Unit 4 - Management and Operations : M&S

Unit 4-Management and
Operations

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1 Define and role of manager and leaders as well as difference between management and
leadership ...............................................................................................................................2
P 2 Role of management and leadership in utilization to various situations of organization 3
P 3 Strengths and weaknesses of different approach to leadership and management ...........4
TASK 2 ...........................................................................................................................................6
2. Role and responsibility of manager in key operational functions .....................................7
P 4 Approach to operation management and their value .......................................................7
P 5 Importance of operation management .............................................................................8
P 6 Influences of external business surroundings factor on decision making of leaders and
managers.................................................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Management involves the action of setting the approach of company and coordinating the
efforts of their workers to achieve its goals through apply of available resource like financial,
natural, technological and human resources. On other side, operation management is
arrangement of business activities to make the largest level of ratio within the company (Lathrop
and et.al., 2018). It is interested with transferring materials and labour into products and services
to profits maximization of firm. This study is based on the M&S. It is the multinational retailer
thtat specializes in selling in home products, luxury clothing and food products across the world.
Report will explain definition of leader and manager as well as its characteristics.
TASK 1
Introduction of selected organization as well as its organisational structures
M&S is British international retail merchant which specializes in selling high quality
clothing, home goods and food products. Company was supported in 1884 through Michael
Marks as well as Thomas Spencer in Leeds. Organization also start to sell branded products like
Kellogg's Corn Flakes in November 2008. Presently, Marks and Spencer has 959 shops across
UK involving 615 which only exchange foods commodities. There are 80787 employees are
working in the organization. The revenue of company is total £10377.3 million and operating
income of £601.0 million and net income £37.3 million in the 2019. In addition to that, Marks
and Spencer follow flat organizational structure for making effective decision making of
business.
The mission of Marks and Spencer is to give fresh choice goods in fields of clothing,
food, domestic as well as fiscal services. The vision of company is to be standard against which
others are assessed. The values of firm involves quality, services, invention and trust.
Flat Organizational Structure:
This kind of organization structure refers to construction with few or no level of
administration and staff level workers (Battaïa and et.al., 2018). The flat organization less
supervises workers while promoting their raised engagement in the procedure of decision making
of Marks and Spencer.
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There are larger communication between management and employees in the workplace.
Through flat structure, better team spirit as lesser management level raise communication among
workers on different levels (Flat Organisational Structure, 2018). In this, easily decision making
by Marks and Spencer. Through this structure, management and employees easily and
effectively communication which can aid to resolve the problems quickly.
P1 Define and role of manager and leaders as well as difference between management and
leadership
Leaders:
Leader is person who effects their followers to accomplish particular objectives. The
person with vision and inspires their followers in effective manner which it becomes their vision
(Parisio, Rikos and Glielmo, 2016). They aids them in making the policies to accomplish the
goals of the Marks and Spencer.
Managers:
Manager is person who handles the company such that they accountable for preparation,
organising, guiding, coordinative and power. They are ones who acquire their work finished
through workers by many ways that has the authority to hire or fire the works within the Marks
and Spencer.
Action centred Leadership- John Adair
This leadership model gives great blueprint for leadership and management of any group of
people or company. There are three core accountabilities of management such as:
 Achieving the task: It includes responsibilities of manager in relation to identify the
aims and vision for group, determine resources, people, procedures and systems, set
criterion, quality and time as well as reporting programs within the Marks and Spencer.
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Illustration 1: Flat Organisational Structure
Sources: (Flat Organisational Structure, 2018)

 Managing team: The core responsibilities of leader in managing team such as set up
style, culture, approach to group, monitor and maintain discipline, ethics and integrity
and focus on goals. Also, develop team working, cooperation and morale as well as team
spirit.
 Managing individual: In this activity, manager or leader responsible for help and
support individuals like plans, challenges, ups and downs etc.
Management Functions:
There are mainly five function of management such as planning, organizing, directing,
coordinating and controlling of overall company. In this context, manager follow the planning
function for different tasks and activities of M&S. Also, managers needs to focus on planning
and organizing of the different programs within the Marks and Spencer. As well, manager needs
to focus on controlling of all the activities and directing of all employees within the Marks and
Spencer.
Different between leaders and Managers
Leaders:
Role: The role of leader is to give the guidance to their followers for accomplishing the
particular goals of Marks and Spencer.
Characteristics: Leaders are must have confident, excellent communication skills, open-minded
and ability to inspire.
Focus: Leaders focus on people or subordinates within firm (Zare and et.al., 2016).
Style: Leaders follow transformational style for working in the firm.
Aim: The aim of leader is to improvement and growth in the Marks and Spencer.
Manager:
Role: As compared to, role of manager depends on their nature of work life (Slack and Brandon-
Jones, 2018).
Characteristics: Besides that, manager must have disciplined, committed to work, competence
and etiquette.
Focus: As opposed to, managers focus on procedure and processes of Marks and Spencer.
Style: As compared to, managers follow transactional style for working in the organization.
Aim: Besides that, the purpose of manager is to attainment of the needed outcome.
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P 2 Role of leader and function of manager in different situations of company
Management and leadership play wider role in the company to solve the any kind of
situations and making decisions of the business (Govindan and et.al., 2015). There are many
situations like interpersonal conflicts, employees grievances, budget cuts and others within the
Marks and Spencer.
Leadership Skills:
Hard Skills: It involves typing skill, computing and machine abilities.
Soft Skills: It includes communication, leadership, decision-making and problem solving skills.
Example 1: Interpersonal conflicts:
There is always have conflicts while team working together within the firm. Managers
frequently have to perform as conflicts resolution experts. They must communicate to workers
included in fights separately and boost them let the differences slide and cooperate with their co-
workers (Chand, 2019). In order to that, leaders also adjust teams and work areas which can
smooth out long terms conflicts that are not being resolved. This kind of situation impact on
productivity as well as healthy culture of the Marks and Spencer.
Example 2: Valued member leaves firm:
It is the also situation which is labour turnover that always complex on managers, but it is
worse when the individual who resigned was valued members of the team. It is the role of leader
is to keep morale high among remaining workers and step is to take accountability or delegate
duties with the team. During this time, manager follow effective planning and controlling of
policies and procedure which can help in relation to treat the employees effectively, so that
worker can not leave the firm. In order to that, manager must be open to discuss the reason for
valued member left and following the different ways for promoting the employee retention in the
Marks and Spencer.
Example 3: Employees grievance:
Workers have complaints about the workplace. It is the job of manager to listen to the
complaints. Workers wants to know that manager hears and understand the grievance and agrees
that it is the problem (Liao and et.al., 2017). They take steps to intensify it to the proper attention
to individual to get its fixed. Updating workers on reason is being done about their complaints
which can aid them feel valued.
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P 3 Strengths and weaknesses of different approach to leadership and management
Situational Approach:
Situational leadership is adaptation leadership style. This approach promotes leaders to
take banal of their group units, weigh many changeable in their organization. Select best
leadership that high-grade fits their objectives as well as condition (Chiu, Balkundi and
Weinberg, 2017.). It is framework of quality for company across world which want to do the
pursuing develop people and work group, set resonance and to bring out the best in their people.
This leadership refers to select the suitable leadership style for suitable people and also
depends on the ability as well as matureness of followers. Therefore, followers and leaders make
efforts to solving any kind of situations within the company (Zare and et.al., 2016). Also, they
follow situational approach for solving it. This can directly aid to improving efficiencies of
operations and accomplishing the objectives and goals of Marks and Spencer
Strengths:
 It is simple style in which leaders requires to do evaluate the situation and apply the
correct leadership style within the Marks and Spencer.
 With the suitable leader, situational leadership style of very comfortable (What is
Situational Leadership? How Flexibility Leads to Success, 2014).
Weakness:
 It handles variation women and men administrators within approach.
 It can divert attention away from long terms approaches and politics.
System Approach:
System leadership allows the leaders make the condition there is people at the all level
can work profitably to their expected in the firm. It utilises safe values related mankind attitudes
to make theories of good leadership, organizational concept, system designing as well as societal
procedure (Little, Gooty and Williams, 2016). It gives leaders with techniques that aid to
anticipate attitude of people in the Marks and Spencer. Also, it aids to increase effective system
that drive behaviour productively and lead to more effective composition of purpose of firm.
This kind of approach aid to make model of excellent leadership, organisation approach,
and social procedure of company. Also, this can aid to the improve the human behaviours in the
workplace. With this, employees are highly motivated and involved in the decision making
process in relation to operational efficiencies in the selected organization (Reid and Sanders,
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2015). This can directly aid to improving efficiencies of operations and accomplishing the
objectives and goals of Marks and Spencer.
Strengths:
 This approach recognises the inter-dependencies and inter-relations among different part
of company.
 This raises adaptability of changes environment in the organization.
Weakness:
 This approach can not be apply in small companies. System theory assumes that most of
companies big, difficult and open systems (Lathrop and et.al., 2018).
 It can be counter productive while classification of the inter-relationship have to be done
appropriately.
Contingency Approach:
It is the management approach which advises most suitable mode of administration which
is interdependent on environment of condition that following individual, inflexible style is
ineffective in long term (Contingency Approach, 2018). This kind of manager care to both
condition as well as their styles and make efforts to assures both communicate with efficiency.
This approach is advantageous to companies because of expected for acquisition from particular
situation which effects upcoming direction of same situation. Competence to follow to outside
forces as well as modification is beneficial as well. This can produce more well-rounded leaders
who are capable to evolve their abilities in the multiple areas (Govindan, K. and et.al., 2015).
This can directly aid to improving efficiencies of operations and accomplishing the objectives
and goals of Marks and Spencer.
Strength:
 It supplies information on leadership style which can be helpful to company in processing
profiles of leadership for human resources planning.
 It has also been evidenced to have prophetic powers in defining the kind of leadership
which is most liable to be effective in specific matter.
Weakness:
 This approach being complex, presents situations in testing the percepts of the concept.
 This approach suffers from inadequately of literature (Battaïa and et.al., 2018).
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Conclusion for impact of manager and leaders on the company and make recommendation
for future improvement
From the above study, it can be concluded that leaders and managers play wider role for
effective decisions making and solving the any kind of issues within the Marks and Spencer. If
the manager should effective planning and controlling of policies within the business. This can
improve the productivity and efficiencies of company. On other side, leaders should provide
guidance and providing the training and development effectively to team members within the
organization. In order to that, leaders and manager should follow different leadership approaches
like system and contingency for solving the situation of company.
TASK 2
Introduction to key transactions of organization
Marks and Spencer is the multinational retailer which selling food products, home goods,
and luxury as well as high quality clothing in the UK (Parisio, Rikos and Glielmo, 2016).
Company has number of stores across the world. There are many operations like consumer
services, product inventory, store management, cash, fraud and internal controls and
administration.
Consumer services:
The success of retail company or store depends on consumer services which involves
ways of treats their consumers. Consumers can not always be right, but they are always
consumer which representing expected sale and review (Zare and et.al., 2016). Marks and
Spencer can raise their competitiveness and make up for shortfall in other locations like comfort
or pricing. Online operation have been progressively good at giving remote consumer service
with facilities such as handy returns.
Product Inventory:
It requires to have goods to satisfy consumers for success of stores. It is the important
area of retail operation inventory management. Marks and Spencer do their best to balance
supply and demand for goods in continuant cycle of selling and restocking. It can good simple
but the unfamiliarity of supply and demand can create difficult management of inventory. Issues
in supply chain can create hard to get hold of desired goods (Slack and Brandon-Jones, 2018).
Role and responsibility of manager in key operational functions
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Manager play role in effective management of operational functions of Marks and
Spencer. There are many responsibilities of manager for handling the key operational functions
of organization.
 In order to that, manager make efforts to improve the consumer services through
providing the high quality clothing, food and home products.
 Also, manager needs to manage the product inventory for balancing the supply and
demand of consumer which is more beneficial for business in relation to raise the sales
and profits (Govindan and et.al., 2015).
 As well, manager needs to ensure about safety and security of the consumer in relation to
offer high quality goods and services to them.
 This can aid to increase brand image and productivity of Marks and Spencer in-front of
consumer in the marketplace (Chand, 2019).
P 4 Operation management approaches and its values
Total Quality Management (TQM):
It is most essential theory to operation administration adopt within the firm. It is defines
management approach to long term success through consumer satisfaction. All members of
company involve in improving procedures, goods, facilities and culture in which they work in
total quality management efforts within the Marks and Spencer. There are many principles like
consumer focused, total worker engagement, process centred, integrated system, continuous
development, fact based decision making and strategic approaches which followed by manager
of company (Chiu, Balkundi and Weinberg, 2017).
Just In Time(JIT):
It is also important approach to operation management adopt within the firm. It is also
called as inventory management technique whereby labour, material and products are re-filled or
regular to arrive accurately when required in manufacturing procedure. Companies like Marks
and Spencer utilise the inventory approach to raise efficiencies and reducing waste by receiving
products. It is the valuable for production procedure which decrease inventory costs. This
approach needs manufacturer to forecast demand exactly (Little, Gooty and Williams, 2016).
P 5 Importance of operation management
Operation management is interested with controlling procedure of manufacture as well as
business operation in most efficient way possible. Operation management includes certain duties.
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One of those duties is ensuring the business operate efficiently both in relation to utilise the least
amount of resources needed for meeting the consumers requirements to the largest standard
economically possible (Liao and et.al., 2017). In order to that, manager follow various
approaches for operations management in the Marks and Spencer.
Importance of operation management:
Control and distribution system:
Operation management is important to control and distribution system for all production of the
firm. It is necessary to control and distribute all products to the end users of the Marks and
Spencer. This can help to increase consumer satisfaction within the firm.
Transformation Process:
Effective operation management help to transformation process of raw material into finished
goods as well as reach to end users. This can help to increase sales and profits of Marks and
Spencer.
Value of Operation Management:
 Operation management is important and valuable for company in terms of higher
standard of living and ability to increase productiveness of Marks and Spencer. High
productivity of firm will help to accomplish the objectives of organization.
 It is important to produce the better quality products and services at lower prices by the
company. This can help to increase attraction of consumer in terms of accomplishing the
objectives of the firm.
 Effective operation management improving working conditions and also concern for the
environment of the Marks and Spencer. This can help to employees in terms of
satisfaction and engagement within activities of business. Also, they contributed in
accomplish objectives of firm.
 Through operation management, leaders and managers make efforts to better job design
and employees involvement at the workplace. This can help to employees in terms of
satisfaction and engagement within activities of business. Also, they contributed in
accomplish objectives of firm.
 Operation management also important in terms of recycling and concern for air and
waster quality.
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P 6 Influences of external business surroundings factor on decision making of leaders and
managers
There are many outside business surroundings factors like political, legal, technological,
social, economical and environmental which have influences on decision-making of leaders and
manager within the Marks and Spencer.
Corporate social responsibility:
It is leading element of each and every business in today's world. There are various
practices involves environmental, economic, social and cultural activities of society. Thus,.
Company should focus on CSR activities and following them. This can help to increase profits
and productivity of business. Thus, manager needs to focus on create policies and procedure
according to the rules and regulations of government. This can also effect on operation
management of the organization.
Sustainability:
Sustainability directs on meeting the wants of present without yielding the capability of
future generations to meet their requirements. This kind of factor is also called as economic,
environment and political elements. It involves interest rate, inflation rate, income of consumers
and exchanges rate etc. which have highly effected on decision-making of leaders and manager
of Marks and Spencer. Therefore, manager needs to focus on provide the products affordable
prices as per the inflation rate of nation. This can also effect on operation management of the
organization (Lathrop and et.al., 2018). It includes government rules and regulation, trade policy,
taxation and so on which have highly effected on decision-making of leaders and manager of
Marks and Spencer. It involves waste management, carbon emission and so on which have
highly effected on decision-making of leaders and manager of Marks and Spencer. Thus,
manager needs to focus on waste management in relation to securing of environment of nation.
This can also influence on operation management of the organization.
Values and Cultures:
It is kind of social factors of business environment. Different value and culture of people
can influenced on operation management and decision-making of leaders or managers of the
firm. It involves consumer tastes and preferences, supply and demand etc. which have highly
effected on decision-making of leaders and manager of Marks and Spencer. Thus, manager
needs to focus on balance of supply and demand of products for satisfaction of consumer which
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is more beneficial for the company. This can also effect on operation management of the
organization.
Technological Factors:
It involves innovation, technological advancement etc. which have highly effected on
decision-making of leaders and manager of Marks and Spencer. Thus, manager needs to focus on
technological advancement in relation to provide the goods and services to consumers which is
more advantageous for the organization (Nesbit and et.al., 2016). This can also influence on
operation management of the organization.
Legal Factors:
It includes health and safety, employment laws, consumer rights etc. which have highly
effected on decision-making of leaders and manager of Marks and Spencer. Therefore, manager
needs to focus on following all legislation within the workplace (Battaïa and et.al., 2018). This
impact on decision-making in relation to securing of health and welfare of consumers. This can
also influence on operation management of the organization.
The approach of management and leadership is very essential for managing the
operations of the Marks and Spencer. There are many leadership and management approaches
like system, contingency and situational approaches which have followed by manager or leaders
within the company (Parisio, Rikos and Glielmo, 2016). These kinds of approaches for
improving efficiencies to meet the objectives and goals of business.
Conclusion and recommendation for future improvements
From the above study, it can be concluded that various operations done in retail store like
Marks and Spencer like customer services, product inventory management etc. In order to that,
manager should follow different techniques for managing all the operations of company. These
kinds of methods or approaches for improving efficiencies to meet the objectives and goals of
business. In addition to that, manager should follow total quality management, just in time for
improving and managing operational skilfulness within the company. This will aid to accomplish
the objectives and goals of Marks and Spencer.
CONCLUSION
This report has summarised that flat structures have utilised by company for effective
making decision process. It can be concluded that roles of management and leadership within
situations like employees grievances, Interpersonal conflicts and Valued member leaves firm. It
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can be discussed that strength and weakness of situational, system and contingency approaches
to leadership that aid to improve operational efficiencies in relation to meet the objectives of
business. Furthermore, it can be concluded that different factors like government regulations,
consumer demand, technological advancement, employment laws which have effected on
decision making of leaders and manager of company.
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REFERENCES
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of manager network centralities, social power, and followers' perception of
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Zare, M. and et.al., 2016. New stochastic bi-objective optimal cost and chance of operation
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Online
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glossary/what-is-a-contingency-approach>.
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<https://www.learnmanagement2.com/flat%20structure.htm>.
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What is Situational Leadership? How Flexibility Leads to Success. 2014. [ONLINE]. Available
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