Management and Operation: Leader vs Manager, Theories, and Approaches

This report delves into the contrasting roles and characteristics of leaders and managers within an organizational context, particularly referencing Marks and Spencer. It highlights the importance of leadership in guiding employees towards organizational goals, emphasizing motivation and responsi...Read More

MANAGEMENT AND
OPERATION

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
P1- Comparing the different roles and characteristics of leader and manager......................1
P2 Role of a leader and the managerial functions in different situations...............................3
P3 Apply theories and models of management with special reference..................................4
P4 Explain the approaches of operational management and role of managers and leaders.. .5
P5 Importance and Value of operation management in achieving business objective...........6
P6 Explain factors that create impact upon operational management and decision making. 7
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Management and Operation executed in the business functions to enhance the efficiency
and affectivity of the organisation. Role played by managers and leaders in the oragnisation is
very important for the growth of the organisation. Leaders are the control unit of any
organization and supervisors are the monitors of the organization. In the city of Westminster,
London Marks and Spencer is a major British multinational company. This report is based on
different roles of leaders and managers, functions of leaders and managers, operational functions
of leaders and managers.
P1- Comparing the different roles and characteristics of leader and manager
Leaders:They are the one who guides the working of the employees concerning the
organizational goals and progress and development of the company. Leaders provide guidance to
the employees regarding their work for accomplishing organization goals. Leaders plays very
important role in motivating employees and creating sense of responsibility among them(Siegel,
2014). They make the employees work in desired manner to achieve the organizational goals.
Setting goals, co-ordinating, directing, motivating, inspiring are some role and responsibilities of
a Leader.
Managers: They are the person in an organization who design and monitor the work of
an organization to achieve the desired goals and objectives. They are the monitoring or managing
unit of the organization, the task of manager is to make plan and strategies which are beneficial
for the organization. The administrators are distributed on different levels in order to manage the
working of the organization. Administrators are also concern with all the benefits related to the
employees and appraisal of the employees.
Managers and Leaders both are the working unit of the organization. Managers manage
the employees in the organization, and leaders lead the employees in the organization.
Roles and Characteristics of Leaders and Managers
Managers and Leaders plays different different role in an organization. It is important for
both manager and leader to maintain the positive working environment in an organization for the
survival of the organization.
Role and Characteristics of a Leader :
 Required at all level : Leadership is a function which is important at all the levels of the
organization, no matter the organization is big or small leaders are very essential, because
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they are the one who lead the employees to do their work in the correct manner
(Northouse, 2015).
 Organization Representative : Leaders also act as a representative of the organization. In
industrial seminars and presentations leaders are the one who represent the firm in front
of the others, leader is also representative of the department.
 Combining personal goals with organizational goals : It is the duty or responsibility of the
leader to combine or to collaborate personal goals of an individual to the organizational
goals. If the individual will only lay stress on personal goals then this will affect the
organizational goals so it's the main responsibility of the leader to combine personal and
organizational goals. Leader act as a monitor,politician,friend and teacher : It is very important for any leader
to make other people follow him. Sometimes it is important for leader to act as a monitor
to check the employees work, whether they are doing their work in correct manner or not.
Leader act as a politician whenever conflicts occur in the organization. Leaders also
provide proper guidance to their employees by acting as a teacher because proper
guidance is very important for the employees for extension and expansion of the
organization (Pizzo, 2017).
Role and Characteristics of a Manager :
 Staffing : This is very important duty of the manager. A manager has power of
knowledge and skills that are essential for staffing.
 Training : It is also very important responsibility of the manager to provide proper and
regular training to the employees for the continues growth of the organization. Trained
and skilled employees can give their full potential in the success of the organization.
 Projecting : They are very skilled persons, they are expert in making and implementing
plans and strategies. It is important for manager to develop, implement and lead projects.
 Communicator : It is very important for managers to develop effective communication
skills in order to interact clearly with all the other members of the organisation.
In Marks and Spencer, the management of the company is so efficient that the plan and
policies developed by the organization is well structured in a manner that it increases the
productivity of the company (Chang, 2017). The managers of Marks and Spencer are highly
skilled and establishes the standards for the performance of the employees.
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P2 Role of a leader and the managerial functions in different situations
The operations of managers and the role of leaders make the organization work in the
appropriate manner for achieving the desired goals and for the regular progress and extension of
the organization. Managers and Leaders performs various functions in the organization for the
achieving business objectives and for accomplishing the set goals of the organization. Profit is
very important for each and every organization, it is the duty of a leader and manager to motivate
the employees so that they can perform their best and contribute in the expansion of the
organization. There are so many theories of administration which implied with leadership skills
make the company grow its operations (Kosfeld, 2017). The operation managerial department of
Marks and Spencer, focuses on the theories of the management for the survival and the growth of
their company. Their are so many executive theories which Marks and Spencer, applied to their
organization for increasing production and purchase rate. The foreman are the person who works
with employees to motivate them to guide them and to provide benefits to them. Managers set
the standard of the performance for the employees and it's very important for the employees to
reach that standard(Walters, 2016).
Classical theory is applied to Marks and Spencer, where the controller makes the plans
and policies to increase the rate of productivity. Managers plan certain policies and strategies to
accomplish the goals and increase the rate of production and profit.
Behavioural theory of management is use to analyse the individuals behaviour on
different situations in order to identify his skills and abilities.
Contingency theory is used to apply changes in the external and internal forces of the
environment, it states that leaders plays very crucial role in bringing changes in the organisation
and its working.
Role of managers and leaders are very important development and growth of he
organization. It's their duty to ensure the success and survival of the company.
P3 Apply theories and models of management with special reference.
There are various theories and models of management which organization can apply to
different situations. Some of these theories are :
Situational Leadership Theory : This theory states that leaders should have abilities to
act differently in different situations. They should encompass capabilities to handle each and
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every situation effectively. The managers of Marks and Spencer can be very affected with this
style of leadership as they know how to handle different situations. In every situation it is
required for the leaders that they apply creative styles for the completion of the task or for
managing the situation. If the issue is related to cost than in that case applying situational
leadership theory can prove to be very beneficial for the company. In Marks and Spencer tha
managers and leaders are highly skilled and they are very much aware of the fact that every
problem comes up with the new solution, it is very important for them to use their creativity to
solve organizational problems.
System Leadership Theory : System leadership as applied in Marks and Spencer, the
leaders command the working of the employees and discuss the situation of the firm and make
the employees work according to the situation. It is essential for operation department to operate
the working of their workers, this department can improve the operational activities of the
organization and can also increase the profitability and productivity rate (Drucker, 2017). The
main objective of the management team is to accomplish the goals of the organization, this can
be done by providing training, motivation, orientation to the employees. The sense of
responsibility is very important in each and every employees then only they can give their best
potential and contribute in the extension and expansion of the organization.
Contingency Theory : In this theory it is stated that, change the strategy according to the
situation. In every situation new strategy is required, if managers and leaders use same solution
for each and every problem then this can lead to difficult situation, so it is important that in every
new situation managers come up with new solution. The leaders and managers of Marks and
Spencer are very efficient in handling situations by using their creativity and innovative ideas. In
this theory it is said that effectiveness of management is depends upon the fact how situations are
handled by the operational and management department (Huarng, 2014).
P4 Explain the approaches of operational management and role of managers and leaders.
The main focus of the company is to maintain the ethics, sustainability and values of the
organization to improve the customer relationship and to provide the satisfactory services to the
customers by following business ethics. Business environment of Marks and Spencer is full of
competition in order to gain the advantages in the market and to maintain the sustainable position
in the market. The management and leadership in Marks and Spencer plays very crucial role in
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maintaining well being of their employees and workers.(Dufosse, 2017). The relationship
between the leaders and managers have special influence on the well being of company and the
employees. The managers acquire the policies and prepares scheme that can affect the social well
being of the company towards society, this includes environment protection, satisfaction of the
customers, high quality products with low prices, etc. The main role of organisational heads is to
communicate strategies and policies of the organisation to their employees. The leaders of Marks
and Spencer assures that the plans and strategies of the have been discussed with the employees
clearly because they are the building block of the organization, they should be well aware of all
the plans and policies related to the company, to define and allocate work to the employees is
also responsibility of the leader it includes providing training, orientation, proper guidance to the
employees. These are very important factors(Inagait, 2018). Their are many factors which affect
the working of the business environment in Marks and Spencer and they can be applied on
various operational management techniques. Leaders and Managers are the building block of the
organization, they are the one who are responsible for the all working of the organization so it's
their responsibility to control and monitor the organization (Nakamura, 2015). Operational
activities are key functions in any organization, Marks and Spencer, regulate their operational
activities in such a manner that it lead to organizational productivity, profit and optimization.
Any organization can satisfy customer needs by providing satisfactory services and physical
products of best quality. It is an important are in managing a firm, it can be termed as a
management area which is related to designing business processes and operating business
processes by expanding or transforming resources in such a way that in results into overall
growth and development of the organization.
P5 Importance and Value of operation management in achieving business objective.
Operations management is a multi dimensional field that lay stress on manage all the
fields of the business. It includes planning and controlling to the terms of products and services.
Every aspect of operational management that includes understanding services, maintaining
quality of product, location, area with the respect to customer’s needs and satisfaction level
(Nakamura, 2015). Operational Management is important because it provides, Planning,
Management, Designing, Coordination. Operational managers of Marks and Spencer conduct all
these activities for regular progress of their firm. It is very important to conduct evaluation for
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increasing success rate, production rate, profit ratio of the firm for maintaining sustainability in
the market and certain position in the market and to maintain goodwill.
Planning : Planning within the system describe how management is utilising the
available resources to sustain in the various types of situations. Planning is beneficial as it helps
organization to survive with changing environment situations. Managers and Leaders of Marks
and Spencer combine their ideas and creativity to develop a plan so that the firm can accept the
changing situations of the market.
Managing : Team work is very important for the success of the organization. It is very
necessary for the organization to develop the sense of team work among their employees, for this
it is important that they is no conflicts and disputes among the employees of the firm present and
if there any then it's the duty of the managerial team to resolve them by offering negotiations or
by conducting meetings among the disputed parties. The system management should be very
transparent so that it can lead to effectiveness and improvements in performance, it includes
training and development, orientation, monitoring (Dufosse, 2017). As it is discussed above also
that the management team of Marks and Spencer is well versed, the management techniques they
use in their firm is quite remarkable.
Designing : It starts with the development of the product, it is the initial stage of
development and it includes various stages and features to improve the quality of the product.
The desigining team of Marks and Spencer is highly skilled and innovative and creative.
Coordination : This is most important stage, because coordination is very important in
each and every task and specially in business activities. Coordination among the all the members
of the cities firm is reason behind their success. In business the meaning of coordination is
connecting things by various part of the work, coordination between various roles and
responsibilities to accomplish the goals and to meet the objectives.
P6 Explain factors that create impact upon operational management and decision making.
The managers and leaders should have inbuilt quality or skills of solving each and every
problem, if there is any conflict occurs between the staff members then leaders and managers
must have capabilities to resolve them. It is necessary for maintaining positive working
environment (Roche, 2014). If staff members are disagreeing on something then it's the
responsibility of leaders and managers to convince them and solve their issues.
Factors that create impact are : products and services of poor quality and pleased employees.
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Products and services of poor quality : This create a sense of discouragement among
customers. There are so many factors which lead to low quality of products and company should
make sure that they are eliminating all the factors from the firm which can lead to this. There are
so many substitutes available in the market for every product so it is important for the firm to
maintain their quality in order to maintain the goodwill in the market because it is very easy for
customer to switch their products or to change their products so it should be main focus of the
company to maintain the quality and quantity of their product.
Pleased Employees : The main reason behind this is the skills or talent which some
employees pursue. They tend to be proud as they cannot be cut back, some aspects of proud
comes from the fact where leader or manager is relative or any connection with the head of the
organization. The junior employee will have all powers to be proud and arrogant. This can alter
and affect decision to be made.
It is very essential for every firm to set clear organizational goals this will help in
achieving the targets more efficiently. Decision making process is very crucial process for each
and every organization no matter if they are service provider or product manufacturer, leaders
and managers should assign some role to employees also in decision making process this will
create motivation among them and this will also create sense of responsibility among them
regarding the firm (Machado, 2016). While implementing the final decisions both managers and
leaders should make sure that they are not under influence of any body and they are making the
transparent decision this will avoid the situation of employees dissatisfaction and conflicts
within the firm ,
The decision making process is very responsible job and the committee who is taking the
decision should make sure that whatever conclusion they are setting should be beneficial for both
employees and the organization and it is also very important that they offer unbiased conclusions
, this will not generate feeling of demotivation among employees. Managerial team of Marks and
Spencer is well aware of this facts and they always tend to make unbiased decisions, or decisions
which are free from organizational politics (McDonagh, 2014). Business Environment have both
positive and negative impact on operational management and decision making process, it's the
duty or responsibility of head officers of the organization to eliminate all the negative factors
from the organization and ensure the continues advancement of the organization.
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CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that leaders and managers are two most
important aspects of any organization for conducting functions of the business smoothly. The
process of management and the process of leadership both are totally different from each other,
but the direction is same. They both work to achieve the goals set by the organization and to
increase productivity, profit sharing ratio. The entire working of the organization revolves
around managers and leaders of the firm. This report has been made considering the role and
importance of leaders and managers, their impact on business, importance of operational
management in Marks and Spencer.
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REFERENCES
Books And Journals
Chang, C.Y., 2017. Psychological Game between managers and employees.
Drucker, P.F., 2017. The Theory of the Business (Harvard Business Review Classics).
Harvard Business Press.
Dufosse, E.D., 2017. Operational management solution for media production and
distribution. U.S. Patent 9,614,885
Huarng, K.H., 2014. Developmental management: Theories, methods, and applications in
entrepreneurship, innovation, and sensemaking. Journal of Business Research. 67(5).
pp.657-662.
Kosfeld, M., 2017. The Role of Leaders in Inducing and Maintaining Cooperation: The CC
Strategy.
Machado, C., 2016. Organizational Management: Policies and Practices. Springer.
McDonagh, P., 2014. Sustainability marketing research: Past, present and future. Journal of
Marketing Management. 30(11-12). pp.1186-1219.
Nakamura, T., 2015. Operation management apparatus, operation management method, and
operation management program. U.S. Patent 9,031,703.
Northouse, P.G., 2015. Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage publications.
Pizzo, P.A., 2017. Role of leaders in fostering meaningful collaborations between academic
medical centers and industry while also managing individual and institutional
conflicts of interest. Jama. 317(17). pp.1729-1730.
Roche, M., 2014. The role of mindfulness and psychological capital on the well-being of
leaders. Journal of occupational health psychology. 19(4). p.476.
Siegel, D.S., 2014. Responsible leadership. The Academy of Management Perspectives. 28(3).
pp.221-223.
Online
Inagait, P. C., 2018. The Role of Operations in Organizational Effectiveness. [Online]. Available
through: < http://smallbusiness.chron.com/role-operations-organizational-effectiveness-
73178.html>.
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Walters, N., 2016. Difference between Managers and Leaders. [Online]. Available through:<
https://www.businessinsider.in/17-of-the-biggest-differences-between-managers-and-
leaders/articleshow/51331869.cms >
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