Key Approaches to Operations Management and the Role of Leaders and Managers

This article discusses the key approaches to operations management, including Six Sigma and Lean principles. It also highlights the role that leaders and managers play in implementing these approaches.

Management Operation

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1...........................................................................................................................................3
P1 Define and compare the different roles and characteristics of a leader and a manager....3
TASK 2...........................................................................................................................................6
P2 Examine examples of how the role of a leader and the function of a manager apply in
different situational contexts..................................................................................................6
P3 Apply different theories and models of approach, including situational leadership, systems
leadership and contingency....................................................................................................7
TASK 3...........................................................................................................................................8
P4 Explain the key approaches to operations management and the role that leaders and
managers play.........................................................................................................................8
P5 Explain the importance and value of operations management in achieving business
objectives................................................................................................................................9
TASK 4.........................................................................................................................................10
P6 Assess the factors within the business environment that impact upon operational
management and decision making by leaders and managers...............................................10
CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................12
......................................................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Operation management is an area management that is associated with designing and
procedure of monitoring of production and reshaping of business in order to manufacture any
goods or providing services (Guertault and et. al., 2018. This involves planning, organising,
controlling coordinating the workforce and managing other resources which are required in
manufacturing and service rendering process. Manager and leader are the two person which
plays an essential roles in operation management process in an organisation. This assignment is
based on German company ALDI which is a multinational retail grocery store. ALDI was
founded in 1960, and having headquarter in Germany. They are doing business through out the
globe and they deals Grocery and house hold products. This project will enlighten the role and
characteristics of leader and managers. Along with these, this report explains numerous
approaches, methods and theories of leadership and management such as behavioural theory,
contingency theory, situational theory, systems theory and scientific theory. In addition to that
this report includes impacts of various internal and external factors in the business such as
economical factors, social factors etc. further this report includes some theories of operation
management such as total quality management, juts in time approach, lean principle and six
sigma approach which helps a business in order to enhance performance and productivity by
continual improvements.
TASK 1
P1 Define and compare the different roles and characteristics of a leader and a manager.
Leader: Leader is a person who motivates group member in order to attain the common
objective and business goals. In other words the leader is an inspiration for their sub ordinate
and works as an administrator for any plan of action (Hitt, Xu and Carnes, 2016). Leader always
guides their team so that to provide directions as they have leadership skills. Leader have
numerous roles and characteristics, some of them are explained below:
Roles of a leader:
 Strategist: The leader is a person who develops action plan and strategies in the business
and the planning of work to be done by the team member. The responsibility of a leader
is to set specific goals for the business and all the steps which are to be followed by the
team members in the path of goal achievement. In the context of ALDI the leader is

making plans in order to keep good environment in store and strategies which helps in
boosting sales.
 Communicator: Communication plays an effective role in success of any business or
organization. A leader communicates with public, employees and manager on a routine
basis so that to generate feedbacks. Feedbacks are helpful in continual improvements of
the organisation (Hübner, Holzapfel and Kuhn, 2015). As in context of ALDI the leader
communicates with their sub ordinates, customers and managerial personnels so that
feedbacks can be taken and by getting feedbacks organisational change can be
introduced in order to get maximum efficiency.
Characteristic of a leader:
 Accountability: The leader always stay accountable for good and bad results of their
teams. They have quality of taking blame when something goes wrong and giving credit
to whole team when their deeds are appreciated by managers. In ALDI the leader is
taking responsibility on behalf of their team so that to create healthy environment in the
organisation.
 Positivity: A leader posses positive attitude for every aspect and situation. They find
some positive side in every state. This leads to reduction in stress over the organisational
surroundings. This attitude of positivity reflect positive viewpoint in the team member.
In ALDI the leaders always posses positive attitude this encourage the member to stay
calm in every situation and giving best in every condition.
Manager: A manager is a person who is an expert in their pitch and works as a support
system to the business and employees. A manager is a responsible authority for getting all the
the things done in the organisation. Manager are the person who manages people and resources
in an organisation, they have authority to hire people and taking care of available resources in
the company (Nováky, 2015) There are various roles and characteristic of a manager some of
them are categorised below:
Roles of manager:
 Motivator: A manger motivates their employee so that they flourish in the company to
gain long time benefits and sustainability in the company. They acts as a catalyst in order

to encourage employees so that employees five their fuller efficiency in the business. As
in ALDI the manager motivate their workforce so that to maintain a firm and corporative
environment inside the organisation (Prahlad and Pawar, 2016).
 Delegator: The manager works as a delegator as they delegates task amongst team
members as per the calibre and skills. The manager recognises the best best person to do
a particular task so that maximum efficiency can be obtained. As in ALDI the manager
will delegate the works among the member as per their capabilities and mental abilities
so that this assist the company to take benefit of each and every skills possessed by the
employees in a considerable manner.
Characteristics of managers:
 Resilient: A manager is flexible in nature that means they perform efficiently even
during bad times and they try to give full efforts in their team. This characteristic leads to
generation of trust in the employees for their manager and motivate them to focus on
solutions instead of problems. As in ALDI the manager is resilient in nature in order to
create flexibility and trust among team mates.
 Problem solving: A successful manager is capable of recognising problems and solve
then with the help of critical thinking and changing them into future possible
opportunities. As in ALDI, managers recognised problems of customers and saw
opportunity in that and expanded their business in term of proving extra products in their
store (Bourantas and Agapitou, 2016).
Differentiation between manger and leader:
Basis Leaders Managers
Meaning A leader is an influential
person for their team member
in order to attain a specific
objective.
A manager is an individual
who handles and control the
organisation by planning
directing and controlling
employees.
Decisions A leader always promotes
decision taken by the higher
A manager is the person who
makes the decisions.

authority (Bowen and Tobin,
2017).
Focus Leader is focused on their
group members and people.
Manager is concentrated on
process and procedure
followed by the employees in
order to control overall
organisation.
Theories This includes participative
style of leadership which
involves contribution of group
member in taking any
decision.
This includes scientific theory
that states eliminating
redundant processes in order
to manage time and get
efficiency.
TASK 2
P2 Examine examples of how the role of a leader and the function of a manager apply in
different situational contexts.
In a business there are several condition that provides direction which influence decision
making of leaders and managers. Therefore they are develop several strategies on situation in
order to perform tasks in an effective manner. Some key situations are mentioned below which
influence ALDI:
Fast changing surrounding: Emerging change in needs of customer and competitive
edge in business environment are the main situations which are faced by ALDI. Under this
situation significant roles are played by manger and leader so that to manage whole the situation.
Role of leader: Under this situation the leader's role is to call meetings with the
employees in order to give them awareness about changes in business environment. Further a
leader's role is to encourage their subordinates to perform as per the condition so that to get
overall efficiency in woks and task.
Function of manager: Managers of ALDI is required to examine the situations and
emerging needs of customer (Buch, Thompson and Kuvaas,2016). So strategies and action plans

can be implemented in an efficient way as per the relevant situation of fluctuation in business
environment and customer's demand (Hill and Hill, 2011).
However, for tackling above mentioned states of fast changing environment the manager
and leader of ALDI have implemented scientific theory in their working style, by this they can
deal with this situation in an effective way.
Conflict situation: Besides the extrinsic situation, intrinsic problems are also faced by
the companies such as conflicts inside the organisation between employees of top, middle and
lower level. Due to this situation the employees are not able to execute their routine operations
in considerable manner, thus resultantly profitability get decreased with decline in market share.
As in this situation manager and leader is having their numerous functions to execute with their
roles, which are explained as under:
Role of leader: To overcome the situation of conflicts, the leader's role is to call every
employee for meeting so that conflicts can be resolved. As by communication the reason behind
occurrence of conflict can be identified and resolved as well. Further the leader try to persuade
their team members to not to enlarge the conflict as this can hamper working of ALDI adversely.
Functions of manager: With the help of development and implementation of relevant
strategies, manager of ALDI resolve issues in an effective way. As with this rules and pacts can
be introduced in order to lowering chances of conflicts.
To subdue the conflict situation, managers and leaders of ALDI can choose theory of X and Y.
This will help in implementing strategies as according the attitude of employees which will
assist in reducing conflicts. Further by this all the employees will stay connected and their
perspective will be taken while making policies.
P3 Apply different theories and models of approach, including situational leadership, systems
leadership and contingency.
There are numerous theories and models which are to be adopted in the organisation in
order to perform routine activities and tasks in an efficient way. These theories helps in solving
several issues. Some main theories which can be adopted by ALDI are as under:
Situational leadership: This leadership is concentrated on the proposition that the most
effective leadership style do change as per every situation ( Kim and et. al., 2017). While to have
successful and efficient business, a leader is required to tailor their style as per the diversified
situations. This is the most flexible leadership style as this can be altered as according to the

circumstances. Leaders of ALDI is supposed to alter their leadership style in order to meet
customer's need. In the current changing business environment leader is supposed to modify
their style as per demand of customers .
Systems leadership: This leadership style is based on the strategy established by the
business in order to develop and maintain sufficient environment of working. This help the
employees to stay motivated while performing their tasks. In context of ALDI manager and
leader is required to adopt this style so that to motivate their employees in this changing
environment. By this inner conflicts can be reduced as employees will feel to be a part of the
company. Advantages of system theory is that employees get encouraged and perform, with high
amount of efficiency to attain organisational goals. On contrary the disadvantage is this theory is
not flexible so working in various situations become hard.
Contingency leadership: This theory describes that effectualness of leaders is
dependent upon how style of leadership will meet the prevailing situation. Therefore, the leader
have to search for type of situation and then accordingly implement the best approach to it. By
this leader will be able to achieve goals and targets in an effectual manner. In relation to ALDI
the manager and leader have to establish contingency theory of leadership as t reduce conflicts
which are occurring on routine basis. In addition to this by contingency theory so that to deal
with coming situations in considerable manner.
TASK 3
P4 Explain the key approaches to operations management and the role that leaders and managers
play
For performing work in the organisation in effectual manner there are various
approaches which may be taken by leaders and managers of ALDI that are as under:
Six sigma: This is a statical technique which emphasises on eliminating flaws in order to
decrease processing time. Six sigma is focused on improving, measuring and validating
activities. As in current scenario this technique assist in enhancing customer retention, fulfilling
requirement of customer and getting suitability (Maletič, Maletič, and Gomišček, 2018). ALDI
conduct six sigma implement each stage of six sigma such as define, measure, analyse, improve
and control. By implementing this tool major problem which are hampering Working of ALDI
can be recognised and can be solved thereon.

Lean principle: This is an effective procedure which is used by business organisation in
order to examine need of customer with reference to product and service offered (Pettinger,
2007). With the help of this business can introduce purposeful strategies without any hurdle in
order to enhance overall performance. With reference of ALDI this type of theory is helpful in
eliminating wastages in the process of manufacturing to gain success. There are five stages of
lean principle such as specifying values, map the value, create flow, establish pull and pursue
perfection. These stages assist ALDI in recognising needs of their customers. By the help of this
principle ALDI can easily provide quality service and products to their customers as resultantly
this will enhance their brand image and market capture.
Total quality management: This approach is associated with continuous improvement
in the quality in order to fulfil demands of customers. Majorly this approach is by those
businesses which attract more customers by improving quality. By the help of this approach
business are able to meet their pre decided goals before the time. This approach assist in getting
competitive edge in the market so that to enhance brand value and market share. In the context
of ALDI TQM approach is helpful in maintaining quality so that to attract more customers.
Under various stages of this approach numerous strategies are carried out by leader and manger
of ALDI such as providing training to the employees, feedbacks from workers etc. this will help
ALDI so as to understand need of customer as according to their offerings and improving them
considerably.
P5 Explain the importance and value of operations management in achieving business
objectives.
Operation management is the procedure in that company plan to follow those practices
which can result effective management and goals attainment. There are various methods which
are used by ALDI so that to increase efficiency of different functions. Some theories are
explained as under:
 Behavioural approach: This is associated with behaviour based approach and the
capabilities of employees in order to achieve objective. Managers of ALDI prepare
strategies and designate task to each and every employee as per the calibre and capacities
(Schedlitzki and Edwards 2014). With the help of this approach roles and responsibilities
designated to employees can be acknowledge in an effective manner and overall
objective of ALDI can be achieved in stipulated time. In ALDI Manager prepare

strategies and monitor them as according to the behaviour of personnel. This leads to
generation of positive environment in order to enhance employee retention.
 Situational approach: This approach is helpful for manager as they are able to develop
effective strategies and accordingly make plans as per the situations. In the reference of
ALDI manager and leaders analyse situation of organisation and then implement any
strategy. This will eliminate chances of negative impact in the business so that to get
more efficiency (Slack, Brandon-Jones and Johnston, 2013).
Importance and value of Operation Management:
In business concern management is considered as one of the most important concept by
which workers may work efficiently to their task and achieve their goals in stipulated time. This
is also helpful in reducing amount of wastage due to which overall efficiency of business get
increased. Some importance of operation management are as follows:
 Operation management assist ALDI in increasing total sales by eliminating wastages this
lead to enhance the profit earning.
 Operation management helps ALDI in improving their services for their customers, this
assist in increasing market capture for ALDI.
 Operation management help in enhancing level of productivity by utilizing resources to
its maximum. This is achievable by solving different issues which are related to design
of goods and service, operational activities and managing whole the system of producing
goods and service. This will help ALDI in creating good brand image and market
sustainability as well.
TASK 4
P6 Assess the factors within the business environment that impact upon operational management
and decision making by leaders and managers.
Decision making is a process under which activities are conducted by the member of an
organisation in which all the levels take part including middle level. Different external and
internal factors impact the decisions of the manager in a direct or indirect manner. Some factors
are mentioned below:
 Corporate social responsibility: This is associated with those activities which are
conducted by the companies in the terms of social welfare activities, which gives

benefits to the company in monetary and non monetary form as well. CSR activities
result in attracting more customer so that to enhance market goodwill. ALDI is
performing various activities of corporate social responsibility like money donation,
sponsorship of health and educational services, providing educational services etc.
Whereas CSR activities assist the organisation in achieving goals in considerable manner
(Tortorella and et. al., 2017).
 Culture: This aspect is associated with shared values and beliefs that are enacted by the
company within employees and managerial personnel. The company having appropriate
working culture will lead to perform tasks in an effective and efficient manner. In
context of ALDI suitable culture is framed by customers, employee and employers so
that this establish communication between all the employee and assist in identifying their
requirement. Positive culture lead to increase employee retention in ALDI as changes are
altered and adapted by managers in the organisation.
 Ethics: These are related to the options that a company is having to react to the extrinsic
environment are called organisational ethics. Whereas, organisational ethics includes
various guidelines that determine the form in which the person is supposed to behave in
the organisation. Examples of business ethics, every organisation is working to earn
profits but ways in which money is earned hold an essential role. As if when money is
earned by honest practices this lead flow of ethical practices in the organisation. Such
practices are implemented by ALDI in order to build a positive image in the market. For
this manager and leader take decision by remaining adhered to ethical practices.
Social factors: This is those extrinsic factors which influences the process of decision making
of an organisation. Social factors get changed on routine basis and for keeping the business up to
date the manager is required to change their strategy as per those factors. When any change in
need and demand of customer take place, resultantly the social factors get changed. For
identification of those factor ALDI is supposed to conduct survey so that to get to know about
emerging demands.
 Economic factors: These factors are associated with tax rate, income of per capita,
monetary policy, fiscal policy, fluctuation in international exchange rate and so many
other factors. In relation to ALDI they are a retail industry so any change in economical
factors directly impacts the business of them. ALDI is importing various products so by

any Change in international exchange rate will lead a negative impact on their business
(Madrid and et. al., 2016).
All of the above factors influence in process of decision making of an ALDI. Any change in
internal and external factors can result in hampering their working so accordingly the strategies
are to be developed and implemented. Such development of strategies can provide competitive
edge to ALDI with higher sustainability and market capture.
CONCLUSION
As after going through about discussion and aforementioned report this can be concluded
that, within an organisation operation management plays a significant role in order to attain
overall organisational objectives in an efficient and considerable manner. Numerous strategies
are developed by managers and leader as according to the market situation so that daily
operational activities can be done in an effective manner without facing any hurdle that can lead
to any obstacle. Further there are numerous theories, approaches, models and methods of
leadership and management that are to be followed by a business so that to stay in the market
competition and create market value. In addition to this some operational management
approaches are followed by organisations in order to enhance costumer base and improve
performance such total quality management, just in time approach, lean principle and six sigma.
These techniques help the organisation in achieving objective within given time frame. There
are some internal and external factors which influences the working of an organisation such as
economic factors, social factors, internal conflicts etc.

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