Management and Operations: The Role of Leadership and Managerial Skills

This document explores the role of leadership and managerial skills in management and operations. It discusses different theories of leadership, such as situational, system, and contingency, and their strengths and weaknesses. The document also includes a case study of General Electric.

Management and Operations

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
1) Managerial skills and leadership qualities within the organisational context.........................1
2) Different theories of leadership with their strength and weaknesses......................................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Management and operations are two important business tools that is concerned with
designing and controlling the process of production and redesigning the business operations by
meeting the requirements of the customers(Girma, 2019). The role of operation management is
concerned with planning, organising and supervising the activities in order to facilitate the
smooth operations of a business. Each of these requires an ability to determine the present
situation with an aim of improving the effectiveness and efficiency of operations. General
Electric is one of the leading company in USA that deals with various segments such as venture
capital, renewable energy, digital industry, aviation, finance, lighting and so on. This firm has
expanded its operations in parts of the country to gain large access to customers. This report is
based on various theories of leadership such as situational, system and contingency as each play
different roles and responsibilities according to a prevailing situation within the company. The
role of leader is to lead the whole team while the mangers have people who work together for the
accomplishment of common goal. This report also comprises of various business situations that
determine the role of management and qualities of leadership and the way they handle a complex
situation. Good leadership skills are necessary to understand the philosophies of handling the
complicated situation in a workplace.
1) Managerial skills and leadership qualities within the organisational context
Good management skills are very important for an organisation as it help in coordinating
the activities and also facilitate the smooth operation of a business(Leaders and et. al., 2019).
The role of leader is to provide proper guidance so as to bring improvement in the overall
functioning of an organisation. The qualities of leader and skills of management are crucial for
various positions and at a different levels of a company. One important aspect is that leadership
and management skills are used interchangeably as they perform different functions such as
planning, decision making, problem solving and proper time management. The top managers of
General Electric used the various business situations which are described below:
Situation 1
Adoption of changes: In a digital era, changes is very important for an organisation as
there are changes in the taste and preferences of customer's mind, changes in culture, technology
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and so on in order to ensure success in an organisation(Rastegar and et. al., 2019). The manager
of General Electric through proper and strategic planning provide direction of action that aids in
completing the task in a proper time. The leader has to be calm and patient while facilitating the
change and also provide effective training to the subordinates as it help in increasing the skills
and knowledge base of an employees and also inculcate positive attitude and confidence in them.
The CEO of General Electric could scrutinize the activities and overall performance of
employees so as to facilitate the smooth operation of a business.
Managerial skills: Judicious usage of resources: The manager facilitate optimum utilisation of resources
with an aim to minimise the waste and it also saves time and money. Motivation: The manager of a firm encourage their subordinates by potential rewards so
that it help in improving their performance and systematically working in an
organisation.
 Coordination: The manager has to be impartial as it has to assign the role and task
among the subordinates in according to their specialised skills. This facilitate proper
coordination and develop confidence among the employees.
Leadership Qualities: Vision: The leader of respective firm has a long term vision and mission to ensure
success and develop proper planning to bring positivity in a workforce. Interpersonal skills: The leader must be a good listener and have technical skills so that
it could provide effective training to their subordinates to boost their knowledge base. Positive attitude: The leader should have positive attitude and should be courageous to
accept the changes and provide training to their employees to help them in handling
sophisticated machines.
 Problem solving: The leader should have the ability to solve the problems by providing
the effective solution to a problem. The leader should be calm and have patience to
handle the complex issues and also to solve day to day problems.
Situation 2
Conflict resolution: There are various reason of conflicts that takes place such as
changes in culture, clashes, changes in company policies and so on(Nouhi Bezanjani and et. al.,
2019). There are various conflict handling strategies which is discussed below:
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Avoiding: This situation arises when people used to ignore each other and also
discomfort of confrontation arises within an organisation. This is one of the effective strategy
used by the manager of General Electric to handle conflict in a best manner as the leader become
integrity and problem solver to facilitate the proper delegation to produce desired results.
Competing: This strategy is characterised by assertive and non cooperative behaviour of
people working in a workforce(Espín, Costa, and Jiménez, 2019). The manager of General
Electric through problem solving skills facilitate cooperation and coordination in their company
and also develop competitive skills to perform better beyond their potential.
Compromising: This is one of the appropriate strategy that focuses on rendering a
comfort environment by working on fair bases. The higher authority of General Electric provide
a good and comfort environment to their workers so that they could work with great zeal and
confidence.
Managerial skills: Ask the right questions: This is the most important managerial skill in which the
manager avoids to blame or fault on anyone directly but rather share their opinions and
concerns to resolve the conflict. There should be the basis of open discussion that help
employees to see their conflicts and identify the best solution.
 Take hard decisions: The leader has to take hard decisions so as to come up with best
and efficient solution. Also, by showing concern toward the employees help to build
confidence and develop a sense of team spirit among them that bring positive
environment ans provide comfortable to their workers.
Leadership Qualities: Communication skills: The leader of a concerned firm through proper communication
strategy define the roles and responsibilities among the subordinates as it help in avoiding
confusion and misunderstanding(Henshaw, 2019). There is proper clarity of goals and
objectives among the employees so that they could achieve the task in a limited time. Be accountable: The leader of General Electric make sure that their follow through on
their own actions to facilitate the smooth operation and promote cooperation. Good Listener: The leader has to listen the grievances of both the parties by handling the
situation very calmly and patiently ad thus bring positivity within the organisation.
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 Be clear: This quality helps to avoid confusion and provide proper coordination and
cooperation in a workplace.
2) Different theories of leadership with their strength and weaknesses
Leadership is the ability to influence other and also to lead the whole team in order to
achieve the organisational goal(Ishaque and Fatima, 2019). A leader promote team spirit and
unity of command so as to develop positive attitude among the subordinates. There are different
theories of leadership such as situational, system and contingency that play a different role in
according to the situation as these theories are important for conducting the day to day operations
of a business . The manager divide the work among the subordinates so that they could work
with greater zeal and efficiency. With reference to General Electric, various theories of
leadership are presented below:
Situational leadership: In this theory of leadership, the leader behave differently
according to a prevailing situation within the market(Samartinho, and São João, 2019). The
leader of General Electric should choose an appropriate style depending upon the circumstances
as this approach is used by the senior authority of a company. In this, the style of leadership
changes continuously in other to fulfil the requirements of others based on a situation. The
manager of respective firm facilitate the changes in a flexible environment to bring success and
proper cooperation within the company.
Advantages: One of the advantages of situational leadership is that the leader assign the
task among the subordinates that matches their skills and job duties as it increases the morale
and motivation of employees. This approach also help the team members to find common ground
towards each other and also reduces the risk of internal conflicts.
Disadvantages: The manager focuses on immediate actions rather than long term goals
in a changing era as it does not consider the long term vision and mission of company. It leads to
shift in direction which create difficult for the workers to maintain the continuation in their work.
System leadership: This system leadership theory is characterises by the set of skills
where employees work with greater zeal and confidence in order to increase the productivity of
an organisation(Dramićanin, 2019). This approaches combine the various elements like
collaborative leadership and coalition to mobilize the innovation across the globe. It provide an
effective tool that help in predicting the human behaviour in order to increase the productivity
and efficiency of an organisation.
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Advantages: The manager of General Electronic adapt the changes itself in an
organisation and gain competitive position by bringing uniformity in decision making. In this
approach, the manager is considered as multi dimensional and focus on accomplishing the
individual and organisational goal in order to improve the efficiency. This approach is commonly
used to get a holistic views while dealing with complex and business issues.
Disadvantages: One of the disadvantage of system leadership is that this theory does not
applicable in case of practical problems as it lead to delay in decision making. This theory is not
applicable to the small organisation which posses the major threat for a company. Also, the
nature of inter dependence is not well defined in case of system leadership.
Contingency leadership: This theory of leadership states that the effectiveness of
leadership is matching the employees talent in according to the prevailing situation within the
market(Musai, 2019). There are various elements that should be taken into consideration such as
company culture, change in attitude and behaviour that have a direct impact on the success in the
process of leadership. In the context of General Electric, the manager assign the work among the
subordinates that matches their talent and skills in order to inculcate confidence and develop
positive attitude among them that aids in increasing the productivity and efficiency within the
respective firm.
Advantages: The leader of General Electric adopt the changes in policies and procedures
in according to a situation and facilitate coordination that provide vast growth opportunities and
contribute towards the success within the workplace. It also help the company to design an
appropriate organisation structure and plan the information design system appropriately.
Disadvantages: One of the disadvantage of contingency approach of leadership is that
this theory becomes complex during the practical approach. Also, sometimes it become difficult
for the manager to handle the situation as it is complex in nature. In the context of General
Electric, the major drawback is that a leader is not consistent towards their subordinates due to
frequent changes takes place in an entity. This provide a sense of discomfort and develop a
negative situation among them.
CONCLUSION
From the above furnished information, it can be summarised that management and leader
plays a different role but everyone work together for the accomplishment of a common goal. The
leader have followers who provide proper guidance and they have a long term vision while the
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manager perform various functions such as planning, organising, directing and monitoring the
activities in order to facilitate cooperation and coordination within a workplace. The firm should
also focuses on optimum utilisation of resources so as to minimise the waste and also bring
coordination and cooperation in an organisation. It has been analysed that leader and
management perform different functions and behave differently in according to the prevailing
situation in a workplace.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
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Improvement Program in Government Secondary Schools in East Wollega Zone of
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Bullying at Work with Regard to the Mediating Role of Organizational Health among
Employees of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. Journal of Payavard
Salamat, 13(4), pp.0-0.
Nouhi Bezanjani and et. al., 2019. Authentic Leadership and Moral Intelligence of Nurses in
Kerman University of Medical Sciences Hospitals. Journal of Payavard Salamat, 13(1),
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Ishaque, W. and Fatima, N., 2019. Impact of Globalization on National Security. Global Social
Sciences Review, 4(1), pp.23-33.
Samartinho, J. and São João, R., 2019. Virtual leadership in intercontinental projects: a case
study of the University of Santiago lms platform as an educational strategy. Taikomieji
tyrimai studijose ir praktikoje-Applied research in studies and practice, 15(1), pp.55-
60.
Musai, M., 2019. Relation between job involvement, attitude towards contemporary
management and leadership styles in manufacturing and service companies’
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Finance, Business, Marketing, Management and Tourism, 6(11-12), pp.129-139.
Henshaw, R., 2019. A Qualitative Case Study of the Underrepresentation of Women in
Leadership Positions in High School Athletic Departments in Texas (Doctoral
dissertation, Northcentral University).
Espín, J. A. G., Costa, M. M. and Jiménez, D. J., 2019. Proposal of an empirical model that
integrates relationships between organizational culture, learning and quality
management. In Jornadas doctorales de la Universidad de Murcia (pp. 243-249).
Servicio de Publicaciones.
Dramićanin, S., 2019. The impact of authentic leadership on the commitment of employees in
travel agencies in the Republic of Serbia. BizInfo (Blace) Journal of Economics,
Management and Informatics, 10(1), pp.29-41.
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