Operations Management: A Case Study of Debenhams

This assignment examines the concepts of management and leadership within the context of Debenhams, a prominent retail organization in the United Kingdom. It explores the distinct roles and characteristics of leaders and managers, analyzing their functions in various situational contexts. The assignment delves into different leadership theories and models, including situational leadership, systems leadership, and contingency approaches. It further investigates key approaches to operations management, such as Six Sigma, Just-in-Time, Lean Production, Total Quality Management (TQM), and Continuous Improvement, highlighting the role of leaders and managers in their implementation. The importance and value of operations management in achieving business objectives are discussed, with a focus on Debenhams' strategic decision areas. Finally, the assignment assesses factors within the organization's environment that impact operational management and decision-making by leaders and managers.

MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS

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INTRODUCTION
The number of organizations in the market of the United Kingdom is increasing very rapidly and
frequently. According to the market experts and researchers, the rate of new start-ups and
small businesses will keep on increasing at the same rate of pace for the upcoming years of
time. There are several new businesses get started by an organization, but only those
businesses become successful in which the concept of management and leadership is
appropriately comprehended and implemented. The following assignment thus discusses the
diverse concepts of management and leadership within an organization and also explains the
role of managers and leaders of an organization by using appropriate theories and models. The
organization that is selected for this assignment on management and operations is
“Debenhams”.
Debenhams is a retail organization that operates in the United Kingdom under a department
store format. The company serves with its products and services in the UK, Ireland, and many
other nations of the world. The headquarters of Debenhams is situated in England, UK.
Debenhams was founded by William Clark in the year 1778 and the major products that it
provides in the market include; fashion clothing, electrical appliances, cosmetics, shoes, toys,
gifts, and many more. There are more than 28000 employees working for the organization and
net income of the company in the year 2017 was £86 million. Debenhams follows a tall
organizational structure within the workplace, and thus the role of leaders and managers is very
important in the association (Christopher, 2017).
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LO1
P1 DEFINE AND COMPARE THE DIFFERENT ROLES AND CHARACTERISTICS OF
A LEADER AND A MANAGER
There are several different entities present in an organization that carries out their respective
job roles in order to achieve all the aims and objectives of the company successfully. Out of all
these different entities, the two major entities that play the most significant role in an
organization are the leaders and the managers.
MANAGEMENT
The conception of managing operational activities of different departments in an organization is
known as management. A manager of an organization takes the responsibilities of controlling,
directing, organizing, and planning within the workplace. The different departments of an
organization like Debenhams consist of different managers, who perform their respective job
roles for ensuring the successful growth of company’s business in the market (Crawford, et al.
2014).
LEADERSHIP
The concept of accomplishing organization’s tasks by leading a group of individuals is known as
leadership. The superior management committee of an organization likes Debenhams assign
the responsibilities of leading the group of employees towards the successful achievement of
the work to the organization’s leaders. There are different types of leadership styles, out of
which a leader selects the most appropriate styles to be followed, so as to ensure that the
organizational goals get accomplished effectively.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LEADERS AND MANAGERS
The importance of a leader and a manager is almost same in an organization like Debenhams,
but still, there are several differences between these entities that are needed to be
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comprehended. The differences between a manager and a leader can be evaluated on the basis
of different factors such as; their characteristic traits, their major role within the organization,
and the power and authority that they possess within the company. On the basis of these
elements, it can be analyzed that the major role of a leader is to lead the team towards success,
while the major role of a manager is to manage the different operations of company’s business.
The characteristic traits possess by a leader include; passionate, goal-oriented, focused, etc.;
whereas the characteristic traits possess by a manager include; hardworking, determined,
creative, etc. (Goetsch, et al. 2014). The power and authority that is owned by a manager are
more than that of a leader in the association like Debenhams.
The researchers and market experts have developed an assortment of different theories and
concepts which depicts the functions and roles of leaders and managers in an organization.
Some of these important theories and concepts with respect to the managers and leaders of
Debenhams are as follows;
HARD AND SOFT SKILLS OF MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP
According to the several market researchers, an individual consists of either hard skills or soft
skills depending on the respective position of that individual within the company. Hard skills are
those skills that can easily be enumerated, while soft skills are those skills that are highly
subjective and are not easy to enumerate. The leaders of an organization generally possess soft
skills such as; time management skills, team working, motivational skills, etc. whereas the
managers of an organization possess hard skills such as; proficiency of managing different
business activities, computer programming, etc. (Hartzell, 2015).
FAYOL’S FUNCTIONS OF MANAGERS
The theory proposed by Henry Fayol explains the four major functions that are implemented by
a manager of an organization like Debenhams. These four major functions of management are
as follows;
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DIRECTING
The developed strategies and tactics of the organization are directed to the organization’s
leaders by the managers in this function of management. These strategies and tactics are then
communicated to the employees of the association (Heizer, et al. 2016).
PLANNING
This is the most important function of management according to the Henry Fayol’s philosophy.
In the function of planning, the managers of an organization like Debenhams make plans and
strategies for the development of the organization in the market.
ORGANIZING
The effectual organizing of the organization's valuable resources lies in this function of
management. The managers of the Debenhams organizes the company's resources in such a
way that it could lead to the effective growth of the organization.
CONTROLLING
Another important function of management is controlling. In order to execute the developed
strategies and plans, there are several different elements involved and these elements are
controlled by the organization’s managers (Kumar, et al. 2014).
MINTZBERG MANAGERIAL ROLES
According to the theory proposed by Mintzberg, there are ten different types of managerial
roles that are followed by the leaders of an organization like Debenhams in the market. These
10 managerial roles are categorized into three categories by the Mintzberg. The two categories
consist of 3 roles each, while one category consists of 4 roles. The three categories depicting
the different types of managerial roles proposed by Mintzberg are as follows;
INTERPERSONAL ROLES
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This category consists of three types of managerial roles. They are; liaison, figurehead, and the
leader.
DECISIONAL ROLES
There are four types of managerial roles that lie in this category. These four types of managerial
roles include; resource allocator, handling of commotion, negotiator, and employees of the
company (Macdonald, 2017).
INFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP ROLES
There are three types of managerial roles that lie in this category. These three different
managerial roles are as follows; monitoring, spokesperson, and disseminator.
Thus, the above-discussed are the different theories and concepts regarding the notion of
management and leadership within an organization.
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LO2
P2 EXAMINE EXAMPLES OF HOW THE ROLE OF A LEADER AND THE FUNCTION
OF A MANAGER APPLY IN DIFFERENT SITUATIONAL CONTEXTS
The roles and functions of leaders and managers of the Debenhams are different from each
other, and both are highly significant as well as important for the development of an
organization’s business in the international market. As the previous section of the assignment
explains that there are several different entities present in an organization that carries out their
respective job roles in order to achieve all the aims and objectives of the company successfully.
Out of all these different entities, the two major entities that play the most significant role in an
organization are the leaders and the managers.
There are several different types of situational contexts that arise within an organization like
Debenhams and the leaders and managers of the company are needed to effectively perform
their roles and functions in every different situation. As discussed above, the differences
between a manager and a leader can be evaluated on the basis of different factors such as;
their characteristic traits, their major role within the organization, and the power and authority
that they possess within the company. On the basis of these elements, it can be analyzed that
the major role of a leader is to lead the team towards success, while the major role of a
manager is to manage the different operations of company’s business. The characteristic traits
possess by a leader include; passionate, goal-oriented, focused, etc.; whereas the characteristic
traits possess by a manager include; hardworking, determined, creative, etc. (McCleskey, et al.
2014).
The functions of managers and the roles of leaders in different organizational situations are as
follows;
STABLE SITUATION
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This is the type of organizational situation in which there are no major changes that take place
within a company. In a stable organizational situation, the role and functions of the leaders and
managers of the organization do not change much and mostly remains stable. The reason
behind the changing of an organizational situation is the inner and outer organizational changes
that take places within an association like Debenhams.
SLOW-TO-MODERATE CHANGING SITUATION
The organizational situation within the Debenhams is slow to moderate changing situation.
With the latest technological changes in the market, the superior management committee of
the Debenhams also aims to make changes according to the emerging technologies so as to
gain the higher amount of market shares as well as profits for the company’s business. The role
of leaders and managers of an organization becomes imperative in this type of organizational
change situation because, in this situation, there comes a phase when the company suddenly
starts to switch their business activities and also starts to make changes within their
organizational structure (Murphy, et al. 2017).
FAST CHANGING SITUATION
The different elements and factors such as; economic factors, social factors, technological,
factors, political factors, etc. lead to the generation of the fast-changing situation within the
company. The managers and leaders play a vital role during this situation as the organizational
structure of the company gets changed in the fast-changing situation.
Thus, in this way, the role and functions of leaders and managers can be applied in the different
situational contexts within the Debenhams.
STYLES OF LEADERSHIP BY ROBERT HOUSE
As discussed above, there are several different types of situational contexts that arise within an
organization like Debenhams and the leaders and managers of the company are needed to
effectively perform their roles and functions in every different situation. As there are different
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types of organizational situations that could arise within an organization, similarly there are
different types of leadership styles present that are adopted by the leaders of different
organizations. Robert House in his theory has discussed the four major styles of leadership that
lies under the Path-Goal theory of leadership. These different leadership styles and the style of
leadership that is followed by the Debenhams’s leaders are as follows;
SUPPORTIVE LEADERSHIP STYLE
This type of leadership style is followed by most of the leaders, especially in the manufacturing
and production sector of the industry. It is very important for the leaders to motivate their
employees and team members so as to reduce their work stress and level of frustration. Thus,
the leaders who follow this style of leadership style have the major role to support their team
members to get motivated (Otley, et al. 2016).
ACHIEVEMENT ORIENTED LEADERSHIP STYLE
In this style of leadership, the leaders of the company set different goals for the team members
to achieve and then directs them towards the way of achieving those goals.
DIRECTIVE LEADERSHIP STYLE
In order to accomplish the assigned tasks and projects by the team members within the desired
deadlines, it is very important for the leaders following directive leadership style to guide
appropriate ways to the employees.
PARTICIPATIVE LEADERSHIP STYLE
The leaders of Debenhams participate in the activities along with their respective team
members and thus they follow participative leadership style within the workplace (Renz, et al.
2016).
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P3APPLY DIFFERENT THEORIES AND MODELS OF APPROACH, INCLUDING
SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP, SYSTEMS LEADERSHIP AND CONTINGENCY
There are several different leadership approaches that are followed by an organization’s
leaders. These approaches are as follows;
SYSTEMS LEADERSHIP
In this approach of leadership, the employees and team members of the company are provided
with the appropriate training in such a way that they can make changes in their working styles
as per the needs of the organization (Rock, et al. 2014).
SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP
In this approach to leadership, the leaders of a company like Debenhams make changes in their
decision making styles as per the needs of the association. The four factors that are involved in
this approach are; delegating, supporting, coaching, and directing.
Figure: 1. System Leadership
[Source: https://wikispaces.psu.edu/display/P5PFLB/SITUATIONAL+Theory+Page]
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CONTINGENCY LEADERSHIP
Another important approach is the contingency approach. In this approach, the leaders of an
organization analyze the existing situation and then make changes in their leadership styles
accordingly (Rock, 2014).
Thus, the above-discussed are the different approaches to leadership.
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LO3
P4 EXPLAIN THE KEY APPROACHES TO OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT AND THE
ROLE THAT LEADERS AND MANAGERS PLAY
The following section of the report is based on the "Debenhams" as a large retail organization
in the UK. The role that is played by the leaders and managers of the Debenhams while
implementing the key approaches of operations management are as follows;
SIX-SIGMA
In order to reduce different types of organizational wastes like; wastes of inventory, wastes of
transportation, etc. as well as enhance the efficiency of production of the organization, this
approach of operations management is used within Debenhams.
JUST-IN-TIME
Another important approach to diminish the wastes of inventory that is generated in the
organization is Just-in-time approach. In this approach, the company places orders of the
resources at the time of production itself. The leaders and managers of the Debenhams make
sure that this approach is implemented appropriately so as to reduce the wastes of resources
due to the over-filling of company's inventory (Otley, et al. 2016).
LEAN PRODUCTION
It is also known as the approach of lean manufacturing. In this approach, the quality of the
products and services are maintained while reducing the company’s waste. The managers and
leaders ensure that the production procedure is carried out in such a way that it reduces the
generation of wastes and enhances the quality of the products and services that are provided
by the organization in the market.
TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT (TQM)
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In the approach of total quality management, the leaders and managers of the organization
play a vital role. In this approach to operations management, the superior quality of services
and products are developed and served by the company like Debenhams to the customers in
the market. The leaders of organization motivate the employees to effectively carry out the
production process, so as to achieve the higher amount of customer satisfaction (McCleskey, et
al. 2014).
CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
The approach of continuously developing products and services of the organization is known as
the approach of continuous improvement. The leaders and managers of the organization play a
vital role in the approach of continuous improvement. In this approach to operations
management, the superior quality of services and products are developed and served by the
company like Debenhams to the customers in the market, so as to accomplish all the
organizational goals successfully, as well as to gain the higher amount of customer satisfaction.
Consequently, these are some of the major approaches of operations management of
Debenhams.
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P5 EXPLAIN THE IMPORTANCE AND VALUE OF OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT IN
ACHIEVING BUSINESS OBJECTIVES
Debenhams is providing retail services in fashion clothing, cosmetics, home and furniture
through its 178 stores across the UK. For managing operations in such a large number of stores
and ensuring that minimum wastage is done carrying the retail operations, the principles of
operations management such as lean management, six sigma and just-in-time are extremely
useful. Effective retail management requires a good understanding of supply chain
merchandising and logistics. Following strategic decision areas of Debenhams can benefit by
applying the principle of operations management:
1. Design of Goods and Services: Debenhams is operating in the entire region of United
Kingdom and to reduce the time to deliver final products in the hand of the customers,
the control and distribution systems need to be accurate. The company is known for its
quality fashion accessories and home décor items. To maintain this high standard of
services, the company needs to minimize the losses in supply chain and improve the
quality of services which is beneficial for both the employees and the customers.
2. Quality Management: In this area, the management needs to improve the quality of the
final products in order to present a tough completion to the companies like Marks and
Spencer. The defects in the products must be minimized and a thorough testing
mechanism should be developed so that zero tolerance to the defects in manufacturing
can be applied by using six sigma methodologies (Bolden, 2016). The generic product
development strategy of the company also needs to be improved for the following
purpose.
3. Process and Capacity Design: The operations management aims to manage the
resources which are necessary for the effective retail operations of the company. The
robotics and automation systems should be optimized for minimum wastage and
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maximum efficiency. The operations management can also help the company to manage
the production capacity to deal with the fluctuations in demand in different seasons. All
these efforts will keep the business productive by minimizing the cost.
4. Location Strategy: Transportation cost is an important factor in the retail operations of
Debenhams. To minimize the transportation cost and supply the finished product in
minimum time the customers, the transportation systems need to be optimized. The
location of warehouses must be at the minimum distance from the stores, so that
consumer markets, distributors and customers can be reached in minimum possible
time. Effective space utilization at the stores is also helpful in reducing the time of
delivery of products to the final customers (Clark, et al. 2013).
5. Layout Design and Strategy: The layout design must be finalized keeping in mind the
different products supplied by Debenhams. Separate sections of clothing must be
provided for different category of clothing like men's, women's and children wear. The
behaviour analysis of the customers is helpful to arrange the most selling articles near
the entrance and providing adequate space between ails to ensure easy movement of
the customers from one section to another section.
6. Job Design and Human Resources: the human resource management strategies of
Debenhams follows standard procedures because continuous recruitment of human
resource is required at the stores and other operational areas of the company. The
training and development programs are run throughout the year to maintain the
standard of services. Operations management ensures that the job roles of the
employees are deciding according to the skills and experience of the individual
employee (Ha, et al. 2013).
7. Supply Chain Management: the supply chain operations of Debenhams are highly
automated to ensure that the supply chain operations leads to increasing the
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productivity. Effective supply chain operations help the managers at Debenhams to
manage the supply and demand fluctuations. The supply chain operations are kept
effective by regular monitoring and problem-solving in a proactive way.
8. Inventory Management: Inventory management functions of Debenhams are greatly
benefitted by the operations management techniques. The primary objective of
operations management at Debenhams is to optimize the ordering and holding
operations so that goods are supplied at the right time to the customers. The role of
inventory management has also become important in increasing online sales of the
company's products which need to be delivered at the specified time to the customers.
The Just in Time Inventory management systems ensures that the holding time of the
goods is miniized.
9. Scheduling: The scheduling operations of Debenhams are based on the demand of the
local market. The localized operations are effective in satisfying the demand of the
targeted customers. Debenhams also using the flexible scheduling operations which
ensure minimum losses in the supply chain operations. By keeping scheduling timetable
of warehouses flexible, adjustments can be made in order to adjust the demand
according to fluctuations in the market conditions. To maintain the supply during festive
seasons the flexible scheduling system is very effective (Heizer, 2016).
10. Maintenance: To keep the operations highly productive, the maintenance of services
and products is necessary. To maintain the human resources regular training programs
are organized at Debenhams to ensure that the employees are efficient and effective. To
keep the operations of the company effective, dedicated personnel are employed to
repair clean and maintain computer equipment and cash registers. Other operational
issues are regularly resolved through monitoring operations. Effective maintenance
schedule also helps in managing the demand in peak seasons.
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Figure2: Operations management
[Source: https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-illustration-operations-management-chart-
keywords-icons-image49748441]
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LO4
P6 ASSESS THE DIFFERENT FACTORS WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION’S
ENVIRONMENT THAT MAY IMPACT UPON OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT AND
DECISION-MAKING BY LEADERS AND MANAGERS
Operations management is the process of reducing the amount of waste in the processes of the
company so that effective cost reductive can be applied over the time. Different factors within
the microenvironment of the company which make an impact on the application of operations
management and the decision-making process of the leaders and managers are discussed
below:
ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
Every organization has a unique cultural value which is formed by the regional identities and
preferences of the employee as well as customers. The application of organizational cultures
may require a change in the basic processes of the company and this change process may be
difficult to apply due to cultural barriers the role of leadership becomes very important in such
cases. A leader needs to communicate with the employees and try to make them understand
the benefits of improving the processes of the company and how these changes can benefit the
employees (Hoang, et al. 2010).
VALUES AND ETHICS
Values and ethics are the code of conduct which governs the behaviour if employees as well as
managers of Debenhams. The leaders and managers should ensure that the company is
working according to its ethical principles. Strictly following these ethical norms builds a
positive work culture in the company which results in the better efficiency of the employees.
The operations management principle of using minimum resource also becomes a part of the
code of conduct of the company which everyone needs to follow. Values and ethics help the
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leaders to decide what the right and what is wrong. Practising right ethical values help
Debenhams by imposing a strong brand image of the company (Yang, et al. 2011).
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR)
The industrial activities carrying out at such a large level have some adverse impact on the
ecology of the planet (Krajewski, et al. 2015). To minimize these impacts and provide a safe and
healthy environment for the upcoming generations, Debenhams contributes some part of its
annual profits in the environmental sustainability programs, CSR also includes social upliftment
programs to make the condition of the vulnerable section of the society better and provide
education clean water and environment. Providing equal opportunities to the employees and
making arrangement for their safety and security within workplace comes under corporate
social responsibility.
TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGES
The operations management may also require the introduction of new technologies in the
business processes. These changes are mostly related to the digitization of the process so that
operations can be made fast, accurate and reliable. The use of smartphones has increased
many-fold and Debenhams has introduced new features in its website so that customers can
browse easily through various sections and can make the payment through the internet
gateway. All these systems reduce the operations cost and increase the customer base of
Debenhams (Stevenson and Sum, 2015). New facilities for the customers such as self-service
checkout systems help to save time and energy of the customers as well as Debenhams.
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CONCLUSION
The leaders and managers work as a team to achieve the organizational goals of the company.
But the roles and responsibilities of these two are different. The leaders have the responsibility
of making policies for long-term survival of the company while managers apply different
policies of the company and make sure that all the function of the company is working
efficiently and the in a time-bound manner. The current assignment discussed different models
and frameworks which explains various leadership styles which are followed by the leaders and
managers in order to manage the workforce according to the skills level and the experience of
individual employees. The assignment also discussed the role of operations management in
maximizing the profit levels of the company by reducing different types of wastages in the
company.
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