Leadership and Operations Management at Marks and Spencer: A Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of leadership and operations management within the context of Marks and Spencer (M&S). It begins by defining and comparing the roles of a leader and a manager, highlighting their distinct functions and responsibilities within the organization. The report then examines how these roles manifest in various situations, such as introducing new talent, addressing human capital retention, resolving departmental conflicts, and adapting to changes in operational styles. Furthermore, the report delves into different leadership theories and models applicable to M&S, including situational leadership, contingency theory, and system leadership, illustrating how these approaches shape the company's operational strategies. Finally, the report explores the key approaches of operations management, the roles of leaders and managers in this context, and the importance of operations management in achieving M&S's business objectives, considering the impact of external factors on leadership decision-making. The report emphasizes the dynamic nature of leadership within M&S and the need for adaptability in response to various challenges and opportunities.

MANAGEMENT AND
OPERATION

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
LO1..................................................................................................................................................3
P1 Defining and comparing a leader and a Manager .................................................................3
LO2..................................................................................................................................................5
P2 Manager and Leader : roles and functions in different situations in M&S organisation.......5
P3 Different theories and models of approach for Mark and Spencer........................................7
LO4..................................................................................................................................................8
P4 Key approaches of Operations Management and the role that leaders and managers play in
Marks and Spencer......................................................................................................................8
P5The importance and value of Operations Management in achieving Business objectives of
Mark and Spencer.....................................................................................................................10
LO4................................................................................................................................................12
P6 factors of business environment that
impact upon
relationship between
operational management and
leadership decision-making......................................................................................................12
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCE:................................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
Leadership means effective communication and influence those team member who lead
you. Leadership is a skill and ability of a person who guide team and individual person. It is a art
of motivation of a team, individual and colleagues for achieving goal and organisation objective.
In the business environment leadership define directing employee and labour for complete
company need. Leadership in Mark and Spencer company's vision to provide the best leader and
leadership for improve working guidance. M & S is British multinational retailer group that
provide there customer there services according to there need. M & S work only generate
revenues and profit. Report will be highlight role and function of M & S leader. The leadership
model, approach and theories describe a good leader ability.
LO1
P1 Defining and comparing a leader and a Manager
LEADER :A leader in M & S is a person who creates a vision for a group of people in an
organisation and provides them the guidance in attaining that vision. A leader acts as a mentor
for the people working under him , develops plans that are to be achieved , communicate it to
the individuals, takes overview of the operations, evaluate the performance, take follow up
actions and prepare report it to the superior authority(Kerzner and Kerzner, 2017.).
MANAGER: A manager in M & S is an individual who in a broader sense manages a
company. A manager creates a systematic environment in the organisation by organising the
employees and the operations of the company. Manager acts as a mediator between employees
and the top management of the company. Manager is responsible for the downfall or success of
the department he is heading.

Comparison between Leader and Manager-
CRITERION LEADER MANAGER
Meaning Leader inspires people to work
and sets examples for others
Manager controls the business
activities in the organisation
ensures organised environment
Nature A leader is more liberal and
acts as a friendly mentor for
the individuals
Manager is controllable in
nature. Manager strictly
performs the standard
management process of
planning ,organising, and
controlling the operations of
the company.
Scope A leader's scope is wider in
nature as leader influence the
people by himself working in
most efficient way .
A manager's scope is narrower
in nature because they act
according to the predetermined
protocol.
Emphasis A leader in M&S emphasises
more on inspiring people by
giving proper direction and
guidance in achieving the
vision.
Manager focuses only on
managing and looking whether
the operations of the company
are being carried out according
to the planed procedures and
programs.
Formulate A leader formulates directions,
guidelines and organisational
ethics for leading people.
A manager plans and develops
policies and rules to be
followed by the employees in
the organisation.
Style of working Leader always encourage
people to work for fulfilling
M&S's manager reacts to the
employee's performance after

the pre-set vision. evaluating it, so manager's
working style is reactive in
nature.
Risk Leader takes more risk than
the manager as leader takes
the responsibility of his team
instead of blaming it on other.
Manager works in less risk
averse environment as they
just blame the poor
performance of the concerned
departments or the
organisation in whole on
others.
Role Leader give coaching and
training to its team.
Manager of M&S demands the
results from it employees
strictly.
Personal gain Leader looks after the team it
is leading and takes decisions
for the betterment of the team
in whole.
Manager ensures both
employee development as well
organisational goals. No
employee want to work only
for the organisation, he also
want his personal
growth ,therefore manager
coordinates this personal and
organisational objectives of
the employer and
employee(Koo, and Park,
2017).
Qualities Leader posses the quality of
learning as much as he can
Manager just gives the
instructions that are to be

and also have listen more
dictate less quality which
creates a substantial level of
trust in the team members.
followed and maintains
stability in the organisation.
LO2
P2 Manager and Leader : roles and functions in different situations in M&S organisation
M & S company operates in a very dynamic environment and often comes into contact with
various situations in which a leader and manager's roles and functions changes according to their
different perspectives. Examples of different situations in which both acts differently are given
below:
11 Introduction of new talents in the M & S : Manager is always looking for fresh talent
that can be brought into the company whenever needed. Existing employees may not the
support the idea of hiring new people on the post higher than them , thus they tend to
resist such move by manager so the manager becomes responsible for making understand
the need of change and tries to explain that why new people are necessary for the
organisation and convince them about their job security issue(Bolden, R., 2016.).
A leader of M & S in such situation will coach the new entrants in the organisation,will
make them aware about the functioning of the company,will provide them the guidelines and
solutions to the problems they might face.11 Human capital retention issue in M & S: Human capital is the most crucial part of the
organisation , it is from the people that it is made of,so retaining employees of the
company has become a matter of concern for the manager and the leader. A manager
frames out the best employee benefits policies,recognition ,awards and other monetary
perks which are the drivers that influence employees to not to leave the organisation.
Manager creates the best working place by systematically organising the business
environment and personally ask the problems employees are facing, motivate the
employees.

A M & S leader inspires its members in a innovative way so that they do not get bore of
the routine jobs which might force them to quit the company. Continuously review the
grievances of the problems of the employees by the leader will build good relations and a sense
of belongingness will be created in the employees and this will provide the mental satisfaction to
the employees which is a solid reason for any employee to stay in the organisation.11 Conflicts in the different departments of the M & S: A manager has to look after
various departments and it is very common to see that departmental heads gets engage in
conflicts. In this situation manager reminds them that they are working towards the same
objectives and goals of the organisation and their separate departments cannot override
the organisational objectives. Manager coordinates the different departments activities so
to maintain harmony in the company(Lidya and et.al., 2016.).
A leader will give particular vision to the employees that which will remove the
ambiguity in the minds of the employees that they all are working as team in the organisation
and will make clear that no personal gains should make at the company's cost.11 Change in operating style of M & S: Sometimes company has to change the way of
operating its business activities due to macro economic factors which the current
employees does not welcome. Manager has to implement the changes in the organisation
and for that he explains the benefits company will get in future,and how employees will
be beneficial by such change.
Leader is synonym with the word innovator. Leader will inspire the employees to
adapt to the changes which are necessary for the M & S growth and for employees development.
He will provide the proper direction and training to the employees in achieving the
vision(Daspit, Ramachandran and D'Souza, 2014).
P3 Different theories and models of approach for Mark and Spencer
The article showcases different leadership theories and models of approach for Mark and
Spencer.
Theories of Leadership :11 Situational leadership theory – Situational leadership takes place when a leader or a
manager has to change his style of working to fit the development level of the followers

he is trying to influence. In M&S, the company's leadership is more efficient and
responsive towards meeting the needs of the organization based on its market situation.
With a motive to control and manage the organization effectively the organization's leaders have
adopted the technique such as of telling and directing. In this method the leader is the one
making the decisions and informing others in the organization about them. This style of
leadership is also known as micro management because the leader is very involved and closely
supervises the people who are working. This is a very top down approach and the employees
simply do what they told.
Other method in which situational leadership in M&S takes place is by Selling and Coaching. In
this approach the decision input is taken from the employees before the decision is implemented.
This style is used by the leader when the employees are still learning and are inexperienced. It
helps the employees to increase their confidence and self-esteem.11 Contingency theory of leadership – Contingency theory of leadership shows that the
effective leadership depends on many variables including organizational culture and the
nature of tasks. Not all traits are common to all leaders and not one single style is
effective in all situations. In this theory, it is important to find what style a leader has.
This is done through Least Preferred Co worker Scale (LPC). The LPC is a list of
questions designed to find out what kind of employees a leader would like to work with,
and this in turn shows the leaders style(Omira, 2015).
In organization like M&S contingency theory of leadership is followed by leaders to find out the
best leadership traits. This been helping the organization from the approach of top to bottom
chain to find what leader is best for the current organization's scenario.11 System Leadership – System leadership allows the leaders in an organization to create
such situations where people from at all levels can work according to their potentials. In
M&S it is done by using sound principles about human behaviour to create models of
good leadership, system design, organizational strategy and social process. Also, it
provides leaders with tools that helps to predict people's behaviour in organization. This
prediction provides the leaders with the sound knowledge of organization's changes and
requirements.

This approach of leadership in M&S has provided the organization with sound ways to
generate its employee potential and means to growth. System leadership is one of the proven
ways to manage the organization from both top to bottom and bottom to top approach.
The above mentioned leadership theories explains the leadership approaches adopted by Mark
and Spencer.
LO4
P4 Key approaches of Operations Management and the role that leaders and managers play in
Marks and Spencer
The theory of operations management of Marks and Spencer is concerned in dealing with
production process and business operations effectively. Apart from this, it also ensures that the
organization's business operates efficiently while using the least amount of resources necessary
and meeting with the customer's requirements. Below discussed are the key approaches used in
Operations Management of Marks and Spencer and what role does managers and leaders play to
maintain the organization's smooth operations(Musbah, Habtoor, and Maram, 2016. ).
11 Six Sigma Approach : The approach of Six Sigma primarily focuses on quality of the
products of M & S. In this approach there are six varied control limits which are placed at
six different standard deviations from the normal distribution mean. The tools needed for
Six Sigma includes trending charts, potential defect calculations and other ratios. While
adopting the above approach the managers of M & S ensure the linked qualities with their
business strategies. Their focus is on the quality from the starting stage of the life of the
product. Also, they fix quality standards for each product and every department of the
organisation to ensure better quality of the products. Leaders along with the managers
decide the kind of raw materials required to maintain the product's quality. Apart from
this, they take part in different market analysis to understand weather their products are
appropriate for the brand's image or not(Vroom and Jago, 2007.).11 Business process design : The BPR approach strategy focuses on analysing and
designing workflow and business processes within the M & S. Managers here identify the

process that needs to be redesigned. They understand and measure the existing process,
and design and build up the prototype for the new process. Leaders ensure the right
techniques are being adopted with different strategies and methods to lead their products
in the market and among the competitors as well. This helps the organization to reach its
goal of maintaining brand awareness in the market.11 Reconfigurable manufacturing : Reconfigurable manufacturing systems is a production
system that is designed to adopt rapid change in structure, hardware and software
components. This allows M & S systems to change rapidly to the capacity from which
they continue the production efficiently in response to market or intrinsic changes.
Leaders here ensure the adopted system is working properly during times in which it is
not being used. Along with the help of managers they determine its quality and check the
system's efficiency time to time. Managers take necessary action and measures to ensure
the system's value and usage.11 Lean Manufacturing : The method of lean manufacturing ensures better waste
management for the organization. In this method, the waste is systematically eliminated
within the production process. Managers of M & S ensure the products are being made
according to the measures considered by lean management techniques. They take
effective measures to teach and coach the organization's employees and staff about better
waste management techniques. The leaders have accustomed themselves to adopt new
ways to ensure better sustainability within the organisation and production process as
well. They are making the managers and teams more aware about the global measures
towards better sustainability and waste management. These measures have successfully
helped the company to manage and produce better products while earning best profits.
P5The importance and value of Operations Management in achieving Business objectives of
Mark and Spencer
Operations Management plays a vital role in running any project successfully. It is an
essential part of any businesses' profit and growth factor. It is used as an important tool to

improve overall productivity of the organisation. Below mentioned are its importance in
achieving business objectives of Mark and Spencer.
Importance of Six Sigma Approach –
This approach emphasizes on the quality of the products of an organisation. In M&S, this
approach is used in a form of six varied control limits which are placed at six different
standard deviations form the normal distribution mean. These six control limits and
measures help the organisation to strict its hold on generating the best quality of end
product. This technique is considered as customer driven that provides the best value
products to the customers. Also, the Sigma approach is defined as a limit of 3.4 defects
per one million products or services processes worldwide, where anything not acceptable
to the end customer is considered a defect. This approach also helps the organisation in
addressing the entire process behind the production of an item or completion of a
service, rather than the final outcome. It is proactive rather than reactive, as it helps to
analyse how improvements can be made even before defects or shortcomings are found.
Importance of Business process design – In big firms such as M&S, Business process re
engineering or BPR has proved itself as a program that systemically breaks down the
process a business uses and starts over with new, more efficient methods, basically like a
redesign or reboot. The process also helps managers in the organisation to find and
rectify system troubles.
Importance of Reconfigurable manufacturing – Reconfigurable manufacturing system has
allowed M&S to compete and stay on top. To do this, manufacturers need to adapt
according to changes in the market, which is where a reconfigurable manufacturing
system has proved as an efficient tool. M&S uses the reconfigurable system to produce a
variety of products within a particular family of products. However, the range must meet
the requirements of all cultures instead of just a single region or market.

Importance of Lean Manufacturing – The method of lean manufacturing of production is a
systematic method for waste reduction within manufacturing. Lean manufacturing in
M&S has provided the organisation with achieving its goals to reduce the waste to as
little as possible. From the waste being systematically eliminated, the organisation now
can work to its full potential. Robots being significantly used in process have helped into
the elimination of the quality of work by removing people from boring, grimy and
dangerous tasks. Lean manufacturing has provided factories globally to adopt such
measures to reduce waste and in becoming more sustainable. With it Five principles of
Value, Value streams, flow, pull and perfection, it has proved to be a successful measure
for the organisation to make full use of its raw materials.
LO4
P6 factors of business environment that
impact upon
relationship between
operational management and
leadership decision-making
Factor of business environment refer affected factor of business enterprises. these factor include
customer, competitor , social, political and legal and technological factor will be effaced on the
M & S business environment. Factor of M & S business environment:
External factor of business environment
Economic
the economic factor will be define business survive in the marker or not. When M & S
economic condition is good than the company will be stable in the market. That will be impact
on the operational management and leadership, Because operational manager change decision
according to economic condition. when condition is bad the operational manager change
economic related polices. That change polices effect on the employee and labour work and
activity so that leader have change there decision for the given employee motivation and develop
Woking skill.
Competition: