Leadership, Management, and Operations Report: M&S Case Study

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Marks & Spencer (M&S), focusing on its management and operations. It begins by differentiating between the roles and characteristics of leaders and managers within the organization, highlighting their distinct functions in various situations, such as implementing new strategies or expanding the business. The report then explores different leadership theories and models, including situational leadership, system leadership, and the contingency model, evaluating their applicability to M&S. Furthermore, the report delves into key approaches to operations management, emphasizing its importance and the factors that influence operational decision-making. The analysis includes an examination of M&S's organizational structure, the impact of external business environments, and an evaluation of how different operational strategies are applied. The report concludes by summarizing the key findings and offering insights into the effective management and operation of a large retail business like M&S.

MANAGEMENT
AND OPERATIONS

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1 Differentiation between role and characteristics of leader and manager..........................1
P2 The role of leader and functions of manager in different situations.................................2
P3 Theories and models of approach......................................................................................4
M1 Analysis and differentiation between role of leader and function of manager................5
M2 Strengths and weaknesses of different approaches..........................................................6
D1 Evaluation of different theories and approaches..............................................................8
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................8
P4 Key approaches to operations management......................................................................8
P5 Importance of operation management...............................................................................9
P6 Factors influencing operations management and decision making.................................10
M4 Analysis of factors that influence business environment...............................................11
D2 Evaluating application of operation management..........................................................11
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Operations Management can be determined as the process of business which administers
to create maximum efficiency that is possible within an organisation. It is a management area
mainly concerned with design and control of production process and redesigning operations of
business in the production of goods and services (Li, Zhang and Vankelecom, 2011.). The
present report throws a light on management and operations of M&S which is a leading British
multinational retailer. It was incorporated in 1884 by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer. It has
its headquarters in the City of Westminster and is engaged in business of clothing, food products
and home products. This report explains the role of leaders and managers and its application in
different situations in the cited organisation. Moreover, it addresses the key operational functions
of M&S and its approaches to operations management. Lastly, it provides a evaluation of impact
of external business environment that affect decision-making of managers and leaders.
TASK 1
P1 Differentiation between role and characteristics of leader and manager
Organisation structure can be defined as hierarchy or arrangements of lines of authority
and responsibility, communication, rights and duties of an organisation. It determines allocation
of work, supervision and coordination activities that are directed towards attainment of
organisational goals (Kim, Jeon and Nam, 2010). There are different types of organisational
structure namely functional, product, flat and geographical structure. M&S has adopted a flat
organisation structure in which there is limited levels of management that separate executives
from lower level employees. This structure lacks bureaucracy that encourages employees to help
in decision-making thereby enhancing their skills. As there are fewer management levels, it
reduces confusions and help in fast decision-making.
Although one person may act as a leader and manager yet there are some major
differences between roles and characteristics of leaders and managers. Definition : A leader is a person who is in a dominant position and leads others to
achieve objectives of an organisation. On the other hand, manager is an individual who
has the responsibility of administration and control of an organisation or staff. Leaders create vision but goals are created by managers : Leaders inspire people to
convert visions into reality. They motivate employees of M&S to be a part of something
1

bigger. On the contrary, managers are engaged in establishing and achieving goals. They
control situation and direct people to reach the objectives of M&S. Innovation : Innovation is the key attribute of a leader, they embrace change and think of
new ideas and ways for doing things. They are agents of change. While, mangers focus to
refine system, processes and structures to make them better but they remain stick on what
works. Managers maintain the current status quo. Leaders are unique, managers copy : Leaders have self aware and try to build their own
unique and different identity and personality (Mendis, Muttaqi and Perera, 2012). They
play an authentic and transparent role in M&S. Whereas, managers of the cited
organisation mimics behaviour and competence of others and adopt their styles of
leadership rather than defining it. Leaders are risk takers while managers control risks : As leaders embrace innovation in
which risks are always involved, still they are ready to face failure. On the other hand,
managers tries to avoid and control problems. Goals : Leader focus on long – term objectives. They stay motivated and inspire others to
achieve distant goals of the cited organisation. But the managers focus on short – term
goals and seeks regular acknowledgements. Coaching and directing : A leader guides and inspires his team members to succeed. He
shows faith on the potential and competence of team members and provide them
coaching to enhance their skills. Managers assigns tasks to employees and provides them
direction to complete their jobs.
 Leaders build relationships, managers create processes and systems : Leaders focus on
people, they know about their team members. They spend most of the time with people
and try to imbibe trust and loyalty among them. On the other hand, focus of managers is
on systems, processes and structures necessary to achieve goals of M&S (Cheng, Hu and
Liu, 2014.). They are concerned with analytical and ensure proper systems are in place to
attain desired outcomes.
P2 The role of leader and functions of manager in different situations
M&S is a major multinational retail brand. The company is engaged in retail clothing,
home products and food products and has opened stores worldwide. Leaders and managers of
M&S play a cardinal role in steering the organisation towards achievement of its goals and
2

objectives. Their roles and functions vary according to different situations arising due operations
management of the company. For instance, if the company is planning to implement a new
strategy, then, the roles of managers and leaders will be crucial for successful implementation of
that strategy. In this situational context, leaders have to inspire and motivate employees to
support and put efforts in implementation of strategy. He would explain the long – term benefits
and impacts of the strategy (Fayol, 2016). As employees are reluctant to changes, the role of
leaders become essential to lead and inspire them about importance of such changes and how it
would prove beneficial for them. Leaders help in making individuals flexible and adaptable to
changes. On the contrary, managers act as a link between top management and employees. They
direct, control and monitor the activities of employees so that they know about their roles and
responsibilities regarding the new strategy.
The other situation is when M&S wants to expand its business and opens more retail
stores in different localities. Expansion is easier said than done. Efforts at all level of
management is required to expand the business across the globe. For opening new stores, cited
organization needs to understand the needs and preferences of customers in that regions and
adopt policies and culture that adapt to those regions (Li, Ouyang and Hua, 2012). Leaders are an
the major link between customers and the company as they interact with the customers to
understand their needs. They are responsible to ensure that team members are providing
excellent and timely services to customers in new stores, there is timely redressal of their
problems. Thus, leaders ensure customer satisfaction which is the main objective of M&S. He
regularly controls the activities of other employees and make them aware about changes in
customer expectations and how to fulfill them. If the team members are working effectively and
efficiently, the customers would be satisfied which would enhance the brand image of the cited
organisation and the expansion plan would turn out to be successful. On the other hand,
managers act as a chain between top level management and employees of the organisation. They
ensure that the plans, strategies and policies of management are effectively communicated to the
employees and they act according to such plans and policies (Liu, Zhuo and Yi, 2015). Managers
would provide directions to employees about their roles and duties in expansion of business. He
would control and monitor other employees so that all the activities are directed towards
attainment of company's goals. Managers will be required to recruit and select skilled and
3

competent employees who can work in different situations and adapt to the changes in customer
expectations and culture in different areas.
P3 Theories and models of approach
Following are the theories and models of approach :
1. Situational leadership style : Situational leadership theory was propounded by Paul
Hersey and Ken Blanchard in 1969. It is one of the most recognised and effective
leadership tools in behavioural sciences. It is a powerful and flexible approach that
enables leaders and managers to effectively influence others (Stoppato, 2012). According
to this theory, leaders or managers must adjust their style to match the development level
of employees, they wish to influence in the organisation. It demonstrates four core,
crucial and critical competencies of leadership : Diagnose – Leaders need to understand the situation that they wish to influence. Adapt – They need to adjust behaviour in accordance with the contingencies existing in
the situation. Communicate – Effective communication with team members or employees in such
manner so that understand and accept.
 Advance – It means managing the process.
The situational leadership style is beneficial for M&S as it employs leaders with necessary tools
to identify the increasing demands of workforce and evolving global marketplace. They are able
to address challenges pervasive in today's changing environment.
2. System leadership style : System leadership style is a management discipline that is concerned
with the evaluation of interactions and links between components that are comprised in a definite
system (Systems Theory and Systems Approach to Leadership, 2017). It is a type of dominant
organisational theory and considers organisation as either an open or closed system. An open
system gets influenced by its environment but a closed one does not. This theory has two major
attributes -
 it is collaborative in nature
 it crosses boundaries whether virtual, organisational or professional and as a result,
leaders have to extend beyond their usual authority and responsibilities limit.
The system leadership in M&S requires that leaders should have a particular mind set and
approach of leadership role.
4

3. Contingency model of leadership : The contingency model was developed by Fred Fiedler in
mid 1960s. This theory emphasises importance of situation as well as personality of leader. It
assumes that the ability of leader is contingent upon various situational factors such as
capabilities, preferred styles of leaders and behaviour of employees of M&S. According to this
model, there is no single way of leading as a leadership style that is effective in one way may not
prove apt in other situations (Martín Zarzalejo and Cony, 2010).
Thus, there are different models of leadership styles that can be used by an organisation and all
these models have their own pros and cons. Hence, it becomes imperative for leaders and
managers of M&S to wisely choose the leadership style according to the situation and need of
time so that company can achieve its objectives.
M1 Analysis and differentiation between role of leader and function of manager
Both leaders and managers play a vital role in the organisation but there is a drastic
difference in the roles, characteristics and functions of both which are described below :
Management theories : According to this type of theory, managers are related to the
organisation in terms of developing knowledge to achieve organisational goals. Scientific theory – Scientific theory focuses on workflow. It states that managers are
responsible to identify working process and prepare such environment that is beneficial
for improving economic efficiency of M&S. Administrative theory – This theory focuses on identification of rational way to redesign
the overall structure of M&S. Manager is responsible to divide work effectively and
division of labour should be such that there are no confusions. Bureaucratic theory – It consists of two main elements i.e. decision making and
hierarchical structures (Chen, Wu and Fu, 2012). Managers of the cited organisation
communicates with lower level employees and answer top level management.
Leadership theories : It helps to influence people towards attainment of organisational goals. Trait leadership model : It focuses on different traits and personalities of individuals.
Leaders of M&S are required to be confident and have capabilities to lead the team in an
efficient manner. Behaviour theory : As M&S is a leading multinational retailer, its leaders are required to
be flexible and adaptable to changes. They should know to deal with different situations
to solve the problems effectively.
5

 Contingency theory : The leaders of M&S are should consider situational variables.
Contingency theory focuses on two aspects – task motivated and relation motivated that
supports leaders in working towards same goal of the company (Wang, F.Y., 2010).
Differentiation between roles of leader and function of managers are:
Basis Leader Manager
Meaning A leader is a person who have
skills and quality to influence
others by being an example
A manager is that entity who
systematically coordinate and
organise activities in an
efficient way.
Basis Leaders are followed by trust
and belief
Managers are followed
because of control and
regulations.
Role The role of the leader is to
guide, work with and motivate
his subordinates to achieve the
common goal
The role of manager is
provided the information and
supervise the task conducted
by employees.
Function The function of leader is to be
an expert, motivating and
change agent in the
organisation.
The function of the manager is
to formulate the rules and
policies for the welfare of the
organisation.
M2 Strengths and weaknesses of different approaches
The strengths and weaknesses of different approaches are mentioned as follows :
1. Autocratic- This approach used in the organisation as authoritarian leadership. The CEO
is the main leader and has authority make and implement decision and every one has to
follow those decision in the organisation.
Strengths :
 It helps in time saving of top management and enable them to take speedy decisions. Reduced mistakes as it is stringent in nature and focuses on rules and regulations.
6

Weaknesses
 Less chances of innovation and new ideas.
 As employees are not involved in decision making, they feel demotivated and develop
feeling of negligence.
2. Bureaucratic- It is based on fixed duties under classification of authority and applying a
system of rules for management and decision making.
Strengths :
 Management needs to give effective guidance as it difficult for some employees to follow
and adapt changes. Proper compliance of rules and regulations.
Weaknesses :
 Employees feel demotivated due to less flexibility (Li, Zhang, and Vankelecom, 2011).
 Working environment is rigid and stringent.
3. Democratic- It gives workers right to participate in the management. The democratic
leadership denotes effective working environment in the organisation.
Strengths :
 Workers and top management both are involved in decision making process. Employees of M&S will feel motivated and their involvement in decision making boosts
up their morale.
Weaknesses :
 Decision making becomes a time consuming process.
 It may lead to confusions and conflicts as it is not always possible to consider opinion of
all the workers.
4. Laissez – Faire-
Strengths :
 As workers are involved in decision making, it gives them a feeling of importance. Workers of M&S feel flexibile and content (Kim, Jeon and Nam, 2010).
Weaknesses :
 It may happen that opportunities are not available for individual's growth and
development due to inappropriate environment.
7

D1 Evaluation of different theories and approaches
Situational leadership style
The leadership theory suggest that there is no particular style of leadership. It is based and
according to the situations which faced by an organisation. Successful leaders change there style
according to the condition and change in environment of the company.
Strengths : It focuses on human behaviour and tasks and helps in building relationship with
employees that ensure reduced conflicts (Johri, Salvi and Filipi, 2011).
Weaknesses : It does not take into account demographic factors. Moreover, this concept is unable
to define its application in practical life.
Sytem leadership theory
The system theory of leadership is based on the predefined structure of leadership in the
organisation. It clarifies the process of thoughts and provide a framework for building ideas.
Strengths : It enhances efficiency and is useful when the organisation seeks to make modification
in its products.
Weaknesses : High probability of conflicts due to tall structure for communication and
coordination (Mendis, Muttaqi and Perera, 2012).
Contingency theory
The theory states the effectiveness of leadership and not only on the style of leading.
Strengths : It provides favourable results in pre defined conditions.
Weaknesses : Quite inflexible concept.
TASK 2
P4 Key approaches to operations management
Operations management is a management practice that is mainly concerned with design
and control of production process and redesigning operations of business in the production of
goods and services.
M&S needs to review and revise its operations so that it can bring improvements in the
lacking areas and increase quality of its products and services. This will enable to reduce
operational costs and get competitive edge. Key approaches for reviewing operation management
process are :
 Dynamic approach : It is important for M&S to switch over to dynamic approach in
order to survive in today's evolving global marketplace (Cheng, Hu and Liu, 2014).
8

Dynamic approach focuses on 4 main elements – learning, contingencies, knowledge and
resolutions which will enable to improve operations.
 Six Sigma : It is a type of statistical approach that focuses on identification of drawbacks
and aids in their improvement. It helps in reducing wastage, enhancing customers
satisfaction and increasing profitability of the cited organisation. Lean production graphs : It is a systematic method that ensures waste elimination in a
manufacturing process.
Leader's role – Leaders of M&S play a role of motivator i.e. to motivate people to complete the
given task within specified time effectively and efficiently. They set missions and visions of
particular tasks and convert plans into strategic planning that are directed towards achievement
of organisational goals.
Manager's role : Managers of M&S considers employees as a valuable asset, ensure their job
satisfaction and monitors their performance. They also ensure quality aspects and customer
satisfaction.
P5 Importance of operation management
The main objectives of M&S are expansion of business, increased profitability, attract
more customers and provide excellent quality services to them. To achieve these objectives, it is
necessary that operations of management are functioning effectively (Fayol, 2016). If the
operations are not properly managed, it will lead to increased costs and hence, reduced revenues.
Operations management focuses on assignment of roles and responsibilities of employees
so that they perform better to accomplish the desired objectives. It designs processes and
structures so that quality services are provided to customers. It ensures optimum utilization of
resources to reduce operational costs and increase revenue and thus, attainment of overall
organisational goals.
Total quality management (TQM) is very important in operations management process as
it ensures customer satisfaction and helps in long-term success.
Other importance operation management
 It helps in minimising the cost of products and services by being efficient
 It helps to increase the profits by improving satisfaction of customer by providing them
excellent quality of products and services
9

 It can minimise the amount of investment in those sectors which are not generating
profits
 It is the basis for innovation by building the solid base of operations and knowledge.
P6 Factors influencing operations management and decision making
Internal Factors : Value system : It is important that employees follows rules and regulations of the
organisation. Value system impact operations and create confusions that may be harmful
for production and other functions. Financial strength : If the cited firm does not have adequate monetary resources, it would
not be able to provide quality products which will lead to customer dissatisfaction (Li,
Ouyang and Hua, 2012).
 Employee-employer relationship : Good relationship between employee and employer
helps in effective decision making and reduced confusions.
External factors Ethical : M&S is required to understand ever-changing tastes and preferences of
customers to survive in the market. CSR : Company should comply with CSR requirements to carry out its operations
smoothly.
 Sustainability : M&S needs to employ strategies that provide superior quality products
better than its competitors.
Leaders and managers works for improving efficiency of M&S and steer the organisation
towards attainment of its objectives by ensuring customers satisfaction and increasing efficiency
of employees.
M4 Analysis of factors that influence business environment
 Political factors : Business environment of M&S is influenced by government laws and
regulations. The political factor influence the business of the organisation by frequently
changing its tax structures, increasing foreign direct investment in the country and
changing its policy of environmental laws and regulations.
 Economic factors : Economic factors such as interest rates, unemployment also impacts
the business. It influences the organisation as to sustain for long run it requires generating
10