Report: Management and Operations of Harrods Department Store (Unit 4)

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the management and operations of Harrods, a renowned department store. It begins by examining the organizational structure, highlighting the hierarchical system and its advantages. The report then delves into the roles of managers and leaders, differentiating between management and leadership functions, and exploring how they address issues like conflict management and labor turnover. Various leadership approaches, including situational, system, and contingency leadership, are evaluated, along with their strengths and weaknesses. The impact of managers and leaders on the organization is discussed, with recommendations for improvement. The second part of the report focuses on key operational aspects such as people management, supply chain, cash operations, and promotions. It describes the roles and responsibilities of managers in these operational functions and the impact of external environmental factors on decision-making. Finally, the report suggests operational efficiencies to meet business objectives and concludes with recommendations for future improvements, emphasizing the importance of a positive work environment and clear communication.

Unit 4 - Management and Operations

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
PART-A...........................................................................................................................................3
Organisational structure..........................................................................................................3
Roles of managers and leaders, differences between management and leadership...............4
Different roles of management and leadership in different organisation situations...............5
Strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to leadership and management ..............6
Impact of managers and leaders on the organisation and recommendations ........................7
PART- B..........................................................................................................................................8
Key operations of the organisation.........................................................................................8
Roles and responsibilities of managers in key operational functions.....................................9
Key operational approaches to operations management........................................................9
Impact of external environment factors that affect decision-making of leaders and managers10
Operational efficiencies to successfully meet business objectives ......................................11
Conclusion and recommendation for future improvement...................................................12
REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Management and operation refers to the business practices which creates the high level of
efficiency that is possible in the company (Abou-Senna and et.al., 2018). It includes converting
raw materials into goods and services to increase the profit of the organisation and helps in
creating good image. Harrods is a private company founded in the year 1849 by Charles Henry
Harrod. Its headquarters is loacted on Brompton Road in Knights bridge, London, England.
In the present report, management structure of Harrods is discussed. Roles of managers
and leaders and the differences between management and leadership is described. Analysis of
different roles of management and leadership in different organisations situations, is discussed.
Strengths and weaknesses of Harrods is described.
PART-A
Organisational structure
An organisational structure refers to the system that provides outlines regarding how
activities are managed or directed to achieve the organisational goals and objectives. Activities
involves roles and responsibilities that are distributed among the members to accomplish goals of
the company. In Harrods company there is formal organisational structure which is followed by
all the members of the company. The company has made hierarchical structure in which the
information and instructions are given by top level managers to middle and lower level managers
(Burns., 2018).
Hierarchical organisational structure refers to pyramid shaped chart in which the chain of
command is followed. In this structure the information flows from top level to lower level i.e.,
from the manager or CEO to the low level workers. In hierarchical structure every employee is
having supervisor to whom they have to report. Its advantages are, it defines better level of
authority and responsibility as proper chain of command is followed, it clearly shows that which
person will report to whom so it reduces confusion, it motivates employees with defining clear
paths and more chances of promotion.

Functional organisational structure is similar to hierarchical but in this responsibility goes
from the top to down level. In this employees are managed according to their skills and functions
performed by them in the company. It encourages specialization, it helps teams feel self
motivated and determined (Choi., Wallace and Wang., 2018).
In Harrods company, hierarchical organisational structure is followed in which the
information flows from top level to bottom level. In the company proper flow of information is
done and there is no confusion regarding the work as every employee is given instruction by an
individual person and they follow guidelines to achieve the objectives of the company.
Roles of managers and leaders, differences between management and leadership
The primary functions of a manager is planning, organising, leading and controlling. A
manager has to perform interpersonal roles, sign legal documents, perform social functions,
solve the problems of the subordinates and employees (Clemm., Zhani and Boutaba., 2020).
Manager of Harrods motivate their workers to perform well so that organisational goals
may be achieved and they also hire good employees for their company. They also perform
informational roles as they collect all the information from the company and give instructions to
subordinates. They play the role of mediator as they are receiving information from top level and
proving guidelines according to that.
Basis for comparison Management Leadership
Meaning It refers to controlling group of
entities to achieve
organisational goals.
It is the ability to influence or
convince members to achieve
company's goals.
Role The main role performed by
manager is planning,
organising, leading and
controlling.
The main role of a leader is to
motivate and influence
employees to perform best.
Delegate responsibility Manager do not delegate its Leader is a good mentor and

power to employees and
performs the role as staffing
manager.
communicator. Leader
delegates its powers to
members.
Various roles played Manager plays role of
figurehead, leader, liaison,
monitor, disseminator,
spokesperson, entrepreneur,
disturbance handler
Leader motivates employees
to focus on goal, setting new
targets, providing resources
that are required.
Power Rules which are made by
company are followed by
employees.
No rules are made by leader
and employees are free to take
decisions.
Different roles of management and leadership in different organisation situations
In the organisation sometimes there are issues that arise like, conflicts among employees,
change management, labour turnover and environmental factors. In these various situation
manager and leader plays an important role in solving the issues and conflicts (Enyinda., 2017).
Conflict management: In the organisation due to any reason conflicts arise between
employees. So, it is the responsibility of manager and team leader to solve the issues. In Harrods
company, manager handles the conflicts and resolve the issue quickly. Manager investigates the
reason behind the conflict, ask questions to employees working their to know that actually what
is the matter and listen carefully.
A leader will resolve the issue or conflicts by listening to the issue and take views from
team members regarding the conflict. Leader of Harrods company solve the conflict by
maintaining boundaries and motivate employees to focus on their goal. To avoid conflicts leader
will create a healthy environment like treat everyone equally, provide them recognition,
appreciate their work, delegate some powers to team members.
Labour turnover : In an organisation generally, employee wants good working
environment and job satisfaction. Manager plays a crucial role in retaining employees and

satisfying them by encouraging them for the work they have done. They give rewards or bonuses
to employees when they achieve goal of the company. In Harrods company, employees are
satisfied and enjoy working in the organisation as behaviour of manager is good and appreciate
the performance of employees which decreases employee turnover in the company.
Leader of Harrods company influences and motivate the employees to accomplish
organisational goals. Leader gives team members some rights and distribute responsibilities
equally. Employees feel motivated and this reduces labour turnover ratio of the company and
creates good image in the market (Fahimnia and et.al., 2019).
Strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to leadership and management
 Situational leadership: It is a type of leadership style that encourages leaders in
taking details of team members, find out many variables in the workplace and
select best leadership style for the organisation. There are two main combinations
of variables i.e., task behaviour and relationship behaviour.
Strengths
Advantages of situational leadership for Harrods company is it helps in identifying the need for
flexibility. It helps managers and leaders in creating safe and healthy environment for the
workers which will help in reduce labour turnover. It helps team members to work better to
achieve the target of the organisation. It increases awareness of the leader of Harrod company as
they have to motivate employees to give their best.
Weakness
Weaknesses of situational leadership for the company is it focuses more on present needs rather
than future needs which can affect company's strategies and policies. This leadership does not
give sufficient information to leaders that can create misunderstanding (Faruk., and et.al., 2018).
 System leadership: It refers to skills that help an organisation or an individual to
enable the system level process.
Strengths: It helps Harrods company to bring innovative product and build decentralized
network. The system leadership increases adaptability of organisation to environmental changes.
Leaders and managers of the organisation takes decisions keeping in mind the environmental
change.

Weakness: The system leadership has some weaknesses such as, the decision making process
can be delayed sometimes as decision is taken after understanding changes in the environment.
 Contingency leadership: This refers to match theory which aims to match
leaders with appropriate situations.
Strengths: This helps Harrods company in identifying the effectiveness of leader. Benefit of this
leadership is it helps in focusing on relationship between the style of leader and demands of
various situations.
Weakness: Disadvantage for the company is that it does not clearly define why some leaders
perform good and not others.
Impact of managers and leaders on the organisation and recommendations
Managers and leaders has a direct relationship with the organisation in achieving success
and goals of the company. Leaders of the Harrods company determines and identifies values,
culture, changes in environment and according to that they give instructions to the employees to
work. Leaders motivate, influence and inspire workers to give their best to accomplish target of
the company (Gölzer and Fritzsche., 2017).
They appraise good performance and sometimes give punishments to workers who are
not doing well and provide them training for improving their performance. Leaders of Harrods
company implement strategies after analysing market situations and changes that takes place in
environment.
Managers has direct impact on the organisation as they are the key source and manages
all the activities in the company. In Harrods company manager is responsible for giving
instructions to the employees for how to perform the work and help in designing organisational
structure. They ensure that there is proper coordination and communication among the
employees, delegates its powers to subordinates and answerable to top level. They take important
decisions which are beneficial for the success of the company. Managers is responsible for
looking after relationship between employees and try to solve the conflicts quickly and
efficiently (Schnepp., Vidal and Hawley., 2017).
Recommendation for future improvements

Leaders of the Harrods company should create a healthy and friendly environment for the
workers so that they enjoy working and give their best. They should also make some rules and
policies to avoid conflicts and confusion. After explaining or giving instructions to team
members it is the responsibility of leader to check that they have understood properly, it will
reduce the chances of misunderstanding.
Managers of Harrods company should improve performance of employee by setting clear
goals and objectives which are to be achieved by the workers. They should conduct frequent
communication with the workers and top level managers, conduct timely performance appraisals
of employees and to measure the performance that they are doing work properly or not.
PART- B
Key operations of the organisation
There are various key operations that are performed by Harrods company, people
management, supply chain, cash operations, promotions, planning, organising, coordinating and
controlling (Keskinocak and Savva., 2020).
People management : In the Harrods company human resource management plays a crucial role
as it is responsible for the recruitment process. In company the new employees who are selected
are given training to make them familiar with the organisational rules, regulations so they can
give their best.
Supply chain : This helps the Harrods company in distribution of its product to reach the final
consumer. The company has agents who are supplying products to the customers. Supply chain
includes different activities such as, information, people and resources.
Cash operations : Cash management is important aspect for every organisation. In Harrod
company cash manager is responsible for managing day to day expenses and management of
cash inflow and outflow. This helps the company in arranging cash if required to meet current
needs or for future needs.
Promotion : It is one of the essential element of marketing mix which focuses on attracting
customers and influence them to purchase the product. Harrod company do promotion by giving
advertisements in newspapers, social networking sites like, Instagram, Facebook. The main
purpose of promotion is to ensure that products are delivered to right consumers.

The other key operations are planning, organising, directing and controlling. In Harrods
company the mangers are responsible for proper planning like arrangement of finance, strategies
for promotion and then organise all the activities properly. After that directions are provided to
employees and proper controlling is done by manager of Harrods company.
Roles and responsibilities of managers in key operational functions
People management: Manager of Harrods company assess the staffing needs in the company,
evaluate performance of employees, supervise staff, maintains record of leaves and holiday of
workers, conduct interviews and select appropriate candidate for the organisation. Human
resource manager is responsible for hiring best candidate and provide them training.
Supply chain : Manager is responsible for controlling manufacture process and delivering
process, planning and implementing strategy for distribution of products and ensure that goals
are achieved. They efficiently resolve issues that arise in the company and interact with vendors
to ensure that quality meet operations.
Cash operations: In Harrods company manager is responsible for managing funds of the
company, allocation of cash, loans, investments and some cash should be kept for meeting daily
expenses. Manager maintains proper record of cash outflow and cash inflow.
Promotion : In Harrods company, managers play an essential role in promotion of the products
and responsible for managing campaigns for promotion of the organisation's product. They make
creative and innovative plans for promotion and advertising such as posters, coupons, offers and
discounts should be given to customers (Kumar., Mookerjee and Shubham., 2018). These are
some ways to attract customers and increase the sales of the organisation.
Key operational approaches to operations management
There are many approaches to operations management are business process redesign, six
sigma, lean manufacturing .
Business Process Redesign: A business process redesign can be defined as improving efficiency
by reducing cost and measure profitability of the company. It is time consuming process and
costly, some companies require review, design and make changes. It is the duty of manager of
Harrods company for redesigning the business by going through some steps like, setting clear
goals, identifying business process, determine the areas where changes are required, design and

develop the changes and last implement the changes. Leaders help in implementing the redesign
process and give instructions to workers to perform best.
Six sigma: It is quality management approach which helps the organisation in making
improvements in current process, products and services to reduce or eliminate defects. It helps
the manager of Harrods company in increasing the performance of the company by increasing
profit, motivate employees to perform good and quality of products are good (Mišić and Perakis.,
2020). Leaders have to check that there is efficient use of resources and minimum waste is being
done.
Lean Manufacturing: This approach focuses on reducing and minimising waste by efficiently
making use of resources. By eliminating defects manager of Harrods company can increase its
profit and customers will be satisfied. Harrods company is applying this approach as it helps the
organisation in increasing productivity, reducing waste and efficient use of resources are done so
that good products can be manufacture. Leaders of the company are responsible for producing
good quality products by making proper utilisation of resources.
Impact of external environment factors that affect decision-making of leaders and managers
External environment factors refers to the factors that are not present within the
organisation but affect the decision-making of leaders and managers of the company. The
environment factors are, political, economical, social, legal, technological and demographic.
Political factor : It refers to factors such as, tax policy, labour law, trade restrictions,
tariffs. These factors are control and decided by government, it affects decision making of
leaders and managers. In Harrods company policies and procedures are made according to rules
of government. When there is change in political factors managers have to make changes in
policies and leaders have to change their decisions by giving new guidelines to its team member
as new rules and regulations are given by government.
Economic factors: These factors include change in economic growth, exchange rates,
inflation rate, interest rate. This affect decision of managers as interest rate will affect the cost of
capital of the organisation and exchange rates will affect exporting of goods and services. In
Harrods company, managers make changes in the interest rate and export rates should be
changed. Decisions of leaders will be affected as they have to make goods regarding new rates of
exchange (Patrinley and et.al., 2020).

Social factor: It includes cultural factors like population growth rate, age distribution,
career attitudes and safety. Manager has to make changes in strategies and adopt new social
trends for the betterment of company.
Legal factor: It includes changes in laws like, discrimination law, consumer law,
employment law and health and safety law. This affect decision making of managers as they
have to apply all these laws in their organisation for the safety and security of employees.
Technological factor: As daily there is rapid change in technology so manager has to be
updated with the latest technology so that company can earn profit. Leaders should also teach its
team members how to use the technology and give them proper training.
Environmental factor : It includes change in weather and climate. According to the
season the demand of the product increase or decrease. Managers of Harrods company, make
strategies according to the need of customer, change in weather and climate
Operational efficiencies to successfully meet business objectives
Business process redesign helps the company in increasing revenue, satisfy more
customers, reduce cost, higher retention of employees by motivating them. This help manager of
Harrods company in redesigning its plans and make necessary changes so that goals and
objectives can be achieved. Leader also make improvements in their working pattern or styles to
accomplish the organisational goals (Sabbaghtorkan., Batta and He., 2020).
Six sigma approach helps in eliminating defects and workers are able to identify the areas
where issues are arising. This approach helps managers to reduce the operational cost and
improve working efficiency of workers.
Leaders of Harrods company apply lean manufacturing approach to increase the productivity and
improve the efficiency. They motivate and influence members to give their best to achieve the
target. Employees are free to make innovation and control the quality of products. (Saucedo-
Martínez and et.al., 2018).
Administrative Management Theory is also an approach which is used by Harrods company to
find a way for designing the organisation. This theory helps the company in forming a structure
which defines a clear division of employees, power and authority are delegated according to the

responsibilities given to the employees. The main elements of administrative theory are planning,
organising, staffing, directing, controlling and coordinating.
Conclusion and recommendation for future improvement
From the report it can be concluded that, there are some key operations that are useful for
Harrods company such as, supply chain, promotion, people management and cash operations.
People management is responsible for recruiting best candidate for the company, manager is
responsible for proper management of cash to meet day to day expenses, supply chain helps in
proper distribution of goods and services. There are some approaches to operation management
that is used by Harrods company to increase revenue, reduce cost and risk, eliminate waste.
Recommendations
Harrods company should use some more approaches to operation management so that
revenue can be increased and productivity will be improved. Company can use reconfigurable
manufacturing systems which will help managers and leaders to adjust with the changes and
maintain its productivity. It helps in making changes in structure according to the changes in the
market conditions.