Exploring Leadership and Management in Contemporary Business

This report analyzes the roles of leaders and managers within an organization, focusing on Unilever as a case study. It differentiates between leadership and management, applying various theories and concepts to motivate employees and improve operational efficiency. The report examines the importance of operations management in achieving business objectives, exploring different approaches and the impact of the business environment on decision-making. It evaluates leadership theories such as contingency, behavioral, and influence theory, and applies models like situational leadership and systems leadership in different situational contexts. The analysis covers stable, slow-to-moderate changing, and fast-changing business environments, assessing how leaders and managers adapt and contribute to the organization's success and community impact. Desklib provides access to this and other solved assignments.

UNIT 4 MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS

Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................3
LO1 Differentiate between the role of a leader and the function of a manager.
...................................................................................................................................4
Introduction.................................................................................................................4
P1 Define and compare the different roles and characteristics of a leader
and a manager.........................................................................................................4
Conclusion..................................................................................................................6
M1 Analyze and differentiate between the role of a leader and function of a
manager by effectively applying a range of theories and concepts..............7
D1 Critically analyses and evaluates the different theories and approaches to
leadership in given context....................................................................................8
LO3 Demonstrate an appreciation of the role leaders and managers play in the
operations function of an organization....................................................................9
Introduction.................................................................................................................9
P4 Explain the key approaches to operations management and the role that
leaders and managers play:...................................................................................9
Conclusion................................................................................................................10
Introduction...............................................................................................................11
P5 Explain the importance and value of operations management in achieving
business objectives:.............................................................................................11
Conclusion................................................................................................................12
M3 Evaluate how leaders and managers can improve efficiencies of
operational management to successfully meet business objectives..........13

LO4 Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between leadership and
management in a contemporary business environment.....................................14
Introduction...............................................................................................................14
P6 Assess the factors within the business environment that impact upon
operational management and decision-making by leaders and managers....14
M4 Analyse how these different factors affect the business environment
and wider community........................................................................................16
Conclusion................................................................................................................17
References................................................................................................................18

Introduction
In an organization, Unilever the importance of leaders and managers are being
evaluated. From this report, it is being analyzed that managers and leaders fulfill
their roles and duties so that profit can be earned and growth of the employees can
also be analyzed. Various theories and concepts are being used so that the
employees can be motivated and retain for the longer period of time. Strength and
weakness of different approaches are also being evaluated in the different working
environment. Further in the study report, importance and value of operations
management are measured in achieving the business objectives. A lot of various
approaches are used in operation management along with the role of leaders and
managers. These roles and responsibilities of leaders and managers are being
evaluated in different situations and in the different working environment. It improves
the decision making and factors which contributes to the community in wider terms.

LO1 Differentiate between the role of a leader and the function of a manager.
Introduction
This answer will discuss the management and leadership firstly. The management
functions: planning, organizing, leading and controlling are discussed. Then the roles
of leadership are discussed. Differences are given between the management and
leadership.
P1 Define and compare the different roles and characteristics of a leader and
a manager.
Management monitors and controls the department and people in an organization
according to the principles which have been created by an organization. The
manager is the one who manages the work in the organization to achieve the
predefined goals. The work of the managers is to develop the strategies and plan for
the work and manage the employees to accomplish the target of the company
according to the strategy and the policies made by him. There are managers in
different departments who manage their own department (Jacobs and Chase, 2014).
Leadership is an art of guiding and motivating to the group of people in the
organization to achieve the common goal of the organization. Leaders are the people
who lead and motivate the employees through their leadership style and inherent in
them the vision of the organization.
Difference between the Managers and Leaders:
Managers Leaders
Managers make the policies and
strategies of the organization The
Unilever and communicate to the
leaders.
Leaders follow the policies and
communicate it to employees to work as
per the policies.
Managers focus on the things and the Leaders focus on the employees to make

goals of the company. them work in a team for achieving the
goal of the organization Unilever.
Managers give direction to the groups Leaders give direction to the teams
Managers direct the work to the
employees
Leaders motivate the employees towards
the work.
Unilever is a British transnational consumer's goods company headquartered in
London, UK. The products of this company include: food, cleaning agents, personal
care products. The company owns 400 brands: Lux, Rama, Sun silk, Dove and many
more. The management of the organizations follows the strategies made by the
company and leads it to increase the productivity. The management of the Unilever
makes standards of the work for the employees and leaders get work was done by
the employees inefficiently and ineffective manner (Nascimento and Melo, 2015).
The functions of the managers and the roles of the leaders in the organization:
1. Planning: Planning is the important function of the management system.
Managers of Unilever set and plan the goals of the organization which increases the
sales and the revenue of the product. The strategies made by the managers are to
improve the production process to create the effect of the product. Leaders
communicate the policies made by managers with the employees to achieve the goal
of the organization effectively and efficiently.
2. Organizing: The managers of the Unilever utilize and organize the resources in
an effective manner of the organization to achieve the goals of the organization.
Leaders effectively assign the resources and motivate the employees in such way
that the available resource is utilized effectively for the best outcome.
3. Leading: The managers of the Unilever lead the task to the staff and to the
employees but the leaders create a team or lead them about the work how to
accomplish it and achieve the goal of the organization.

4. Controlling: The strategies are made by the managers and the leaders
implement those strategies in Unilever. The strategies are monitored by the
managers and leaders verify the outcome of the employee’s performance with the
levels are made down by the managers and escort the employees accordingly
(Scase and Goffee, 2017).
Conclusion
This answer has discussed the definition of the managers and leaders, differentiation
between the managers and the leaders. The functions of the managers and the role
of the leaders are discussed according to the organization which has taken.

M1 Analyze and differentiate between the role of a leader and function of a
manager by effectively applying a range of theories and concepts.
In the manager’s function and the role of leader’s theory has several roles. Manager
supervises the employees and leader motives the employees.
The manager has the task of making decisions about the business and making the
planning, organizing and controlling of the organization and the leaders follow the
decision of the manager and communicate to employees to achieve the
organization's goals The Managers of Unilever supervise the employees and the
leaders control them. Managers adopt the approaches to supervising and disciplining
the employees. Managers help the employees work out conflicts. The human
relation theory is used by the managers to make the primary relationship between
the managers and the employees. The managers must use the different manager's
style to fulfill the needs of the person whom he is managing.
Managers can take four approaches to human relationships: an authority stance
based upon fear; the authority which based on a clear hierarchy that relies on
delegation; the approach which solicits input from staff and the approach to
managing the relationship with employees.
A manager is a person who serves as a public face of the company and the
communicating and listening to customers and stakeholders. Managers who adopt
the role of management can play the social responsibility; it establishes the
relationship with the community and combines the systems which affect the
company (Uzohue, et. al., 2016).

D1 Critically analyses and evaluates the different theories and approaches to
leadership in given context.
Theories analyses in leadership:
1. Contingency theory is the theory which focuses on the change of the situation
and changes the strategies according to it. The leaders play an important role to
bring out the changes in the operations to meet down with the challenges as they
influence the employees to do so (Sajjadi, 2014).
2. Behavioral Theory: This theory focus on the actions of the leaders not on the
mental quality. In this theory, one can learn the way of becoming leaders through
observation and teaching. The leader can study the way to success in the
organization. The leaders can identify the behavior which contributes towards the
success and failure of the future performance.
3. Influence Theory: this theory is used by the leaders to take advantage of what
they want to do by their followers. This theory is very effective to manipulate the
followers that the work in the way they are doing is the right way because some
individuals fall for it easily. Leaders are not concern about their followers but are
concern about the goals of the industry. Leaders are giving training to their
employees about the new technologies and the changing in the technologies for the
betterment of work so that organization can achieve its goals effectively
(Amanchukwu, 2015).

LO2 Apply the role of a leader and the function of a manager in given contexts.
Introduction
This is being introduced from the report about the functions of managers and role of
leaders. It tells about the roles and responsibilities performed by the managers and
leaders in different situations and worse conditions. Impact of the situations is being
analyzed and decisions are taken accordingly.
P2 Examine examples of how the role of a leader and the function of a
manager apply in different situational contexts.
In the organization, The Unilever has leaders and managers with talent, skills, and
knowledge. In different situations, they act differently as their perspective and
thinking abilities are different. Below is a detailed description of the role of leaders
and functions of managers in various situations:
Stable situation: It is a situation in which there is no limit to making changes in the
external and internal environment. Moreover, the process of providing services to the
customers remains same (Dragnić, 2014).
Slow-to-moderate changing situation: The organization The Unilever has the slow
growth in the market. The slow change in the projects is being affected by the
external environment. Changes being made internal environment results in the
changes in the external environment (Hidayat and Akhmad, 2015). The percentage
of the profit depends on the rate of growth being done in organization The Unilever
Fast-changing situation: The changes being done in the external environment are
due to the trends and innovations. Moreover, the strategies being made by the
competitors in order to capture the market (Peterlin, et. al., 2015). The fast changing
environment is being done by controlling the number of earning profits and maintain
them for a longer period of time.

P3 Apply different theories and models of approach, including situational
leadership, systems leadership, and contingency.
There are various theories being used in the organization Unilever. The organization
uses the theories such as situational theories and system leadership theory. Below
are these theories explained in brief detail:
System leadership: This theory tells about the systems being made in smaller
terms (Peppard and Ward, 2016). This theory states that the output can be gained
from smaller terms as in the organization has a lot of departments. This theory tells
about the results instead of focusing on the processor step by step processing. The
planned results are being evaluated with the obtained outcome. As the organization,
Unilever is a brand which has a lot of small departments which execute their work
and achieve their target.
Situational leadership: In the organization Unilever, the employees are being
recruited according to their talent and skills (Sajjadi, 2014). Furthermore, the
employees are being provided with work according to their talent, skills, and
knowledge. This helps Unilever in taking right decisions and working on them. Along
with this, various challenges are being faced by Unilever which is being handled by
these managers and leaders.
Contingency leadership: The organization seems to be positive and strong which
stands in the market even in the worst times. As the external environment keeps on
changing rapidly along with time, the organization needs to work accordingly and
taking unique to make the profit (Hidayat and Akhmad, 2015). New paths are being
developed so that cost can be covered and customers can be retained.