Analysis of Leadership and Operational Management at Marks & Spencer

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of leadership and operational management within Marks & Spencer (M&S). It begins by defining the roles and characteristics of leaders and managers, differentiating between their responsibilities and highlighting their importance within the organization. The report then examines how these roles apply in various situational contexts at M&S, such as decision-making, problem-solving, and conflict resolution. Different leadership theories and models are discussed, including contingency theory, situational leadership, system leadership theory, trait theory, and behavioral theory, providing insights into their application. Furthermore, the report explores key approaches to operations management, such as the system approach, dynamic approach, and just-in-time, and the roles that leaders and managers play in implementing these approaches to achieve business objectives. The report emphasizes the significance of operations management in meeting customer needs, improving efficiency, and achieving overall business success at M&S.

MANAGEMENT AND
OPERATION

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P 1 Roles and characteristics of leaders and managers .........................................................1
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................2
P 2 How the role of a leader and the function of a manager apply in different situational
contexts...................................................................................................................................2
P 3 Different theories and models of leadership....................................................................3
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................5
P 4 Key approaches to operations management and the role that leaders and managers play5
P 5 Importance and value of operations management in achieving business objectives.......6
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................7
P 6 Factors that impact upon operational management and decision-making.......................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Operation management is mainly concerned with formulating and controlling the
processes of manufacturing so that needs and demands of customers can be full- filled
(Pinkerton, 2011). Generally, it includes the tasks of conversion of input into outputs by taking
use of relevant resources such as raw materials, workers, capitals, land, machinery, etc. Thus, the
main motto is to transfer crude materials into finished products for meeting the desires and needs
of national as well as international customers. The present report is based on the operation and
management of Marks and Spencer. In this project, roles and characteristics of leaders as well as
managers has been explained in detail. In addition to this, different theories and approaches of
leadership is also described here so that company take use of this and improve their skills of
leaders.
TASK 1
P 1 Roles and characteristics of leaders and managers
A manager can be simply defined as an individual who is having the responsibility of
managing and controlling all the works of venture. They are different from those of leaders as
they play a different role. Some of the roles of a manager are stated below :
 Job allocation : The manager is responsible for assigning job roles to all the employees
as per their skills and qualifications (Niknam Meymand and Mojarrad, 2011).
 Management of overall firm : The main role of a employer is to maintain and regulate
all the activities and operations of business by taking care of important factors and facts.
 Allocation of resources : Resources are also allocated to personnels by managers of the
corporation. They examine which worker needs which type of resources for
accomplishing their task.
 Recruitment of work force : This is another job of an employer as they are the only one
who hire workers within organisation by analysing their qualifications and taking their
interviews.
Characteristics of managers are stated below :
 Ability to minimise risks of business : One of the main characteristics of a manger is to
examine the risky factors present in venture and eliminate those by taking proper
methods.
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 High level of patience : As so many conflicts emerges within company so it is the duty
of employer to remove all those disputes (Neck and Manz, 2010). But for solving this
they control on their anger and and deal with such issues by keeping patience.
On the contrary, there is totally different role of a leader which is discussed below :
 Act as representative of workers or team : Leaders are some one who take care of all
the needs of their followers so that they get motivated and give their best while attaining
aims and objectives of venture.
 Act as a guide, philosopher or a friend : Leaders of a team show right path to their
workers so that they do not get deviated from the mutual goal and work on the right path
for achieving the objectives of company. Some of the team heads also act as friend of
followers and guide them by sharing their personal and professional experiences so that
they can make a good relationship with all of them.
Some of the main characteristics of a leader are listed below :
 Capability to resolve issues : Leaders have the ability to lead over entire work force and
because of this they gain the capability of solving any kind of problems of their team
members which is either complex or normal (Nakayama and Bucks, 2012).
 Politeness : This is very important to be polite and act friendly with group members as
anger in the behaviour of a leader creates depression in an individual. They can not learn
any thing by working under pressure and stress.
TASK 2
P 2 How the role of a leader and the function of a manager apply in different situational contexts
Managers and leaders are playing an important role in several situations. Marks and
Spencer is a British international retailer which offers various products and services to the
corporation such as clothes, food items, domestic commodities, etc. This company also consist of
managers and leaders in order top handle and regulate all the work. The examples consisting of
roles and functions of leaders and mangers respectively in different situational context are listed
below :
 Decision making : Leaders of M&S have the power of making important decisions such
as which project is completed soon, raw materials required for the goods, strategies used
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to make innovative products or services, etc. No decision is made without taking their
approval.
 Problem solver : Team heads are also having the duty of resolving all kind of issues
which is being faced by the personnels of corporation (Moghaddam, Seifi and Niknam,
2012). Several barriers and obstructors came in the way of workers which is effectively
removed by leaders by adopting correct methods and approaches.
 Training and development : Employees which are newly hired by employers are
provide good training and development programmes and this is given by team leaders as
they understand which worker needs what kind of training.
 Management of works : This is another job which is being performed by managers of
Marks and Spencer. They are having the obligations of allocating jobs to each and every
work force by examining their skills and talents. If any of the work is on pending then
this is the headache of managers to allocate them as soon as possible so that it can
accomplished before dead line.
 Conflicts resolvers : Managers also act as conflicts resolver. So many disputes arises
among workers and employers such as issues regarding wages, working hours,
incentives, etc. All of such issues take a shape of huge conflicts and some times this is
represented by strikes of workers (Mohammadi and et. al., 2013). Thus, those conflicts
are needed to be removed appropriately so that it do not give any impact on production of
venture.
 Management of work force : This is also done by employers of Marks and Spencer.
They are having the duty of recruiting personnels in venture so that working can be
performed in continuation without felling lack of workers.
P 3 Different theories and models of leadership
There are various theories and models of leadership which are discussed below :
 Contingency theory : This concept claims that there is no best way of organising,
leading or taking decisions within a company. Instead of this leaders of enterprise makes
their decisions by taking care of external and internal factors or situations that are
associated with one another. A contingent leader efficaciously applies their own
leadership style as per the correct situation. Three main steps are followed for applying
contingency theory in any organisation. In first step, style of leadership is identified.
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After that in next step, situations present within firm are examined for example strength
and weakness of team, relationship between followers and leaders, structure of tasks, etc.
are determined before applying any style of leadership. In the third or last step, most
effectual leadership style is identified and applied in proper way so that works and
productivity of team members can be increased.
 Situational leadership approach : This model was proposed by Kenneth Blanchard and
Paul Hersey. It refers to that situation when a team head or manager of an enterprise must
modify his style for fitting the development level of followers he is attempting to
influence (Mendis, Muttaqi and Perera, 2014). In this approach, it is up to leaders to
alter his style, not the worker to adapt the style of leaders. Here such styles might be
changed in regular basis for satisfying or full -filing the requirements of others within
venture based on the conditions.
 System leadership theory : This model is mainly concerned with the systems and
policies of a firm that is used to deal with any of the condition and circumstances. In –
fact, this is made on the basis of disciplinary of management by taking care of significant
facts and information. Generally, system leadership style believes in adopting or
following rules, norms and policies of venture for running their business in most effectual
style.
 Trait theory : This approach states that leaders are in – born. People are having the skills
and talents of being a good leader from their birth. Some scholars said that these
attributes can not be achieved by taking training and experiences. It is based on the
characteristics of many leaders who are successful as well as unsuccessful and are
utilised for forecasting effectiveness of leadership. Some of the attributes or traits present
in common leadership are like Knowledge of business, better cognitive skills and
capability of taking decisions, initiative, creativity, flexibility. Honesty and integrity,
confidence, etc. If any one the person consist of these characteristics from their birth are
considered as leaders.
 Behavioural theory : This model is completely against the trait theory as according to
this approach, leaders are not born. Any one can become a successful leader from their
hard work and by gaining training or experiences. This was developed by Kurt Lewin
and stated that there are commonly three kinds of leaders which are stated below :
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◦ Autocratic leaders : These type of team heads take their decisions without asking
members of team (López and et. al., 2015). This is applied on those situations when
there is a necessity of making decisions as soon as possible and when there is no
requirement of taking any input.
◦ Democratic Leaders : These type of leaders permit their members to give input
before coming to any decision, though the degree of input can vary from leader to
leader.
◦ Laissez – faire leaders : Such supervisors do not interfere and allows followers
within the group to take any decisions. This works well when the group is extremely
capable, confident, motivated and does not require close supervisions. However, this
behaviour emerges as the leader is distracted or lazy in nature.
TASK 3
P 4 Key approaches to operations management and the role that leaders and managers play
Operational management is a procedure that needs skilled and effectual managers for
controlling the whole company so that all the objectives can be meted. On the other hand, leaders
are required during the process of manufacturing sob that whole operation can be managed by
utilising proper approaches. Some of the approaches that can be used by managers and leaders
are discussed below :
 System approach : This approach is based on the policies and legislations and are
enforced by high authorities of venture by considering important facts and figures. This
model can be used for creating such a working environment where there is no
discrimination and partiality (Lind, 2013). Here all workers are treated equally and
equal opportunities for growth are provided to them.
 Dynamic approach : By utilising this approach, Marks and Spencer attempt to solve
their multiples issues in one go by executing various methods and strategies. Normally,
this approach can be applied where there is need of accomplishing the projects in
minimum interval of time by using few resources.
 Just in time : As per this model, corporation tries to accomplish their activities and
jobs within an allocated time frame. Generally, this is an inventory strategy whose main
intention is decrease the inventory costing. This is also known as pull approach and was
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given in the year between 1960s to 1970s for minimising time period of production
(Heizer and Barry, 2013).
 Total quality management : The main motto of using this approach is to maintain
good quality of products and services that is being manufactured in firm. This is made
possible by utilising various methods and concepts so that quality of work can be
improved. Quality is an indispensable part of every organisation which is either large or
small. Therefore, M&S also desires to maintain best quality in their goods or services
so that they can attract large number of customers towards their venture.
 Six sigma : This approach is a cluster of tools and techniques that is used for improving
the processes. It was given by Bill Smith and Mikel J Harry in the year of 1986.
normally this is applied within manufacturing department so that defects of goods and
services can be identified and are removed from that. This also helps in improving the
overall quality of products.
P 5 Importance and value of operations management in achieving business objectives
Operation management is necessary while achieving aims and objectives of an enterprise
by implementing different effectual approaches and ideas for removing hindrances. It is
important to control the overall system by delivering actual products and services in market place
or customers. There are various reasons that shows the importance of operation and management
while attaining objectives of business which is stated below :
 Conversion of input into output : The main role of activity management is to convert
raw materials or inputs into finished goods by taking help of some resources like labours,
land and building, revenues, machines, etc. In fact it has been recognized that success of
company depends on the production of best quality products and services (Handschin and
Petroianu, 2012).
 Meet requirements of users : It also helps in full – filling all the demands of customers
as venture uses it for the manufacturing of goods which is preferred by users. For this,
deep research is carried on for determining the taste and dislikes of citizens and goods are
made in accordance with it (Hammill and Tanner, 2011).
 Profit generation : By doing management of operations in effective manner, company
can also increase their profitability. Here, whole procedures are done within the
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supervisions of managers and leaders. Thus, if any faults or risks are occurred then it is
instantly resolved by those professionals.
 Appropriate use of resources : If all the work is performed under the guidance of
experts, then it is obvious that resources are also utilised in appropriate manner for
accomplishing the task of production (DeAnna and et. al., 2010). In fact, excessive use of
resources are also not done. By this way, high sum of money which is being wasted are
saved here.
 Accomplishment of work within deadline : If all staff are worked under effective
leaders and managers, then workers complete their job before the deadline as they are
forced to do so. And by delivering the projects before the dead line creates a good
impression of firm in front of their clients.
 Seeking attention of customers : Every work is completed here by focusing on the
quality management of the goods or services, this it can be proved that operation
management helps in attracting large number of consumers towards the productions. And
in turn it drastically improves the turnover of venture.
TASK 4
P 6 Factors that impact upon operational management and decision-making
Marks and Spencer is concentrating on the needs of maintaining ethics, values and
sustainability within firm so that their relationship with the consumers can be improved by
providing the such services which satisfies them appropriately. M&S is operating under those
business environment which is full up of competitors, so they adopts such strategies which helps
in gaining competitive advantages in the marketplace so that they can set up good position in
relation to their challengers. In order to do so, company is following the concepts of developing
the sustainable business. There are some external factors present in business environment that is
giving impact on operational management as well as decision making :
 Competition : Leaders and managers take their decisions by examining the levels of
competition present in the market place. Apart from this, operations are also managed by
them effectively so that no errors or defects remains present in the finished products and
services. Thus, competitive environment is considered as one important factor that is
giving impact on decision – making of managers or team heads.
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 End users : All the decisions are taken by considering the preferences of customers to
whom the finished goods are going to be delivered as if products are not made as per
their taste then they would neglect it and move to other ventures' services (Bahn, 2013).
 Demographical changes : This involves social, cultural and economical changes. For
example, age of people, economic class, education level, etc. are considers before making
any products or services. Several decisions of manufacturing are made after examining
these all. Hence , Marks and Spencer should try to develop goods as per the living style
and age of the customers.
 Skilled employees : This is another factor that influences the process of decision –
making and operation management. If workers are of venture are not highly skilled and
qualified, then managers or leaders should give them proper training so that they receive
experience of work and do better while producing products (Bahmani-Firouzi and
Azizipanah-Abarghooee, 2014). Works also allocated as per the talents and skills of
personnels in order to maintain the quality of goods.
 Technology : This includes science and techniques which is needed for the production.
Operations are managed according to the modern technologies as it make the work easier
and helps in accomplishing tasks in minimum time and money.
 Finance : It involves cash, funds, venture capitals, etc. which gives operational supports.
All the decision are made by considering the available revenue in corporation.
CONCLUSION
From the above based report, it can be summarised that all the activities or operations of
business needs to managed properly by the enterprises as it give impact on the production of
goods and services. If this is not maintained appropriately, then whole work of system are
negatively impacted and hampered. So, it is important to keep managers and leaders who take
the responsibility of doing the same. Leaders motivates the personnels within their team for
giving their best so that goals and objectives can be achieved effectively. On the other hand,
managers are responsible of allocating jobs to each worker as per their skills and qualifications.
This helps in producing quality based products and services.
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REFERENCES
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Online
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