Management and Operations: Roles and Characteristics of Managers and Leaders

This document discusses the roles and characteristics of managers and leaders in the context of an organization. It also explores various theories and models of leadership, such as situational leadership, contingency leadership, and systems leadership. Additionally, it highlights the importance of operation management in achieving business goals and objectives.

MANAGEMENT AND
OPERATIONS

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1 Specify & analyse contrary roles as well as characteristics of managers along with leader
in context with an organisation...............................................................................................1
M1 Examine and distinguish between leader roles & function of manager by appropriately
applying various concepts & theories.....................................................................................2
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................3
P2 Analyse various instance how role of leader as well as function of manager are applicable
in various situational contexts................................................................................................3
P3 Mention various theories & models in order to approach, involving situational leadership,
contingency as well as systems leadership. ...........................................................................4
M2 Mention capability and weaknesses to assess distinguished approaches.........................4
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................5
P4 Mention effective approaches for operation management & the role of manager and
leaders ....................................................................................................................................5
P5 Define the importance or value of OM in attainment of business goals and objectives . .6
M3 Analyse the way through which leaders & managers can improvise OM to attain business
objectives and goals................................................................................................................7
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................7
P6 Assess component in BE which influences on operation management & decision-making
of both leaders and managers.................................................................................................7
M4 Analyse how various component impact the business environment as well as wider
community..............................................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Management & operation is concerned with the transformation of resources and raw
materials in the end products so that high revenues and profits can be acquired. It is related with
the redesigning, manufacturing and production of goods as per the demands of customers due to
which high revenues will be attained. This is going to benefit the business in an appropriate
manner. This project is prepared for M&S, a Britain based company which is specialised in
clothing, food products and home decoration items (Beske and Seuring, 2014). This firm operate
their work in global context. Assignment will discuss about functions and role of leader as well
as manager. Also, various theories of management will be discussed to analyse various
situations. Information about Key approaches and value of organisational management will be
discussed. In last, influence of business environment on decision-making and management of
business functions is mentioned.
TASK 1
P1 Specify & analyse contrary roles as well as characteristics of managers along with leader in
context with an organisation
Leader is an individual which influence an individual or whole group of persons so that
expected goals and targets can be acquired in a proper manner. In basic term, leader is defined as
a person which leads a situation in a proper manner. Leader refers to a person which holds a
higher or effective position in a specific field so that other people can be impacted in a proper
manner. Manager is basically an individual which manages and monitors the activities so the
whole productivity as well as efficiency of the company might be enhanced. There exist distinct
roles, duties & characteristics of both leader as well as manager in a business organisation so that
advantage will be gained (Cook and Billig, 2017).
Roles
Roles of manager
 Training of staff: Providing training is the role of manager. This role allows the manager
of M&S to offer proper guidance to the employees due to which they are able to perform
their work without any complexities and issues.
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 Allocating work: Manager in M&S has the role to allocate work to their staff. If
manager will not perform this role properly then accomplishing work in a systematic
manner will not be possible.
Role of leader
 Create vision: Major role of a leader in a company. If leader in M&S will not formulate
and communicate vision to the workers then it will be difficult for staff to acknowledge
what are their targets and how much time is needed to achieve them (Boyd and
Dougherty, 2016).
 Motivating workforce: Other effective role of a leader is to provide guidance and
motivation to their staff members in order to deal with difficult environment in an
effective and proper manner.
Characteristics
Characteristic of manager
 Time management: This is the main characteristic in which a manager of M&S will
divide the work according to the available time so that all the tasks can be accomplished
within expected time.
 Communication: Another role for manager is to communicate all the organisational
policies and information to the workers so that they can perform their work as per
requirement of the company.
Characteristic of leader
 Creativity: The main characteristic is where they have the work to be creative so that
challenging work can be performed in simplified manner and changing needs of
customers can be fulfilled via innovation (Ellitan, 2017).
 Commitment: This characteristic allows a leader to fulfil their promises made to the
employees. Due to this, employees in M&S will be very happy and they will be able to
perform their work in more productive and reliable manner.
M1 Examine and distinguish between leader roles & function of manager by appropriately
applying various concepts & theories
Roles & responsibilities of both manager as well as leader which is distinguished on the
basis of different situations. It can be said that in a situation, both manager and leader play
different kind of roles. For example, in case of execution of project, role of manager is to allocate
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the work to the employees, provide them training and checking their work whereas role is to
motivate and guide employees in order to perform their entire work in optimal manner.
TASK 2
P2 Analyse various instance how role of leader as well as function of manager are applicable in
various situational contexts.
In a company multiple kind of situations arise which influences the working of both
leader and manager. In context with M&S, there are different situations in which both manager
and leader have different work (Eraki, 2015). Information about this is described below:
Situation 1: Implementing new technology
Role of leaders
 Here, role of leader is to formulate proper strategies so that new technology can be
implemented in a proper manner. Also, leader will have to ensure that implemented
technology will impact working of company in negative manner.
 Other than this, leader will have to motivate staff so that introduction of technology can
take place properly.
Function of manager
 Manager's role in this situation is to design the procedures so that effective outcomes can
be gained.
 Also, manager will have to offer training to staff so that they can use technology in
proper way.
Situation 2: Arranging development and training session for staff
Role of leader
 Leader in M&S have the work to arrange the required funds which are 200 million
pounds so that all the staff can be properly trained (Fan, Liu and Zhang, 2015).
 Encouraging staff for the training so that employees can take utmost benefit from it.
Function of manager
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 Manager of M&S has the work to provide guidance and training to staff so that their
development can not be hindered in any manner. If training will not be provided actual
working capability of workers will not be acknowledged.
P3 Mention various theories & models in order to approach, involving situational leadership,
contingency as well as systems leadership.
Systematic leadership theory: This theory emphasize on the fact that leader of a
company has to formulate an environment so that each worker of a firm can perform their work
with full potential. This theory will benefits the workers in M&S due to creation of proper
system in organisation. By this, each person will get appropriate work and overall productivity of
company will raise. This theory also provide tools so that behaviour of staff can be predicted and
right kind of leadership style can be adopted (Fredendall and Hill, 2016). Role of a leader and a
manager is to develop a strong and positive working environment so that they can enhance the
efficiency as well as effectiveness of the employees. Apart from this, it has also been said that by
adopting this theory both manager and leader can contribute their share towards the
accomplishment of goals and objectives in an effective manner.
Contingency leadership theory: This is the theory which states that there is not specific
style to manage all the situation. Different situations needs different solutions so that
effectiveness can be maintained. In simple term, a contingency leader is a person which select a
style according to the situation. To be a contingent leader, the leader in M&S has to adopt
different styles in multiple situations. Managers and leaders of the company need to adopt
effective and efficient leadership style according to the changing situations so they can easily
attain their goals and objectives within given time period.
Situational leadership theory: This leadership theory include those leaders which adopt
various leadership styles to develop their teams and employees in a proper manner. This is a
good way of leadership as it helps in adapting needs of company in efficient way. Here, there
will be no fixed leadership style in M&S and leader of company will analyse the situation
properly and then decide which style they prefer to adopt so that high advantage can be gained
(Glukhov and Balashova, 2015). Managers and leaders both need to adopt effective style of
leadership so that they can perform all the task in an effective manner and motivate their staff
members to do ghd same.
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M2 Mention capability and weaknesses to assess distinguished approaches.
Situational leadership
Strength Weakness
 For workers, work performing
environment is very productive in this
kind of theory
 By assistance of this theory,
coordination in team members working
will be very high.
 Less focus is given to the long term
requirements of M&S.
 This leadership theory is not able to
take effective decisions in context with
organisation.
System leadership
Strength Weakness
 This is the approach which emphasize
on the overall goals of the company as
well as needs of employees.
 It has its focus on multiple working
dimensions of the management of
organisation.
 This theory is not highly practical in
nature & it leads to hold the decision-
making.
 In this theory, nature of dependency is
not defined properly (Han and et. al.,
2017).
Contingency leadership
Strength Weakness
 This leadership approach is highly
flexible in nature get modified easily.
 Along with it, employees of company
can also share their view points.
 practically implementing it is a tough
procedure.
 It is not easy to handle contingency
leadership style.
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TASK 3
P4 Mention effective approaches for operation management & the role of manager and leaders
Both leader and manager of a firm plays a considerable role in order to accomplish the
organisational success and growth. To acknowledge the activities properly, manager & leader is
needed to follow some approaches which are stated below:
Total quality management: It is referred as an effective way that benefits the manager of
form to increase the standard of offerings so that customers can be satisfied desirably. In this
context, main objective of Marks & Spencer is to enhance the overall satisfaction of the clients
so that they can be retained for maximum time (Idris, 2016). This will increase their trust in
offerings of the firm. For instance, consumption of raw material and resources of high quality
will assure that customers can be given standardised product. Here, role of leader will be to
enhance motivation of staff members so that technical skills will be enhanced.
Just in time: This approach will benefits M&Sin fulfilling the necessarily of the clients in
efficient way. By using this approach, manager of the organisation can acknowledge the stock
list situation so that customers can be given product as per their requirements. By this, overall
production and operational cost will be reduced due to which M&S can easily gain high revenues
and profits. Here role of manager is to train the workers so that they can use each resource in an
optimal manner whereas leader's role is to communicate the vision of company so that
standardised products can be served to the customers without any issues (Pundi and et. al., 2015).
Six sigma:It refers to the tool which is used by management team of an organization in order to
reduce any sort of errors While producing goods and services. With the help of implementing six
sigma technology within the workplace, managers of the organisation will be reduce any sort of
errors while doing manufacturing. This as a result assist in producing high quality products and
services which will satisfy the needs and requirements of customers and as a result overall
profitability of the company will increase.Therefore, managers are required to adopt six sigma
approach within their organisation so they can reduce defects and errors and manufacture high
quality products.
P5 Define the importance or value of OM in attainment of business goals and objectives
Operation management define to the area generally concerned with controlling &
designing the overall process of producing as well as redesigning of all the organisational
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functions. It has been said that there are ample number of departments within the organisation
which assist in attaining the goals & objectives of the company. Operation management is a
procedure highly concerned with supervising, organizing as well as planning the provisions
related with manufacturing & service. Apart from this, it has been said that an individual person
who manages each and every operations in an effective manner known as operation manager. It
is said that they are the one who have different types of skills, traits and characteristics which
help them in enhancing the value of operations management within the organisational context of
M&S.
Satisfaction of consumers needs-OM plays very necessary role to fulfil the needs &
requirements of customers by providing them goods and services which are of high quality
within affordable price. In today's competitive world, customers are the king who help in
attaining position of the company (Punyateera and et. al., 2014). Therefore, it is very essential for
the management team to fulfil the requirements of consumers to earn more profitability at the
marketplace. In reference to the M&S, OM play significant role in order to satisfy the needs and
wants of customers.
Reduce wastage of resources- By using six sigma and lean management approaches,
managers will be able to reduce wastage in an effective and appropriate manner. This will assist
in reducing scrap and wastage so that it will assist in enhancing the profit margin of the company
at the competitive marketplace. If talking about M&S, managers of the company adopt both the
approaches so that they can reduce any kind of wastage and produce high quality goods and
services.
It has been said that there are ample number of value as well as importance of operation
management which help in enhancing the profit ratio, performance, productivity as well as sales
of the company (Rushton, Croucher and Baker, 2014). In addition to this, it refers to elements
which assist in handing different issues which incudes design as well as maintenance of the
system used by the management team to make high quality goods as well as services.
M3 Analyse the way through which leaders & managers can improvise OM to attain business
objectives and goals.
It is said that leaders and managers play very important role within M&S as they help
them for accomplishing their objectives and goals in an appropriate way. Both manager and
leader perform their business functionality by recruiting, planning, controlling, directing as well
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as organising each and every activity so that positive result will be gained. This will help them
for accomplishing their pre define goal & objectives within given time frame. They adopt
various types of approaches & strategies for perform all there business functions in an effective
manner so that they can attain their goals and objectives of the company within given time
frame.
TASK 4
P6 Assess component in BE which influences on operation management & decision-making of
both leaders and managers.
It is said that business environment refers to the combination of both internal as well as
external element which as customers, management, employees, suppliers, technology, clients,
economic changes and many more which might influence the overall business functioning of the
the company (Shirae and et. al., Fujitsu Ltd, 2015 2015). With the help of this concept, business
entity will be able to grab ample number of opportunities, improving performance, profitability
as well as growth of the business organisation. All these factors need to be considered by the
managers & leaders of the company while taking decisions. Business environment is categorised
into two main types which are internal & external going to be discussed as follows:
Internal Factors
It refers to the factors which is commonly arise within the organisation and can easily be
controllable and manage by the staff members of the company. It has also been said that due to
internal factors, organisation will face various impact and affect the overall success of business.
Some of the most essential factors are going to be discussed as follows:
 Value system- It has been said that the value system of a business entity consist of
various ethical beliefs which will assist in attaining the objectives of the organisation. In
addition to this, it will also identify the behaviour as well as attitude of staff members,
society, customers which affect the performance. In the present context of M&S, value
system highly consist of honesty, fairness, transparency, harmonious relationship as well
as courtesy (Thornburg, Ustun and Krogh, 2016). All the decisions taken by the managers
must be based on ethical considerations so that they can develop favourable results.
 Organisation structure- It define as the system used by large number of organisations in
order to define the hierarchy of duties and jobs within the organisation. It has been said
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that M&S is an organisation which use functional structure so they can execute all their
activity in an appropriate manner. Therefore, managers of the company develop strategies
in an effective manner so that they can perform all their function in a favourable manner.
External Factors
On the other hand, in context of external factors which are not controllable and managed
by the organisation and are arise outside the business organisation. These are the factors which
have both favourable as well as unfavourable impact. Some of the most essential factors are
going to be discussed as follows:
 Legal factors: It is said that one of the most influential external element is legal factor
which might affect the overall business functionality of the company. Any kind of
modifications in the legislations and laws directly affect the growth as well as business
functionality of the business entity (Zeng and et. al., 2014). It has been said that each and
every country have their own legal policies which affect the development of business
entity. In context of M&S, managers need to take decisions after considering all the legal
laws so that the outcome will be favourable and help in enhancing the growth rate of the
company at the competitive marketplace.
M4 Analyse how various component impact the business environment as well as wider
community.
It is concluded that while doing business functions, there are ample number of factors
which need to be considered by the managers and leaders. These are the factors which creates
issues while taking any kind of decisions which might affect the functionality of the organisation
(Beske and Seuring, 2014). Therefore, it is very essential for the management team to examine
all these factors so that positive and favourable results will be developed. It has also been said
that there are different departments performed there business functions in an effective manner
but due to various factors there might increase in confusion and disputes. This as a result might
reduce the goodwill as well as brand image of the company at the competitive marketplace.
CONCLUSION
As per this report, it can be comprehended that both leader and manager in a company
play an important function in the overall success of the organisation. Without any good
assistance of a leader or manager, it is impossible for the a company to achieve expected results.
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Manager of an organisation helps in offering advantage through appropriate strategies and plans.
This will allow a firm to enhance their profits. Main role for a leader is to motivate the staff so
that their working capabilities can be raised. This will allow a firm to acquire high benefits and
profits due to which gaining competitive advantage over rivals will be easy. There exist different
theories like contingency, situational and system theory that allows an organisation to perform
work systematically. Key approaches and value of operational management benefits in
attainment of business objectives so that high profits can be earned.
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