Roles and Responsibilities of Leaders and Managers

This report discusses the key roles and responsibilities of leaders and managers in operational management, including their impact on employee behavior and organizational environment. It also touches on leadership styles such as contingency theory and situational leadership, emphasizing the importance of operational management in making policies that consider internal and external environments. The report references various sources and provides a summary of the key points.

Management and Operations

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction- ...................................................................................................................................1
P-1 roles and
characteristics of a leader and a manager...................................................................................1
P-2 How role of a leader
and the function of a manager apply in
different situations......................................................................................................................2
P-3 Different theories and models of
approach......................................................................................................................................4
P-4 Approaches to operations
management and roles of leaders and managers........................................................................5
P-5 Importance and value of
operations management in business goals...................................................................................6
P-6 factors in business
environment that impact operational
management and decision-making.............................................................................................7
M-1
role of a leader and function of a manager
by applying theories and concepts.............................................................................................8
M-2 strengths and weakness of different approaches.................................................................9
M-3 how leaders and managers
can improve efficiencies of operational
management...............................................................................................................................9
M-4 how different factors
affect the business environment and wider
community...............................................................................................................................10
Conclusion- ...................................................................................................................................10
References:.....................................................................................................................................11

Introduction-
The management and its operations is very crucial element of any business organisation where
employees and managers work together to achieve a common objective or goal. This report will
show the roles and characteristics of leaders and managers. It will give description about various
leadership theories. It will give brief about the importance operational management in achieving
business objectives. Also the various factors that affect the business environment in decision-
making.
For undertaking this present organisation selected is marks and Spencer. The cited firm
belongs to clothing industry operates globally. The existence of the company on such a great
level requires effective business strategies.
P-1 roles and
characteristics of a leader and a manager.
Leader creates vision- they inspire and encourage people by changing vision into reality. They
create teams as they know that working together can accomplish more than working individually.
Mangers creates goals- managers focus on setting and measuring goals. They control situations
so that they can reach their objectives(Alderton, and Saieva, G., 2013)
Leaders create changes- they focus on innovation. They think that things can be done in a better
way. They understand that changes in system
mangers maintain status- by changing structures and processes they stick with their work .to
make them better.
Leaders are unique- they build their own personal brand by actively working. They are authentic
and transparent in their work and ideas.
Mangers copy- managers copy styles and behaviours from different leaders and adopt them in
their leadership.

Risk taking- leaders often take risk by trying new things because they know if they fail it will
create a step forward on the path of success.
Risk controlling- managers minimise risk by controlling it. They avoid problems by embracing
them.
Long term thinking- leaders think for long terms growth. They are motivated towards achieving
a big goal without receiving regular rewards.
Short term thinking- managers think for short term as they need regular rewards for the
acknowledgement that they have done(sam, Bhat, Dix,, Bauer, and Gopalakrishna., 2015.)
Personal growth- leaders are curious to learn new things ever day to remain relevant in changing
world of work. They seek information that will expand their thinking.
Rely on others- managers adopt existing skills and behaviours which made them successful.
Relationships- leaders focus on loyalty and trust by building relations with stakeholders. They
spend most of time with them in order to influence their vision.
Process and systems- managers ensure that systems are in place to attain desired results. They
build structure necessary to achieve goal by working with individual.
Leaders coach- leaders know the potential of their people. Htye do not tell the people what to do
and how to do. are optimistic
managers direct- they provide guidance on how to accomplish the task. They also assign task to
individual as managers know who can do what type of task.
Leaders create fans- they create fans because of the work done by them by making their
followers to
mangers create employees- by following the directions of managers and pleasing them
employees are created.

P-2 How role of a leader
and the function of a manager apply in
different situations.
The role of leader and manager is very important in different situations of organisation. The
situation can of any kind:
increasing sales- if the sales of makrs and spencer is not increasing then it becomes the
responsibility of leader and manager to find loop holes in that and correct it. These loop holes
can be in their strategies or plans or in their techniques of implementation. To increase the sales
their must planning of new strategies by the managers. The leaders should motivate the
employees to take part decision-making so that they can give their opinions. It will help in
increasing the sales and making profits(Burgess, Fowler, Minowitz, and Neudorff,., 2016)
Product development- if there is any need of product development in marks and spencer then it
becomes necessary to plan and implement new strategies which is crucial for new product
development. For this the manager needs to make new plans and strategies for their employees to
follow. These strategies should be based upon employees skills and abilities. Proper strategies
implementation is needed in product development because in this the whole process is changed.
The way and style of working, the communication all is changed. Managers must make sure that
each role is defined correctly and specifically to employees otherwise it may lead to conflicts.
The leaders role on the other hand is to make strong connections with suppliers, stakeholders and
customers so that they new product can be sold easily. They must confirm that the new product
is ready to go out in the market with its strong features. These connections helps makrs and
spencer to easily communicate the features of new product to customers so that they are ready to
buy it. It will help in already creating awareness about the product and future strategies to adopt
in case of old one fails. Chen, L., 2017
Implementation of change- if there is any change in policies or culture of environment in marks
and spencer then it is duty of managers and leaders to maker aware the employees and about

these changes. The managers duty is to first know what and where the changes have been made
and then inform about these changes to the employees. Proper flow of communication must be
there if there is any change in policies. The leaders duty on other hand is to implement these
changes. They tell the employees about are the benefits of these changes. Generally leaders do
not follow implement any changes rather they create changes .
P-3 Different theories and models of
approach.
Situational leadership style- it is a style in which the leaders make strategies according to the
work environment and needs of the organisation. It is flexible and not based on specific skill
of ;leader but modifies its style of management in context with requirements of organisation.
(Chiarini,. and Vagnoni,., 2015)
Blanchard and heresy theory-
telling leaders- the leaders make decision and create roles and objectives for others.
Communication is usually quick and one way.
Selling- as well as creating ideas and objectives the leaders also gives open suggestions and
opinions in order to increase cooperation between their employees.
Participating- in this the leaders may participate in decision making process but they leave the
entire decision to their employees.
Delegating- the leaders provide minimum guidance to the employees just to help them or solve
their problems.
System leadership- it means by combining the management development and organisation
techniques and psychology.

Contingency theory- it emphasizes both on leader's personality and situation in which he
operates. It consists of two factors: leadership trait and situation(Heizer, 2016)
Leader trait- to assess the attitudes of leader a scale of eight points was developed in which
included items like pleasant, cooperative, freiendly, etc. are mentioned. low points shows that
the leader is task oriented and high points shows that the leader is relationship oriented. High
points leaders think about completion of task only after developing relationship between
employees. On the other hand low point leader develop relationship only after task
accomplishment.
Situational factor- three factor work together to determine favourable situation to a leader:
Position power- the power given to leader in the organisation structure and flexibility in taking
decisions(.Radnor, Z.J., Bateman, N., Esain, A., Kumar, M., Williams, S.J. and Upton, D.M. eds., 2015). V
Task structure- the extent to which task structure is been described and clearly defined.
Leader member relations- the extent to which the leader is been trusted by goupr members.
Also the willingness of members to follow the leaders guidance.
P-4 Approaches to operations
management and roles of leaders and managers.
The role of operational management is very wide in marks and Spencers. The task of manager
depends upon the nature and size of organisation. The various approaches are:
Total quality management- it describes a management approach of long term success through
customer satisfaction. All the members of organisation improves organisation culture, product ,
services in their work. The manager should make new strategies and implement them. I9t is the
responsibility of manager to properly execute the strategies made by them and also to ensure it
proper implementation by evaluating the results of employees. If the strategies are not properly
implemented then there rare chances of On the other hand the leader should make strong
relations with customers and improve communication system by interacting with stakeholders.

Leaders also play a crucial role in motivating the employees as without his motivation employees
will not be able to perform. They have to also ensure the stakeholders by making clear the
vision of strategies made by the mangers.( Venkat, A., Kekre, S., Hegde, G.G., Shang, J. and Campbell,
T.P., 2015..)
Business process re engineering- it aims at cutting down the production cost by making
innovations or redesigning system design and core processes. The manager should redesign the
system and describe the objectives to employees. The new design system have new roles and
responsibility of every employee so it is the mangers who makes the plans of what task will be
done by whom. The leader should motivate the employees to achieve the objectives that has
been set by their managers.(Alderton,. and Saieva, 2013. )
Six sigma- it helps in Improving the capability of business processes. The increase in
performance leads to improvements in profits, employee morale and quality of products and
services. The managers should make proper plans to achieve those objectives. The plans made
must be in accordance with the objectives has been set up by the top management. Leaders must
ensure that the employees are working according to the plan by giving them some guidance or
helping them. There is an open communication between them as employees can share their
opinions with the leader .
P-5 Importance and value of
operations management in business goals.
To improve productivity – the overall ratio of input and output of mark and Spencers is
dependent of its employees nad m,managers. The operational management should focus on
improving this ratio. Higher the ratio higher will be the efficiency of employees. The
management should boost the employees by modifying various techniques in daily operations of
business. A productive environment will automatically motivate the employees to improve their
effective in working. the change in environment will affect the overall organisation to make

changes and in employees and production process. The improved productivity will lead to
increase in volume of sales and therefore increase in profits.hen, L., 2017.
Total quality management- the operations department focus on managing and improving the total
quality of organisation through customer satisfaction. It which improving the products, services,
and increase in sales and profits of organisation. A small change in total quality management will
affect the entire production process. By redesigning the entire process the quality of products
will increase which will leas to more satisfaction of customers. It will also help in improving
marks and Spencers image in their industry. Increased customer satisfaction means the quality
delivering of product to customers at right time thus by fulfilling their demands. It also
increasing the trust and loyalty of customers towards the company. It also ensures long term
success of company by future planning( Chiarini,. and Vagnoni, , 2015)
Logistics management- the overall process of supply chain management inbound and outbound
of of raw materials and finished goods. A strong supply chain in makrs and Spencers will help
building relations with customers and agents. The overall production process is dependent on
logistics management. The inbound of raw materials in right quantity and right time will help in
smooth functioning of production. The outbound of finished goods at right place and in right
time will help in increasing sales and greater customer satisfaction. This will lead to customers
retention. Proper planning and communication between all levels in logistics management will
ensure greater productivity in marks and Spencers.
P-6 factors in business
environment that impact operational
management and decision-making.
Business environment consists of two elements:-
internal environment and external environment. Internal environment consists of owners,
employees , board of directors and culture.

Board of directors- they are selected by shareholders who are the governing body of marks and
Spencers. They have the responsibility of appointment of the mangers in different level of
entire organisation. So it becomes (Heizer, , 2016)
owners- they are investors who have invested in marks and Spencers. They have the property
rights in the company. They are the people who have started the company or purchased some
shares. They have the right to change policies at any time.
Employees- an important element o the marks and Spencers generally known as workforce in
company. They are the people who performs the given task and are responsible for achieving the
organisation goals and objectives.
Culture- it is the collection individuals values, beliefs, and visions which are been attached to
their actions. Makes ans Spencers culture plays a important role in how well they are performing.
It also helps in determining the managerial behaviour.(Venkat, , Kekre, , Hegde, Shang, J. and
Campbell,., 2015.)
If a manger do not understand the environment of marks and Spencers it will definitely affect the
entire organisation leading to poor performance of employees and mangers.
Extremal environment consists of competitors, customers, suppliers, partners and regualtors.
Competitors- A competitive market where company tries to remain ahead of its competitors.
Policies of organisation is often influenced by its competitors . Number of competitors, their
products, market share, etc are all stated while making the policies.
Customers- the primary goals of marks and Spencers is satisfaction of customers. They are the
people who hands them profit. The customers are taste and preference changes according to time
so managers should pay close attention while making policies.
Suppliers-the provide the production materials to marks and Spencers. A good and strong
relationship between the organisation and supplier is important to keep steady flow of quality
input and output materials.

Partners- they are the individual organisation or firms from which marks and Spencers are
dealing with. The strategic partners in some way influence the makrs and Spencers activities.
Regulators- it is the task environment which controls the authority of makrs and Spencers. It has
the authority to control and influence marks and Spencer policies. Government agencies, trade
unions, chamber of commerce are examples of task environment (Chen, 2017. )
M-1
role of a leader and function of a manager
by applying theories and concepts.
the role of a manger and leader is completely different from each other. The manager is
responsible for making plans and strategies for each employees while leader is responsible for
motivating employees to achieve that plan by giving them suggestions. The manager is build a
vision but a leader shows the road map of vision to follow. Manager leads the whole group
while a leader creates groups. Manager tells people what to do by giving them the task but
leaders guide people towards success. Managers care about the objectives while leaders care
about people. Managers take the credit of task completion whole leader takes the responsibility.
Managers react to change, leaders create change. Managers have power over people while
leaders develop power with people.
M-2 strengths and weakness of different approaches.
The situational leadership style is effective only if the decisions are solely taken by leaders but
sometimes it may not be effective because the leaders can take decisions for their benefit and
they can force the employees to follow their direction to achieve the goals. Sometimes the leader
can take advantage of employees for fulfilling their goals. The contingency theory will be
beneficial if the leaders are given opportunities to take decisions according to their qualities. But
sometimes it may be harmful because some leaders might not have all the qualities in them and
they might take wrong decisions. (Heizer,., 2016)

The total quality management of marks and spencer will increase if there is great level of
satisfaction among the customers. It helps ion long term success of business but as marks and
spencer belongs to clothing industry the taste and preferences of customers changes frequently
according to the fashion. So customers are left with many different options. Similarly business
process engineering changes the entire production process which can be helpful to design quality
products but for marks and spencer it will be a difficult task to do this as it requires huge fund
and experience persons to manage that process.
M-3 how leaders and managers
can improve efficiencies of operational
management.
The entire business process is dependent upon the shoulders of managers and leaders. It is the
responsibility of leaders and managers for the smooth functioning of business. They have to
ensure that all the employees are working according to their given task and the policies are
properly implemented. The continuous reviewing of strategies help them to effectively work
with employees. The decisions taken by them will ensure in proper working of task and this will
lead to better productivity. If the leaders and managers are given flexibility in decision-making
then they will take decisions accordingly which will help them to improve their employees
performanc(Chiarini,. and Vagnoni,., 2015)
M-4 how different factors
affect the business environment and wider
community.

The strategies made by mangers are directly affected by the business environment in which
marks and spencer operates. The policies that are made reflect upon the internal and external
environment of marks and spencer. Flexibility in policies will help marks and spencer to take
better decisions and hence quick implementation of that decision will take place. It will lead to
greater productivity. Any change in the environment of industry will affect the makrs and spncer.
and ensure meet the changing demands of customers. If the customers are satisfied with the
quality of product then it is beneficial for company to as their profits will increase and customers
will retain.
Conclusion-
This report shows the various roles and responsibilities of leaders and managers. How these roles
bring changes n the behaviour of employee and how the entire the environment of any
organisation can be changed. Further the various approach of leadership styles like contingency
theory, situational leadership, etc .It shows the importance of operational management in making
policies while considering the internal environment(employees, culture and owners) and external
environment(competitors, suppliers, customers, partners, etc.).

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