Unit 4 Management and Operations: John Lewis Case Study (Merit)

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JOHN - UNIT 4 MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS {MERIT}
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Table of Contents
Task 1: Report..................................................................................................................................3
Introduction......................................................................................................................................5
LO1. Analysing the differences between the role of leaders and functions of manager.................5
P1. Defining and comparing roles and characteristics of leaders and managers.........................5
M1. Analysing and differentiating the roles of leaders and functions of manager by applying
theories.........................................................................................................................................6
LO2. Application of leadership role and management functions in John Lewis plc.......................7
P2. Situational application of leadership and management in the organisation...........................7
P3. Application of situational leadership, contingency theory and systems leadership in
operational management..............................................................................................................9
M2. Assessing and evaluating strengths and weaknesses of the approaches in different
environmental situation..............................................................................................................10
D1. Critical analysis and evaluation of the approaches and theories of leadership...................11
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................11
Task 2: Presentation.......................................................................................................................13
Introduction....................................................................................................................................13
LO3. Demonstrating appreciation to leadership roles and management functions in
organisational operations...............................................................................................................13
P4. Explaining key approaches to operational management with the role of managers and
leaders in it.................................................................................................................................13
P5. Explaining the significance of operations management to achieve organisational objectives
....................................................................................................................................................14
M3. Evaluation of ways to improve operational management efficiencies to achieve business
objectives...................................................................................................................................15
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LO4. Demonstrating comprehension about relationship between management and leadership in
contemporary business environment.............................................................................................16
P6. Assessing impact of business environmental factors on operational management and
decision-making.........................................................................................................................16
M4. Analysing the impact of factors on business environment and community.......................17
D2. Critical evaluation of the application of operations management and the impact of factors
on business environment............................................................................................................17
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................17
Reference list.................................................................................................................................19
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Task 1: Report
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Executive summary
The task provides a study of operational management of John Lewis organisation along with the
roles of managers as well as leaders in the company. Difference between roles of managers and
leaders has been provided here along with their definitions. Goal setting theory has been used
here in order to set the goals of business of the company by managers. Teamwork theory has
been examined here in order to develop the performance of employees of the company along
with the stages such as forming, storming, forming and performing. Situational, system and
contingency approach of leadership have been discussed here to understand the effective
management of operational of business.
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Introduction
Function of the business related to planning, coordinating, organising as well as controlling
resources of an organisation effectively is called operation management. The objective of
operation management is to produce effective products on time. In this study, process of
operational management of John Lewis Partnership is going to be discussed along with leaders’
role and managers’ function in operation management. John Lewis is a retail organisation of UK
that provides various products such as clothes, jewellery, watches, cosmetics, foods and financial
services. The company has turnover of around £11.7bn and around 83,900 employees in UK
(johnlewispartnership.co.uk, 2019). Situational, system and Contingency theory of leadership are
also going to be discussed here.
LO1. Analysing the differences between the role of leaders and functions of
manager
P1. Defining and comparing roles and characteristics of leaders and managers
Leaders as well as managers are important part of business and their functions play effective role
in achieve objective of business. As stated by Slack et al. (2013), managers of an organisation is
responsible for managing the business, making strategies, creating system, directing employees
and having control of the business. Leader has the responsibility to motivate and guide
employees in order to achieve aim of business. In case of John Lewis, both managers and leaders
perform their functions effectively to manage business operations so that the company can
achieve its aim of business. Managers of the company use to make strategies to achieve objective
of business. In accordance to Swink et al. (2017), leaders use to guide the employees the
effective way to work to achieve the goals. The difference between roles of managers and leaders
are as follows
Leader’s roles Manager's functions
● Leaders of John Lewis are responsible ● Managers of the company have the
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for creating vision of business.
● As commented by Akhtar et al.
(2018), the characteristics of leaders
grow with time at the time of working.
● Leaders of the company have built
effective relationship with employees.
● Leaders use to influence employees
for work by their knowledge and
behaviour.
● Transformational leadership is used by
leaders of the company.
● Leaders of the company are concerned
about development and growth of
team members.
responsibility to create goals of
business.
● As influenced by Anand and Gray
(2017), the characteristic of managers
are based on proven skills that do not
change or improve.
● Managers of the company have built
process and system.
● Managers of the company use to
control the employees to achieve their
goals.
● Transactional leadership is used by
managers of the company.
● Managers are only concerned about
achieving expected results.
Table 1: Comparison of Leaders’ role and manager’s function
(Source: Influenced by Anand and Gray, 2017)
M1. Analysing and differentiating the roles of leaders and functions of manager by
applying theories
Managers and leaders of an organisation have the responsibility to manage operational process in
effective way so that organisation can achieve its aim of business. The reason behind the success
of John lewis is its effective leadership and management. In John Lewis, managers uses to set
goals of the business and leaders empower employees to achieve the goals. Goal Setting Theory
can be used by managers of the company to set goals of business. As per this theory, challenging
as well as specific goals with effective feedback helps in better and higher performance of task
(Bititci et al. 2016). Management of the company needs to provide challenging goals to
employees and leaders and monitor their performance in order to achieve expected objective of
business. Leaders of the company use to motivate employees and guide them in effective way so
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that employees can also be developed and the company can achieve its objective. Teamwork
Theory of Tuckman can be used in order to develop the team to achieve objective of business.
As per this theory, the stages of team development are forming, storming, norming and
performing (Genovese et al. 2017). Leaders of the company can use this theory in order to
develop the employees for achieving objective of business.
LO2. Application of leadership role and management functions in John Lewis
plc
P2. Situational application of leadership and management in the organisation
Situational leadership and management are implemented to adapt to organizational situations to
direct the performance to achieve organisational objectives. Different leadership styles and
management functions are responsible for guiding organisational operations to make the
development fluent and obtain desired profitability. As mentioned by Storey (2016), operational
management through suitable decision-making and management strategies, organisational
development can be enriched as it influences positive growth of performance and productivity. In
John Lewis plc, profit level dived 99% to profit of £1.2 million due to the surging costs; this is
decreased by 13% (theguardian.com, 2018). Moreover, the shift to online shopping craze has
required operations management in the marketing and sales department. The effective
implementation of functional management strategies for incorporating IT systems for online
sales has increased the sales up to 7.4%. The IT system mediated distribution facilities and home
deliveries have helped in increasing customer satisfaction and sales. Therefore, the
implementation of online marketing strategies has affected the sales and the revenue of the
company.
The issues of decreasing profit level can be reasoned with increasing competition with
Debenhams, Ocado, House of Fraser and Lazada. Increased digitisation of the marketing
opportunities and Brexit uncertainty has directed the sales to go downwards. The implementation
of contingency approach to leadership style and management to deal with the sudden crisis has
supported enhancement of performance and integration of innovation in marketing and
management of sales effectively. As commented by Nawaz and Khan (2016), analysing the
situation and reflecting upon it can provide a management strategy that is efficient in providing
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solutions and manage company growth. Delegating responsibilities and encouraging
communication to increase organizational commitment and involvement. Implementation of
contemporary theories can help in managing productivity through motivational support,
performance enhancement and eliminating change resistance among employees. Therefore,
effective communication and organisational environment can help in gaining advantage over the
threats.
On the other hand, Dunne et al. (2016) explained that the classic management theory is efficient
in achieving objective oriented organisational operations and spontaneous achievement of goals.
The productivity of the company has lowered by one-third of its production of previous year.
The distant attitude of 29% of shareholders reduced the profit by 23.4% at the retail stores.
However, the management of online marketing increase profit by 10.8% (financialtimes.com,
2017). The application of classical management of company policies about the profit sharing and
management of shareholders slightly enhanced the situation. In addition, the management of
storefronts and service quality has helped in cost management and performance improvement.
Moreover, the behavioural theory can help in gaining advantage over the increasing influence of
online shopping. The decreasing performance and motivation among employee and shareholder
can be improved with the modification of the leadership style. As mentioned by Dartey-Baah
(2015), participative leadership style can help in improving employee engagement in decision-
making and project management through differential opinions. This strategy has helped in
reducing product cost for John Lewis plc, making it more preferable by the customers
(johnlewispartnership.co.uk, 2019). The new product of ‘fitted kitchen service’ has been
introduced as a result of innovative approach and employee involvement that involved trend
specific approach to increase market share. Nonetheless, the management and leaders are needed
to analyse the current context of the business environment and possible operations involving the
stakeholders to make operational activities profitable for the company. The applied theory of
management and leadership also directs the management strategies to make the changes as
required and profitable for the company.
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P3. Application of situational leadership, contingency theory and systems leadership in
operational management
Figure 1: Application of theories for operations management
(Source: Influenced by Iqbal, 2015:3)
Situational leadership
The model of situational leadership is effective in managing the variables such as stakeholders,
performance and resources to archive the determined goals. As described by Iqbal (2015),
situational leadership model supports the management of issues in a contemporary and applied
method as it evaluates a situation and derives suitable solutions for it. Based on the situations, the
leadership styles have to be modified to share responsibilities and manage performances to make
the operations on track. On the other hand, Almutairi (2016) stated that the competence of the
leader deeply affects the management of the issues. In John Lewis plc, the management of then
dropping profit and indifferent attitude of shareholders are regulated by the application of a
mixed approach of participating, delegation and close supervision of responsibilities and
performance.
Transformational leadership
This kind of leadership strategies is effective in motivating employees and organising the
operational activities based on set goals. The management of employee motivation and
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LeadershipandmanagementSituationalTransformationalContingencySystem

involvement through increasing self-interest influence performance enhancement and
management of productivity. As cited by Dunne et al. (2016), transformational leadership is only
effective in managing the performance and engaging employees for the enhancement of
company outcomes. However, the issues for John Lewis plc involve the management of
shareholders, incorporation of e-commerce and management of profit by improving the retail
stores. These issues needed decision-making in relation to policy modification and management
of responsibilities. These operations through required employee involvement, however, the
process is to be regulated by the authorities solely.
Contingency theory
The contingency theory of leadership involves the management of situation based on the
adaptability of the company and human resource. As commented by Storey (2016), situation and
environment management can help in performance improvement among co-workers, making the
business successful. It emphasises on the leader-worker relationship, structure of tasks and
positional power to develop a situation that facilitates the growth of the company. John Lewis
can facilitate improvement in company growth through this method of leadership.
System theory
System theory focuses on communication among human resource to make the situational
beneficial for the company. John Lewis plc has applied this theory to communicate the present
threats of e-commerce and increasing competition among Debenhams and Ocado to undertake
strategies that can help in improving the scope of the company in the business market. It has also
helped in increasing profit rate by 3.9% in the last financial year (johnlewispartnership.co.uk,
2019). Through communication online shopping and production at low cost can be adapted by
the operations department effectively.
M2. Assessing and evaluating strengths and weaknesses of the approaches in different
environmental situation
Leaders as well as managers of an organisation need to apply their leadership styles on the basis
of situation faced by them. Situational leadership can be helpful for them in managing situation
of the organisation (Schedlitzki and Edwards, 2016). Managers and leaders of John Lewis need
to observe the situation and then make strategies to deal with the situation. Comfortable
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environment can be created in the organisation with the help of situational leadership. As stated
by Hitt et al. (2016), effective team can be created with the help of situational leadership. On the
other hand, long term goals can be difficult to achieve with the help of situational leadership and
conflicts can arise in the organisation by using the leadership style. System approach of
leadership can be beneficial in creating effective system in an organisation.
Managers of John Lewis can use system leadership to create effective system in the organisation
to manage operational process of business. This leadership helps in managing effective
communication in the organisation so that all tasks can be performed effectively. On the other
side, conflicts and challenges can be faced by employees in case they are not able to follow the
system of the organisation. As commented by Ho et al. (2017), leaders need to guide the
employees to follow the system to manage operational process in effective way. Contingency
approach of leadership helps in providing equal opportunity to employees in order to take part in
business decision. Managers of the company need to apply new strategies for managing business
process. Employees get the opportunity to develop their skills as well as knowledge with the help
of this leadership approach. On the other hand, managers and leaders can face difficulties in
handling different strategies of operation management with this leadership approach.
D1. Critical analysis and evaluation of the approaches and theories of leadership
Different approaches of leadership are situational, system as well as contingency (Hübner et al.
2015). These approaches can be helpful for John Lewis in order to mage operation of business in
effective way. Situational approach can be helpful for the company in dealing with difficult
situation. On the other hand, conflicts can arise by managing operational process with the help of
situational approach. Managers can create system to manage operational with the help of system
approach but if system is not effective then confusion can arise in the business. Contingency
approach can be helpful to provide learning opportunities to employees but business can be
impacted by investing time and money in development process.
Conclusion
It can be concluded from the task that leaders and managers play effective roles in managing
operations of business. Leaders of John Lewis use to empower employees by building effective
relationship with them and praising them. Managers of the company use to create system in the
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