in number of
enterprises.
d) Difference between role and functions of a leader and manager
Leaders Managers
 Leaders focuses on employees and it  Manager focuses on structure and goals
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characteristics and work on them to
achieve set objectives.
 Leaders love to work in complex
situations and tries to find out
innovative solutions (Rani and Moreira,
2010).
 Leaders builds and develop qualities in
workforce.
 Leaders believe and encouragement
empowerment of employees by
distributing them responsibilities.
 Leaders provide guidance to employees
to workers and help them in achieving
their set targets.
of organisation to get end results.
 Managers of organisation always avoid
complex situations.
 Managers maintain qualities of
workers.
 Managers believes in controlling
employees by giving them command
and set objectives and goals for them.
 Mangers only give command or tells
employees about what to achieve.
e) Strengths and weakness of different approaches
Approaches of leadership include historical and modern approach. Both approach has
different point of view and having their own strengths and weakness and this can be understood
by following:
Approach Strengths Weakness
Historical approach Role of leader is very easy and
simple in this approach.
Main weakness of this
approach is that it assumes that
leaders are born not made
which is not true.
Modern approach This approach understands the
effect of changing business
factors on business and
develop and encourage used of
different leadership style to
complete the task (Montes and
et.al., 2013).
Role of leader is very complex
and difficult under this
approach.
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Other than this approach
understands that leaders can be
made and are not born.
f) Evaluation of different theories and approaches
Various theories and approaches of leaders developed as time passes. From number of
theories the main leadership theories includes trait, contingency, situational, great man, system
and many more. From all theories of leadership, the most popular one is trait theory which
believes that there are basic qualities which should be there in a person and if one is lacking of
that skills than these can be taught to him by using various learning programmes (Storbacka,
2011). This theory says that a leader should have basic qualities to handle complex situation of
business environment. Other than this the other most important theory of leadership is situational
leadership which give focus or emphasis that a leader should have the capability of doing
necessary changes in his work pattern to achieve effective results.
TASK 2
a) Key approaches to operations management and the role of leaders and managers in it
Management and operation is a concept used to control different actions or activities of
enterprise. Under this manger design or decide process of various business operations perform by
organisation (Mahadevan, 2015). Operations management is a process of design and controlling
various process of enterprise to achieve efficiency. In this, both managers and leaders tries to opt
a process which helps in reducing cost of and at the same time helps in maintaining quality of
business products. Approaches to operation management includes the following: Empirical approach: This is one of the oldest and most commonly used approach, in
which the enterprise uses past information or data to control their activities. It is one of
the simplest approach of operation management.
 Human behavior approach: Managers and leaders provide and give guidance to
workforce in order to maintain their activities.
b) Significance and value of operations management in accomplishing the undertaken
organizational goals
Concept of operation management is used by almost every type of organisation to achieve
efficiency in commercial activities.
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 It helps firm in maintain quality of its products and achieve flexibility in numerous
operations.
 This help firm in achieving optimum utilisation of resources.
 It helps in taking correcting and remedial action to increase output of business
performance (Simpson and Samson, 2010).
 It helps the firms in getting competitive advantage by adopting effective process of
performing activities.
 It increases the quality level of day to day activities of firms.
c) Assessing the factors within the business environment that impact upon operational
management and decision-making by leaders and managers
Leaders and managers both take important decision on various level of organisation. Factors
which affect their decision-making process include the following.
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Illustration 2: Environmental Factor
(Source: Category: Marketing Environment.
2017)

 Policy of government: Government of every country decide and make policies regarding
various business and which affect the decision taken by an enterprise. Any major change
done or introduce by government affect the decisions taken at workplace. Technology: It plays an important role in performing various business activities. Changes
in technology affect the decision-making process of an organization. Organisation culture: Culture helps in defining ethical values of a firm and these affect
the decision-making process of leaders and managers. Managers get bound to take
decision in those defined values.
 Taskforce: Skills and qualities of workforce affect the success and decision-making
process of an enterprise. Talented employees help manager in taking appropriate and
effective decision. All these factors the decision-making process of an organisation and to
take effective decision it is very necessary give attention on these factors.
d) Evaluating ways in which the operational management efficiencies can be improved by the
leaders and mangers
Leaders are the one who not only set objectives and goals for subordinates but provide them
guidance and resources to achieve the same.
 They motivate employees by boosting their morale high and by giving them many
incentives including financial and non-financial.
 Leaders have the ability to influence activities of workers and by providing them right
direction leaders can increase the productivity of employees which can help enterprise in
achieving its goals more easily (A point-by-point overview of systemic leadership, 2017).
 Managers are the one who set objectives for workers and provide them resource to fulfil
and achieve the same. If guided in a right way employee can help firm in achieving its
end results and competitive advantage in market.
 In this way both leaders and managers improve efficiency of various business activities
and help in achieving organisational goals and results easily.
e) Analyzing ways in which different factors impact upon the business environment in a wider
set of community
A number of factors are which affect activities of a business in numerous ways. From
number of factors following are the main factors:
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 Management of risk: It is important and necessary for every business enterprise to
analyses and take appropriate risk in business activities to achieve end results. Method analysis: For doing a task an enterprise has number of process which affect the
business activities by analysing all the process managers should select the best one to
complete the project.
 Operational strategy: Management of all activities or operations of a business affect its
activities.
f) Evaluating the application of operations management and its factors impact upon the business
environment
This is to discourse upon the application of operations management where there exist several
potential tools of operations management to be applied in different operational areas of a
business. This includes project management, quality control and inspection, policies for
maintaining equipment’s and scheduling projects (Ashby, Leat and Hudson-Smith, 2012).
However, there together exists various such factors related to the aforesaid operational areas that
in turn impacts upon the business surroundings. These factors mostly indicate the existence of
external market factors such as competitiveness, inventions, changing governmental policies, any
sort of disasters, availability of resources and defects in supply chain, etc.
CONCLUSION
From the above information it can be concluded that managing business related
operations and activities is an important task in every organisation that shows the deepest
concern of employees positioned at managerial and leadership positions. This report is presently
based upon a chosen food organisation called McDonald’s where it has analysed the approaches
used fir managing operations over there. It has made a clear identification of certain
differentiating roles and responsibilities of the managers and leaders who are often required to
undertake varying steps to manage the work. It helps in achieving efficiency in doing firm’s
operations. For implementing this concept leader and manager play an important role. They play
a number of roles and responsibilities at workplace. It is very necessary for a leader to change his
style of doing work to get maximum results from employees. They (manager and leader) play an
important role in achieving organisational goals and end results. Flexible approach should be
adopted by managers to get effective results. This report has assisted in acknowledging the
importance of situational, system and contingent approach in context to the chosen organisation.
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REFERENCES
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