Leadership and Management Report: Operational Approaches and Analysis

This report provides a detailed analysis of leadership and management, focusing on the roles and characteristics of leaders and managers within an organization. It explores various leadership theories, including trait theory, behavior theory, situational approaches, and contingency models, and evaluates their strengths and weaknesses. The report further examines the application of these theories in different situations, such as risk-taking, problem-solving, and decision-making, with a specific focus on the context of Mark and Spencer Ltd. Additionally, the report delves into operational management approaches, including resource transformation, output stages, and customer focus, along with the role of leaders in improving operational efficiency. Finally, the report offers a critical evaluation of leadership theories and approaches, considering factors affecting operational management, and concludes with recommendations for enhancing leadership and management practices. The report is structured into four tasks, each addressing specific aspects of leadership, management, and operational strategies, providing a comprehensive overview of the subject matter.

Management and
Operations

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1: Role and characteristics of a leader and manager ................................................................1
M1: Theories and concepts applied for leader and mangers.......................................................2
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................2
P2: Role of leader and mangers applicable in various situations................................................2
P3: Different theories and model of approaches ........................................................................3
M2: Evaluate strength and weaknesses of used approaches.......................................................4
D1: Evaluate theories and approaches of leadership..................................................................5
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................5
P4: Operation management approaches and role of leader under it............................................5
P5: Importance and values of operation management................................................................6
M3: Evaluate leaders and managers to improve efficiencies of operational management ........7
D2: Critical evaluation of application of operational management ...........................................8
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................8
P6: Factors affecting operational management ..........................................................................8
M4:Different factors those are affecting business environment ................................................8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Management and operation is concern with administration of business practices that to
create high level of efficiency possibilities within an organisation. It is associate with conversion
of materials and labour into product and services as more effectively to maximise profit of an
organisation. One of the major clothing company Mark and Spencer Ltd has presented a good
example of their work operation and management (Burke, 2013).
Under this project report there are two task, first task comprises of various role and
responsibilities of a leader and manager and its applications applied in different situations. Some
theories and approaches of leadership is being discussed under this project. On the other hand
second part of the project consist of key approaches of operational management and its
importance in achieving business objectives. At last various factors those are related with
operations and management. On the basis of all analysis several recommendation and
conclusions have been made.
TASK 1
P1: Role and characteristics of a leader and manager
Leader: It refer to be a person that keep dominating or superior designation within its
filed. It have the power and authority to handle team and to take effective decision in relation to
achieving organisational objectives.
Manager: A person which is responsible for managing and controlling an organisation
and its those members who are working in group or individually. A manager are an important
and involve in current position at Mark and Spencer Ltd.
Under this project report a British multinational retail company which is dealing in clothing
sector are use to know its operation and how they are managing its business. It is mostly
associated in food product, home product and others. Under this organisation they are following
flat structure that are associated with front line and its administrative department (Chen and et.
al., 2011).
Role and characteristics of a leader:
 As the main role of leader is to guide its team member in achieving organization
objectives and it is related as public orientated.
 A leader eyeing its target that to attains it goal in allotted time duration.
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 It is the responsibility of a leader is to inspire and became a role model of its team
member.
 They are said to be risk taker (Cheng and et. al., 2012).
For manager:
 The Role of manager is to set goals and achieving a particular activity.
 Management of work and to bring stability with taking effective decision regarding its
performance.
 All the activity of Mark and Spencer those are operated under one roof is to managed by
a manager.
 They are always involve in reducing risk those are arises department.
M1: Theories and concepts applied for leader and mangers.
From above mention situation it has been seen that both leader and manger are important
for organisation as to achieve aims and objectives is the main goal of them. It will help to
manage its operations with effective supervision and direction provided by leader. So to analysed
their role it has to be identified by applying various theories and concepts like,
Role of leader :
 Trait Theory: According to this theory it has been talked about that every person is born
with certain quality and intelligence that are used to perform his role in more right way.
 Behaviour theory: These are not related with traits theory because it mainly target the
capability and skills that an individual carry with them (Expósito and et. al., 2016).
Function of manager:
 Human relation theory: For the achievement of organisation goals it is important to
have harmonious relationship among each and every employees of the Mark and Spencer.
 Chaos Theory: It said to be any business change is unavoidable and it can't control or
managed so manger need to prepare new plan according to suitability of organisation.
TASK 2
P2: Role of leader and mangers applicable in various situations
For the benefit of organisation important decisions is being taken by both leader and
manager. Growth and development of Mark and Spencer is based on decision taken by leader in
effective way. It depend upon situation demand in the company that if any kind of decision
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making is required to be implemented (Eya and Haim Clarizen 2014). Role of both leader and
manager are being used certain situation are being stated below:
 Risk taking: In present situation so many risk is being arise while performing any
activity. It is the major responsibility of a leader and manager to look after those risk and
plan to overcome it. As leader have the option to manage a team or a group that will
required to consider risk that are arises in their work planning.
 Problem solving: Another important aspect of leader and manger is to reduce any issues
and problems whether they are of employees or any other concern department. They first
identify the problem and implement relevant policies to eliminated those risks. Any
grievance of employees or team arising within Mark and Spencer Ltd where manager is
associated to look after all problem those are arises in that particular organisation.
 Decision taking ability: Role of leader are limited up to a extent as guide of his team.
The main objective of them is to motivate and increase the moral of employees so that
they are able to perform will in organization to provide better results in coming future.
While manager is associate with various activity performed by company and to take
advantages from people in achieving goal of the company.
There are some other aspects that should be taken into consideration that includes team
organizing and problem solving. It is important for leader to develop a kind of techniques that
would help in building a team spirit between team and manager to resolve conflict that will arise
in organisation (Johnstone, 2016). It is important as leader to manage his team in proper manager
so that correct decision is being taken in relation to development of company. It has been seen in
most of the situation that leader are all perform according to the demand and they are capable to
manage it as easy as they can.
P3: Different theories and model of approaches
According to the behaviour possess by leader and manager are being describe through
various theories and model. Under this proper guidance and management is developed between
them. Some of the approaches that are followed are:
 Situational approaches: It is said to be leadership style which is followed according to
the demand due to this reason it is said to be adaptive leadership style. It is considered to
be leadership quality that every member is to follow as team or individual and also varies
according to the situations. On the basis of chosen best option of leadership style will
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help the Mark and Spencer Ltd to achieved it aims and objectives in allotted time
duration. Another reason of using such kind of approaches will help to bring out most
suitable decision about the company growth (Lindström and et. al., 2012).
 System leadership: under this model understanding of administration should be
identified and develop and this can be evaluated the interactions and connection that are
based among other components that are related in entire system of the company. By using
this leadership approaches it will help to develop certain ability to gain more advantages
from their team and other concern departments.
 Contingency model: As per this model so many other aspects which are needed to be
analysed into a account by a leader so this purity will differentiate in various situations. A
leader is one who carry various skills and knowledge that would help them to in any
situation to apply those in practical condition and resolve problem and generate
maximum profit from that business decision (TYPES OF LEADERSHIP STYLES.
2013).
There are various trends those are responsible for this kind of situations:
 Traditional leadership: It is said to be that role of leadership which explains a persons
past experiences. It is used to know that power and authority is under the hands of leader
and according to the requirement he can take it into action.
 Modern leadership: It is generally based on various changes according to the need of
the company Mark and Spencer (López and et. al., 2015). The knowledge and skill those
are carry by the leader and manager in various situation are more valuable and for
benefits of the company.
M2: Evaluate strength and weaknesses of used approaches
From above mentioned approaches they also have various strength and weakness that
need to be analysed before making use of it in business operations. Strength are based on self
motivated behaviour of the management that would explain like and dislike of employees those
are working in various departments. Another on is the accountability of the leadership style is to
manage the functional and operational activities of Mark and Spencer.
Weakness: Under this listening ability is not appropriate because so many staffs and employees
are being included under the department who are not a good listener. More cost of training and
development on their skill are incurred by the company.
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D1: Evaluate theories and approaches of leadership
From above used different theories and approaches of leadership is more critical
evaluated by the leader and manager before implementing it into business decision-making. All
these theories are important for the development of Mark and Spencer Ltd. Situational leadership
is best option for leadership which they need to used when any complicated kind of situation is
being present in front of organisation (Nakayama, Bucks and 2012). Cultural leadership is
another best style which is used by leader to guide so many people those are belong to different
culture and not able to adjust according to the situations. So it is important to adopt those style of
leadership which is more suitable for the growth and stability of organisation in coming future.
TASK 3
P4: Operation management approaches and role of leader under it
Mark and Spencer Ltd is using operational management system to manage its resources
in more appropriate manner to generate maximum profit and revenue for the company. The main
purpose of operation management is to transform input such as raw material into finished goods
as output. There are various procedure that are to be followed by the company in their business
like:
 Transformation of resources: Under this raw material and other production processing
factors are to be taken into consideration as input and the manufactured product presented
by the company is said to be output.
 Output stages: It consist of operational strategies like planning, controlling and
designing the product and services. These are related as performance operation system.
 Customer: Final process is come out of transformation of operations after finishing
every task. It is that kind of stages were products are ready to delivered to the customers
to use it (Niknam, Meymand and Mojarrad, 2011).
For examples: In most hospital patient, nurse and other equipments are came as input
which are then concerted into healthy person as it final result.
Role and responsibility of manager in operation management
 The objective of Mark and Spencer company is to provide best quality product to its
customer.
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 Ideas and innovation for the development of new strategies in an organization to also be
analysed by manager.
 Regarding product design and its packaging are also being under the control of managers.
 Regular monitory and improvement of the operations system.
 Proper planning and its controlling is being formulated by manager in relation to
company.
Approaches to operation management:
There are various approaches regarding controlling operations of the company:
 Total quality management(TQM): Under this approach quality assurance is the prime
concern for the managers to fulfil its aims and objectives of organisations.
 Lean production: It is that method which is use to reduce wastage during production
process without sacrificing is profitability (Pinkerton, 2011).
 Just in Time: It is said to be that strategies those are used to increase efficiency and
decrease waste by using those products which are needed in production process.
 Continuous improvement: It is said to be ongoing activities that are used to improve
product, service and its precesses.
 Dynamic approaches: It is said to be that approaches which are varies according to the
plan and situations.
 System approaches: In order to evaluate market element the company Mark and Spencer
are using such kind of approaches under their business.
P5: Importance and values of operation management
Mark and Spencer Ltd company are using advantages of operation management in good
effects. It is need to use resources in more appropriate manner and with minimum cost and to
control extra expenses those are incurring during production process. Some of them are:
 Increase productivity: The most crucial aspect of company is to maximise it business
through implementing various effective plan and strategies. Because company is relying
more on its productivity as how to increase in quick time.
 Improvement in quality system: Customers all want is quality products from company
as to be the main aspect of company that is to be kept while introducing any kind of
product into the market. There should be regular modification in re-designing products.
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 To attain competitive advantages: Most important aspect of Mark and Spencer is to set
benchmarking in relation to other company. So that other companies products looks
down in front of our company. So proper strategies should be adopted in order to attract
them in favour of Mark and Spencer Ltd (Shuxin, 2011).
In order to attain maximum growth and objectives it required by Mark and Spencer Ltd to
cop up with operation department. By using this system it will be possible to reduce the risks
those are arises in production process. Efficiency of the company is being increase with the help
of its material and labour those are used during transformation of products and services. Work
performed under the organization are always different from other departments. Important
operational activity is based on human resource administrations that would help in attaining
objectives.
By using suitable resource for the company one can help to achieve goals of company in
allotted time because it will increase cost for company. There are different ways in which
company can increase its profits by using those in practice situations. Autocratic style will help
to follow in certain situations that would provide balance and control to all those decision those
are taken as input from team members. Some of core activity of company can be outsourced so
that more effective work can be divided and risk can be distributed equally.
M3: Evaluate leaders and managers to improve efficiencies of operational management
From above used approaches Mark and Spencer should be able to reduce its cost as well
as impact of business risk those are arises during operation management of product and services.
There are various approaches like lean production, TQM, continuous improvement and just in
time that can be used by company to manage its operations. It depend upon the leader and
manager that which one is best suitable for the company growth and development. As for as
Mark and Spencer Ltd is concern TQM and Just in time approaches can more effective because
they produce more accurate results for the company in very quick time without much of wastage.
D2: Critical evaluation of application of operational management
According to Strande and Brdjanovic, (2014) it been pictured that the application of
operational management is an important part of any organisation that would help to increase
effectiveness and efficiency in relation with operation management. In order to achieve that
objectives and goals that have been set by the company. Some of approaches like total quality
management and just in time will help to overcome the problems those arises during perforce of
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operational activities. There are various factors which affect the working condition of company
but at the same time it will also impact society also.
TASK 4
P6: Factors affecting operational management
There are different factors that impact operational management and its productivity
because of following:
 CSR(corporate social responsibility): The most vital factor that affect society as well as
all other level of department. Mark and Spencer keep certain stimulate that are beyond
the economic and legal aspects (White, 2016).
 Business ethics: It is concern with organisation plan that are based on various activities
those are performed on daily basis. Taking decision making is an important aspects of
leader which will help to guide employees. Ethics will help company in establishes and
retaining its goodwill in market and also provide reliability and accuracy to its business
operations.
 Stakeholders: The are important persons which are internally and externally related with
the company. It may be member, staff's, customer and supplier. They have the right by
which it can get to do any thing in relation to company growth. There are different
assumptions that are important for development of society as a whole. Regarding this it
need to identify stakeholders and will develop support of them in taking any short of
decision regarding performance and stability of the company in coming future.
M4:Different factors those are affecting business environment
From above analysis it has been found that CSR activities are to be properly implemented
in business so that it will help to develop society and to create employment opportunity to them.
All those mentioned factors are very much important in the company Mark and Spencer Ltd
(Woo and Lee, 2011). As it has been seen that every business has its own responsibilities so it
spend according to the demand of the company. Shareholders need to work as per the
requirement of the company so that huge impact is being created under the market.
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CONCLUSION
From above mentioned project report it has been concluded that management and
operations are important aspect of any business that would help to manage and control it
business activities more effectively. Under this project report Mark and Spencer Ltd company is
use to know about its operation management in daily course of business. Various roles and
responsibility of leader and managers are being elaborated under this. So many types of theories
and approaches are being highlighted that in relation to leadership. In the end factors those are
affecting business environment are also being discuses nicely with proper evaluation and
analysis.
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Online
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<https://www.legacee.com/types-of-leadership-styles/>. [Accessed on 13th July 2017].
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