Roles and Characteristics of a Leader and Manager in Operations Management

This assignment discusses the different roles and characteristics of a leader and manager in operations management. It also explores the application of different theories and models in different situational contexts. The importance and value of operations management in attaining business objectives is also highlighted. The factors within the business environment that impact operational management and decision making are also discussed.

Management & Operations

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................4
P1. Define and compare the different roles and characteristics of a leader and manager...........4
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................4
P2. How the roles of a leader and the function of a manager apply in a different situational
context.........................................................................................................................................4
P3. Application different theories and models of approach........................................................4
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................4
P4. Key approaches to operations management and the roles that managers and leaders play. .4
P5. The importance and value of operations management in attaining business objectives.......5
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................6
P6. Factors within the business environment that impact upon operational management and
decision making..........................................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Operation management refers to the process of managing the actions and activities of a
company which are conducted by the administration of the a firm to run and operate the
business. It can be the management of the resources like workforce, material and others which
are essential to operate the business (Addo-Tenkorang and Helo, 2016). It is a vital component in
business firm because it help in using the resources of the company to accomplish the goals and
aims by implementing different plan of actions and concepts. This assignment is based on
Unilever which is a British-Dutch international consumer goods organisation. This firm was
founded in 1929 by William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme, James Darcy lever and Samuel van
den Bergh. It headquartered in London UK and operated its business in around 129 nations with
owns over 400 brands. This report will discuss about differentiation between the role of a leader
and function of a manager, application of different theories and models and key approaches of
operation management. Further, will discuss about the importance and value of operations
management and factors in business environment that effect operation management.

TASK 1
P1. Define and compare the different roles and characteristics of a leader and manager
Definition of leader:
According to Marry Parker, a leader is the one who motivates the group and help them to
achieve and stay on a common goal. He is the one who supports, guide and direct and team
members by making some good strategies to fulfill the objectives of the company.
Characteristics of leader:
A leader possess many qualities and these traits make him/her a good leader:
Communication skills: A leader is very clear while communicating with the team. He
possess great interpersonal skills with which he delivers the vision to the team, sets the direction
and convey the tasks properly.
Optimistic: A leader is very positive and look for opportunities and positivity in every
kind of situation. Other people also gets motivated by working with a optimist leader (Grant,
Trautrims and Wong, 2017).
Roles of leader
 They envision the future of the organization and sets vision and mission for the company
and dream that how will it look after 5-10 years.
 Leaders align the team members with the vision as well as mission of the organization
and creates a charisma of himself among the top management (He, Liang and Fang,
2016).
Definition of manager:
According to Henri Fayol, a manager is the one who manages and control various
functions and departments in the organizations. Managers do planning, involves in organizing
and coordinating the activities and finally control each and everything which is his department.
Characteristics of manager:
Responsible and reliable: A manager has the quality of taking the responsibility of the
things going under his/her department and is always available for the members of the
organization. He supports the team and do the things that are promised by him.
Delegation: Manager is an expert in delegating the tasks to the team members. He knows
the strengths and weaknesses of the employees working under him and delegate the work
accordingly.

Roles of manger:
Informational Role: Manager's main role is to collect the information both internally and
externally and also provides all the necessary information to the employees. He also acts as a
spokesperson and conveys the plans and policies of the company to all the stakeholders.
Decisional Role: Manager acts as an entrepreneur of the company and take various
important decisions, handles grievances, negotiate on important matters and allocate the
resources (Heizer, Render and Munson, 2016).
Differences between a leader and a manager
Basis Leader Manager
Approach towards work Leader establish the directions
for the team members.
Manager do planning of all the
details.
Style Leader uses “Motivational
Style”.
Manager uses “Authoritarian
Style”.
Motive Leader's motive is
development of team members
while meeting organizational
goal.
Manager's main motive is
meeting and achieving the
goals and results.
Strives They put efforts for
effectiveness.
They put efforts for efficiency.
Main Focus Their main focus are the
people they are working with.
Their main focus is following
the procedures of the
organisation.
TASK 2
P2. How the roles of a leader and the function of a manager apply in a different situational
context
The functions a manager performs and the roles which are played by a leader helps an
organization to meet their goals effectively. It helps the company in working properly and
smoothly (Hitt, Xu and Carnes, 2016). Hindustan Unilever is facing the issue of increase in the
operational costs with the rise in the prices of raw materials, rise in the fake or spurious products

in the market and huge competition in the FMCG sector. In this situation, Unilever has to
implement different functions which are there in management as well as use the skills their
leader possess to overcome this challenge. So, Unilever uses various management theories and
leadership efforts to reduce the operational costs.
Contemporary theory: Unilever use this theory in the way that the manager makes and
plans the approaches with which they can get the raw materials at the best possible prices while
the leader play a role to motivate the team members to reduce the overall cost by using best
technologies and by building a positive environment in the whole organization.
MBO which is also called Management by objective is another theory used by Unilever
in which manager sets the performance standards while working with the team members and the
leader assigns various tasks to the members in the way which motivates them as well.
Behavioral theory of management is also used by Unilever wherein the function which
manager plays is to follow the set policies and strategies by considering the talent of its team
members while leaders helps in conveying the policies in the best way and follows the
transformation leadership technique (Kopardekar and et. al., 2016).
P3. Application different theories and models of approach
There are various theories which companies use to improve the effectiveness of the
organization and improve the overall management. These help in reducing various challenges in
the organization and help in meeting the goals and objectives (Mahadevan, 2015). It also helps in
understanding the situations of the company and accordingly help leaders in applying different
leadership styles, theories and methods which fits the organizational culture and environment.
Situational Leadership:This is where the leaders adopt and changes their leadership
styles as per the different situations and ability of the people working under them. The method
focuses on understanding the requirements of the team and change according to them which
benefits the whole company. As Unilever is facing various problems in its operations, this theory
is very effective for them as the leaders can follow different styles of leadership whatever the
situation demands. The increase in the costs of operations due to rise in the prices of raw
materials and other issues can be very well tackled with the situational leadership.
System Leadership:This theory helps the leaders to set the situations wherein employees
of all functional levels are able to work with full productivity and at their best level. Unilever
apply this theory to control the way in which employees work and help them understand the

conditions in which organization is operating. After this, they help the employees to work
according to what the company needs and execute various strategies and policies which help to
bring the overall cost down.
Contingency Theory:Contingency theory is also followed by Unilever in which the main
motive is to alter the strategies as per the changing market situations. Leaders influence and
convince the members to bring some alteration in operations to improve the overall situation and
manager implement the changes to reduce the operational cost and also make changes in policies
to implement them.
TASK 3
P4. Key approaches to operations management and the roles that managers and leaders play
There are different approaches of operation management that can be utilised and
implement by the leader and administrator with the purpose of making control and measure the
actions and operations of the company (Neelakandan, Tyagi and Nagalkar, Global eProcure,
2019). In Context of Unilever, they are as follows:
Continuous improvement- To sustain in a competitive marketplace, service here long
term and do modifications as per market demands, it is crucial to the administration of Unilever
to apply this approach. For instant, to administrate the in inventory and increase the cost of
holding, the administration of the company can utilise this approach and assure effective
consumer outlets approachable to buy goods and services so that the firm can administrate the
stock (Reid and Sanders, 2019). With the assistance of it, the management of the company can
offer products and services on time and can reduce the waiting time of the customers. In this
approach, leader play an essential role by set up business performance measurement to analyse
the execution of the workers. Managers are responsible to make development in the
manufacturing procedure of the business.
TQM(Time Quality Management)- it is another approach which is used by the company
to plan and implement a constant framework development activity. This tool make focus on
prodigious consumer's expectation, identifying complexities, building cooperation and assistance
open determination making between workforce. For instant, in Unilever, the management of the
firm can it to form control on the conception and cost of quality. With the assistance of it, the
firm can form continuous development in the goods and services. In it leader play a crucial role

by finding out complex and issues in manufacturing activity and offer effective solution.
Managers ply their role by forming and developing strategies and plans to make invariant
improvement in the production process and goods & services of the company.
Six Sigma- This tool is known as quality control and data compulsive approach. In
Unilever, the management of the company can utilise it as a philosophy for destruct imperfection
in any action. With the help of it, the administration can reduce fault, make improvement in
return sales, developing production procedure and minimise complexities in this activity. In it,
leader assist by appreciating and supporting workforce endeavour and make essential in the
manufacturing process. Manager play a crucial role by analysing the utilisation of this approach
in manufacturing procedure and furnish response or support to workforce.
P5. The importance and value of operations management in attaining business objectives
Operation management indicates to the activity of administrating and controlling business
actions and operation which are executed by the company regarding products and services
(Shoolestani and et. al., 2015). The effectiveness and values of operations management can be
monitored by its different functions. Some of them are mentioned as below:
Control and distribution system- It is a crucial utility in operation management and
effective to make control on production process and assuring efficient provision of the goods in
context of execution of the objectives of the firm. In Unilever, with the assistance of it, the
management can formulate a strong control system (Swink and et. al., 2017). It also help the
company making control of the wastage and allocation of the origins as per the various activities
of wastage reduction and production of goods and services.
Process design- It is an effective function of operation management that is effective for
formulating and improving manufacturing process of the firm. In Unilever, it help in making
development in manufacturing process of products so that the firm can produce goods and
services according to its target audiences necessities and demands. It will effective to meet the
establish aims of the company and satisfy the desires of the consumers. The effectiveness of this
activity is good for the company so that it can gain enhance productivity and gain profit margins
by applying correct procedure.
Logistics and inventory management- It is an another crucial function because it support
to logistic, finished goods so that they can transported to market at that time when they have high
demand of it. In Unilever, with the help of it, the administration can make focus on the

merchandise management to stock. It is good for the organisation because with the help of it, the
company can accomplish its goals to maintain the effective supply of the commodities in the
market during the time of requirement with the motive of fulfilling consumers needs. By using it,
the company can deliver and render commodities in effective manner or right time by following
a systematic process.
TASK 4
P6. Factors within the business environment that impact upon operational management and
decision making
CSR- It refers to the corporate social responsibility which described as a business
approach which contribute to the sustainable improvement by delivering economic, social and
environmental advantages to all its stakeholders. The leadership and management in a company
have a great role to play in order to corporate social responsibility (Uhl and Gollenia, 2016). In
Unilever its play an essential role in decision making by formulating short term aims and
objective s so that they can accomplish by the employees in effective or easy way. It impacts the
determination devising system of the company as the contents of the CSR policy frame the
company to make decision which are right in nature and will be effective for the welfare of the
stake holders.
Value- It is advised as crucial component in the business firm as products and services
because in the firm products and services are manufactured by the company by considering value
of them. So that, if they have some value, customer attract towards them with the purpose of
purchasing them (Weinmann and et. al., 2015). In Unilever, in decision making activity, values
are granted abundant importance because in it administrators and leader concentrate on
improving a proper culture in the company so that the workforce can perform their duties in term
of producing goods with effective value.
Ethics- It refers to the process of performing activities by considering culture and values.
Ethical business explained as business which is operating by the administration by considering
ethics and provides it all benefits to its stakeholders with the help of its actions and activities. In
Unilever, if the management of the company will not operate its business in effective manner and
not provide the advantages to the stakeholders then it influence the determination devising
unfavourably.

Sustainability- It indicates to a approach that concentrates on to meet the needs of the
present generation without making any compromise with the need of future generation. In
Unilever, it is crucial so that target audiences get more information about the firm and the
business objectives accomplished in term of savings of origins that can be needed to the firm in
future (Addo-Tenkorang and Helo, 2016). It affect decision making when there are fluctuation
generated to meet present and future customers needs.
CONCLUSION
From the above information, it can be summarised that operation management is an
effective aspects to administrate the business actions and operations which are performed by the
company in order to manufacturing goods and services to meet customers expectation. Different
roles are play by the leader and mangers so that the business can run properly. There can be
different concepts which can be used by the leader & manager to work in different situation. To
mange the operations functions of a company,several approaches can be implemented. Different
operational functions like process design and others are effective administration of business
actions and activities. To assess the business environment, the company can consider various
factors that affect operational management and decision making of the company.

REFERENCES
Books & Journals
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management: A literature review. Computers & Industrial Engineering. 101. pp.528-543.
Grant, D. B., Trautrims, A. and Wong, C. Y., 2017. Sustainable logistics and supply chain
management: principles and practices for sustainable operations and management.
Kogan Page Publishers.
He, L., Liang, Q. and Fang, S., 2016. Challenges and innovative solutions in urban rail transit
network operations and management: China’s Guangzhou metro experience. Urban Rail
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Heizer, J., Render, B. and Munson, C., 2016. Operations management. Pearson Australia Pty
Limited.
Hitt, M. A., Xu, K. and Carnes, C. M., 2016. Resource based theory in operations management
research. Journal of Operations Management, 41, pp.77-94.
Kopardekar, P. and et. al., 2016. Unmanned aircraft system traffic management (UTM) concept
of operations.
Mahadevan, B., 2015. Operations management: Theory and practice. Pearson Education India.
Neelakandan, S., Tyagi, A. and Nagalkar, D., Global eProcure, 2019. Robotic process
automation for supply chain management operations. U.S. Patent 10,324,457.
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Wiley & Sons.
Shoolestani, A. and et. al., 2015. SocioBIM: BIM-to-end user interaction for sustainable building
operations and facility asset management. In The Canadian Society for Civil
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Swink, M. and et. al., 2017. Managing operations across the supply chain. New York, NY:
McGraw-Hill Education.
Uhl, A. and Gollenia, L. A. eds., 2016. A handbook of business transformation management
methodology. Routledge.
Weinmann, R. V. and et. al., 2015. Fleet operations quality management system and automatic
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Online
TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT. 2019. [Online]. Available Through: <https://asq.org/quality-
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