Management and Operations Report: Leadership, Operations at M&S

This report offers a comprehensive analysis of management and operations, using Marks and Spencer (M&S) as a case study. It begins by differentiating between managers and leaders, exploring the roles and characteristics of each, and then delves into Fayol's theory of management, identifying the key functions of a manager. The report further examines leadership styles, including situational, system, and contingency leadership, as applied within M&S. It identifies various approaches to operations management used by M&S, such as the dynamic approach and Six Sigma, and examines the role of store managers as operational leaders. The importance of operation management and the external factors affecting it are also discussed. Finally, the report analyzes the impact of these factors on organizational decision-making.

Management and operations

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
a. Differences and similarities between a manager and a leader ...........................................1
b. Functions of a manger according to Fayol theory..............................................................2
c) Situational, system and contingency leadership used in Marks and Spencer....................3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
1 Different approaches of operations management used at Marks and Spencer....................5
2 Role of store manager a class example of an operation manager.......................................6
3 Importance of operation management ................................................................................7
4 Identify the key outside the factors effect on the operation management ..........................8
5 Analysis the factors impact on decision making of the organization..................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Manager and leaders plays distinctive role in the organisation. They work collaboratively
and collectively in order to attain the desired goals and objectives of the company. Mangers and
leaders are essential and vital pillars in the organisation that guides, manages and influences all
the workforce within the organisation (Gillen, Jacquillat and Odoni, 2016). In this context, the
following report will covers the aspects of management and operations by considering Marks
and Spencer as the organisation. In this report a comprehensive understanding will be establish
regarding leadership and management. The difference between manager and leader will be
analysed and their roles and characteristics will be identified. The different theories of leadership
will be evaluated and elaborated in this assignment. Different approaches to operations
management will be identified and the role of leader and manager will be determined. The
importance and value of operation management and the factors which impacts on operation
management, decision making by leaders and managers will be assess in this report.
TASK 1
a. Differences and similarities between a manager and a leader
Manager: A person who is appointed to control the professional, administrative and business
activities of an organisation is called manager(Butera and Cruz, 2017.). Manager deals with
complexity of management by planning, budgeting, staffing, measuring performance, clarifying
jobs and problem solving. Plans are made by him with a set goal in order to achieve the final end
result. There are several operational plans to maintain the management of an organisation. A
manager must have few effective features so that M&S can lead to a great height of success.
Leadership quality is very helpful in leading the employees in an efficient manner (Scase and
Goffee, 2017.). A lot of responsibilities come with a manager post so leading ability must be
effective. They must have experiences to work in a professional environment an in a leading
team. Therefore, events should be organised in order to share and gain the ideas and experiences
with peoples.
An effective communication skill is a key point for manager so that he can communicate
with all other employees in an effective way with positive attitudes. This skill is always helpful
in representing an organisation in a very dedicated and reputed way. Time management must be
at priority to make a good start of the day. Employees are effected by a right time management
of a manager and they also try to be managed with their working hours. Delegation for tasks and
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projects is not an easy concern but yet they should able to manage it in time (Hatchuel and
Segrestin, 2018). No obvious it is a matter to say that they must have confidence, yes of course
they should have high confidence level. Employees of M&S should be respected by a manager
so that their staffs feel confident and energetic.
Along with these things they must have skills to allocate the sources which are necessary
for an organisation either it is big or small. Collection and submission of budget is a part of a
manager's role. The plans for process and procedure of business must be highly effective to
create and establish a good image of organisation in market. Plans must be communicated and
reinforced, all the possible data and informations must be collected to develop a good fit between
people and their needs. These all would be very helpful in making better planning for the
organisation. New polices, procedures and systems must be discovered and applied for superior
result of company. Manager has capability to recruit the employees as per rules and norms of
M&S.
Leader: All information and instructions are given to a leader by manager and leader transforms
theses instructions to employees who are working under them. The final end result is attained by
them(Goleman,2017.). Manager has power to take risks for a company so that some better
outcomes is obtained. They always try to fill the gaps between an organisation and its employees
by avoiding conflicts. The efficacy of work in an organisation depends upon the nature of work
that is done by top level managers. Followers are directly influenced by a leader in order to
achieve a goal. They play a great role in growth and development of an organisation. Followers
can be aligned by leader but it is not done by a manager. The effectiveness of a work that is
performed by followers show the quality of a leader. Directions are chosen by a leader according
to plans in order to complete the target of a task. The risks which is taken by manager is
minimised by a leader.
b. Functions of a manger according to Fayol theory
Mainly five functions of a manager is identified by Fayol.
Planning: Manager always deal with the management of an organisation where there is need of
plans, strategies and objectives for a specific goal(Peaucelle, 2015.). It is as much as necessary to
make present and future plans to secure the achievement of future goals of a company. So it is
very important to evaluate all parameters that are affecting the productivity of an organisation.
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Organising: The manager has power to organise the systems of a company. They must train and
recruit the right employees for the job. Different events and activities must be organised by a
manager in company to encourage the workforce of their employees. A good relationship
between company and employees play a great role to run a company in an efficient way.
Commanding: Commanding is one of the tool of a manager that help them to supervise their
employees in every day work and achieve the goal of company. Commands are given to a leader
and those are passed to the followers to work according to that within a time interval. Generally
the commanding activities are related with company polices and followers have to follow those
commands(Brunsson, 2017). Communication skill is one of the great tool to provide an effective
command. Commanding must be in such a way that it motivates the followers to work, negative
impact of commands may lead to decrease in productivity of a company.
Controlling: Control over a management means to say that a company is producing the desired
result according to the plans which were made. The main motto of controlling is to look forward
for continuous and dynamic activities. Controlling over business help in comparing the
competitions in market. Controlling is an effective part of planning. There is no more
importance of planning without controlling. Wasted effort are made for planning if there is no
involvement of controlling activities in management(Follett2016).
Coordinating: It is one the most effective essence of a management for harmony of individual
efforts that are made by them to achieve a goal. It is said that coordination is a process by which
a process is pursued to a final goal with the help of subordinates. Coordination is the thread that
make the good network of working within an organisation. Coordination provides strength to
employees and management to work together with a harmony(Parker2016). Lack of it may lead
in decrease in productivity of a company and lack of confidence among employees.
c) Situational, system and contingency leadership used in Marks and Spencer
Leadership is an art of influencing, guiding, directing, motivating and controlling the team
members in the right direction and in the right path so that the organisational goals and
objectives can be accomplish. In Marks and Spencer, there are distinct leadership style has been
followed which are based on theories which were proposed by researchers and philosophers.
These theories provide ground support to the leaders which helps them in becoming effective and
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efficient leaders. In this context, the situational leadership, contingency leadership and system
leadership theories are described below:
Situational Leadership
The theory of situational leadership was derived by two professors and authors Paul
Hersey and Ken Blanchard in 1969 (Heizer, 2016). The theory is acknowledged by researchers
and leadership gurus as they found that the theory is robust and effective enough which can be
practically implemented within the organisation. It is considered to be powerful and effective
tools of leadership which used in behavioural science. Situational leadership refers to the
leadership style followed by leader or manager which is dynamic and changes according to the
situation and circumstances. Situational leadership style is power yet agile tool that allows
leaders more effectively influence their team members. As per this theory, leaders or managers
adjust their style in order to match the developmental level of employees which they wish to
influence in the company. It depicts four core critical and crucial competencies of leader which
are:
1. Diagnose: Leaders needs to analyse and diagnose the situation and circumstances in
order to transform their style.
2. Adapt: They have to adjust their behaviour according to the circumstances and
contingencies.
3. Communicate: Leaders have to ensure that precise articulation and communication of
information has been made.
4. Advance: Leaders have to implement the style and go forth in order to influence their
team members.
The situational leadership style is considered to be beneficial for M&S as leaders able to deal
with employees and team members effectively and efficiently.
System Leadership Style
System leadership theory states that leadership style is a discipline of management which
is concerned with the evaluation of interaction and nexus between the elements which are
compromised in definite system (Jacobs, Chase and Lummus, 2014). According to system
leadership theory, leaders without followers remain incapable to practice their leadership and to
ensure the conviction, leaders have to provide a system, purpose and structure (Systems Theory
and Systems Approach to Leadership. 2017). System approach justifies the thoughts on the
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complexity and dynamism of the environment and provides framework to build innovative ideas.
The theory supports two major attributes which are :
1. It is collaborative
2. It extends the boundaries in which virtual, professional and organisation leaders can
think beyond their usual authority and responsibility limits.
Leaders at M&S utilised system leadership theory in order to lead and guide their followers
effectively and efficiently.
Contingency Theory of leadership
Contingency theory of leadership was proposed in mid 1960s by Fred Fiedler. The theory
lays more focus on situations and personality of leaders. It anticipates that the traits of leaders is
contingent upon various situational factors such as capabilities, preferred syles and behaviour of
leaders. Leaders are not bound to follow one specific style and are open to change their
leadership style on the contingencies.
TASK 2
1 Different approaches of operations management used at Marks and Spencer
Operation management is considered to be most important and essential department
within the organisation. There are different types of approaches of operation management and
the one which followed at Marks and Spencer are described below: Dynamic approach: Dynamic is the process which means constant change. In order to
sustain in the competitive environment and economy, it is essential to bring changes in
the organisation (Abou-Senna and et.al., 2018). The changes are made on the basis of
critical research and analysis of market environment. Dynamic approach has been used in
Marks and Spencer operations department where the management frequently made
changes according to the needs and expectations of the market. Six Sigma: Six sigma approach was first used by Motorola in 1996. It is the process
improvement methodology. Six sigma approach is used by the operations management of
Marks and Spencer in order to reduce the amount of wastage by following the six
essential steps of the approach. Through this, the management is able to enhance the
sustainability and profitability of the organisation simultaneously.
 Business process redesign (BPR): Business process redesign was formulated in 1993
which is the business management strategy that concentrates on analysing and designing
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workflow of business process within a company. The objective of BPR is to assist the
organisation drastically in restructuring their design, business process and operations
management (Baxley and et.al., 2016). The management of Marks and Spencer utilised
this approach in order to enhance the productivity and profitability of the organisation
which helps them in providing competitive advantages. Through this they are able to
cope up with recent market trends and changes.
2 Role of store manager a class example of an operation manager
Store supervisor and task manager are similarly essential for the organization for achieve
its goal. Without them, specialty unit can't do its working in a compelling way (Agarwal and
et.al., 2012). The goal of Marks and Spencer to a great extent relies on the viable task and
administration. Due o this reason it is imperative for the director and pioneer and mange and
arrange the representatives and in addition business exercises. With a specific end goal to deal
with various circumstance in the organization, both administrator and pioneer have distinctive
kinds of exercises. For instance, In the Marks and Spencer, the significant issue which is
confronted is high rate of representatives turnover because of the poor strategies for working,
ineffectual practices and absence of inspiration. In this circumstance, both pioneer and trough
have distinctive part and obligation to deal with this circumstance (Park and el.at., 2014.). By
this issue, organization execution and efficiency is adversely affect on the consumer loyalty
which likewise makes improvement with respect to piece of the overall industry. Piece of the
overall industry is loan defeated this circumstance, administrator have significant part to
comprehend circumstance and break down the purpose for the occurrence. In the wake of
investigating the circumstance and purpose for this scene, director need to center around
advancement of compelling strategies, practices and business framework which will be
reasonable and open to as indicated by worker's necessity and working condition. Director have
significant part to outline such practices and strategies which can be reasonable for workers.
Moreover, director can grow such viable reward and inspiration practices, for example, preparing
and advancement. Representative's welfare program, financial and non-money related reward
and so on with the goal that laborers can be propelled for higher execution and can be held in the
business for long time (Iqbal and Sharma, 2012). To convey powerful rewards, similar to
motivator, incidental advantages, remuneration, increase, advancement is action of director to
propel representatives so they can be held inside the specialty unit. Consequently, one might say
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that supervisor have real part to deal with circumstance of representative's turnover.
Administrator can utilize their systematic and administration expertise for beat the workers turn
over. In addition to this Leader has another significant part and duty to defeat the circumstance
of worker's turnover. Pioneer is a man who is near each subordinate and break down each
subordinate movement and execution. To unravel these workers turnover issue, pioneer can
direct individual connection with representative and break down their significant issue and assess
the explanation for this said scene.
3 Importance of operation management
By utilization of different activity administration approaches, refered to wander can
enhance the profitability and execution of business. With a specific end goal to get compelling
results, organization need to center around the activity administration. It is exceptionally
fundamental angle to enhance the execution and efficiency of business undertaking. Activity
administration guarantees that an association is directing business at crest productivity and
capacity. It incorporates the improvement and utilization of asset that are fundamental for an
organization to convey merchandise and ventures to its customers (Ghosh, 2015). With help of
successful activity administration, the profitability of business can move forward. In this way
director and pioneer have significant part in light of the fact that with a specific end goal to deal
with the operational exercises, workers powerful execution is imperative. Manager and pioneer
oversee and assess workers execution with a specific end goal to make activity administration
successful. With help of legitimate task administration, Marks and Spencer can control and
convey its different capacity and framework at work environment. With help of task
administration, ,manager can without much of a stretch outline the procedure and structure of
generation and different exercises of business. With help of legitimate task administration,
refered to wander can use its accessible assets in a compelling way and they can likewise
appropriately deal with the stock and hardware. Task administration is best and fundamental
practices in the business venture by which business efficiency and nature of execution can be
effortlessly moved forward. The fundamental expectation of the task administration is to change
over contributions to the successful yields alongside less wastage. In the Marks and Spencer, the
significant advantage of activity administration approach is identified with conquered the
wastage. By utilizing different procedures of administration and activities like six sigmas, lining
hypothesis, line generation, add up to quality administration, firm can without much of a stretch
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dispense with wastage and extra costs from assembling and creation (Harwiki, 2013). These
methodologies of administration and activity help in enhancing nature of brand viability of item
and administrations which conveys the most elevated fulfillment to the customers. With help of
the different methodologies of activity and administration, organization can upgrade nature of
the item and administrations. These methodologies can be connected in the creation and
assembling process in the organization so by utilizing these strategies firm can without much of a
stretch defeat wastage and extra costs from the assembling and generation process and improve
viability of the item and administrations. The different approach of administration and activity
helps in enhancing wastage and extra costs from the generation and assembling process in the
organization. It helps in enhancing rate of business process, customer administrations and so
forth so as through this customer can pick up the largest amount of fulfillment.
4 Identify the key outside the factors effect on the operation management
M&S is the multinational retailer of clothing , footwear and home products. Operations
management of M&S is effected various outside the factors, these factor is including in macro
environment. Identify the factors explain through pestle analysis of operation management in
M&S.
PESTLE Analysis:
Political factors: The operation management of the company is effected from some
government rules and regulation, policies and procedures related to trade policy of raw material
cost, machinery costs etc. Any of the policies related to operations of company, operated by the
government so that it is effected on the operation management (Bergström, Grubb and Jonsson,
2007). In the process of manufacturing, any of resources cost is increased by the government, it
is effected on the operations of the company.
Economical factors: Economical factors includes changes in inflation rate, if the rate is
increasing so that operation cost is increased and pricing of goods and services is also increased.
But if the rate is decreased so that operation cost is deceased and pricing of goods and services is
also decreased. Competitors pricing is also effected on the operation management of production
process. If the competitors pricing is increase and decrease so that there is more effected on
operations of M&S.
Social factors: Operation management is also effected by some social factors. Changes
in fashions and trends, customers taste and preferences, according to the fashions or trends so
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that it is difficult for the operation of goods and services. If the company is not providing
services according to trends so that customers are not satisfied with their products (Fizer, 2013).
The company should produce those goods which is satisfaction of customers needs and wants.
Cultural factors such as different culture are there and different peoples are there so that the
company should focused on operations which are according to the different cultures.
Technological factors: Some changes in technology and entering the new technology in
the market so that the company has produce the goods according to technology in the operations
management. Because now a days technology is must in everything, so that in the production
process, goods are produce in the new technology based machinery (Kaplan, 1960.). Online
shopping is important for buy everything in just click, it is easy for the customers. So that M&S
is focused on social media and online websites.
Legal factors: Legal factors including modification of labor laws. It is the effected on
operation process, because in the production labor is important for all procedures. Any of the
changes in laws so that the company should adopted all the laws related to the labor working in
their company. Consumer rights is the law related to the consumers buying behavior. All the
consumers buying behavior is different from other and their needs and wants also different so
that it is effected on operation of the M&S.
Environmental factors: In the production process, any of raw material is related to the
environment so that it is effected on operations in goods and services. M&S is adopted these
types raw material used their products. So that these factors are effected for the operations of the
company. Any changes in environment climate so that it is effected on the production process of
M&S. The company ensuring that they can produce the goods and services to customers
according to the environment (Memon and et.al.,2014.).
5 Analysis the factors impact on decision making of the organization
There are various factors effects on not only operation management but also decision
making for the company. Some government policies and procedures are positive impact on
operations but some policies and procedures such as high cost of machinery, are negative
impact on the operation and decision making. Changes in customers taste and preferences so that
it is also negative impact of decision making related to the operations.
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Technological changes are also positive and negative impact on decision making related
to operations or production process, because any alteration in the machines and any of new
technology adopted by company, it is difficult for the decision making of the operations
management. Some legal changes in the process of operations, pricing of goods and services, tax
rate of goods and services, is the negative impact on operation process and their decision making
(Nessett, 1986,).
In the operation and production process of goods and services impacted by some
environmental changes. Because M&S is used in raw materials related to the environment, so
that it is difficult for operation managers for decision making. If the customers wants immediate
services of goods but in the company there is no availability of immediate goods and providing
services so that it is difficult for managers that how to service provide to customers. It is also
difficult of take the immediate decision.
According to some mistakes such as no availability of resources, machinery is not
working, labor is not working, so that it is difficult for operations process of goods and services
and difficult for customers satisfaction of their needs and wants. In this situation, operation
managers are in pressures for making decision and managing the operations. Customers demands
are always change according to fashion, taste and preferences so that it is difficult to decided that
how to produce goods and services according to their demand (TENG, WU and WU, 2004).
Competitors pricing is also impacted on the operation management and decision making
of the M&S. ASDA and TOPSHOP are also providing home goods and services on same
pricing, so that they can more efforts on better quality products provides to the customers and
satisfaction their needs and wants. There are many retailers in the market whose has providing
the same quality products on same price so that customers will attracted on those retailers, it is
negative impact on M&S.
They can provide all the products on online stores so that it is easy to customers for
getting the all types of products in just one click. Because now every person used mobiles,
social media and doing online shopping as well so that it is not necessary to going in the market
and purchasing the products. M&S also providing the online services to the customers.
CONCLUSION
By the entire report it has been summarized that management and operation is very
significant aspect in the Marks and Spencer by which quality of product and service can increase
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