Leadership and Operational Management Report for M&S Company

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of leadership and management roles within an organizational context, specifically using Marks & Spencer (M&S) as a case study. It begins by defining and comparing the characteristics of leaders and managers, emphasizing their distinct functions and how they contribute to organizational success. The report then explores how the roles of leaders and managers are applied in various situational contexts, particularly in addressing challenges such as customer complaints and high employee turnover. Furthermore, it delves into different leadership theories and models, including situational and systems leadership, and the task-oriented approach. The report also examines important approaches related to operational management, such as Six Sigma, Total Quality Management, and Just-in-Time, and their significance in achieving business objectives. Overall, the report highlights the importance of effective management and operational strategies in enhancing business performance and achieving organizational goals. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of these approaches for maintaining quality standards and increasing working efficiency.

Management and Operation

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1 Defining and comparing several roles as well as characteristics of leader and manager .1
P2 Identifying the way the function of manager and role of leader in different situational
context....................................................................................................................................2
P3 Leadership theories and models........................................................................................3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
P4 Important approaches related to operational management ..............................................5
P5 The importance and value of operation management in accomplishing business objectives
................................................................................................................................................6
P6 Element in business Environment that have impact on operational management...........7
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Management and operations are the important part of business. The success and growth
of organisation is totally dependents on the management and operational system. Management is
defined as act of getting done through other in systematic manner. Management procedure
includes various activities such as planning, organising, managing and controlling business
activities. Operation management is the important activity which have great impact on the
quality of product and services delivered by organisation. However, effective operational
management system assists enterprise in reducing wastage that occurs during operational
processes.
The report has focus on comparing the different roles and characteristics of leader in
context of Marks and Spencer (M&S). It also emphasises on identifying the way role of leader
and function of manager can be applied in different situations. The project will include the
explanation of different theories and models related to leadership. It will also highlight the major
and important approaches of operation management.
TASK 1
P1 Defining and comparing several roles as well as characteristics of leader and manager
INTRODUCTION
Characteristics of leader and manager
Manager and leaders have important role to play in an organisation. The success and growth of
firm is totally dependent on manager and leader. The role of leader and function of manager in
crucial in order to manage various business activities and people at work place. These people
have unique characteristics that help them in motivating people to improve their performance in
the enterprise.
Conclusion
The role of manager in cited organisation is to formulate strategy, policies and business plan. In
addition, the function of manager is to manage the activities of team member. The role of leader
and function of manager assists enterprise in achieving business goals and objectives. M&S
company has been able to become popular and establish good position in market due to
effective management system. The purpose of the organisation is to increase its market shares
as well as sales and gain customer loyalty (Agarwal and et.al., 2012) Therefore, manager and
leader in cited venture is required to fulfil their responsibilities and roles in effective manner in
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order to support firm in achieving its short as well as long term objectives.
Leaders Managers
Leader is an individual whose role is to
manage people or team and their activities.
The function of manager is to manage overall
business activities.
Leaders are responsible for directing team
members in order to achieve Common goals.
Manager is accountable for driving firm
towards achievement of business targets.
The role of leader is to motivate employees or
team members to improve their performance at
workplace and increase their working
efficiency.
The function of manager is to encourage
enterprise for facilitating innovation and
increasing productivity.
Leaders have high influencing power. Manager possesses high decision-making
abilities.
Such people have consultative and
participative attitude.
These people have supportive nature.
Leaders are those who supports manager in
decision making and follow the order given by
manager.
Manager is those people who have authority to
make important decision on behalf of firm.
The role of leader is to form policies and
strategies for team members in order to assist
them in completing their task in effective and
systematic manner.
The function of manager is to formulate
strategies and plans in order to assist
organisation in accomplishing their objective.
P2 Identifying the way the function of manager and role of leader in different situational context
There are many roles as well as functions that are to be performed by manager and leader
in an organisation. The success and growth of enterprise is totally dependent on management
system. It is very important for leader and manager to perform their task and responsibility in
effective and systematic manner. As this activity will assist them in maintaining their position at
workplace. It will also help them to explore and capture various career opportunities at
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workplace. There is much importance of role and function of manager is well as leader in critical
situation. They are the people who assist business entity in overcoming complex and difficult
situations. In context of M&S company, the business entity has to face business issue. Some
problems that are being faced by organisation are customer complain about the quality of goods,
late supplies or delivery of product etc. These factors have great effect on the sales and
profitability of business. The cited venture is facing this problem due to ineffective management
and policies. In such situation, the role of leader and function of manager is very critical and
complex. The role of leader and manager is to support firm in improving management system.
On the other hand, function of manager is to develop effective strategies and policies in order to
support business entity in overcoming such difficult situation and support organisation in
improving business performance. The leader is responsible for managing the activities and
performance of their team members in such conditions. He is required to develop effective
policies and strategies for his team in order to assist them in improving their productivity and
working efficiency. The function of manager and role of manager is to motivate employees to
increase their contribution in supporting enterprise in solving business problems. They are
accountable for inspiring people to participate in decision making process (Hsu, 2014.) Another
problem that is faced by M&S is high employee turnover rate. In such situation, it is essential for
manager to identify the root cause of the problem and analyse suitable solution to the same. The
role of manager is to formulate attractive policies and create healthy as well as safe working
environment. It is because this activity will support firm in retaining talented and skilled
employees. The function of leader in such situation is to support their followers and provide
them appropriate direction. Through this act, it will help firm in developing and maintaining
healthy relationship with workers. It will also support organisation in increasing working
efficiency and improving productivity. The manager and leader in organisation should focus on
providing training to workers. This will aid employees in getting satisfaction from their work and
retaining their job. Their responsibility is to support cited venture in rebuilding or increasing
strength. Effective management will enable cited company in delivering effective and high-
quality product as well as services to client in professional manner. The function of manager in
such case is to assist firm in bringing drastic as well as positive improvement at workplace
(Hogan and Coote,2014)
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P3 Leadership theories and models
Leader is the head of the team or department. The role of a leader is to provide direction
to team members and motivate them to improve their performance at workplace. Leaders are
responsible for facilitating coordination and managing people at workplace. They are
accountable for delegation of task and responsibility among team members. The role of leader is
to manage and control the activities of team members (Hatch and Cunliffe, 2013) The leaders are
required to possess several abilities and capabilities like high influencing power, effective
communication, leading qualities, positive attitude and knowledge about particular field. As
these skills will support them in performing their duties and fulfilling their responsibilities
effectively. These qualities will assist them in identifying and capturing various career
opportunities when working in a company. It will also help them in maintaining or achieving
higher management position in an organisation. Effective communication skills will aid leader in
explaining the roles as well as liability of follower. Effective knowledge will support leader in
providing accurate and appropriate guidance to their followers. Influencing power can be utilised
by leaders for inspiring people to increase their contribution in business activities and decision-
making procedure. Positive attitude and self-confidence will allow them to deal with complex
and difficult situations (Harwiki, 2013)
Several types of leadership styles and approaches are available which are described as
follows:
Situational leadership- As per this leadership approach, the manager or leader is required to
adjust their styles according to the need and demand of followers whom the leader intends to
influence. This concept states that there is no particular or special leadership style invented that
can be used in all types of situation. In simple words, leaders are required to adopt style that are
best suited to the condition. As this activity will help leader or manager in positively influencing
people in organisation. With situational leadership, it is up to the leader to change his style, not
the follower to adapt to the leader’s style. The leadership style is adopted by leader according to
the demand or need of the organisation. It is required to be change according to the situation.
Telling and Directing such types of leader have high decision making power. This type of
leaders are generally involved themselves in various group activities and believes in closely
supervising followers who are working with them. In this approach, the employees have to work
according to the direction provided by their leader (Ghosh, 2015.)
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Selling and Coaching is another types of leadership style. This is the same styles as
telling and directing. In this style also the leader participates in routine group activities, make
important decisions. But the difference is that in this style the leader seek support from his team
members. As this activity assist them in making effective and appropriate decision.
Participating and Supporting leadership style of situational leadership establish or set
more responsibilities for leaders. The leader or manager with this type of leadership believes in
supporting and motivating their followers to increase their contribution in group activities.
Situational leadership is the flexible approach that allows leader to adjust themselves in dynamic
situations.
System leadership- this concept is also considered or recognised as comprehensive
leadership approach. This concept states that each and every individual in cited venture can
contribute to positive social change. It also dictates that Every Employee in an enterprise and
working as formal level of authority can become a system leader. As per this approach , it is
important for the leader to work according to the norms, policies , regulation, procedure and
business system. System approach is based on assumption that the leader is a person who has
high potential and power to have impact or influence on organisational system.
Task Oriented approach- The leader with this concept focus on getting task completed by
followers in systematic and effective manner. They emphasize on getting work done on time
(Randeree and Chaudhry, 2012.)
TASK 2
P4 Important approaches related to operational management
INTRODUCTION
Approaches related to operational management
The productivity and quality of products as well as services is totally based on operational
management. Operational process assist firm in achieving its business goals and objectives.
The several approaches that has been discussed below are six sigmas, total quality
management and Just in time.
Conclusion
It has been concluded that there are the approaches that will assist organisation in improving or
maintaining quality standards. These approaches have supported organisation in increasing
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working efficiency.
The purpose of marks and Spencer company is to provide satisfaction to customer and
gain their Loyalty. The cited venture need to develop their focus on improving the quality of
goods and services. As this activity will support business entity in accomplishing their target. It
will also allow organisation to increase their sales and profitability. Operational management is
defined as an administration procedure or business practice that assists enterprise in increasing
working efficiency. This procedure is designed for converting input into desired output.
Operational management process helps manager in controlling production procedure and
redeveloping operational system. Its includes various activities such as planning, staffing,
organising, managing , coordinating various operational activities (Mahembe and Engelbrecht,
2014.)
In context of Marks and Spencer, The cited Venture has effective operational
management system. The several operational management approaches adopted by cited venture
are:
Six sigma approach-This system or procedure has supported firm a lot in improving their quality
Of products and services. It has also aided business entity in reducing wastage and supported
organisation in ensuring effective as well as efficient utilisation of resources. Six sigma approach
has provided firm an opportunity to increase its productivity employees moral, elimination of
waste, effective utilisation of resources and maintaining the quality of goods as well as services.
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Illustration 1: Six sigma operational Management Approach
Source:(Hatch and Cunliffe 2013)
Lean management- This operational management approach emphasizes on reducing waste and
ensuring the effective as well as efficient utilisation of resources. This concept will help cited
venture in maintaining or controlling the quality of goods and services.
TQM- This approach encourage workers to increase their participation in implementing
successful and positive change at workplace. It also motivates people to increase make
significant contribution in making improvement in various policies, procedure and system
within an organisation. This approach can be adopted by cited venture for developing unique
culture. As this activity will help marks and Spencer in increasing its competitive strength and
gaining competitive advantage in the market. This is the reason the cited venture has able to
maintain its position in the market.
Just in time approach- As per this concept the purchase manager should identify the requirement
of raw material and buy product accordingly. As this will help organisation in reducing the cost
of inventory management and eliminating losses (Khan, Asghar and Zaheer, 2014)
P5 The importance and value of operation management in accomplishing business objectives
As the Marks and Spencer is retailer company it is completely dependent on its supplier
for supply of products. The operational technique adopted by organisation have great impact on
the quality of products and services. Managing operational activity is also essential for firm in
order to achieve success and fosters growth. During the transformation of input into output
operational system add values to the input in order to produce products or services. Effective
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operational management system assist business entity in increasing profitability and generating
sales. It also assists enterprise in increasing working efficiency and raising effectiveness. The
purpose of designing operational management system is to ensure the effective as well as
efficient utilisation of resources it is important to be implemented at workplace at this procedure
assist business entity in eliminating wastage and allows organisation to fulfil corporate social
responsibility (Bonanni and Cafazzo, 2014 ) This procedure support firm in exploring and
capturing several business opportunities. It aids organisation in gaining market opportunities by
utilising less resources and generating maximum output. Operational management ensures that
all the resources such as machinery, equipment etc. are utilised in appropriate manner in order to
gain maximum output. It also supports business entity in increasing production capacity and
enables organisation to deliver effective quality and appropriate quantity of products to
consumer. Effective operational management system provides firm an opportunity to gain
customer loyalty by providing them quality product at reasonable price. It also assists enterprise
in enhancing their brand image and increasing market share. Operational management system
supports business entity in facilitating innovation and development of products that further help
organisation in attracting more numbers of customers. It also supports cited venture in
maintaining balance between demand as supply (Blanchard, 2010)
P6 Element in business Environment that have impact on operational management.
There are two factors such as internal as well as external variables have great impact on
the management system. The operational management system is effected mainly by internal
elements within business environment. The micro environmental variables that have impact on
operational management system and decision making procedure by manager or leader are
resources, employees, supplier , organisational culture, business structure etc. The macro or
external business environmental factors that have effect on operational management system are
customers, environment, social, economic , legal and technological forces (aur and Haase, 2015)
The relationship between employee and employer as well as enterprise culture have great
as well as direct effect on the firm productivity and other business activities. Internal as well as
external stakeholder are those people who have power and great influences on operation al
management system. Internal stakeholders that is employees and external stakeholders assist
business entity in arranging various resources that are required to execute several business
operations. Products demanded by consumer has impact on marketing strategies and customer
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policies. Supplier has the power to impact the quality of the product and services that are
delivered by cited venture to its customers. The leaders or manager in an enterprise has the high
potential to assist firm in increasing working efficiency and improving productivity. It is required
by leader to monitor the operational activities as this will help organisation in reducing wastage.
Political and legal factors-These forces have direct impact on the sustainability of business. It is
essential for cited venture to consider these variable when planning to expand in other countries.
As this activity will assist firm in increasing sustainability and fostering growth. Political and
legal factors have great and direct influence on business decision.
Technological factors-The technology assist enterprise in development of existing product and
introducing innovative good. Hence, it supports business entity in proving satisfaction to
customer and gaining their loyalty. Technological forces has provided cited venture an
opportunity to increase sales and profitability.
Economic factors- Economic variables in business environment have great effect on the buying
power of firm which may further lead to compromises in quality of product. Lack of availability
of sufficient resources may hinder the operational management and production process.
Social factors- Social factors have impact on demand for particular product by consumer.
Environmental factors-Environmental factors have effect on the availability of resources that
are required for execution of business operations. It has effect on the quality as well as quantity
of good (Arnulf and et.al., 2014.)
CONCLUSION
The project has concluded that management and operation is the important activities of
organisation. These are those elements which supports business entity in achieving success and
fostering growth. All the activities are controlled and managed by managers and leaders in an
enterprise. Managers and leaders are those persons who has significant role to play in business.
Effective operational management assist business entity in achieving its goals and objective. It
has been concluded from the report that the main role of manager is to encourage employees to
improve their performance at workplace. Their responsibility is to direct employees and support
them in completing their task in systematic manner. It has identified from the project that there is
no specific leaders have to adopt style according to the situation or as per the needs of followers.
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The study has highlighted the leadership style that can help individual in becoming
effective leader. It has provided several management approaches that can adopted by manager or
leader for managing people or activities within an enterprise.
REFERENCES
Books and Journal:
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