Barclays Bank: A Case Study in Management and Operations

Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments for students. This report analyzes management and operations at Barclays Bank.

Management and Operations

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
LO1 and LO3...................................................................................................................................4
LO2 and LO4.................................................................................................................................12
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................19
Reference List................................................................................................................................20

Introduction
Management can be referred to as the set of principles that is relevant to the different functions,
for instance, planning, systematising, directing, as well as controlling, along with the
implementation of these principles for connecting financial, physical, human, and technical
resources in an efficient and effective manner for accomplishing the goals and objectives of an
establishment. The function of management is tremendously essential for organising the
different activities carried out within an organisation. These different kinds of activities that are
executed within a business in order to achieve the predetermined goals can be defined as
business operations. Operations management is important as it administrates the different
practices within a business and creates highest degrees of efficiency among the existing
workforce.
In order to examine the various aspects of management as well as explore the business
operations carried out within a particular establishment, the organisation named Barclays plc has
been selected in this study. The Barclays plc is an investment bank that is based in Britain and
has a global presence. The headquarters of the enterprise are located in the city of London in the
United Kingdom, which was established in the year 1960. At present, the Barclays plc has a
global presence in fourteen different nations, across America, Asia, and Europe. The business
generates over than £20 billion revenue on a yearly basis (Barclayscorporate.com, 2019).

LO1 and LO3
1. An introduction with some definitions of the roles of management and leadership
In an organisational context, it is essential for the management to maintain appropriate strategies
that would ensure the internal functions of the organisation are performed efficiently. The
efficiency of organisational output is based on the performance of the employees and individual
departments that operate within an organisation. Management and leadership play a decisive role
in ensuring the success of the organisation in the business context. The primary role of
management within an organisation is based on the methods that allow the individuals in
managerial positions to provide employees and departments with guidance regarding issues they
face while operating in their job roles (Solomon et al., 2016). Leadership roles within
organisational context are observed to be the performance of providing guidance and solutions to
issues that hamper the efficiency of the employees and departments. Managers within an
organisation perform the action of managing the employees and operations within the
organisation whereas the leaders perform the duty of leading employees and the organisation to
achieve the business objectives of the organisation.
2. Differentiate leadership and management functions according to J. Kotter
Kotter has derived the difference between leadership and management functions within an
organisation based on different aspects. The types of functions the managers and leader positions
within the organisation distinguish the role of a manager and a leader within the organisational
context. According to Kotter, the management function within the organisational context is to
perform a selection of functional processes that allows the organisation to function effectively
(Bârgău, 2015). Management function within an organisation includes the act of planning
business strategies, staffing the organisation appropriately in accordance with the business
objectives of the organisation. The leadership function within an organisation requires the
alignment of employee goals with the company goals to ensure efficiency of the employees
towards achieving the business objectives of the organisation. Leadership function in an
organisational context includes motivating employees and providing appropriate inspiration
including communication with the employees and executive management of the organisation.

3. An analysis of the Management by Objective process as discussed by P. Drucker
Management by objective process as designed by Peter Drucker states that it is essential for the
management to devise strategies for individual departments within an organisation based on the
type of business objectives the organisation has developed. This strategy of defining individual
objectives and developing ways that would lead to the successful achievement of these
objectives allow the managers to decide the urgency of each objective (David, 2018). The
efficiency of the employees in each department is increased through this method as it enables the
managers to identify which objectives that require fulfilling immediately. The gradual flow of
work within an organisation is devised appropriately through the provision of management by
objectives theory. Accomplishment of goals and objectives by the organisation as well as
employees are evident through this strategy of management. The management by objectives
process when implemented in the managerial function of an organisation allows the organisation
to develop communication strategies between the managers and employees to understand the
type of goals that would be fruitful for the organisation in the competitive market economy and
the employees in their individual growth.
4. Illustrate the three-management roles theory as discussed by H. Mintzberg
Mintzberg divided the managerial roles that are performed by the managers within an
organisational context. Mintzberg divided the performance of managerial roles in three primary
categories- interpersonal, informational and decisional roles- that are provided by the managers
in an organisation. Managers conduct the role of a figurehead, leader and liaison in an
organisational context under the category of interpersonal role of a manager. Mintzberg
categorised the role of a manager that performs the function of a monitor, disseminator and acts
as a spokesperson within the organisation also fulfils the informational role that managers
perform in the organisational context (Kumar, 2015). The decisional role of managers is
performed through the act of being an entrepreneur, handling disturbances within the
organisation, an efficient resource allocator and the art of negotiating between employees and
stakeholders. Managers at Barclay’s Bank perform the interpersonal, informational and
decisional roles within the organisation by sorting issues within the company, acting as the
spokesperson for the organisation as well as being an entrepreneur for the bank in the
competitive market economy.

5. Analyses leadership traits theory and discuss two styles of leadership
Leadership traits theory identifies the presence of several traits and skills that leaders possess.
The implementation of these skills and traits within organisational context allows the leaders to
perform efficiently in their roles as efficient leaders of an organisation (Northouse, 2018). The
leaders at Barclay’s Bank perform their leadership activities by virtue of their leadership traits.
These traits include self-confidence, drive for achieving success, ability to motivate employees,
business knowledge, creativity, flexibility and charismatic nature. The traits theory of leadership
promotes evaluation of leaders in the Barclays’ institute while providing a detailed knowledge of
the leadership element that allows the organisation to succeed in the competitive market
economy. The theory is disadvantageous, as it does not provide the scope of measuring all the
qualities that a leader must possess. The descriptive traits are general in nature and cannot
measure the significance of a particular trait within a specific organisational situation.
The two prominent styles of leadership that is evident within the organisational context of
Barclays’ Bank can be observed as transformational leadership style that allows the leaders to
guide and forge the employees within the organisation to success. Situational leadership styles
provide the organisation with a leadership strategy that would enable the leaders to mould
strategies according to the situation the company faces in the market economy (Arnold et al.,
2015).
6. An analysis of hard management skills and soft leadership skills
The hard management skills that are effective in the organisational context of Barclays bank can
be stated as the communication skills that are relevant for the employees and the managers
within the organisation. Specific and basic skills relevant to the managerial job roles within the
organisation of Barclay’s Bank are considered as ‘hard’ skills since these are developed within
managers through training and reflection. The managers at Barclays’ Bank devise strategic
implementation of skills in their daily functioning to attain specific goals within the organisation.
The soft leadership skills include the art of motivating, inspiring employees and leading the
organisation effectively during the economic, political and external turmoil of the business
environment (Kapoutsis et al., 2016). The hard management skills allow the organisational
managers to perform their job roles and duties in managing the operations within the

organisation despite the differences of the external environment the company faces. The soft
leadership skills that the leaders perform in their job roles can be considered as the building
blocks for the success of the organisation (Matteson et al., 2016). Providing appropriate guidance
and managing the operational functions within the organisation during critical times are ensured
by the implementation of hard management skills and soft leadership skills of the managers and
leaders at Barclays’ Bank.
7. A discussion of three transformation processes in operations management
The transformational processes that are included in the operations management within an
organisation consists of the changing process that materials, information and internal operations
within the organisation of Barclays’ Bank. The transformational processes add value to the
products that are developed by the organisation through specific activities that help the bank to
develop valuable products and services to their products. The processes that the departmental
functions create in order to place value on the products developed by each activity through their
business operations and developmental strategies can be stated as the transformational process
for the success of the organisation in the market economy (Slack and Brandon-Jones, 2018). The
strategy of morphing raw materials into products and services that are of value for the
organisation can be identified as the transformational process of operational management within
organisations. The process that provides value to the raw materials varies according to the
organisation. In Barclay Bank, the transformational process is divided according to the needs and
requirements of the consumers and stakeholders that ensure the success of the organisation in the
market economy.
8. An evaluation of what the term Quality means and the four costs of quality for managers
in achieving business objectives
The term quality can be defined as an attribute that is conditional, perceptual, and objective to
some extent, which can be comprehended by diverse individuals (Goetsch and Davis, 2014).
Quality management requires pursuing excellence in a consistent manner and ensuring that the
business is improving continuously. On the other hand, the quality costs can be referred to as the
costs related to prevention, and detection of product or service issues connected to the quality,

along with providing viable recommendations (Dale and Plunkett, 2017). The four costs of
quality for the managers in accomplishing business goals are as follows:
 Prevention costs: The managers of the Barclays Plc can acquire a prevention cost in order to
hinder a quality issue from occurring. Being the least expensive kind of quality cost, this is
recommended for the mangers of the organisation. This cost of quality will assist the
managers to minimise quality related issues in the organisation, which in turn will increase
the productivity of the company.
 Appraisal costs: The appraisal costs also assists in the same manner. The managers of
Barclays Plc require inspecting various aspects, for instance, depreciation of test equipments
and many others. These experiments will assist the managers to predict the quality related
issues beforehand. Internal failure costs: On the production of a faulty product, internal failure costs occur. The
managers of Barclays Plc can use the parts of the defective product to make a new one.
External failure costs: On the occurrence of external failure costs, the Barclays Plc can lose its
customers. Therefore, this cost of quality will not be useful for accomplishing business
objectives.
9. A discussion of the role of managers plays in Total Quality Management approach
Total quality management can be referred to as the system of management that is founded on the
principle, which states that each member of a workforce has to be committed towards
maintaining a high quality within every aspect of an establishment’s operations (Oakland, 2014).
The managers of an organisation, for instance, Barclays Plc, play significant role in this
approach. Initiating as well as implementation of this approach requires huge amount of planning
along with researching. The costs that are involved in the approach of TQM have to be allocated
by the managers at the commencement of each financial year. Moreover, the managers also
require allocating the different tasks according to the efficiency of the different staffs.
Additionally, the managers of the Barclays Plc must also communicate the advantages of the
TQM approach to the rest of the workforce of the company, in order to carry it out effectively.
10. A discussion of Just-in-time approach and waste reduction in operations

The just-in-time operations management strategy allows organisation to align their raw materials
acquired from suppliers in accordance to the production schedules the organisations follow. This
approach allows the companies to gather raw materials that are appropriate for the number of
productions that the company manages within the organisation (Lai and Cheng, 2016). This
approach allows the company to modify their productions according to the amount of raw
materials acquired from the suppliers. This ensures the organisation to fulfil their production
objectives efficiently without increasing the wastes developed from the production process. The
waste management process that organisations follow in order to reduce wastage of raw materials,
skills and value from their operational functions relate to the developmental pattern of the
organisation in the market economy. The growth of business organisations in the manufacturing
industry provide the companies to strategically develop their production and collection process in
a way so that there are no excess of raw materials or there is no shortage of raw materials for the
production of new products for the organisation (Fercoq et al., 2016). The development of
manufacturing organisations in the market economy through the implementation of just-in-time
process and waste reduction strategy ensures the organisations follow a sustainable business
procedure.
11. Three methods managers can adjust for Capacity Management in operations
The three methods, which the managers of Barclays Plc can implement for adjusting Capacity
Management in operations, are as follows:
 Just in time
This approach will be useful in decreasing the time within the system of production. The
managers of the Barclays Plc with the assistance of this approach will be able to carry out
capacity management in the operations of the organisation.
 Total Quality Management
This structured approach will assist the Barclays Plc with managing the overall organisation. The
concentration of this process is on enhancing the quality of the company’s outputs, which is
inclusive of the services that they provide, though consistent enhancement of internal practices.
 Kaizen

Thorough this method, the managers in the Barclays Plc can create continuous improvement
based on the concept that small and ongoing transformations can bring major enhancements
within the company.
12. A short conclusion with your personal evaluation on the role of managers and leaders
The managements have to think of new rules and it is seen that the TQM adaptation and Just-in-
time approach have made proper development in the services. The management skills have to be
evaluated in accordance with the issue management process. Costing related issues might arise
but it can be concluded that the business objective management is something highly important to
make proper modifications in the marketing segment. The considered capacity management
methods are effective as well and in this manner, the company will have better return on
investment.

LO2 and LO4
1. An introduction of your selected organisation
The Barclays Plc is a British Investment bank, which has a global presence in fourteen different
countries from the continents of America, Asia, and Europe. The company was established on
17th November 1960. Currently, the headquarters of the business is situated in the city of London
in the United Kingdom. The operating income of the Barclays Plc is more than £3 billion in the
past year and the organisation generates over than £20 billion revenue on a yearly basis
(Home.barclays, 2019).
2. An explanation of your department including the role in operations
The organization of Barclays is delving in the business performances of financial services
(Culpepper and Reinke, 2016). The concerned department in the report would include the
marketing and sales operations. The operations in the department include the facets of consumer
profiling, sales forecasting and the efficacies of reviewing the customer feedbacks. The
consumer profiling techniques is one of the highly faceted prospects that are reciprocated by the
department of Barclays in the finance industry. The organization has been implemented with the
instantiations of Google Analytics in the operations of consumer profiling that would serve to the
aspects of appropriate learning in the prospect of consumer inclinations and the prevalent
changes in the disposable income. The marketing manager plays an important role in the proper
functioning of the operations as the processes are quite complex and could only be managed with
the assertions in the setting up of Standardization of Procedure (SOP) by the efficacies of the
marketing manager.
3. Discuss the background of your management team in this department
The aspect covers on the prowess of the marketing team members, which are comprised of seven
individuals coming through the ranks of financial marketing. Most of the individual have
completed their undergraduate and post graduate from the prestigious institutions of Cambridge
and Oxford. Three of the team members have been flourishing in their career prospects in the
fields of promotional practices and the data analytics. The employees come with experience on
their back and serve the exquisite financial institutions such as RBL, Standard Chartered and

ABN - AMRO. The team has been recently developing the terms of instantiating data
management system to indentify the consumer faction who are availing loans in the prevalence
of economic recession. The management had previously received a sustainable number of
accolades by the imperative integration of the database systems with the consumer profiling
techniques.
4. Discuss two strength and two weaknesses of your leadership approaches
The situational leadership approach that is demonstrated in the organization of Barclays is
reflected by the changing the leadership roles in accordance to the prevalent economic recession.
Advantages Disadvantages
 The approach has been helpful to the
creation of positive organizational culture
of the organisation, even in the ongoing
backdrops of the reduced disposable
income. This includes the manager and
leadership roles of alleviating the
employee relations through the vocational
eloquence (Thompson and Glasø, 2014).
 The training programs at Barclays in the
sales forecasting has received boost with
the accommodation of the knowledge in
reduced taxation rates and hike in
minimum wage ratios in the economic
policies.
 The focus is on the subjects of the
immediate needs instead of the addressing
the long term goals that is quite necessary
to the propagation in the roles of the
financial industry. This managerial
assertion of devising the sales forecasting
model is featured with the absence of the
outcomes that are associated with the
formation of Brexit.
 It develops an image of corporate
dependency. This has an adverse impact
because the team members become reliant
on the leader and diminish their growth as
potential leader.
Table 1: Advantages and Disadvantages of Situational Leadership
(Source: Created By Learner)
The advents of transformational leadership has been implicated at Barclays in order to identify
the possible prospects who would take up the role of the leader in the future to provide
sustainability to the operations