Corus: Tata Steel Company Management Operations Report

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Corus: Tata Steel Company
MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................. 2
LO1................................................................................................................................................. 4
P1. DETERMINE AND COMPARE THE ROLES OF A LEADER AND FUNCTIONS OF MANAGER.....4
LO2................................................................................................................................................. 8
P2. ROLE OF A LEADER AND FUNCTIONS OF MANAGER IN THE CONTEXT OF ORGANISATION. 8
P3. APPLICATIONS OF DIFFERENT APPROACHES AND MODELS.................................................9
LO3............................................................................................................................................... 12
P4. APPROACHES OF MANAGEMENT OPERATIONS AND THE ROLE THAT MANAGERS AND
LEADERS PLAY.......................................................................................................................... 12
P5. IMPORTANCE AND VALUE OF OPERATION MANAGEMENT IN ACHIEVING THE
ORGANIZATION GOAL..............................................................................................................15
LO4............................................................................................................................................... 16
P6. ASSESSING THE EXTERNAL FACTORS OF BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT THAT INFLUENCE
DECISION-MAKING PROCESS OF LEADERS AND MANAGERS...................................................16
CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................... 18
REFERENCES.................................................................................................................................19

INTRODUCTION
Management in an organization is associated with the planning of goals and objectives of the
company (Drucker, 2012). While, leadership can be defined as the art of motivating and
encouraging the employees for the achievement of goals and objectives of the organization
(Selznick, 2011). Leadership and management both play a crucial role in the performance of the
organization. In this assignment working and functioning of leaders and managers has been
analysed. Role of a leader and the working of managers will be explained in the assignment in
context with Corus: part of TATA Steel Group. Corus was the second-largest steel producer of
Europe which was acquired by TATA Steel in 2007.

LO1.
P1. DETERMINE AND COMPARE THE ROLES OF A LEADER AND FUNCTIONS OF
MANAGER
MANAGER
Manager can be defined as the backbone of any organization. Manager formulates the policies
and strategies for the success, growth and development of the organization. From the
formulation of policies to the evaluation of the performance of employees, all the activities
have been performed by the manager. Hence, management can be defined as planning,
organizing, controlling and directing of human as well as natural resources of the organization.
According to Mintzberg, there are some roles which have to be performed by the managers.
These roles are as given below –
MINTZBERG ROLES OF A MANAGER
According to Mintzberg, there are ten roles which must be performed by the managers (Kumar,
2015). These ten managerial roles have been subdivided into three categories:
Interpersonal contacts – it focuses on the establishment and maintenance of the relation
between the internal and external people of the business and the managers of the
organization. Under this category, three roles have been defined. These are figurehead, leader
and liason. According to the figurehead role, the manager of the organization is the
representative of the organization in both the outside and inside the business world. While as a
leader the manager has to encourage and motivate the employees so that their performance
could be enhanced. Liason is a condition where the manager has to act as the link between the
higher authorities and the low-level employees of the organization (Kumar, 2015).
Information processing – in this role the manager used to analyse and pass the information.
Since they are the intermediary persons between the higher authorities and the subordinates,
therefore, they have to transfer and receive information in the organization. Monitor,
disseminator and spokesman are the roles which have been performed by the manager under
this category. The managers have to collect information from internal as well as the outside

sources of the business. The information collected should be relevant to the business. While
monitoring the internal performance the manager can easily analyse the strengths and the
weaknesses of the working. While disseminator is a role during which the manager has to
transfer the necessary information to the employees of the organization. While acting as the
spokesperson of the organization the manager has to represent the organization in the outside
business world (Kumar, 2015).
Decision making – it is the most important role of the organization which has been carried out
by the manager. The managerial roles defined by Mintzberg which falls under the category of
decision making are entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource navigator and negotiator. As
an entrepreneur, the manager has to formulate and develop the strategies and policies of the
business. as a disturbance handler, the manager has to answer about the unexpected and
sudden breakdowns of the business. While as a resource allocator the manager has to control
and manage the availability of resources in the organization. As a negotiator, the manager
involves other companies and represents the organization (Kumar, 2015).
LEADER
According to Charles handy leader can be defined as the one who shapes and shares a vision
which gives a point to the work of others.
According to Hosking “leaders are those who consistently give their contributions to social
order, and who are expected and perceived to do so”.
Performance of the employees has been controlled and managed by the leaders of the
organization. a leader possesses multiple leadership qualities which help in motivating and
encouraging the employees.
ROLES OF A LEADER
Motivating the employees – the primary and basic function of the leader is to motivate the
employees. Leaders can use different techniques and tools for motivating employees.
Motivating the employees helps in enhancing their performance so that the goals and
objectives can be achieved (Diefendorff and Chandler, 2011).

Boosting the morale of the employees – providing motivation also helps in boosting the morale
and the confidence of the employees. It also helps in improving the performance of employees.
Working of all the employees should be focused on the achievement of a common goal (Rawat,
2015).
Providing direction – employees should be very clear about their roles and responsibilities.
Therefore the manager has to define their duties and roles and also clarify the goals of the
organization. An efficient leader must provide direction and required pieces of training to the
employees (MALOŞ, 2012).
SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE LEADER AND MANAGERS
Difference between the leader and the manager
MANAGER LEADER
The main motive is to ensure the proper
functioning of the operations of the business.
A leader is responsible for the performance of
the employees.
Ensure the growth and profits of the
organization.
Ensures the growth and development of the
employees.
The function is to manage and control the
activities of the business.
Their function is to motivate and encourage
employees.
They develop and focus on the achievement of
long term goals.
They develop short term goals and ensures
the achievement of these goals.
Manager can also be a good leader. But a leader cannot be a manager.
They are the risk-takers. They are the innovators.
Enjoys more powers and authorities. Works under the manager.
They organize human resource. They direct the human resource.
They monitor the result. They are responsible for the result.
Table 1: Difference between a leader and a manager
Source: [Surbhi, 2018]
Similarities between the leaders and the managers
Similarities between the leaders and the managers are as follows –

 The function of both the leaders and the managers is to supervise the people or the teams
of the organization.
 Both are responsible for evaluating the working of the employees (Popovici, 2012).
 Both must have effective communication skills for the dissemination of information and
goals of the business.
 Both works for the achievement of the goals and objectives of the business (Popovici,
2012).

LO2.
P2. ROLE OF A LEADER AND FUNCTIONS OF MANAGER IN THE CONTEXT OF
ORGANISATION
ROLE OF LEADER
Motivation – leaders are responsible for motivating and encouraging employees. Leaders of
Corus foster teamwork and also encourage the employees to act pace, pride and passion
(Herzberg, 2017). Leaders of Corus provide various training opportunities to their employees to
develop and enhance their capability of working (TATA steel, 2019).
Innovation – Strategy of market differentiation has been pursued by the leaders of Corus,
which is focused on maximising sales of differentiated products and services. Corus which is a
part of TATA Steel Company researches to get knowledge about the manufacturing and product
technology. The company also aims at improving sustainability through the life cycles of the
products of the company (Drucker, 2014). The company continuously develops new ideas for
improving the quality of their products so that their customers can get maximum satisfaction
from the services and products offered by the company (TATA steel, 2019).
Communicating vision – leaders should explain the vision, mission and objectives of the Corus
to the employees. It helps the employees to work according to the expectations of the
management. There are five main strategic priorities of the company in Europe which are
customer focus, innovation, operational excellence, responsibility and people (Sethi and
Adhikari, 2012). Along with their customer's safety of their team is their priority (TATA steel,
2019).
Seeking solutions – in case of any problem or dispute the leader has to provide the solutions
for the conflicts. For the smooth functioning of Corus, the leaders used to analyze the problems
and try to find the root cause of the problem. Leaders of Corus does not tolerate any type of
misconduct o misbehave of their employees in the organization. They used to analyze all the
facts related to the problem and then finds a solution and take appropriate measures for the
problems (TATA steel, 2019).

FUNCTIONS OF MANAGER
Planning – board of directors of Corus are focused on maintaining long term relations with their
employees. Along with it, their focus is to capture the most demanding markets of the world.
Therefore the managers of the company need effective and strategic planning to achieve their
goals. For achieving their goals Corus have to adopt different product differentiation policies
and other policies which would aim at achieving the most demanding market (Steiner, 2010).
Organising – in Europe Tata Steel operates its rolling mills and coating lines. Therefore the
managers of Corus have to organize the functions of these operations. The managers have to
maintain and organize the process of distribution and manufacturing. In addition to this, the
managers also have to focus on the availability of resources and required materials for the
production and different operations (Strydom, 2011).
Staffing – for capturing the most demanding market and to increase their sales and profits
Corus have to recruit the most talented and appropriate people for the company. Staffs are the
backbone of any organization so the process of recruiting employees at Corus must be done
very carefully. The function of recruitment and selection of appropriate employees for the
Corus has to be performed by the managers of the Corus (Noe et al., 2017).
Directing – the managers of Corus should direct their team towards the achievement of the
goals. The managers have to ensure proper functioning at the organization, therefore, they
must direct and motivate the employees so that Corus can capture the most demanding
market.
Controlling – the managers have to evaluate a monitor the performance of the employees.
Managers of Corus also keep records of the performances of the employees. Being the
responsible authority of the company the managers have to look after the overall working of
the organization (Kerzner, 2017).
P3. APPLICATIONS OF DIFFERENT APPROACHES AND MODELS
Situational leadership – it can be defined as the adaptive style of leadership in which the leader
has to adjust his style of working according to the needs of the team. Here in this style the
followers or the team does not adapt the style of the leaders but the leaders have to change

their styles of leadership to co-operate with the employees. Leaders of Corus can use this style
of leadership in their working culture as there might be some situations where the leaders may
have to change their style of working according to the needs of the employees (Anthony, 2019).
Strengths of situational leadership
 It helps in creating a comfortable working environment for the employees.
 Also helps in enhancing the awareness of the leaders and helps the team to maintain proper
co-ordination in working (Thompson and Glasø, 2015).
Weaknesses of situational leadership
 Based on the skills of the leaders.
 May create complexity and confusion among the employees and within the organization
(Thompson and Glasø, 2015).
System leadership – it is related to the behaviour of the human resource of an organization.
Here the leaders use different techniques to study the behaviour of the members of their team.
Adapting this leadership style in the organization ensure the full utilization of the potential of
the team in the operations of Corus. For certain situations, this leadership style can be adapted
in the environment of Corus as it may help the leaders in controlling the errors which can be
made by the employees. By studying the behaviour and working style of the employees the
leaders must be aware of their strengths and weaknesses which would help them in the
improvement of the performance (Giltinane, 2013).
Strengths of system leadership approach
 Helps in increasing the adaptability of the employees concerning the changes in the
organization.
 Focuses on the development of both the individual and the organization.
Weaknesses of system leadership approach
 It is inappropriate for smaller organizations.
 Results in the slow process of decision making.
Contingency leadership – according to this style of leadership the effectiveness of leaders is not
depended on the qualities and abilities possessed by the leader. Although the environment and

the situations in which a leader works affects the success of the leader. Therefore the company
must have a friendly environment in their working culture. Corus can also adapt this leadership
style in their working culture, it would help in achieving the goals and targets of the company
(Lorsch, 2010).
Strengths of the contingency approach
 This approach changes according to the conditions. It is flexible and dynamic.
 It provides multiple options for growth and development to the employees.
Weaknesses of the contingency approach
 Managers are sometimes unable to handle the situations.
 Sometimes the managers lack in the availability of skills which are required to handle the
situation.

LO3.
P4. APPROACHES OF MANAGEMENT OPERATIONS AND THE ROLE THAT
MANAGERS AND LEADERS PLAY
Operation management is an important aspect of which helps in the management of the firm. It
is related to all the operations of the organization. It manages the relation between the
production and the working of the organization. Operations of the management are concerned
with the conversion of raw materials, resources and labour into final and finished goods. There
are some approaches related to management operations. These approaches are as follows –
TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT
It is a management approach which is centred towards the customers and aims at providing the
best quality services to the customers. It focuses on enhancing the quality of the products by
reducing the scope of errors and mistakes. There are 8 principles which define the total quality
management (Oakland, 2014). These principles are as follows –
Customer-focused – the customer is the ultimate person for whom the organization is working
for. To provide maximum satisfaction to its customers the company uses different techniques
and tools. Apart from the improvement in the production process the company also focuses on
the development of their employees, this is done with the help of pieces of training, and other
learning programmes (Oakland, 2014).
Total employee involvement – since human capital is considered as the most important asset
of the organization, therefore, it is necessary to involve the employees in the working of the
organization. Managers and leaders must ensure the engagement of employees (Oakland,
2014).
Process centred – the working of the organization must be centred towards the achievement of
the goals and targets of the business. All the operations must be fulfilled effectively in the
organization (Oakland, 2014).
Fact-based decision making – the formation of new and effective policies should be based on
the previous researches and the data. For this, the organization should take the feedback of the