Unit 4 – Management and Operations

Management and Operations
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Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
P1 Comparison between the roles and characteristics of leader and manager............................3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
P2 Comparison of roles and functions of managers and leaders within different organisational
situations......................................................................................................................................5
P3 Application of different theories and models of leadership and management approach........7
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................9
P4 Different approaches to operations management...................................................................9
P5 Relevance of operations management and its approaches in achieving the objectives of
business organisation.................................................................................................................10
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................12
P6 External factors in business environment which influences operations management and
decision-making in the organisation by managers and leaders.................................................12
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................15
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INTRODUCTION
Leadership denotes to the procedure of influencing an employee’s behaviour in order to
obtain desired actions as compared to management which includes administration of day-to-day
business activities and operations to accomplish goals and objectives (Algahtani, 2014). J
Sainsbury plc or Sainsbury’s is a chain of grocery supermarkets in United Kingdom which was
founded in the year 1869 and the headquarters of the company are located at London, United
Kingdom (Cole, 2014). It is the second largest chain of grocery retail stores in UK. In the
following report, a comparison of roles and responsibilities of manager and leader is being made
by taking into consideration various theories and models of leadership and management
approaches. This report also deals with analysing the importance of different operations
management approaches in achieveing business goals and targets. In the last section of the
report, impact which the external business environment creates on decision-making and
operations management is being determined.
TASK 1
P1 Comparison between the roles and characteristics of leader and manager.
A leader is someone has the primary responsibility of influencing the behaviour of
employees in any business organisation and getting desired actions for accomplishment of
organisational objectives and on the other hand a manager is someone who has prime
responsibility of administering the routine operations of an organisation and formulate strategy
and policies for achieving organisational goals and objectives (Nen, 2015). Hence, both leaders
and managers of Sainsbury’s have a significant contribution to make in the accomplishment of
the company’s goals and vision. Here is a comparison between different roles of both leader and
manager in the context of Sainsbury’s:
Comparison of roles of the leader and the manager:
Manager Leader
A manager has the responsibility for setting the
targets, objectives and vision for the
organisation.
A leader is primarily responsible for
motivating the employees and workforce for
achieving the organisational goals and targets.
Subordinates work for a manager. Followers are influenced by leaders.
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Approach of management is generally
autocratic.
Leadership approach is generally democratic
and motivating.
Manager has the focus on achieving
organisational targets and objectives.
Leader focuses on alignment and harmony in
personal interest of employees and
organisational interest in the company.
Manager provides information to leader about
the organisational strategy and policies.
Leader helps in communication of policies to
the employees and helps them to comprehend
the rationale behind organisational policies.
Manager plans organisational changes. Leader helps in implementation of
organisational changes.
Manager arranges resources for the
organisation and completion of tasks.
Leader ensures optimum utilisation of
organisational resources by motivating
employees.
Managerial Functions & Role of leader:
Some of the most important functions that are being completed by managers of
Sainsbury’s and role that leader of the company have to play in execution of those functions are
being discussed below as follows:
Planning: A manager of the organisation has the function of determining the organisational
goals and objectives and outlining the operations of the company with an aim to accomplish
those objectives and the leader of the organisation has a significant role to play in directing
efforts of the workforce towards goal accomplishment.
Organising: Manager of Sainsbury’s arranges the various organisational resources and funds
from different sources at the best possible price after considering all alternatives and a leader has
to ensure optimum utilisation of those resources which are organised by the management
(MacLeod, 2012).
Directing: A manager directs the tasks and responsibilities to employees in the company and
determines the line of command and reporting relationships and the leader ensures that every
member of the company understands his task and is able to effectively complete the tasks
assigned to him.
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