Management and Operations Report: Unicorn Grocery Case Study

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of leadership and management practices within Unicorn Grocery, a cooperative grocery store. It begins by defining and comparing the roles and characteristics of leaders and managers, highlighting their distinct functions and responsibilities. The report then examines real-world examples of how leaders and managers apply their skills in different situational contexts, such as addressing communication problems and performance issues. Furthermore, it delves into the application of various leadership theories and models, including situational leadership, systems leadership, and contingency leadership, illustrating how these approaches are utilized within Unicorn Grocery. The report also explores key approaches to operations management, such as Six Sigma and Total Quality Management (TQM), and emphasizes the importance of operations management in achieving business objectives. It concludes by discussing the factors within the business environment that impact operational management and decision-making, providing a holistic view of leadership, management, and operations within the context of the case study.

MANAGEMENT
AND OPERATIONS

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
P1. Define and compare roles and characteristics of leader and manager.............................1
P2 Examples of application of the role of leader and function of manager in different
situational contexts.................................................................................................................3
P3 Application of different theories and models of approach, including situational leadership,
systems leadership and contingency.......................................................................................4
P4 Key approaches to operations management and role of leaders and managers................5
P5 Importance and value of operations management in achieving business objectives........6
P6 Factors within business environment impacting upon operational management and
decision-making.....................................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Operations management refers to a process linked with analysis, review as well as control
of processes and activities such as manufacturing, quality control, operations and other
procedures associated with products and services of enterprise. This is known to be a process
which begins with acquisition of raw materials from various sources and continues till
conversion of this into finished products which are in a state to be consumed by customers in a
marketplace (Boyd and Dougherty, 2016). This concept establishes a link between effective
management and costs in the manner that the activities conducted results in least cost for the
company along with maximised profits. The present report is based upon Unicorn Grocery which
is a cooperative store democratically controlled by its owners. . This report includes the roles and
characteristics of managers and leaders along with approaches of operations management.
Besides this, it comprises of leadership approaches and factors impacting upon operational
management.
P1. Define and compare roles and characteristics of leader and manager
Leader: An individual who is accountable to the organisation for aligning the behavioural
characteristics of employees to the achievement of organisational goals and objectives is referred
to as a leader (Ellitan, 2017). Leaders of Unicorn Grocery utilise their positive and forward
looking approach to motivate the staff members to work effectively and efficiently. This ensures
timely completion of tasks.
Role of Leaders in Unicorn Grocery
 Leaders in this company are largely recognised for adequately directing the behaviour
and performance of employees towards the vision and business objective of Unicorn
Grocery. They make sure that activities are being conducted in a desired manner so as to facilitate
efficiency of processes (XIANG, Chen and Zhang, 2013).
Characteristics of leaders in Unicorn Grocery
 Leaders of Unicorn Grocery maintain utmost honesty, integrity and commitment towards
their performance so as to serve as role models for the team.
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 Leaders within Unicorn Grocery have optimistic outlook towards the tasks and are
generally able to influence individuals within the enterprise to undertake the same
approach as adopted by them.
Managers: They are the persons who have the power as well as authority to manage the
tasks being performed within the organisation in a manner that stipulated goals and objectives
can be achieved timely (Eraki, 2015). Managers of Unicorn Grocery act as a linking pin between
the top authorities and subordinates and pass on the information about hierarchical decisions and
policies to staff.
Role of Managers in Unicorn Grocery
 The major role of managers in Unicorn Grocery is to carry out control, review and
management of activities along with performance of staff. Managers within Unicorn Grocery are primarily held responsible for devising an
effective communication between top management and workforce to facilitate
coordination and cooperation across organisational premises.
Characteristics of Managers in Unicorn Grocery
 Managers within Unicorn Grocery are usually found to be emotionally stable to not let
the frustration or anger overpower their authority over the workforce. The company's manager is efficient in making well-informed business decisions that
promote organisational values to achieve set goals or objectives (Fan, Liu and Zhang,
2015).
Differences between function of Leaders and Managers
Leadership focuses on motivating and inspiring others to achieve long term goals by
undertaking risks and challenging the current trends. On the other hand, management is defined
as an activity that involves planning, coordinating, implementing and controlling certain tasks
executed to achieve organisational goals (Wang, Jie and Abareshi, 2015). Therefore, a function
of leader and manager have certain distinctions which define the two concepts. These are as
follows:
BASIS Leaders Managers
Risks A leader encourages their group
members to undertake risks in order to
attain personal as well as
Managers encourage those actions
which are in line with the prevalent
policies and procedures of the
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organisational growth. company as well as include minimal
risk and maximum efficiency.
Power A leader creates a vision for the
business and has power to influence
others through their actions.
A manager executes the vision of the
business by managing resources,
structures and systems by applying
control wherever needed.
Behavioural
Characteristics
Leaders are highly encouraged and
motivated personnel who possess the
capability to direct the performance of
workforce towards achievement of
organisational objectives.
Managers are emotionally and
mentally stable personnel who
manage the way in which tasks are
performed and maintain their calm in
complex situations.
Similarities between Managers and Leaders of Unicorn Grocery
 Leaders as well as managers in this company work in coordination and cooperation with
each other to achieve the common objective, i.e., sustainability of business and increased
profitability.
 Managers and leaders of Unicorn Grocery aim at enhancing the morale of employees so
as to make sure that task are timely completed.
 Strive to increase the morale and confidence of employees to ensure timely achievement
of goals and objectives.
P2 Examples of application of the role of leader and function of manager in different situational
contexts
Managers and leaders in this entity work in sheer cooperation and coordination to
facilitate smoother functioning across organisational premises. These have been discussed below
by applying the concepts related to leadership and management in different situational contexts:
Situation 1: Unicorn Grocery, a grocery store, aims to attract customers by providing
high quality products. The company has been experiencing communication problems among
team members of its finance, purchase and marketing department. It wants to resolve this issue
as soon as possible by incurring minimal costs. The top management suggests that a team-
building activity be carried out in order to increase synchronization in the company.
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It is considered to be one of the most complex as well as crucial tasks for any enterprise.
Its importance arises from the fact that an organisation is a collaboration of people belonging to
different cultural and national backgrounds. This gives rise to the possibility of conflicts within
Unicorn Grocery. In this situation, managers direct the members of team towards creation a
sense of cohesion across the company and commonly working towards achievement of
organisational objectives as well as goals (Nayak, 2015). Besides this, leaders of Unicorn
Grocery adopt autocratic style of leadership in order to facilitate coordination amongst the team
members and to make sure that work is being carried out in desirable manner. Such practices by
leaders and managers tend to create an environment which fosters collaborative working.
Situation 2: Unicorn Grocery has decided to conduct performance appraisal for its
employees to analyse the declining quality of performance delivered by the workers. The
company has been receiving customer complaints in regards to dispute resolution and
misconduct.
The success and effectiveness of many businesses solely depends upon the formulation of
projects and tasks in the desired manner to ensure highest efficiency. It is considered to be yet
another crucial and difficult task for any company as this determines the optimality of business
strategies executed by an organisation. In this regards, it is necessary for Unicorn Grocery to
make sure that workforce effectively utilise the resources as well as their potential to deliver the
outcomes desired by entity. For this, it is the role of managers within Unicorn Grocery to assign
the right roles and duties to the right employee so that there is no discrepancy or inefficiency
within the organisational premises. Here, the prima-facie role of leaders is to evaluate the
existing performance of workforce and conduct training sessions if the need to enhance current
skills and knowledge of employees is recognised by them. Leaders adopt situational leadership
theory to suit their behaviour and conduct as per the situation. Additionally, managers of Unicorn
Grocery also have to provide the guidelines and framework within which staff has to perform to
ensure that there is no breach of law or organisational policies.
P3 Application of different theories and models of approach, including situational leadership,
systems leadership and contingency
Leadership within Unicorn Grocery is highly effective in facilitating a sense of
belongingness and cohesion among team members and emphasizing upon their overall
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motivation to ensure timely realisation of goals. There are various approaches of leadership
which are briefly described below:
Situational leadership: This approach is used by leaders of Unicorn Grocery when they
are required to adapt a specific leadership style in order to tackle a situational crisis in the
organisation and to protect its followers interest. This is one of the most essential and significant
theories of leadership which gives equal importance to all the styles as well as approaches of
leadership. This approach is not biased towards any particular leadership style and emphasizes
upon acting according to the situation. This theory proposes that there is no perfect leadership
style or type and the approach adopted by leaders largely depend upon the situation in which
business operates. However, this approach does not take into account long-term needs of the
team which can prove to be ineffective in task-oriented environments.(Situational Leadership,
2019).
Contingency leadership theory: Contingency theory proposes to plan ahead for any
future contingent event which reflects that this theory focuses lesser on present and more on
future context of business. This theory not just give importance to leader but even to the situation
according to which leader is acting (Wen-chao, Fan and Wen-wen, 2012). This leadership
approach is utilised by leaders of Unicorn Grocery when their skills in relation to motivating and
encouraging the employees of the company have to be enhanced. Here, leadership skills and
situation both are evaluated and analysed. It helps the business to prevent sudden negative
situations by guiding leaders and lets the business adapt to the needs of a project or condition.
However, it only allows adaptability when the situation arises which can be harmful would not
lose the ability to mitigate risks that are not contingent in nature.
System leadership theory: This leadership approach tends to create such situations where
people at all levels and units can work to the full of their potential. This leadership approach
assists leaders of Unicorn Grocery in effectively creating a healthy and positive environment at
workplace. This tends to motivate employees to perform to full of their potential to gain the
desired outcomes. This approach is generally used by leaders of Unicorn Grocery while devising
new policies which facilitate efficiency of operations. This approach encourages positive work
environment by transforming organizational functions into systems.
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P4 Key approaches to operations management and role of leaders and managers
Operations management refers to the process which initiates at acquisition of raw
material and generally continues till the time they are converted into finished goods ready for
consumption (Wang, Jie and Abareshi, 2015). The various approaches to operations management
are described below:
Six Sigma: This is an approach which is widely used within companies to eliminate any
sort of faults, errors or defects which cause a breakdown in the timely completion of activities
with optimum utilisation of resources (Plesser and et. al., 2014). This approach when used within
Unicorn Grocery tends to enhance the existing productivity level of employees so as to ensure
that the goals and objectives of enterprise are achieved in a desirable manner. This approach
utilised a number of tools and techniques to make sure that the variances between the actual and
desired outcomes are significantly reduced in order to facilitate efficiency of operations.
Total Quality Management (TQM): This approach is generally used by those companies
whose primary aim is to maintain high quality of goods and services in order to ensure customer
sustainability. Within Unicorn Grocery, this approach largely assists leaders and managers in
making sure that customers stay in touch with the business for a long time. This approach largely
demands skills and efforts from the overall workforce to make sure that customers get access to
optimum quality products (Tristancho and Gutiérrez, 2012).
P5 Importance and value of operations management in achieving business objectives
In relation to Unicorn Grocery, major goal of operations manager is to make sure that
customers get access to high quality products. Importance of operations management is
described below:
Reduction of cost: Operations management tends to act as an optimum tool which assists
in reducing the costs associated with wastage in Unicorn Grocery. Herein, managers of the
company find creative ways in which cost of operations can be significantly reduced and quality
of goods and services can be simultaneously enhanced (Williams, 2015). Leaders motivate the
employees by conducting training sessions in order to improve efficiency of operation
management so that business objectives of reducing of cost and high profitability can be attained.
Enhancing overall productivity: Within corporate world, productivity is usually
considered to be one of the most crucial aspects for a company. Managers and leaders of Unicorn
Grocery render substantial consideration to this aspect to make sure that all tasks are timely
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completed in the desirable manner. Here, leaders create a positive atmosphere for employees
while operations managers conduct such activities which enhance the productivity of workforce
within the company. By these attempts of leaders and managers for enhancing operational
management, organisational objective of customer satisfaction by improving productivity is
achieved by Unicorn Groceries.
It can also be said that leaders and managers of Unicorn Groceries can adopt procedures
such as transformation processes, restructuring of process design or scheduling of activities in
order to make sure that operations and functions within the enterprise assist in completion of
targets and consequently the achievement of organisational goals and objectives.
P6 Factors within business environment impacting upon operational management and decision-
making
In an organization there are various factors which may affect business operations and
functions and accordingly manger and leader of that company has to develop strategies and
plans. These factors can be internal which can be present and directly related to a company or it
can be external which is related to outside of a workplace (Yun and et. al., 2018). Leaders and
managers conduct research of all these factors in order to develop appropriate plans and policies.
Explanation of major internal and external factors in context of Unicorn Grocery is explained
below:
Internal factors:
 Corporate social responsibility- It refers to those factor in which an organization do
some activities and programmes that are beneficial for society. By following these
responsibilities, company will be able to enhance their goodwill which will directly and
indirectly enhance profitability as well as market shares of a company. Also, the
company's operations as well decision making of leaders and managers will be more
transparent and grounded, thus, creating long-term relationship with the stakeholders.
Hence, Manger and leader of respective company develop and modify their decision
according to situation and condition of society. The wider community will be positively
impacted as they will be able to relate with the company and their stance on social issues,
instilling a sense of belonging and commitment to common goals.
 Business ethics- It refer to norms, values, culture and believes which is followed in an
organization in order to conduct work in proper and effective manner. Operational
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management will be positively impacted as the company would be able to adhere to the
standards or policies as well as achieve its goals on the values it deems important. If an
organization is highly ethical its leaders as well as managers would exhibit unbiased
decision-making qualities by being fair and just towards every employee and issue arising
under their command. Business ethics would also affect the wider community in a way
that they would be able to develop customer loyalty and trust the business in its actions.
This help in reducing conflict leading to increase in productivity and profitability. So it
responsibility of manager and leader to develop and maintain business ethics at Unicorn
Grocery.
 Corporate culture: Employees working as a part of Unicorn Grocery possess lucrative
opportunities which assists them in enhancing their existing of their skills as the culture
of organisation is to render training and developments sessions at regular intervals (Fan,
Liu and Zhang, 2015).
 Corporate value: These are the policies which guide and govern the overall behaviour
and performance within an organisation. These are present in the form of vision and
mission of company.
 Corporate social responsibility: This is an essential tool which emphasizes upon
building loyalty and trust amongst customers by conducting ethical and legal activities
and acting in favour of environment.
External factors: Economical factor- This factor is related to economic condition of a company, country or
customer of a particular company. It includes various aspects such as unemployment rate,
inflation, interest rate, monetary policy and many more (XIANG, Chen and Zhang,
2013). So when any change occurs in these aspects or factors manger and leader of
Unicorn Grocery has to change their decision accordingly. These factors impact the
operational management as they determine the conditions under which a business
operates. Therefore, any change in these factors would lead to change in policies as well
as decisions made by leaders and managers across all levels. The wider community is
also affected as these determine the standard of living, income levels as well as needs or
preferences of a particular community.
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 Social factors- It refers to those aspects which are related to need, condition and demand
of society, it is responsibility of a manager and leader of an organization to develop
strategies accordingly. That leads to attaining goal and objectives in proper manner and
attract large audiences. The operational management is also affected due to such factors
as the business is created to cater to the needs of society or customers (Ellitan, 2017).
Hence, it is important for the business to be socially responsible and considerate towards
their society. As a result, the decision-making framework of leaders and managers are
also affected due to change in any need, condition or demand of society in regards to the
product it sells to the customers. For wider community, these factors play a crucial role,
as any change in the tastes or society's requirement towards a product would deeply
impact the way that product is sold. Manger and leader of Unicorn Grocery make their
decision according to condition and demand of customers.
CONCLUSION
From the above discussed point it can be concluded that for effective and smooth running
of business appropriate management and operations are needs. This helps an organization in
attaining goal and objectives in effective and proper manner. Manager and leader play their roles
in this regard. It has been evaluated that role and functions of a leader and manger change
according to situation. It has been observed that leaders use various theories and approaches such
as situational leadership, system leadership and many more to develop and maintain effective
operational management.
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