Importance of Operations Management in Achieving Business Objectives

This report discusses the importance of operations management in achieving business objectives. It explores the role of leaders and managers in operation management and compares their characteristics. The report also delves into different theories and models of leadership and highlights key approaches of operation management. Case examples are provided to illustrate how leaders and managers apply their roles in different situations. The report is based on the company Sainsbury, a major player in the super chain market sector.

MANAGEMENT AND
OPERATIONS

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
P 1 Defining and comparing the role and characteristic of leader and manager....................3
P 2 Examples stating that how role of leader and manager apply to different situations.......4
P 3 Different theories and models of leadership....................................................................5
P 4 Key approaches of operation management and role of leader and manger.....................6
P 5 Importance of operations management in achieving business objectives........................7
P 6 Factors within business environment impacting the operational management and decision
making by leader and manager...............................................................................................8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
The operation management is the major department if the business. This is majorly
because of the reason that within this department the main process of production takes place.
Therefore, operation management is the area which is concerned with managing and designing
and controlling the whole production process (Ali, Bentley and Cao, 2016). The present report is
based on company Sainsbury. This is the second largest company dealing in super chain market
sector. the company was founded by John James Sainsbury in the year 1869 which is
headquartered in Holborn London.
The present report will start by understanding and comparing the role and characteristic
of the leader and the manager. Further it will with help of some examples will outline the role of
manager and leader in different business situation. Further different theories and models of
leadership will be discussed. Next the discussion will be done on different approaches of
operation management along with the importance of operation management on the
accomplishment of the business objectives. In the end some analysis of different factors of
business environment impacting the business will be done.
P 1 Defining and comparing the role and characteristic of leader and manager
The leader is the person who is responsible for managing the followers or the team and directing
and guiding them to accomplish a task. On the other hand, the manager is a person who is
responsible to only manage the work within the company that is the person who is responsible
for administering and controlling the company (Bozkurt and Stowell, 2016).
Element Leader Manager
Characteristics This refers to as the special
ability of the leader which are
distinctly possessed by the
leader only. The different
characteristic of the leader is
like ability to delegate,
confidence, commitment,
positive attitude, innovation
and creativity and many other
characteristics. These are
On the flip side the manager is
a person who is responsible for
managing and controlling the
working of the business
(Graham and Potter, 2015).
For the management of
Sainsbury, the manager needs
to have certain specific
characteristics like having
vision and good

specifically inherited by the
leader only. This is majorly
because of the reason that the
leader is responsible for the
overall working of the
company and not only for the
management of the work.
Therefore, it is very necessary
for the leader to possess all
these characteristics if they
want to be successful leader of
Sainsbury.
communication skills, having
intellectual skills and
resources, motivational
attitude, ability to take right
decision at right time and may
other such characteristics
(Davies, 2018). These are
different from that of the
manager because of the reason
that the manager is responsible
for managing the whole
business and leader is
restricted only up to the group
or team.
Role The major role of leader
within the business of
Sainsbury is to guide and
direct the employees and the
other people in the company
to work in the direction of
achievement of group goals.
Another role of leader is to
bring in innovative and
creative ideas into the
business.
Another role of the leader is to
decide the goals and mission
and vision of the Sainsbury.
The major role of the manager
as compared to the leader is to
manage all the work going
within Sainsbury and to
complete the task effectively
and efficiently.
Another role of the manager is
to bring in the innovative idea
thought by the leader to
practice and make it
successful.
On the other hand, the role of
manager of Sainsbury is to
make some plan so that the
intended goals of the leader of
Sainsbury are accomplished.

P 2 Examples stating that how role of leader and manager apply to different situations
The leader and manager are two different personality and also behave differently in
different situations within Sainsbury. This is because of the reason that both the leader and
manager are different in their perception and way of working. The different situation within
Sainsbury are discussed in the following points-
Customer complaint- this is a situation in which the consumer of the company is not
satisfied with the quality of the goods and services produced by Sainsbury. This is a major
situation for the company. This is because of the reason that this can harm the sales and goodwill
of the company. This is majorly because of the reason that if the consumer will not like the
product and services then they will not consume the same and also will not like the product and
will bad mouth the products in front of those who are using the product and service of Sainsbury.
Thus, in this case the leadership will first analyse the major reason for the low quality of
the products. This is majorly because of the reason that the quality may be lowered because the
raw material is of low quality or the quality of the competitors’ goods is more (Gibson and
Parkman, 2018). Thus, leadership will first analyse the reason behind the complaint of the
consumer and then by complete evaluation will take any action. The management on the other
hand, will just ask the operations department to change the raw material without even checking
that whether the raw material is the fault or any other reason.
Employee turnover- this is a situation in which there is high employee turnover. Here
more of the employees leave the company and goes to some other place or with the competitor.
This is a major situation within Sainsbury because of the reason that the competition is at its
peak and this attracts the employees to other companies. Thus, in this situation both the manager
and leader react differently.
The leadership of Sainsbury here plays the role of an analyser. This is due to the fact that
the leader analyses the whole situation that is what is the reason for employees leaving and going
to another place. Then the leader will provide certain benefits to attract the employee to not go to
any other place. Also, the leader will try to find all the problems which the employees are facing
at the workplace and try to find the solution to their problem and then try to retain them. On the
flip side the management will not be much interested in knowing the fact that employees are
leaving the company. Rather they will give the details to the HR department and will ask them to
recruit more of the employees.

P 3 Different theories and models of leadership
In managing the company there are different types of leadership theories and models which are
helpful for Sainsbury to manage the different situation. These leadership theories are as follows-
Situational leadership- it is a leadership style which is adopted by the leader in
accordance with the situation. This is because of the reason in every situation a single leadership
style cannot be adopted. Therefore, the effective leadership style totally depends on the situation
present. For instance, in the above situation of high employee turnover the role of leader was to
understand the situation of employee and then to provide with the perks and different things to
attract them not to leave.
Strength
This helps the leader to understand the situation better and this helps in dealing with the situation
in better way.
Weaknesses
This is very complex to understand the situation.
Also, it is very difficult for the leader to decide which leadership theory they need to apply in
which situation.
System theory of management- it is a theory that outline the relation between the
employee and the employer of Sainsbury. This also outline the system which the company uses
to manage its problems (Kirwan, Scaife and Kennedy, 2017). Like for the case of
miscommunication the manager could have used the system of written communication as it can
be referred in future and also it can be kept as a proof in future. Laos, the leader in this situation
could have used the system of interconnected telephone for every department as this could have
simplified the communication.
Strength
The main focus of this system is that it helps in achieving the business objective very effectively.
Weakness
This theory is a lot of time consuming and also is not applicable on many practical problems.
Contingency theory- this is a theory which states that the selection of the leadership style
depends on the happening or not happening of any situation. This theory is very effective for the
growth of Sainsbury. This is because of the reason that this theory aims at matching the
leadership style to the present situation.

Strength
The main focus of this theory is on leadership style in accordance with current situation going on
and also promotes effective management.
Weakness
The main focus is on the situation and not on the available resources.
P 4 Key approaches of operation management and role of leader and manger
The operation management is the important segment of the business because all the other
department are based on the working of this department only. If operation management is not
efficient then the company will not be able to make profits and run the business optimally
(Ulewicz, 2016). Therefore, for managing the operation management there are many different
types of theories and approached which can be used by Sainsbury. Some of the different type are
discussed in the adjoining points below-
Theories of operation and management
Lean manufacturing- this is a production or manufacturing method under which the
main focus of the company is to minimize the waste in the manufacturing process (Allen, 2019).
The waste is defined as anything which does not add value to the production or to the ultimate
consumer. This is because of the reason that if the consumer is not liking the goods and services
then it is a waste for the company and only adds in the cost for the company. Therefore, it is
profitable for the company to minimize that waste and save the money. For minimizing the
waste, the role of the leader is to analyse the needs of the consumer and then to identify that what
are the waste areas. On the other hand, the role of the manager is to oversee the whole production
area and then to ensure that there is not any unnecessary waste.
Approach of operation and management
Total quality management- this is an approach of operation management which helps the
company in managing the operation by focusing on the quality of the products and services. In
this modern and competitive era where the competition is at its peak the only thing which the
consumer need is the quality of the product and services. Therefore, this approach of operation
management that is TQM helps the company in focusing only on the quality. The role of the
manager is to identify the different quality standards for the operation. Whereas the role of the
leader is to ensure that these quality standards are being followed by the employees in the
process of operation or not.

P 5 Importance of operations management in achieving business objectives
Operation management is that department of the business which is responsible for the
success of the whole business and other connected departments. This is majorly because of the
reason that if the operation department will not produce the goods then what other departments
will do. Like for instance, if the product will not be there then how marketing department will
make the marketing plan or how the finance department will allocate money to sale the product
in the market. Thus, it is essential for the Sainsbury to manage its operation very well. The
importance of operation management for functioning of Sainsbury are discussed in the connected
points below-
The first and foremost importance of the operation management department is that it
helps in transformation of raw materials into the finished goods (Furterer, 2016). This is the
major importance because of this system will not be there then how the company will do
business. It is so due to the reason that if operation department is not there then the goods will
not be produced within the company. And if the goods are not there then how the business will
achieve its objectives.
Another importance of operation management is that it helps in scheduling the work. This
is majorly because of the reason that the operation department lines all the work of the
production process in the sequence in which it needs to be done (Tennant, 2017). This is because
of the reason that this helps the employees to know in advance that in what sequence the work
needs to be done and this saves a lot of time as the work is pre- determined and the employees
just have to carry on the work in the way intended by the managers and leaders.
One more importance is that the operation management helps the Sainsbury in managing
its logistics and inventory in correct and accurate manner. This is majorly because of the reason
that if the inventory will be managed on time then the production will be finished in time and the
consumers will be delivered with the goods and services on time.
Another importance is that the operation management helps in effective control and
distribution system. This is because of the reason that operation management helps in defining
every task beforehand and this helps the company in identifying the task and who will perform it
in advance.
All this importance of operation management helps Sainsbury in achieving all its
business objectives. This is majorly because of the reason that all the importance is relating to

the successfully accomplishment of the business objective. This is due to the fact that the main
objective of the business is to earn profits and to satisfy the needs of the consumers. Like for
instance, the timely distribution system helps the product and services to reach to the ultimate
consumer on time. Therefore, effective operation management will help Sainsbury in achieving
all its business objectives.
P 6 Factors within business environment impacting the operational management and decision
making by leader and manager
The business exists in the business environment which is frequently changing and
dynamic in nature. Thus, there are many factors present within the business environment which
have impact in the operational management and decision making. These factors are as follows-
Corporate social responsibility- the CSR is defined as the taking care of the society and
the environment by the business (Nath and Ramanathan, 2016). It is the moral duty of Sainsbury
to take care of the society and environment. This is because of the reason that the company takes
all the resources and raw materials form the environment. Therefore, it is the duty of the
company to pay back to the environment. Thus, for this the leader and manager decide to provide
the consumers with the quality products and at nominal cost. The CSR impact the operation
management of Sainsbury because of the reason that this factor enables company to produce
more good quality product and this also increases the cost for the company.
Culture- the culture impacts the operation management to a great extent for Sainsbury.
This is majorly because of the reason that if the products produced by Sainsbury are not in
accordance to the culture of the society then this will negatively impact the business. Also, the
decision making will be impacted of the leader and manager because now they have to decide
alternative ways of developing the existing product in accordance with the culture (Papachristos
and et.al., 2018).
Sustainability- this is defined as the ability of the company to work in such a way that the
resources are used optimally and there is scope of using them in future as well and there is
sustainable growth of the company. Sainsbury operation management is impacted with
sustainability because now the company before producing the goods and services need to think
that whether it will be left for the future use or not. Here the manager and leader need to decide
that which way they need to use to maintain the sustainability and success.

CONCLUSION
From the above study it was analysed that for successful running of the business it is
necessary for the company to manage its operations very effectively and efficiently. The present
report focussed on the difference between leader and manager in basis of characteristics and role.
Further the different situation and role of leader in that was discussed likes employee turnover,
miscommunication and many other.
Next the application of different theories like contingency, system, situational and other
were discussed. Further the different approaches of operation management like lean, TQM was
highlighted. Further the importance of operation management in achieving the objective of
business like scheduling, transformation of raw material into finished product and many other. In
the end the different factors of business environment like CSR, culture, sustainability and many
other was discussed.

REFERENCES
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