Report: Leadership, Management, and Operations at Marks & Spencer

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of leadership and management practices within Marks and Spencer, a prominent retail organization. It begins with an introduction to the company's organizational structure, highlighting the roles of managers and leaders, and comparing their distinct characteristics. The report delves into managerial functions, leadership roles, and the application of various management theories, including situational, systems, and contingency leadership theories. It evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of these theories and assesses their impact on the organization. Furthermore, the report examines the importance of operations management, exploring key approaches adopted by Marks and Spencer, the roles of managers and leaders in operational success, and the influence of external business environment factors. The report concludes with recommendations for improving operational efficiency and a critical evaluation of operations management in the context of the external environment.

Management &
Operations

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
1 Introduction of organisation with its management structure...............................................1
2 Define manager and leader and compare their roles and characteristics.............................1
3 Managerial functions and leadership roles by applying managerial theories......................3
4 Role of leader and functions of managers in different situation.........................................4
5 Apply different theories and models of approach, including situational, System and
contingency leadership theories.............................................................................................5
6 Strength and weakness of different theories........................................................................6
7 Impact of roles and leaders on organisation and recommendations....................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................9
1 Introduce operation management key approaches adopted by the organisation.................9
2 Roles and responsibilities of managers and leaders in successful management of the
operation of Marks and Spencer...........................................................................................10
3 Importance and value of operations management in achieving Business objectives........12
4 How managers and leaders can improve operational efficiency.......................................12
5 Impact of external business environment factors on operational management by Leaders and
managers...............................................................................................................................13
6 Critical evaluation of application of operations management to manage factors in respect to
external environment............................................................................................................13
7 Conclusion and recommendation......................................................................................14
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................15
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................16

INTRODUCTION
Management and operations refers to performing business operations in effective and
efficient manner. Operations management is an stream of management which deals with
designing and controlling business activities leading to attainment of business objectives with
highest level of efficiency (Anderson and et. al., 2018). Operations management helps in
synchronising numerous activities such as production, marketing and sales etc. carried out in the
organisation and ensures that reputation of the business is enhanced in the market. This report is
based on Marks and Spencer which is big retail organisation deals in luxurious clothing, home
products, accessories, etc. It has headquarter in Westminster, London. In this report there is
discussion about role of leader and functions of managers, theories of management, appreciation
of role of leader and managers ad lastly relationship between leadership and management.
TASK 1
1 Introduction of organisation with its management structure
INTRODUCTION OF MARKS AND SPENCER
Marks and Spencer is an organisation operating in retail sector specialises in clothing,
home products, luxurious goods, etc. This organisation was established in 1884 by Michael
Marks and Thomas Spencer. Marks and Spencer operates across the world, it has around 84,939
employees. It has 979 stores in different parts of country. Organisational structure of Marks and
Spencer is flatter because there are less levels of authority. The undertaking of the flatter
management structure assures that information is transferred appropriately along with
establishing ease of communication.
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(Source: Organisational structure of M&S, 2017)
As per structure of structure of M&S general manager is at higher level. After a middle
level managers, there are finance and administration department which works as link between
lower and top level managers. At last, there are lower level personnel which works to deal with
customers in industry.
2 Define manager and leader and compare their roles and characteristics
DEFINITION OF LEADER
A leader is the person which has superior designation and directs and monitors the
behaviour and actions of its followers. have few individuals which work as per leader's direction
and monitoring. They have high degree of control and decision making power. Leader has ability
to lead whole team.
DEFINITION OF MANAGER
Manager is the person who manages all the operations which have to performed in order
to achieve specific targets (Bromiley and Rau, 2016). There are various departments in Marks
and Spencer headed by managers such as project managers, line managers, departmental
managers, etc. They are responsible for guiding team mates with methods through which targets
can be achieved.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LEADER AND MANAGER
Basis Managers Leaders
Risk taking Managers of Marks and While leader has ability to
2
Illustration 1: Organisational structure of M&S

Spencer do not take much risk
in performing operation
because they do not wish to
disrupt status quo.
(Caplan,2014).
handle risk through working
with best suitable alternative.
Function Managers has to plan,
organise, staff, direct and
control activities performed by
employees.
Leader of Marks and Spencer
works in order to motivate
employees.
Peer members Peer members of managers are
known as subordinates.
While peer members of leaders
are known as followers.
Initiative Managers of Marks and
Spencer works according to set
standards and benchmarks.
While leaders works with new
and innovative approaches.
ROLES OF MANAGER
Managers has vital role in performing business operations in effective and efficient way.
Some roles of managers of Marks and Spencer are as under-
Training of new employees- There is requirement of training of new workers so that they
are able to learn about professional practices of job profile (De Roover, 2017). Managers of
Marks and Spencer plan training method of induction.
Development programme for existing workers- Apart from new workers, there is
requirement of polishing knowledge an skills of existing workers also. So it is responsibility of
managers to plan learning event for existing employees also.
Monitoring and controlling budgets and expenses- Marks and Spencer have world wide
image, so there are some expenditure for growth and development of business operations. It is
essential that managers has to fix budget and then analysis must be there that expenses must be
within specified limit.
ROLES OF LEADER
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Leader provides best way to perform business operations. This helps in optimal use of
resources and hence cost can also maintained (Grant, Wong and Trautrims, 2017). Some roles of
leader performed in Marks and Spencer are as under-
Motivating employees- Leaders of Marks and Spencer makes strategies in order to
motivate employees. As leader applies new style to perform business operations. This can be
successful with active participation of workers which can be done by motivating them.
Guiding workers- When some new techniques are applied to organisation then there is
requirement of guidance to employees. So it is responsibility of leaders of Marks and Spencer to
direct workers, so they can attain goals effectively.
Planning for best alternative to perform task- Marks and Spencer has operations in
different of country. There are various operations which has to be performed in order to attain
goals and objectives. Hence it is responsibility of managers to plan about alternative which are
effective and significant for market growth and development.
3 Managerial functions and leadership roles by applying managerial theories
Marks and Spencer has good image in industry, because they have proper way to perform
business operations such as use of Just In time approach. This can be possible with active role of
managers and leaders (Gunasekaran, Irani and Papadopoulos, 2014). There are many changes
which are taking place in business environment, so it is essential that manager has to accept
modifications and hence alterations in plans an policies are required. Role of managers and
leaders can be understood with Henry's theory.
Planning- Planning is basic management function which helps to attain targets
effectively. Planning helps to make overview of activities which helps to guide employees.
Managers of Marks and Spencer must plan activities properly, which helps in getting positive
outcomes. Managers has to plan business operations the which helps to attain aims and
objectives within specified time.
Organizing- Organising means to set all required resources. Managers of Marks and
Spencer work collect and organise resources which ease in performing operations. Organising is
done through best and cheap manner. Leaders has to make alteration in resources through which
they can gain competitive advantage and assist in sustainable development of Marks and
Spencer.
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Commanding- Commanding means to guide and lead employees. Marks and Spencer is a
big brand in retail sector, so targets are set by leaders to be attained by employees (Hugos, 2018).
Managers keeps eyes on working style, which helps to get positive outcome. Leaders plays
important role in providing guidance to employees and ask them. In case of alteration in working
style of Marks and Spencer, managers has to lead time.
Coordinating- Coordination is important in Marks and Spencer because there are
different departments working in order to get positive outcome and goals can be attained.
Managers creates coordination among departments, so there are less chances of duplication of
operations. There are many workers working in team, so it is responsibility of leader to create
coordination among them. This reduces possibilities of defects and duplication in services.
Controlling- Controlling is one of the important aspects which helps to maintain cost
according to budget, positive results can be generated. When managers control business then
there is fear in mind of workers, that they can be evaluated. Controlling is done by top level
managers which are working in order to achieve goals and objectives. In case of negative results.
Responsible employees are asked for the reason. This is relevant for achieving goals and targets.
4 Role of leader and functions of managers in different situation
Stable situation- This is the safest situation where changes does not take place
frequently. Managers has to analyse market and then examination must be done that change is
required or not. In case of Marks and Spencer managers has to motivate employees to work
under same situation but ready to accept changes. There is slow change in remuneration policies
of Marks and Spencer so managers and leader has to analyse such change after particular interval
say 6-8 months.
In stable situation of performance appraisal, managers are responsible for analyse
performance of employees on regular basis. This helps to know about employees which are
performing well or not, requirement of training. Managers plan learning event for workforce.
Stable to moderate situation- In this situation changes are taking place but are less
frequent in nature. Trends and preferences of the people in the clothing segment can be
considered as stable to moderate change in the organisation for which leaders are persuaded to
undertake crucial decisions which are to be further implemented by the managers at operational
level (Kerzner and Kerzner, 2017).
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There is difference in trend of clothes, so it is essential of leaders to analyse market and
then implement changes in working style. Sometimes workforce is not ready to work. So this
gives positive result in growth and development.
Fast change- In fast change, alterations are taking with high speed. For instance in case
of technological changes such as launching of mobile application then scope of up- gradations in
it has to be regularly checked by managers and leaders of Marks and Spencer. In case employees
do not accept modifications, then its importance must be conveyed. This helps to maintain good
image in society and compete with competitors. Managers must use communication technique
through which they can inform employees relating to fast changes to subordinates.
When some new technology changes, then manager must interact with employees and
plan actions according to employees perception. This provides satisfaction to customers as well
as increases goodwill of organisation.
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5 Apply different theories and models of approach, including situational, System and
contingency leadership theories
There are many acnes taking place in business environment, so it is essential to accept
alterations according to market trends. Marks and Spencer has good image in industry, because
managers perform leadership in effective way (Kompella, 2015). There are possibilities that due
to change in working style, performance of workers get affected. In this case managers has to
motivate employees by saying that organisational growth will lead to worker's growth.
Situational leadership- In situational leadership, there is requirement of change in plans
and policies according to situation, circumstances. It means that there is no legal and formal
method of leadership used by managers. They act according to circumstances which are
pertaining in the organisation. This leadership can be understood with Hersey and Blanchard's
leadership style. In this there are four style. They are as under-
Telling- This step focuses on uni-direction flow of information from leader to group in
which tasks which are to be carried out are specified.
Selling- According to this approach, manager creates ideas and sell it to employees in
order to apply at operations so that they could be convinced.
Participating- In participation, leader of Marks and Spencer give chance to employees to
take participate in decision making process. This is an attempt to undertake democratic
approaches to leadership and management.
Delegating- In this approach, leader delegate responsibility to workers and accordingly
powers are also provided. In this case employees are responsible for their dealings. Managers
gets positive results from employees.
System leadership- As per this theory of leadership, there are some set form of working
style which is used by managers. This approach is effective when business operations have to
performed in specified manner. This approach works on concept of rigidity, but sometimes this
gives positive and better results. There are proper way to perform business operations. As per
this system theory, managers and leaders can not think out of the box and implement changes. In
acse change in working style, then this leadership is not relevant for association because it works
on set rules and regulations. This leadership is not relevant in current market trends for Marks
and Spencer because there are many alterations happening in external environment.
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Contingency leadership- A business operates in the dynamic market therefore encounters
numerous up and down on economic grounds. Hence in such case, this leadership style works
(leadership Theories, 2017). There are some problems which may occur in business, so in such
case manager has to motivate employees to handle situation. This approach works on the basis of
provisional requirement.
6 Strength and weakness of different theories
Situational leadership
This style is advantages for Marks and Spencer because this gives chance of participation
of employees in the decision making which givers rise to new and innovative ideas. Marks and
Spencer can work with flexibility because there is no specific methodologies to be followed in
situational leadership (Martínez-Jurado and Moyano-Fuentes, 2014).
While as disadvantage, there are possibilities of dissatisfaction among employees, if their
ideas are not applied by managers. This may create possibilities of gossips and affect
organisational culture.
System leadership
Advantage of system leadership is that employees do not have to waste time to think
about new and innovative method. There is synchronisation in leadership system, so managers of
Marks and Spencer need not to think more and hence it is easy to implement.
But this has negative point of bored and regular working style. So employees which has
innovative thoughts does not exist in such environment. In current market trend, changes are
taking place in working style such as job rtoataion, technological alteration, etc. in this case this
approach is not relevant because, employees' have different mindset.
Contingency leadership
Advantage of this approach is that it is helpful in working under changed environment.
This helps Marks and Spencer to deal with external forces. Marks and Spencer is the company
which has good brand image in industry, so there are some situations which arise suddenly. So in
such case, it is responsibility of manager of Marks and Spencer to use this approach.
While disadvantage of this leadership is that it may not be fruitful because there is
difference in perception of employees so dissatisfaction may be created among individuals. As
there is difference in thought process of workforce, so sometimes there are possibilities of
personal or professional conflicts among them. This affects culture of Marks and Spencer.
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7 Impact of roles and leaders on organisation and recommendations
Managers and leaders plays essential role in growth and development of Marks and
Spencer. They motivate employees to give their best to the organisational operations so that
they can satisfy consumer demand. As external environment of business, changing frequently, so
managers has to modify working style such as active participation of employees. Planning
function is performed by managers of Marks and Spencer in order to perform operations in
effective way. Leaders accept changes so they have to motivate employees to perform business
operations in effective way. Situational leadership must be applied by managers of Marks and
Spencer to get positive results.
As recommendation, managers of Marks and Spencer is to use democratic style of
leadership. There is requirement to provide authority to workers so they can make decisions and
hence they are liable for their actions (Piper, 2016). With some authority to workers, they feel
motivated and give best out of it. In order to make good brand image managers of Marks and
Spencer, there must be installation of new machinery and training must be provided to
employees. Manager of Marks and Spencer must plan performance appraisal techniques
associated with performing operations. This is important and significant for employee's
satisfaction as well organisation's growth and development. It is recommended to use on the job
training methods which are important for knowing issues which may arise at work place.
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TASK 2
1 Introduce operation management key approaches adopted by the organisation
OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
Operations management is the part of management which helps to create synchronization
in working style of workers by effective communication among different departments.
Operations management is important in business operations because it provides guidance and
direction to employees because it helps to make proper flow of information among subordinates.
Operations management helps to perform business operations in synchronise way and hence
targets can be achieved on time.
KEY APPROACHES OF OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
There are some ways through which operations management can be performed in
effective way. Marks and Spencer use following approaches of operations and management-
Total quality management- Total quality management means managers must give
emphasise on quality of product. TQM has main focus to maintain standard in product and
services (Renz, 2016). This approach is effective for creating good image in industry and create
good and long term relations with customers. Managers and leader have to emphasise on
improving quality of product through improving process, raw material, etc. This approach is
effective because these days consumers wants qualitative products so it helps to satisfy demand
of consumer.
Continuous improvement- Continuous improvement approach helps to improve quality
of product. Continuous improvement approach works to make small regular improvement in
manufacturing process. It helps to achieve target of improving quality and reduce defects. This is
an ongoing process and requires employees involvement as well. In cycle of continuous
improvement four steps are there i.e. plan, do, check and act.
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