Management and Operations Report: Zara's Leadership and Management

This report provides an in-depth analysis of Zara's management and operations, focusing on the roles of leaders and managers within the organization. It compares and contrasts the characteristics and responsibilities of leaders and managers, highlighting their functions in different situational contexts, such as decision-making, risk-taking, conflict management, and team building. The report explores various leadership theories and models, including situational theory, system theory, and contingency theory, and discusses their advantages and disadvantages. Furthermore, it examines the key approaches to operations management and their importance in achieving business objectives, as well as the factors within the business environment that impact operational management. The report utilizes Zara as a case study to illustrate these concepts, providing practical insights into how leadership and operational strategies contribute to the company's overall performance and success.

MANAGEMENT AND
OPERATION

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASKS.............................................................................................................................................1
P1 Defining and comparing different roles and characteristics of a leader and manager...........1
M1................................................................................................................................................3
P2 Applying the role of a leader and function of a manager in different situational contexts....3
P3 Different theories and models of approach............................................................................4
M2................................................................................................................................................5
D1................................................................................................................................................5
TASK2.............................................................................................................................................6
P4 Explain the key approaches to operations management.........................................................6
P5 Explain the importance and value of operations management in achieving business
objectives.....................................................................................................................................7
M3................................................................................................................................................8
P6 The factors within the business environment that impact upon operational management.....8
M4................................................................................................................................................9
D2................................................................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Management and operations is a crucial aspect of business as it helps in designing and
controlling the production process. Also, it aids in redesigning business operations to manage the
process of converting input into the desirable output. All operations and activities that are
conducted at the workplace should be managed in an efficient manner so that their overall
performance can be improved (Slack and Brandon-Jones, 2011). The present report is based on
ZARA which is a subsidiary of Inditex. The industry focuses on their activities that they perform
at their workplace in order to improve their growth. In this context, operations of ZARA can be
managed by explaining the role of leader and functions of manager. Further, it focused on the
theories that are used by leaders in order to improve the overall performance of company. Some
factors are their that affect the performance of the organization is explained in detail in the below
mentioned report.
TASKS
P1 Defining and comparing different roles and characteristics of a leader and manager
All the leaders and managers have their different roles and responsibilities in the
organization. They have to perform their functions in an efficient manner so that overall
operations can be managed at the workplace (Barratt, Choi and Li, 2011). Leaders can lead
firm towards success by providing proper guidance to the group members. On the other
hand, manager is responsible to manage all activities so that overall objectives can be
accomplished. All the resources should be managed by ZARA so that their overall
performance can be improved.
Leaders Manager
 Leader performs their roles in the form
of analyser, Structuralizer and
socializer in an efficient manner.
Through this, these people can lead the
organisation towards success.
 These people are responsible for the
performance of a team.
 Leaders focus on the people and they
 It is the role of manager to set
organizational goals, performance
management, training and growth of the
business in market.
 Manager is responsible for the overall
performance of enterprise.
 These people focus on the work rather
than staff members as they are task
1

increase their motivational level so that
their overall satisfaction can be
enhanced.
 Leaders involve their team members in
the decision making process and get
some ideas from them so that overall
objectives can be accomplished
(Subramanian and Ramanathan, 2012).
 Leaders can follow some of the
approaches such as transformational
and participative.
 They are visionary who think about the
future goals and their achievements.
 Leaders always deal with the conflicts
that arise between group members.
 There are some characteristics of the
leaders such as confident, innovative,
focused, transparency, inspiration, etc.
oriented.
 Manager involve some selective
workers in the decision making process
and they are dependent on their higher
authority.
 These people also follow some of the
styles like democratic, transactional and
so on.
 They are process oriented who always
think about the process the way in
which overall growth of organization
can be improved in an effective
manner.
 Manager avoids such conflicts and give
them solutions without consulting to
disputing parties.
 Some of the characteristics of manager
are patience, positive attitude towards
work, honesty, communication, self-
motivation, integrity and so on.
There is some difference between role of a leader and functions which are performed by
managers at the workplace. Some of these differences are as follows:
 A leader adopted trait, contingency and behavioural theory so that they can provide
effective guidance to their team members. Through these, the satisfaction among people
can be increased which can lead a firm towards success. Apart from this, contingency,
system, chaos and Theory X & Theory Y are adopted by manager. Through this, overall
productivity and quality of work can be enhanced.
 Leader has to play their role effectively via communicating all the people at different
levels and along with this they have to make decisions. On the other hand, manager has to
perform some functions like staffing, controlling, planning and organizing.
2

M1
Leaders and manager have their different roles and functions that they have to perform in
the business organization. In order to perform well they have to adopt some of the approaches
and styles. Role of a leader can be analysed on the basis of behavioural theory that how they are
behaving with their group members (Tang and Musa, 2011). If their behaviour is good and
communication skills are excellent then they can motivate their followers so that their
satisfaction level can be increased. Apart from this, function of the manager can be analysed
through human relations theory that how they are dealing with their employees in ZARA.
P2 Applying the role of a leader and function of a manager in different situational contexts
Leaders and managers of ZARA have to perform their roles in an efficient manner so that
they can achieve their objectives in every situation. In order to perform well, they have to
analyse the situations and then take some appropriate steps. Some situations can arise in
organization and at that time, the manager have to make their decisions so that overall
performance can be improved (Management & Operations. 2017). Decision making: Managers and leaders are responsible to make the decisions so that
overall growth of ZARA can be improved. Leaders provide directions to their staff
members so that they can perform well and overall objectives can be achieved. On the
other hand, managers are responsible to make the policies and decisions for company by
consulting with the higher authority (Gunasekaran and Ngai, 2012). Along with this, in
some critical situations, these people have to take decisions on their own so that
situations can be handled in an efficient manner. Risk taking: This is the characteristic of leader and manager which shows their risk
ability in order to gain the profits. Leaders are risk takers who always take some risks so
that overall performance of the team can be improved. Apart from this, managers are risk
averse who don't believe in taking such risks.
When managers didn’t take risk than they make some effective decisions so that
they can perform their operations in an effective way. There are some situations which
arises due to certain risks so they can overcome these by making decisions. On the other
hand, leaders are more focused on the goals so they make their vision and perform
accordingly.
3

 Conflicts management: Leaders play a major role in solving the problems of employees
that they are facing in the organisation. It is their responsibility to identify the reasons
because of which these issues have occurred. After this, leaders have to provide them
solutions. If these issues are not solved then conflicts may arise among all the employees
and due to this, overall performance will get affected. So, in order to manage these
conflicts, leader can provide tasks to the members in group so that trust can be built
among all people that will lead the firm towards success (Zhang, Wang and Shi, 2012).
 Team building: It is the role of leader to build a team that is skilled and satisfied towards
their work. So, leaders have to conduct a team at their workplace by increasing their
motivational level so that overall performance of group can be improved.
P3 Different theories and models of approach
There are some theories and models that are used by leaders and managers of ZARA in
order to manage the overall operations (Carmeli, Atwater and Levi, 2011). By adopting different
leadership styles, leaders can guide their followers in an efficient manner so that group
performance can be improved. There are some theories such as: Situational theory: This theory stated that no single leadership theory is best for the
leaders as they have to adopt the style as per different situations that occur in the
organization. Through this, they can accomplish their objectives that are specified by the
higher authority. This is based on some factors such as selling, coaching, supporting and
delegating. The strength of this approach is that leader can identify the skills of their
group members and enhance their performance. Along with this, leader can increase the
commitment of their workers in ZARA that will lead towards increased productivity of
staff members. The weakness of this approach is that this will not deal with demographic
variables of individual so relationship between superior and subordinates cannot be
improved. System theory: This theory is related to the overall operations of organisation that they
performed in the business environment (Kim and Brymer, 2011). When a manager makes
their decisions then he has to examine the overall performance of departments and make
decisions accordingly. Along with this, the manager of ZARA has to identify the
relationship between different departments so that overall growth can be enhanced of the
industry. The communication gap should not exist among different functional units
4

because this can affect the relationship between the workers of departments. The
advantage of this theory is that the manager will be able to identify overall performance
of company so that brand image can be improved. The disadvantage of this theory is that
a leader is not focused on the particular functional unit. Along with this, if theory gets
changes then it directly affects the functions and structure of an enterprise.
 Contingency theory: This theory is depending upon the effective control of situations
that are occurred in the business organization. In order to perform well, leader has to
manage their relationship with their subordinate so that goals can be achieved. Through
this, leader can set clear objectives and followers will be able to know about work that
what they have to do in improving the growth. The strength of this theory is that it is
more flexible or reliable than any other because through this leader can identify the core
competencies of their workers (Goodale and et.al., 2011). The weakness of this theory is
that it is very complex when applied into the practice. Along with this, it is challenging
for management when structure gets changes constantly.
M2
When managers and leaders are adopting some of the theories in order to handle the
situations in an efficient manner (Brown, Bessant and Lamming, 2013). Advantages and
disadvantages are associated with these theories. Through behavioural theory, leader can build
their self-confidence and increase the self-belief but the leader didn't consider the time factor in
this theory. On the other hand, through human relations theory manager will be able to maintain
their relations with the followers but if these relations are get increased then performance is get
affected.
D1
As per the view point of Tang and Musa (2011) the overall performance of ZARA is
depending upon their employees. So, it is the responsibility of leader to provide direction to
group members so that they can get the clear understanding of the goals. For this, they can use
systematic, contingency and situational theories. On the contrary, leaders should adopt a style as
per the situation in the company. Through these, leadership style they can help the firm in
improving their performance. Situations leadership theory is based on the different situations that
are arise at the workplace and system is based on overall enterprise. The leader has to make their
decisions after analysing the whole system.
5

TASK2
P4 Explain the key approaches to operations management
ZARA can use different approaches in order to manage their operations so that they can
improve their growth in the market than any other competitor. Through an effective operation
they will be able to attract number of customers towards their services. If operations are get
managed in an appropriate manner, then the company can create a strong base of consumers.
These approaches are:
Dynamic approach: Operations management is the process that is used by the
organization in order to manage the production of goods and services. This approach deals with
the technical knowledge of the people so that they can provide innovative products to their
customers. By using the technological advancements ZARA can improve their manufacturing
process. For this kind of approach, it is necessary for the staff members to have some knowledge
about the modern technical field. Through this, the labour cost can be reduced in the company
and profits can be achieved.
System approach: This approach deals with overall operations of the organization so that
each sub unit will be able to attain their goals (Diabat and Govindan, 2011). There are some
external factors such as political, economic, social that may affect the performance of ZARA in
the country. It is important for the organisation to improve the linkage between different
functional departments such as finance, production, operations and so on. In this, they have to
maintain their manufacturing process that how all raw materials will be converted into finished
goods so customers will be able to get the quality products with some additional features (The
systems approach to operational management. 2016).
The role of leader in operations management: Leaders have an important role in
managing the operations of organization (Ageron, Gunasekaran and Spalanzani, 2012). It is their
responsibility to provide the direction and guidelines to members so they will be able to perform
well. Along with this, they have increase the transparency among the group members in order to
reduce the communication gap. Through this, the trust and relations among staff members can be
increased. When these roles are effectively applied then they will be able to improve the quality
of products or services. So, in this way the firm will be able to gain the attention of different
consumers.
6

The role of manager in operations management: Manager has to manage their overall
activities so that growth of ZARA can be improved. For this, he has to manage all the resources
that are required for the operations management. Some of the resources are financial, human and
raw material. If manager will not apply their role at the workplace, then management can get
affected and due to this goals cannot be attained.
Leader and manager can use some approaches like TQM, six-sigma and JIT so that they
can improve the quality services. After adopting TQM, the customer satisfaction can be
increased as they will be able to get products as per their requirements. Six-sigma approach is
used by manager in order to remove the defects and errors in manufacturing process. So, in this
manner the satisfaction among consumers can be increased and overall cost can be reduced.
P5 Explain the importance and value of operations management in achieving business objectives
Operations management is a process that deals with different functions such as designing,
controlling of the production activities so that customer will get some value for their products. It
is the responsibility of marketing manager to identify the needs and wants of consumers so that
their satisfaction level can be increased (The Essential Roles of a Manager. 2017). This
operations management is very important for ZARA as through this they can offer services to the
people as per their expectations. Through this, productivity can be increased so manager can
strike a balance between the supply and demand. By using this approach, the quality of products
can be improved so customer’s satisfaction can be increased. Industry will be able to attract
number of customers towards their services and competitiveness can be achieved. Further, the
growth and brand image can be enhanced that will lead towards the success.
Through an effective operations management, company can add value to their products
and services in order to improve their overall performance (Walker and Jones, 2012). The cost of
the products gets reduced and they offer goods at flexible prices with the quality products. At the
time of transformation process, the manager can use some of strategies and technological
advancement so that quality goods can be ensured. By performing this approach, they will be
able to generate high revenues and their financial resources are also get improved. When ZARA
will provide high quality services to people then through this they can maintain their relations
with other customers. Along with this, service users are also get attracted towards commodities
inn order to fulfil their desires.
7

Leaders and managers both perform their roles effectively by applying various theories and
models. Through this, leaders can encourage their team members so that their performance can
be improved and overall operations can be accomplished efficiently. Along with this, manager
has to manage all functional areas so that they can fulfil their aim and objectives.
M3
When organization perform their operations management then leaders and managers have
to perform their roles and functions so that overall performance can be improved and all
customers will be able to get the quality products. Manager have to manage all the operations
and resources that are required to make the quality goods and products. Along with this, he is
responsible to make the decisions so that overall objectives can be accomplished. Leaders have
to perform their roles by providing the guidance to all group members (DeHoratius and
Rabinovich, 2011). Leaders are the one who help ZARA in achieving their objectives and goals.
He has to provide tasks to their followers in a team so that overall relations can be improved
among the employees. Through this, overall performance can be improved and they will be able
to offer innovative and quality goods to their customers.
P6 The factors within the business environment that impact upon operational management
There are some internal and external factors that may affect the performance of business
organization. These factors impact the process of operational management so company will not
be able to offer quality services to their customers. Due to this, leaders and managers unable to
make an effective decision making. These factors are:
Internal factors: There are some internal factors such as financial variables, employee
relations that affect the operations of ZARA. Through these, firm will not be able to improve
their performance, Financial variables are related to the cost, capital, investment that are
important to get success in the business environment. When manager and higher authority made
any decision then they have to prepare a budget in order to manage the cash. If all the strategies
are get improved, then they will be able to generate more revenues. On the other hand, internal
relationship among all the workers is important so that they can improve their performance. If
conflicts are arising between the employee and employer, then they will not be able to
accomplish their objectives.
External factors: There are some external factors such as investors, suppliers,
competitors, government (Zhang, Tsui and Wang, 2011). These factors can affect the
8

performance of ZARA. Suppliers are the one who provide the raw material to the company so
that they can manufacture goods as per the demand of their customers. So, the management have
to maintain their relations with those suppliers so that they can get their order on time. There are
some investors who invest their money in the enterprise. Along with these, there are some
competitive firm who can degrade the performance of ZARA. In order to perform well or to
achieve the competitiveness, the enterprise have to provide quality products at flexible prices.
There are some other factors such as political, economic, socials, technological,
environmental and legal. These can affect the business environment so companies will not be
able to perform well. In political and legal, government make some rules and regulations which
needs to be followed by organizations in order to ensure the smooth functioning. Social is related
to the beliefs, culture and preferences of customers. If these will not be fulfilled, then customer’s
satisfaction will not increase. Technological advancements and innovation help the firm in
performing their operations at global level. So, in this manner these can affect the business
environment.
M4
There are different factors that affect the performance of organization. ZARA have to
manage these factors so that they can get benefit from the opportunities. Some external factors
are political, social, economic, technological, competitors and so on (Kim and Brymer, 2011).
Political factors are related to the policies and rules that are made by the government. If political
sustainability is there in the country, then company can improve their growth. Social factors are
related to the taste, interest and preferences of the people. The enterprise has to provide quality
products to their customers as per their need. Further, technological factors can affect the
position of the company. By using the technological advancements, they can attract number of
customers towards their services.
D2
According to the viewpoints of Galindo and Batta (2013) operational management is a
process that is used by the organization so that they can design their production process. This
deals with the transformation which convert all the inputs into finished goods so that all
customers will be able to get the quality products. On the contrary, there are some factors which
may affect the activities of the organisation in the business environment. Some of these factors
are political, suppliers, competitors, government and so on. As per the views of Mollenkopf,
9