Management & Operations: Leader vs Manager Roles and Functions

This report provides an analysis of management and operations, focusing on the roles and characteristics of leaders and managers within organizations, particularly using Sainsbury's as a case study. It differentiates between leadership and management, examining their respective roles in various business situations such as product launches and conflict resolution. The report explores different leadership theories and models, including Hersey and Blanchard's situational model and systems leadership, and discusses their application in achieving organizational goals. Furthermore, it addresses approaches to operations management like TQM, Kaizen, and JIT, highlighting their importance in achieving business objectives. Finally, the report considers the impact of the business environment on decision-making and operational management by leaders and managers, providing a comprehensive overview of management and operations strategies.

Management and Operations

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
LO 1.................................................................................................................................................1
P1 Defining and comparison among various role and characteristic of the leader and manger- 1
P 2 Roles of leader and functions of manager in different business situations...........................4
P 3 Different theories and models of leadership..........................................................................5
LO 3.................................................................................................................................................7
P4 Approaches to Operations Management and role of managers and leaders in Operations
Management................................................................................................................................7
P5 Importance and value of operations management in achieving business objectives..............9
LO 4...............................................................................................................................................10
P6 Factors in business environment that affect Operations Management and Decision-making
by Leaders and Managers..........................................................................................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
Management operations is the policies and practices of organisation which makes the
business effective and efficient. Management and operations department of a company help in
increasing profits of the company and it is an important aspect which also help in effective
management of the company. It involves planning, organising, directing and controlling the
process to makes improvements in the business practices which leads to the achievements of
organisational goals.
This report discusses about the management and operation strategies of Sainsbury which
is the largest company of supermarket across the world. Its headquarter is at the London, UK.
Sainsbury sales large variety of products and services to the people of all over the world.
This report includes comparison between the different roles and characteristics of a leader
and manager in the organisation. This report also explains the role of leader and manager play in
an organisation. Different models and theories of leadership which helps the leader to improve
their skills and understanding while they are performing task in the business are also involves in
this report. In this report, there is also different approaches of operation management such as
TQM, Kaizen and JIT. This reports determine the impact of business environment on decision-
making and operational management by the managers and leaders.
LO 1
P1 Defining and comparison among various role and characteristic of the leader and manger-
The concept of leadership and leader-
Leadership in a business is capacity of organization's management for setting and
achieving challenging goal, taking quick and decisive actions when it is required, outperforming
competition, and inspiring other for performing at high level they could (Reid and Sanders,
2019). Leadership include showcasing worker how effectively they could perform their
responsibility and regular supervising completion of the task. A Leader is a person who is
involved in leading or commanding an organisation or group.
The concept of management and manager:
Management refers to the process of effective maintaining and designing the atmosphere
in which the people working in the organisation so that they become focused to achieve the goals
and objectives. Manager performs all the functions of management to get the result done
successfully. The manager always focusses on the success growth of business in order to make
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the plans and organise in the such a manner that the employees will work effectively and leads to
the growth of business.
Roles:
Basis of comparison Leader Manager
Facilitators As a leader of Sainsbury they
play the role of facilitator by
helping their subordinates to
make their working easier so
that they will reach to the
target easily.
In organisation manager have
to create the atmosphere where
each and every thing are easily
available for the employees in
an organisation.
Direction Most important role of leader
is to provide the vision to their
subordinates so they as per the
instruction of leader to achieve
goals. (Gibson and Parkman,
2018). This role of leader
makes their subordinates
focused to meet the success of
the organisation
It is the role of a manager to
create short-term goals for
their employees. This allows
employees to achieve the
targets in an effective manner.
Agents Leader is the effective decision
maker which takes the
decision related to the growth
and expansion of business by
applying different business
practices. Leaders of the
company are also called
change agents as they like
innovation.
While as a manager of
Sainsbury maintains their
status quo and always remain
stick to their work.
Focus In the business of Sainsbury
leader also have the role of
When there is any kind of
disturbance and dispute occur
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delegator in which they
allocate the work to the
employees as per their skills
and talent.
in the organisation then the
manager plays the role of
disturbance handling by
solving each and every aspects
of disputes.
Risk Leaders of the Sainsbury are
always willing to take risk.
While as managers of the
company plays an effective
role in management of risk.
Characteristic:
Basis of comparison Leader Manager
Quality The essential quality of good
leader is their honesty. This
characteristics of leader makes
the employees effective and
essential in the business.
Manager have the ability to
lead the people working in the
company. Leadership qualities
is effective for the leader to
manage the workforce
effectively.
Confidence The leader is confident enough
that their team member will
accurately follow their
commands and directions.
Confidence is the key which
leads to the success and
growth of leader and their
team along with the company.
In the business manager have
the strong skills of
communication. Mangers are
less confident as they cannot
take decisions of their own but
requires suggestions.
Ability They have the ability and
capability to inspire and
encourage other towards the
common goals of business
(White, 2016). By applying
Manager have the ability to
plan each and every step
before performing. They know
the goals and objectives of
Sainsbury and how to directs
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different actions in leader will
inspire their sub ordinates.
the employees so that they
achieve them.
Effective Communication Important characteristics of
leader is that they
communicate effectively
vision and strategy to meet the
success in the future. There is
always a two-way process of
communication.
While as manager of the
company while
communicating with its
employees generally is one
process of communication.
P 2 Roles of leader and functions of manager in different business situations.
Role of leader in different situational context:
Leader of the organisation is an important member of the company and play an effective
role in achieving competitive advantage and success of the company. People follow the direction
of leader to meet the specific success and growth. In the business operations there are various
roles of leader such as motivator, decision-maker, influencer etc.
For example, Sainsbury is launching the new products such as Stainless T-shirts for Men
in UK in order to increase its profits and sales. Leader plays an important role in the process of
launching the new products and services in the market. Leader guide and motivate their workers
so that they could work in the most appropriate manner and increases the sales of new products
in market (Heizer, 2016). By giving direction about how employees can achieve their sales
targets and perform other business operation which helps the employees to get the result done
successfully. In this case leader also motivates employees in achieving their sales targets and
keep them engaged. This will make the employees focused in achieve the goals of launched
goods and services. It is another role of a leader to measure the performance of their team
member and determine that their team is working towards the set objectives or not.
For example, for the management of conflicts in the workplace there is need of leader
which makes the workplace effective by maintaining good working condition from solving the
conflicts. A conflict arose between employees and management related to salary and long
working hours. In this situation of business, it is the role of leader to minimise this conflict where
it acts as intermediator between management and employees. Here leader plays an important role
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trying to bring both the parties to negotiating terms (Steiss, 2019). In the organisation when
Sainsbury faces an unexpected risk and uncertainties in business then to resolve them leader will
handle all such uncertain situation and helps to offer the proper solution to these problems.
Functions of manager in various business situations:
Manager is the one who is fully responsible to manage the workforce in the most
appropriate manner. Task and works of the leader are assigned by the manger to their team
members. Planning, organising, directing and controlling are some of the function which is
performed by the manager in the workplace of Sainsbury.
For example, there are various functions which is performed by manager to attain success
in the situation of product launch of Sainsbury. Planning is first function which is performed by
manager by deciding various stets to accomplish the goals of products and services which is
introduced in market. After completion of plan the manager will organise their team as per the
plan by delegating different task and work according the skills and talent of employees. To avoid
problem in introduction of products it is the role of a manager to set proper guidelines and
develop various strategies for successful launching of Stainless T-Shirt in the market (Wild,
2017). So manager of company also plays the role of controller in this situation by controlling
the activities of workforce that they are performing in the right direction or not.
For example, to manage the conflicts in workplace, the functions of manager are to
identify the root cause of the conflict and develop a strategy for minimising it in the future. As a
decision maker manger takes the effective decision to solve the conflicts of the workplace so that
employees will perform effectively. By communicating all the information and data with the
workforce it will helps to decreases the risk and problem of disturbance in business. Manager
review the performance of all people working in organisation and evaluates the result.
P 3 Different theories and models of leadership.
Different theories and models which is used by leader and manager in the workplace to
achieve the success and growth in different situation of business. Manager and leader will
properly manage the workforce by applying the different approaches of leadership so that they
effective done the business operations. While launching a new product and managing the conflict
leader of the organisation can use the three theories in the business which are explained below:
Hersey and Blenchard situational model:
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This approach of leader and manager states that they will adjust their leadership styles
according to the situation for the development of employees. For the accomplishment of needs
and wants of other people leader will changes their style of working. There are four elements of
this approach which is discussed below:
Telling: leader gives the direction and supervise the activities of employees by
maintaining low level of relationship with them. In the situation of product launch of Sainsbury
leader guides their workers so that they effectively introduce the product in market. And
supervise their work for the proper management of conflicts in business (Hopkin, 2018).
Selling: It determine that the leader provides their ideas and suggestion to their
subordinates by explaining the task. Leader will give the ideas to the employees about how
launch the products in the most effective manner.
Participating: The leader will give chances to their team member by involving them in
the process of decision making so the employees will feel that they are valuable for the company
(Mijumbi and et.al., 2016). This will help in the situation of managing the conflicts and maintain
the good working environment.
Delegating: Leader will provide less guidance to their workers and helps them in solving
the problems. So this style is not applicable in the situation of launching the product and
resolving the conflicts of company.
System leadership:
In this leadership style, leader of Sainsbury will apply the leadership style as per the
situation faced or create the condition where people at all levels can work effectively. This
leadership style is effective for launching of new product in the market. In order to make the
launch a success leader of Sainsbury can create a condition like if any employee is able to
achieve timely targets they will be rewarded. This will help in improving the performance of the
employees in an organisation and result in success of new project.
Fiedler's contingency theory:
According to the contingency theory of leadership the most appropriate way to lead the
people are explained by the situations. In the business of Sainsbury leader uses their leadership
style according to the situation like for conflict management. In the situation of conflict, the
leader motivate their employees to come to negotiating terms (Penn and Pennix, 2017).
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LO 3
P4 Approaches to Operations Management and role of managers and leaders in Operations
Management
There are various approaches of Operations Management, some of these are as follows-
Six Sigma-
This is a set of activities of management tools and techniques designed to improve
business by reducing occurrence of errors. This technique is based on measurement to improve
customer satisfaction (Allen, 2019). The main concept behind this approach is to reduce
variations in the process. Model of Six Sigma for quality improvement is as follows-
 Define- This includes summarizing project plan. This includes clear specification of
problem and what is the goal of quality improvement process. This also includes
identification of customers and their requirements. This includes input from voice of
customers, voice of business and voice of process.
 Measure- This phase involves collection of data which is relevant to the project. This
phase focus on the identifying parameter that needs to be quantified and ways in which
the data can be measures and carry out necessary measurement by technique.
 Analyse- This involves finding main cause of the problem. This involves identifying gap
between actual performance and gap performance. Determine why the gap exist and
opportunities to reduce this gap.
 Improve- This phase involves determining the potential solutions, ways to implement
them and testing and implementing them for improvement.
 Control- This phase includes generating a detailed solution monitoring plan. This plan is
prepared to see that required performance is maintained.
Role of leader and manager of Sainsbury's in this is to identify the gap between what
should be the quality of performance in Sainsbury's and what is the actual quality of
performance. Other role of leaders and manager except implementation of plan in the
organisation is to execute proper control so that gap in the ideal and actual processes is timely
identified.
Kiazen
This term refers to change for better. This is a philosophy of operation management
regarding the processes that continuously improves and involves all employees in the process
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(Pinto and et.al., 2018). Kaizen philosophy sees improvement in productivity as a gradual
process. 5 S framework of Kaizen is-
Seiri/Organize- It includes that necessary workplace items from unnecessary workplace items.
Seiton/Create Orderliness- This requires arranging items to allow for easy access.
Seiso/Cleanliness- Keep the workplace clean and tidy.
Seiketsu/standardized cleaning- Systemize workplace clean-up best practices
Shitsuke/discipline- keep the efforts continue.
In this role of leader and manager of Sainsbury's is to implement all the correct
functioning in the organisation so that it allows for continuous improvement. Leader needs to
ensure and implement practice in Sainsbury's and manager needs to ensure that these practice is
properly and effectively followed in the company.
Just In Time (JIT)
In this approach of operations management production is undertaken by the company
when it is demanded. This approach of operations management avoids prior anticipated
production (Amin and et.al., 2018). This is done to avoid cost of carry out and maintenance of
products until they are sold. The main aims behind this is that it
Eliminate defects and waste- JIT produces products on time when these are required so it
utilizes best of production capacity and eliminates waste.
Balancing the flow and scheduling the output- this allows maintaining flow and scheduling of
output as output is produced and supplied on the time its need occur.
Maintenance of equipment and machinery for flawless operations- In this manager have to
ensure that equipment and machinery for flawless operations so that these things do not create
any last minute contingency.
Role of leader and manager of Sainsbury's in this is to have strong harmonious relations
with all suppliers as this approach requires that suppliers of the company can be trusted and are
ready to supply material whenever the need occurs.
Other important role that managers play in this is to see that the facility is ready to
undertake production activities whenever there is a demand for the product.
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P5 Importance and value of operations management in achieving business objectives
Operations Management refers to administration of business activities in order to get
highest possible efficiency within the organisation (Ravinder and Kollikkathara, 2017). These
operations are concerned with converting labour and material into final goods and products,
management of these is to get the best possible efficiency and maximum profits. Operations
Management involves utilization of resources from employees, equipment and technology.
Different operational function in Sainsbury's are-
Process Design- this involves designing of the process which is followed in company to
manage production and operational activities. This process needs to be in such form that it
facilitates processes and also reduce unnecessary elements from the process which cause any
type of extra cost for the product. Sainsbury's is a retail organisation their process includes that
how customers will get their things and how they will be attended and their billings will be
handled. Which goods are kept where is also a part of process design in the Sainsbury's.
Capacity Management- this includes that capacity of the production facility is properly
utilized and enable production unit to produce to its best capacity and also ensure that any kind
of process does not force production unit for more than its capacity (Cachon, Girotra and
Netessine, 2020). In Sainsbury's they are required to see that their store is capable for holding a
limit of goods in it and it does not store goods more than its capacity to keep them safe and avoid
their wastage.
Transformation of raw material into finished goods - Converting raw material into
finished goods with help of labour and by adding assistance from various equipment and
technology.
Objectives of Sainsbury's are-
 Giving the best service to the customers.
 high quality products every time they shop from Sainsbury's.
 Reduction of Waste.
 Maximization of investment.
Sainsbury's is a business organisation and that is why it is really valid that Sainsbury's have
all these objectives so that it is able to achieve its main objective of profit maximization. To
ensure that it is able to give best service to its customers Sainsbury's ensures that its staff are
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perfectly treated. Sainsbury's considers that inly happy staff is able to ensure that customer has a
happy experience of Sainsbury's.
This is why operational management is very important and it is required that Sainsbury's
Operations Management is effective so that it will be able to achieve its objectives. In context
with Sainsbury's importance of Operations Management is as follows
Supporting the company's strategies- Strategies which are developed by top management
are achieved and employed with help of operations management. Operation management ensues
that all the equipment that are required to make possible that company achieves its strategies at
the end of every operation.
Product Quality- It is very important that quality of a product is good so that company is
able to stand out in the market and in the competition as well. This is possible only when
operation management is effective of the company (Hammer, 2019). Product not only need to
have high quality but company must ensure that its product looks different from its competitors'
product so it can attract more customers.
It enables to utilize resources to optimum level- Operations management ensures that
resources of the company are utilized to the best level and optimum potential and which fulfils
objectives of the company which is to reduce wastage.
Improve Productivity of employees- Improves productivity of employees as operational
management seeks to use all the resources to best level and one important resource of the
company is its employees and Sainsbury's is a retail company and that is why importance of
employees is more because they directly deal with customers which are affected by motivation
and performance of employees which ultimately affect profitability of the organisation.
LO 4
P6 Factors in business environment that affect Operations Management and Decision-making by
Leaders and Managers
Factors that affect Operations Management and decision-making by Leader and Managers are-
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)- CSR refers self-regulating business model
which helps and requires companies to be socially accountable (Su and et.al., 2016). This is an
important factor as operation management is likely to get affected by as operation management
which is concerned with production in the Sainsbury's and production affects environment which
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