Report: Leadership, Operations Management, and the Food Industry

This report delves into the intricacies of operations management and leadership within the context of the food industry, specifically using Domino's Pizza as a case study. The report is structured into two key tasks: Task 1 compares the roles and responsibilities of leaders and managers, examines their functions in different situations, and explores relevant leadership theories such as situational leadership, systems leadership, and the contingency model. Task 2 focuses on operations management, discussing key approaches, the value of operations management in achieving business goals, and factors that influence operational management and decision-making. The report highlights the importance of effective management and leadership in achieving organizational objectives, providing detailed insights into the functions of leaders and managers, and analyzing the practical application of various leadership theories and management approaches within the food industry setting. The report also emphasizes the need for strategic planning, organizing, staffing, coordinating, and controlling to ensure operational efficiency and success.

STUDENT ID:
STUDENT NAME:
ASSIGNMENT ID:
ASSIGNMENT TITLE: OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT IN THE
FOOD INDUSTRY
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Executive Summary
Management and operation of a respective company should include various objectives and
information which are highly influential and significant for the readers. In this report study, task
one and two include various essential objectives of management and leadership. In task 1,
comparative features of leader and manager, roles and functions of a leader and a manager in
different situations, various significant and reflective leadership theories are included
respectively in order to reach highlighted information to its readers regarding leadership and
management systems of respective organizations. In task 2, key approaches of operations
management and leader’s and manager’s functions in it, importance of operations management
and specific factors, problems and solutions of operations management are influential and
reflective. However, with all such aspects and objectives of task 1 and 2, researchers and analysts
designate influential information and data regarding leadership and management and operations
to its readers.
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................5
a) Comparing roles and responsibilities of leaders and managers...................................................5
b) Examining roles of leader and functions of managers in different situations.............................6
c) Theories and leadership models used within organization..........................................................8
Situational leadership theory...........................................................................................................8
Systems leadership...........................................................................................................................9
Contingency model........................................................................................................................10
Task 2.............................................................................................................................................11
a) Operations management approaches and roles of leaders and managers..................................11
b) Value of operations management in achieving business goals.................................................12
c) Factors affecting operational management and decision making..............................................13
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................15
Reference List................................................................................................................................16
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Introduction
Operations management is concerned with the management and control of processes and
practices within an organizational context maintaining the requisite quality level (Krajewsk et al.
2013, p.183). It is a systematic approach that oversees and assesses operations that are conducted
to transform inputs into required outputs to realize and achieve business objectives and goals
respectively. It was a change witnessed in the service and management sectors of the economy. It
was needed due to emphasis on synthesis observed in management practices over analysis.
Operations management in the food industry is entailed with various functions pertaining to
finance, capital management and human resource.
Overview of organization
Domino’s Pizza LLC is leading food producer globally and primary operates in pizza production
and delivery. Its headquarters is located in Michigan, USA. It uses franchise model in UK
markets. It retails food products and sells equipment and supplies to company owned as well as
franchise stores through its distribution channels. It controls sourcing and supplying of raw
materials to franchises and enforces quality on the services and foods.
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Task 1
a) Comparing roles and responsibilities of leaders and managers
There have been debates since the inception of business management on the roles of leaders and
managers and how they are different to each other. There always have been comparison drawn
between them and said that leaders and managers exhibit different characteristics but it cannot be
ignored that one may learn and adopt the features of the other (Leroy et al. 2015, p.1677). It is
widely believed that a person possesses the skills of good leader or manager from the birth and
that he or she just needs to polish their skills through the stages of life.
Leader is said to the one who leads people, that is who people follow while manager is one
people works for. Leadership is referred to motivating people in order to people to realize their
own potential or work towards the effectiveness and functions of the organizations (Byrne et al.
2014, p.350). Unlike managers, leaders do not have subordinates but people to tend to follow
them to the journey of fulfillment of objectives. Managers direct and controls group of
individuals towards a collective approach to the completion of task within an organization. They
are entailed with the aim of performing tasks for organizations they work for and only the see the
goals they need to achieve. People tend to obey and work for them but do not follow managers or
agree with their methods or ideas. Both managers and leaders are different in characteristics in
many respects.
Vision: Creating visions is important for leaders and managers. Leaders forge shared vision and
communicate it to the people so as to get back their agreement. The visions are enforcing with
what people believe in and motivated employees to work for the organization. On the contrary,
managers establish vision into actionable goals, tasks or projects that are enforced one at a time.
They provide resources to employees for moving forward towards the vision and respective
business management objectives.
Personality: Leaders have strong enduring personality possessing characteristic and
transformational style. They are often said to be creative with high levels of imagination. They
are comfortable in taking risks and go over the edges in order to appeal people. Leaders promise
transformational benefits in their persuasion efforts that not only reward employees but also
make them believe that they can transform into a better human being. Managers, on the other
hand, are vested with authoritative control in the context that employees do as they are told by
the managers. Their style in transactional in nature, as they tell employees what to do and focus
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primarily on the goals, structures, resources and personnel (Buckingham and Coffman, 2014, p,
261). They avoid taking risks and employ tried and tested efforts that provide maximum benefits.
People: People work with both leaders and managers. Only difference lies in people follow
leaders unlike managers. People are the reason and cause for the leaders for whom an endeavor
may has been taken. People relate with the visions of the leaders and believe in their actions for
collaborative efforts. But for managers, people are tools or steps to accomplishing targets or
goals. Managers are only concerned with the performance of the employees and provide
necessities or resources only to motivate them towards for concentrated efforts.
Path: Leaders and managers are entitled with responsibilities to ensure that people choose a
common path and remain on the path from vision to the reality of fulfillment of desired
objectives. Leaders set paths for the employees and make certain thereafter that they remain on
the correct path to shares vision (Hunt et al. 2013, p, 170). While managers ensure that progress
of employees on the path is pursued efficiently through realization of vision quickly at minimum
expenditure or expense of resources.
Planning approaches: Leaders focus on strategies effective in imparting long term goals. Thus
they design plans and strategies that are highly skilled and forwarding that may take them close
to establishing future goals. Contrarily managers are people of short term goals and break tasks
into incremental goals fulfilled in hierarchical manners.
As leaders are respective employees or workers of a significant business organization, therefore,
they need to focus upon high-skilled strategies or plans. In this respect, they need to think more
positively and in forwarding way. On the other hand, managers do not think hugely (Armstrong
and Taylor, 2014, p.103). They think shortly for achieving goals and targets and to win accolades
and medals for their succession. However, it should be defined that if managers think deeply,
they cannot be able to get success and to highlight working perspectives of their organization.
b) Examining roles of leader and functions of managers in different situations
Leader’s roles: A respective leader should perform and fulfill a number of responsibilities and
duties in order to manage a respective business organization and management. In this context,
Domino’s Pizza LLC has been chosen in order to clarify and define the chief functions of a
leader in different situations and atmosphere of the management (Frohlich and Oppenheimer,
2015, p.121). Those functions are designated broadly below:
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1. Role as representative: Leaders are the significant representatives of organizations who can
perform significant responsibilities and duties for the management. In this respect, it should be
defined that this role is performed by the leader with following functions.
Setting targets: Leaders need to set up the chief goals of organization first. Without targets or
goals, no employer or employee can be able to perform their job strategies or step into respective
working prospects significantly. Therefore, leaders should set up the goals and should clarify and
define those goals among their team members of employees adequately (Barrick et al. 2013,
p.153).
Organizing: After fixing up the targets, those targets must be defined specifically to every
employee of the organization. This is the chief responsibility of leaders because, if the
responsibilities and targets are not clear to the employees, they will be unable to perform their
job aspects influentially. As a result, the employer and customers will be dissatisfied with their
working styles.
2. Roles as friends: Leaders also have to perform the role of friends because, employees or the
team members can work forcefully and freely if they get friendly behavior and attitude from the
leaders. However, the leaders perform their role as friends in the following ways:
Motivating employees: Leader’s another chief function is to motivate the employees and all the
team members of his or her team significantly (Huber, 2013, p.150). In this regard, it must be
designated that if the employees do not get motivation from their leaders, they cannot work with
extra energy and activation. They get energy and encouragement from the leaders if they
motivate those leaders formatively.
Creating team work: Leaders of respective management should also form specific teams and
should include a number of employees into those teams in order to lead the working strategies
and goals of the organization significantly and influentially. Employees are highly encouraged
and motivated if they work together as they can be able to work with joy and by pulling each
other’s legs. Moreover, it must be highlighted that if some respective employee get into some
troubles or difficulties, other employees or team members help him or her to get rid of those
troubles reflectively (Li et al. 2013, p.32). It means, a friendly relationship builds among
respective team members of a group significantly.
Domino’s Pizza LLC Company requires situational leadership model and theory in order to run
up their business prospects and to lead all the employees and team members influentially. It is to
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be designated that this model includes four parts fundamentally. Telling step is performed by the
leaders in order to signify and specify respective job responsibilities or job prospects to the
employees (Dinh et al. 2014, p.36). Moreover, after clarifying specific responsibilities,
employees or the team members need effective training which is done by coaching step as well.
After that, participating and delegating steps are followed by the leaders in order to participate
and to help their team members in order to grow friendly relationship with them
Manager’s functions: A manager of a respective business organization has to perform a number
of functions which are reflective and adequate significantly. However, the functions may include
planning, organizing, staffing, coordinating, controlling (Stark, 2015, p.116).
1. Planning: Before other works or functions, managers should design significant strategic
plans, by following which they can be able to go forward in order to influence employees and to
grow financial prospects of a respective company. In this respect, it should be highlighted that if
a respective manager can be able to plan positively, the outcomes will be definitely positive.
Other than this, if the plan is not done properly, it will bring negative outcomes (Johanson and
Mattsson, 2015, p.111).
2. Organizing: After designing a significant planning, managers should be positive regarding
organizing and to divide the working responsibilities of the plan among their employees.
However, managers should organize with certain and relevant views and observance (Phillips
and Phillips, 2016, p.114).
3. Controlling and coordinating: Managers of a respective organization should also cooperate
or coordinate with their employees so that the employees get encouraged to work energetically.
They also have to control all the job prospects and employees through effective training,
development, recruitment, selection and so on (Heckmann et al. 2015, p.119).
At the end of this context, it should be designated that behavioral theory is highly influential for
management. This is because it prevents problems as well as helps the management to avoid the
problems. Moreover, it supports the management by inventing influential and effective strategic
plans and theories as well.
c) Theories and leadership models used within organization
Situational leadership theory
Situational leadership theory is a style wherein leaders adjust their styles to correlate with the
development levels of the followers. This leadership model entails leadership in Domino’s LLC
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to vary its emphasis on task and relationship behaviours so as to deal with the maturity levels of
concerned followers. Domino’s service delivery is world famous. It is defined by leadership
styles based on behavioral characteristics, descriptive and supportive.
Descriptive style is one mode communication employed by leaders when service delivery is
concerned.
Telling: Telling is an autocratic style by which leaders define roles and strategies. It is primarily
required when new recruits are inducted and put into field work. It focuses on high task, low
relationship with leaders telling delivery guys what, when and how they need to make deliveries
within time constraints.
Coaching: It is high task and high relationship style. Leaders provide information and direction
with the purpose to sell their message to the followers so as to make them understand the
importance of the delivery made to the organization’s business purpose.
Supportive behaviour initiates two way communications between the leaders and followers.
Defining tasks and plans is followed by explaining decisions and providing support and
encouragement to the followers in addition to involvement in problem solving and decision
making. It encourages participating style where leaders focus on relationship and people over
direction. Followers are allowed to take most of the decisions as they posses now the knowledge
to do so. Communication and relationship is high between them (McCleskey, 2014, p.117).
Other aspect of supportive style includes delegating which enforces low relationship and low
task. Leaders are not so involved into the task and pass on most of the responsibilities to the
deliveries that are not well trained in how they need to make the delivery maintaining time
constraints and customer satisfaction. But leaders remotely monitor the progress of the task to
evaluate their performances.
Systems leadership
Systems leadership theory is composed of significant practices that enforce leadership within the
systems of the organization. It is characterised by environmental factors, system input and output
and medium that are significant in managing open leadership within the organization. Systems
leadership are characterised by two interrelated attributes, collaborative and cross boundary. In
Domino’s, external environmental factors of systems are integral in realizing shared visions and
approaches among the team members in production departments and lead to implementation of
open systems. Members handling operation and procurement of raw materials need to
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communicate with the cooks and food designers to know if they have designed new products
based on consumer interests. Inputs are system resources available that imply engagement of
proper leadership which can be taken from external environmental factors. Mediums provide the
tool for transformation of resources within the organizational context. Mediums allow the leaders
in Domino’s to evaluate strategies regarding system throughput. Outcomes are the effective
results achieved from the implementation of above three practices and returned by the leaders of
experience success of the external factors.
Contingency model
Fiedler’s Contingency Model is significant in terms of contingency leadership theories. When
organization seeks to achieve group effectiveness through practice of leadership, they need to
assess leaders on the basis of underlying traits; assessment of situation faced and adopts most
appropriate leadership approach (Fiedler, 2015, p.232).
In Domino’s leadership traits are analysed on the basis of “least preferred coworker” through
questionnaires subjected to the employees on the pretext who are the individuals they are least
likely to work with. The responses are recorded on a scale that includes pleasant/unpleasant,
tensed/relaxed, friendly/unfriendly, etc. Last is situational analysis. If some unrest or unpleasant
atmosphere persists, it is analysed in this step to understand current stands on leader-follower
relationship. It also defines the structure of task awarded to group members, such as operator, if
there has been partial approach by leader. Position power identifies the degree to which leaders
can impose their authoritative control over production members or storage handlers and to what
extent the followers need to obey the orders.
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Task 2
a) Operations management approaches and roles of leaders and managers
Operations management entertains delicate management of the internal business of the
organizations so as to meet service needs, organizational goals and develop brand image in the
eyes of the customers. Managers need to tailor down approaches to meet specific needs and
requirements. Generic approaches do not help in optimizing resources in the greater goods that
are universally practiced in every competing organization. Instead, operations managers develop
methods and approaches and share them with subordinate members.
1. Supply chain management
Managers ensure free flow of information and raw materials between the links and departments
engaged in the chain process, including manufacturing unit, production, suppliers and
distribution centers. The issues entailing supply chain is full scale coordination between the
subjective partners that can lead to organizational failure and non achievement of goals. The
elements of information issues between partners can be product pricing, storage of raw materials,
inventory that are assessed by the supply chain managers or concerned officials. Management of
supply chain avoids occurrence of operational hiccups or build up of bottlenecks.
Supply chain involves three levels in management, strategic, tactical and operational (Fawcet et
al. 2014, p.251). Strategic management is formulation of effective strategies that maintain
smooth traffic of goods from all aspects within the firm, from supplier input to reaching
customers. Tactical approach involves designing of tactical methods that see food products
produced within the target time and delivered effectively to reach the target customers. The last
level of operational ensures implementation of all the above methods and maintains the
operational flow and effectiveness.
2. Six Sigma
Six Sigma approach is statistical business strategy, applied to set the quality of the product. Its
purpose is to identify the defects and make recommendations to improve the quality of the
product. With respect to Domino’s, six sigma processes considers defects as the unwanted factor
that do not meet customer satisfaction. This approach was established in 1985. Six here refers to
the control limits that are placed at six standard deviations from normal distribution means
(Hakim et al. 2016, p.61). The quality management within Six Sigma in Domino’s tries to build
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customer satisfaction and facilitate long term association. Tools that are used in Six Sigma
analysis include potential defects calculations, trending charts and ratios.
3. Realistic Attitude
Management of operations demands realistic approach for effectively conducting business
operations. There are several issues in operations such as failure in procurement of raw materials,
team miscommunication, missing delivery deadlines that can be due to several reasons.
Operations managers need to listen to the employees and reach to depth of the issue. They need
to understand resentment factors among employees and do not burden with stressful jobs (Noe,
et al. 2014, p.162). Instead they provide tough jobs in ways that regards well mannered
relationship between them and employees. This helps in overcoming restrictions and employing
practical methods that are indeed effective in generating results.
Roles of leaders and managers
Leaders and managers play influential role in the management of operations at the organizational
environment. In the context of Domino’s, leaders have to deploy realistic approach to assess the
issues encompassing operations and its effects. As leaders are creative in their methods, leaders
in Domino’s recommend innovative strategies that ease the chain of operations and lead to
successful meeting of set goals within the time constraints. Leaders lead the team and set out
specific roles to the individual teams and monitor the process without directly intervening
(Roche et al. 2014, p.476).
Managers when assigned with the responsibilities for the management of operations, they
primarily focus on the quality of product. This inspires the employees to meet expectations that
are sought from them. Managers also try to maintain efficiency of the operations by giving
executive orders and explaining the roles, responsibilities and decisions to the group members so
that operations do not cross over deadlines or are restricted by organizational barriers.
b) Value of operations management in achieving business goals
Operations management has greater importance in respect to business objectives. Operations
involve procedural approaches and implementation that fulfill the needs of the customers and
facilitate achievement of organizational goals. It is integral in understanding productive and
reflective outcomes of the organizations. It is valuable to the business irrespective of the nature
of the business and is systematic towards economic growth of the organization. Strategic
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