Role and Characteristics of Manager and Leader in Sainsbury

This report discusses the role and characteristics of managers and leaders in Sainsbury, a supermarket chain in the UK. It covers the distinction between managers and leaders, their roles in different situational contexts, and the application of different theories and models of leadership. The report also highlights the importance of operations management and its impact on achieving business objectives.

Unit 4- Management
and Operations

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................4
PART 1............................................................................................................................................4
Role and characteristics of manager and leader together with its comparison.......................4
How the role of a leader and the function of a manager apply in different situational contexts?
................................................................................................................................................6
Application of different theories and models of approach, including situational leadership,
systems leadership and contingency.......................................................................................7
Conclusion and recommendations........................................................................................10
PART 2..........................................................................................................................................10
Key approaches to operations management and the role that leaders and managers play.. .10
The importance and value of operations management in achieving business objectives.....11
The factors within the business environment that impact upon operational management and
decision-making by leaders and managers...........................................................................12
How operational efficiencies can be improved to successfully meet business objectives.. .13
Conclusion and recommendation.........................................................................................13
CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................14
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................15

INTRODUCTION
Management can be referred to as the process which involves planning, organising,
motivating, leading, decision making and controlling different resources of a company is that it
can reach its goal and target effectively and efficiently. The business is concerned with the major
role to uplift the economy by contributing in the country through generation of maximum
revenue. Leaders and managers plays an important role in managing the operations and
workforce of the organisation so that smooth running is ensured (Duke, 2020). The organisation
chosen for this report is Sainsbury, a supermarket chain headquartered in London, United
Kingdom. This report shall cover the role and functions of leader and manager and their
distinction, how these roles apply in different situations, different theories and approaches
relating to leadership. Further it will cover key approaches to operations management, its value
and importance in attaining business objectives and the factors of business environment which
impact the operational management.
PART 1
Role and characteristics of manager and leader together with its comparison.
Sainsbury is a second largest supermarket chain in UK. It was founded in the year 1869
and gradually become the largest retailer in London by the year 1922. The company follows
hierarchical organisational structure where it has levels of hierarchy of the people and the level
above have a control on each level. There is a command of chain mainly from senior
management to general employees.
Leader and its role
It is a main personnel in an organisation which motivates the group of people so that they
can work to achieve the organisational goals of the company. A leader may be a person who is in
power which controls and monitors the performance of the people (Ryan, Myers and Mooney,
2020). There are different roles which a leader plays in a company and in context to Sainsbury,
these are narrated below- Provides direction- It is the most important role where the leader has to communicate the
clear and persuasive direction to the people. The leader in Sainsbury has to make
strategies in order to contribute in the future growth of the company and the strategies are
communicated to the team so that strategic goals can be achieved.

 Execute strategy and monitor result- It is important to have a strategy and a plan to
execute it. The leader of Sainsbury is entrusted with the role to execute the strategy by
formulating the plan so that the team can work accordingly. It also has to monitor the
outcome of each member so they are prepared in advance to make the adjustments or
changes in the strategy due to any reason.;
Characteristics
The leader has a unique specification which differentiate it from the rest of the team. The
characteristics of leader are discussed below- Self-awareness- The leader is the one who continuously tries to improve its area of
working so that it can produce better results. This may be done by leaders of Sainsbury
through attaining the knowledge and getting ready to learn everything so that it can bring
out its best result. Focused- The leaders in Sainsbury are very focused towards their work as it helps them
to achieve the goals of the company and lead the team in a systematic and efficient
manner (Alexander-Wright, 2020).
Manager and its role
It is the person which is entrusted with the major role to motivate and supervise the
employees and also provide directions to the people so that they can efficiently contribute in the
achievement of organisational goals. The roles of manager in relation to Sainsbury are illustrated
below- Setting objectives- The managers are entrusted with the role to set the targets for the
employees and communicate it to them so that they can work on to achieve them. The
manager of Sainsbury creates such environment where there is clear communication of
goals to the workforce. Monitoring the performance- The manager in Sainsbury has to monitor the progress of
employees in order to guide them whenever necessary and keep the track of all so that the
objectives are achieved in an effective manner (Dimitrov, 2020).
Characteristics Time-management- This is the essential quality in manger of Sainsbury as it helps them
to prioritise their work and make sure that they have enough time to communicate it to
the workforce in order to achieve the goals of the company.

 Communication- It is essential that a manager is able to communicate its team with the
required message which involves communicating goals, targets and strategies so that they
have a clear structure to work for the company's growth and success (Ferkins, Shilbury
and O’Boyle, 2018).
Distinction between leader and manager
Basis Manager Leader
Meaning It is that person which
manages the company and is
responsible for planning,
coordination, directing and
controlling the workforce.
It is that person who influences
its subordinates in order to
achieve the goals and
objectives.
Aim They are aimed to attain the
objectives of the company.
They are aimed towards
growth and development of the
organisation.
Change They react to the change. They promotes change in the
company.
How the role of a leader and the function of a manager apply in different situational contexts?
The managers and leaders in Sainsbury perform their requisite roles and functions in an
effective manner. There are many scenarios which the manager and leaders faces when they have
to apply their roles and functions so that they can cope up with them and contribute to the
achievement of the organisational goals (Dutta, Ghoshal and Kumar, 2017). The application of
the role of leader and the function of manager is illustrated below in different situations which
are narrated below-
Employee engagement
As Sainsbury is a master brand in retail industry, they are dependent on the workforce
which works behind the growth of the company. Employee engagement is an important aspect
where the workforce must get into regular conversation with the superiors and colleagues so that
they can create healthy environment. The managers and leaders in Sainsbury have different

functions and roles to play as there is less employee engagement in workplace so that they can
ensure that positive and healthy environment is created in the company.
Role of leader- It is entrusted with the role to create such a positive and healthy
environment that there is employee engagement. The leader of Sainsbury must give proper and
clear directions to the team so that they can work on it to achieve the goals by mutual discussion
and involvement.
Function of manager- It's main role is to main such policies and rules in the company
that there is employee engagement. The manager of Sainsbury must ensure that it motivate the
employees by giving them requisite bonus, rewards and recognition so that the employees are
engaged in the workplace (Oc, 2018).
Introducing new offering
Every company requires changes in its working so that it can lead towards growth and
success. The change may be in working of the company or brining something new in the market
so that large audience is attracted towards it. Sainsbury is a large company which also regularly
brings new product like clothing's, groceries, etc. in the market so that they can grow towards
the success. For this, the roles and functions of manager and leader is discussed below-
Role of leader- The main role is to communicate the strategies to the employees and
motivate them to implement it in effective manner. The leader in Sainsbury must communicate
its strategies and plans clearly to workforce so that they can work accordingly.
Function of manager- It's main function is to create such plans which contribute in
growth and achievement of the objectives of the company. The manager of Sainsbury must
frame such plans which matches with the needs of the company in order to bring the new
offering into the market (Hill, Korczak and Wang, 2019).
Application of different theories and models of approach, including situational leadership,
systems leadership and contingency.
Leadership is an art which involves motivating the people in order to work towards the
common goal. Every leader has a style of leadership which it follows that makes it
distinguishable from rest of the people. Different leadership styles can be used by the leaders of
Sainsbury which are narrated below-
Situational leadership theory

This theory provides that there is no single style of leadership which is best. It just
depends upon the type of leadership and the strategies which are best suited to the strategy. It
works on an assumption that the leadership style varies from situation to situation. First, a
situation is analysed and the best suited leadership style is adopted accordingly. It has four
elements which leaders can approach when dealing with the situation. The leaders in Sainsbury
must use these elements in order to tackle any situation. These are illustrated below-
 Directing- The leader have a directive and the authoritative approach where it has the
power to take the decision and directs what and how employees must do. The leader of
Sainsbury guides the workforce and they are required to follow it.
 Coaching- It is a second style where the decision maker is leader. The leader of
Sainsbury sells its concept to the employees and expects collaboration and debate from
them for better clarity.
 Delegating- In this, the leader limits the participation and only guide the employees
whenever required. The responsibility of task is delegated by leader of Sainsbury and the
subordinates are allowed to take their decisions on their own. Participative- Here, the leader of Sainsbury is less involved and just allows the members
to participate in giving the ideas. This motivates the workforce to perform the task in
most efficient manner (Lawrence, 2017).
Strength Weakness
 This style of leadership promotes
flexibility as any of its elements can be
adopted as per the situation.
 Under this style, the frequent shift in
the styles can create confusions in the
minds of employees which may affect
their working.
System leadership style
This theory helps in brining change in the company's environment so that the workforce
can work in the flexible manner. This style of leadership is commonly used in large companies
which have huge operations. According to system leadership theory, there are set of abilities
which the leader must possess and gives power to lead them. It combines the collaborative
leadership which gives insight to mobilise the resources in order to achieve the organisational
goals. The leaders of Sainsbury may adopt this leadership style where they can utilise their skills

and knowledge in order to lead the team for growth and success of the organisation (Wilson,
2018).
Strength Weakness
 This leadership style gives holistic
approach to the company as it increases
the adaptability of the organisation to
environmental changes.
 Under this style of leadership, the
coordination in the group is difficult to
maintain as some employees may agree
or disagree to any point which may
create the communication gap.
Contingency leadership theory
This style works on the believe that effectiveness of the leader is contingent and it
depends upon situation. According to this, there are no qualities of leaders which can be applied
in every circumstance. The situation and the working conditions itself tells what qualities does
the leader must possess in order to deal with the situation. Sainsbury can adopt this theory by
making utilisation of three elements which are narrated below- Situation- Here, the scenario is analysed and the leader is entrusted with the role to
outline the idea in order to make the plan. It is the first phase where the leader of
Sainsbury will screen the situation which needs the skill and knowledge of leader. Leadership style- When the situation is foreseen, the leader aligns the style of leadership
and choose which is the best one in order to tackle the situation. This step can be done
when the leader of Sainsbury gets understanding of the situation. Develop relationship between leadership style and situation- Here, the leader of
Sainsbury has to make the balance between the two because it has to integrate the
leadership style in a particular situation so that the best result can be brought (Glock and
et. al., 2019).
Strength Weakness
 This style allows the managers and
leaders to change the policies as per the
situation. It enhances the decision
making skill of leaders because they
 It is a complex theory as the leader
have to select the style as per the
situation and any wrong style may
affect the working of the entire team.

have to identify the best suited
leadership style.
Conclusion and recommendations
It is concluded from this part that managers and leaders plays an important for ensuring
smooth running of business. The leaders can follow many leadership style in organisation so that
they can lead them towards growth and success. They have many roles to play which contribute
in success of the company as their style influence the working of employees at workplace. From
this, it is recommended to Sainsbury that-
 The leaders of Sainsbury must adopt Contingency leadership style so that leaders can
come up with dynamic strategies in order to adapt the change.
 The managers must ensure that it frames such strategies like giving timely rewards and
appreciation to workers which are beneficial for adapting any change or environment so
that employees get motivated to adopt it.
PART 2
Key approaches to operations management and the role that leaders and managers play.
Operations management can be defined as the administration of the business practices
which creates highest level of efficiency in the company. It is concerned with the conversation of
raw material and labour into the goods and services. As Sainsbury deals in retail industry, it
many operations like marketing, sales, production and many other. The managers and leaders of
Sainsbury plays a very persuasive role in key approaches to operations management which are
discussed below-
 Total quality management- It is an approach of manager which is mainly used by the
customer focused companies where all the employees are engaged in continuous
improvement. There are many data and strategies which altogether integrate the quality
discipline in the activities and culture of the company. In context to Sainsbury, the roles
of leaders and managers are discussed below-
Role of leader- They are entrusted with the role to allocate the employees with their task so that
they can ensure production of quality products for the customers. Sainsbury have leaders who
communicate the task to the employees well on time so that timely completion is ensured.

Role of manager- They play the role of formulating such policies like ethical code of conduct
and plans which ensures continuous improvement and quality in the product line of the company
Sainsbury.
 Lean production- It is such approach which is concerned with cutting the waste together
with ensuring the quality. This approach can be applied in all aspects of business, that is,
from design, to production and distribution. The main aim of this approach is to cut down
the cost by responding to market needs thereby making the business efficient (Haksever
and Render, 2017).
Role of leader- They have a role to motivate the workforce to utilise the resources in an efficient
manner. The leader of Sainsbury must ensure that it outlines the task for the employees so that
they can adopt such method of allocating the resources so that there is minimum wastage and
high production.
Role of manager- Sainsbury have efficient managers who are entrusted with the role to make
such strategies which involves utilising less cost and high optimisation and utilisation of the
resources.
The importance and value of operations management in achieving business objectives.
The operations management are aligned to the objectives of the company. It is important
to have the effective management of the operations of the business so that the organisational
goals are achieved within time and with allocated budget. The importance of operations
management for Sainsbury in achieving the objectives are narrated below- Resource utilisation- The operations management focuses on efficient utilisation of the
resources which have minimum wastage and more output. The leaders and managers of
Sainsbury ensure that there is complete utilisation of the resources so that business
objectives can be achieved by cutting the cost of production by efficient utilisation. Quality of the products- The leaders and managers of Sainsbury try to maintain the
quality of its offerings by continuously monitoring it so that the customers are satisfied
after consuming it. They are aimed to make developments in organisation and come up
with such strategies which contributes in improving the quality of the product in
Sainsbury. This contributes in achievement of organisational goals as quality products
attracts more sales and revenues.

 Customer satisfaction- The consumers are the king of the market so the organisations are
aimed to frame the innovation as per the customer needs and demand. So Sainsbury have
efficient leaders and managers who come up with such plans which are aligned with
customer needs and the production in the company is done as per the customers in order
to attract them so that business objectives can be achieved (Hill and Hill, 2017).
The factors within the business environment that impact upon operational management and
decision-making by leaders and managers.
The organisations operate in the business environment which consists of internal and
external which influence their working. There are factors which affect the operational
management of the company and also impact the decision-making of leaders and managers as
Sainsbury have many operations which are administered by the managers and leaders of each of
the department. In context to Sainsbury, the internal and external factors are discussed below
which affect the operations management-
Internal factors Corporate social responsibility- The organisations have important responsibility towards
the society and environment. The decision or activities of the company Sainsbury must
not be such which may affect the environment. CSR is an essential obligation for the
company Sainsbury so its leaders and managers must make such decisions which fulfils
such responsibilities in an effective manner. Sustainability- It is an important aspect for the company because every organisation
requires sustainability in order to survive the competition and this can be done by
maintaining the resources for long time period and also ensuring minimisation of waste.
The managers and leaders in Sainsbury must take such decisions which can ensure
sustainability as it will help in minimising the cost and result in generation of high
revenue from available resources (Visser, 2020).
External factors Social- It involves those aspects which influences the working of the organisation as the
sales of the company depends upon the factors like age, culture, preference and many
other. Due to change in the environment, the company can shift to offer such products
which attracts large customers. Sainsbury deals with huge product line which satisfy the

needs of the customers and contributes in customer retention. The managers and leaders
must use such strategies which can help in taking the offering to public.
 Technological- The market in today' s era is growing rapidly as the companies are taking
help of technology. Sainsbury efficiently utilises technology which helps it to battle the
competition. For instance, it uses digital marketing in order to reach large audience in
short time. The managers and leaders must motivate the employees to come up with such
strategies which are beneficial for the company and have utilisation of technology in
order to achieve business goals quickly and easily (Naderi and et. al., 2019).
How operational efficiencies can be improved to successfully meet business objectives.
The leaders and managers can bring effective approach towards the operational
management so that they can ensure minimum waste production with full utilisation of resources.
The managers must frame such strategies which helps in maintaining all key areas within time
frame so that there is achievement of operational efficiency which will ultimately help in
achieving the business objectives. The communication must be strong and direct so that there is
no gap or miscommunication.
Conclusion and recommendation
It is concluded from this part that Sainsbury have many key operations like marketing,
production, finance, etc. which all together work to achieve the business objectives. The
company must follow total quality management and lean productive in order to manage its
operations so that it can get customer satisfaction, resource utilisation and maintenance of
quality. It is recommended to company that-
 Sainsbury must regularly monitor the quality of its products so that they can gain high
customer satisfaction.
 The organisation must screen its micro and macro factors so that these do not adversely
affect the working of the company and also come up with regular strategies to overcome
any barrier like strategy to deal with foreign currency fluctuation.

CONCLUSION
It is concluded from the above report that managers and leaders play an important role in
carrying out the activities of the firm. The leader and managers are two different personnel where
the former is aimed towards growth and development of the company and the latter is aimed to
work towards attainment of objectives. The leaders of Sainsbury can follow many leadership
styles like contingency, situation or system which can help in managing the employees.
Moreover, the managers of Sainsbury play an important role in implementing the approaches to
operations management which involves total quality management and lean production. Lastly it
is summarised that the value of operations management includes customer satisfaction,
utilisation of resource and maintaining quality. The external and internal factors also affect the
decision-making of the managers and have an impact on the operations management of the
company.

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