Management and Operations Strategies at Marks and Spencer

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of management and operations at Marks & Spencer (M&S). It explores the distinct roles and characteristics of leaders and managers within the retail industry, comparing their functions and responsibilities in various situations. The report delves into the application of different management theories and models, such as situational leadership, system leadership, and contingency theory, and their impact on M&S's business operations. Furthermore, it examines the importance of operation management, including approaches like Total Quality Management and Six Sigma, in achieving the company's objectives and goals. The report also discusses the influence of external business environment factors on operational decision-making by leaders and managers, providing a detailed overview of M&S's management and operational strategies.

MANAGEMENT AND
OPERATIONS

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P 1- Various roles and characteristics of a leader and manager at M&S. ..................................1
P 2- Application of different roles and functions of leaders and managers in various situations
at M&S. ......................................................................................................................................3
P 3- Applying various theories and models at M&S...................................................................4
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
P 4- Roles of leaders and managers in application of key approaches to operations
management in M&S..................................................................................................................5
P 5- Importance of operation management in the achievement of objective and goals of M&S.
.....................................................................................................................................................6
P 6- Factors of business environment which has impact on operation management and
decision-making of leaders and managers. ................................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Management and leadership both are the factors which are to be considered as the life
blood for an organisation. There are many roles which are played by the leaders and managers.
This report includes about the roles which are applied in the different situations. There are many
theories and models which are applied in accordance with the managers and leaders.
Furthermore, it explains about importance of operation management in the achievement of
objectives and goals (Salmela, Koskinen and Eriksson, 2017). However, there are many external
factors of the business which affects the decision-making of leaders and manager. The present
report is based upon the Marks and Spencer.
TASK 1
P 1- Various roles and characteristics of a leader and manager at M&S.
Cited organisation works in the retail industry. There are many functions which are
performed by them. There are many departments and level which are formed in the M&S. These
various level and departments shows the wide organisational structure. Each level needs manager
or leader to manage the work in effective and efficient way. That's why the management
structure of cited organisation is very big.
Leaders
They are the person who leads the employees and get the work done from them in
association with the goals and objectives of the company. The focus of leaders is mainly on
motivating the workers. They try to adopt the methods which will highly satisfy and motivates
all the employees (Burke, 2017). It is their duty to lead the worker in that way which will achieve
all the desired and set goals and objectives in efficient way. This role of them makes the cited
organisation to increase their productivity and. It makes M&S to gain many types of advantages.
Managers
They are the individuals who are appointed to manage the work which is done in the
company. Managers work in the direction of fulfilling all the activities which will lead them
towards the achievement of objectives. It is their duty to make the strategies or policies which
are most suitable for their working style (The Role of Leader-Manager, 2017). The main role of
manger is to delegate the responsibilities between the employees in effective and efficient
manner. They also analyse the performance of worker and praise them if they are up to the mark.
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Managers of M&S are very responsible and work very hard to achieve all the tasks in better
manner.
Comparison of roles and characteristics of leaders and managers
It is said that roles and characteristics of the leaders and managers are interrelated with
each other (Xu, Loi and Ngo, 2016). But there is slight difference between them. Their ability
and style to handle the employees is different. Managers are the person who set the goals and
objective in accordance with the vision. On the other hand, leaders informs about those
objectives to the workers.
Basis Leaders Managers
Focus The focus of the leaders in on
the employees.
Managers focusses on the task
rather than workers.
Objectives They follow all the objectives
which are communicated to
them from the mangers.
It is their duty to set the
objectives and goals of
organisation.
Communication Leaders communicate all the
information about the policies
or strategies to employees.
The responsibility of manager
is to inform all the leaders
about the policies and
strategies.
Ideas It is the duty of leaders to
follow all the ideas which are
made by managers.
Managers for the new and
innovative ideas which will be
effective and efficient for the
development of company.
Groups and teams Leaders provides the
guidelines for teams.
Managers provides the
guidelines and direction to
various groups.
Roles The main role of leader is to
motivate employees
(Cummings and Worley,
2014).
Manager's role is to manage all
the activities of company.
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Skills They carry many leadership
skills.
Managerial skills are carried
by all the managers.
P 2- Application of different roles and functions of leaders and managers in various situations at
M&S.
There are various roles and functions which are fulfilled by the leaders and managers.
Such as planning, directing, controlling, organising etc. There are many models and theories
which shows about the ways to handle all the activities in effective and efficient manner. The
roles and functions which are fulfilled by them makes M&S to achieve all the objectives and
goals in the proper manner. There are various styles and theories which are used by the managers
and leaders of cited organisation. The theories work hand in hand with leadership styles which
can lead the company towards success. Those theories are as follows: Management by objective theory- This is the theory which discusses and shows about the
combined work which is done by the managers and workers. They both contribute
towards the achievement of all goals and objectives. Managers checks that whether the
performance of employees is up to the mark or not (Van van Wart and Dicke, eds., 2016).
On the other hand, leaders checks that workers are motivated to perform the tasks in
effective and efficient manner. Classical management theory- This is the management theory which is used by the M&S
for the enhancement of their productivity. In this the strategy is applied by the managers
and leaders involves the workers to implement that strategies in proper manner. Contemporary theory- This is the theory which is applied in the different situations.
M&S effectively applies this theory to reduce their cost and increase the productivity. It
is the duty of manager to make the strategies which will support the company for
achievement of various objectives. Such as they can make better relationship with all the
suppliers which will make them provided with the materials which are low in cost. On the
other hand leaders of M&S uses innovative ideas to motivate all the employees and
convince them to adopt the changes which are brought in the organisation for the
lowering the cost and increasing productivity. This theory makes the firm to achieve all
the objectives and goals in effective and efficient manner. It will lead them to give the
sustainable business performance.
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 Behavioural theory- In accordance with this theory the policies which are formed by the
managers are in relation with the skills carried by employees (Simcic Brønn, 2014). The
style which is used by the leaders in transformational in nature. This makes the leaders to
communicate all the policies to workers in effective and efficient manner.
P 3- Applying various theories and models at M&S.
There are various theories and models of approach which can affect the business
operations of M&S. Situational leadership- This is the leadership styles which is used by cited organisation
in accordance with the different situations. There are many situations which are faced by
company. Leaders changes their style in relation with the efficiency of the employees. It
makes the firm to use all the skills and abilities of the workers for handling various
situations. Operations which are performed in M&S will be definitely affected by the
change in leadership styles. For example, in the situation which increases the cost, then
situational leadership is very much effective to handle it. System leadership- It is the leadership styles which makes the leader to follow the
systematic procedure to conduct the activities. In accordance with this style the leaders
inform the employees about all the situation and inspire them to work according to it. It
makes the workers to give better performance for the achievement of all the objectives
and goals in effective and efficient manner (Northouse, 2015). System leadership can
make changes in the business operations for the success and development of M&S in the
market. It will make them gain various types of competitive advantages.
 Contingency theory- This is the theory which makes company to adopt the changes in
accordance with the situations. The leaders of M&S plays very important part in
motivating the employees to work hard. This makes business to adopt the changes in
effective and efficient manner. It is the best theory to face all the challenging situations
which arrives in business environment. For example, for the situation of increased cost
the organisation needs to adopt contingency theory and make some changes in activities
and operations. This will make the firm to reduce their cost and use the saved amount in
various important activities. It brings many types of advantages for M&S.
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TASK 2
P 4- Roles of leaders and managers in application of key approaches to operations management
in M&S.
Operation management is the activity which makes the organisation to manage all the
activities which are to be performed in the effective and efficient manner. It is used to increase
the quality of performance given by company in the market. This is the process which makes the
organisation to allocate all the resources in proper manner without wasting them. Operation
management is the activity which is followed producing or conversion of raw materials into the
final product. There are various approaches which are used in the operation management of
M&S. Some of them are as follows: Total quality management- This is the approach which is used for the operation
management. It is the activity which make company to improve the quality of products
and services. This activity is done in the accordance of demands and needs of the
customers (Slack, 2015). There are various roles which are to be played by the leaders
and manager in total quality management. Managers of M&S to adopt different strategies
which can effectively work in changes which are implemented by the company for
increase in productivity. On the other hand, leaders also plays very important role in this
activity. They motivate and inspires all the employees to work better. It removes all the
issues which can be faced by the organisation in accordance with the resistance of worker
to the process of change.
 Six sigma- It is the approach which is used by the company to bring the improvement in
process of production. This will increase the effectiveness and efficiency of firm. It is the
activity which makes M&S to remove all the wastes which are done in their production
process. The approach of six sigma makes cited business to perform all the activities in
proper manner and bring effective results. Managers and leaders have very important role
in this activity. Managers have to makes those strategies which will make M&S to
allocate all the resources in effective and efficient way. By this way all the resources will
be used in the proper manner without wasting them. Manager of cited firm adopt the
approach of six sigma in their operation management to improve the level of
performance. On the other hand role of leader is to inspire the workers or teams to work
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efficiently with the application of this key approach. It makes the teams of organisation to
work in that manner which will bring success.
P 5- Importance of operation management in the achievement of objective and goals of M&S.
There are many importances which are carried by the operation management. The
activities of operation management makes M&S to achieve all the objectives and goals in
effective manner. Those importances of operation management are as follows: Resource allocation- It is the activity which makes company to allocate all the resources
in proper manner (Krajewski, Malhotra and Ritzman, 2015). This reduces all the
resources which are done in the production process of company. The finals products
which are made will be done in accordance with the low costs. All the wastes which are
increasing in the firm will be eliminated.
 Quality of the products- Operation management improves the quality of product. It
makes firm to use various techniques which will be helpful for the improvement of
quality. M&S will eventually achieve all the goals and objectives.
There are many approaches which are used in the operation management and increase its
importance. Those approaches are as follows: Role of corporate governance- This is the approach which makes the company to follow
all the guidelines in accordance with all ethical values. It is the activity which is
important to understand all the standards to be followed by M&S. It focusses on
protecting all the members who are directly or indirectly related to cited organisation.
Such as employees, stakeholders etc. This approach used in business highly satisfy all the
customers effectively. By this the company will be able to achieve all the objectives and
goals in efficient manner.
 Transformational leadership- It is the approach which is used in the operation
management for changing situation. This makes M&S to adopt and implement those
changes in accordance with the challenging situations of market (Schönsleben, 2016).
This style is very much beneficial to gain the competitive advantages. Transformational
leadership makes the leaders to work hand in hand with the employees in the process of
implementing change. It will increase their market share among their competitors.
The above discussion states that operation management is very much important for M&S
to increase the productivity and eliminates all types of wastes. The approaches which are used by
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cited organisation effectively and efficiently achieves all the set and desired objectives. This will
make the company to give sustainable business performance. The process of operation
management makes the company to follow all the activities and function in better way. This
increases the level of performance and achieve all the goals and objectives properly.
P 6- Factors of business environment which has impact on operation management and decision-
making of leaders and managers.
There are various factors of business environment which has some impact on the
operation management and decision making process of the leaders and managers. In today's
world there are many companies who are focussing on following all the aspects of ethical values.
By adopting and implementing this activity organisation wants to satisfy their all the customers.
For this they have to make better relationship with all the consumers (Heizer, 2016). The
businesses have to follow all the standards to increase the satisfaction level and gain various
types of competitive advantages.
M&S uses many elements in their working style to gain the competitive advantage. They
try to follow all the standards which are in accordance with the ethical values. It works to
increase the market share among the competitors and give the sustainable business performance.
They adopt the concept which is most suitable for their working style. The style or approach
which is adopted by them is corporate social responsibility. The managers and leaders work very
hard to implement this approach in their working style. It makes them to learn about the concept
of social and environmental responsibilities. The activities of management and leadership are
interrelated with each other and effectively supports the process of corporate social responsibility
in M&S. The management makes the strategies which are to be followed in whole process. They
make all the strategies by considering all the factors which effectively fulfil the social
responsibilities. The policies which are made by the managers are after considering some
elements. Such as providing quality services and products, satisfaction of the customers. They
play very important role in the informing all the leaders about the policies and strategies. It
makes the company to follow all the rules and guidelines in the effective manner. On the other
hand, role of leaders is also very important in the corporate social responsibility. They decide
upon various styles to be used for the communication of policies and strategies to the employees
(Jacobs, Chase and Lummus, 2014). They also motivate and inspires the workers to increase the
performance level and adopt all the changes in the effective manner. Leaders divide the work
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between the employees in accordance with the strategies. There are many leadership styles which
are adopted by the leaders in relation with the skills and abilities of workers. Resources which
are available in the company also affects the operation management. Managers decides and make
the strategies to allocate all the resources in effective and proper manner. On the other hand,
leaders makes the employees to effectively work on the policies and strategies.
External factors
Economic factors: Economic gives major impact on the business activities and affect the
demand and supply of the organisation. In order to mitigate the overall negative impacts. For
that, they need to consider following economic indicators such as income level of buyers,
Inflation, Recession, Interest rates, Exchange rate etc. Like Interest rates affect business practises
at the time of borrow capital at a higher rate through which its operating costs would go up
which gives negative impacts to business practises.
Technological factors: Technological factors is the other external factor which gives
both negative and positive impact on the business practises. This helps to counter inflation and
recession such as new advanced technology helps to reduce production costs of M&S. This helps
to make global supply chains in effective manner.
Socio Culture factors: Social factor is the most essential factor which is compulsory for
the organisation to be considered. This factor influence consumer buying practises directly or
indirectly as well. Social change is most challenging external factor to be consider for forecast.
This factor influence by values, lifestyle, changing structure of families.
Demographic factor: Demographic factor which is influenced by gender, age, race,
ethnicity, and location. It highly affects the buyer behaviour which may gives the M&S low
sales.
Political factors: this political factor influenced by political structure, political stability,
government intervention, constitutional provisions etc. business organisation must need ton
follow the laws and their regulations to run their business practises in smooth manner.
Natural Environment: this factor affected by seasonal variations, climate differences, soil
conditions, natural terrain etc.
CONCLUSION
It is concluded by this report that managers and leaders both plays very important role in
the functioning of company. They use various theories and approaches which makes them to
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achieve all the goals and objectives in effective and efficient manner. Furthermore, this report
shows the decision-making process of managers and leaders in M&S. Managers make all the
strategies and leaders inform those strategies to the employees. This process is done by them to
increase the productivity and performance level.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Burke, W. W., 2017. Organization change: Theory and practice. Sage Publications.
Cummings, T. G. and Worley, C. G., 2014. Organization development and change. Cengage
learning.
Heizer, J., 2016. Operations Management, 11/e. Pearson Education India.
Jacobs, F. R., Chase, R. B. and Lummus, R. R., 2014. Operations and supply chain
management (pp. 533-535). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Krajewski, L. J., Malhotra, M. K. and Ritzman, L. P., 2015. Operations management: processes
and supply chains. Pearson.
Northouse, P. G., 2015. Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage publications.
Salmela, S., Koskinen, C. and Eriksson, K., 2017. Nurse leaders as managers of ethically
sustainable caring cultures. Journal of advanced nursing, 73(4), pp.871-882.
Schönsleben, P., 2016. Integral logistics management: operations and supply chain management
within and across companies. CRC Press.
Simcic Brønn, P., 2014. How others see us: leaders’ perceptions of communication and
communication managers. Journal of Communication Management, 18(1), pp.58-79.
Slack, N., 2015. Operations strategy. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Van van Wart, M. and Dicke, L. eds., 2016. Administrative leadership in the public sector.
Routledge.
Xu, A. J., Loi, R. and Ngo, H. Y., 2016. Ethical leadership behavior and employee justice
perceptions: The mediating role of trust in organization. Journal of Business
Ethics, 134(3), pp.493-504.
Online
The Role of Leader-Manager. 2017. [Online]. Available through:
<http://www.amanet.org/training/articles/the-role-of-leader-manager.aspx>.
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