Management and Operation Assignment - Corus

Management and
Operations

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
P1............................................................................................................................................3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
P2)...........................................................................................................................................5
P3)...........................................................................................................................................6
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................8
P4............................................................................................................................................8
P5............................................................................................................................................9
TASK 4 .........................................................................................................................................10
P6).........................................................................................................................................10
CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
Management means to create, control and manage the set of business activities, for
achievement of strategic objectives. In this regard, operations management has a vital role in
managing various activities which are part of production of products and services. Leaders and
managers are two vital components of managing a business enterprise. This report is based upon
an organisation named, Corus which is a Tata Steel Group part and produces steel basically in
UK and Netherlands (Boyd and Dougherty, 2016). In this report comparison between role if
managers and leaders are elaborated in detail. It also includes examination of examples how
leader's roles and manager's functions applied in various contexts of an enterprise with the
application of various approaches and models. It also includes operation management's key
approaches, value and significance for the purpose of achieving business objectives. It also
covers various factors and forces existing in environment of business that has affect over
decision making and operational management by managers and leaders.
TASK 1
P1
Operation management is an administration of practices of business that create high
efficiency level that is possible within an enterprise. In context of Corus, operation management
plays a vital role in improving efficiency of production which enhance overall profitability of an
enterprise. In this regard, both leaders and managers plays significant roles to set goals and
achieve them within specific time period.
Leader- Leader is an individual that influence, commands, guide and lead a group of
persons or an organisation. Leader is a person who is an inspiration to people and provides
motivation to them towards achieving goals of an organisation (Leadership v/s Management,
2019). Leaders have effective communication ability by which they can easily communicate
with employees regarding objectives of a business. The role played by leader is to influence and
motivate employees towards achieving overall objectives of an organisation.

Manager- A manager is a person who is responsible to control and manage all the
activities taking place in an organisation. It is the responsibility of managers to exercise
functions of management in an appropriate manner. Managers are reliable and are available to
employees and provide them support whenever needed. The role played by manager is to control
and manage all the business activities and to make sure that work is completed within a
specified period of time (Ellitan, 2017).
Differences between manager and leader
Basis Leader Manager
Characteristics  Leader of Corus creates
a long term vision for
an organisation
towards achieving its
goals and inspire
people in order to
convert this vision into
reality.
 Leader of Corus are
risk takers and keep on
innovating new ideas
for the benefits of
business (Eraki, 2015).
 On the other hand,
manager of Corus
create goals and focus
to set, measure and
achievement of these
objectives.
 Whereas, Corus's
managers avoid risks
and they work to
minimise risks existing
within a business
entity.
Role  The basic role of leader
in Corus is to influence
people and motivate
them to achieve
business objectives.
 Another role of leader
is to set direction
towards achieving
goals of an enterprise.
 The role played by
manager is limited, that
is to manage and
control business
activities.
 Manager of Corus is
responsible towards
making plans regarding
achieving objectives of

business.
An example regarding differences between leaders and managers is the way they act
towards conflicts between employees. Manager's work is limited and they do not involve
themselves in conflicts whereas, leaders put a lot of effort in resolving conflicts between workers
(Fan, Liu and Zhang, 2015).
Similarities between Leaders and Managers
Although leaders and managers are different on basis of their role, functions and
characteristic but at the same time there are some similarities which can be seen between them.
In Corus, both leaders and managers perform various similar functions and role which is
described as follows-
 The basic similarity between leader and manager of Corus is to provide supervision to
employees of an organisation and typically evaluate them.
 Another similarity between them is to maintain effective communication with workers so
that any kind of problem can be solved. Leaders and Managers of Corus measure
employees performance by using metrics.
TASK 2
P2)
Managers and leaders plays a very important and crucial role in improving operations of
a company and ensures an uninterrupted production with minimum manufacturing cost. In
Corus, different situations arises while performing day to day operations where managers and
leaders have to apply various type of leadership styles and management theory to ensure better
and effective operations and production inside work premises. Some of these situations are
explained below where managers and leaders are playing a vital role for achievement of
objectives (Han and et. al., 2017).
Conflicts resolution – In an organisation, large of number of individuals works for
achievement of a common goal but each individual is also having some personal goals and
desire, thus in that situation, day to day conflicts are inevitable. The main reasons for conflicts
are, unfair treatment, unclear job roles, inadequate training, poor management and
communication or any other personal reason. Managers and leaders play a vital role in conflict

resolution. To deal with this situation, manager of Corus, clearly defines the roles and
responsibilities of each employee to reduce the chance of confusion, thus reducing the scope for
emergence of conflicts. It is the duty of leaders to provide an effective channel of communication
to provide all relevant information to employee and they try to understand the personal view and
interests of team members about that particular plan or strategies. This will help in establishing a
coordination between individual interest and organisational interest, thus reduce the chances of
conflicts (Idris, 2016). Leaders of Corus are provide guidance and training to its workforce to
reduce the chances of conflicts. It is also necessary for leader to remove all kind of personal
biasness while dealing or solving any conflicts and manager should focus on clarifying concerns
and should understand the view point of all parties and try to negotiate a decision which is
beneficial for all. Use of behavioural management theory can be made by managers of Corus to
properly understand the interests and behaviour of employees to reduce the chance of conflicts.
Leaders can make use of situational leadership style to resolve the conflicts as it provide clear
description about each situation and circumstances thus, it become easy to understand the reason
of conflicts thus, solution can be made easily.
Implementation of change – Change is an integral part of every organisation as it brings
more competitive strength and provide better way of operation which is more cost effective and
profitable. Implementation of change is a complex process which includes proper analysis of
benefits of change, determination of impact of change, development of effective communication
strategy and providing appropriate training to employees (Ma and Sun, 2012). Managers are
responsible for analysing the benefits of change for overall organisation and analyse and decides
the complete workflow for implementation of change. Managers of Corus are making use of
Scientific management theory to improve the efficiency and labour productivity of employees
for proper implementation of change. Establishment of communication channel is the
responsibility of leaders and they also play a critical role in motivating employees through
different development and training program. Systems leadership theory is adopted by leaders of
Corus to reduce the complexity level through properly defining the flow of change and to create
a conditions which provide maximum level of productivity.
P3)
Leadership is a process through which efforts are made by leaders to influence interest
and goal of employees in direction of achievement of organisational goal. This process involves

providing proper guidance, knowledge and motivation to workforce for fulling the
organisational goal and vision. Corus's leader is also making use of different leadership theories
for maintaining team spirit in its employee and improving efficiency and productivity of
organisation. Some of the leadership theories are explained below with their advantage and
disadvantage within the work environment of Corus (Nayak, 2015).
Situational leadership theory - Under this theory of leadership, different approaches or
style of leadership are adopted by leader according to the situation and prevailing conditions for
effective development of team members and employees. Corus make use this leadership when
managers have to make changes in their approach to easily get fit into the efficiency level of
employees to motivate and influence them.
Advantage Disadvantage
Provide a more spontaneous and flexible
approach which can easily get changed as per
the conditions and situations and creates a
better relation between managers and
employees through providing better working
conditions.
Changing or opting different and new
leadership styles and approaches can create a
confusion or chaos in mind of both employees
and leaders thus, it is a more complex and
confusing theory of leadership.
Systems leadership theory - This helps in creating a healthy workplace environment at
Corus through generating the conditions in which people at different level can work more
productively to best of their potential. This theory is used by Corus to create best models for
organisational strategy, system design and other social process through making use of sound
principles about individual behaviour and attitude to influence them in direction of organisational
goal (Plesser and et. al., 2014).
Advantage Disadvantage
It is the most suitable approach for
coordinating individual goals with
organisational goal, thus increase efficiency
and productivity of both.
It is not always practical to influence interest of
all employees in favour of organizational goals
and sometime creates delays in decisions making
process.

Contingency leadership theory - This type of theory focuses on both leaders as well as
on the prevailing situation in which leadership approach is implemented. Under this theory of
leadership, leaders of Corus first analyse the situation for properly motivating and inspiring the
employees as per the current conditions. It is a two fold process where situation as well as skills
of leaders are analysed for achieving better results (Tristancho and Gutiérrez, 2012).
Advantage Disadvantage
It provide information about skills of leaders
and helps in developing a leadership chart
which facilitates better planning of human
resource as per prevailing situation.
This require highly efficient leaders to handle
and understand the complex situation, if
leaders are inefficient this approach can not
yield good results.
TASK 3
P4
Introduction- It is important for Corus to utilise various approaches of operation
management in order to improve overall efficiency or production, to minimize waste, to ensure
smooth functioning of a business and to focus upon customer's needs and desires. Different
organisations uses different approaches in order to improve their production efficiency such as
lean production, six sigma, just in time, TQM and so on.
TQM- Total Quality Management is a structured approach that focuses upon improving
organisation's output that includes goods and services by continuously improving internal
practices. The role played by leader of Corus in this approach is to properly implement TQM
concept in different business processes to retain customers for a long term and to attain
competitive advantage. The role that Corus's manager plays in this approach is to communicate
about the benefits of TQM to all organisation members (Wang, Jie and Abareshi, 2015).
Six Sigma- It is a technique used for continuous improvement in an organisation by
improving quality of output. It is done by identification and removal of defects causes and
minimize variability in business and manufacturing processes. The basic role which is played by
leader of Corus in this approach is to establish business goals and to use this approach in an
appropriate manner to achieve business objectives. Corus's manager plays a significant role in
creating and fostering environment which can set stage for success of employees.

Just in Time- It is an approach of operation management in which production is made
according to demand at a specific period of time. The role played by Corus's leaders in this
approach is to facilitate and identify problems and solve them within time. The function of
manager in this approach is to communicate timely with employees regarding all the activities
that are needed to be implemented (Wen-chao, Fan and Wen-wen, 2012).
Lean Production- This system is used for cutting down costs by making business more
effective and efficient towards needs of a market. Corus is using this approach right now in order
to reduce waste, improve efficiency and productivity of its business. This organisation with the
help of this approach is reducing waiting times, overproduction, over processing and defects. It is
be done by using timescale planning, eliminating unnecessary steps, reduction in number of trials
that are needed to obtain valid results and by using equipment to minimize trial failures. The role
of manager in this approach is to supervise that employees are working in an effective manner
for improving overall productivity and efficiency of a firm. The role which leader plays in this
regard is to make sure that to motivate employees towards contributing to improvement process.
P5
Operation management is defined as a process which is highly concerned with production
in an organisation. This process is made up of different activities of business such as organising,
planning, monitoring and controlling, etc. In regards to Corus, main goal of operation is to make
sure that high quality of goods and services that are manufactured within business entities .
Significance of operation management can be seen as follows-
Reduction of cost: Operation management perform as an efficient tool for identifying and
eliminating costs which are related to wastage existing within Corus. (Williams, 2015). Cost
reduction is the key aspect of operation management and this approach aims at reducing costs of
an enterprise. When cost of a company is reduced than it will enhance profit margin of an
organisation. Increased profit is key objective of every business entity and reducing cost can help
Corus in achieving this objective.
Enhancing overall productivity: It is determined as a crucial aspect and approach for
business organisations. Operation management helps in enhancing business's overall productivity
which will result in high output. This will increase the overall efficiency of a firm which will
result in low cost of operating. This will help in achieving overall objectives of a business.

Corus leaders makes usage of their belief and self confidence for acting as idols to their
subordinates and in promoting culture where product quality and operational excellence are
treated as supreme. Also, managers of Corus are responsible to assign tasks to workers and to set
goals for individuals, team and organisation. Goals and objectives of an enterprise are both long
term and short term. Managers and leaders uses lean production approach to make sure that
overall objectives of business are achieved within a time period. (XIANG, Chen and Zhang,
2013).
TASK 4
P6)
There are various factors in business environment which create a significant impact on
decision making of managers and leaders. Use of PESTEL analysis is made to understand these
factors description of which is provided below:
External Factors
Political - Theses factors reflect the attitude and behaviour of government and political
parties towards organisation. Political atmosphere of UK is stable and rules and regulations are
also quite flexible and in favour of business activities thus,it is providing many opportunities for
Corus to grow and earn better profits. Managers of Corus frame their decisions on the basis of
polices and rules framed by government. Stable political environment of country makes
operations of Corus easier as they do not need to make any change in its production or other
functions. Corus only need communication channels which can be used by Leaders for providing
guidelines about rules and framework of government to employees (Yun and et. al., 2018).
Economical – this includes inflation, deflation, bank rates, interest rates, etc. Economic
conditions of UK is good and thus provide a more stable and positive atmosphere to Corus. A
developed economy makes it easier for leader and managers of Corus to influence or motivate its
employees and they are making use of soft decisions and flexible motivation approach for
improving performance and efficiency of employees through providing better incentive and
rewards to employees. Stable bank rates makes it easy for organisation to run its day to day
operations effectively.
Social – These factors includes the behaviour, taste, preference and needs of society and
reflects the prevailing culture of society. UK is having a modern culture and taste and preference

of people of UK keeps on changing and they always desires for more better services and
products, thus, managers of Corus are making decisions and policies which are most suitable in
meeting the demands of customers and at the same time leaders are always focused towards
motivating the employees for easily implementing the changes and innovation (Boyd and
Dougherty, 2016). Timely changes are made in operations and working of Corus to meet the
demand and expectations of customers and society.
Technological - Consumers of UK are always attracted towards latest technology and
innovation and having a very dynamic atmosphere thus, it has increased the role and
responsibility of leaders and managers of Corus. It become necessary for leader to provide timely
training and also develop new skills and talent in its employees for gaining competitive
advantage. Managers takes decisions and implement plans and polices which will facilitate better
development of employees and provide maximum motivation to them for achieving the targets. It
become necessary for Corus to timely update its production process and other operation to
remain in the market and replace their obsolete machine and techniques to deliver better products
to customers.
Environmental – People of UK are becoming more aware about environment and try to
reduce the amount of damage created to environment through different human activities.
Managers and leaders of Corus take it as a opportunity and motivate its employees to make use
of sustainable development process to reduce the damage. Managers are making decisions to
implement environment friendly process in manufacturing to reduce the amount of harmful gas
emitted in the atmosphere. It also makes necessary changes in its production process and other
operations.
Legal – This factors includes different laws and act formed by government for betterment
of society and labours. Labour laws and other employment act make it necessary for leaders of
Corus to make such decisions and form such polices which protect interest of employees. It is the
responsibility of leaders to remove or stop all kind of harassment and discrimination at
workplace (Ellitan, 2017). If legal laws and regulation are not followed by Corus than it create
hinderances and interruptions in its business operation and productions activities.
Internal Factors
Corporate social responsibility -CSR are the self regulating business model that makes
a company socially accountable to itself, its stakeholders and to general public. A company

performing or engaged in CSR means that, in normal course of business i.e. while performing its
day to day operation company is enhancing society and environment instead of creating any
negative impact on society. Corus is performing its business process in such a way that creates
positive impact on society. Corus work as per social moral and ethics and provide a healthier
atmosphere and work culture to its employees, stakeholders and all to whole society.
Sustainability is not just conserving resources for future but it also includes social justice, human
rights, community involvement, work place health and safety, ethics, racism and proper
governance. All these principles of sustainable development are implemented by Corus in its
organisation.
Stakeholders – These are the person who are directly or indirectly affected by the
organisation's actions, objectives and polices. It includes creditors, directors, employees,
government agencies, shareholders, owners, suppliers, unions and other community or society
from where business draws its resources. Corus seeks to keep a balance between needs of its
stakeholders by building sustainable development principles within its organisation through
keeping a check and control on every activity of business. For fulfilling its CSR and suitability
principles it involve different processes for reducing harm to society like Steel recycling process
and promotes sustainable steel manufacturing on global scale and supports recycling initiatives.
Believes, values and behaviour of higher management has developed a friendly and positive
culture for stakeholders in Corus. They also provide education programme to provide knowledge
about sustainability and recycling (Sustainable business at Corus. 2019).
Recommendations
For enhancing the performance of Corus, this organisation can adopt various measures to
improve the overall productivity of its business activities. In order to reduce unnecessary
activities of an enterprise, it is using lean production right now. It can also use TQM approach of
operation management to identify and detect errors within an organisation. It will result in
improving customer experience and make sure that workers are indulging in an appropriate
training and development programmes. This will help in improving efficiency of its operations
and overall productivity of firm.
CONCLUSION
From this report, it is concluded operation management is used to manage daily routine
business activities and improves its overall productivity and profitability. This report also covers

the roles and characteristics of managers in an organisation. Managers control and monitor
overall business activities whereas, leaders influence and motivate employees towards achieving
overall objectives. In case of conflicts, leaders forms an effective communication platform to
resolve issues and managers properly assign roles and responsibilities to workers to avoid
conflicts. In TQM approach of operation management, leaders implement its concept in various
processes of business whereas managers, communicate regarding benefits of this approach to
members of an enterprise. At last, it has been concluded that it is important for business to
consider about the impact of macro environmental factors upon working of a business so that
suitable strategies and policies could be adopted.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Online
Leadership v/s Management. 2019. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.go2hr.ca/retention-engagement/understanding-the-differences-leadership-
vs-management>
Sustainable business at Corus. 2019. [Online]. Available Through:
<http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/corus/sustainable-business-at-corus/sustainability-
and-stakeholders.html>