Management and Operations - Harrods Case Study

Management and
Operations

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Management and operations of a business comprise of the various activities such as organizing,
directing and planning. The present report is on Harrods and explores various dimensions of
operations and management within the organization. The leaders and managers have different
roles and characteristics. The report found that the role of a leader and function of a manager are
different as per the situations such as situation of a change, or of managing peak loads. The
various models of leadership are efficient. These include situational, systems and contingency
leadership. Harrods can use six sigma and lean manufacturing as the approaches to operations
management.

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
P1 Definition and comparison of the roles and characteristics of leaders and manager.............1
P2 Examining the role of a leader and function of manager in different situations....................2
P3 Application of different models and theoris...........................................................................3
P4 explanation of key approaches to operations management....................................................5
P5 Importance of operations management in achieving objectives.............................................6
P6 Assessment of factors impacting operational management....................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
The activities related to planning, organizing and directing so that the functions and
processes of an organization are controlled, constitute management and operations of a business.
These functions are performed by leaders as well as managers (Ravinder and Kollikkathara,
2017). However, their roles are overlapping within the organization. Harrods is a large retail
organization located in the UK. It has 330 departments that offer products and services of a wide
range. The purpose of the present report is to focus on the role of leader and manager within
Harrods. These roles have been applied in different contexts. Further, the report also analyses the
relationship between leadership and management in a contemporary business environment.
Definition and comparison of the roles and characteristics of leaders and manager
A leader is defined as a person who is responsible for influencing the behavior of his
followers by directing and guiding the, towards achieving the goals of the organization.
A manager is defined as a representative of the organization who has the responsibility of
managing the work of a group of employees. He also takes the required actions when there is a
need.
Roles of leader and manager at Harrods
The role of a leader and manager at Harrods are different from each other in the following
manner:
Role
The role of a leader is to provide direction to the employees which he does by creating and
communicating the vison (Enyinda, 2017). He also encourages them to work towards the mission
of Harrods. As compared to this, the role of a manager at Harrods is to formulate the structure of
the organization. He also delegates the required responsibilities and authority to the employees.
Approach
A leader has a proactive approach while as compared to this, a manager adopts the approach
which is reactive.
Authority
1