Management and Operations: Roles of Leaders and Managers, Approaches to Operations Management, and Importance for Business Objectives

Management and
Operations

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
PART 1............................................................................................................................................3
Define and contrast the different roles and characteristics of a leader and manager.............3
Examine how the role of a leader and the function of a manager relate to different situational
contexts...................................................................................................................................5
Apply different theories and models of approach of leadership.............................................6
PART 2............................................................................................................................................7
Elaborate the key approaches to operation management and the role played by leaders and
managers.................................................................................................................................7
Discuss the importance and value of operations management for attaining business objectives.
................................................................................................................................................8
Assess the impact of factors of business environment on operational management and
decision making by leaders and managers.............................................................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Leadership is an approach which motivates people to believe in the objective and vision
of the company and join them to accomplish those goals. They have the capacity to motivate
employees and focus their efforts towards the target. While management is the process of
planning, organising and directing followed by controlling the activities in the organisation (van
Assen, 2020). The company chosen in the report is Burberry, a luxury fashion store founded in
1856. At present, the company is operating its 421 stores worldwide. It deals in clothes, fashion
accessories, footwear, cosmetics etc. The report is divided into two parts. It mentions the
characteristics and roles of the manager and the leader and their applicability in different
situations. It also discusses about the theories and approaches of leadership and operation
management. Importance of operation management and the impact of the factors on operation
management and decision making is also discussed in the report.
PART 1
Define and contrast the different roles and characteristics of a leader and manager
Leader is a person who guides and inspires other people towards the organisational goal.
It gives form to the unorganized energy of the men working in the company and focus it towards
the company goals. It builds zeal among the employees and creates a desire in them to follow the
leader (Kwan, 2020).
Characteristics of a leader:
 Communication – A good leader needs to be an effective communicator. The person
should have the capacity to deliver message in different ways and make the people
understand the task. They are also required to be a good listener.
 Convincing power- The person who can convince people is a good leader. An individual
holding the ability to influence people emotionally, logically or professionally can
become an effective leader (Ahmadi and et. al., 2017).
Roles of a leader:
 Co-ordination- A leader coordinates the different individual interests of the employees
with that of to the company goals and ensures a willing dedication of the staff towards the
common target. Burberry' s leaders can coordinate the money earning interest of the

employees with maximising the sales of the stores. They can reward their employees by
giving them commission if they increase the number of goods sold in their stores.
 Bridge between management and staff- Leader acts as a link among the workers and
the management of the company. It is the responsibility of the leader to inform the
employees about the company policies and programmes and representing the staff
interest to the higher authority. Burberry's leaders eliminate the gaps among the
organisation and workers by maintaining effective communication chain.
Manager is a person who takes the responsibility of formulating plans for the
achievement of the goals followed by directing people to implement them along with supervising
and controlling all the activities under their jurisdiction (Salas‐Vallina, Alegre and López‐
Cabrales, 2021).
Characteristics of a Manager
 Problem Solving skills- A manager must hold the talent of identifying the problems and
an ability to solve it, whether it is personal, related to the employees or the company.
They should think about the creative solutions to handle them.
 Conceptual skills-A manager must have an ability to sort and analyse the information
with a view to improve the performance of the employees and the organisation.
Functions of a Manager
 Controlling- It is the responsibility of the manager to ensure that the all the functions and
the employees are working towards the accomplishment of the organisational goal.
Manager controls all the business activities and takes corrective actions required to keep
the plan on track. Burberry's manager ensure that the employees are handling the
customers properly in order to increase the sale of the company (Konovalova and et. al.,
2018).
 Planning- Manager of a company is required to formulate a plan to achieve
organisational goals. They formulate plans considering all aspects of market, employee,
organisation etc. and makes sure that the plan is being implemented accordingly. The
manager of Burberry for instance keeps planning about increasing their sales, changing
the stock of their stores according to the demand etc.