Leadership and Management in Operations: A Ford Motor Company Report

This report delves into the core concepts of leadership and management within the context of Ford Motor Company's operations. It begins by differentiating between the roles and characteristics of leaders and managers, highlighting their significance in driving organizational success. The report then explores how leadership and management principles are applied in various situational contexts, emphasizing the importance of risk-taking, problem-solving, and decision-making skills. Various leadership theories and models, including situational, systems, and contingency approaches, are examined, along with their respective strengths and weaknesses. Furthermore, the report investigates key approaches to operations management and the roles of leaders and managers in achieving business objectives. The importance of operational management in improving efficiencies and meeting business goals is discussed, accompanied by a critical evaluation of operations management practices. Finally, the impact of internal factors on operational management and decision-making is considered.

MANAGEMENT AND
OPERATIONS

INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................................................3
TASK 1..........................................................................................................................................................3
P1 Different roles and characteristics of a leader and a manager..............................................................3
M1 Differentiate between Role of a Leader and Functions of a Manager.................................................5
TASK 2..........................................................................................................................................................6
P2 Role of a leader and the function of manager applied in different situational contexts.......................6
P3 Different theories and models of leadership.........................................................................................6
M2 Strengths and Weakness of various approaches of Leadership...........................................................8
D1 Critical evaluation of different theories and approaches to leadership................................................9
TASK 3........................................................................................................................................................10
P4 Key approaches of operations management and roles played by leaders and managers....................10
P5 Importance of operations management in achieving business objectives..........................................11
M3 Improvement in efficiencies for successfully meeting business objectives......................................11
D2 Critical evaluation of operations management...................................................................................12
TASK 4........................................................................................................................................................12
P6 Impact of internal factors upon operational management and decision making (Covered in ppt).....12
M4 Analyzing different factors that effect business environment (Covered in ppt)...............................12
CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES............................................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Operation management can be defined as one of the most important department in an
organisation. They play an important role in producing goods and services for its customers.
Management and operations are like the key factors of the organization. Here, basically input is
converted into out by using various resources like raw material, plant and machinery, labour,
capital etc. So, in this process raw materials are converted into finished products so that needs
and demands of customers are satisfied (Barratt, Choi and Li, 2011). The company used in this
report is Ford which is a multinational Automaker company in America. They are into luxury
vehicles, commercial vehicles, automotive parts etc. The aim of preparing this report is to
understand the difference between functions of a manger and role of a leader. In this, the concept
of operations will be discussed in context of both i.e a function or a process. Various types of
theories and models will also be discussed along with this key approach, importance and value of
operation management will also be discussed.
TASK 1
P1 Different roles and characteristics of a leader and a manager
It is well known that a leader and a manager are the ones who run an organization in an
effective way. If they will have good knowledge and skills then only they will be able to lead the
company in an efficient manner. They should have good leadership qualities so that they can the
other employees in an efficient way. In Ford company, the leaders and managers are chosen very
carefully because the senior team know that if wrong leader or a manager is chosen then it can
even destroy the company. So, the Role of a Leader in Ford is as follows:-
 Required at all Levels – Leadership is a function which is required at all levels of
management. They help the senior department in formulating the policies and procedures. It
helps the middle and lower level management in executing the plans and policies in an
efficient way (Alderton and Saieva, 2013).
 Acts as a Representative – A leader is considered as a representative of the company as
they are the only ones who represent the company in various seminars, conferences,
meetings etc. They act as a communicator between the company and outside public.

 Integrates personal goals with organisation’s Goals – Leaders helps in integrating the
personal goal of employees with the company’s goals. This ideas because they want to
bring coordination in the company (Brandon and Mullan, 2013).
 Acts as a friend, guide and a Philosopher – A leader must have these three qualities
inside the so that they can effectively communicate with the employees of company.
Then only the employees will be able to share their issues, feelings, opinions about the
company.
Characteristics of leaders:-
 CONSISTENCY – If a leader is consistent in his job then he will be able to gain
credibility and respect from his employees which is very important for a leading a group.
If the leader will get so much respect then the followers will act in same way so as to get
the same respect. HONESTY – A leader should be honest in conducting his work in an organization. This
will help them in addressing the obstacles of the company in a better way and removing
them will also be easy for them. DIRECTION – A leader should be efficient in providing direction to its followers so that
they can perform well in the company. This is one of the most essential characteristics
required in a leader.
The role and characteristics of a manager is different from a leader. They are as follows –
Role of Manager –
 Allocation of resources – To produce innovative products in Ford, managers is
responsible to provide good resources so that efficient and effective products are
produced.
 Job Assigning – They are given the responsibility to assign jobs to people working in the
company on the basis of their skills and talent (Chevalier and et. al., 2015).
 Managing whole organization – They are the only ones who is required to handle all the
activities in the company and managing all functions at Ford in an effective manner.
Characteristics of Manager are –

 Importance of Self knowledge – A manager should have good knowledge about how to
manage an organization. They should understand who should work in the company and who
should not (Chiarini and Vagnoni, 2015).
 Professional Skills – A manager must possess intellectual, technical, ethical skills in
themselves.
M1 Differentiate between Role of a Leader and Functions of a Manager
The difference between role of a leader and functions of a manager are –
Role of a leader Functions of a manager
 Leaders are required to manage and
control the members of their team in an
efficient manner.
 Whereas, managers are required to
manage the whole company.
 Leaders are given responsibility to
develop the skills and knowledge of
their team members only.
 Managers are given the responsibility
to develop skills and knowledge of all
the employees so that they can perform
better and increase productivity.
 Leader is the one who represents the
company in front of the outside people.
They are required to make a positive
image of company in outside world.
 Managers performs the function of
allocating effective resources in the
company so that effective product.
So, from the above table it is clear that leaders and managers are different and have
different roles and functions in company. In Ford, the managers who are appointed are every
efficient in handling their work and may be that is why the company is growing in such high
speed (Dekker, Bloemhof and Mallidis, 2012).

TASK 2
P2 Role of a leader and the function of manager applied in different situational contexts
Leaders and managers play a significant role in handling various types of situation in the
company and then trying to resolve their issues in a proper manner by using their skills and
expertise. Ford is a big company, having its branches in various countries so they need to have
good management and leadership so that all their activities are conducted properly. Therefore
role of manager and functions of leader can be explained from following points:-
 Risk Taking Skills – Both the manager and the leader has the power to take risk for solving
various business issues. Those people who have the ability to take risk must only be chosen
for this task (Galindo and Batta, 2013).
 Problem solving skills – They are given responsibility to solve various problems that are
arising in maintaining the company in a healthy manner. Their main aim is to understand
the issues of employees so that it can be resolved and company can grow.
 Decision making skills – Managers and leaders are given the authority to take necessary
decisions for their team and company. They are required to gather necessary information
and data before taking any decision so that any wrong decision is not taken by them.
 Training and development: - All the activities are designed and managed by leader of
HR department and manager of Ford to enhance the knowledge of employees.
 Time Management: - They need to manage the duration of an organization by assigning
all tasks and activities in a proper manner to complete it within given time frame.
P3 Different theories and models of leadership
Leadership can be defined as a process in which the leader tries to inbuilt skills and
knowledge in its followers so that they can perform in a better manner in the company. They
guide their team towards correct path. Ford also wants that their leaders should be efficient and
full of knowledge so that they provide the same skills to its team. There are various models and
theories which are introduced to make leadership effective and companies can apply it to achieve
their desired goals. They are:-
 Situational leadership:-

This model was designed by Paul Heresy and Ken Blanchard and earlier it was known as
lifecycle theory of leadership and in mid of 1970s it was renamed as situational leadership theory
(Gunasekaran and Ngai, 2012). According to this model, there is no single method in leadership.
A leader has to apply different methods to deal with different kinds of situation in the company.
This theory was developed to find good ways of adapting leadership actions to meet needs of
different situations.
Figure 1 Situational Theory
Source:- Situational Theory, 2017
 Systems leadership: -
The main aim of this theory is to see that the company is following the systems and policies or
not while dealing with different kinds of situations. In fact it is based on discipline of a
management by considering necessary facts and figures. So, basically system leadership styles
believes in following rules and regulations that are made by the senior management of Ford to
run their business in a more effective manner. Thus, it is also known as a systematic model of
leadership (Heizer, 2016).

 Contingency approach:-
As per this theory, it is assumed that there is no single est way to deal with issues and
lead a company or take any decision. A leader should have certain contingency in them so
that they apply their own style of leadership to deal with the situation. But few things are
there which should be taken care of if this model is applied which includes – leader and team
members relationship should be good, risk should be taken by the leader as per the task
structure and last but not the least leader should be given enough authority so that they can
use their own style of leadership to solve problems.
M2 Strengths and Weakness of various approaches of Leadership
The styles and models that are used by companies to improve its leadership have certain
strengths and weaknesses which make the different from each other (O'Fallon and Rutherford,
2011). They are as follows –
Strengths and Weakness of Situational Leadership are –
Strengths Weaknesses
 Here, the leader is not much strict so
team members doesn’t hesitate to talk
to him and share their feelings or
worries.
 In this model, leaders take their
decisions as per the situation so, they
are responsible for their own actions
and no one else.
 This theory of leadership is not applied
in every organization because they
think that it is not good enough to solve
the problem of the company.
 Since the leaders here are much lenient
so team members sometimes doesn’t do
work with seriousness which affects
both organizational as well as personal
goals.
Strengths and Weakness of System Leadership are:-
Strengths Weaknesses
 Here, the leader makes use of all the
policies and rules which are made by
top level management to solve various
 These rules and regulations can also
bind the leader from taking a particular
decision for the betterment o the

problems.
 This is considered as a disciplinary
approach.
company.
 Rules and policies bring strictness in
the company which is not liked by
employees very much.
Strengths and Weakness of Contingency Theory are:-
Strengths Weaknesses
 This strategy is very easily adaptable in
companies and applied also.
 This theory can be applied in every
situation arising in the company.
 Here, both the leader and the team
members are having minimum stress.
 In this, leaders are considered
incompetent to solve complex issues
because they solutions given by them
are very much simple.
 It is not suitable in every situation.
D1 Critical evaluation of different theories and approaches to leadership
According to Alderton and Saieva, (2013) , each and every theory of leadership can be
applied in an organization because they all are having simple nature and is completely competent
in solving problems of company. If checked in detail then it can be said that situational and
contingency theory is very much different from systematic theory. If compared with each other
then it can be seen that all of them are having different technique for resolving problems and act
according to the situation.
It can be observed very well that contingency theory and situational theory both are
dependent upon the situation and then reach accordingly. The leaders are having the authority to
take decisions as per the situation going on in the company. As per these two models, it can be
said that there is no single best method to solve any problem in the company, it depends on the
factors of environment.
On contrary to this, system theory is totally based on rules and regulation that are formed
by higher authority of a Ford while dealing with any situation. In fact this leadership style is full

of disciplinary nature which is used by Ford to prevent their surrounding from any unacceptable
behavior of employees.
From the above discussion, it can be learned that all these theories and approaches are
very much effective for Ford because it is a big company where lf good leadership will not be
there then company will not be able to survive in market.
TASK 3
P4 Key approaches of operations management and roles played by leaders and managers
Operational management can be defined as a process in which raw materials are
converted into finished products as per the needs and demands of customer. It is a management
function which requires effective and skilled managers to control overall enterprise
(Subramanian and Ramanathan, 2012). They require good leaders also who will guide them to
perform all the activities effectively. Therefore appropriate key approaches of management and
operations is mentioned below:-
 Just in time :- As per this model, A company triesto complete its task in the time
assigned to them. So, basically it is an inventory strategy whose main aim is to minimize
the inventory costs and maximize the profits. It is also known as pull approach which was
implemented in approximately in between 1960s and 1970s for reducing manufacturing
time period.
 Dynamic approach:- According to this , Ford tries to resolve their multiple problems by
using one single method and by implementing different techniques and methods. So, this
model is very much useful in completing task in the required duration by using minimum
resources.
 Total quality management:- The main aim of this approach is to sustain the quality of
product that are being produced by them and also the quality of company as well. Vrious
types of methods are applied by Ford so as to improve their work
 System approach:- This approach is totally based on rules and regulation which are
implemented by the senior management of Ford by considering necessary facts and

figures. This method helps in forming an environment which will be free from every kind
of discrimination and disparity.
 Six sigma:- This approach is a set of tools and techniques used for improving their
process which was introduced by Bill Smith and Mikel J Harry in approximately 1986.
This method is used to enhance the quality of output which they produce in the company.
Their main motive is to minimize time of production, minimizing of pollution and costs
of a product (Yang, Hong and Modi, 2011).
P5 Importance of operations management in achieving business objectives
Management and operations plays a very important role in attaining goals of the company
through implementing variety of ideas and plans. It is very eminent for handling whole system
by delivering actual goods and services at a marketplace. Just like other department operational
management is also having major responsibilities towards development of whole company by
producing goods as pr the needs and demands of consumer (Alderton and Saieva, 2013). So, the
importance of management and operations are:- Satisfied needs of consumers:- Operational management helps in producing goods and
services as per the demands of the customer so, it is one of the most important task that
is performed by them in the company. Revenue generation:- Every company wants yo earn maximum profit and company can
maximize its profit only if they are selling good quality of products in market that are
liked by the customer. Operational management helps in attracting the customers
towards the company. Attracting consumers:- All the products are manufactured by this department only so
they are liable to produce different ideas of training their employees for capturing the
attention of different consumers.
 Efficient use of resources: This department trying to allocate necessary resources for
developing whole enterprise at international level.
M3 Improvement in efficiencies for successfully meeting business objectives
Operational management is considered as one of the main function in Ford. They perform an
important role because of which companies are able to reduce its obstacles. Therefore the leaders
and the managers try their best to remove all the issues and try to bring efficiency in it so that

they help more in attaining the objectives. They also try to improve their production process by
implementing various advanced technology equipments to complete their task and activity in less
duration (Barratt, Choi and Li, 2011). Both leaders and the managers tries to increase the
efficiency in management by implementing the following points:-
 Strategy Implementation:-This is considered as one of the important task of managers and
leaders. This will help them in dealing with difficult situations and prepare for unexpected
risk.
 Appropriate plans:- Planning process is very much essential to remove barriers which is
faced by organization during manufacturing process. It is used by Ford to improve the
knowledge of their employees which helps in their overall personality development.
D2 Critical evaluation of operations management
According to Heizer , (2016) Operational management is very much important while conducting
process of converting raw material into finished products as per the needs and demands of
consumers. Along with this, all the necessary elements that shows direction of physical and
technical functions in Ford is also highlighted (Brandon and Mullan, 2013). Various applications
of operational management are –
 It applies in managing the overall organization by using various types of methods that are
effective as well. The methods are like critical path analysis, project evaluation method.
 It is also applied in producing qualitative products for the company which will satisfy the
needs and demands of consumer.
TASK 4
P6 Impact of internal factors upon operational management and decision making (Covered in
ppt)