Leadership and Management Report: Analysis of Amazon Operations

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of leadership and management practices within Amazon, a US-based e-commerce giant. It begins with an introduction to operations management and its significance in balancing costs and revenues. The report then delves into the roles and characteristics of leaders and managers, highlighting their responsibilities in motivating employees, setting strategies, and maintaining operational efficiency. Key differences between leaders and managers are outlined, along with an examination of leadership theories such as transformational leadership and classical management theory. The report further explores the application of these theories through case studies, such as conflict resolution and timely product delivery. It also covers situational, contingency, and system leadership theories, evaluating their strengths and weaknesses in the context of Amazon's operations. Finally, a PESTLE analysis is conducted to assess the impact of external factors on operational management and decision-making.

Management and
operations

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1. Role and characteristics of leaders and managers............................................................1
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................4
P2. Examples of how role of leaders and functions of manager apply in an organisation....4
P3. Applying different models and theories of approach.......................................................5
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................7
Covered in PPT.......................................................................................................................7
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................7
P6. The factors within the business environment that impact upon operational management
and decision making by leaders and managers.......................................................................8
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Operations management is a very broad term that refers to an area of management which
is related to designing and controlling production process of a business concern. It is a practice
that is related to conversion of raw materials into finished products. Operations management is
concerned with maintaining a balance between costs and revenues earned by an organisation. In
this aspect, leaders and managers play a quite significant role in growth as well as success of an
organisation (Boyd and Dougherty, 2016). This report is made in context of Amazon which is a
US based business entity. It was incorporated by Jeff Bezos in the year 1994 and has its
headquarters in Seattle, Washington. This report mentions role that leaders and managers play
within a business concern. Various key approaches of operations management have also been
mentioned here. Also, light has been thrown on various leadership approaches. Lastly, pestle
analysis has been conducted in this report for assessing effect of external factors on functionality
of business.
TASK 1
P1. Role and characteristics of leaders and managers.
Leaders and managers play an inevitable part in a business concern. They are responsible
for maintaining efficiency in business operations.
Leaders: A leader is a person who has the ability of motivating people towards
accomplishing a task. Leaders in Amazon stimulate and influence young individuals who can
help them in achieving their organisational goals and objectives at a faster pace. Furthermore,
they also are responsible for guiding and directing employees of a business concern.
Role of leaders:
 Leaders are responsible for providing a clarity about aims and objectives of a business
entity to managers and employees so that they can function smoothly.
 Leaders form strategies and policies that help employees of Amazon in working
efficiently in a systematic and disciplined manner (Ellitan, 2017).
Characteristics of a Leader:
 A leader is known for his motivating and influencing behaviour which helps in becoming
an ideal for other subordinates.
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 Leaders in Amazon are quite passionate about roles and responsibilities that are provided
to them. This further helps in creating a desire in other employees as well.
Managers: Managers are key personnel in a business concern who are known to maintain
efficiency and effectiveness in functionality of a business. They receive instructions from
employers and top-level management in Amazon. They also provide training to employees so
that skills of employees can be enhanced. Furthermore, a manager also acts as a link between
employers and lower level employees (Eraki, 2015).
Role of a manager:
 As the name suggests, a manager is known for his managing and controlling skills. In
relation to Amazon, a manager works as figurehead (attending various ceremonial
activities). A manager also plays role of transmitting or transferring information. In context of
Amazon, manager plays three roles while transferring information which are
disseminator, spokesperson and monitor.
Characteristics of a manager:
 Managers of Amazon follow a very creative approach in their style of working. They
even follow this approach while forming rules and regulations. Managers should have apt interpersonal and communication skills to promote effective
communication between employees and customers.
Differences between a manager and a leader
Basis of comparison Manager Leader
Roles and Responsibilities Managers in Amazon are
known for their decision
making and time management
skills. These skills help them
in timely achieving goals and
objectives (Fan, Liu and
Zhang, 2015).
Leaders in Amazon create a
vision for their employees and
also influence them to work
efficiently. (e.g. Leaders apply
the behaviour theory of
leadership to achieve this
objective).
Authority and power In relation to Amazon, Leaders in Amazon are
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managers have authority of
decision making about
important projects.
authorised to direct employees
as per policies set by
managers.
Working Managers undertake planning
process about various activities
that are conducted in Amazon
(Han and et. al., 2017).
In case of leaders, they
implement policies that are
formed by managers.
Motive Motive of managers in
Amazon is to maintain
efficiency and ensure timely
delivery of goods and services.
Leaders' motive is to promote a
healthy work environment in
Amazon.
Characteristics A manager is known to have
various qualities such as
effectively managing
tasks,time management,
delegating authority and so on.
A leader acts as an influencer,
motivator and morale
developer.
Theories practised Managers of Amazon trust on
classical theory of
management where their main
stress is usually on profit
maximisation by considering
needs of their subordinates.
Leasers in Amazon are quite
versatile and believe on
adopting transformational
theory of leadership where
they can change their as per
need of situation.
Similarities between leader and manager:
 Both leader and manager have same goals and objectives i.e. growth of business.
 Both of them work towards increasing morale of employees and creating a
healthy work environment.
There are various leadership and management approaches that specify role of different
positions such as-
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Transformational theory of Leadership: Transformational theory of leadership helps in
in bringing about changes in an organisation as well as its employees . With this theory, leaders
find it easy to develop a positive work environment. Main role performed by leaders in Amazon
is to increase efficiency level of their followers.
Management theory:
Classical theory: According to this theory of management, managers stress on profit
maximisation as well as needs of their employees with effective decision making. This theory
should only be considered only when productivity is to be maximised as it overlooks needs of
employees. Managers should always focus on needs of their employees and accordingly work
towards their skill development.
Critical evaluation of various theories of leadership:
Trait theory of leadership: In context of Amazon, it is found that many a times during
festive seasons there is a huge demand for their products as it is a consumer goods retail sector
company. In such situations, leaders have to focus on dealing with complicated situations while
keeping their workforce motivated.
Charismatic theory of leadership: Leaders of Amazon have a charismatic personality
which helps them in inspiring and influencing their team members. In complex situations,
employees tend to lack motivation and their performance level goes down. Hence, in such
situations, charismatic leadership will help leaders in motivating their employees.
TASK 2
P2. Examples of how role of leaders and functions of manager apply in an organisation.
Leaders perform functions of inspiring or influencing their followers which helps in
achieving desired outcomes whereas managers in Amazon undertake planning function where
various policies are formed that help in achieving desired results within a specified time frame.
Many a times complex situations occur where managers and leaders have to work in perfect co-
ordination which leads to achievement of goals and objectives within a specified time frame
(Idris, 2016). Two major situations that occurred in context of Amazon are as explained as
under:
Resolving conflicts: Conflicts are a part of every organisation's working. These conflicts
many times act as major hurdles in delivery of products and services on a timely basis. Amazon
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being a multinational business concern, employees from various regions and culture get hired.
Many times conflicts may arise as employees get irritated due to strict policies and pressures. In
this case, managers will analyse employees' behaviour and their problems to assess actual issue
(Ma and Sun, 2012). Further managers will provide effective solutions to employees and form
policies that will further reduce conflicts. Leaders in this situation will assess issue and motivate
employees so that they can perform as per vision and mission of a business concern. For
resolving issues between their subordinates leaders of Amazon consider charismatic leadership
approach. In this charismatic personality of leaders helps in motivating employees and
enhancing their overall productivity as well.
Timely delivering products and services: Amazon follows a 2-day delivery policy for its
prime customers. So, to ensure that it is done effectively, both leader and manager have to work
in proper co-ordination. In this scenario, role of manager is to assess demands of customers and
accordingly plan about production and delivery whereas leader's aim is to implement strategies
that are formed by managers for successfully delivering products and services within a specified
time frame. Leaders also keep motivation level of employees quite high in such critical situations
(Nayak, 2015).
P3. Applying different models and theories of approach.
Leadership refers to an approach which involves influencing and guiding behaviour. This
approach is considered by leaders in Amazon for motivating employees and further timely
achieving goals and objectives of their organisation. Various approaches of leadership have been
explained as under:
Situational leadership theory: Situational leadership theory is based on a adaptive
leadership style which simply means that role and behaviour of leaders keeps changing from
time to time (Situational Leadership. 2019). This leadership style is very useful when various
critical situations arise, and leaders have to find solutions to it. There are basically four types of
leadership styles under situational theory namely selling, telling, participating and delegating as
well. In this approach, leaders provide guidelines to their employees that are to be followed.
This further in timely delivering quality goods and services (Pakistan, 2012).
Telling: In this leadership approach leaders of a business concern are entitled for undertaking
decision making process. Also they inform their subordinates after taking nay necessary or
important decisions.
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Selling: In this leadership approach leaders of a business concern get quite involved in overall
day to day working and also promote individuals so enhancing their skills.
Participating: In this leadership approach responsibility passes on to subordinates or employers.
Leaders in this case only provide guidance to their employees which enhances their confidence
level.
Delegating: It is mainly situational leadership style where leaders are least involved with
employees. Here employees are solely responsible for their decisions and activities.
Strengths: A healthy work environment is maintained in Amazon as there is no strict
single leadership approach is followed. Rather, it is noticed that leadership style keeps changing
as per situations.
Weaknesses: Using or opting for different leadership styles every time creates a
confusion for leaders as well as employees as many situations get interlinked.
Contingency leadership theory: Contingency leadership approach emphasizes on
effectiveness of leadership style by evaluating leader's style and skills for motivating and
influencing employees. There are numerous factors included in this theory such as leader
member relationship, task structure of a business concern and positional power of employees. It
emphasises on both leader's personality and the situation in which the leader operates (Plesser
and et. al., 2014).
Strengths: This leadership style is helpful in giving a clarity in complex situations and
aids leaders in framing strategies and policies for smooth functioning of business.
Weaknesses: One major drawback of contingency theory is that if the leader is inefficient
it becomes difficult to handle complex situations. Furthermore, major transformations also need
to be made in system and technology being used.
System leadership theory: This leadership approach helps leaders of Amazon in
creating a healthy work environment where every individual can work effectively making best
use of opportunities and potential. System theory enables leaders in framing suitable
organisational strategies and policies that helps in working effectively. This leadership approach
is also used for enhancing production process in Amazon and also realising goals to be achieved
(Parmar, 2014).
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Strengths: System leadership approach helps in providing clarity about complex
situations. It also provides a framework for building and developing innovative ideas.
Weakness: It is a quite lengthy and time consuming process with lots of complexities.
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REFERENCES
Books & Journals
Boyd, A. H. and Dougherty, G. M., 2016. Seed Processing Operations-Mangement.
Ellitan, L., 2017. The role of environmental uncertainty, competitive strategy, and operation
strategy to achieve competitive advantage: the case of east java manufacturing SMEs.
EPRA International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (IJMR). 3(11). pp.8-23.
Eraki, M. E., 2015. Outcome of one stage transanal endorectal pullthrough for mangement of
hirschsprung’s disease. Zagazig University Medical Journal. 17(3).
Fan, W., Liu, N. and Zhang, J., 2015, November. Multi-objective optimization model for energy
mangement of household micro-grids participating in demand response. In Innovative
Smart Grid Technologies-Asia (ISGT ASIA), 2015 IEEE (pp. 1-6). IEEE.
Han, W., and et. al., 2017. The experience of diagnosis and mangement in coexisting
ureteropelvic junction obstruction and nonreflux megaureter. Chinese Journal of
Urology. 38(2). pp.95-98.
Idris, M.S.A.B.M., 2016. Control methods on yield and mangement cost of paddy in ledang,
johor.
Ma, G. and Sun, L., 2012. The Design and Implement of FPSO Assets Management System.
Procedia Environmental Sciences. 12. pp.484-490.
TASK 3
Covered in PPT
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TASK 4
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P6.The factors within the business environment that impact upon operational management and
decision making by leaders and managers.
There are a number of factors that affect business environment and functionality of a
business concern. Environmental factors can be both internal as well as external. Both these
factors affect business and business environment to a great extent. Thus to resolve this issue,
leaders and managers of Amazon will have to form policies for achieving a competitive edge
against its competitors. This also helps in enhancing profitability level of business and create a
enhanced brand image.
Internal Factors – Factors that are present inside the control of a business and its working are
known as internal factors (Tristancho and Gutiérrez, 2012).
Various internal factors have been mentioned as under: Shareholders : Shareholders are the owners of a business concern. In relation to
Amazon, managers will form such policies by which they can earn more revenue and
create benefit for their shareholders as well. Managers of Amazon consider this factor
for decision making and fulfilling requirements of customers as well. If decisions made
by leaders and managers about production will be supportive, more number of people
will buy shares which will further lead to growth and profitability. Employees : Employees in Amazon get recruited through various means such as
placement agencies, campus recruitment and so on. In this aspect, technically trained
individuals are selected by managers of Amazon for maintaining effectiveness in their
business operations. Hiring skilled staff helps Amazon in providing best quality
services to customers and maintain their brand value. If skilled employees are hired it
reduces burden of managers and leaders and also maintains a healthy work environment. External Factors - The external environment includes outside influences that can
impact a business concern. The factors that impact on the ability of a company or
investment to achieve goals and objectives. Some external factors are - Competitor efficiency and flexibility - It is necessary for an organisation to be flexible
in a competitive business environment, which means an organisation should easily adopt
frequent business environment changes. It helps Amazon in retaining its productivity for
a long period of time (Yun and et. al., 2018). Flexible policies will help in maintaining
efficiency in their business operations and managers will be able to achieve their targets
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within specified time frame. Technological factors - It is essential for an organisation to changes their services
according to technology, which leads an organisation in sustaining its productivity in a
competitive business environment. In this regard, Amazon had already updated its
technological equipment in accordance with rapidly change in technology. Technology
will change the way leaders and managers perform as due to new innovations in
technology working process will change. This will further make production process
quicker and easier.
 Economic factors - Amazon's business is subject to economic changes. These factors
include recent economic changes in business environment like exchange rate, interest
rate, inflation etc. In this regard, it is essential for Amazon to be dynamic in formulating
business strategies in accordance with the changing business environment. These factors
also effects leaders and managers decision making process, so leaders and managers has
to guide and motivate their employees in order to protect themselves and the
organisation from these factors (Williams, 2015). For example, if government makes in
alterations in excise duty or interest rates it will directly effect production process of
Amazon and also lay an impact on products and their sales. Hence, managers and
leaders will have to frame new policies that will minimise the effect.
Applications of Operations Management
Process Design- It helps in choosing best process for effective management and
production control. It helps the respective company to start their production process by
designing the products in order to meet customer demands and in turn achieve high profits for
the company.
 Positive impact- With the right channel effective distribution of goods and services. Negative impact- Ineffective chosen process will decrease ability of the organisation.
Capacity management-It is an important aspect in operational management as it
specifies the capacity of production process so that no excess goods are produced, and quality of
the product is maintained.
 Positive impact- Use of updated technology helps in completing requirements of
customers,
 Negative impact- Lack of skills to use updated technology lowers the production
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process.
Inventory management- By analysing the demand of the customer it helps the
respective organisation to start the production process accordingly.
 Positive impact- This type of function increases productivity in long run.
 Negative impact- There is a problem of portfolio in logistics which enable and lowers
production process.
Improves productivity- It helps respective organisation by removing the defects from the
production process and increases efficiency of the employees to perform effectively (Wang, Jie
and Abareshi, 2015). Positive impact- It helps in smooth operations of business and achieve high profits or
enterprise.
 Negative impact- Sometimes it is seen as a time-consuming process.
CONCLUSION
From the above-mentioned report, it has been concluded that operations management is
an all pervasive function that is present in almost all business concerns. Leaders and managers
play an inevitable part in functioning of business concern. This report underlines roles and
functions of leaders and managers respectively. Also, various theories of leadership have been
discussed here. These leadership theories are used to determine qualities of a leader and evaluate
if they are suitable or not. Operations management helps in timely accomplishment of goals and
objectives by attaining a higher level of efficiency in its business operations. At last there are
various business environmental factors which have a great impact on operational management in
taking effective decision for the organisation.
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REFERENCES
Books & Journals
Boyd, A. H. and Dougherty, G. M., 2016. Seed Processing Operations-Mangement.
Ellitan, L., 2017. The role of environmental uncertainty, competitive strategy, and operation
strategy to achieve competitive advantage: the case of east java manufacturing SMEs.
EPRA International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (IJMR). 3(11). pp.8-23.
Eraki, M. E., 2015. Outcome of one stage transanal endorectal pullthrough for mangement of
hirschsprung’s disease. Zagazig University Medical Journal. 17(3).
Fan, W., Liu, N. and Zhang, J., 2015, November. Multi-objective optimization model for energy
mangement of household micro-grids participating in demand response. In Innovative
Smart Grid Technologies-Asia (ISGT ASIA), 2015 IEEE (pp. 1-6). IEEE.
Han, W., and et. al., 2017. The experience of diagnosis and mangement in coexisting
ureteropelvic junction obstruction and nonreflux megaureter. Chinese Journal of
Urology. 38(2). pp.95-98.
Idris, M.S.A.B.M., 2016. Control methods on yield and mangement cost of paddy in ledang,
johor.
Ma, G. and Sun, L., 2012. The Design and Implement of FPSO Assets Management System.
Procedia Environmental Sciences. 12. pp.484-490.
Nayak, B. B., 2015. RFID Based Attendance Mangement System Using Labview (Doctoral
dissertation).
Pakistan, S., 2012. Potentials for improving water and agriculture productivity in Sindh,
Pakistan.
Parmar, L., 2014. An evaluation study of farmer's field school on soybean mangement practices
conducted by agriculture department of tikamgarh district of madhya pradesh (Doctoral
dissertation, JNKVV).
Plesser, S., and et. al., 2014. The energy Navigator-A web based platform for functional quality
mangement in buildings. arXiv preprint arXiv:1409.2364.
Tristancho, J. and Gutiérrez, J. L., 2012. Simplified Femto-satellite Operations for Disaster
Mangement Missions. UPCommons, Vol.
Wang, M., Jie, F. and Abareshi, A., 2015. The role of innovation capability and operation
capability in logistics performance of transport firms: a conceptual framework. In
AAOM 2015: Innovation for and from Asian Emerging Markets(pp. 39-52). The
Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Wen-chao, W., Fan, Z. and Wen-wen, L., 2012. Experience of Effective Operation of Laboratory
Mangement in Coal Fields. Shandong Coal Science and Technology. 4. p.172.
Williams, V. R., 2015. Economic development through microinsurance & thrift mangement a
case of underprivileged sections of society. International Journal of Sociology, Social
Anthropology and Social Policy. 1(1). pp.38-45.
XIANG, Y. Z., Chen, F. Q. and Zhang, s. S., 2013. Case Analysis of Operation Resource
Utilization Efficiency and Medical Level Improvement through Performance
Mangement. Chinese Health Economics. 3. p.030.
Yun, L., and et. al., 2018. Clinical application of ERAS program in perioperative mangement of
robot-assisted gastrectomy for gastric cancer: Experiences from single-center. Clinical
Nutrition ESPEN. 25. p.185.
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ONLINE
Situational Leadership. 2019. [Online]. Available through: <https://www.situational.com/the-cls-
difference/situational-leadership-what-we-do/>
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