Comprehensive Report: Management and Leadership at Marks and Spencer

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of management and leadership practices within Marks and Spencer (M&S). It begins with an introduction to M&S and its management structure, defining and comparing the roles of managers and leaders. The report then delves into the differences between managerial functions and leadership roles, effectively applying various management theories such as Elton Mayo’s Behavioral theory, Management By Objectives and Contemporary Theory. It showcases examples of different situations within the organization, examining how leadership and managerial functions are applied. Furthermore, the report explores the application of situational, system, and contingency leadership theories to support growth and sustainable performance. It assesses the strengths and weaknesses of these theories, concluding with recommendations for future improvement. The second task introduces operation management at M&S, identifying the roles and responsibilities of managers and leaders in successful operational management, and evaluating the impact of external business environment factors. The report concludes with an evaluation of operations management and its impact on the wider business environment.

MANAGEMENT AND
OPERATIONS
1

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................4
1. Give an introduction of M&S along with management structure.....................................4
2.Define manager and leader and compare their roles and characteristics with special
reference to M&S...................................................................................................................5
Managers................................................................................................................................5
3.Analyse difference of managerial functions and leadership roles by effectively applying
management theories and concept..........................................................................................6
4. Show examples of different situations in your organisation and examine how roles of
leader and functions of a manager apply in those situation....................................................6
5.Apply different management and leadership theories to support growth and sustainable
performance. Include situational leadership, system leadership and contingency leadership
theories...................................................................................................................................7
6.Assess strength and weaknesses of different theories and approaches mentioned above.
Critical analysis and evaluation of these theories would upgrade quality of work..............8
7.Conclude on how managers and leaders make impact on company and make
recommendations for future improvement.............................................................................8
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................9
1.Introduce operation management of M&S and explain key approaches adopted by it.......9
2.Identify roles and responsibilities of managers and leaders in successful management of
operations of M&S.................................................................................................................9
3.Explain importance and values of key approaches to operation management in achieving
organisational objectives......................................................................................................10
4.Evaluate how managers and leaders could be effective in improving operational efficiencies
to successfully meet business objectives..............................................................................11
5.Assess impact of external business environment factors on operational management
decisions by leaders and managers. Analyse how these factors affect business environment
and wider community...........................................................................................................11
6.Include critical evaluation of application of operations management to manage factors that
impact on wider business environment...............................................................................12
2

CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................14
3

INTRODUCTION
Management and operation plays a very important role in an organisation. It is basically
responsible for planning, organising and supervising process of production, manufacturing, and
other similar duties. This report will help in having a better understanding about roles of a leader
and functions of manager of Marks and Spencer (M&S). It is a multi national British retail
company. The respective organisation is conducting its operations worldwide. Marks and
Spencer deals in variety of product lines such as apparel, home décor and luxury food products.
Along with this, this assignment will also study about different types of roles that are applied on
different situation that arises in respective organisation (Roover, 2017). Also, different types of
theories and models of approach will also be discussed. There are various elements in business
environment which influence operation management and decision making of leader and
managers of M&S which will further be discussed in report.
TASK 1
1. Give an introduction of M&S along with management structure.
Marks and Spencer is a multinational retail organisation which was founded by Micheal
Marks and Thomas Spencer in 1884. respective organisation is specialised in selling clothing,
home product and luxurious food products. respective company is providing its services all
across world. headquarters of respective organisation is London, UK. Marks and Spencer has a
huge number of employees i.e 84,939 which reflect its impact of economy of respective
company (M&S TODAY, 2018). Along with this, Marks and Spencer has a total number of
approx. 979 outlets all across UK out of which 615 stores are only dealing in selling food
products to customers.
Marks and Spencer follows a flat management structure. This means that
organisation has a limited levels of management between level of administrative and front line
employee. Hence, such structure is beneficial for respective organisation as it helps employees
by encouraging them in decision making process. Also, because of less complexity between
upper management and base line employees of Marks and Spencer, company is able to achieve
effective communication and solutions to problems. CEO of respective organisation is Steve
Rowe and Chairperson of Marks and Spencer is Archie Norman.
4

2.Define manager and leader and compare their roles and characteristics with special reference to
M&S.Managers
These are individuals in organisation which are responsible for controlling and
administering the group of staff members or the company. Roles and responsibilities of managers
in Marks and Spencer is to plan and manage work which is designed to fulfil goals and
objectives of company. Additionally, they also develop and establish strategies and policies
along with assigning work to employees of respective organisation (Pohl, 2013). managers are
distributed in all department in order to manage all operations of company.
Role of Manager
 The main role of managers in the firm is to manage and control the tasks as well as
performance of staff office.
 Managers of an organisation are responsible for communicating necessary and relevant
information to lower level staff such that they can provide their support towards
accomplishment of organisational goals and objectives.
Leaders
These are individuals who undertake responsibility of getting work done by employers.
Leaders of Marks and Spencer helps in motivating employees with help of their leadership and
communication skills which helps in boosting up productivity of respective company.
Additionally, it is duty of Leaders to assure achievement of goals of company through
employee works and efforts.
Role of Leader
 Leaders should leads his team in such a way that the employees are engaged to perform
their task and can attain the desired business goals.
 Leaders must ensure that work is being carried out in the stipulated manner so as to
maintain the effectiveness and efficiency of tasks.
Difference between manager and leaders of Marks and Spencer-
Basis Managers Leaders
Responsibility Managers are responsible for setting
up objectives of Marks and
Spencer.
Leaders are responsible for
accomplishing goals and objectives
which are set by managers of
5

Marks and Spencer.
Approach Managers of respective
organisation communicate
strategies to leaders.
leaders of respective firm
communicate and motivate
employees to work under
guidelines of policies.
Aim Managers of Marks and Spencer
introduce ideas for growth of
respective company.
However, leaders of Marks and
Spencer implement those ideas to
help manager achieve goals of
respective organisation (Barratt,
Choi and Li, 2011).
3.Analyse difference of managerial functions and leadership roles by effectively applying
management theories and concept.
Management theories can be described as set of rules guidelines which help managers to
manage organisation. Hence, theories helps employees to effectively understand and focus on
goals of Marks and Spencer and implement strategies to achieve following. These theories of
management are mentioned below:
Elton Mayo’s Behavioural theory of Management
This theory states that best motivation for employees is when they get fare treatment and
psychological motivation (Chappelll and Petrov, 2014). Additionally, it helps in increasing their
productivity and boost up their confidence which helps in achieving better results for respective
organisation. Behaviour management theory relies on the notion that manager will better
understand the human aspects of workers in which they have to treat staff member's as an
important assets for accomplishing goals. In the management department play important role
because they help in making feel workers like an special part of organisation.
Hence, managers of Marks and Spencer can apply this theory by planning right
motivation program which can help in stimulating psychological motivation of employees and
help in further attaining goals of respective company which is to maximise profit levels. Also,
with the assistance of behavioural theory manager functions to understand the behaviours and
made the plan, organise the task, leads the employees as well as control the work so that
objectives can be attained in effectual manner.
6

Similarly, leaders of Marks and Spencer can implement these theories on employees and
staff members of respective company by executing plans and strategies made by managers of
Marks and Spencer in order to motivate staff members of company which will help in achieving
improved productivity and increased revenue of Marks and Spencer. Also, the role of the leaders
to understand the behaviours of each and every employees who are working in the company and
treat them effectively, involve them in all decisions, encouraged them to leads towards for
accomplishment of goals.
Management By Objectives
According to Peter Drucker’s rule - Management By Objectives is to ascertain combined
objectives and to provide response on the outcomes. Setting the challenges but achievable
objectives promotes motivation and direction of employees. The author has developed five steps
to put MOB process into practice :
 Determine the organisational Objectives – The first step of any organisation is to build
their objectives, as they are the base from the mission and vision of an organisation.
7
Illustration 1: Steps to practice the MOB process

 Translating the organisational objectives to employees – In order to achieve the
objectives, this must be recognized at all levels, so that each employee should know what
are their responsibilities and how they have to perform their task or activities.
 Stimulate the participation of employees in the determining of the objectives – In
this, everyone should know what is their contribution in achieving these objectives, and
what are managers expecting from them in attaining these goals.
 Monitoring the Progress – The objectives which are made by M&S are SMART, so
they are measurable. If these objectives are not measurable and a system will be set to
monitor, when the objectives are differ. In that system a function is activated for
detection, which should be done on time, so that the large issues can be prevented.
 Evaluate and Reward achievements – In this stage, the employees are evaluated and
rewarded for their achievements to set goals and objectives. Management By Objectives
is about when, why and how objectives can be attained.
Contemporary Theory of management
This is a type of behaviour theory which states that there is no another way for leading a
firm, organising a firm, or make decisions in the organisation. In this, the managers of this theory
involves the planning, organising, leading, controlling the business operation to attain the desired
business aims and objectives. In this theory the managers are responsible for using the resources
effectively.
4. Show examples of different situations in your organisation and examine how roles of leader
and functions of a manager apply in those situation.
There are various roles of leaders and functions of manager of Marks and Spencer
which helps in smooth functioning of management of company. Both of them have different set
of duties in every arising situations. Hence, some of the examples are given below:
Control- It is one of the important element of a company which helps in measuring and
regulating various business operations of the company. Hence, the managers of Marks and
Spencer control and manage all the operations of respective company in order to achieve better
outcomes. However, the leaders of respective company insures performance of employees of
company in order to attain more productivity.
Conflicts- For smooth running of operations and avoiding any further issues, it is
important to avoid conflicts at workplace. The organisational goals can be achieved successfully
8

only by mutual efforts of the employees of organisation. Hence, the managers of company plans
certain group activities which helps in promoting group activities and communication among the
staff members of respective retail organisation. Similarly, the leaders of Marks and Spencer
ensures implication of such activities among staff members and also resolves other issues of the
employees of respective company.
Risk taking- In order to assure growth of the company, it is important to explore new
markets, strategies and other aspects. Hence, the manager of Marks and Spencer come up with
new ideas and concept to promote growth of company. However, the success of these strategies
cannot be ensured and undertakes risk taking. Similarly, leaders adapt different tactics to
motivate the employees in order to achieve more productive results.
5.Apply different management and leadership theories to support growth and sustainable
performance. Include situational leadership, system leadership and contingency leadership
theories.
There are various management and leadership theories which helps in growth of
company and helps in assuring sustainable performance of Marks and Spencer. Some of them
are situational leadership, system leadership and contingency leadership. These are discussed
below:
Situational Leadership- This is type of leadership in the style of leadership is decided
on the basis of different situation arising in Marks and Spencer (Subramanian and Ramanathan,
2012). Hence, operational management of respective company can have a certain advantage due
to flexible style of leadership being adapted by leader of Marks and Spencer as per different
conditions. For example, respective organisation is facing increased cost due to changing
economy of UK and many other factors. Hence, situational leadership can play a major role in
this situation.
System Leadership- This method of leadership undertakes the style of leadership on
basis of vision and mission of the organisation. Additionally, new approaches are introduced on
the basis of new ideas and techniques. Hence, leaders of Marks and Spencer set goals and
objectives to achieve mission and vision of respective company.
Contingency Leadership- This theory of leadership believes that there is no best method
to organize company. However, leadership style depends upon external and internal situation
of company (Goodale and et. al., 2011). Hence, leaders of Marks and Spencer can apply this
9

method of leadership depending on different situation that arises in company and take certain
measures to assure best outcomes for Marks and Spencer.
6.Assess strength and weaknesses of different theories and approaches mentioned above. Critical
analysis and evaluation of these theories would upgrade quality of work.
Situational Leadership
 Strength- This method has a perspective value which means that it can help in guiding
actions that needs to be taken. Additionally, it emphasis on flexibility of leaders of
Marks and Spencer. Hence, this style can be altered according to need of situation
 Weakness- It is not possible to tackle every situation through this approach. Hence, the
leaders cannot rely on it completely.
System Leadership
 Strength- It is one of the most flexible method of leadership as it changes with the
future vision and mission of company.(Cavage and et. al., 2014)
 Weakness- Due to the focus on company's mission and vision, company does not pay
much attention to other market and aspects.
Contingency Leadership
 Strength- This style of leadership promotes flexibility among leaders.
 Weakness- These experiments does not always go right. Also, these style of leadership is
usually quick due to certain changes in situation. Hence, accuracy is questionable.
7.Conclude on how managers and leaders make impact on company and make recommendations
for future improvement.
From above discussion, it can be concluded that managers and leaders have a huge
impact on future growth of company as managers are responsible for making various strategies
for company operations and leaders are responsible to implement those theories in order to
achieve high level of profits and market share for company.
Hence, the company's leaders need to practise all the leadership approaches depending
upon the demand of situation. Also, managers need to make appropriate strategies which can
help in attaining objectives of the company.
10

TASK 2
1.Introduce operation management of M&S and explain key approaches adopted by it.
Operation management of Marks and Spencer is a management which deals in designing
and monitoring process of production. Additionally, it helps in assuring efficiency of usage of
resources and effectiveness of meeting requirement of customers. Key approaches of operation
management of Marks and Spencer can be understand by the approaches mentioned below-
 Six Sigma- It can be defines as a statistical data or discipline which helps in minimising
the wastage from inventory, transportation and other process of the company.
Additionally, this methodology helps in improving the quality of the products which are
served by the organisation and also focus on eliminating defects in the process, products
and services. Hence, the manager of Marks and Spencer applies this theory to control
total wastage produced by company and promote serving quality products.
 Just in Time- Also known as JIT approach focus on minimising the time duration of
manufacturing and delivering the products to the customers. This helps in speeding the
process of companies which helps in attaining customer satisfaction. Hence, the
managers of Marks and Spencer practise this approach in order to speed up the process of
production process and delivery speed.
 Total Quality Management- It is a process of detecting and eliminating the production
errors in order to assure the quality of the products of the firm. This helps in improving
experience of customers. Along with this, total quality management approach helps in
ensuring that the corrections are made under internal guidelines and process standards.
Hence, Marks and Spencer can benefit from this operational management approach to
insure that error corrections are made according to the internal guidelines of M&S.
2.Identify roles and responsibilities of managers and leaders in successful management of
operations of M&S.
Roles and responsibilities of manager of Marks and Spencer is mentioned below:
 Set Goals- managers of Marks and Spencer set goals for company growth which helps
employee by providing goals and objective of respective company.
11

 Make Strategies- managers of Marks and Spencer are also responsible for making
business and operational strategies which helps in smooth running of operations and
helps in assuring maximum return for respective company.
 Evaluation- managers of Marks and Spencer undertake evaluating all strategies and
take certain actions in order to rectify and monitor strategies which can help in earning
more profit for Marks and Spencer (Tayur, Ganeshan and Magazine, 2012).
Roles of Leaders of Marks and Spencer is mentioned below:
 Communicate- Communication is key to assure affective operations of company.
leaders of Marks and Spencer are responsible for managing employees and
communicating with them in order to assist them in their respective organisational
matters.
 Execute Strategy- One of most important roles and responsibility of leader of Marks
and Spencer is to execute plan that has been planned by manager of respective
company in order to attain more profit level for respective organisation.
3.Explain importance and values of key approaches to operation management in achieving
organisational objectives.
Operation management can be described as a process of planning, organizing, managing
and controlling process of production. key factors of operation management are inventory
management, supply chain management, performance measure and total quality management.
management problem in operation management area is consist of quantitative, technical, social
and mixtures (Kato and et. al, 2015). social factors are comprises of human resource
management. However, technical issues in Marks and Spencer are technology used for
production, distribution of products, etc.
Improves Productivity- The operational management approaches helps in calculating
the productivity of employees. Thus, the managers an leaders of Marks and Spencer can improve
the productivity of its staff members which will help in achieving the goals of respective retail
organisation.
Satisfying customers need- These key approaches of operational management help in
identifying key issues of the company. Hence, Marks and Spencer can alter these key issues in
order to provide better products and services which will help in maximising the satisfaction of
the customers.
12