Role of Leaders and Managers in Operations and Management

This report discusses the characteristics and roles of leaders and managers in operations and management. It explores different theories and models of leadership, such as situational leadership, systems leadership, and contingency. The report also highlights the importance of operations management in achieving business goals and examines the impact of different factors in the business environment on operational management and decision making. The examples and context used in the report are based on Starbucks, an American multinational chain of roaster reserves and coffeehouse.

Management and
Operations

Contents
Management and Operations......................................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................................4
TASK 1..........................................................................................................................................................5
P1) Define and compare different characteristics and role of a leader and manager.............................5
TASK2........................................................................................................................................................7
P2Examine examples of how the role of a leader and the function of a manager apply in different
situational contexts..................................................................................................................................7
P3Apply different theories and models of approach, including situational leadership, systems
leadership and contingency.....................................................................................................................8
M2 Strengths and weaknesses of different approaches within business environment..............................9
D1 Analyze and evaluate different theories and approaches to leadership.............................................10
P4 Key approaches to operation management and role that leaders play...............................................10
P5 Importance and values of operations management to achieve business goals...................................11
M3 How leaders and managers can improve efficiency to meet business objectives.................................12
P6 Factors within business environment that impact operational management and decision making of
leaders...................................................................................................................................................13
M4 Impact of internal as well as external factor on wider community..................................................13
D2 Evaluation of application of operations management and factors that impact wider business
environment...........................................................................................................................................14
CONCLUSION.............................................................................................................................................14
REFERENCES..........................................................................................................................................14
Books and Journals................................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
Operations and management is define as process which is based on concern with transformation
of distinct basic inputs like raw material into finished services and goods. It is considered as
procedure by which there is attainment of various performance and profitability is developed as
it also help organisation to covered large market share and by this there is also working potential
is developed. So for this company have to ensure that there is distinct demands and requirements
of customers that must be satisfied in effective manner. So there is advancement and designing
of products that must be offered to their customers at continuous process so this leads to better
sustainability of company.
The following report is based on Starbucks which is an American multinational chain of
roaster reserves and coffeehouse. This company has its headquartered in Seattle, Washington
which is world’s largest coffee chain, company represents itself as second wave of coffee
culture.
This report covers as example of role and function of leaders & manager apply at
different situations. There is also different models and theories are included and also some key
approaches to operation management by considering role of managers and leaders. Furthermore,
value and importance of operation management in attainment of business goals. Lastly this report
covers factors in business environment that have impact on operational management and
decision making of managers & leaders.
TASK 1
P1) Define and compare different characteristics and role of a leader and manager
Leader: They are individual which have responsibility for influence other which leads to
increase in working ability in an organisation. behaviour of leader is for motivate employees or
team members which could help in achievement of objectives and goals which can become
transparent and clear. So for this they use different leadership styles and theories as they are
changes according to different situations (Inyang, Agnihotri and Munoz, 2018). In context of
Starbucks, it is a responsibility of leader for provide better facilities to other team members
which leads to attainment of all targets in efficient and effective manner. The leader is one who
will make the decision in respect to a particular tasks and targets, having an ability to influence
and capability to do task tasks successfully. A leader has a quality of influencing the others by
their speech and commitment towards the goals and objective.
Manager: They are individual who controls and monitors all different situations under
which various distinct activities are performed in appropriate manner. It is a responsibility of
manager which leads to working functions and operations is increase in adequate manner. The
manager of Starbucks have to performed all duty which provides development and training this
can help in attainment of work in flexible and easy way. They have an ability to motivate the
team members by interacting with them basically considered with the individual behaviour
which consists of clarity and understanding of situation with some of leadership styles according
to the process and situational approach, in the context of Starbucks here a leader will approach to
their team members for any new offerings in the organisation by making it complete through
proper decision making (Tse, To and Chiu, 2018) .

Roles of Leaders:
 Decision maker : A leader has a role to continuously work on the decision making
process it can be either of spontaneous approach and with appropriate time to think they
have a ability to think on both conditions whenever the complexity arises in the company
leaders act as a decisive individual by taking risks according to the situation. By
effectively implement the decision role in the Starbucks, they are completely liable for
tasks which will be relates with its operations.
 As an influencer: This role of leader will be the most important factor by which they can
cope up with any kind of targets whether complex or ease one, they will make their tasks
easier by influencing ability. They will interact with their team members for the tasks and
convinced them for the same.
 Team leader: This role work on the basis of leaders indulgent in a particular task which
are already doing by their team member by properly work with them and interact on the
basis of any difficulty in doing the tasks, they have to make sure about the proper tasks
operation by mentoring them and evaluate to the same in the context of Starbucks ,team
leaders guide their team members on accordance of any policies change (García‐Sierra
and Fernández‐Castro, 2018).
Characteristics of a leader:
 Communication: A leader has a function to adopt the situation and make it happen by
communicating with their team members on effective approach through continuously
checking on their performance and interact with them on regular basis this will enhance
the confidence of their members.
 Empathy: A leader is having a characteristics is to takes care of their team members
regarding their targets with the approach of solving their problem, here a leader is act as a
problem solver by listen to them with not only showing sympathy but to act as a action
taker on a particular situation.
 Courage: A leader is one who’s having a brave decision making approach by taking
particular action on any situation arises in respect of their targets by taking risks and
showing the commitment in their tasks (Zuraik and Kelly, 2019).
Role of Manager: There are various roles of managers which are discussed below:
 Establishment of policies: Manager have to play a role as responsibility for designing
and formulation of various set of policy, guidelines, roles which leads to proper work
efficiency and attractiveness in all projects. In terms of Starbucks, manager have a role
for developing policy which have to followed by all individual which leads to better
execution of work in ethical form.
 Delegating responsibilities: It is a responsibility of manager that they have to divide the
task or assign task according to skills and experience of employees. This can be done by
segmented the task in processed manner, assigned all task in timeline. So by this
employees are become motivated as by getting reward and appraisal in return of their
work.
 Spokesperson: This is a informational role of manager which is related to
communication. In this manager have to act as a spokesperson which deals with people of
outside unit. In context of Starbucks, manager have to communicate with all levels of
management which is helpful in attainment and attracting potential customers for
organisation (Breevaart and Bakker, 2018).

 Resource allocator: Manager also act as resource allocator. For every organisation there
are two main resources such as time and money. In terms of respective company, there is
a responsibility of manager for rationally allocate funds as according to budget in projects
and members of unit.
Characteristics of managers: There are various qualities of manager which are discussed below
in terms of Starbucks:
 Effective interpersonal skills: This characteristics of managers is used which makes
effective interaction among each other such as observation, communication, hard and soft
skills. In terms of Starbucks manager have quality for attract new customers by
communicating in effective manner (Lin, Bruning and Swarna, 2018).
 Time management skills: This skill is basic skill in manager as they have to ensure that
the task that must be complete on time. This characteristic of manager is most useful
which leads to attainment of success in effective manner.
 Reliability skills: A manager have quality as leading a team which is reliable. This leads
to being available for all team members whenever they are in problem.
 Delegated: A manager have quality as they should have delegated to their work or
projects as they are considering which have to be done in effective manner.
 Confident: For effective manager they have to be confident in their decisions, abilities
and experience. They have responsibility for inspire their team members.
 Respect for employees: A manager always respect their employees which leads to
friendly or informal relation among team members.
Differentiation between Leader and Manager: -
Basis Leaders Managers
Role Leaders plays important role in organisation.
This leads to motivate others by offering or
providing appropriate direction or guidelines.
By this mission, vision, objectives and target
are processed by these leaders which is helpful
in attainment of goals and also increase
profitability factor.
The manager offers suitable
guidance and information to
team members which leads
probability of better results
are developed (Abu Sultan
and et. al., 2018).
Characteristics leader have effective communication skills
which create and attract customers by
influencing them (Campbell, Coldicott and
Kinsella, 2018).
The manger having time
management and
interpersonal skills for
executing particular task in
appropriate manner.
Theories There are many types of theories and model
are considered by leaders such as situational,
contingency, system theory and so on.
management theory which
are used by managers are
bureaucratic, behavioural
theories and so on.

TASK2
P2Examine examples of how the role of a leader and the function of a manager apply in different
situational contexts.
In every business there are various situations where managers and leaders of the
organization play different role. They have control over the situations in the company that helps
them to utilize and mange the resources properly. Its helps in the proper management all the
situations in organization below is the different situations are explained in the context of
Starbucks. (Barnes, 2018)
New product development: It refers to make an innovation in existing product or making new
product for the company. New product development required effective planning and
coordination between staff and team members. It can improve the productivity level of the
company and help them in proper development of revenue in the market. In the context of
Starbucks, company can develop verity of food products in their pre existing menu so that they
can attract new customers in the organization. In this situation organization needs proper
planning and effective working of their product services. So in this situation leaders and mangers
of Starbucks play different role and function. (Reid and Sanders, 2019)
 Role of the leader: In this situation leaders play important role in managing this all the
employees and staff members so that they can understand the process of developing new
product in the company. Leaders can motivate them and encourage them for effective
productivity so that it could help the company to gain profit and growth of new product
in the market. Leaders can provide all the information related to the new product so that
that can help them in mange the work of new product development. They also give them
training according to the work they have to do in this situation of organization.
 Functions of manager: In this situation mangers use their various functions such as
planning, organizing, and controlling function to handle this situation. In the context of
Starbucks, the managers of company can make plan according to develop new product
for the company. They analyse the target market for the new product and make plan
according to the situation and the market. Mangers control the production process of the
new product development so that the company can gain more advantages form the
effective productivity. Mangers make and mange the work of their employee in most
effective manner.
Crisis management: In this situation company perform and manages all activates and also
modify the current management in the company. In this situation management of the
organization needs some changes because the company is facing loss in the market. In this
situation the leaders and managers of Starbucks play different role and functions in the firm.
 Role of leader: In this situation leader of Starbucks use leadership style according to the
management of crisis in the organization. They will provide the all business information
to the company and provide the solution of this situation.
 Functions of the mangers: In these situation mangers of Starbucks play all the
responsibility to manage the crisis in the company. And provide proper planning to

handle this situation. Thus mangers and leaders of the organization play important role in
both situations.
P3Apply different theories and models of approach, including situational leadership, systems
leadership and contingency.
The situation in any business changes in continues basis and in various situations the leaders
chose different leadership style according to the business condition. Below is some leadership
theory are explained in the context of Starbucks. (Saucedo-Martínez, and et.al, 2018)
Situational leadership:
In this leadership style leaders of Starbucks organization encourage their team members
for effective performance and better growth at workplace. These leadership style leaders change
their leadership style according to the situation and circumstances in the organization and try to
influence Their employees for or better performance. They use their skills and talent according to
the situation in the company. It is most suitable and flexible style of leadership leaders play the
role of decision maker in this leadership style they encourage and influence the employee in
order to gain competitive advantage and make organization grow. (Lee, 2018)
System leadership:
In this leadership style leaders use their skills and capabilities for the better performance
of employees within an organisation. it is basically a collaborative working of leaders
capabilities and innovation in the company. in the context of Starbucks leaders of company could
use this leadership style for Change management in the organisation. It could help the company
in improvement of productivity and growth of company. Thus, in this leadership style leaders use
their various skills and abilities to make organisation grow and profitable. The leaders of the
company can use this style for motivation of employees and better growth of their productivity.
Contingency:
This model defines that leaders play the leadership role and leader’s effectiveness is
contingent whether the leadership style match the situation or not. this leadership style explain
that leaders have ability to work under various situation and effectively manage those situations
according to the goals and objectives of the company. the leaders of Starbucks also can manage
their work according to different situations in the organisation and fulfil their needs of company
for achievement of goals and objectives. Thus this model helps in achievement of better
performance of leaders in the organization. (Fisher, Olivares and Staats, 2020)
Transformational leadership:
In this leadership style leaders of Starbucks organisation focus on making good
relationship with their team members or followers they focus on motivating and encouraging
them for better performance or organisation it could help the organisation to have a stable growth
and better productivity in the market it is also improve the performance of employees and build
their trust for respective company. Good relationship with employees helps the leaders to known

about the problems of employees and provide the better solution of those problems. It will help
the employees of the company to feel connected to the organization
Thus all the leadership styles helps the leaders of the company to make their employee motivated
and encouraged towards the work they are doing.
M2 Strengths and weaknesses of different approaches within business environment.
In the case of situational leadership model, they has many strengths and weaknesses
which is explained below:-
 There are many options available for deciding which leadership style employees can
follow.
 Business environment is very calm and warm relation exists between whole team.
 Employees are motivated as they gets a chance too in making decisions.
 Though this model has various strengths but it lacks high quality experience which lead
to differences among the whole team.
There are many situations which are not related with each other so it creates a confusion among
organization. (Choi, Wallace and Wang, 2018)
D1 Analyze and evaluate different theories and approaches to leadership.
 Contingency theory:- This theory means that in all situations it is not possible that
only one theory will be applied. There may be various theories so company has to
decide right action including all the variables.
 Situational leadership theory:- It refers to importance of some situational
variables and don’t prefers any one leadership style better than other.There are
two factors which this type of leadership follows: Style of leadership and maturity
level of followers. Through this theory, it is evaluated that different situations
considers different style of leadership as well as decision making.
 Traits approach:- There are some characterstics as well as traits of leaders they
are born with. Every person has some individual traits and they perform according
to that.
In case of Starbucks, they followed the approach of traits in which all leaders of
organization persues various traits and worked according to that and helped in
achieving success.
P4 Key approaches to operation management and role that leaders play.
There are many roles that leaders and mangers play in the organization. In an
organization a leader is the person who handles all the employees so that they lead to success and
achieves all organizational goals. They help all employees to improve their performance so that
their efficiency increases for both organization as well as of employees. A manager is the person

who assigns various tasks to all employees, assist them regarding the methods they should use
while working. The roles of leaders and managers are as follows:-
Leaders Managers
They focus on those objectives which are
initiated by managers.
The role of mangers in an organization is to
develop objectives for organization.
They interact with employees. They interact with leaders.
A leader not only handles the whole team but
also works with them.
Managers only give instructions to the team.
Whatever the ideas managers give to the
organization leaders implement it.
The idea is invented by mangers.
The leaders focus on employees. Mangers focus on the resources of the
organization.
In an organization employees should always be
inspired so it is the leader’s role to inspire
them.
Managers play the role of inventing ideas and
various plans.
There are many approaches that are considered in operation management like six sigma, total
quality management, Just in time inventory and continuous improvement process.
 Six-sigma:- This process is followed by the organization to define, measure, design and
verify all the elements so that improvement can be done in the organization. It is
implemented so that if any kind of improvement is necessary then they can implement it
through this process. There are five things on which companies focus like proper analysis
of company goals, measuring the performance of organization, if any mistake is done in
an organization then those errors are recorded and whole team improves performance by
implementing six sigma process. In case of Starbucks, they followed the strategy of six-
sigma and increased customer satisfaction by properly following all the steps like proper
tests were applied in laboratory, situation was analysed,communication among all
employees and customers, proper analysation of data, removing errors and leading to
customer satisfaction. (Gibson and Parkman,2018)
 Total quality management:- This approach means to provide success in the organization
by improving customer satisfaction. Each employee working in the organization helps to
improve all kind of products company is producing, participates in various activities held
by the organization so that customer satisfaction gets increased. There are many elements
which are included in process like focusing on customers, communications, process
thinking, total involvement of employees, fast decision making and so on. In the case of
Starbucks, they identified customers and establish products according to them, offered
seasonal drinks during Christmas, made good relations between customers.

 Just in time inventory:- This approach refers to the strategy that is used to increase
efficiency. It includes ordering as well as receiving goods so that effectiveness as well as
efficiency can be improved. In this very less amount of stock is kept and whenever it is
needed company orders it again.
 Continuous improvement process:- This process means that all the products,
performances are continuously improved so that efficiency remains at a good level. The
effort is done on continuous basis.
P5 Importance and values of operations management to achieve business goals.
Operations management is very much important for an organization as well as it creates
lot of value. The importance and value is analyzed below:-
 Achievement of objectives:- For any organization achieving all goals and objectives is
the most important thing. So, management makes various plans and according to that
goals are achieved. The objectives of company are determined at early stage and
according to that plans and procedure is made.
 Employee productivity:- Management of operations helps in enhancing productivity of
employees. It analyzes all employee performance on continuous basis. If any mistake is
done by a employee, then management team guides them so that they perform better in
near future.
 Enhance goodwill:- It helps in improving goodwill of the organization by providing
better quality products to all consumers and enhance their satisfaction towards
organization.
 Resource utilization:- The management team should ensure that all the resources are
effectively used in the organization by making effective strategies and no resource should
be regarded as a waste in the organization.
 Employee motivation:- In an organization all employees should get motivation by the
senior team so that they work more effectively and with proper efficiency. They should
get various benefits, compensation and rewards according to their performance in
organization.
As in the case of Starbucks, they ensured that proper quality products are been provided
to consumers. There is a warm culture among all employees which led to better customer
satisfaction. Starbucks has also achieved success due to proper following of processes as
well as design of products. The strategy which was made by company regarding the
location was correctly implemented as they chose urban areas so that large no of people
gets attracted to the brand. The organization team has maintained everything in an
efficient manner through proving proper facilities, training strategies provided to all
employees. Operation management creates lot of value in whole organization. They
include managing all purchase related tasks, storage, control of inventory and so on. In an

organization the main thing which needs focus and it creates value is maintaining
efficiency and effectiveness while following all processes. In the case of Starbucks, it
created lot of value and is considered best among all its competitors. It became third
place for customers while spending time at their home and work area. People really
enjoyed while drinking coffee there and it was considered as luxury food products.
M3 How leaders and managers can improve efficiency to meet business objectives.
There are many ways through which leaders and mangers can improve efficiency. It is
explained below:-
 Focus on your customers:- The main important thing is to focus on customers, their
needs, their demands regarding all products.
 Plans according to customer needs:- Every customer gives feedback after purchasing
any product so strategies and plans should be made according to that feedback.
 Continuous improvement:- It is very much necessary that continuous improvement
should be done regarding all the errors so that efficiency can be managed properly.
 Right technologies should be used:- It is important to use updated technologies which is
necessary for the company effectiveness. Company should have knowledge regarding all
technologies their competitors are using.
P6 Factors within business environment that impact operational management and decision
making of leaders.
An organization is affected by both types of environment; external as well as internal
environment. In case of Internal environment the focus is within the organization .It consist
things that are inside the organization like human resources, technological resources and so on. It
depends on these elements through which organization create and deliver value to consumers.
The internal environment consist employees, directors, goodwill and resources of whole
organization. External environment means elements that are outside the organization. It provides
various opportunities like growth leadership but there is risk of technologies also. In case of
Starbucks, it is affected by various environmental factors and due to this the company decisions
are affected. It includes social, economic, technological, competitive and regulatory factors. In
the case of social factors, people are described on the basis of their age, gender, culture and so
on. Economic factors have also affected the company due to which customers were not spending
much on their products and it led to decrease in their sales. Competitive factors means company
competing with other industries and providing better quality products to attract consumers and
Starbucks did the same.
M4 Impact of internal as well as external factor on wider community.

The internal as well as external factors both affect the organization as well as
communities in a major way. It is not possible for teams to handle all external factors that are
outside the organization. Though it becomes easy to influence over internal factors. There are
many things that are being involved in internal factors like leadership, employees, mission
statement and external factors includes competitors, customers and economy. Leadership means
in an organization all decisions are taken by that particular person only whether it’s regarding the
budget of firm, marketing of products and so on. Employees are the people who are working in
the organization and participating in all the activities but at the same time they require
motivation and they have certain expectations too. There are many competitors in the market so
an organization should work according to their plans. They should know full details about the
technology they are using so that they can perform better.
D2 Evaluation of application of operations management and factors that impact wider business
environment.
 Political :- Political environment affects every organization whether it’s small or
large. It considers various elements like political organization, foreign policies,
defense and so on.
 Economic:- This approach includes elements like business cycles, nature of
production, socio-economic infrastructure. With the help of certain economic
factors organizations try to decrease costs and increase their profits.
 Technological:- Organizations are also affected by technological environment
factors. The goods which company produces, quality which they are using all
depends on technology of the products they are prefering.
CONCLUSION
It has been summarised from above report as operation and management is most basic
aspect for business and in this leaders & managers play different functions & roles. Managers
and leaders both play vital role which helps in attainment of success for company. Management
and leadership both collectively work in advance which helps in enhancement of performance of
business. In addition, it also highlights appropriate direction and pathway which helps in
achievement of objectives and goals. Moreover, operation management also use various different
methods such as TQM, six sigma& JIT manufacturing efficiency which reduces waste and
situation is balanced.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Inyang, A.E., Agnihotri, R. and Munoz, L., 2018. The role of manager leadership style in
salesperson implementation of sales strategy: a contingency perspective. Journal of Business &
Industrial Marketing.
Lin, H.C., Bruning, P.F. and Swarna, H., 2018. Using online opinion leaders to promote the
hedonic and utilitarian value of products and services. Business Horizons.61(3). pp.431-442.
Zuraik, A. and Kelly, L., 2019. The role of CEO transformational leadership and innovation
climate in exploration and exploitation. European Journal of Innovation Management.
Tse, H.H., To, M.L. and Chiu, W.C., 2018. When and why does transformational leadership
influence employee creativity? The roles of personal control and creative personality. Human
Resource Management. 57(1). pp.145-157.
Campbell, D., Coldicott, T. and Kinsella, K., 2018. Systemic work with organizations: A new
model for managers and change agents. Routledge.
Breevaart, K. and Bakker, A.B., 2018. Daily job demands and employee work engagement: The
role of daily transformational leadership behavior. Journal of occupational health
psychology. 23(3). p.338.
García‐Sierra, R. and Fernández‐Castro, J., 2018. Relationships between leadership, structural
empowerment, and engagement in nurses. Journal of advanced nursing. 74(12). pp.2809-2819.
Abu Sultan, and et. al., 2018. The Style of Leadership and Its Role in Determining the Pattern of
Administrative Communication in Universities-Islamic University of Gaza as a Model.
Burns, M.G., 2018. Port management and operations. CRC press.
Barnes, D., 2018. Operations Management. Macmillan International Higher Education.
Reid, R.D. and Sanders, N.R., 2019. Operations management: an integrated approach. John
Wiley & Sons.
Saucedo-Martínez, J.A., and et.al, 2018. Industry 4.0 framework for management and operations:
a review. Journal of ambient intelligence and humanized computing, 9(3), pp.789-801.
Lee, C.K.H., 2018. A review of applications of genetic algorithms in operations
management. Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence, 76, pp.1-12.
Fisher, M., Olivares, M. and Staats, B.R., 2020. Why empirical research is good for operations
management, and what is good empirical operations management?. Manufacturing & Service
Operations Management, 22(1), pp.170-178.

Choi, T.M., Wallace, S.W. and Wang, Y., 2018. Big data analytics in operations
management. Production and Operations Management, 27(10), pp.1868-1883.
Gibson, P. and Parkman, R., 2018. Cruise operations management: Hospitality perspectives.
Routledge.