Analysis of Leadership and Management Functions at Marks and Spencer

This report provides a detailed examination of leadership and management practices within Marks and Spencer. It begins with an introduction to the company, its management structure, and the roles and characteristics of both managers and leaders. The report differentiates between managerial functions and leadership roles, applying various management theories such as Fredrick Taylor's scientific management and Henry Fayol's administrative management theory. It explores the application of these roles in different organizational situations, including scenarios of low profitability and productivity. Furthermore, the report delves into various management and leadership theories like situational, system and contingency leadership theories, evaluating their strengths and weaknesses. The study concludes with recommendations based on the analysis, offering insights into how Marks and Spencer can enhance its leadership and management strategies for sustainable performance.

MANAGEMENT AND
OPERATIONS

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
1. Introduction of Marks and Spencer and its management structure.........................................1
2. Role and characteristics of manager and leader of Marks and Spencer.................................2
3. Difference between managerial function and leadership roles b............................................3
y applying various management theories....................................................................................3
4. Role of leader and function of managers in different situation of organisation......................5
5 Different management and leadership theories to support growth and sustainable
performance.................................................................................................................................5
6. Evaluate different theories to identify strength and weakness................................................6
7. Conclusion and recommendations .........................................................................................7
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................8
1. Introduce operation management and key approaches adopted by Marks and Spencer.........8
2. Roles and responsibilities of manager and leader...................................................................8
3. Importance and values of Key approaches to operation management in achieving objectives
.....................................................................................................................................................9
4. Operational efficiency can be effectively improved by managers and leaders......................9
5. Impact of external business environment factors on operational management decisions.....10
6. Evaluate application of operation management to manage factors that impact business
environment...............................................................................................................................10
7. Conclusion and Recommendations .....................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
This study is based on management and operations. Operation management is related to
management of different activities of organisation that is concerned with production of good and
services efficiently to maximise the profits. Marks and Spencer will form part of this assignment
to explain different tasks of this study. Marks and Spencer is involved in retail business and
producing various products such as clothing , home products and luxury food products. It is
serving its products and services in different countries. Marks and Spencer is having its number of
employees more than 80000 and it generated revenue of £10.622 billion in 2017. This study will
differentiate between role of leader and the function of manager. This assignment will also explain
about different approaches of operation management. Furthermore, This assignment will include
relationship between leadership and management in contemporary business environment.
TASK 1
1. Introduction of Marks and Spencer and its management structure
Marks and Spencer is involved in retailing business and provide various products to
customers such as clothing, Home products and luxury food products. It is a public limited
company operating in all over the regions to attract more customers and increase its brand image.
Marks and Spencer operating income is about £690.6 million (2017). This organisation is having
more than 80000 employees. Management structure is related to company management hierarchy.
Marks and Spencer follows flat organisational structure in which there are limited level of
management between administrative level and front – line employees (Elazegui, Rola and Allis,
2016). This structure is followed by Marks and Spencer in order to engage employees in decision-
making process. Management structure of Marks and Spencer assist in engaging employees in
order to bring new ideas and also this structure helps in motivating employees. This organisational
structure helps in transparent communication because there are limited level of management. Flat
organisational structure followed by marks and Spencer required less supervision.

2. Role and characteristics of manager and leader of Marks and Spencer
Role and characteristics of managers
 It is the responsibility of managers to perform various functions of organisation which
consist of Planning organising, directing , staffing and controlling. This functions are
performed by managers in order to make plans to achieve the objectives of organisation.
 Managers are responsible to for formulating and implementing various policies and
strategies for effectively achieving the targeted goals of marks and Spencer (Emanoil,
2014).
 Managers of marks and Spencer is responsible for providing direction to employees in
order to make them understand about the objectives to increase the productivity of firm to
achieve higher results.
 Managers are responsible for providing safe workplace for workers in order to protect
workers from harmful injuries.
Characteristics of manager consist of the following :
 Managers of marks and Spencer have good communication skills in order to reduce
conflicts between employees and to communicate various job responsibilities to
employees. Strong communication skills are required to solve the problems of employees.
 Managers of Marks and Spencer have leadership quality which assist them in providing
direction to employees to achieve the objective of organisation effectively and
efficiently(Huda, Ruddin and Zanariah, 2016).
Ill
ustration 1: Marks and Spencer organisational structure(Flat)
(Source :Organisational Structure Flat, 2017)

 Managers must poses the characteristics of delegating responsibility in order to provide
job responsibility to subordinates.
Role and characteristics of leader of Marks and Spencer
 Leaders of Marks and Spencer is responsible to motivate its followers in order to improve
their work performance to achieve the objective of organisation effectively and efficiently.
 Leaders of Marks and Spencer are responsible to communicate the vision of firm to
employees to inform them about long term vision of firm.
 Leaders of marks and Spencer ensure that employees are satisfied with their job and also
provide them training improving their efficiency and performance level.
 Leaders of marks and Spencer delegate tasks to the members of team to successfully
complete it in stipulated time.
Characteristics of leader
 Characteristics of leaders consist of honesty and integrity to effectively achieve goals of
team.
 Leaders of marks and Spencer poses decision – making capabilities to make effective
decision regarding various functioning of organisation.
 Leaders of marks and Spencer poses creativity and innovation which assist in developing
the products by implementing new ideas.
 Leaders have strong communication skills through which it communicates various
responsibility and tasks to teams.
3. Difference between managerial function and leadership roles b
y applying various management theories
There are various theories of management which consist of the following :
 Fredrick Taylor – Theory of scientific management : This theory of scientific
management lays emphasis on improving economic efficiency. According to Fredrick
Taylor employees must be paid fairly and to motivate them to perform their best . Fredrick
introduced Differentiated piece rate system to pay workers (Nodehi, 2014). Differentiated
piece rate system is a method of payment of wages according to the work completed by
workers. High wages are provided to workers if they completed the work in allotted times
whereas low wages are allotted for completing the work after completion to allotted time.

 Henry Fayol -Administrative management theory : Henry fayol define 14 principles of
management which consist of division of work, equity, discipline, initiative, authority and
responsibility, Esprit De corps, Subordination of individual to general interest, Stability of
tenure, Remuneration, Unity of direction, centralization, scalar chain and unity of
command.
On the basis of above theory management function and leadership roles can be differentiated as
follows :
Managerial function Leadership roles
 Managers of organisation perform
various function such as planning ,
organising, directing and controlling.
 Planning is first function which is
performed by managers. Planning
function is related to formulating plans
for the future to achieve the objective of
firm effectively and efficiently.
 Organising is second function in which
managers organise the various activities
of firm to utilise the resources of
organisation in proper way.
 Directing function of manager is related
to providing direction to employees
about the goals of organisation to
achieve targeted goals (Iswanto, 2017).
 Controlling is the last function of
management in which mangers is
responsible for controlling various
activities by comparing actual
performance with standards and making
changes in plan if there is any deviation.
 Leader is responsible for providing clear
understanding of vision which are
planned by managers to employees.
 Leaders formulate strategies in order to
achieve the objectives of organisation
which are set by the managers.
 Leaders are responsible to provide
motivation and training to employees in
order to improve their performance
level and efficiency to increase the
profitability of firm.
 Leaders play a role of encouraging team
work in order to achieve the objectives
effectively and efficiently.
 Leader is responsible for reducing
conflicts among the member of team to
build a trust between them to work
towards the common objective.
 Leaders play a role of communicator
between management and employees
regarding different task and delegating
responsibilities to members of team.

4. Role of leader and function of managers in different situation of organisation
There are different situations in an organisation in which management function and
leadership roles are applied.
 Managers Implement strategies in the situation of low profitability and productivity
to increase the productivity of Marks and Spencer . Managers and leaders of marks
and Spencer in the situation of low profits and productivity make proper planning
to utilise the resources in the best way to increase productivity. Leaders in situation
of low productivity and profits make sure that employees are provided with proper
training to improve their performance level to increase firm productivity and
profitability.
 Managers and leaders of Marks and Spencer in order top reduce conflicts between
employees to achieve the objective of organisation effectively perform different
management functions and leadership roles. Managers in order to reduce conflicts
between employees relating to their job responsibilities ensure that employees are
defined with proper job responsibility and staffing function is performed by
managers in this situation to solve conflicts. Leaders in order to reduce conflicts
make proper communication to teams regarding their work and make sure vision
and objectives are clearly understood by them.
5 Different management and leadership theories to support growth and sustainable performance
There are various management theories such as Fredrick Taylor theory of scientific
management and henry fayol theory of administrative management and leadership theories
consists of Situational leadership, system leadership and contingency leadership theory.
 Situational theory : Situational theory of leadership is a leadership style applied to
different situation of Marks and Spencer. This theory states that leadership style
changes on the basis of different situation (The Major Leadership Theories, 2018) .
This theory stated four leadership style which are used in different situation this
consist of telling, selling, participating and delegating. Telling leadership style
adopted by leaders, Tells people about what to do and how to do. In selling ,
leaders sell their ideas to member to process them to derive effective results.
Participating, Leaders offers less direction and allows members to bring new ideas

and making decisions. Delegating, group members takes responsibility and
decision.
 System leadership : This theory provide that leaders of organisation to create
conditions in which individuals of all level can work effectively to their potential.
System leadership assist in working with diversifies group of people. System
leadership focuses on leadership style that assist in systematic functioning of
operation in order top achieve the objectives of firm.
 Contingency theory: This theory of leadership lays emphasis on specific variables
related to environment on the basis of which particular leadership style is
determined. According to this theory , no particular leadership style is best in all
situation (Sinha and Kumar, 2016). This theory depends on variables including
leadership style, Qualities of followers and aspects of situation.
These theories of leadership assist in increasing the productivity of marks and Spencer by
effectively applying these theories. These theories support marks and Spencer in improving the
performance of firm in the market by using various leadership styles which provide support in
providing direction about objectives to effectively achieve their goals.
6. Evaluate different theories to identify strength and weakness
Situational theory
Advantages
 This leadership is simple and easy to apply.
 It is a management style personalised for each employee.
 It assists in improving communication. This theory helps in increasing employee morale.
Disadvantages
 This theory is time consuming.
 This theory creates confusion in choosing leadership style according to different situations.
System theory
Advantages
 It defines the behaviour of individual as a group.
 It assists the organisation in visual representation.
 This theory deals with complexity.

Disadvantages
 This theory does not focus specific task function.
 This theory does not recognise differences ion system.
Contingency theory
Advantages
 This theory assist in identifying effectiveness of group performance based on leadership
style.
 This theory assist management in choosing suitable leader for each work . It provides freedom to manage to judge the external environment and use most suitable
management techniques.
Disadvantages
 This theory ignores the principle which are universally applicable.
 This theory fails to enlist all contingency variables.
 It focuses only on situations and not on tools and resources.
7. Conclusion and recommendations
From the above tasks it is concluded that managers and leaders play an important part in
the development of Marks and Spencer. Managers and leaders performs different functions and
roles in order to achieve the objectives of organisation. This task has also provided with different
theories of management and leadership which has included Fredrick Taylor- theory of scientific
management and Henry fayol theory of administrative management and situational theory of
leadership , contingency theory of leadership etc.
Recommendations
 Marks and Spencer should make proper strategies and planning in order have proper
understanding of objectives.
 Marks and Spencer Should make proper use of its resources and make a strong relationship
with employees to improve its performance.
 Marks and Spencer should provide proper training to employees to improve their
performance level to achieve the objectives of organisation.

TASK 2
1. Introduce operation management and key approaches adopted by Marks and Spencer
Operation management is related to management activities that focuses on designing and
controlling the process production in order to maximise the profits. Operation management assist
in creating high efficiency to achieve business objective of marks and Spencer. There are various
approaches of Operation management that consist of six sigma, TQM etc. Marks and Spencer
adopted six sigma approach of operation management in order to remove defects and errors to
increase its productivity and also attract more customers towards the brand. Six sigma approach
consist of stages such as define , measure, analyse, improve and control. Another approach of
operation management is related to providing high quality products and thus adopting total quality
management approach. Lean production is related to minimising waste resources.
2. Roles and responsibilities of manager and leader
Role and responsibility of manager and leaders
 Manager is responsible for managing the resources of organisation in order to utilise them
proper to increase the productivity of Marks and Spencer.
 Manager plays a role financial manager in order to control cost, make budget properly and
keep record of financial resources to identify loss and profit of marks and Spencer (Rajesh
And et.al., 2016).
 Leader of marks and Spencer provide motivation and training to employees in order to
improve their performance to perform various operations of management.
 Leaders of Marks and Spencer resolve conflicts by increasing communication between
members by dividing them into groups.
 Leaders of Marks and Spencer provide its members with different task to complete it in
specific time to identify their performance level and efficiency level.
 Manager of marks and Spencer in order to perform different operation of management
ensure that proper implementation of strategies and policies is made to achieve the
business goals.
3. Importance and values of Key approaches to operation management in achieving objectives
Importance and values of six sigma approach
 Six sigma assist marks and Spencer in eliminating errors by following its various stages
which consist of define, measure, analyse , implement and control (Qayyum and Javaid,

2017). This approach is important and create value for marks and Spencer by reducing
errors and increasing the performance level of organisation.
 Six sigma is important for achieving the objectives of marks and Spencer as it support the
firm in increasing customer loyalty by providing defect free products to customers.
 Six sigma create value for marks and Spencer by motivating the employees of marks and
Spencer that assist in increasing performance of employees.
Importance and values of lean production
 This approach of Operation management assist in reducing the waste when implemented
properly in organisation.
 This approach of operation management create value for marks and Spencer by improving
its customer services by providing them products according to their needs.
 This approach is important as it assists marks and Spencer in increasing its productivity
and flexibility.
4. Operational efficiency can be effectively improved by managers and leaders
The managers and leaders of marks and Spencer in order to improve the Operational
efficiency performs various activities such as utilising the resources of organisation in the best
possible way. Leaders and managers by effectively communicating about the goals and job
responsibilities can improve the operational efficiency of marks and Spencer.
Managers in order to improve the operational efficiency ensure that plans are followed
and if there are any deviation managers must control them to effectively achieve the business
objectives. Leaders of marks and Spencer in order to improve the operational efficiency provide
incentives and various benefits to employees in order to improve their performance level. Leaders
of marks and Spencer provide training to employees to increase their performance level to
effectively achieve the objectives of organisation (MY, TL and AB, 2015). Leaders in order to
bring up new ideas ensure that employees are allowed to provide their suggestion to improve the
functioning of organisation.
Managers of marks and Spencer in order to improve operational efficiency ensure that
employees are working towards the achievement of common goals by delegating them various job
responsibilities. Managers in order to improve operational efficiency ensure that qualified
personnels are hired to achieve the goals of organisation effectively and efficiently.

5. Impact of external business environment factors on operational management decisions
The external factors affecting operational management decision by managers and leaders
consist of following :
Technological factors : These are factors which have their impact on the operations of marks and
Spencer. This factor affects the decision making of managers relating to use of various
technologies to improve the productivity and profitability for firm (Lisanti, Luhukay and Mariani,
2017). Technological factors are related to use of the latest technology in order to provide
products by using high technology.
Government factor : There are various government policies which affect the operational
management decision of managers and leaders (Lindell, 2018). Government policies relating to
taxation and various other rules and regulation which affect the working of marks and Spencer.
Social factor: Social factors are related to factors which have their impact on operational
management decisions of managers and leaders. This factors are concerned with customers taste
and preferences and their demands relating to products.
6. Evaluate application of operation management to manage factors that impact business
environment
Operation management assist in reducing the impact of factors affecting business
environment. Operation management helps in controlling the quality of products by using high
technologies which support the organisation in increasing the business productivity and
profitability.
Operational management helps in managing the factors affecting business environment by
making proper decision relating to various functions of organisation (Islam, 2018). Operation
management assist in adopting various changes occurring in the external environment to gain
competitive advantage for firm.
Operational manager in order to understand the external environment and reduce its
negative impact make proper research about the external factor make various strategies and
planning to adopt those changes which affect the business environment.
Operational management helps in managing the factors affecting business environment
such as customers taste and preferences , government factors, environmental factors etc (Kolesár
and et.al., 2016). Operational management by adopting advanced technology assist in reducing the
negative impact of technological factors on business environment.