Management & Operations Report

This report examines the roles of leaders and managers in Amazon, a leading e-commerce company. It analyzes different leadership theories and models, explores key approaches to operational management, and discusses the importance of operational management in achieving business objectives. The report also highlights external factors that can impact operations.

Management &
Operations

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
P1 Define and compare difference roles and characteristics of a leader and manager...............3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................4
P2 How a role of a leader and function of the manager apply in different organisational
context.........................................................................................................................................4
P3 Apply different
theories and models of
approach, including
situational leadership etc............................................................................................................6
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................7
P4 Key approaches to an operation management and role that leaders or manager play...........7
P5 Explain importance
and value of operations
management in achieving
business objectives.....................................................................................................................8
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................9
P6 Key external factors that can have an effect on the operations management........................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Management & operation has known sector in every business organisation, who is highly
centric towards regulation or implementation of tools or techniques to continue firm's functions
at an optimised period of time. In addition to this, supply chain management or control over
logistics is also a part of operational management, in which firm needs to manage supply or
transfer of goods or services from one place to another (Gunasekaran and Ngai, 2012). This
report will be carry on “Amazon” which is an American multinational technology company
based in Seattle. As, this industry is focusing on selling of product or services with help of e-
commerce platform.
This report will cover define and compare different roles and characteristics of a leader
along with role of a leader and functioning of a manger & theories such as systematic leadership
etc. Lastly, report will also focus on understanding of various key approaches to operational
management and importance & value of an operational management.
TASK 1
P1 Define and compare difference roles and characteristics of a leader and manager
Leader is one who leads team from front position to bring harmony into a working level
or development of a team performance. Whereas manager is a person who manages activities or
working in any business firm. Both are highly centric towards lead or development people to
achieve defined goals or targets of the Amazon (Batta, 2013). In this leading e-commerce, role of
the leader and manager's are located on managing operation or an effective working at a one
point of time. In Amazon, where supply chain management is a biggest concern, in that situation
both leader and manager are to be realises their exact roles and characteristics on how they will
be develop supply chain regulation or logistics regulation at a productive manner. Also, both are
required to be regulated with defined policies or regulations. In context with Amazon, it will be
productive to realise roles & characteristics of both leader and manager with help of detailed
comparison:
Definition Leader Manager
Meaning Leader can be any individual or a Manager is an individual manages

specified person whose task is to
lead team on a front position. It is
a major responsibility of leader to
motivate or create insight vision.
people in business firm to take care of
their right responsibilities to attain
desired goals or targets.
Roles Strategic role of a leader is to
create insight vision, roadmap for
employee's to bring harmony with
motivation or encouragement.
Also, they are mainly prioritised to
delegate and empowers people to
led working with an effective
regulation for a longer period of
time (Galindo, 2018).
Role of a manager is comprises into
three different categories:
interpersonal, informational along
with decisional roles. In
interpersonal, manager needs to be
act as a leader, liaison etc.,
informational roles involves manager
is requires to act as a monitor,
spokesman etc., and lastly in
decisional, roles such as entrepreneur,
negotiator etc.
Characteristics A team leader is responsible for
guiding an entire group to increase
their performance situation at an
effective period of time (Feng and
et. al., 2014). Also, leader is
responsible to develop and
implements timeline of its own
team to reach to its own goal.
The key responsibilities of a manager
is to oversee and leading a work of a
group of people in many instances.
Also, manager is also responsible for
planning and maintenance of process
and functioning at an optimised level.
TASK 2
P2 How a role of a leader and function of the manager apply in different organisational context
Leader and manager are responsible for success of any organisation to lead it to condition
of success or development at the potential level. Both are very similar to motivate and regulate
employees to perform well, but on same side, they are separate in their functioning or roles to
work in an effective manner. In Amazon, roles of a leader and functions of a manager is major

proactive to be discussed effective performance for each and every employee at a greater path or
level. There efforts are important to build and regulate supply chain management on measurable
stages of business performance.
Roles of a leader: Leadership is focused on inspiration or motivation to an employees to
build scope for company to get en-richness in longer term goals or targets attention. For Amazon
role of a leader is top execute a defined vision or mission, development of motivational strategy,
accumulate lost team members in order to create team groups. For Amazon, role of leadership is
important to bring harmony among team performance or capabilities at a right places and also at
a right point (Burns, 2014). In contrary, Amazon must realise their actual potential and enables
skills of their in accordance to same. Role of a leader must be focused towards an ideology or
vision of Amazon.
Function of a manager: For this, Henry Fayol model will be used, which comprises of a
five different phases such as planning, organising, Staffing, directing and controlling. In context
of Amazon, Henri Fayol will be analysed critically to measures out curriculum its on activities.
Planning: This is a primary step of an effective manager's role and function. Manager of
the Amazon is required to plan how to regulate and implement an appropriate strategy to growth
into their operations at a greater side of business productivity or effectiveness. For example:
Amazon is required to rise supply chain by 10 percent.
Organising: This is a second stage of Henry Fayol, in which manager is a need to
manage information or resources to accomplish defined goals in a given period of time. Also,
this firm's need to realise their working or process in a productive manner.
Staffing: This is a third stage of a Henri Fayol, in which manager of the Amazon is
required to hire or recruit people to make a defined team to work effectively. For example,
Amazon have chance to go for hiring employee's to get support to its supply chain management.

Sources: Function of the manager, 2018
Directing: This is the fourth function of manager, in which manager of this leading firm
have to co-ordinate as per required norms of the business. Here, co-ordination is a need to direct
supply chain management of a Amazon to its defined goals or targets.
Controlling: This is the last function of manager, in which proper & effective control is
required to be put on functioning of an operation to get preferred enrichment into the business
process or goals accomplishment of an Amazon.
P3 Apply different
theories and models of
approach, including
situational leadership etc.
In context with Amazon, leader's and managers are facing several challenges such as role
of an ineffective human resources, ineffective supply chain, lack of distribution channels etc.,
which are some of a critical issues which in reality needs to be overcome. In this situation, role
of an effective leadership is also used to be taken care to bring effective regulation of work based
progress such as development of a maximum sales or increased profitability, an effective shifting

of goods or services in a productive manner (Saieva, 2013). Here, various models of an approach
including situational leadership are as given under:
Situational Leadership: This approach was developed by Paul Heresy and Kenneth H.
Blanchard. In this leadership style, where leader and manager looks for their style of working in
accordance with given situation. This style of leadership enables the principle that puts different
situations requires characteristics and thus in this no particular traits of leadership can be defined.
Basically, a leader is one who
would understand or also analyses a situation and which is help develop a pattern of own
working. In
this approach, behavioural task of the leader which is requires to be keeps on changing as per
the various situations arising
into the Amazon, thus this is the most flexible style of leadership.
Contingency Leadership: This leadership style is also known as Fielder's Contingency
theory in which different types of leadership is necessary to be take to various situations. The
major concept of contingency style is very similar to the Situational style of
leadership but for Amazon, the leadership is required to be focused upon matching an
individual leadership
style to the right situation (Alderton, 2018). Situation is defined by three factors in this theory-
relation
between leader and follower, structure of task and the authority a leader has over his followers.
The major concept behind this theory is that there is no best way to make a decision, lead a
company or organise a corporation. This model is necessary for Amazon to brings effective
working based regulation for Amazon for a longer duration.
TASK 3
P4 Key approaches to an operation management and role that leaders or manager play
Operational management is that area of management, which involves managing operation
such as manufacturing, production, development or utilisation of resources to carry out effective
accomplishment of defined goals or targets. In this, quality matters a lot where Amazon is high
required to build strategies or planning in order to accomplish defined goals or targets in given

time. As this was realised that, ineffective supply chain management and improper logistics are
some major problems with an Amazon. This is majorly because of ineffective quality and lack of
changes to be made. Here, this will be fruitful to discuss approaches to an operation management
to check quality decomposition of the Amazon to led checking over their productivity are as
given under:
Six Sigma: This technique is used to reduce probability, in situation if decision taken by
the management would mislead the working of the Amazon. Here, Sigma is the symbol of risk
and this approach is used to take decision along with risk of failure. In context of Amazon, this
approach will assist this leading e-commerce to take decision making after measuring level of
risk associated with functioning of the Amazon. In short, this approach will assist Amazon to
take suitable decision making to overcome risk or limitation.
Total quality management(TQM): The core definition of the Total quality management
basically describes as a management approach to long term success through level of the customer
satisfaction. In a TQM, all member of an organisation generally participates in an improvement
process, product or services in condition of the working. With help of this approach, Amazon has
major opportunity to improve quality of their organisation performance and also level of how
they works (Ahuja, 2017).
Just in time: This approach is an inventory strategy, in which Amazon is required to have
a check on quality of stock or material ordered or received, in case they are in actual need of it.
This approach can be used as techniques to reduce occurrence of a wastage to overcome major
impact to cost and productivity to remove straight impact on products or services. The main
purpose of this approach is to reduce cost in wastage or also ensure profitability for the Amazon
for its growth & sustainability for a longer period of time. In response to this, both leader's and
manager of Amazon have major option to increase business efficiency by empowering their
workforce into bring en-richness in business process of the Amazon. There are various measures
by which operational efficiency of the Amazon can be improved or led productive development
for a longer period of time.
Democratic leadership: In this leadership style, Amazon leader's have an opportunity to
empower team member's making them independent to share own idea's, views or opinion on
matter of how Amazon can implements changes in their business operation to gather higher level

of probability or productivity (Accomazzi and et. al., 2012). With help of this, employee's of the
Amazon have an opportunity to build an effective working for a longer duration.
Optimum utilisation of resources: Amazon is required to do strategic planning on how
they can optimise their resources or available material to led supply chain management of firm's
products in given period of time. This is important for Amazon to make an effective budgeting of
cost, material, expenses on how materials of Amazon can be managed.
P5 Explain importance
and value of operations
management in achieving
business objectives
Operational management is a part of process with help of which operations or productive
strengths of the Amazon can be improved or enhanced to accomplish given targets or objectives
in given point of time. Amazon is suffering with an issue of ineffective supply chain or logistics
management, in which they have an opportunity to bring efficiency in Amazon fleet management
to ensure effective development of a product at a greater zone or level. An importance of an
operational management is to develop long-worth performance of Amazon to led development of
process or product for bringing productivity into a business operation. Value of an operational
management is highly depends on which business entity is majorly linked to its vision, mission,
strategic objectives, goals or targets etc., to accomplish in given period of time. For Amazon, this
is prominent to make an effective rules or policies to manage effective working or regulation for
a longer period of time (Kato NEC Corp, 2012). Thus, in response, Amazon is required to
develop strategic planning in order to built proactive or productive performance for a future.
TASK 4
P6 Key external factors that can have an effect on the operations management
In Amazon, which is a leading e-commerce necessitate to have critical analysis of
external factors such as technological factor, suppliers or investors etc., which can put impacts
such as increasing cost, failure of the structure and also empowerment of ineffective task doing
in the Amazon. For Amazon, this is actively to use or analyse factors to overcome any impact on
operational management of the Amazon are as follows:

Technological change: In current period, Amazon has been started using technology
such as payment gateway, e-order, supplier forums etc., with help of which product transfer
potential of the Amazon has increased. This is highly prominent to utilise resource related to
technological to have better control on profit reduction.
Economic environment: Economic factors such as price regulation, exchange rates,
supplier's flux etc., needs to be control to make perfect decision making at a given point of time
(Wong and et. al., 2012). These economic factors is required to have proper quality check to
ensure higher productivity for a longer period of time.
Competitor flexibility and complexity: This is a major reason why operations of Amazon
has tucked. This is because of an increase competitors such as Flip-kart, Alibaba etc. in contrary,
it is necessary to use factor to bring strengths to performance of the Amazon.
These given factors has impacts Amazon decision making by creating fluctuation in the
business formulation and also how they are use to manage operational activities at a given point
of time. Hence, Amazon have an option to enhances effective work based structure or level of
performance to acquire development of accomplishment of goals or objectives.

CONCLUSION
From the above report, it is concluded that operational management is an effective area
of development to the operation of a company to led bring harmony in operations for a longer
duration. Leader and manager are recognised important entities, whose purpose is to bring
effective enrolment into the performance of any person. Lastly, it is also concluded that level of
motivation or inspiration is necessary to build productive outcomes to business operation.

REFERENCES
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