Management and Operations: Leadership, Theories, and Business Factors

This report delves into the critical distinctions between leaders and managers, evaluating their respective roles and characteristics within the context of operational management. It begins by comparing and contrasting the roles of leaders and managers, highlighting their unique skill sets and approaches. The report then explores the application of leadership and management functions in various situational contexts, providing examples from Uber Technologies. A significant portion is dedicated to explaining different leadership theories and models, including situational leadership, system leadership, and contingency approaches. Furthermore, the report discusses operations management approaches, such as Six Sigma, Total Quality Management, and Lean Production, and analyzes the roles of managers and leaders in ensuring the long-term success of a firm. The report also evaluates the factors within the business environment that influence decision-making and operational management by leaders and managers. The report concludes with an overview of the key findings and implications for effective leadership and management practices.

Management and
operations

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK1.............................................................................................................................................1
Analysis, evaluation, and comparison of various types of roles and characteristics of a leader
and a manager..............................................................................................................................1
TASK2.............................................................................................................................................2
Discussion of the situation in which functions of a manager and role of a leader is applied......2
Explanation of various kinds of theories and models of approach including system leadership,
situational leadership, and contingency.......................................................................................4
TASK3.............................................................................................................................................5
Discussing operations manager approaches and role of managers and a leader for the benefit of
the firm in long run......................................................................................................................5
Evaluating various values and importance of operations management so that objectives of
businesses are achieved...............................................................................................................6
TASK4.............................................................................................................................................7
Analysing the various different factors within the business environment that affects the
decision making and operational management by a manger and a leader...................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Management of operations is an integral part of any organisation as it put emphasis on
improving the efficiency and effectivenesses of a firm through various aspects (Chiarini and
Vagnoni, 2017). Uber Technologies is a firm that is established since a long time and has
captured a big market share due to this and the company keeps on expanding its business to
various parts of the world. This report covers various topics such as comparison and evaluating
different roles and characteristics of a manager and a leader, various approaches and functions of
a leader and a manger. Apart from this importance and values, various operations management
and the role of both of the above are also discussed. Further different factors of business
environment that affects and effects a manger and a leader different aspects are also included in
this report.
TASK1
Analysis, evaluation, and comparison of various types of roles and characteristics of a leader and
a manager
Leader- A leader is a person that sets a direction for other followers like a path that has
to be followed. Foresightedness is a quality of a leader that differentiates from others as well as
facilitation of plan is also done by a leader in an impactful manner. Also each and every person
potential is judged by a leader and then best use of the capability of all the followers is done by
it. Uber technologies has a great team of leaders that form a core team and works for the
betterment and well being of the firm (Choi, Chan and Yue, 2016).
Manager- A manger is an intellectual person that makes plan after detailed analysis and
evaluation of all the aspects that are prevailing in the market. Decision is taken by mangers in
accordance with all the employees that are working for the company. Uber technologies has an
excellent wing that comprises of managers that are experts in various fields and thus directly
helps the company in achieving its goals and objectives effectively and efficiently.
Various types of roles and characteristics of a leader and a manger has been discussed
below briefly-
Leader Manager
 A leader possess different set of skills  Managers possess different types of
1

that allow them to implement and
execute various plans and procedure
that are made by the mangers and thus
affecting overall operations of the firm.
Uber technologies has a team of
expertised leader that allow the firm to
effectively implement all the plans that
are made by its managers (Dogru and
Keskin, 2020).
 Leaders also have ability to change
according to the changing environment
but it is far less than that of managers
as a leader just implement the already
made plan and thus it does not need
that characteristics and skills in
particular. Uber technologies have a
team that is experienced in handing
various aspects of the firm in a positive
way and thus it is very crucial from the
firm's point of view.
skills and characteristics that helps
them to make decisions regarding
various important aspects of a firm that
helps in the working of the business.
Uber technologies recruits efficient
workers that are skilled differently as
compared to others and thus it benefits
the overall working of the firm.
 Managers possess an essential
characteristics that is adaptability to
changes that are prevailing in the
current market scenario. As it is
important for a firm to have a good
team of mangers that can adapt to
various changes and challenges of the
industry. Uber technologies have a
team of experts that allows them to
change according to the different
environment and thus impacting its
growth and profitability in a positive
way.
TASK2
Discussion of the situation in which functions of a manager and role of a leader is applied
There are various aspects in which role of a leader and function of a manger are applied
according to the different types of situational context. These all are explained in detail below-
Role of a leader- There are many roles that a leader has to play and that too according to
the different situations that are prevailing in the current market situations. These are explained
briefly below-
2

 Vision- The most important role of a leader is to possess a vision so that a leader is able
to direct the followers in a right and correct direction according the the various different
situations that arises due to changing market conditions. Uber technologies leader has a
defined vision that helps in achieving the targets that are set up.
 Motivation- Also a leader must be capable of motivating and inspiring the followers by
using various tools that fits according to the requirements. This aspects is very critical in
achieving goals and objectives that are laid down at the starting. The firm that is Uber
technologies leaders uses effective tools of motivations that helps in inspiring the
followers and its affects positively to the company (Eyers and Naim, 2019).
 Delegation- Apart from this a leader must be able to effective delegate and empower the
followers by using time management effectively and efficiently as it is very crucial in all
the situation that prevails in the current market scenario. Uber technologies leader
delegate the followers effectively and efficiently and thus it benefits the overall working
of the firm (Ferro, Ordóñez and Anholon, 2017).
Functions of a manager- There are various functions of managers that are used in an
effective manner so that it can add to the profitability and growth of the company.
 Planning- It is the first function and a manger makes various plans for the firm and the
best suited one for the firm is chosen so that it can add to the value of the firm. Uber
technologies has a team of expert managers that do a detailed research and analysis of
each and every aspect and after that plans are made according to the needs and
requirements.
 Organising- It is a function that involves various aspects like organising the work of
every individual that is working for the firm. Uber technologies organise each and every
thing in a systematic manner than helps the firm to achieve its goals and objectives
efficiently (Marin-García and Alfalla-Luque, 2019).
 Staffing- In this process recruitment of personnels are done according to the need,
requirement, and demand of the company. The process of recruitment involves various
steps and stages so that best candidate must be chosen for the desired jobs. Uber
technologies does recruitment process in a precise manner that helps the firm to get
skilled and experienced individuals for the role.
3

 Directing- It is a function in which employees are directed so that goals and objectives
can be achieved successfully. Uber technologies focus on this aspect very carefully and
thus it benefits the overall working of the firm (Müller and Birkel, 2020).
 Controlling- Though it is the last function but it does not possess any less importance.
As in it standards are compared with the actual performance and the deviations are
rectified after a detailed study so that reason of the variation can be understood. Uber
technologies set its standard according to the work capacity and it compares the actual
performance very precisely and thus it has proved very beneficial for the firm in the long
run.
Explanation of various kinds of theories and models of approach including system leadership,
situational leadership, and contingency
There are various different types of approaches that are very crucial as well as critical
regarding the working of the firm and all of them are explained in detail below-
 Situational leadership- It possess a lot of importance and was developed and introduced
in the year 1969 and it is used very much due to its value. In this type of leadership a
leader adapts and adopts different aspects so that it can suit and match with the current
market scenario and thus possess a lot of importance. Uber technologies is a firm that has
leaders that are experienced enough to adapt to changes and according to that the leader
decides the aspects that can be beneficial for the firm (Ng, Henshaw and Carter, 2017).
 System leadership- It is the most important type of leadership as in this type of
leadership various research and analysis are done so that skills, capabilities, and potential
of an individual can be identified so that it can add to the value of the firm. Uber
technologies have a vast team of leaders that does all the analysis and research work that
helps the firm in achieving the targets that are set up in the starting and hence it adds to
the profitability and growth for the firm.
 Contingency- It is foremost very crucial type of leadership as it tells that it is not
necessarily true that success of a leader depends on the ability that one possess rather it
depends on the challenge facing ability of that leader. Uber technologies has a wing of
leaders that are very skilled in dealing with all the contingencies that arises and hence it
goes in favour of the firm including its sales, growth, and profitability (Palšaitis,
Čižiūnienė and Vaičiūtė, 2017).
4

TASK3
Discussing operations manager approaches and role of managers and a leader for the benefit of
the firm in long run
Operations management approaches involves the strategies for company to reduce the
cost of operations and control the business process and helps in arranging the resources at
minimum cost to increase the efficiency in operations of company. In Uber technologies, this
approach helps in managing the operations of company and provide best way to execute them in
proper efficient manner (Pärn, Edwards and Sing, 2017).
Types of Operation management approaches :
Six sigma : This approach help in improving and controlling the business processes and
identify the goals and measure critical factors. In Uber technology it benefit to company to
reduce its operation cost and manage the business processes to minimize the risk. For Manager,
it helps in accuracy, policy and control policy compliances. For leader, it assist them to lead the
team in right direction and motivate them to perform effectively (Sahin and Soylu, 2020).
Total quality management : This approach is ongoing process of detecting and
reduction of errors and it focuses on quality work in organisation and it make sure employees are
well trained, satisfy costumer sanctification. In Uber technologies this ensures costumer
sanctification, continuous improvement and employee empowering. For Manager, it will
enhance the performance of operations as well as employees as it focuses on quality
development. For leader it become easy to direct the instruction to employees and maintain
healthy internal and external environment and it make easier for leader to focus on weak section
and develop required strategies to improve that.
Lean production : This approach focuses on various aspects involves in production
process such as cutting out the waste and maintain the quality of product from design to
distribution. In Uber Technologies, management able to find out what are inefficiency in
production process that try to eliminate risk and create sustainable competitive advantages. For
Manager, helps in improving overall business process and function and make employee more
engaging towards their work. For leader, it make easy to formulate the strategies and promote
success of company through increasing the participation of stakeholders to attract them for
investment in company, because through this it will improve the growth of company and achieve
its desired objective (Shokri and Nabhani, 2019).
5

Evaluating various values and importance of operations management so that objectives of
businesses are achieved
The management of operations is a very important as well as a crucial task because the
working and the value of the firm depends on it. It it is effectively and efficiently used it can help
a business to grow and prosper and at the same time it has the potential to adversely impact the
operations of the business. There are various aspects related to it that are explained briefly
below-
 Utilisation of resources- Operations management tends to utilise all the available
resources effectively and efficiently so that wastage of the precious resources can be
reduces and thus it will add to the value of the firm in a positive way. Uber technologies
have an expert team that do a detailed an elaborate research and analysis to prevent any
wastage and thus it has proved very beneficial for the firm.
 Inventory management- It is the management of the inventory that is available with the
firm at present as well as the stock that has to be purchased for the future. Uber
technologies keep a strict vigil on all the efforts that are done for the management of the
stock that is available with the firm and also the inventory that has to arrive in the future
is also checked very precisely. It adds to the growth and profitability of the firm (Slack
and Brandon-Jones, 2018).
 Product quality improvement- Operations of management keeps a check on the quality
of the product that is produced in the firm or if a company is providing services, the
service quality is checked so that if any rectifications are needed it can be done without
any further delay. Uber technologies have a team that specially formed to look after this
aspect and thus after various detailed analysis the company comes to a conclusion and
thus benefiting the overall firm.
 Management of supply chain- It is an essential element as it has the potential to make a
firm grow and at the same time it can hamper the working of the organisation very badly.
A firm that has an intact supply chain can capture a larger share of market as compared to
a firm that has not a good supply chain as it can reduce the time taken to reach raw
material and hence it increases the processes further which helps the firm' profitability by
increasing its sales. Uber technologies has a specialised wing that is established only to
look after the supply chain and in case of any loop hole further rectifications can be made
6

that can help the company to achieve its goals and objectives in the long run and thus
increasing the market value of the firm.
TASK4
Analysing the various different factors within the business environment that affects the decision
making and operational management by a manger and a leader
There are various factors of business environment that both directly and indirectly affects
the working and operations of the business. These factors like decision making and operational
management affect and simultaneously effects a firm in both positive and negative aspect. Uber
technologies have deployed a team of experts in that area so as to make the best use of
opportunities that can help the firm to achieve growth and profitability in the long run. Various
types of factors within the business environment that affects the decision making aspect and
operational management by a manager and a leader are discussed below in detail-
 Economic- These are factors that are related with the economic factors of a country like
inflation and unemployment rate, gross domestic product, exchange rates, etc. and all
these aspects can be positive for a firm and at the same time can act as negative too
depending on the implemention of these. Uber technologies leaders put focus on
achieving all the set aspects so that it can not affect badly to the firm. Whereas its
managers put plans after various research and analysis so that it can act as very beneficial
for the firm (Terreno, Anumba and Dubler, 2016).
 Legal- These are aspects that are related with the legal factors like laws, rules and
regulations, policies and procedures, etc. and it is crucial for all the firms to abide by all
its aspects otherwise it can very badly affect the business and can even hamper its sales.
Leaders of Uber technologies implement the plans that are made by managers in a very
precise manner so that the objectives and goals of the organisation are accomplished in a
successful manner. While managers of the firm make plans after a long and detailed
research and analysis so that the plan can do the things that it is supposed to do.
 Social- These are factors that are related to the society like the current trend, change in
taste and preference of the customer, etc. and these are very important as well as crucial
for the operations of a firm as it can foster a firm's growth and profitability while at the
same time it can hinder it too if not assessed correctly. Uber technologies leader
7

coordinate with the society and work closely with it so they are better placed in knowing
the society pretty well as compared to others and thus it acts as an advantage for the firm.
Whereas mangers do the things that are suggested by the above and it has proved very
beneficial for the firm too as it helped the company to understand the changes in the
society and work accordingly (Ugurlu and Kumral, 2020).
 Environmental- These are factors that are related to the environment like pollution,
carbon emission, sustainability, etc. and a firm must comply with all its essentials.
Leaders of Uber technologies does many things for the welfare of the environment and
thus making it advantageous from the firm's point of view. While its managers implement
various aspects so that the firm can comply with the environmental factors and thus
helping in achieving growth and development for the company.
CONCLUSION
Operation management is very essential from the firm's point of view as it helps in using
the resources that a business have effective and efficiently and thus adding to the profits of the
firm. From the above it can be concluded that Uber technologies have a set of leaders and
managers that are skilled enough to meet all the challenges and changing environment well in
advance. Also various other things can be concluded like both of them that is a leader and a
manage possess a lot of importance and both are necessary so that a firm can achieve its goals
and targets well in time. Apart from this a leader and a manager both are essential for a company
as they complement each other and is very crucial and critical for overall operations of the firm.
8

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Chiarini, A. and Vagnoni, E., 2017. Strategies for modern operations
management. Benchmarking: An International Journal.
Choi, T. M., Chan, H. K. and Yue, X., 2016. Recent development in big data analytics for
business operations and risk management. IEEE transactions on cybernetics. 47(1).
pp.81-92.
Dogru, A. K. and Keskin, B. B., 2020. AI in operations management: applications, challenges
and opportunities. Journal of Data, Information and Management, pp.1-8.
Eyers, D. and Naim, M., 2019. Project management for effective operations management.
In Contemporary Operations and Logistics (pp. 11-27). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Ferro, R., Ordóñez, R. E. C. and Anholon, R., 2017. Analysis of the integration between
operations management manufacturing tools with discrete event simulation. Production
Engineering. 11(4-5). pp.467-476.
Marin-García, J. A. and Alfalla-Luque, R., 2019. Protocol: How to deal with Partial Least
Squares (PLS) research in Operations Management. A guide for sending papers to
academic journals. Working Papers on Operations Management. 10(1). pp.29-69.
Müller, J. M. and Birkel, H. S., 2020. Contributions of Industry 4.0 to lean management within
the supply chain operations reference model. International Journal of Integrated Supply
Management. 13(1). pp.74-89.
Ng, A., Henshaw, C. and Carter, M., 2017, May. Partnering to develop a talent pipeline for
emerging health leaders in operations research. In Healthcare Management Forum (Vol.
30, No. 3, pp. 146-150). Sage CA: Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications.
Palšaitis, R., Čižiūnienė, K. and Vaičiūtė, K., 2017. Improvement of warehouse operations
management by considering competencies of human resources. Procedia
Engineering. 187. pp.604-613.
Pärn, E. A., Edwards, D. J. and Sing, M. C., 2017. The building information modelling trajectory
in facilities management: A review. Automation in construction. 75. pp.45-55.
Sahin, B. and Soylu, A., 2020. Multi-layer, multi-segment iterative optimization for maritime
supply chain operations in a dynamic fuzzy environment. IEEE Access. 8. pp.144993-
145005.
Shokri, A. and Nabhani, F., 2019. Quality management vision of future early career operations
managers. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management.
Slack, N. and Brandon-Jones, A., 2018. Operations and process management: principles and
practice for strategic impact. Pearson UK.
Terreno, S., Anumba, C. J. and Dubler, C., 2016. BIM-based management of building
operations. In Construction Research Congress 2016 (pp. 1855-1865).
Ugurlu, O. F. and Kumral, M., 2020. Management of drilling operations in surface mines using
reliability analysis and discrete event simulation. Journal of Failure Analysis and
Prevention. 20(4). pp.1143-1154.
9

10