Difference and similarities in manager and leader

This article discusses the difference and similarities between a manager and a leader in a company. It explores their roles, responsibilities, traits, and the authority and power they possess. It also provides examples of how managers and leaders function in different situations.

MANAGEMENT
OPERATION

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
Difference and similarities in manager and leader.................................................................3
Role of leader and function of manager in different situation................................................5
Different approaches of theories of leadership.......................................................................6
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................8
Various approaches of operation management.......................................................................8
Importance of operation management in attaining goals of business...................................10
Business environment factors which impact operation management and decision making 12
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................14
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................15

INTRODUCTION
Operation management is a management concept which is related with proper and
effective management of manufacturing and operating process within company. It is very
important for companies to manage their operation process in effective manner as whole success
of company is dependent on it (Schönsleben, 2018). Thus, in order to manage efficiency and
productivity, it is crucial for companies to effectively manage its operations. For continuing with
present report Sainsbury has been chosen which is a large chain of supermarket in UK and was
founded by John James Sainsbury in the year 1869.
The present report will start by stating difference among leader and manager for a
company on basis of their role and traits. Further role of a leader and manager will be applied to
different situations along with discussion on different leadership theories. Next, some key
approaches used in operation management and role of leader and manager in it will be discussed.
Moreover, importance and value of operation management in attaining goals of business will be
outlined. In the end, some factors of business environment and its impact over business will be
highlighted.
TASK 1
Difference and similarities in manager and leader
Leader is a person who is liable for controlling and managing staff to attain the task
within the set time period. To act as a leader, various qualities are to be carried such as honesty
at work place or building confidence among employees to achieve the vision and also carries the
liability to take good decision in respect of facing any crises at work place. Thus, leader is
important in business as through their guidance and motivation, they help employees to
accomplish the task within the set time limit.
Manager is a person who who perform function of managing all activities of the
company. In respect of attaining at the post of manager, they carry the responsibility regarding
controlling and managing the administration work and also undertakes decision to sustain in
market for longer way (Lee and et.al., 2019).
Major similarity between manager and leader is that they both are dedicated towards the
company vision. Leader follows the vision which is set by manager while managers in return rely
upon the decision which is interpreted by leader after setting the vision. In case of
communication, both leader and manager carry the effective communication skill and motivation

skill (Lee and et.al., 2017). For e.g. In case of Sainsbury the role of leader and manager are
examined through setting some common vision regarding innovating new concept to retain
people. Thus, work is started through setting targets or motiving staff member to share their
ideas and thoughts with each other.
But, in some aspects they are also different from each other in following manner such as:
Factors Manager Leader
Traits Managers carry the hard
management skills in business
and also, they must be the
good communicator to listen
and share the important
decision to the company
(Haddock-Millar, Sanyal and
Müller-Camen, 2016).
They mainly carry the soft
leadership skills in respect of
motivating staff to work as a
team or providing flexibility to
accomplish the task. Leaders
are confident to present the
views and also must be
problem solver if any problem
arise between employees at
work place.
Roles and responsibilities Their role is to monitor the
working criteria of the
employees and also
responsible to plan, organize,
manage and control the
activities to achieve the set
goal in business (Mohanty,
2018).
The role of leader is to bring
changes in work premises and
also inspire other to adapt such
changes in better way. The
responsibility which they
carried is to verify that the
changes which they made is
providing the long- term
benefits or not.
Authority and power They had the power to hire the
employees and also take strict
action in respect of breach
committed in not following
any of the norms.
They carry the power in
respect of providing rewards to
employees and also influences
others to move in right
directions (Lee and et.al.,

2019).
Examples In case of Sainsbury, manager
duty is hire right and qualified
employees to accomplish such
task in right way.
The leader of Sainsbury plays
the role as motiving employees
to bring innovative ideas in
business and also helps in
attaining the goal within the
set time period.
Role of leader and function of manager in different situation
Within a business, there are many different types of situations which can occur at any
time and need to be handled by both leader and manager. From above discussion it was outlined
that both manager and leader are different from one another and reacts to situations in different
manner. Some of situations and role of manager and leader within it is discussed below-
Employee turnover- This is a situation wherein large number of employees of Sainsbury
leave the job from company. This may be because of many different reasons like low morale, not
good working condition, low satisfaction, not good working condition, better opportunity in
other companies and many other reasons. In this situation both manager and leader of Sainsbury
will perform different functions. The manager of Sainsbury uses the system leadership as they
allow people to go and will plan some different sources through which recruitment of new
employees will be done. On the other side, leader of Sainsbury will use situational leadership as
in accordance with situation they will try to communicate with employees who are leaving and
will try to analyse and evaluate reason of their leaving. This analysis will help them in finding
the major drawbacks of company because of which large number of employees are leaving and
will try to rectify the mistake.
Technological changes- This is a situation in which Sainsbury tries to implement the
new technology for better working of company and increasing its profitability and productivity
of company (De Roover, 2017). But employees of Sainsbury are not ready to adapt to new
technology as they think that this will reduce their importance. Thus, in this situation, leader of
Sainsbury adopts system leadership and will enforce implementation of new technology for
betterment of company. In contrast to this manager of Sainsbury will adopt contingency

leadership and if technology will not be understood clearly by employees then they will train
them on how to use it.
Innovation- This is a situation wherein employees of Sainsbury are motivated to bring
innovation and creativity in their work so that they can face high competition (Greasley, 2019).
Hence, in order to keep the employees of Sainsbury motivated the manager uses situational
leadership as if innovation suggested by employee will be good then it will be implemented
otherwise not. On the flip side leader of Sainsbury in this situation opts for system leadership and
through it continuously monitor the innovation and its application and whether it is going in right
direction or not.
In the end, it can be said that both leader and manager of Sainsbury reacts to the same
situation in different manner. This is majorly because their role within business is completely
different as they both are different form one another. The manager here plays the role as defined
by Mintzberg which includes three major roles that is informational, interpersonal and decisional
roles. The informational role further includes monitor, disseminator and spokesperson.
Interpersonal includes figurehead, leader and liaison and decisional includes entrepreneur,
resource allocator, disturbance handler and negotiator. On the other side leader of Sainsbury
include major role of overseeing and managing and controlling all business activities of
Sainsbury.
Different approaches of theories of leadership
For success of business it is very important for Sainsbury to have effective use of
leadership and different approaches of it. The major reason pertaining to this fact is that
leadership provides a direction for all working within company. Thus, it is very necessary for
company to manage and use effective approaches of leadership as this directs the working of
company. In order to attain the goals of business the leadership approaches used by Sainsbury
are as follows-
System leadership- this is a style of leadership under which a system is created in order
to set a pattern for the employees so that they know what work they have to do ( Akalin, Huang
and Willems, 2016). Under this system some different principles and rules and regulations are
being set by leader of Sainsbury so that this system will effectively work in direction of attaining
goals and objectives of business. This approach is being used by leader of Sainsbury as it
provides a direction to employees of Sainsbury that in which direction they have to work in order

to fulfil their duties and responsibilities (Lu, Lubbad and Løset, 2018). The system approach of
leadership provides for a clear structure to employees as leaders beforehand describes the duties
and working of different employees keeping in mind goals and objective of business. Thus, this
system approach provides a roadmap to employee to work in direction of goals accomplishment.
Strengths
 The major strength is that this helps in attaining goals of business in effective and
efficient manner as all the ways are beforehand discussed.
 Another strength is that this approach takes into consideration goals of organization and
of employees as well which help both leader and manager to achieve in proper and
effective manner.
Weakness
 The major weakness is that it is not possible to always work in a specified system of
structure because in the dynamic working environment it is not possible for company to
follow the same structure.
 This system approach ignores the changes taking place within the environment as the
system is already defined and established. Thus, this system cannot be changed or
rectified in the system.
Situational leadership- this is a style of leadership which states that use of leadership
technique depends upon the situation prevailing at current time. This approach states that every
situation is not similar hence, the way of dealing with different situation is also different so as
leadership style will also be different. Under this approach leader of Sainsbury does not set the
system of working as in case of system leadership rather in accordance with prevailing
conditions they decide the way of working. After analysing whole situation leader of Sainsbury
advices, the way of working and system used for working to employees of Sainsbury. After
thorough analysis of situation leader delegates work to employees.
Strength
 The major strength of this approach is that this is a flexible approach as it is based on
current prevailing conditions (Dierynck and Labro, 2018).
 One more strength is that this approach makes environment for employees a bit
comfortable as in system they just have to follow the guidelines provided by leader which
is not in this case.

Weakness
 The major weakness is that leader cannot predict the situation and cannot predetermine
the style of working for employees of Sainsbury. Hence, it is not possible for the leader to
use a single system for the complete working of the company.
 This type of leadership approach is based on skills of leader and if leader is not
competent then this approach is not good (Aboelmaged and Hashem, 2018).
Contingency leadership- this is an approach which states that there is no best way of
doing a work. This is majorly because of the fact that the business situations are contingent that
is dependent over future happening. It is possible that what leader of Sainsbury has thought does
not happen because of some external factors changes. Thus, this approach states that the
leadership must be based on happening of event. The leader has to find their own way of leading
a situation as there is no fixed way which can be applied to every situation.
Strength
 This is advantageous because this approach allows leader to change its policies if there
are change in external factors. This is beneficial because the current world is dynamic
and ever changing and it is good method for making the working more organized and
simple.
 This provides the leader with option of making policies and structure after happening of
the contingent situation.
Weakness
 This is a complex task as no person can give suggestion as to what the leader must do
because the situation is contingent and may or may not happen.
 This approach is reactive in nature that is if the situation will occur then only this
principle will be followed otherwise not. Hence, the leader cannot say or predict that
whether the situation will occur in the near future or not and if occur then with what
intensity it will occur.
TASK 2
Various approaches of operation management
Operations management is that area of company which is related with the making and
designing and controlling of all the activities which are undertaken in order to makes the goods
in which company deals (Zou, Arruda and Ergan, 2018). There are many different approaches

which can be applied by Sainsbury in order to make the goods and services of good and effective
quality so that this attracts more of the consumers. This will in turn increase the goodwill and
market share of company resulting in increase in overall productivity and profitability of
company. Thus, various approaches being used by Sainsbury in order to attain objectives of
business are as follows-
Total Quality Management (TQM)- Quality is the major issue in this current competitive
market as there are many companies’ dealings in same product but consumers differentiate the
product on basis of quality only (Neville, Scibilia and Martin, 2016). Thus, for this Sainsbury
uses approach of TQM which aims at developing the overall quality of product and services so
that it attracts more of the consumers. this approach is being used by Sainsbury because it uses
the framework of PDCA that is plan, do, check and act. Here the manager first plans the work
and then do it and check whether it is correct or not and, in the end, if it is correct then it is
applied to operations. The major elements which are added in work to implement TQM by
Sainsbury are four that is foundation, building brick, building mortar and roof. Further in
foundation comes ethics, integrity and trust which is necessary for Sainsbury to maintain. Further
in building bricks comes training, teamwork and leadership. Next in building mortar comes
communication and under roof comes recognition which is essential for improving the quality of
goods and services provided by Sainsbury.
Lean manufacturing- This is another approach of operation management which is used
by Sainsbury in order to manage its operation in better manner. In this type of approach, the
main aim is on minimization of waste so that this increases productivity of company. This
approach of operation management is applied by the store manager of Sainsbury because this
approach tries to eliminate the waste and defects from whole process of manufacturing. This is
being applied by store manager of Sainsbury as this minimizes the cost for company as all
wasteful activities has been reduced and eliminated. Here the role of store manager is to identify
all possible defects in process of production and take measures in reducing them.
Kaizen- This is yet another technique which is being used by Sainsbury in its operation
management. This is being used by operational manager of Sainsbury as this is based on
philosophy of continuous improvement. There are many different changes taking place within
business environment and these may help Sainsbury in improving itself. Hence, with use of

approach of kaizen, manager of Sainsbury tries to improve itself in accordance with the changes
in business environment.
Six sigma- This is a yet another approach of operation management which is being used
to effectively manage the operation and manufacturing process at Sainsbury. This is being used
by manager of Sainsbury as this is a statistical based approach which aims at continuous
improvement along with elimination of waste and defects. The process of six sigma is being
applied by store manager of Sainsbury is through a 5- step model that is DMAIC which is an
acronym for Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve and Control (Hitt, Xu and Carnes, 2016). The
store manager of Sainsbury here plays role of controller and try to control all possible areas
which can be improved for betterment by focusing on minimization of defects.
Just in time (JIT)- This is also a good approach of operation management which is being
used by Sainsbury for making its operations effective and efficient. This is a system which aims
at ordering inventory on basis of need so that the time of holding inventory is reduced and this
will also decrease the cost of holding inventory. This approach is being used by Sainsbury to
eliminate the time of unnecessary holding of inventory and reduce the carrying and holding cost
associated with inventory and aiming at increase in efficiency and effectiveness (Fahron-Hussey,
Fahron-Hussey and Valussi, 2019). The store manager of Sainsbury here plays a crucial role in
applying JIT as they ensure that all inventory is provided on time to operation team of Sainsbury.
This is done to ensure that production takes place on time and products are provided to
consumers on time so that they can consume it.
In the end it can be summarised that use of all these various approaches of operation
management is very useful for Sainsbury. The reason underlying this fact is that all these
approaches assist in better operation and manufacturing process. Thus, this will improve the
process and this will result in increasing productivity ad profitability. Due to this all the aims and
objectives of business will be attained as production of goods and services will be good then
other activities of Sainsbury will also be good and profitable.
Importance of operation management in attaining goals of business
Management Operation is defined as an important part of business as without it no work
can be done. This includes administration of all the practices and activities which are included in
the production process of company. Thus, it is of value for company to maintain a good system
of operation management so that company can attain all its business objectives. It is very

important for Sainsbury to manage its operations in effective and efficient manner as this leads to
a profitable business. The major importance of operation management for Sainsbury is discussed
as follows-
The major importance of operation management for Sainsbury is to assist business and
employees in achieving business objectives. This is necessary because of the fact that all
business functions whether be it marketing, sales, HR, finance and all other departments are
based on operations only. Thus, for attaining objectives of all department, operation need to be
done in effective manner as all other department are dependent on it only. Here the store
manager plays role in coordinating all the working of all department in one direction that is
direct of attaining goals of organization.
Another major importance of operation management for Sainsbury is that is increases
goodwill of company. This is majorly because of the reason that effective operation management
will assist Sainsbury in developing products of good quality and this will eventually develop
goodwill in market. The role of store manager in this area is trying to sustain goodwill of
Sainsbury by continuously focusing on development of improved quality of goods.
In addition to above another value of operation management for Sainsbury is that these
operation management techniques and approaches reduces the waste within production process
(Operations management- functions, importance and nature, 2019). This is of value to managers
of Sainsbury as because of reduction in waste and defects unnecessary cost is not incurred and
this increases the profitability of company. Store manager of Sainsbury here continuously
oversees production process and try to eliminate the defects which comes in process of
production for better output.
Along with this another importance of operation management for Sainsbury is proper and
optimum utilization of resources (Reid and Sanders, 2019). This is necessary as resources are
very limited and scarce and competition is high and effective use of techniques of operation
management like TQM, JIT, lean help Sainsbury in properly utilising the resources in optimum
and efficient manner. Here store manager plays effective role as by analysing need of raw
material by every department they try to allocate the resources in such a way that it is used in
much effective way and are sustained for future use.
Another importance of operation management for Sainsbury is increase in consumer
satisfaction. This is of importance because of the reason that the goods and services of Sainsbury

are made by applying good techniques of operation management. Thus, this increases
satisfaction of consumers as they like high quality product provided by company at nominal
process. Thus, it is of value as it increases number of consumers for company (Grant, Trautrims
and Wong, 2017). In this important area store manager of Sainsbury plays a crucial role as they
try to provide good quality products to consumers by applying various techniques of quality
improvement like TQM, quality circle and other.
Other than these one more importance of operation management is that this help
Sainsbury in combining all other functions of business. This is pertaining to the reason that all
other functions are dependent on operations only. If product will not be there then how
marketing will take place, also, if operation will not be there then how sales will be made or
where finance will be used. Thus, operation management is of value to other departments and
function of business as well and there needs to be coordination among all business activities.
Here the role of store manager of Sainsbury is of coordinator as here they coordinate efforts of
all department in producing good quality product at nominal range so that it satisfies the
consumers.
In the end it can be summarised that operation management is of great value to Sainsbury
as without this company cannot run. Thus, it is very necessary for company to maintain and run
effective operations so that good quality products are produced and marketed and sold at large
scale. This increases the value of company as these products are being liked by consumers and
are preferred over the products of consumers.
Business environment factors which impact operation management and decision making
Business organization operates in environment which is dynamic and ever- changing and
this impact the working of company to a great extent. There are many changes taking place in
external environment and this affects the working of Sainsbury to a great extent. Some of the
external factors which impacts working of operation management of Sainsbury are as follows-
Corporate Social responsibility- This is the obligation of business which they have to
fulfil towards society and environment as well (Bromiley and Rau, 2016). This is a major factor
which impact operation management of company as if company does not take into consideration
CSR issues then consumers will not like to buy products of Sainsbury. Thus, this will decrease
the profitability of company and sales and income for company will reduce. For instance, if
because of operations the hazardous elements are emitted into environment then it will harm the

environment and this will not be like by the consumers (Bordoloi, Fitzsimmons and
Fitzsimmons, 2018). Thus, this will impact on decision making by manager as now they have to
decide for alternate approach of emission of waste or of reduction of waste through wither lean
manufacturing or six sigma.
Cultural values- This includes the values and beliefs followed within the company and in
society. There needs to be harmony in both values followed within Sainsbury and that of society.
This is because of the values of consumers are not addressed at time of making the goods and
services then it is of no use as consumers will not like the products. Thus, there needs to be
balance between what is required by consumers that is their value for products and services and
what Sainsbury is providing to consumers. If these value does not match with values of
consumers, then they will not buy products and this will decrease sales of company. This impact
the decision making by manager of Sainsbury because of the reason that now manager has to
decide on how to balance between values of both company and consumers.
Ethics within company- This is also an important external factor which impacts on
operational management of Sainsbury to a great extent. This is majorly because of the reason that
if ethics are not followed by company then it is not liked by consumers and this will decrease
sales of company (Meredith and Pilkington, 2018). Hence, there needs to be a balance between
ethics and these must be applied in working and operations of company. This impacts the
decision making by manager because of the fact that they have to decide that which source they
have to use for raw materials and whether all the working is being done in ethical manner or not.
Sustainability of company- This is also an important issue within the external
environment that is sustainability that is ability of using the resources in such a manner that it is
optimally used and can be saved for future use as well. This impact the decision making by
manager because of the fact that they have to decide that whether the resources and raw material
used are being used in optimal way or not (Hill and Hill, 2017). If these are not being in optimal
way, then consumers will not like it and will not buy products of Sainsbury. Hence, it is
necessary for manager of Sainsbury to ensure sustainability of resources so that they are
optimally used and attract more of the consumers.
In the end it can be summarized that Sainsbury cannot work in isolation from
environment that is they have to take into consideration all the changes taking place in external

business environment. This is pertaining to the fact that these need to be adapted by company for
better operation of company.
CONCLUSION
In the end it is summarised that managing operations is a very important task for any
business to get successful. The underlying reason because of this reason is that operation
management is responsible for whole working of company and its profitability. It is so because if
the products are not produced in proper way then this will decrease goodwill of company and it
will reduce revenue of company. Thus, present report stated that there is a difference among
leader and manager as both have different skills and varied roles and responsibilities. Further it
discussed that manager and leader both reacts to business situations in different manner like in
technological changes, employee turnover and many other business situations.
Next discussion highlighted that there is different approach to leadership like system,
contingency, situational and other which can be applied by company for effective management.
Moreover, discussion outlined approaches of operation management like TQM, JIT, lean, six
sigma and many others. In addition to this importance was also discussed like increase in
goodwill, consumer satisfaction and many others. In the end, the impact of different external
factors like CSR, ethics, cultural values and other was discussed along with its impact over
decision making.

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