Kensington College - Unit 4: Management & Operations at Unilever

This report examines the roles of leaders and managers within Unilever, focusing on their application in various situational contexts. It explores how leaders and managers address uncertainty, formulate strategies, set goals, and increase productivity, while also addressing employee retention and conflict management. The report delves into leadership theories like situational, systems, and contingency theories, providing examples of their application. Furthermore, it analyzes key approaches to operation management, including Total Quality Management (TQM), Six Sigma, Just in Time (JIT), and Lean Manufacturing, highlighting the roles of leaders and managers within each. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of operation management in achieving business objectives, such as improving productivity, aligning activities, optimizing resource utilization, and enhancing product quality.

LO2
P2 Application of role of leader and manager in different situational contexts
Dealing with uncertainty
Uncertainty is the common situation for every business that needs to be managed before
it arises. Leaders of Unilever takes all the steps to avoid the situation of uncertainty as well as
find effective ways to move forward by reducing the stress dealing with the uncertainty among
the employees . On the other hand manager focus on taking action after happening of the
uncertainty . In addition to this managers use their experience and knowledge to adapt the
situation that has been arises due to uncertainty.
Strategy formulation
Strategy formulation is the essential part of all the businesses that helps Unilever in
gaining competitive advantage . Strategy formulation required skill and abilities that is
inculcated by leaders and manager . Leader is the only person that influence its members to
formulate the strategies .These strategies may be related to promotion, price, quality, distribution
of the product etc. Thus strategy formulation is the complex task that require guidance and
direction by the effective managers and leaders .
Goal setting
Every organization come into existence to accomplish a goal. There are various
functions carried out to achieve the goal of Unilever like planning, organizing, directing ,
coordinating , staffing and controlling .these all functions are carried out by different leaders and
managers of Unilever. For example- the function of manager is to coordinate with all the
activities of performed by the employees also managers are responsible for deciding roles and
responsibility of each subordinate. On contrary to this leaders are responsible to influence all the
members in such a way that they do whatever leaders want to do them.
Increasing productivity

The role of leader is to motivate the members and achieve maximum contribution of each
them. For this purpose leaders will build the morale of the employees by recognizing and
rewarding their work. In addition to this managers apply KIZEN and other quality improvement
techniques to increase productivity and minimize waste .There are various techniques of
quality improvement so that productivity can be increased such as total quality management, just
in time technique, six sigma etc. thus these techniques helps in minimizing waste and make
optimum utilization of resources that result in increasing productivity.
Employee retention
Leaders and managers of Unilever plays important role in decreasing turnover of the
employees and making them retain in the organization for long period of time . For this purpose
leader helps employees to adopt various skills that will help them in adapting the changing
situation and accepting every condition that occur in the business environment, this will increase
will of the members to fight with the negative and risky situation and will result in increasing
employee retention.
Conflict management
Conflict is the natural situation that arises due to disagreement of two persons on one
thing. Leader ,here, should respect the differences of each member which may be related to
roles, responsibilities, duties etc. On the other hand manager should assign equal responsibility to
each member at all the managerial level , so that situation of conflict can be reduced.
P3 Theories and models of leadership applied on various business situation
Situational theory
This theory was given by Hersey and blenchard which states that leadership style is based
on the situation . According to this theory an effective leader is one which act according to the
situation. For example if there is a situation of low morale among employees then the leader can
use participating style of leadership where the leader offers less direction and allows members of
the group to take more active part in decision making so that it will increase the morale of the
employees of Unilever. Furthermore if a leaders have to set goals then they can use selling type

of leadership where they can deliver the ideas and message to get group members to buy into
process. In addition to this for encouraging employees leaders can use delegating leadership style
where they can make members responsible to make and finalize the decisions.
Systems theory
This theory states that the leader in the organization should create the condition where
people at all levels can work productively to their potential. It uses sound principles about human
behavior to create models of good leadership, system design , organizational strategy and social
process. It helps leaders to predict the behavior of the people in the organization. Furthermore it
helps in building effective systems which drive productive behavior and lead to a more effective
realization of purpose of the Unilever.
Thus this theory can be applied to prepare process designing in which proper sequence of
units is required so that all the activities are aligned to carry a particular process, so that objective
can be achieved in efficient and effective manner. This theory can also applied in making and
implementing strategy of the organization, as it will allow the manager to understand whole
system on the basis of which strategies and policies are prepared . Furthermore strategies are not
easy to implement, as it need people who make productive contribution , so system leadership
can help in creating such a condition that every employee will work by reaching to the extent of
their potential. In addition to this system leadership needed when social process takes place ,
because it will help in understanding the all the factors within the system that affect the social
environment.
Contingency theory
This theory was given by Fred Edward Fiedler, which focuses on both leadership
personality and the situation in which leader operates. For making better understanding of this
theory Fiedler has given a scale known as LPC(least preferred Coworker Scale). In which high
LPC score means that that the leader has good interpersonal skills and relies on relationship
rather than only focusing on task to accomplish a particular goal. On the other hand low LPC
score means leader focus on task and positional power to accomplish a goal.

This theory can help in implementing the changes that is required because of happening
of uncertainty in the organization as here leader can use interpersonal skills for accomplishing a
task by other members. In addition to this leadership theory can be applied to predict whether the
person worked well in one position in an organization will be equally effective in another
position having different situational variables when compared to the existing position based on
the contingencies that make one’s style effective.
P4 key approaches to operation management and the role of the leaders and
managers play
There are various approaches used by operation management in which managers and
leaders play important role , which are as follows-
Total quality management
It is an approach that focuses on satisfying customer demand by doing critical
examination of goods and services offered by Unilever. It is also a continuous effort of
management as well as employees of Unilever to ensure long term customer loyalty and
customer satisfaction . Total quality management also ensures that every employee and member
is working towards the improvement of process, work culture, systems etc. for achieving long
term success. Total quality management can be divided into four categories- Planning for ,
implementing , checking , taking action. Planning involves collecting data for solving the
problems faced by employees in their day to day operation. Then next stage is to develop the
solution based on data collected. The third stage is comparing the plan with actual result and the
final stage include taking corrective action to remove the defect at the time of comparison.
The role of leader here is to achieve the maximum participation of the employees so that
the they get empowered that will make continuous improvement of efforts as a result of which
quality of production as well as employees will increase. On the other hand manager focus on the
process that would be carried out for making a product. Manager will ensure that process of
production should be cost effective , in which optimum utilization of resources should be made
and quality can be improved.
Six sigma

It is an approach used by operation management to remove errors and defects occurred at
the time of manufacturing or delivering the service. it was initially intended for high-end
engineering and manufacturing , where companies seek ‘six sigma’ quality , but now it can be
adopted for other product industries. In addition to this it is expensive to implement but gives
high return and can make companies global leader. In unilever six sigma training is given at each
level of management fo example senior managers get training regarding business value and the
ways to support it, non technical manger needs to understand how to work with it and engineers
get training regarding the way of doing it.
Leader’s support plays very essential role achieving the goal of six sigma as they are self
aware and attempt to build unique brand . The leader of Unilever provide unique and creative
knowledge to its members , so that they can use and implement this at the time of carrying
business operation. On the other hand Managers use existing knowledge so that members should
have brief understanding about the traditional method of doing work which employees can
implement in manufacturing products and delivering service of Unilever.
Just in time
The refers an approach that identifies and correct the obstacles in the process of
production . It identifies the hidden problems of the inventory and material. Frurthermore it
prevents company from using excessive inventory and smoothen production operations . It also
helps in identifying the time taken in receiving or supplying the raw material . in addition to this
it focuses on delivering goods service on time to the customers. The primary objective of just in
time technique is to increase the inventory turnover and reducing all the cost related to the
product .
The role of manager here is to ensure availability of resources on time so that production process
can be carried out . In addition to this manager here is responsible to ensure supply of the
product and services whenever required by the customer. On contrary to this Leader takes care of
internal management like assigning duties and responsibilities and directing members regarding
the new technologies that can be implemented to improve the quality of work.
Lean manufacturing

This approach of operational management focuses on making economical use of
resources while doing production simultaneously maintaining quality of the product . It aims at
eliminating waste from manufacturing process carried out by the operation management of
Unilever
In order to carry the procedure of lean manufacturing members need mentor or a leader. They
will guide members about innovation, experimentation, continuous improvement , that needs to
be applied while carrying business operation so that waste could be minimized. On the other
hand managers make arrangement of resources that are cost effective, that should result in
reduction of overall cost reduction.
P5 importance of operation management in achieving business objective
Improving productivity and aligning other activities
Operation management helps in improving the productivity of Unilever, as operation
manager focus on using available resources in the best possible way , so that productivity of the
Unilever can be improved. The ratio of input and output is termed as productivity. Thus this
fulfills productivity related goals of the organization. It gives a measure of efficiency of manager
as well employees . In addition to improving productivity operation management helps in
aligning all the activities take place within the organization and contributes in making the
product align with the customer.
Optimum utilization of resources
As operation management uses lean manufacturing that aims at making economical use
of scarce resources . Here operation management ensure that effort of every employee and
various raw materials are efficiently utilized and converted into goods and services required by
the organization.
Improves quality
The core function of operation management is to improve the quality of the product that Unilever
is offering to the public, so that customer loyalty can be achieved. Improved quality product will

help in creating brand differentiation in the market and will attract potential customer . This will
result in long term growth of the business. There are various quality tools used by the operation
management like six sigma , lean manufacturing, just in time etc. to reduce cost , save time , and
maintain quality of the product.
Increasing profit
The aim of every business organization is making higher profits , so that it can survive in
long run. Operation management plays important role in making profit as the it aims at
increasing productivity so that sales of the firm can be increased to meet the demand of
customers when required. This will result in increasing profit and growth of Unilever.
Manage supply chain and logistics
The critical function of operation management is to manage the inventory through supply
chain. Operations management understand the local and global trends, customer demand and the
available resources for production. It approaches the acquisition of materials and use of labor
timely in cost effective manner to deliver customer expectation . Operation manager monitor the
inventory level to ensure excessive quantities in hand.
P6 factors affecting operation management and the decision making of leaders and
managers
Finance
For smooth running of business function operation management require fund to discharge
the day to day operation. This fund can be taken by the various financial institutions and banks.
As a result of which inflow and outflow of the fund will affect the financial opposition of the
business as well as each department of the Unilever including operational department. The use of
funds by the operation management will affect the profitability , cash flow and liquidity of the
organization .
Leader here will make effort to make proper utilization of resources so that cost can be
reduced and funds can be managed. On the other hand manager takes care of arranging funds
required by operation management through various banks and institutions

Human resources
If Unilever will hire the best people for carrying activities of operation management then quality
of product can be improved and productivity can be increased as talented employees will use
their skills at the time of doing productivity that will reduce the wastage and simultaneously
increase the quality of the product. On the other hand is people of operation management are
effective then company need not to spend money on their training , which will reduce cost of the
firm.
If company will recruit best employees then less efforts of leader are needed to lead the
members and employees also they can give decision making power to the employees as a result
of which work load of the top leader will be reduced. On the other hand it will affect the
inventory handling by the manager , as quality human resource will make an effort to make best
utilization of resources, as a result of which more inventory can be created within less time .
Marketing
If Unilever has effective marketing mix then there will be new opportunities for operation
management in terms of technology and innovation. These new technology and innovation can
lead operation management to implement new method of doing work so that their processes
become more easier and simpler .On the other hand if there are regular changes in the demand of
consumer due to marketing then operation management needs to change its way of working
again and again that will disturb the whole existing system which can create trouble for
employees who do not want adapt changes.
In addition to this if marketing is done effectively then leaders can provide knowledge
about the new marketing trends to its member. On the other hand managers will make
arrangement of new machinery and raw material that are required to make an innovative product
demanded by the consumer.
Economic environment
If there will be an increase in inflation rate in the economy then prices of the product will
gradually increased as there will be increase in cost off operation because of which cost of
production will be increased. On the other hand if there will be an increase in rate of interest then

cost of capital will also increase that will directly rise the cost of funds taken by Unilever .
Ultimately this will increase the cost of carrying operation in the business.
This will affect the decision of managers as they have to make arrangement of raw
materials within the given budget in spite of the fact that cost of the fund has been increased. On
the other hand it will impact leaders’ decision as cost of implementing machines and other tools
required for the purpose of training will be increased .
CONCLUSION
From the above study it can be concluded that there are various business situations in
which leaders play different roles. In addition to this there are various functions performed by the
managers at the time of conflict management , strategy formulation and setting organizational
goals. Furthermore it can be identified that in every business situation managers take care of
external aspect like arranging raw materials , resources etc. and leaders takes care of internal
process like influencing and training of employees. Furthermore there are different theories
applied on various business situation to remove the negative impact on business that can be
identified clearly from above study. In addition to this it can be found that various approaches
are used by operation management to maintain the quality of products offered by the company
in which lean manufacturing plays an important role. Apart from this operation management
helps in achieving objective related to profit , productivity and quality that has been clearly
justified in the study. At last it can be concluded that there are various internal and external
factors that affect operational management and decision making of leaders and managers.

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