Understanding Leadership and Management in Business Organizations

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of leadership and management, examining the differences between the roles of leaders and managers, and exploring various leadership styles. The report delves into the characteristics of both leaders and managers, comparing their responsibilities in different situations, including crisis management and new product launches. It further discusses different leadership theories and models, such as situational, contingency, and system leadership, using Aston Martin as a case study to illustrate their practical application. The conclusion summarizes the key findings, highlighting the importance of effective leadership and management in achieving organizational goals. The report also includes a discussion on Fiedler's contingency leadership theory, providing a detailed understanding of how leadership approaches can be adapted to different situations within an organization.

Management and
Operations

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................3
Comparison of different characteristics and roles of managers as well as leaders.....................3
Difference between a leader and a manager................................................................................4
Different style of leadership .......................................................................................................5
Roles played by leaders and functions maintained by managers in different situations.............6
Task 2...............................................................................................................................................7
Various Theories and Models of Leadership..............................................................................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
References........................................................................................................................................9

Introduction
Operation management refers to that area of business which involves designing and
controlling business operation in production processes. It is also responsible for managing
redesigning activities which are linked to product and service development. Every senior
manager have an important role that relates to manage activities and goals of business. Following
report is based upon Aston Martin (Valiga, 2019). The company was discovered by Lionel
Martin and Robert Bamford. The following report describes leadership and management. Roles
of managers as well as leaders along with difference between them is discussed. Various roles of
leadership and managers are also discussed in this report.
Task 1
Comparison of different characteristics and roles of managers as well as leaders
A manager is an individual in organisation who is required to control as well as
administer all the employees in an organisation. On the other hand a leader is someone who only
directs and commands the members in team so that all the goals and objectives of organisation
can be achieved in required time period. Below mentioned are their roles and characteristics:
Role of leaders:
 A manager works as a Decision-maker in an organisation in a number of different
situation. It is necessary for leader to take various decisions which will bring benefits for
company as well as employees. It is essential for an effective leader to have good
communication skills. This is required so that information which is shared by leaders
have positive impact on employees. A leader also plays role of a Vision setter, it is required by them to guide team members
towards objectives and aims. Once proper vision is created the employees can then
effectively work according to leader after they are effectively guided by their leaders. It is
an important role of leader which sets a path for employees in the organisation.
Role of managers:
 A manager also plays the role of a Resource allocator in organisation. It is required that
a manager makes sure that all the resources of organisation are utilised properly so that
they can effectively manage demand without wastage of resources. It is also duty of
manager to make sure that resources are available whenever required in organisation.

 A manager in organisation also plays role of a Monitor, they are responsible to check all
the activities which are performed by different employees. Manager compares the
expectations and actual results. Once this is done they find out reasons for deviation
(Webb, 2020). In Aston Martin managers makes sure that they are effectively working on
improving performance and attaining all the objectives.
Characteristics of leaders:
 Communication skills is an important necessity for a leader. They are providing
guidelines to the team members so that they can fulfil their roles. If they fail to
communicate it properly than the required information may reach employees in a
distorted form which is not a good sign for organisation. The ability to Self Control is necessary in a leader. They need to understand that what are
to be expected and what all should not be expected. With the help of this self control can
be effectively brought in a manager which will encourage everyone in organisation
towards their goals.
Characteristics of managers:
 An important characteristics to be present in a manager is Time management skill. It is
necessary that they are assured of fact that all the required activities and tasks of
organisation are completed effectively in stipulated time period. Time management will
also help manager in guiding the employees appropriately.
 It is also required by a manager to have the quality of Delegation of work. A manager
cannot always manage things on their own. They are required to effectively choose the
right person for right task and then delegate them the work. It also helps in timely
completion of task with the required quality.
Difference between a leader and a manager
Dimensions Leader Managers
Goal oriented It is required by an efficient leader
to use their skills as well as
develop various objectives which
will guide organisation. In Aston
Martin a leader uses their mind to
It is the duty of manager to fulfil all
the duties as well as tasks which are
assigned to them by their superiors .
When taking Aston Martin into
context the managers are always

bring in creative ideas so that
employees can effectively reach
their goals in given time period.
focusing to achieve various goals but
they do not have enough power to
motivate their employees.
Decisive It is duty of a leader in an
organisation to effectively
facilitate the decision in an
organisation.
A manager is required to take
decision regarding activities in an
organisation. They also take decision
regarding delegation of tasks to all
the employees in an organisation
(Joseph and et. al., 2019).
People relation It is their duty to understand skills
and interests of employees in order
to align them. They also motivate
employees in organisation to
perform their best and maintain
productivity in organisation.
The manager in an organisation is
responsible to manage and organise
people within the business so that
they can effectively carry on all he
business in correct manner.
Different style of leadership
There are a number of different leadership styles as well which are managed by different
leaders in the organisation. A description of leadership styles are mentioned below:
Transactional leadership style: Leaders effectively formulate various strategies which
will be followed by employees in the organisation so that all the goals and objectives of business
can be attained in limited time period. Higher authorities at Aston Martin are rewarding
employees in organisation based upon the input they are providing towards the objectives and
goals of organisation.
Transformational leadership style: In transformational style of leadership a leader is
specifically encouraging all the staff members in organisation so that they can effectively bring
out new and innovative products in the organisation (Golembiewski, 2019). When taking Aston
Martin into consideration it is seen that the leader makes sure to maintain positive and healthy
environment in the organisation. This motivates employees to come up with new ideas and

innovation. Positive working environment always encourages creative mind which is supported
by Aston Martin so that company develops good results from this type of leadership.
Roles played by leaders and functions maintained by managers in different situations
A number of different situations are taking place in organisation on a daily basis. It
becomes important for leaders and managers to make sure that they are effectively coping up
with all these situations. Below mentioned are such situations in context to Aston Martin:
Crisis Management: This is the role which is to be played by managers and leaders
when an organisation is required to plan when something wrong or unexpected is happening in
organisation (Raines, 2019). This can be recession, reduction in revenues or profitability of
company, employees turnover due to low pay scale are reasons for crisis in an organisation. Role of leaders:It is the role of a leader in an organisation to maintain good relationship
with all the employees and between the employees so that they can effectively deal wit
crisis. Role of Managers: Manager in crisis management is required to collect various
information regarding the crisis. They are also responsible for assigning various
responsibilities to different subordinates so that effective steps can be taken and the
organisation can come up of the situation of crisis as soon as possible.
New Launch: A number of time occur when company is coming with something new. At
present Aston Martin is analysing the adoption of electric vehicle for meeting requirements of
their customers. They will need to launch this product in market so that the communication of
product can be efficiently done to customers. Various roles that will be played by managers and
leaders in this situation are: Role of leaders: In the launch of a new product a leader is required to make sure that they
are effectively presenting and introducing new product to the employees in organisation
so that they understand its importance and then make plans to launch it in the market. It is
necessary that vision is clear in mind of employees so that they can use it to further
enhance communication and launch or product.
 Role of Managers:It is required by manager in organisation to assign the work which
will be required for launch of product in the market. They need to effectively understand
needs and requirements of the launch and allot tasks as per skills and experience of
employees. This will allow organisation to achieve the objectives of launch properly.

In this way there are a number of such situation in which the role of managers and leaders
will be different. However both of them work in favour of organisation. The approach of
managers is much dedicated towards tasks. On the other hand, the approach used by leaders is to
inspire employees to fulfil the work required by them.
Task 2
Various Theories and Models of Leadership
Leadership is a vast concept which consists of a number of different theories as well as
models. These theories and models of leadership with reference to Aston Martin are mentioned
below:
Situational Leadership: Situational theory is usually adopted by a number of leaders
according to their situation and the level of development of employees in the organisation.
Various factors included in this leadership are competency and capability of employees who are
performing various business operations (Oreg and Berson, 2019). When taking Aston Martin into
consideration it is seen that leaders are using all these different forms of leadership as per the
situation in the market. It is necessary so that required task can be effectively fulfilled in
organisation. This also includes various capabilities of a group which is enabling employees to
work to their maximum capacity and capability.
Contingency Leadership: This theory clearly states that there is no specific theory that
can work on every situation that is arising in organisation. In Aston Martin the leader makes sure
that they are considering both internal as well as external factors of company to effectively use
this approach in organisation. Along with this it is also an important leadership theory which is
helping leaders to effectively fulfil their roles and responsibilities towards the organisation.
System Leaderships: This theory implies that all the activities that are just relates to a
project are needed to be carries out systematically in order to achieve all the set goals of
organisation in an effective manner. When taking Aston Martin into context the leaders of the
company are specifically using this approach in their organisation which is enabling them to
analyse perfect condition in market and then provide information regarding it to the team of
production. It helps in production of goods and services as per needs of customers. It is also seen
that leadership approach is helping companies to dynamically adapt changes taking place in
organisation. It is immensely increasing the profitability in organisation.

Fiedler's contingency leadership: This is a theory that suggests a good leader is someone
who can effectively bring in use various characteristics and skills of all the employees according
to the situation that is taking place in organisation. It is very similar to contingency theory of
leadership. There are basically three factors which are involved in this following theory. This
includes task structure, leader relations and positioning power (Song, 2019). When taking Aston
Martin into consideration the leaders of company can adopt this theory in their organisation
which will enable them to use skills as well as talents of employees in different circumstances.
Conclusion
With the help of above report it can be effectively concluded that operations management
is necessary function which is to managed by leaders as well as managers in an organisation. The
roles and characteristics which are played by them in organisation cannot be replaced. It is
required that managers and leaders of organisation effectively understand their roles and duties
and manage the employees in organisation to move towards goals. There are description on how
they need to work in different situations. Fulfilling their roles effectively they can help
organisation to meet goals and objectives in stipulated time period.

References
Books and Journals
Valiga, T.M., 2019. Leaders, managers, and followers: Working in
harmony. Nursing2020, 49(1), pp.45-48.
Webb, D.M., 2020. Running theaters: Best practices for leaders and managers. Simon and
Schuster.
Joseph, J. and et. al., 2019. Can business‐oriented managers be effective leaders for corporate
sustainability? A study of integrative and instrumental logics. Business Strategy and the
Environment, 28(2), pp.339-352.
Raines, S.S., 2019. Conflict management for managers: Resolving workplace, client, and policy
disputes. Rowman & Littlefield.
Oreg, S. and Berson, Y., 2019. Leaders’ impact on organizational change: Bridging theoretical
and methodological chasms. Academy of Management Annals, 13(1), pp.272-307.
Song, J., 2019. HOW WE SEE: Project Managers as Servant-Leaders. The International Journal
of Servant-Leadership, 13(1), pp.17-24.
Golembiewski, R., 2019. Managers and Project Leaders Conducting Their Own Action
Research Interventions. In Handbook of Organizational Consultation, Second
Editon (pp. 100-115). Routledge.