Management and Operations Report: Leadership, Managers, and Theories

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of management and operations, with a specific focus on leadership theories and their practical application within the context of ASDA, a British supermarket retailer. The report delves into the roles of leaders and managers in various situational contexts, such as conflict resolution, organizational change management, the implementation of new policies and technologies, and enhancing brand image. It explores various leadership styles and approaches, including situational leadership, systems leadership, task-oriented, and relationship-oriented approaches, evaluating their respective strengths and weaknesses. Furthermore, the report examines key approaches to operations management and the influence of environmental factors on decision-making processes. The analysis provides insights into how leaders and managers navigate challenges and drive operational effectiveness within the organization. This report is prepared to develop an understanding of various concepts and theories of management and operations.

Management and Operations
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
TASK 1 .........................................................................................................................................4
Covered in PPT...........................................................................................................................4
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................4
2.1) Examine how the role of leader and function of a manager apply in situational context of
the organisation ..........................................................................................................................4
2.2) Different theories, models of approaches along with their strengths and weaknesses .......7
2.3) Explain the key approaches to operations management and the role that leaders and
managers...................................................................................................................................10
2.4) Environmental factors that have impact on the operational management and decision
making ......................................................................................................................................14
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................16
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................17
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INTRODUCTION
Management is a set of activity which helps the organisations to achieve their goals and
objectives by organising and coordinating the efforts of the employees. Various crucial functions
of management includes planning, organising, directing and controlling. Operations is one of the
major function in organisation which helps the management to manage the day to day
productions and the strategic production of the organisation. Management is a complex concept
of which operations is a part. To achieve the goals of the organisation the leaders and the
managers plays a crucial role and to understand their role and style various theories need to be
studied. In this report the company that is taken into consideration is ASDA which is a British
supermarket retailer. This report is prepared to develop an understanding of various concepts and
theories of management and operations. The topics which are covered in this report are various
management theories, leadership theories, role and functions of managers. Also various
approaches of operations management, relationship among leadership and management are
considered in the report. For an organisation it is important to understand various factors which
can affect the decision making of the managers and the leaders.
TASK 1
Covered in PPT
TASK 2
2.1) Examine how the role of leader and function of a manager apply in situational context of the
organisation
In an organisation the managers and the leaders faces various situation and challenges for
which have to take actions. In every such situation the mangers and the leaders plays crucial role.
In ASDA their manager and leader make their employees comfortable in every situation by
taking various steps (Rosenbach, 2018). The role of leaders and the functions of managers in
different situation for ASDA are given below:
In situation of Conflicts: In an organisation a large number of employees work altogether
which belongs to diverse culture, due to which their values, beliefs, perception varies. Because of
such diversity the organisation such as ASDA faces conflicts among the employees and with the
management too. Other than this there could be various reasons for the conflicts in the
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organisation such as salary, cast, gender, opportunities etc. In case of such conflicts the managers
and the leaders in the organisation has to initiate to make the operations of ASDA effective
(Agarwal and Gupta, 2018).
 Role of leaders: In situation of conflicts the leaders in ASDA identifies the root cause of
the conflict and its impact on the employees of the organisation and on the organisation
itself. Once the issue is identified than they determine the measures which will help them
to resolve the issue. On the basis of such measures they motivate their employees to settle
such conflict (Larson and et. al., 2016).
 Function of managers: While the mangers in situation of conflict in ASDA will develop
various rules and regulation with the help of which they can resolve the conflicts. Further
they will also discuss the issues with the people related to it, on the basis of this they will
take suggestions and opinions from other employees and will formulate rules and
regulations (Stiehl and et. al., 2015).
In situation of Introduction of change in organisation: When the change is implemented
by the any organisation the employees of the organisation may resist such change. In such
situation the mangers and the leaders of the organisation has to handle the situation (Ageron,
Gunasekaran and Spalanzani, 2012). The managers and leaders in ASDA undertake various steps
which can be:
 Role of leaders: The leaders at ASDA make their employees understand the importance
of such change and its benefits to the organisation. Along with this they will make them
the opportunities for them from such change.
 Function of managers: The manager at ASDA identifies various model with the help of
which they can easily implement the change in the organisation. Also they will formulate
various strategies with which they achieve their desired objectives.
In situation of Implementation of new policies and plan: With the changing demands of
the business environment the organisations has to formulate new policies and plan which helps
them to meet up with the changing requirements (Balasubramaniam and et. al., 2016). The
leaders and the managers of ASDA plays crucial role such as:
 Role of leaders: Leaders in ASDA provide assistance to the employees of the
organisation so that they can adapt such new policies and plan. With implementation of
new policies the various strategies also changes with which various processes also
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changes. For such change in policies the employees has to be motivated which is done by
the leaders of the organisation (Chow, 2016).
 Function of managers: Managers identifies various ways to make such policies simple for
the employees to understand. Also on the basis of change the managers of ASDA will
delegate the responsibilities to different people on the basis of their capabilities (Lewis,
Cantore and Passmore, 2016).
In situation of Implementation of new technology: With change in the technology, the
employee of the ASDA has to adapt such change due to which they may resist the change in
technology (Beske and Seuring, 2014). But the leaders and the managers have to make the
employees familiar with such change in technology for which they take various actions such as:
 Role of leaders: The leaders motivate the employees by setting example before them. For
this the leaders at ASDA themselves understand such technology effectively then they
make their employee understand and adapt it (Schermerhorn and et. al., 2019). Such as
in case when they went online the leaders learnt the entire concept and further assisted
the employees to adapt the same.
 Function of managers: The managers of ASDA in such situation arrange and conduct
various training programs for the employees so that their efficiencies and capabilities can
be improves. Such training will make them compatible towards such technology.
In situation of enhancing the brand image: For every organisation it is important to
consistently improve and enhance the image of the company. ASDA faces this situation so
frequently due to stiff competition from other retailers in groceries business. The leaders and
managers plays significant role in handling such situation (Burgess and et.al., 2016).
 Role of leaders: Leaders of ASDA helps to bring uniqueness in the business as they take
suggestions and opinions from the employees as they are the one regularly come in
contact with the customers. Further by motivating the employees and making them
comfortable with the change in technology they enhance the brand image of the company
(Chang, 2016).
 Function of managers: Managers at ASDA formulate various marketing strategies which
help them to attract more of customers and in improving their customer services. Also to
enhance the brand image the managers train their staff so that they can efficiently handle
the customers and can resolve various issues faced by the customers.
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2.2) Different theories, models of approaches along with their strengths and weaknesses
In the organisation various styles of leadership and approaches is been used by the leaders
which helps them to handle various situation effectively and efficiently. Various theories which
are used y the leaders and the managers of the ASDA are given below:
Situational leadership: Situational leadership was developed by Hersey and Blanchard. This
is a style of leadership in which the leaders adopt the style as per the situation prevailing in the
organisation. The theory contains two type of behaviour of the employee such as supportive and
directive behaviour (Conaway, 2017). According to this theory the leaders can have various
styles such as:
 Delegating: In this style of leadership the leaders gives opportunities to the employees to
take decisions as they have been provided the authority to take the decision. As per this
style the staff members are given liberty to utilise their own style of working by proving
minimum guidance to them (Sosik and Jung, 2018).
 Selling leader: In this type of leadership style, the vision is created for the entire team
working with ASDA that helps them to contribute the goal of the organisation. In this the
team members can provide their suggestions to the leaders with the help of which they
can take decisions effectively (Situational leadership style, 2019).
 Participating: This type of leadership style is very effective in ASDA as in this the
employees are asked to give their ideas with the help of which the leaders can resolve the
issues which are faced by them. It further helps the leaders to improve relations with the
employees (Cook and Billig, 2017).
 Telling Leader: In this type of leadership style the leaders take the decisions and they
communicate them to the followers. Generally the communication in this style id one-
way communication (Mendenhall and et. al., 2017) .
Strength Weakness
This style of leadership is effective for
ASDA as they can establish healthy and
long term relation with their employees.
Also they allow their employees to give
their suggestion and opinions which
motivates them. Thus it improves their
The weakness of this style of leadership is
that it becomes time consuming as the ideas
and the suggestions of the employees need
to be evaluated (Lu, Laux and Antony,
2017).
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productivity (Seaman, 2018).
Systems leadership: As per the system leadership theory the businesses need to consider
their employees as a single entity. System leadership is generally use by the managers and the
leaders of ASDA when they implement any new policies and plan in the organisation which can
increase their overall productivity. It enables the leaders to make such a workplace where the
employees can do every level of work as per their potential. Along with this the systematic
theory provides tools which helps the leaders in predicting the behaviour of the employees. On
the basis of which they use effective leadership style. It will facilitate the leaders at the ASDA to
raise their business (Cordray and et. al., SCIENCELOGIC Inc, 2015)
Strength Weakness
The strengths of the leadership style are that it
focuses upon the achievement of the goals of the
organisation as well that of the individual. With the
help of this style of leadership the ASDA focuses
upon multiple dimensions of the company (Raelin,
ed., 2016).
The weakness of the theory is that it may
not be practical which is why the decision
making becomes a longer process. Also the
nature of inter-dependence is not defined
(Cousin, 2019).
Task oriented approaches: Task oriented leadership focuses upon getting the work done
on time in such a manner that the employees are satisfied with the work which they do. This type
of leadership is autocratic type of leadership in which the focus is only on completing the work
anyhow due to which lack of attention is given on well being of the employees.
Strength Weakness
The strength of this style of leadership is that the
job is completed on time without any flaws. Also it
is suitable when the management skills are poor
(Muls and et. al., 2015).
But the weaknesses of this style of
leadership are that the leaders face the issue
with the motivation and retention of the
employees (Reid and Sanders, 2015).
Relationship oriented approaches: Relationship oriented approach of leadership helps
the leaders to focus upon the wellbeing of the employees of the organisation. According to this
approach the interest of the people is taken into consideration. They are guided and supported so
that employees can perform to the best of their ability. Such a leadership style helps the
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organisation to be kept their workforce motivated and consistent towards their work (Ellitan,
2017).
Strength Weakness
The strengths of this style of leadership are that
it focuses upon the emotional needs of the
employees which motivate them to perform
well. This will make their staff enthusiastic and
determined (Wildavsky, 2017).
The weakness of this approach is that it focuses
upon the relationship which affects the
timeframe in which the works need to be
completed (Walters, 2016).
Application of chaos theory and management by objectives:
Chaos Theory of management suggests that the focus of the management should be on
the adaptability, initiative and the entrepreneurial creativity with the future which is unknown.
ASDA applies this theory in their business as it is crucial for them to understand the changes
which are taking in the market so that they can make them applicable in the business (Raafat,
2016). While the Management by objective is a model which aims to improve the performance
of the organisation by defining the objectives clearly for both the organisation and for
employees. These goals are agreed by both which is why it is effectively used by ASDA as it
helps them to make their employees determine their individual targets. On the basis of such
targets they can achieve their objectives (Fiedler, 2015).
Critical analysis and evaluation of these theories, models and approaches
It is important for the organisation to manage and keep their employees motivated in all
the situations faced by the organisation. For this the mangers and leaders plays crucial role.
Various theories have been used by the leaders to motivate and guide the employees. But all the
theories are successful in all cases which is why they have to apply different theories as per the
situation and this is suggested by the situation theory of leadership. This is effectively
implemented by the leaders of ASDA as they adjust as per the situations. While the system
theory focuses upon managing the people and treating them as single entity which is effective for
ASDA but it does not define the nature of interdependence which has impact on the performance
of the employees. Also the task related style is not effective in ASDA which is why the leaders
focus upon the relationship oriented leadership style that helps them to keep their employees
motivated (Ghasabeh, Soosay and Reaiche, 2015).
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2.3) Explain the key approaches to operations management and the role that leaders and
managers
Operation management is considered as a most important part of an organisation in terms to
effectively conduct all the activities of the organisation and to enhance the quality of the
production by using all the available resources in a most significant manner. It involves all the
activities which are helpful in converting raw material into finished goods in order to create
higher value among customers. In this aspect, various approaches and theories are existing which
needs to be considered by business organisation of ASDA so as to maintain proper standard and
quality (Glukhov and Balashova, 2015). In this regard, manager and leaders plays a significant
role which can be determined by following points:
Theories of operation and operational management:
Six-Sigma approach: It is an effective methodology which is mainly concern for team
efforts in order to accomplish a task in an effective way. In this aspect, managers play a crucial
role as herein they needs to make appropriate plans for utilising all the resources in an optimal
manner. In ASDA, with the help of this managers can eliminate wastage, defect products and
processes form their operations and can improve their performance. Herein leaders will give their
main focus on implementing tea work and motive them to do higher efforts in terms to
betterment of the firm (Grahn, Johansson and McKelvey, 2014).
Lean production: This theory is mainly concern for cutting out unnecessary procedures
from all processes like manufacturing, designing, distributing etc. With the help of lean
production the business can be made more efficient and focused towards the market needs. The
activities which are identified unnecessary are eliminated as they do not add value to the process
of production that includes repairing of the faulty products, unnecessary movement of the goods
and services of the organisation. It will be helpful for ASDA as it will reduce their cost by
improving their existing processes of their Store or their online process (Gmelch and Buller,
2015).
The managers and leaders play an important role in the business towards success. To
achieve this various approaches operation management will be used by the managers and leaders
of ASDA which will help them in achieving their objective of maximizing profit (Silver, Pyke
and Thomas, 2016). Some of such approaches are given below:
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Total quality management (TQM): It can be defined as an efficient method with the help of
which managers of the company aims to improve the quality of the product and services that they
offer to the customers. TQM is an effective approach that helps in raising the standard of quality
of the products. This can be effectively used by ASDA as it will help them to detect the errors in
their process of providing goods and services whether in store or online. It will help to improve
the satisfaction level of the customer as the product which they provide will be of better quality.
The manager plays a crucial role as they supervise that the raw material which they are procuring
is of better quality as the final product depends upon it (He and Chai, Huawei Technologies Co
Ltd, 2014). The role of the leader in applying TQM is that they encourage the people working in
the organisation to perform with the help of various trainings.
Just in time: Just in Time approach facilitates the organisation to procure the inventory as
and when required. This helps them to reduce the cost of the business as there carrying cost of
inventory will reduce. This is most suitable technique or approach for ASDA as they have to
manage their inventory well in the store and at their warehouse (Qin, and Nembhard, 2015).
This approach facilitates the manager to identify the situation of inventory and accordingly they
place order to purchase the next slot. Just in time approach will reduce the store cost of ASDA as
they do not have to store goods. The role of the leader is to motivate the employees so that they
can perform their job with the help of available resources effectively which will reduce wastage.
Kaizen theory: This approach is used by the organisation to develop continuous
improvement plan on the basis of various facts that has been identified by the managers which
has impact on the business. It will help them to get higher benefits in the long run as the
organisation keep on changing their products or process as per the requirement of the market. In
this approach the cooperation and commitment is must which makes it different than other
approaches that support radical changes. The managers of ASDA can effectively use this theory
as it will help them to develop a plan with the help of which they can continuously improve their
product and process (Heizer, Render and Munson, 2017). The role of the manager in this
approach is to provide an understanding of advanced technology to the employees which will
help them to adopt the continuous changes. Whereas the role of the leader is to support and guide
the employees working in the organisation on the highly innovative technology adopted. This
will help the organisation to attain higher profits.
Evaluate how these approaches can improve the efficiencies of operational management
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The approaches of operational management helps the businesses in identifying the
defects in the processes of manufacturing, the non essential activities which are part of the
process but does not add value etc. are identified. On the basis of which the cost for the company
is reduced as such defects are improved and activities are eliminated. Approach such as total
quality management helps to improve the quality of the products which increase the level of
satisfaction of the customers. The managers by establishing the standards for quality make the
processes easier for the employees as they just have to produce the products as per the standard.
Along with this the continuous improvement plan approach helps the organisation such as ASDA
to implement the changes as and when they arise (Hassan, Asad and Hoshino, 2016).
Importance of operational management in achieving the business objectives
Operation management is important for every organisation which helps them to improve their
profitability and the overall performance. It includes various systems which can be used by the
organisations while executing their operations (Jacobs, Chase and Lummus, 2014). Various
approaches such as TQM, Six Sigma etc. helps the management of the organisation to reduce the
cost of the business by eliminating the wastages and by eliminating the non essential activities.
ASDA has been utilising various such approaches and tactics but for the organisation it is
important to understand the benefits of the operational management. The importance of
operational management is given below:
 Control and Distribution system: Operational management controls the inflow of
inventory and outflow of finished goods on the basis of the demand of goods and services
in the market. This helps them to save the cost of supplying the product and services in
the market without any demand. The managers of the operational department control the
activity of the employees and the usage of the resources. This helps them to reduce the
wastage (Macdonald, Burke and Stewart, 2018). Along with this the managed distribution
system well so that right amount of quantity with required quality can be procured on
time with in to reduce the cost of holding the inventory. For example: The managers of
ASDA procure the inventory as and when required at the store with an effective
distribution system. This helps them to keep their store cost low.
 Process designs: Operation management helps to design the process with the help of
which they transform the vision goals and objective of the company into an achievable
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