Leadership and Management Concepts: Morrisons Operations Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of leadership and management concepts, with a specific focus on Morrisons, a major UK supermarket chain. It begins by comparing the roles and characteristics of leaders and managers, highlighting their distinct functions within an organization. The report then examines the roles of leaders and the functions of managers in various organizational situations, such as managing conflicts and adopting new technologies, illustrating how their approaches differ. Furthermore, it analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of different leadership and management approaches, including situational theory, contingency theory, and system leadership approach. The report also discusses key approaches to operational management, such as Six Sigma and Lean, and the roles leaders and managers play in implementing them. Finally, the report emphasizes the importance and value of operations management in achieving business objectives.

Leadership and
Management Concepts

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
Main body........................................................................................................................................1
P1 Compare the different roles and characteristics of a leader and a manager...........................1
Manager.......................................................................................................................................1
Leader..........................................................................................................................................1
P2 Examine the role of leaders and the functions of managers in different organisational
situations.....................................................................................................................................2
P3 Analyse strength and weakness of different approaches of leadership and management.....3
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................4
References........................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Management is a process where a manager plans, organise, lead, control, motivate and
make decision for employees of an organisation. Leadership is an ability of a person to influence
and guide a group of people or member of an organisation. Both manager and leader are required
at a workplace. To achieve goals and mission and to set a vision an organisation needs a leader to
lead and to ensure that things are getting done in an efficient and planned way an organisation
needs a manager (Sobratee and Bodhanya, 2018). A leader inspires, influence, encourage people
to attain the objectives of an organisation. A manager is a link between the employees and the
organisation and performs managerial functions. Morrisons is one of the largest chain of
supermarkets in the UK and has its headquarters in Bradford, West Yorkshire and England. It
was founded in 1899 by William Morrison. This report covers the basic roles and characteristics
of a leader and a manager and the difference between them, role of leaders and managers in
different organisational situation and strength and weaknesses of approaches of leadership.
Main body
P1 Compare the different roles and characteristics of a leader and a manager
Manager Leader
 A manager is an organisation's member
with various roles and responsibilities.
 Managers follow the vision and assign
tasks and responsibilities to the
employees.
 A manager performs planning,
organising, staffing, directing and
controlling of employees within an
organisation.
 A manager exists in formal structure
only.
 A manager should have both
managerial and leadership qualities.
 A leader don't have any position but
leads, guides and directs the people of
an organisation.
 Leaders create a vision and goals for an
organisation and encourage people to
follow them.
 The leader performs only one function
that is the direction within an
organisation (Car, Kyaw and Atun,
2018).
 A leader exists in both formal and
informal structure.
 A leader only needs to have leadership
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 A manager aims to direct and control
people.
 A manager tends to avoid conflicts.
 The approach of a manger is reactive.
 A manager strives for efficiency.
 A manager reacts to any change within
the organisation.
 A manager follows the rules and
instructions set by the company.
 A manager uses a transnational style. In
this a manager give rewards to motivate
employees to achieve the desired goal.
quality.
 A leader aims to motivate and inspire
people.
 A leader uses conflicts as an asset.
 The approach of a leader is proactive.
 A leader strives for effectiveness.
 A leader promotes any changes within
the organisation.
 A leader follows his own instincts.
 A leader uses transformational style in
which a leader inspires employees to
change their behaviour to achieve
desired goal.
P2 Examine the role of leaders and the functions of managers in different organisational
situations
There are many situations which arise I organisations and leaders and managers have
their own and different ways to handle the situation (Golensky and Hager, 2020). Some of the
situations and the role of managers and leaders in these situations are explained below-
Situation 1: Managing conflicts- Conflicts are the common factor to arise in companies due to
different point of views of employees. Hence, it is required to get solved as soon as possible so
that it will not impact badly upon performance of employees.
Role of a leader to manage conflicts in Morrison- The leaders of Morrison pick up the main reason of conflicts and tries to eliminate that
factor. Leaders can analyse by them self by observing that why and what are the main
reasons of conflict. Then they communicate to both parties who are arguing with each
other so that leader get to know each one's point of view and after analysing the situation,
leader ask both parties to attend the meeting where he told to his teammates about
hazardous impacts of conflict in their organisation. Leaders works in such a way to
mange conflicts so that next time it will not arise again in future (De Brún and
McAuliffe, 2020).
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Role of manager to manage conflicts in Morrison-
 Managers can ask other to give report of conflict to analyse the reason and tries to solve
the conflict by giving them additional resources. Managers did not pick up the main
issues which cause conflict (Connolly, James and Fertig, 2019). They just work to
eliminate conflict at present time.
Situation 2: Adoption of new technology- Every business which aims to expand must update
their technological factors to improve their production and the way of working in the
organisation.
Role of leader to adopt new technology- In context of leaders at Morrison, they plays an coordinative role to adopt new
technology. Leaders always try to adopt those technology which is beneficial for workers
to work with and also helps in increasing productivity. Leaders will take suggestions
from their workforce that which type of new technology they prefer in their office. After
adopting the new machines and tools, leaders explain their workers that how they can use
new machines.
Role of manager to adopt new technology-
 In Morrison, managers will adopt those technology which is beneficial for their
organisation only. Hence, they will adopt those machines which will help them to
increase their productivity (Sfakianaki and et. al., 2018). They even take suggestions
from their team itself without considering suggestions from workers. After adopting new
technology, managers assign a coach who explain them how to use new machines and
tools.
P3 Analyse strength and weakness of different approaches of leadership and management
There are various approaches of laureateship and management and they have their own
strengths and weaknesses to use them within an organisation. Some of the approaches which is
adopted in Morrison are explained below-
Situational theory- This is the theory where leaders are supposed to change their
leadership style according to the situation. It further suggest that leaders did not stick to a single
leadership style and quality. They have to develop different skills and abilities to solve any
situation within the company. Hence, this theory suggest to develop many skills and abilities to
handle different types of situations. Strength of this approach is that it helps the leaders to
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analyse different situation and enhance their skills which again directly contributed to increase in
overall productivity. Weakness of this theory is that it is time consuming as well as sometimes it
create employees dissatisfaction because employees are having habit to work under leaders who
is using similar leadership style for longer time and when suddenly they change their leadership
style according to situation then employees will face issues (Lemoine, Hartnell and Leroy, 2019).
Contingency theory- This theory indicates that the leader is unable to solve any situation
in the company with one leadership style. A leader must know that there are many ways to solve
a single situation within companies including Morrison. They must adopt the ability to generate
more than one idea of their work so that in case plan A will not work then the leader will adopt
plan B without wasting time. Hence, this theory suggest to gain many ways to handle a particular
situation. Strength of this approach is that it further help the leader to develop skills, abilities and
knowledge in them in such a manner that in case their one skill is unable to handle a particular
situation then they quickly shift to another skill to manage the situation. Weakness of this
approach is that it is time consuming.
System leadership approach- This approach is helpful to increase the overall
productivity of an organisation by redesigning the system of working in such a manner which
will fulfil the needs and wants of the workforce (Leroy and et. al., 2018). Here, leaders first
analyse the behaviour of their workforce by appropriate tools then in case if work is getting
delayed due to complex system of organisation then leaders will try to redesign their system in
such a way that their employees feel get full flexibility to perform their task. Strength of this
approach is that employees gain maximum employees satisfaction because here work is getting
changed according to employees flexibility. Weakness of this approach is that it is time
consuming process because it include analysing employees performance and their current system
and then comparing it with planned performance then adopt new system and at the end
measuring the efficiency of new system on the organisational performance.
P4 Key approaches to operational management and the roles leaders and managers play
Operational management is the management of main operations of a company which is
responsible for company's success. Some of the key operational approaches of Morrison's are
explained below with their manager's role to handle this activities-
Six sigma is an approach which mainly focuses to maintain the quality of product and
services which is offered by a company to its customers (Pereira and et. al., 2019). It further help
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to eliminate the errors in such a way that it will increase profitability of a company. It helps in
reducing time, cost and efforts of employees to perform any task. In context of Morrison, six
sigma approach helps in identifying errors that why they are unable to grow faster in their
industry and also analysis the corrective measures which must be taken to make it correct.
Role of manager in six sigma approach
Mangers mainly focus on those operational activities which contribute to maximize profit
of organisation. Morrison's managers are focusing to corrects the errors as soon as possible and
adopting those strategies which is effective for organisational benefit only and ignores the
benefit of employees. They need to provide best facilities and products to their customers but
they did not pay attention on the factor that when employees will satisfy then they work properly
to satisfy their targeted customers.
Role of leader in six sigma approach-
Leaders mainly focuses to maintain the employees satisfaction level so that they will get
motivated to work in a proper way by improving their performance(Özsoy and Örkcü, 2021).
This will further help them to offer better service to their customers. Quality of products and
services will be reached at its maximum with the help of employees. Hence, leaders makes sure
that all the facilities will be provided to employees which will help them to put less efforts to
complete their task and the task will be completed in a effective way.
Lean approach is an operational approach which helps to manufacture products in such
a way that it will help to satisfy more customers with minimum wastage of raw materials or any
other required resources. In context to Morrison, they work in such a way that their no resource
will be wasted or remains use less.
Role of manager in lean operational approach-
Managers take action to handle the resources. Managers ask supervisors or production
department manager to provide report to them so that they will take appropriate action on
wastage of raw materials. They mainly focus on production process and needs to minimize cost
at any how (Tikhonov, 2019).
Role of leader in lean approach of operational management-
Leaders will analyse all reasons for wastage of raw material by communicating with
employees in their company. They will take those decisions for manage wastage of resources
which will be benefited for both organisation as well as for employees. Leaders will try to
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explain their employees that what all affects they will face in case they will not reduce wastage
of raw material.
P5 Importance and value of operations management in achieving business objectives
Operational management is one of the most important term for a company because it
makes sure that all operational activity of a company will be managed properly which is essential
for them of achieve their objectives. Operations management makes sure that all the essential
task will be performed in the same way as it is planned. In context to Morrison, their operational
activities are given below and how they help the company to achieve their objective-
Inventory stock management- It is essential for every retailing company to manage
their inventory in a proper way so that they will not face the issue of lack of inventory. Inventory
management also makes sure that no item will get damaged due to excess of inventory. In
context of Morrison, they have their own warehouses near their supermarkets and hypermarkets
so that in case their store will require any product they will arrange it as soon as possible
(Gaichas and et. al., 2017). Customers of a retailing company including Morrison get satisfied
when they receive any product which they order. This needs of customers get fulfilled by proper
inventory management and hence, this will further help to achieve Morrison's goal to satisfy their
customers with their proper services.
Customer service- It is also one of the main part of operational management in retailing
sector. Retailing sector is all about providing proper services to customers to gain their lifetime
loyalty. In context of Morrison, they have a customer service department whose work is to
manage all customers needs and wants and to resolve the complaints which they receive. This
department makes sure that customer will not face any issue from purchasing any product from
their supermarkets and hypermarkets. By solving all customer's complaints and providing them
best services will help the Morrison to gain more profit and more loyal customers. Hence, their
objective will get achieved. Good services related to customers will also help them to attract new
customers.
Store Atmosphere- It is essential to maintain a good working atmosphere at retailing
stores for their success. Customers likes to purchase from those retailing companies where they
find a good and positive environment. In context of Morrison, their store manager makes sure
that their store will not give a clutter look. It is essential that the products will be arranged
properly in the shelves according to their size and pattern (Tarigan and Siagian, 2021). Products
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will be arranged in such a way that it will not fall down from shelves if one item will be picked
up. There should not be foul smell in stores which will irritate customers easily. All these
activities will help to manage the environment of store and make it more attractive. Hence,
customers likes to purchase their household items from this type of stores where all items are
arranged in a proper way and stores are clean. Therefore, Morrison's objective will get achieved
by attracting more customers and gain a good amount of profit.
P6 Assess the factors within the business environment that impact upon operational management
and decision-making by leaders and manager
Business environment is defined as the combination of various internal as well as
external factors that impacts on organisational performance and functionality positively and
negatively. Internal factors are in the control of organisation so managers and leaders change
them according to requirement. On the other hand, organisation have no control over external
factors so, managers develop effective strategies and policies to overcome impacts of external
factors and ensure run business activities efficiently (Barnes, 2018). Business environment is
shaped by political, economic, technological and social factors. Decisions of Morrisons leaders
and managers are affected by the business environment factors that are mentioned below:
Corporate social responsibility: The concept of corporate social responsibility
encourages Morrisons to perform organisational operations in ethical and honest manner. It is
defined as the self-regulating model that facilitates organisation to be social accountable to its
representatives, stakeholders and public. Managers and leaders of respective organisation face
various problems regarding implementing concept of corporate social responsibility in business
operations as it includes non customers as well as organisational shareholders of organisation of
do not find it interested to utilise various resources for non customers. Organisational decision-
making process and operations are getting affected by the CSR. Leaders and managers of
orgqanisati9on are responsible for complying CSR activity in business operations.
Sustainability: The concept of sustainability in business operations management ensures
that resources that are purchased by the organisation must be used in properly without
mismanaging organisational funds. It is most important aspect for Morrisons that reflects
organisational accountability towards general customers (Grant, Wong, and Trautrims, 2017).
Managers evaluate the factors and formulates strategies and leaders ensures that these strategies
are implemented at all level of organisation to gain sustainable competitive advantages.
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Managers ensures that organisatonal objectives and strategies are sustainable and not use the
resources that harms social ethics and culture of society.
Stakeholders: Stakeholders: Stakeholder are defined as the individuals and group who invest in
business or who affect business operations or getting affected by business. Stakeholder of
Morrisons includes employees, customers, suppliers and government. These stakeholder plays
essential role in the activities of operations and management of organisation. Leaders and
managers of Morrisons ensures that business fulfil demands of customers (Wilson, 2018). All
decisions of organisation are taken according to stakeholders to meet their needs and demands
efficiently. Managers provides proper working environment to employees, quality products to
customers and ensure that taxation policies and legislations are followed by the organisation.
Ethics: Morrisons follows corporate social responsibility is business operations to ensure
that business perform all functions in ethical manner and decisions that are taken by the leaders
and managers do not affect stakeholder and environment of organisation. Managers and leaders
plays important role in ensuring that organisation compile all vision and missions in business
operations properly. Managers take decisions regarding welfare of stakeholder and encourage
sustainable development of organisation and implement ethical policies at all hierarchical level
of organisation.
Conclusion
From the above information it is concluded that managers and leaders they both are
important for an organisation to grow. Leaders analyse the behaviour of their workforce and help
them to perform their task in those manners which are suitable for both, employees as well as for
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organisation. For future improvement it is recommended that managers must provide advanced
technology to leaders for making their work easy to measure the performance and behaviour of
employees. Managers are supposed to support and include the suggestions of leaders in decision
making process because leaders are the link between managers and employees. Hence, leaders
suggestions always include employees point of views. It is also recommended that leaders must
assign from organisation it self and there will be regular change or leaders within an organisation
to analyse which employee suits best as an leader and who is able to manage their organisational
resources in better4 ways so that from the next time they will hire those leaders only who prove
their abilities perfectly. Secondly, this change of leaders on timely basis will also help the
employees to develop their skills.
References
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