Analysis of Leadership and Management Theories in British Airways

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LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT FOR SERVICE INDUSTRIES

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................. 2
LO1.................................................................................................................................................3
P1 ASSESS DIFFERENT CLASSICAL MANAGEMENT THEORIES AND APPLY THESE IN A SERVICE
INDUSTRY CONTEXT...................................................................................................................3
P2 EXPLAIN THE ROLE OF THE LEADER AND DIFFERENT LEADERSHIP STYLES IN A SERVICE
SECTOR INDUSTRY CONTEXT..................................................................................................... 7
P3 M1 REVIEW THE MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP STYLES IN A SPECIFIC SERVICE SECTOR
ORGANIZATION........................................................................................................................10
P4 M2 INVESTIGATE THE INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE
MANAGEMENT STYLES AND STRUCTURES IN A SELECTED SERVICE INDUSTRY ORGANIZATION
................................................................................................................................................. 13
LO3 AND LO4 PRESENTATION WITH SLIDE NOTES.......................................................................15
CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................... 29
REFERENCES.................................................................................................................................30

INTRODUCTION
Leadership and management play an essential role in the success and growth of the
organization (Antonakis and Day, 2017). This assignment will be discussing the different types
of approaches and theories of leadership which has been adopted by the organization in order
to manage the business operations accurately. A manager plays an important role in developing
the strategies and plans for the organization by which the employees can attain the goals and
objectives easily. A leader is a person who guides and motivated his subordinates. Leader solves
their problems and issues related to the work. There are different leadership styles adopted by
the leaders in the service industry. This assignment is taking British Airways for understanding
the importance of leadership and management inaccurate way.
British Airways is the largest airline company of UK which provides airline services to the visitors
and travelers (Brown and Bessant, 2013). It was founded on 31st March 1975 and the company
is providing their services from the past 43 years. There are approximately 40,000 employees
working in the company. The revenue and net income of the company are £12,463 million and
£1,856 million as per the data of 2018. The leaders and managers of the company are making
different plans and strategies for enhancing the brand image and sales volume of the
organization (Ballet et al., 2013).

LO1
P1 ASSESS DIFFERENT CLASSICAL MANAGEMENT THEORIES AND APPLY
THESE IN A SERVICE INDUSTRY CONTEXT
There are different classical management theories which are adopted by the managers of
British Airways. Classical management theory has been provided by the Taylor which is really
helpful in maximizing the productivity of the organization (Cherry, 2012). The main aim of
adopting the classical management approach is to attain the goals and objectives easily. This is
one of the most effective approaches which are adopted by the managers of British Airways.
Classical management theory involves proper planning to avoid risk and problems. This
approach is helpful in solving the conflicts between employees by which the managers can
maintain a comfortable and healthy working environment at the workplace. There are different
classical management theories which can be applied in the service industry such as:
SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT THEORY
Fredrick Winslow Taylor is known as the father of scientific management who provided the
theory of scientific management. This is one of the most effective theories of classical
management approach (Colbert et al., 2012). This is the best management theory which is
helpful in managing the business operations. This is also helpful in managing workflows and
improves the productivity of the organization. Accurate management is really helpful in the
service industry to provide demanded services to customers.

Figure- SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT THEORY
Source- Colbert et al., 2012
The manager of British Airways is using the scientific management theory which is helpful in
managing the standard tools and techniques which are essential for the growth of the
organization (Epstein, 2018). It is helpful in motivating the employees for performing better in
their job.
GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGEMENT THEORY
The general administrative theory is provided by Henri Fayol who is known as the father of
modern operational management theory. This theory is helpful in maintaining a balance
between the technical and managerial skills of the individual. In the services industry, this
theory is mainly adopted by organizations (Galloway et al., 2012). British Airways is using this
theory for organizing, commanding, staffing, controlling and planning effectively for the growth
of the organization.

Figure- GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGEMENT THEORY
Source- Eberly and Fong, 2013
THEORY OF BUREAUCRACY
Max Weber has provided the theory of bureaucracy which is really helpful in managing healthy
relations with the employees (Giltinane, 2013). The selection of employees is a tough stage
which is handled by the manager of British Airways. The manager has the responsibility to
select a capable and skilled candidate for the organization who can manage the working culture
of the organization. Employees are the most valuable asset of the organization who helps the
company to attain its goals successfully. This theory will be helpful in managing good relations
with the employees.

Figure- THEORY OF BUREAUCRACY
Source- Ellyson et al., 2012
Thus, these are the most effective and appropriate theory of classical management which can
be helpful for the growth and development of the service industry (Grant et al., 2017). It has
been analyzed that the classical management approach is most suitable for managing the
operations of the service industry.

P2 EXPLAIN THE ROLE OF THE LEADER AND DIFFERENT LEADERSHIP STYLES
IN A SERVICE SECTOR INDUSTRY CONTEXT
There are different roles and responsibilities of a leader. There are different styles and
leadership approaches followed by the leaders of British Airways in order to manage the
employee’s performance (Griffin, 2013). The leadership style needs to be accurate according to
the size, structure, and scope of the organization. It will be helpful in attaining the goals and
targets of the organization easily. The great leaders enhance the motivation level of their
subordinates so that they can develop their skills and abilities. There are different career
development opportunities provided by the leaders of British Airways by which the employee
can enhance their skills and abilities. The different types of leadership styles are described as a
sunder which can be really helpful for the service industry:
Figure- '
AUTOCRATIC LEADERSHIP STYLE
This leadership style is helpful in attaining the organizational goals and objectives easily. The
leaders control their followers and set some specific targets which need to be completed in a
certain time period (Lolli, 2013). In this leadership style, the leaders are able to take decisions in

difficult situations. It has been found that the decisions of autocratic leaders are less creative
than other leaders.
DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP STYLE
Democratic leadership style is one of the most critical and effective leadership styles which are
mainly adopted by many successful leaders. This leadership style is adopted by the leader of
British Airways which is really helpful in enhancing the bonding between the leader and his
subordinates (Lolli, 2013). This is helpful in reducing the conflicts between employees by which
the organization can attain its goals successfully.
PARTICIPATIVE LEADERSHIP STYLE
The participative leadership style is a kind of approach in which the leader allows their
subordinates to perform in the important activities of the organization. The leaders provide
opportunities foer employees to share their opinions and ideas at the time of the decision-
making process. This leadership style positively impacts employees (Northouse, 2018). The
leader of British Airways adopts the participative leadership style and provides different
opportunities to their subordinates.
LAISSEZ-FAIRE LEADERSHIP STYLE
In this leadership style, the leader put all the responsibilities to their subordinates. This
leadership style is different than the other leadership styles (Renko et al., 2015). The leader
does not make decisions for the organization and he leaves the process of decision-making on
the group members. This leadership style brings conflicts between the employees because they
all blame each other for different things.
TRANSACTIONAL LEADERSHIP STYLE
The transactional leadership style views the leader-follower relationship as a transaction. This is
helpful in enhancing the relationship between the employees and the leader. The roles and
responsibilities can be clear with the help of this leadership style (Saghafian et al., 2015).

TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP STYLE
This is one of the most effective leadership styles which are adopted by successful leaders. The
leaders who adopt this leadership style are mainly intelligent, energetic, and passionate
towards their work.
Thus, these are the most common and appropriate leadership styles which can be followed by
the organization which is working in the service industry (Sethuraman and Suresh, 2014). British
Airways adopts the different leadership style in order to handle the different types of situation.
Lastly, it can be said that leadership styles are helpful in guiding and directing the employees in
the right way so that they can attain their targets and goals successfully.

P3 M1 REVIEW THE MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP STYLES IN A SPECIFIC
SERVICE SECTOR ORGANIZATION
There are different management and leadership theory which can be adopted by the leaders
and manager of British Airways (Storey, 2016). It has been observed that the different types of
approaches and techniques of leadership are helpful in managing the different types of
situations of the business. The situational leadership approach is adopted by the leader of
British Airways which is helpful in handling the different types of situations faced by the
organization. A leader is a person who is responsible for managing the different types of
situations of the business. There are some special qualities of a leader which makes him
different than others like:
 Effective communication skills
 Attractive personality
 Problem-solving ability
 Energetic
 Cooperative
 Ability to manage the situation
 Decisive
 Self-confidence
 Positive attitude
 Creative
These are the special qualities of a leader which are helpful in managing the organization and
the business operations successfully (Terwiesch and Cachon, 2012). In this assignment, we are
discussing British Airways in which the leader take really effective decisions by using the
appropriate leadership style. It has been investigated that the leader of British Airway adopted
the situational leadership, transactional and transformational approach.