Report on Leadership and Management in Operations at Marks and Spencer

This report examines the roles and characteristics of managers and leaders, contrasting their functions within an organizational context, using Marks and Spencer as a case study. It defines and compares the roles of managers and leaders, analyzing their differences in decision-making, vision setting, and people management. The report then delves into various leadership theories, including situational leadership, system leadership, and Fiedler's contingency model, evaluating their strengths and weaknesses in different work environments. Furthermore, the report explores operational management approaches, emphasizing their importance in achieving business objectives. It assesses how managers and leaders can enhance operational efficiency, and analyzes the factors within the business environment that influence decision-making and operational management, ultimately evaluating the application of these concepts in the context of Marks and Spencer. The report provides a comprehensive overview of leadership, management, and operational strategies.

Management and
Operations

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................3
P1 Define & compare the different characteristics and roles of manager and a leader..........3
M1 Analysis and differentiate among role of leader and function of manager by applying
concepts and theories..............................................................................................................5
Task 2...............................................................................................................................................6
P2 Role of leader & the function of managers in context to different situations...................6
P3 Different models and theories of leadership.....................................................................7
M2 Evaluate and assess the strengths as well as weaknesses of various approaches to
situations within the work environment.................................................................................8
D1 Critically evaluate and analyze the various theories as well as approaches to leadership in
given context..........................................................................................................................8
Task 3...............................................................................................................................................8
P4 Explanation of operation management approaches associated with the role of leader and
manager..................................................................................................................................8
P5 Importance & value of operation management in attaining objectives of business..........9
M3 Evaluation of how managers and leaders can enhance efficiency of operational
management to successfully attain business objectives.......................................................10
Task 4.............................................................................................................................................10
Assess the factors within the business environment that influence on decision making and
operation management by managers and leaders.................................................................10
M4 Analysis of how different factors impact the business environment and wider community
..............................................................................................................................................11
D2 Critically evaluate the application of operation management and the factors which impact
on business environment......................................................................................................12
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Operation management encompasses effective planning, executing and supervising the
production of goods as well as services. In addition to this, it is an area which include
controlling, designing and developing of operations within the procedure of production . It is
important for an organization to ensure that the procedure of operation is properly managed as it
will help in attaining objectives timely an effectively (Baumgarth, 2018). For the present report,
Marks and Spencer is taken into consideration. It is a British multinational retailer that was
founded in year 1884 and headquartered in London , UK. The company of course its product as
well as services in more than 12 countries which shows it has high market presence and share.
The report will cover the role and characteristics of manager and leader. In addition to this,
various theories and models of leadership is described in the report. Moreover, the key
approaches of operation management and the importance of it in attaining business objectives is
elaborated. In the last, there is a discussion about the factors of business environment which
influence on operational management and decision-making by managers and leaders.
Task 1
P1 Define & compare the different characteristics and roles of manager and a leader
Manager: A manager is a person who is responsible and manage all activities that is
effective planning, directing, controlling, coordinating and so on. Along with this, managers are
mainly responsible to control and administer employees who are working within the
organization.
Leader: A leader is one who motivate, encourage and develop potential in employees within
objective to attain goals of the organization. In addition to this, they give direction to the staff
members so that all the activities is executed in a proper manner.
Role of leaders:
Vision setting: It is stated that an effective leader is one who dove love vision for its team
members undertaking the objectives required to be achieved within stipulated time (Deihimi,

Zahed and Iravani, 2016). It is determined that all the activities is performed effectively by group
members if the leader have the potential to provide them guidance effectively and properly.
Decision maker: One of the important role of leader is to identify and analyze situations
prevailing within the organization so that an effective decision is taken in order to deal with it.
For this, it is important for a leader to have effective communication skills as it helps in
providing the information and presenting it in a proper manner.
Role of Managers:
Resource allocation: One of the major role of manager is to focus on optimally utilize the
resources prevailing within the organization in order to attain objectives. In addition to this, it is
important for higher authorities to allocate resources properly as it helped in maintaining or
balance among demand and supply.
Monitoring: Another important role of manager is to check and monitor all the activities
performed by staff members of the organization. In addition to this, it help company to make
improvements timely and provide feedback to employees if required which leads to increase in
performance and productivity of organization.
Characteristics of a leader:
Communication: It is significant for a leader to have good communication skills as it helps
in providing appropriate instruction to staff members in order to attain objectives (Huang, 2019).
It is analyzed that effective communication helped in developing an effective relation with
employees due to which an organization is able to retain its employees for longer time.
control: It is important for a leader to have the ability to differentiate between what is to be
accepted and what not. Self control develops a person motivated and encouraged towards the
goals and vision.
Characteristics of a manager:
Time management: A manager must have the ability to manage all the operations and
activities timely. It impacts directly on the performance level of company and also assist in
achieving objectives.
Delegation: It is stated that an effective manager is one who have the skills to delegate that
activities or authority to staff members as per their competences and skills. It helps an
organization to complete task in an appropriate and effective manner.
Difference among Leader & Manager:

There are various factors on the basis of which the difference among leader & manger is
given below:
Dimensions Leader Manager
Goal Focused It is stated that an effective
leader uses skills in order to
develop and communicate
vision to all the employees. In
relation to Marks and Spencer,
its leaders conduct session in
order to continuously
communicate the vision and
objective of company.
The manager develop policies
and effective strategies by
considering the objectives in
an appropriate manner.
Decision Leaders facilitate the decision
taken by higher authorities to
employees in a motivated and
effective manner.
Managers take decision about
all the activities and task and
also delegate them to
subordinates in a proper
manner.
people Leaders aligned employees
according to their
competencies, interest area and
skills which help in proper
execution of activities.
The managers role is to
manage and organise people
working in the organisation so
that all the task is implement or
carried out effectively.
M1 Analysis and differentiate among role of leader and function of manager by applying
concepts and theories.
It is analyzed that there are different concepts and theories of leadership and herein the role
of leader and function of manager is different. In context to situational leadership style, the
function of manager is to develop effective strategies and role of leader is to motivate and
encourage staff members so that they can accept the changes and deal with them in an effective

manner (Ji, 2020). If it is talking about systematic leadership theory, the role of leader is to
instruct as well as clarify staff members about their working. On the other hand, the manager
function is to check and evaluate the performance of employees whether it is on track or not.
This will help company to maintain the performance and efficiency level in an effective manner.
Task 2
P2 Role of leader & the function of managers in context to different situations
In every organization, there are some situations take place which impact directly on its
performance level. The situation arise in Marks and Spencer is given below along with the role
that leaders play and the function that manage are perform:
Crisis management: It is mainly how a company plan as well as manage when the
circumstances arise. In relation to Marks and Spencer, its managers and leaders face crisis at the
time of recession. The staff members of leave the company because of their reduce in level of
pay scale. This directly impacts on the profitability and efficiency of organization which in turn
reduces its market share and performance.
Role of leaders: Herein, the main role of leader is to encourage staff members and also
maintain an effective relationship with them. In addition to this, to deal with the situation leaders
must take decision rapidly and implement it in a proper manner (Minchala-Avila, 2016).
Function of Manager: At this situation, the manager role is to gather data about the reason of
occurrence of issue. In addition to this, the manager role is to assign responsibilities do the
subordinates so that the performance of company is maintained.
New product launch: The managers of Marks and Spencer analyze that the demand of
organic food is increasing and for this The company is decided to launch organic food and offer
it in market within objective to enhance sustainability and profitability.
Functions of Manager: Here in, the function of manager is to assign responsibilities and
activities according to the competences, skills and knowledge level of staff members so that the
new product reach organization towards higher growth and success. In addition to this, the
function of manager is also to develop appropriate strategy and a road map so that the launching
of new product take place effectively.

Role of leader: Here in, the main role of leader is to showcase the new product to the staff
members that is associated to the set vision. In addition to this, they can provide training and
documentation to staff members in order to give them knowledge about the new products,
market trends as it will help in attaining higher growth in an appropriate manner.
P3 Different models and theories of leadership
Situational leadership: This theory stated that there is no particular leadership style applied
by leaders in order to resolve the problems. It is changing according to the situations arise within
the organization. It is significant for leaders to make use of appropriate theory after analyzing the
situation in a proper manner (Park and Son, 2020). It is analyzed that an effective leader is one
who uses an appropriate leadership style that is beneficial for the organization.
Advantages: One of the major strained off situational leadership theory is it help in
managing task an activities in a proper manner. In addition to this, it assists leaders to create an
effective relationship with staff members which in turn influence on the mindset and
performance in a positive way.
Disadvantages: It is determined that situational leadership theory focuses on short-term
objectives rather than long-term objectives. Along with this, it is analyzed that situational theory
is not appropriate and profitable in order to achieve higher profits.
System leadership: This leadership theory suggests that all the business activities and operations
is executed and performed in a proper manner. It allows leaders and managers to standardize
activities with in a systematic manner. In relation to Marks and Spencer, using of this theory help
company to launch new product properly that affect on the profitability of organization.
Advantages: With the assistance of this theory, managers and leaders can execute activities
in a proper and systematic way which assist in achieving objectives in set time period.
Disadvantages: It is determined that not expected theory is not appropriate and applicable
in all the situations and conditions. Along with this, system leadership theory assist in solving
management issue that sometimes arises problems at workplace.
Fiedler’s contingency model: This model state that an effective leader is one who has the
ability to use its skills according to the situation arised. In addition to this, this theory is similar
to the contingency theory of leadership. Moreover, it include three main factors such as task
structure, leader relation and positioning power. In context to Marks and Spencer, its leaders can

adopt fielder’s contingency model as it will help in optimally utilizing the competencies and
skills of staff members in any of the situation.
M2 Evaluate and assess the strengths as well as weaknesses of various approaches to situations
within the work environment
One of the situation that arises at Marks and Spencer is crisis management. It is analyzed
that by approaching and applying situational leadership theory, companies able to resolve it as
this theory allowed to deal with every kind of situations properly. The disadvantage of such
theory is, it is not visible for the long-term solutions as it mainly emphasize on short-term
objectives. The other situation is new product launch, applying systematic leadership theory
assist Marks and Spencer to communicate employees about their issue and resolve them
systematically which is considered as strength of this approach (Rawat, 2019). It is determined
that systematic leadership theory mainly emphasize on management issues instead of solving
small issues which might be sometimes important to solve.
D1 Critically evaluate and analyze the various theories as well as approaches to leadership in
given context.
It is evaluate that with the help of situational leadership theory, an organization is able to
deal with any form of situations and accepting it in an effective manner. In addition to this, this
theory stated that there is no specific leadership as it changes according to the situation arises.
With reference to Marks and Spencer, situational leadership theory assist company to accept
changes properly and make employees to deal with them in a proper manner. On the other hand ,
systematic leadership theory allow a business entity to execute activities in a proper way. In
relation to Marks and Spencer, this theory help company to attain objectives timely and
effectively.
Task 3
P4 Explanation of operation management approaches associated with the role of leader and
manager
There are different approaches of operation management that help an organization to
improve its productivity level and enhance its profitability. The approaches is discussed below
along with the role of manager and leader:

Lean production: this operation management approaches emphasize on declining the level
of wastage within the procedure of production and has no direct impact on the quality of product.
Role of manager: Here in, the role of manager is to develop a strategy associated with
involving off production process which help in declining wastage that take place during the
production process.
Role of leader: The role of leader is to make sure that all the policies is organized
appropriately and training is provided to all the staff members so that they can work efficiently
which leads to decline in level of wastage.
Total quality management: It is undertaken as an effective operation management
approach which emphasizes on keeping quality high and also maintain the standard of product
(Ruan, 2019). This operation management approach can be adopted by Marks and spencer as it
helps in providing quality product and service to customers that double positive mindset towards
the brand.
Role of manager: Herein, the main focus off manager is on implementing strategies which is
associated to providing training to its employees in an effective manner.
Role of leader: The leader’s role here is to motivate its staff members to follow all the
standards so that the quality of product and services remain high.
Just in time: In this approach, the company emphasize on reducing or eliminating based
which is associated to work, time and so on. The main objective of manager is on the things what
is required, when it is required and so on.
Role of manager: In this, the manager role is too check an evaluate the performance of
employees associated to execution of activities. This help respective company to make
improvements and provide feedback to its employees in order to improve their efficiency and
performance.
Role of leader: The leader’s role is to ensure that all the activities is implemented by staff
members in a proper manner. It is possible when leaders have the capability to motivate its
employees to put their efforts for attaining objectives.
P5 Importance & value of operation management in attaining objectives of business
Operation management is basically managing, designing and implementing the business
activities within objective to enhance profitability and increase its effectiveness (Shou, 2020). In
addition to this, it is mainly converting the raw material into finished products in order to fulfill

requirements of customer. In every organization, operation management plays an important role
and value, Which are as follows:
Cost reduction: the managers and leaders of Marks and Spencer focus on analyzing the
alternatives available in order to decline the level of cost. With the help of operation
management approaches such as lean management an organization is able to decline the level of
waste that leads to decline in cost an intern impact positively on the profitability of company.
Increase productivity: It is analyzed that operation management improve the performance
of employees which leads to raise in the productivity of company. It also help an organization to
attain competitive advantage at marketplace that is important in order to gain higher growth and
leading position within the market.
Customer satisfaction: In the present business environment, customers are the king of
market and is the reason of high growth and success of an organization. With the help of
operation management approaches and tools, Marks and Spencer is able to meet with the
demands of customer that fulfilled their requirement in an effective manner. This help company
to develop positive mindset of customer towards brand and retain them for longer time.
M3 Evaluation of how managers and leaders can enhance efficiency of operational management
to successfully attain business objectives
It is evaluated that managers and leaders improve the internal capabilities by applying the
operational management approaches in an effective manner. The managers develop effective
strategies and the leader instruct employees to implement it in an effective manner. This will
help respective organization to execute all the activities systematically and properly which
directly leads to attainment of objectives within a stipulated time period.
Task 4
Assess the factors within the business environment that influence on decision making and
operation management by managers and leaders
Culture: It consist of values, beliefs, opinions, ideologies of people working within the
organization. In addition to this, culture plays an important role is it directly impact on behavior
as well as attitude of employees (Thomas, Deblecker and Ioakimidis, 2018). It is determined that
if an organization for provide positive and safety culture to staff members then it helps in retain

employees for longer time period. With reference to Marks and Spencer, its leaders ensure that
employees feel safe and positive at workplace which motivate them to work with full zeal in
order to attain objectives timely and effectively.
Corporate social responsibility: It include those responsibilities and authorities that an
organization provide to its stakeholders, subordinates and customers as well. It is mainly the
contribution which an organization made towards the development and upliftment of society. In
relation to Marks and Spencer, it offered product that does not affect on the environment and
also give its share for welfare and education of people. In order to make changes, the managers
and leaders is required to take effective decisions in a proper manner.
Sustainability: As for this concept, an organization should think beyond the Profit making
objective. In addition to this, it should implement the activities in a way that are suitable for
society. It undertakes the destruction to environment with the emission of harmful gases as well
as chemicals. If it is talking about Marks and Spencer, it can implement activities beyond the
commercials scope of organization which means that there should be equal contribution of
company towards the betterment of society.
Stakeholders: It is determined that these people impact on the overall objectives of the
company. It involve creditors, employees, directors, government, communities and many more.
The stakeholders impact on the decision-making that is taken by managers and leaders of
organization. It is significant for every company to undertake the points of stakeholders before
taking any decision as it helps in achieving objectives within stipulated time period. In relation to
Marks and Spencer, organization believe in providing authority to stakeholders to participate in
the decision making procedure that is taken by leaders and managers of company.
M4 Analysis of how different factors impact the business environment and wider community
It is analyzed that there are various factors which directly impact on the decision making of
leaders and managers such as sustainability, corporate social responsibility, culture and many
more. For example, if a new technology take place in market and to sustain at marketplace, it is
important for organization to make use of it. This impact directly on the decision-making of
managers as they require to develop effective strategies so that employees can accept it in an
effective manner. In addition to this, the leaders also required to change there way of providing
training to employees due to adoption of new technology.

D2 Critically evaluate the application of operation management and the factors which impact on
business environment
The application of operation management is highlighting the major components such as total
quality management, six Sigma, lean principle and so on. This will help company to decline the
level of waste from the process of production and enhanced productivity in an appropriate
manner (Viveros Gunckel, 2016). By giving the proper guidance in context of development of
product which helps to measure errors and is directly impact on the growth of business.
Moreover, the other factor of business environment that influence on business operations is
technology and adoption of it help in making improvements in the operations of company which
directly leads to raise in performance and productivity of organization.
Conclusion
From the above study, it has been concluded that operations management assist a business
entity to execute activities and manage them in a proper manner. In addition to this, it is
important for leaders to make use of appropriate leadership styles in order to deal with the
situations in an effective manner. There are various approaches of operations management that
help company to improve its productivity and performance. It is determined that there are
different business factors which impact on the decision-making of leaders and managers such as
culture, technology, social factors and many more.