Importance of Operations Management and Role of Leaders and Managers

This article discusses the importance of operations management in an organization and the role that leaders and managers play in ensuring efficient functioning. It explores key approaches such as Six Sigma, Total Quality Management, and Just-in-Time.

Management and
Operations

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
P1. Define and compare the different roles and characteristic of a leader and a manager.........3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
P2. Examine the examples of how the role of a leader and the function of the manager apply
in different situational contexts...................................................................................................5
P3 Apply different theories and models of approach, including situational leadership, system
leadership and contingency.........................................................................................................6
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................8
P4. Explain the key approaches to operations management and role that leaders and manger
play..............................................................................................................................................8
P5. Explain the importance and values of operations management in achieving the business
objectives.....................................................................................................................................9
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................10
P6. Assess the factors within the business environment that impact upon operational
management and decision-making by leaders and the managers..............................................10
CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Management of any organisation play important role in its function and smooth running
of business. Operations are the functional areas of the management that perform various task in
the company. Management and operations are concerned with the planning, organising, directing
and controlling the functions of management(Zhang. et. al., 2020). It also focuses on
manufacturing of products and services in an appropriate manner. Uber technologies is the
American company, which offers food delivery, vehicles for hire and transportation. The
company is situated in San Francisco and operated their operation around 900 areas worldwide.
It also contributing to the economy of the country. This report will cover the roles and
characteristics of a manger and a leader and also explain the function of manager in different
situational contexts. It also measures the different theories and models of leadership.
Furthermore, It also cover the key approaches to operation management. It explain the business
environment that impact upon operational management.
TASK 1
P1. Define and compare the different roles and characteristic of a leader and a manager.
A leader is someone who is futuristic that can see the future prospective in the operations.
It guide the people in such a ways that contribute the people for the better vision. A leader is
some some who influence the followers to follow the leader and do their all the actions in same
direction with the aim of achieving the common goal of the company(Wernerová, and
Teichmann, 2017).If Uber conduct their business in the right direction with the help of
intelligent and effective leaders.
A manager is one who takes the charge of entire operation and is accountable for all the
actions and reaction in the business. It is the person who evaluate the various activities of the
different department in the organisation. It is responsible for planning, organising, directing and
controlling the organisation's functions. If Uber wants to become more productive in their field.
Company needs to hire a brilliant manager who can take critical decision with dynamic
environment.
Roles of a leader and the manager-
leader Manager

 A leader is one who influence influence
other to achieve the common goal in
the organisation.
 A manager is one who control all the
operations of the business and functions
of management (planning, organising,
staffing, directing and controlling)
 Leader is concerned with the growth
and development of company by using
various strategies in the business.
 Manager is concern with the fulfilment
of the desired result in a short period of
time. This will leads to making short-
term objectives in the company.
 It focuses on aligning of people for the
achievement of business goal in
effective manner
 It focuses on organising the manpower
in the different operation of the
company according to their skills and
capabilities.
Characteristic of a leader and the manger-
Leader Manager
 A good leader will be humble so that
employees will share their point of
view directly that leads to positive
change in the organisation.
 A manger must be patiently in the
working environment to regulate the
proper and systematic working in the
company.
 A leader must know their limits that at
what point they must speak out for the
formal culture in the working
environment.
 A manager should be decision making.
It is the main task of the them to take
decision in the critical environment
with the acceptance of dynamic
environment.
 A leader is one keeps on innovation. It
never stops learning. It is the duty of
the leader to keep change their products
and services and meet the customer's
exceptions.
 A manager should have the skill of
providing the meaningful feedback of
effective communication in the
workplace.

TASK 2
P2. Examine the examples of how the role of a leader and the function of the manager apply in
different situational contexts.
Management play important role in proper functioning in the organisation. There are
various situation in which manager and leader analyse the market scenario and trends of the
marketplace. Uber is the growing organisation, which is developing their product according to
the preferences of the customer and increasing the market share.
 Launch of the new product: when company is planning to launch the product in the
market. Manager is responsible for study of the target market, procurement of resources,
operation management of the product and services(Wei. et. al., 2018). It also concern
with the product development with best resources and do the market segment and launch
the product according to market demand. Uber is doing launch of the new product in
which they are working with semi-automated product. It has the lane centring and
contro9l system and now Uber wants to move in fully automated car that will be
advanced technology with no human drives. Uber is trying to jump in fully automated
cars. In this, leader of the company will assigned the duties and responsibilities to the
manager to evaluate all the operations and development of the product, that will help
achieving the business goal and help in advancement of the technologies.
 Employment engagement: In this situation, manager of Uber will coordinates with the
employees for their better work performance and guide them to increase their efficiency
in achieving business goal. Manager will intact with their employees to identify the work
related issue in the company. It motivate the employee for better work performance and
also give their best. Employees will be appreciated with their best effort and also get
reward for their effective contribution in the growth of the Uber. Leader will do the
analysis of each employee on the basis of their performance and do the performance and
reward management according to their efforts and results.
 Change management: This is the technique of adaptability of change trends of the
business environment(Toghani Holar. et. al., 2020). There is a major role of manager to
assess and adapt the changes of the market and implement in the organisation with proper

functioning of all the operations of the management. In this situation, Uber is meeting the
needs and preferences of the customer. firstly, they are analysing the market their trends
and demand for the product then manufacture the product according to the need of the
buyers. This will help in adapting less change in the market and also help in working with
changes environment. Manager will help their subordinates to learn the different
strategies of the market that how the employee can adjust and work in the changing
environment.
 Performance management: It is the method of identifying the high performance working
of the employees and motivate them with various reward and bonus to make them
effective in the operations(Ting, 2017). This also help in evaluating the potential
candidate in the Uber. Manger will examine the quality and quantity of the individual
then evaluate the employee on the basis of their performance. This will help in achieving
the organisational goal .
P3 Apply different theories and models of approach, including situational leadership, system
leadership and contingency.
There are various theories of leadership that help in managing the different aspects of the
business. Approaches are the ways to deal with the different situation and deal accordingly in the
changing environment. These are behavioural patters that influence by the leader and his
followers. There are various approaches of leadership that are explained below:
 Situational Approach: This is the approaches which is applied according to the situation
of the company. This says that each leadership style is based on the situation. Single
leadership style can not be implement in the organisation. Organisation will choose the
style according to their goal and objective of the organisation, that helps in getting
effective result. Uber will use this approach accordingly then implement their product in
the market. Situational theory according to Blanchard and Hersey:
this leadership is based on two concept: leadership itself and development of its
subordinates. It is based on four styles:
1. Telling leaders: In this style all the employees will be guided by strict code of
conduct and communicate to them in the achievement of business goal (Song, and
Zhang, 2020). They design objective to be achieved and role of each individual.
Make them convince to adopt all the changes. It is a one way communication.

For instance Uber will use this approach for new employees, who don't the what
is to be done and how is to be done. This will help in directing someone.
2. Selling: In this style, Manger and leaders makes plan of actions and role for the
employees but employees are open for suggestion.(Pongpipatpakdee. et. al.,
2016). They give their feedback in respective manner and leader will listen to
them. Uber can use this style in the development of their products and
improvement in their operations by the employees.
3. Participating: In this style, the manager give chance to their employee to decide
the outcome or they give liberty to decide on some aspect. There is a two way
communication in the organisation in which all the suggestion ans ideas will be
listened and implemented in the organisation. If Uber will use this style. It will
help in getting innovative ideas an suggestions form their potential employees in
the development of the company.
4. Delegating: In this style, Leader is responsible for their team but they minimise
the control on them and give chance to take decision in the organisation that will
enhance the productivity of the business. If Uber use this approach this will help
in initiating the employees to implement effective changes.
 Fiedler's Contingency Approach: The first person among all leaderships which discuss
the situational variables (Morato. et. al., 2017). It is comprasis of three element that is
explained below: 1.leadership style: This is based on two aspect one is task-oriented and
second is human relation oriented. leader will adopt their style on the basis of situation
and environment of the company.
2. Situational variables: It is the approach in which company will do the analysis the market and
then approaches to the leadership style.
3. Relationship between styles and situation: this is the aspect in which leader combine the
situation and the leadership style in the organisation. Uber will adopt the leadership style on the
basis of situation.
 System Approach: This is the approaches in which company will enlist the procedure and
structure of doing the various function of management.

TASK 3
P4. Explain the key approaches to operations management and role that leaders and manger play.
Operation management is concern with the proper functioning of the management
function in the organisation. This ensure the qualitative approach in each operation so that
customer will get best product. There are various approaches of operation management which
their significant role in business and enhancement of the various function of the m,management.
Various approaches of operation management are as follow:
 Six sigma: It is the strategic tool that is used to improve the various operation in the
organisation. It helps in enhancing the performance of the various stages of the operations
and help in detecting the faults in the activity and increase in profits. It is the general term
which explains that all the task is in control and measurable by the manger. Leader will
perform the effective approach of six sigma with the concern that all the operations of the
Uber will be run in effective manner (Meng. et. al., 2017). In Uber, they are planing to
give reliable taxi cars with luxurious cars in affordable prices. This process require a
business model to solve the issue and provide them a perfect product with all the
requirement then Uber use six sigma and analysis the each stage of product development
and do the market research and control all the operations and with the successful
implement of six sigma. Uber is the largest taxi service without owing a single car.
 Total quality management: It is the continuous process in which manager focuses on
identifying, minimizing and eliminating the errors in the operation process. It also ensure
the proper follow-up of supply chain management and concern with the customer
experience. This model is developed by William Deming with the aim of keeping high
the quality of work. If Uber will initiate and adopt this approach in their operations. It
will help in detecting, reducing and eliminating the errors in their process of various
operations. This approach will help in generating the effective ways of doing business
and find out the best quality of the product and services in the organisation.
 Just-in-time: It is the inventory management technique that is designed to increase the
efficiency of operation and effective utilization of resources approaching to cost cutting.
It also reduce the wastage of extra inventory(Mao. et. al., 2017). It ensure the supply of

raw material which are needed for the operation. There are some advantages and
disadvantages, which is explained as follows:
It helps in minimizing the inventory cost
It ensures the proper cash flow in the organisation
Eliminates the wastage of raw material.
P5. Explain the importance and values of operations management in achieving the business
objectives.
Operation management plays important role in effective and smooth running of the
various functions of management. It helps in achieving the main goal of the organisation and
leads to generate more profit with full support of their shareholders. Points that enlist the values
and importance of operations management are as follows:
 Product quality: It is defined as the output get from the production in a best quality. This
is the only method to evaluate the employees capabilities. Operation management is
responsible for the sufficient staffing in the operation that can help in achieving the
organisational goal of the business. It also concern with the usage of advance technology
that help in manufacturing the best product that meet the need and demand of the
customer in the large market. Uber will do its effective operation management by
initiating the employees to give their best in the development of the product and ensuring
the best availability of raw material in the market.
 Productivity: It is defined as the ration of employee and their capabilities. This is the best
way to analyse the employee potential in the work place (epplinger. et. al.,
2019).Organisation will do proper hiring of the required staff and evaluate them on the
basis of their performance. Uber also organise some training sessions for the
development of the employee so that they can give their best in the achievement of the
business goal in large market segment. Uber can do regular evaluation of their employees
by performance management and analysing the high performance working. It will help in
getting the potential employees.
 Customer satisfaction: This is the main concern that is to be fulfilled in the organisation
for its expansion and market growth. Manager will do every possible task to meet the
needs and demand of the customer so that they can influence others to buying product
from their company. If Uber do various activities to motive the customer to buy their

product. They can manufacture the good according to the demand of the customer and
satisfy the customer in approached manner.
 Reduce operating cost: It is the cost which is incurred in the various operations of the
organisation (Haddad, 2018). This is the duty and responsibility of the manager to
minimize the operational cost that help in overall revenue of the company. Cost can be
reduced by eliminating the wastage and excess use of raw material in the manufacturing
and with the effective use of employees by using their full potential. Company can
minimize their operating cost and reallocate their funds in to high profit generating areas
that are in demand of the market and help in generating good profit. Uber is minimizing
their operational cost by not purchasing any car as the assets. They use rental cars with
drivers in fixed profit sharing ration.
TASK 4
P6. Assess the factors within the business environment that impact upon operational
management and decision-making by leaders and the managers.
There are various factors which have a major impact of operational management and
decision making of the managers and the a leader. These all factors helps in development of the
employees by working in the dynamic environment with different market segment. Various
factors that impact the operational management are follows:
 Corporate social responsibilities: this is concern with the contribution towards society
and general public (Emile. et. al., 2017). This is the main responsibilities of the
organisation to do something in the development of the society and It includes giving
share of profit to their employees and increasing the standard of living and also make
sure of using natural resources in the production process and not polluting the
environment and saving the environment by plantation and eliminating the use of plastic.
Manager and leaders will be influence with the decision making and contributing in the
achieving the business goal. If manager will make decision in favour of society. It will
help in creating the good image of the company in the market and Uber can use various
strategies to do Corporate Social responsibilities to attract the market and contributing in
the economy of the country.

 Culture: It is defines as the way of life of individual or group of members in a society. It
is the way of doing things with the finest art and humanities. It is the human pattern of
knowledge, behaviour and belief. It is the social behaviour and norms. Uber is serving
the diversified culture in their organisation and treating all the employees at equal level
with their cast, religion, colour and the different aspect of the society.(Chuning. et. al.,
2017). Manager and leader make their decision according to the different culture of the
society. When manager is known with the culture of the specific place they can decide
the product development and easily analysis the market demand of the customers.
 Values and ethics: these are the share values and belief of the individual which influence
the individual behaviour in the environment. It is the degree of giving importance to
anything. Values affect the ethical behaviour of the individual. If the company will use
the right approach of doing business in the market in respect of various shared values and
ethics of the society (Chao, 2017).
 Manager will be influence with the decision-making in the market and make the right
usage of their power. This will help in systematic formulation of values of the employees
and make positive environment in the company.
 Sustainability: Any company require consistency in the market place for the effective
working of the organisation. Manager and leader needs various resources to run the
organisation and the availability of resources is come the external environment. Thus, it
is very import for the company to run its business in long term. It will hep in effective
utilization of the resources in the organisation. Uber is the start-up company which
require sustainability in the business. This will help in easy and smooth running of the
various operations of the business.
CONCLUSION
This is concluded from the above report that Leaders and the manger play important role
in the smooth and systematic running of the organisation. Leader is the one who lead their
followers and influence them to follow the certain rules and regulation and manager is one who
implement all the required task in the certain period of time. This report al;so cover the various
situational example in the functioning of the manager and the leader. Launch of the product is of

them, In which company uses technique to introduce the fully automated cars in the
organisation. There are various approaches of leadership. Situational approach will be he suitable
one for the organisation to meet the market demand and future growth of the organisation.
Furthermore, It also explain the various approaches of operation management in which company
uses six sigma in their operational management to do its business effectively and also use change
management to adopt the changes of the business environment and help in working in dynamic
environment. Leader and the managers plays important role in decision making of the
organisation as it have its significant importance in the company. It helps in reducing the
operational cost and increasing the productivity of the employees with better performance and
there are various factors that impact the operational management . These are the cooperate social
responsibility, culture, values, ethics and the sustainability in the market.

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