Table of Contents INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1 PART 1............................................................................................................................................1 1 Introduction to the organisation and management structure...............................................1 Roles of both managers and leaders, highlighting the differences between management and leadership................................................................................................................................1 Explanation and analysis of the different roles of management and leadership in application to different organisational situations..........................................................................................2 Critically analyse the different theories and approaches to leadership..................................3 Conclusions and recommendations for future developments.................................................5 PART 2............................................................................................................................................5 Introduction to the key operations of the business enterprise................................................5 Details of each of the key operational functions, identifying the roles and responsibilities of managers.................................................................................................................................6 Explanation of the key operational approaches to operations management and their value..6 An evaluation of the impact of external business environment factors that affect decision making by leaders and managers............................................................................................7 An evaluation of how operational efficiencies can be improved to successfully meet business objectives using appropriate management and leadership approaches..................................8 Conclusions and supported recommendations for future improvements...............................8 REFERENCES.............................................................................................................................10
INTRODUCTION Operations management is termed zone of management that is concerned to controlling and designing organisational production process. It also supports in redesigning of operational activities at the time of developing products and services (What is Operations Management, 2014). The main role of management of every company is to effectively organise its operational activities and perform planning in such a manner so that their organisational goals and objective could be attained within provided time frame (Kotter, 2013). In the current project Ford Motors has been taken into consideration in order to develop knowledge on operations management. Ford motors was incorporated in the year 1903 and headquartered in Michigan, U.S. The company belongs to auto mobile sector which also offers commercial vehicles worldwide. The present report is divided into two main parts which also has various sub sections. It will cover information on role of leaders and manager along with their difference. Later, their roles in handling different organisational situation is explained. Also, different approaches of leadership will be addressed. Further, it will also explain about key operations of company. At last, explanation will be going to be given on the influence of operational management as well as on decision making of manager. PART 1 1 Introduction to the organisation and management structure Ford motors is the second largest auto maker of US which provides basically commercial vehicles and sells auto-mobiles across the world. As the company has presence at international market scale it has huge workforce which tackles their business activities effectively. It has approximately 199000 employees who manages different outlets worldwide. Administration department of Ford Motors have various divisional units and departments according to regional market place (LaGanga, 2011). The main divisional unit of this company are Asia Pacific, The Americas, Europe, Africa and Middle East. Roles of both managers and leaders, highlighting the differences between management and leadership Managers are identified as the person who is constantly engaged in scheming and developing organisational work in such a manner so that they can accomplished in quick manner. Their main role in the company is to assign work to employees according to their skills and 1
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competencies so that it can be performed by them in effective manner. In context to Ford Motors main role of manger of this company is to do performance assessment of employees at regular basis and also give them appraisals in timely manner. Leaders are seen as the person who holds capability of influencing others to perform work in their own expected manner (Laudon and Laudon, 2016). The main role of leader is to motivate employees so that they can feel motivated. Also, they place efforts to retain employees in the company for longer period of time. Differences between Leadership and Management Basisof Differentiation LeadershipManagement MeaningIt is identified as the skill of a leader which influences others to perform work according to their requirement. Itisconsideredasaneffective creativity and art of person which allowsthemtosystematically coordinateandorganizein appropriate manner. Emphasises onLeadership mainly emphasises on inspiring people so that they can improve their devotion as well as performancetowards organisationalgoalsand objectives. Whereas,mainemphasisof managers is on managing all kind of organisational activities in effective manner. So that all work could get completedonparticularperiodof time. Explanation and analysis of the different roles of management and leadership in application to different organisational situations Every business organisation has its own corporate structure which varied with company to company according to their different business environment. Dynamism in the environment influence changes according to their requirement (McNeil, Frey and Embrechts, 2015). With reference to Ford Motors, it has been identified that this company uses different kind of management and leadership support in order to deal with different organisational situations. Some of often identified situations in Ford Motors are described as below: 2
Decision making:Working life in Ford Motor includes designing, producing and then selling of vehicles at market. In order to implement this manager as well as leaders have to take crucial decision so that every work could be implemented effectively in the company. Herein, role of manager is to analyse all of the needs and requirements of employees so that they can effectively motivate them in order to improve their performance. Whereas, role of leader is to adopt participative leadership style in order to engage employees in their every essential decision making procedure (Mollenkopf, Frankel and Russo, 2011). This will support in encouraging employees to reflect their own ideas for organisational development. Efforts of both managers and leaders will ultimately lead to enhancement of organisational productivity that will lead to quick attainment of company's objectives in quick manner. Employee engagement: It is identified as an essential activity in the company. In this employees are engaged in every important activity and procedure. It is identified as the situation in which managers willing conducts various meetings and conferences in Ford Motors at regular basis so that everyone gets chance to represent their views and opinions in front of management. Role of leader is to appreciate out performers for their extra ordinary performance by providing them rewards. In order to attain organisational goals and objectives in quicker manner managers as well as leaders works collaboratively for improving efficiency of employees. Technology up-gradation: While taking example of technological up-gradation as an another situation in Ford Motors is best for understanding role of leader and manager in the company. In this, manager of Ford Motors takes help of effective technological equipment’s so that employees can easily execute their work responsibility in effective manner (Nassiri and et. al., 2016). This ultimately creates requirement of development of skills among employees so that they can use these technological tools in order to execute their business work in right manner. Moreover, leaders prefer to personally give training to each and every employee in order to develop their skills according to the implemented technology which directly leads to execution of organisational work in effective manner. Critically analyse the different theories and approaches to leadership There are numerous of theories and frameworks which are used by business associations like approaches for the purpose of enhancing functioning company. Some of the approaches that are used by Ford Motors are described as below: 3
Situational leadership:This leadership approach was introduced by Dr. Paul Hersey. This type of approach is directly associated with competencies, skills, and capabilities of those employees who are important for company in order to execute their business activities. Leaders of Ford Motors can adopt this approach in order to develop their cooperation and co-ordination level in their company so that all work can get completed in a faster manner (Oakland, 2014). As a result, it will contribute in the attainment of organisational goals and objectives. Main advantage of this approach is that it gives preferences to capabilities of all team members. This directly motivates employees and also leads to higher enhancement in terms of productivity. Whereas, drawback of this approach is that it simply ignores task as it only emphasises on employees. As a result, there are higher chances that Ford motors may not be able to attain their main organisational goals and objectives. Contingencyleadership:Thisleadershipapproachclearlystatesthatnoneofthe organisational approach suits to every situation which occurs in the company. If Ford motors plans to adopt this approach, then it is essential for them to take their all decisions by considering both the internal and external component of the company. This will facilitate in the execution of organisational work in effective manner within the provided time frame (Peng and Lai, 2012). It is identified as an effective approach that holds power of managing work of company in the flexible manner. It directly results in the development of healthy relationship in organisation that motivatesemployeestoworkineffectivemanner.Constantbasedchangesmightraise complexity at workplace as it is harder for employees to accept and implement them. System leadership:This approach simply states that every task is required to be addressed in the systematic manner with the usage of right tools so that organisational objectives could be attained in effective manner. With reference to Ford motors, leaders of this company canapplythisleadershipapproachbyanalysingthemarketsituationandthenlateron communicates to production team so that they can manufacture desired number of units. This supports them in fulfilling demand of market with effective productivity. The main merit point of this approach is that it allows leaders in adapting all kind of business associated changes in business environment. That leads to attainment of organisational goals and objectives. Bringing changes as per market requirement might decline productivity of employees. This can be seen as the major issue of this approach. 4
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As per above described different approaches, leaders of Ford Motors give mainly preferencetosituationalleadershipbecauseitlinksthemwithskillsofemployeesthat considered as most valuable asset of company. Adoption of this leadership approach directly supports them in aligning with the capabilities and competences of workforce that leads to attainment of organisational goals. Conclusions and recommendations for future developments As per the above described discussion, it is concluded that both the leaders as well as managerhastheirownimportantroleinorganisationwhichsupportstheminattaining organisational objectives. From the discussion, it has been identified that manager mainly contribute in effective execution of business activities within company by ensuring higher productivity by every employee (Pinkerton, 2011). Whereas, leaders support views of employees that directly supports in bringing innovations in company that leads to improvement in its profits. Here, it is recommended to the manager as well as leaders of the company to analyse working pattern of employees and also provides them assistance in order to improve quality of their productivity in effective manner. PART 2 Introduction to the key operations of the business enterprise Every organisation has its own operational activities that is mandatory required by them to execute so that company can grow in a smooth manner. Some of keys operations of Ford Motors are described as below in effective manner: Transportation:The main operation of this company is transportation as its vehicles are manufactured at different location which are further required to be transported to the required place. Production-Vehicle manufacturing is another essential operations of Ford Motors as it is essential for them to manufacture each and every vehicle with high quality so that customer’s satisfaction does not get affected due to this (Rushton, Croucher and Baker, 2014). Promotion:For maintaining brand name of this company, it is essential for them to emphasise on its promotional activities too so that they can develop its positive image at marketplace and also aware its customers about its new launches. 5
This operation of Ford Motors is aimed at development of a strong and loyal customer base by meeting the promises made by entity at the time of advertisement, while making sale of vehicles. Details of each of the key operational functions, identifying the roles and responsibilities of managers RolesandresponsibilitiesofManagerofFordmotorswhileimplementingabove described operational functions are described as below: Transportation:In context of manager of Ford Motors, it can be said that their main role is to ensure that their final vehicles reaches to customers in the safe manner within the provided delivery time so that they can feel satisfied towards the company and also make future from the same company. Production:Here, main role of manager of Ford Motors is to ensure that production department has relevant amount of raw material available so that required vehicle can be produced in effective way (Pinto, 2015). This will support them in meeting requirement of marketplace in right manner with satisfactory quality of vehicles. Promotion:The main role of manager of Ford Motors is to choose right marketing and promoting tool so that knowledge about their products could easily spread at marketplace. Here, main role of manager is to develop its effective image by using right mode of advertisement so that sales performance of this company could be raised. Explanation of the key operational approaches to operations management and their value. Operation management aids in designing and controlling the activities of organisation with a view of enhancing the existing level of performance in the various processes so that profits can be maximized. With the help of operations management approaches customer satisfaction can be increased by providing them with high quality products and services which enables organisation to grow and develop in the competitive market. Following approaches can be used in Ford Motors :- Total Quality Management (TQM):This approach mainly focuses on improving the quality of products and services provided by an organisation. This is basically a customer- centred approach where continual improvement is brought so that customers can be satisfied in a better way than the competitors. Within Ford Motors, all the stakeholders are involved in improving the existing capabilities of processes, techniques and activities to produce cars and other auto-mobiles of high quality to give maximum customer satisfaction. 6
Six-Sigma:It is a statistical and data driven approach which can help in improving the exiting level of performance of system by eliminating the number of defects and differences in products and services so that uniformity can be maintained. This approach needs the involvement of all the personnel so that defects can be detected at all the levels to ensure delivery of products with high quality. This results in increased sales and profitability of the business and enhancing their reputation in the market. (Source:Six Sigma, 2016) Just in time:It is related with managing the inventory of an organisation by aligning raw material orders from suppliers with respect to the production schedules of the company which is related with the market demand. This helps in dealing with work in progress and the remaining stocks (Rani and Moreira, 2010). This helps the organisations in dealing with the storage costs of inventory and acquiring required items from suppliers as and when required. An evaluation of the impact of external business environment factors that affect decision making by leaders and managers Various external factors affect the strategies that are formulated by the leaders and managers of an organisation that influence its performance and efficiency in achieving its goals and objectives. These factors affect decision-making of leaders and managers in the following manner: External Factors: These factors cannot be controlled or changed, rather these are to be dealt with by formulating policies and strategies by managers. 7 Illustration1: Six Sigma
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Political factors:These are the government rules and regulations which affects the businesses of a country. Managers of Ford Motors forms company policies after taking into the laws and regulations that exist in the country while the leaders ensure that these policies are strictly followed by the employees like The sex discrimination Act, 1975. Economic factors:These includes economic factors of a country such as inflation rate, foreign exchange rate, interest rate etc. The managers of Ford Motors are influenced by these factors to set price of vehicles while leaders ensure that efficiency of all the processes are well managed to control cost of production (Ravindran, 2016). Social factors:These are the social factors of a country such as demography, culture, lifestyle etc. Managers ofFord Motors try to bring innovation in the products by providing funds to research and development team while the leaders ensure that the funds are utilized in an appropriate manner. Technological factors:These are the technological advancements that rapidly take place in a country. Managers ofFord Motors come up with unique and innovative designs and features in vehicles while leaders help in training the employees so that they become capable of using the new technologies. An evaluation of how operational efficiencies can be improved to successfully meet business objectives using appropriate management and leadership approaches. Manager of Ford Motors uses Just in Time approach in order to use available resources in effective manner. Here, manager gives command to production team to manufacture vehicles according to market demand. Managers are also required to train employees in effective manner so that they can effectively provide quality products to customers. Also, there main aid is to satisfy customers in such a manner so that they can automatically get influenced while making their another purchase (Slack, 2015). It will also support in gaining competitive advantages at marketplace that leads to attainment of organisational objectives. In this regard, manager of company also formulates those strategies and approaches that does not hold any chance of attainment of criticism at marketplace. Conclusions and supported recommendations for future improvements From the above described report, it is concluded that Six Sigma and Just in time approach are identified as most effective approaches that supports business association in utilising resources of company in effective manner. Usage of TQM approach allows company in offering 8
high quality of products to customers. It also allows Ford Motors in improving its brand image among customers because its offerings are of high quality that directly develops its image among customers. It has also been identified that Economy, society, laws, political system, ethics, values are identified as some essential factors which directly places impact over functioning and operational activity of company. Both the leaders and manager has very significant role in company. Thus, there is the huge requirement of their corporation so that its goal and objective could be attained in quicker manner. 9
REFERENCES Books and Journals Kotter, J. P., 2013. Management is (still) not leadership.Harvard Business Review.9. LaGanga, L. R., 2011. Lean service operations: Reflections and new directions for capacity expansion in outpatient clinics.Journal of Operations Management. 29(5). pp.422-433. Laudon, K. C. and Laudon, J. P., 2016. Management information system.Pearson Education India. McNeil, A. J., Frey, R. and Embrechts, P., 2015. Quantitative risk management: Concepts, techniques and tools.Princeton university press. Mollenkopf, D. A., Frankel, R. and Russo, I., 2011. Creating value through returns management: Exploring the marketing–operations interface.Journal of Operations Management. 29(5). pp.391-403. Nassiri, P. and et. al., 2016. Health, safety, and environmental management system operation in contracting companies: a case study.Archives of environmental & occupational health. 71(3). pp.178-185. Oakland, J. S., 2014. Total quality management and operational excellence: text with cases. Routledge. Peng, D. X. and Lai, F., 2012. Using partial least squares in operations management research: A practical guideline and summary of past research.Journal of Operations Management. 30(6). pp.467-480. Pinkerton,E.ed.,2011.Co-operativemanagementoflocalfisheries:newdirectionsfor improved management and community development.UBC Press. Rushton, A., Croucher, P. and Baker, P., 2014. The handbook of logistics and distribution management: Understanding the supply chain.Kogan Page Publishers. Pinto, J. K., 2015.Project management: achieving competitive advantage. Prentice Hall. Rani, D. and Moreira, M. M., 2010. Simulation–optimization modeling: a survey and potential applicationinreservoirsystemsoperation.Waterresourcesmanagement.24(6). pp.1107-1138. Ravindran, A. R. ed., 2016.Operations research and management science handbook. CrcPress. Slack, N., 2015.Operations strategy. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Online WhatisOperationsManagement?.2014.[Online].Availablethrough: <https://www.topmba.com/mba-programs/what-operations-management>. 10