This report discusses the roles of managers and leaders, different theories and models of approach, and key operational functions in Unilever. It explores the strengths and weaknesses of different leadership styles and the value of JIT and lean production in operations management.
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Unit 4 - Management and Operations
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Table of Contents INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3 Part 1................................................................................................................................................3 Management structure of Unilever..............................................................................................3 Roles of manager and leaders and difference in management and leadership............................3 Different roles of management and Leadership in different organisation situations...................5 Different theories and models of approach..................................................................................6 Strength and weaknesses of different approaches of leadership and management.....................7 Part 2................................................................................................................................................8 Key operations of Unilever..........................................................................................................8 Key operational function and roles and responsibilities of managers.........................................8 Key operational approaches to operations and their value..........................................................9 Impact of external business environment factors affecting decision-making by leaders and managers....................................................................................................................................11 Improving operational efficiency..............................................................................................12 CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................12 REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................14
INTRODUCTION Leadership and management are two important roles within organisation. Leadership can be defined as an art of influencingand encouraginga group to achievecommon goal. Management can be defined as a process of planning, organising, directing and controlling activities and resources within organisation. This report aims at discussing management and leadership within Unilever. Unilever is a British multinational consumer goods company. It was founded in 1929 and is headquartered at London, United Kingdom and have its existence in 190 countries in world. Operations management can be defined as administration of business practices to create highest level of efficiency possible within organisation. This is mainly is concerned with planning, organising and controlling in context of manufacturing and production and the provision of services. Report will discuss operations management, its approaches in context of Unilever and will also discuss role of leaders and managers regarding operations management and factors affecting decisions of managers and leaders. Part 1 Roles of manager and leaders and difference in management and leadership Leader can be defined as an individual who develops vision for the organisation and encourageemployeesandfollowerstoworkindirectionofachievementofvisionfor organisation. Manager can be defined as individual who develops goals on the basis of vision and plan and organise resources and activities so that organisation and employees can achieve goals and objectives of organisation (Reina and et.al., 2018). Difference in role of manager and leader is as follows- RolesLeaderManagers Developing vision and goals Leaderscreatevisionthatisultimate desired end where they want organisation Managerscreategoalsthatareshort termdesiredendsandgoalsleadto
to reach. Leaders clearly develop where they want their team and organisation to reach. achieving vision of organisation. Role in change Leaders are change agent and perceive change to be important element for future growth of organisation. Being a change agent they initiate and strategise change to beimplementedinorganisation.In addition to this leaders also gain consent of those who will be part of change and prepare them to adopt and accept change. Managers do notinitiate changeand they focus on maintaining status quo. Thismeansthattheyalsomake practicessothatemployeescan effectivelyadoptchangesbeing implemented in organisation. Role in Risk Thisisanotherimportantelementin which leaders play their role. As per this role leader take risk and try new things and are not afraid of failure as a result of taking risk. Managers play their role in controlling risk and minimising risk that is involves inoperationsandfunctioningof Unilever. In this, managers either avoid orcontrolproblemsratherthan accepting and adopting them. Building relationships As per this role leaders work on building relationships and have focus on people (Lee and et.al., 2019). They are able to influence stakeholder in order to achieve their goals and objectives. Managersfocusonbuildingsystems and processes. This involves building processes through which employees can complete tasks and activities. Coaching and Direction This is a role of leaders in which leaders coachemployeesandfollowersin organisation. They enable employees and followerstofindanswersoftheir problems.Leadersconsiderthat employeesandsubordinatesare competenttofindtheiranswersand solutions. Managerdirectemployeesinwhich they tell employees what to do and how todoit.Inadditiontothisprovide guidance to employees how they can complete assigned activities.
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Different roles of management and Leadership in different organisation situations There are different situations in an organisation that require contribution and support of both leader as well as manager. Organisational situations and role of management and leadership are as follows- Implementing Change This is a very important situation in which change is implemented in Unilever. In this change is developed and implemented in organisation to achieve specific goals and objectives of the organisation. In order to successfully implement change in Unilever effective change managementplaysveryimportantrole.In additiontothischangemanagementinvolves effectively planning change and organising different elements accordingly. Unfreezing, freezing and refreezing are important phases of change management. Roles of leader and manager during change implementation are- Role of Leader- Leader plays very important role in change implementation within Unilever (Arifandet.al.,2017).Leaderplaysimportantroleinsettingdirectionforchange implementationwithinorganisation.Leaderalsoplaysimportantroleinestablishing relationships in which they communicate vision for the organisational change and prepare organisation and employees within Unilever to adopt and accept changes in organisation. In addition to this leaders also play role model so that employees can inspiration from leader and work accordingly. Role of Manager- Role of manager in change includes planning change and its implementation. Managers also organise resources required for change and in addition to this organising activities for resources in Unilever is also role of manager. In addition to this another important role that managers play in change implementation within Unilever is providing regular assistance to employees when they are working in new practices of organisation. In addition to this listening to problems of employees and providing adequate solution is also role of employees. Launch of new product This is another situation within Unilever that requires support and contribution of leaders and managers of Unilever (Cheng and Yang, 2019). Launch of new product is a situation in
which organisation introduces its new product in its target market. This is an important situation and role of leader and manager is as follows- Role of Leader- Leader plays very important role in linking organisational vision with new product launch and its activities. Leaders also play important role in reflecting organisational values through launch of new product of Unilever. Role ofManager- Manager also play important role in new product development. This is done by organising different activities linked with launch of new product. In addition to this planning event and organisation of activities is also included in role of manager within Unilever while launch of new product. Different theories and models of approach Situational leadership Situational leadership Theory and approach outlines different styles of leadership that a leader can adopt on the basis of different situations within Unilever. As per this theory success of leadership is highly based on ability of leader to adapt different styles on the basis of situation within organisation(Thompson and Glasø, 2018). Situationsconsist of maturitylevel of employees that is based on their commitment towards goal achievement and get capability for goal achievement. Some styles of situational leaders are telling employees what to do and how to do it. Selling, in this style of leadership leaders’ offer different options to employees and employees can select one of the option to complete the task. Participating style of leadership includes motivating and encouraging employees and allowing them to make decisions and complete task and offering less direction. Delegating style of leadership in situational leadership is concerned with delegating task employees in which all decisions are taken by employees. System leadership System leadership approach is concerned with creating conditions within Unilever where people at every level in organisational hierarchy are able to provide their best contribution in realising organisational goals and objectives. This approach of leadership is based on principles of human behaviouranddifferentmodelsofeffectiveleadership.Systemleadershipalsoinvolve organisational strategy and system designs as an important element to enable everyone to perform productively (David and Drysdale, 2018). System leadership provide tools to leader in
organisation so that they can predict behaviour of employees within Unilever. Leaders when are able to predict behaviour of employees and members within Unilever they become capable of making effective decisionsto drive performance and innovationwithin Unilever. System leadership enables organisation to get benefit of knowledge and intelligence of people working within Unilever at all level. Contingency leadership This is another approach of leadership in Unilever. This approach of leadership considers that effectiveness and success of leadership iscontingent upon situation in which they are leading organisation or leading teams with an organisation. As per this theory leader cannot work effectively in every kind of situation and when they leadership style is adequately aligned with situation they are able to performed effectively and their leadership becomes successful (Vidal andet.al.,2017).Factorsonthebasisofwhichleadershipstyleiscontingentincludes relationship of leader and member within Unilever, task structure and leaders position power. On the basis of these elements success of leadership style can be identified and in addition to this least preferred co-worker scale can also be used to identify success of leadership style in particular situation. Strength and weaknesses of different approaches of leadership and management Strength and Weaknesses of situational leadership Strength Leaders can effectively work in different organisational situations and employees can also work under right kind of leadership within Unilever This leadership style is effective for every employee in Unilever regardless of the time they have been employed in organisation(Thompson and Glasø, 2018) Weaknesses In order to adapt to different styles leaders require being experienced Inadequate knowledge of situation can affect effectiveness of leadership Strength and Weaknesses of Contingency leadership
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Strength Leaders can effectively perform their leadership duties and responsibilities when they are working on situation that are effective as per their situation Weaknesses Leadership can be failure and ineffective when situation is not suitable This is an complicated approach of leadership(Vidal and et.al., 2017). On the basis of above discussion it can be concluded that leadership and management both are very important for successful functioning of Unilever. Different leadership approaches discussed outlines that every leadership style has their own advantages and disadvantages for organisation. On the basis of above analysis it is recommended that Unilever while selecting people for leadership positions should consider that recruit and develop leaders with situational leadership style where they are required to deal with different type of people on the basis of maturity. On the other hand will leadership positions deal with same kind of people in terms of commitment and competency contingency leadership can be Highly Effective in such situation Part 2 Key operations of Unilever Unilever is a consumer goods company and provide different types of products to customersincludingfoodanddrinksandeatingproductsofdifferenttypes.Operational management functions of Unilever include designing goods and services and manufacturing goods and services (Anitah, 2019). In addition to this functions also involve supply chain management and maintenance of production facility of organisation. Key operational function and roles and responsibilities of managers Design goods and services- This involves developing design for goods and services of Unilever. This is first and foremost activity in operations of Unilever.
Manufacturing goods and services- This is concerned with operation in which input is converted into final products to be sold to customers. Process and capacity design- This is concerned with designing process and capacity where input is converted into output. Supply chain management- This is concerned with managing supply chain in organisation. In this input is acquired within organisation and output is supplied to customers and consumers. Inventory Management- This involves managing inventory to be used in manufacturing activities and inventory that is ready to be delivered to consumers (Sinulingga, 2019). Maintenance- This activity of operations involve maintenance of production capacity. Role of Leader- Role of leader in these operations functions is to ensure that these are suitable and right on the basis of organisational direction of organisational vision. Leaders also develop relationships with different parties and stakeholders to ensure that operational functions can be effectivelycompleted.Leaderalsoplaysimportantroleinmotivatingandencouraging individuals to perform effectively their role in operations functions. Role of Manager- Role of manager in this includes planning and implementing plans for operational functions and activities. In addition this organising and coordinating operational functions and ensuring their direction towards organisational goals is also responsibility of manager within Unilever. In addition to this maintaining quality of products and standards of practices is also a role of leader in Unilever. Key operational approaches to operations and their value Just-In-Time (JIT) Thisisanoperationalmanagementapproachthatsuggeststhatmaterialfor manufacturing should be aligned directly with schedules of production within Unilever (Li and et.al., 2017). This means that supplier of inputs and material supplies them when they are required before starting manufacturing operations. This requires that supply is coordinated with production activities within Unilever. In order to implement this approach for operations within
Unilever it is important that organisations maintain effective relationship with suppliers and also maintain coordination so that they can supply required material and input on right time. Thisapproachofoperationsmanagementhelpsinreducingcostassociatedwith maintenance of inventory. In addition to this it also is helpful in ensuring optimum utilisation of production facility. Lean production Lean production is another important approach of operations management. This approach of operations management outlines that Unilever should create more effective processes of manufacturingbyeliminatingwastefulpracticesandimproveefficiencyoffacilityand processes. This approach considered that waste that occurred from operations activity does not have any value for customers and customers do not like to pay for waste (Wagner, Herrmann and Thiede, 2017). In order to create highest possible value for customers it is important that Unilever works on reducing waste to least so that they can increase output that has value for customer. Effective application of this approach is based on organisations capability to design and develop manufacturing processes that provides highest possible productivity by reducing waste to lowest level possible. Unilever can develop such practices by research and development and innovation capabilities of organisation. Application of this approach of operations management Unilever can help them in increasing customer satisfaction and reduce cost of manufacturing. Total quality management This is another approach of operations management that Unilever can consider for its operational activities. Total quality management approach is highly beneficial and effective for long-termsuccessofUnileverthroughcustomersatisfaction.Totalqualitymanagement approach considered that all members of Unilever should participate in improving overall practices of Unilever along with product and services and culture of Unilever (van Kemenade and Hardjono, 2019). Total quality management approach is customer focused and requires involvement of total employees and is process centred approach. In addition to this total quality management also includes integrated systems in which decisions are based on facts and leaders
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and managershave a strong emphasis on continuousimprovement of elementsaffecting effectiveness of operations within Unilever. With this approach Unilever can enhance its sustainability and value that its product provides to customers. Value of these approaches for Unilever Profitability- Effective application of different approaches of operations management helps in increasing profitability of Unilever. Profitability of Unilever increases by reducing cost and increasing productivity. Quality of Output- These approaches also help in enhancing quality of output that gets developed during operations activities of Unilever (Ivanov, Tsipoulanidis and Schönberger, 2017). Approaches like total quality management and lean production are examples of how Unilever can increase quality of output approaches of operations management. Effective and efficient utilisation of resources- Approaches of operations management are also helpful in ensuring effective and efficient utilisation of organisational resources. Resources included in this are material and input, human resources and financial resources. Impact of external business environment factors affecting decision-making by leaders and managers Decision making of leaders and managers gets affected by several internal and external factors of environment and which Unilever operates. Some of external environmental factors affecting decision making of leaders and managers are as follows- Competitionwithinindustry-Unileveroperateinahighlycompetitiveindustryand competition for Unilever gets intensified by the fact that it provides different types of products and has existence in different industries. Competition of Unilever has a significant impact and influence on decision making of leaders and managers within Unilever (Calabrese and et.al., 2018). Leaders and managers required to consider the factors through which Unilever can maintain from position in competition of industry. Globalisation- Unilever is an organisation that operates in 190 countries in the world and globalisation is one of the most important factors to affect in decision making of leaders and
managers of Unilever. It is very important that the decision enables organisation to become successfulonglobalstandards.Decisionsofleadersandmanagersregardingoperations management get significantly affected by globalisation. Customers-Decisionsofleadersandmanagersgetsignificantlyaffectedbycustomers (Johnston, Adeniran-Ogundipe and Lautenbach, 2017). This is because success of organisation and its operations activities depends on whether they have been accepted by customers or not. It is very important that leaders and managers take decisions that their product is acceptable to customers and outperform expectations of customers regarding products of Unilever. Improving operational efficiency Focus on quality- This is an important way through which operational efficiency of Unilever can be improved. It is important that leaders and managers have strong emphasis on quality which enables them to identify and develop different ways through which they can develop practices and processes to increase quality of products and practices of manufacturing. Technological utilisation- This is another approach through which quality of product and processes can be enhanced. Technology can provide several types of assistance in operations management including measuring quality and increasing quality by reducing waste (Mohapatra and Mohanty, 2017). Application of effective Research and development practices can help in developing Technology through which operations efficiency can be increased. Continuous Improvement- This is a way through which efficiency of operations can be improved to successfully meet business objectives. System leadership approach can have significant impact on effectively applying continuous improvement practices in organisation to enhance efficiency of Unilever. Continuous improvement takes place when everyone within organisation considers it as their responsibility to share their opinion and ideas through which efficiency of operations can be achieved within organisation. Innovation- This is another approach in which through innovation Unilever can enhance efficiency of its operations. Innovation includes developing practice and processes to increase productivity and decrease cost of production and enhance efficiency of operations (Jawabri, Rehman and Alarmouti, 2019). Participative and transformational leadership approach can help
leadersindevelopingacultureofinnovationwithinUnileverwhereeverymemberof organisation can contribute to best of their capabilities. CONCLUSION On the basis of above discussion it can be concluded that operations management within Unilever can get benefit from different approaches operations management. OnthebasisofabovediscussionitisrecommendedthatUnilevershouldconsider implementation of system leadership within organisation to make everyone responsible and accountable for organisational success. This will also increase employees to work on improving quality of activities within Unilever.
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Sinulingga, R.A., 2019. Risk Management System in PT. Unilever Indonesia, Tbk.TIJAB (The International Journal of Applied Business).3(1). pp.38-58. Thompson, G. and Glasø, L., 2018. Situational leadership theory: a test from a leader-follower congruence approach.Leadership & Organization Development Journal. van Kemenade, E. and Hardjono, T.W., 2019. Twenty-first century total quality management: the emergence paradigm.The TQM Journal. Vidal, G.G and et.al., 2017. Contingency theory to study leadership styles of small businesses owner-managers at Santo Domingo, Ecuador.International Journal of Engineering Business Management.9. p.1847979017743172. Wagner, T., Herrmann, C. and Thiede, S., 2017. Industry 4.0 impacts on lean production systems.Procedia Cirp.63. pp.125-131.