Operations Management: Roles, Approaches, and Business Environment Impact

This assignment delves into the distinct roles of leaders and managers within an organization, exploring their functions in various situational contexts. It examines key approaches to operations management, including lean production and Six Sigma, and analyzes their value in achieving business objectives. The impact of factors like corporate social responsibility, sustainability, and stakeholder expectations on operational decision-making is also discussed.

MANAGEMENT OPERATIONS
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Task 1.........................................................................................................................................4
Task 2.......................................................................................................................................10
Reference list............................................................................................................................17
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Introduction
Operations management is defined as the process of integrating and managing the various
business processes of the organization to ensure high efficiency and timely completion. The
purpose of the assignment is to focus on the operations and management of an organization.
The assignment will reflect the roles and functions of a leader and a manager within an
organization. Significance of the role played by the leaders and managers in different
situational context will be discussed. In addition, variety of theories regarding the approach
of leadership and management such as are going to be demonstrated. Further, in this project,
key approaches towards operations management and its value in accomplishing
organizational objectives along side impact of business environment on decision-making of
managers and leaders will be discussed.
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Task 1
P1 Define and compare the different roles and characteristics of a leader and a manager
Leaders:
Leaders are the individuals within an organization that leads and directs the group of
employees towards the aim and objectives of the company. The main purpose of a leader
involves inspiring the workforce to make sure they perform as per the expectation level
regarding the tasks assigned to them. Leadership is the ability of a person to motivate the
employees to make them dedicated and effective in attaining the organizational goals and
objectives.
Function of leaders:
The function of a leader within an organization is to encourage and inspire the workforce for
making them perform effectively to meet the goals and objectives set by the management.
The function of leaders of Asda constitutes of taking swift, flexible, and decisive actions
(Antonakis and Day, 2017). The function of leaders also involves ensuring that the company
earns competitive edge in the marketplace. It is the duty of the leaders to provide direction to
the employees, as it is highly significant for the employees to know where they are heading.
Five of the ten golden rules of leadership followed by the leaders of Asda are mentioned
below:
Knowing self:
The leaders of the company must be well aware of the strengths and weaknesses possessed by
them.
Appreciation of truth:
The leaders of the company should always appreciate the truth. Being the leader of an
organization, their duty is to be on the side and favour the person who speaks truth.
Endorsement of healthy competition to bring out talent:
The leaders of the company must always endorse healthy competition among the employees
of the company in order to identify the talented employees.
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Avoid things that the leader cannot change:
Leaders of the company must be sensible and intelligent enough efficiently utilize the time
and resources of the company to ensure optimum use.
Raising the community of workplace:
The leaders of the company are virtuous to cultivate a positive working environment through
providing proper support, incentives, and direction to the employees.
Managers:
Manager is the individual who gets things done by manipulating the employees through their
managerial abilities and skills. The managers decide the tasks that are allocated to the
employees within the organization on a regular basis. Managers are the individuals who
oversee and coordinate the work of employees in order to meet the organizational goals and
objectives. They play a vital role in devising strategies, budget, as well as organizing the
tasks of workforce.
Functions of Managers:
The function of the managers of Asda comprises of planning, organizing, controlling, and
leading. It is the role of the managers of the company to plan the strategies and budget of the
company for conducting the operations (Lussier and Achua, 2015). The managers of
organization arrange the work for the employees and lead them by working with them and
supporting them in order to attain the organizational objectives. Lastly, a manager also
monitors and compares the work to check the progress of the employees and their efficiency
in work.
As per stated by Mintzberg Theory the three types of role are Interpersonal roles,
Informational roles, Decisional roles. The managers of different functional department of
Asda play these above-mentioned roles in an integrated manner. The managers of Asda have
technical, human, and conceptual skills that help them to perform efficiently towards the
attainment of organizational goals and objectives.
P2 Examine examples of how the role of a leader and the function of a manager apply in
different situational contexts
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In an organization, several situations take place that play a vital role in fostering as well as
hindering the operations of the company. It is the duty of the managers and leaders to respond
to these situational changes to make the most of it. In this section, the role of a leader and a
manager will be applied in the situational context that varies from time to time.
Slow to moderate changing situations:
In slow to moderate changing situation, considerable changes occur within the business
environment of the organization. The changes that take place vary from being slow to
moderate and then gradually pace up to being moderate. The changes can have a positive or
negative impact on the operations of the company. The changes that take place can affect the
internal and external business environment. In this, rather changes the leaders of Asda
attempts to make the employees adapt to the changes to ensure they work effectively
(Northouse, 2018). On contrary, the managers of the company involved in the managers of
the various functional departments assess the changes taking place in the business
environment and tries to figure it out and its impact on the operations of the company. The
analysis is to identify if the changes will have positive impact or negative impact.
Stable situations:
The leaders as well as the managers of Asda conduct their day-to-day activities in stable
situations. In this kind of situations, the mangers of the company develop the process of
communication for making it ascertain that every functional department of the company is
having effective communication. The leaders of the company on the other hand facilitates the
decision-making process for the management departments of the company, however, the
managers of the company carries on with their daily activities and does not responses so
much.
Fast changing situations:
In fast changing situations, the mangers, as well as the leaders of the company has to swift
enough to respond to the situations and take effective decisions. In this kind of situations, the
changes that occur within the business environment of the company are quick in nature. The
leaders of the company gets accustomed to the changes swiftly and enforces the employees of
the organization to get adapt to the changes. Due to being rapid in nature, these changes
taking place in the business environment make it quite tough for the employees of the
company getting suited to the changes and due to this fact, the performance of the workforce
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starts depreciating. Inefficiencies in the performance of the employees create a negative
effect on the business operations of the organization (DuBrin, 2015). On the other hand,
managers of the company play a vital role, as they are the ones accountable for taking
efficient and swift decisions concerning the business operations of the organization. The
managers have to integrate immense amount changes in the business environment in a short
amount of time to make sure the operations get intact with the changes.
Therefore, these are the roles played by a manager and a leader is the changing situations that
take place within the company.
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P3 Apply different theories and models of approach, including situational leadership,
systems leadership and contingency
This segment of the assignment will show the variety of theories and models being applied
to analyze the approach of the leaders and managers regarding the business operations of the
company. The theories are discussed in details below:
Systems leadership:
Implementing the systems leadership approach within the company and the operations
management activities makes sure that the leaders along with the managers perform
efficiently in order to attain the organizational aims and objectives. This approach supports
the company to overcome the challenges through recognizing the basic structure of the
systems operating in the organization. As per this model, every multinational company is a
system itself and constitutes of numerous sub-systems like recruitment system, production
system, promotion system, sale system, marketing system, and financial system (Macdonald
et al., 2017). Asda operates on sub-systems and results as per the quality of inputs or the
resources such as technology, staffs, transformation procedure utilized to convert the input to
output, and the capital required.
Contingency leadership:
As stated by this model, “there is no best approach to management for every situation”.
According to this model, the managers are responsible for deciding upon the best managerial
approach that would be most suitable and fruitful for the organizational sales and profitability
(Fiedler, 2015). Appropriate managerial approach is required in order to be efficient in
problematic circumstances. Managers are accountable for assess the external business
environment comprising of market competition, clientele expectation, and the internal
working environment including corporate strategies. It helps the company to alter the role of
leaders and managers based on the situation.
Situational leadership:
With the application of situational leadership theory, within the management of the company
ascertains that the leaders are effectively utilizing the approach of leadership as per the
growth level of followers (Thompson and Glasø, 2015). It is the main factor for determining
and setting up on the most appropriate style of leadership. It makes it possible for the Asda to
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make leaders operate based on the group of employees allocated to them. Thus, this helps in
making the leaders perform effectively. It has been stated by this model that to perform
effectively leaders must utilize and behave appropriately at the correct time for the
development of workforce.
Thus, these are some of the leadership theories applied by Asda to improve the performance
of managers and leaders.
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Task 2
Introduction
This report will explore the basic approaches that are used by the managers and leaders of
Asda in order to enhance their operation management activities. The value as well as
importance of operation management in increasing the business of the company will be
evaluated in a detailed manner. The different aspects and factors that have a major impact on
the decision making process of the leaders of Asda will be discussed in this report.
P4 Explain the key approaches to operations management and the role that leaders and
managers play.
Operation management is the process that helps in maintaining the different operational
activities of the business firm (Mheducation.co.uk, 2018). These activities include ensuring
that the resources are used efficiently, the day-to-day duties of the members are effectively
carried out and other activities of the firm. The key approaches of operation management that
are used by the managers and leaders of Asda have been discussed below:
Lean Production
The managers of Asda apply lean production approach and try to understand the value of
their products from the perspective of the consumers so that they are able to determine
accurate pricing strategy. The leaders of the company encourage their employees to increase
their productivity in a creative manner within limited resources (Www2.gsu.edu, 2018). Lean
production helps in increasing the value of service or products of Asda by eliminating certain
other aspects such as they try to reduce production of those products that are not generating
them any revenue. This allows them to enhance the production of products that are in demand
among the consumers.
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Figure 1: Lean Production
(Source: Dennis, 2016)
The managers of the company are able to maintain their operational cost with the help of this
theory. This approach is focused on utilizing the available resources in the most beneficial
manner and help in improving the quality of the products that are provided by Asda.
Six Sigma Approach
Six Sigma is one of the most popular quality control programs that are used by the
management of Asda. This program utilizes the available statistics, consumer trends and
financial data of the company, so that the manager can gain information on how they can
improve the functionality of their company (Pyzdek and Keller, 2014). The managers of Asda
make use of this approach to ensure that they provide superior quality products to their
consumers. DMAIC are the basic steps that must be followed in order to implement this
approach. D-define, M-measure, A- analyze, I-improve, C-control.
Roles of leaders
The leaders ensure that their staff members are motivated and they have the responsibility of
ensuring that all the basic requirements of their staffs such as safety working environment,
positive employee relation and more are maintained in an effective manner. The leader assists
the employees with creative ideas in order to introduce new products that will benefit the
firm.
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Role of managers
The managers oversee that all the production and delivery of the company is maintain din the
most effective manner. The mangers are required to look after the tasks of their employees
and needs to ensure that all the tasks are completed within the deadlines. They have the
responsibility of providing training sessions to their employees in order to improve their
skills.
Figure 2: Six Sigma Themes
(Source: Gijo et al., 2018)
This approach allows the managers of Asda to gain information regarding their faulty or
damaged products. This method allows the mangers to reduce the defect rate of their products
and contributes towards increasing the product quality. Finance managers of the company
make use of this approach in order to control the overall expenditure of their operation
management. This technique allows the company to increase its customer satisfaction level
and enhance their customer base.
P5 Explain the importance and value of operations management in achieving business
objectives.
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There are certain important functions that are performed by the operation management that
helps Asda in achieving its business objectives. Some of the basic functions of operation
management have been mentioned below:
 Operation management assists in improving the distribution system that allows them in
making their products timely available for their consumers.
 The major function operation management is to ensure that the raw material is converted
into finished goods in the most efficient manner.
 Helps in capacity management, the planning process helps in deciding about the
production process.
 Managing the inventory so that logistic expenditures can be balanced in an effective
manner
 Prioritizing the activities that are to be carried out in order to complete the stated project
All the above-mentioned activities play a significant role in helping the managers of the
company to achieve their business objectives. It is evident that the management of Asda is
focused on providing their consumers with superior quality services; this allows them in
increasing their sales volume (Pomsmeetings.org, 2018). The inventory management system
assists the company in saving extra expenditure that can be used efficiently for increasing the
production process of the company that will increase profit generation. If the sale of the
company is increased, they will be able to acquire enhanced market share that will be
beneficial in increasing the brand image of the organization. These factors will allow the
company to attract potential customers towards their firm and the business will be highly
benefitted.
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P6 Assess the factors within the business environment that impact upon operational
management and decision-making by leaders and managers.
There are a number of aspects of business environment that plays a crucial role in influencing
the important decision making process of the managers as well as the leaders of Asda. Some
of the most basic factors that assists in the decision making process of the leaders and the
manager of the company has been elaborated in detailed manner:
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
CSR activities are one of the most beneficial activities that help in improving the brand image
of the company among the local community. The perception of the customers towards the
firm is highly influenced by the CSR activity of the organization. The firms contribute
towards improving the social as well as the environmental conditioned of their nation with
the help of Corporate Social Responsibilities (Schwartz, 2017). This initiative of the company
builds a positive reputation among the consumers and they prefer to stay associated with the
organization. The management of Asda is answerable and accountable to the stakeholders of
the company. The CSR activities influence the decision making process of the leaders and the
managers of the business firm. The leaders and the managers keep the consequences of their
operational activities in mind and thus, take socially responsible decisions. They ensure that
their activities do not have any negative impact on the environmental conditions of the
country. Furthermore, the leaders encourage their employees to work in a sustainable manner
and take part in the CSR initiatives of the company in order to benefit the society. With the
initiative of CSR activities, the managers are able to build and promote a positive business
environment for their business organization.
Sustainability Effects:
Incorporating sustainable practices within the operation management system is important for
Asda so that they are able to attract more consumers towards their firm. However, this
method could be relatively expensive as well as complicated. Thus, the management will
have to take the initiative of investing increased amount in the sustainability practices.
Therefore, the managers as well as the leaders of the organization are required to come up
with certain policies or strategies that will help them in maintain a range of sustainable
practices and the impact of their operations on the environment can be reduced. It is observed
that the citizens of UK are inclined towards firms that considers to impalement sustainable
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practices (Crane and Matten, 2016). The citizens are aware about the degrading
environmental situations and thus, they are associating with firms that use eco friendly
methods in their operational process.
Stakeholders
The stakeholders of Asda belong to different categories and as a result, they have a number of
expectation form the business organization. It is very difficult for the company to satisfy and
fulfil the expectation of every stakeholder associated with the firm. Thus, it might have
certain negative influence or impact on the operation of the business organization. For
example, some of the stakeholder might have an expectation that the products of the company
should be of superior quality and should be sold at a reasonable price. While the other
stakeholders might expect that, the product of their firm should be sold at a higher price range
to generate more revenue. In such scenario, the decision-making process is quite complicated
for the leaders, as they will have to take the most beneficial decision for the company.
Conclusion
This report helps in understanding that the manger of Asda utilizes Six Sigma and lean
production approaches in order to improve their operational activities. The importance and
value of operation management for the company has been discussed. In addition, the report
helps in gaining information about the factors that influences the decision-making process of
the leaders and managers.
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Conclusion
This assignment provides detailed information regarding the characteristics and roles of a
leads and a manager. The strategies and practices that are adopted by the leaders and
managers in order to manage the changing situations within their business firm have been
discussed in a detailed manner. The different approaches that are used by the managers of
Asda in order to improve their operation management system have been evaluated. This
assignment helps in understanding the significance and value of operation management. The
role of operation management in assisting the organization to achieve their business objective
has been explored. There are certain factors such as CSR, Sustainability, stakeholders and
organizational culture that plays significant role in influencing the decision making process of
the leaders of the company.
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Reference list
Antonakis, J. and Day, D.V. eds., 2017. The nature of leadership. Sage publications.
Crane, A. and Matten, D., 2016. Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and
sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford University Press.
Dennis, P., 2016. Lean Production simplified: A plain-language guide to the world's most
powerful production system. Crc press.
DuBrin, A.J., 2015. Leadership: Research findings, practice, and skills. Nelson Education.
Fiedler, F.R.E.D., 2015. Contingency theory of leadership. Organizational Behavior 1:
Essential Theories of Motivation and Leadership, 232, pp.01-2015.
Gijo, E.V., Palod, R. and Antony, J., 2018. Lean Six Sigma approach in an Indian auto
ancillary conglomerate: a case study. Production Planning & Control, pp.1-12.
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Nelson Education.
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organisations. Taylor & Francis.
Mheducation.co.uk. (2018). [online] Available at:
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Schwartz, M.S., 2017. Corporate social responsibility. Routledge.
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Www2.gsu.edu. (2018). [online] Available at:
http://www2.gsu.edu/~dscgpz/pmba8155/chap13.pdf [Accessed 30 Jun. 2018]
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