Management & Operations: Analysis of M&S and its Leadership Structure

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Marks & Spencer's (M&S) management and operations. It begins with an introduction to the company, its organizational structure, and the roles of managers and leaders. The report then delves into a comparison of managers and leaders, differentiating their roles, characteristics, and responsibilities. It analyzes various management theories, including system theory, scientific management theory, and chaos theory, and applies them to different situations faced by M&S, such as budget cuts, team conflicts, and employee departures. The report further explores different leadership styles, including situational, contingency, and system leadership, assessing their strengths and weaknesses. Finally, it concludes with an assessment of the impact of managers and leaders on the organization and offers recommendations for future improvements. The report also introduces operation management and key approaches adopted by M&S, highlighting the role of quality management. The responsibilities of managers and leaders in successful management of operations are also discussed, providing a holistic view of M&S's operational strategies.

Unit 4 – Management &
Operations

INTRODUCTION
Operation management is termed as involvement of planning, implementing and
supervising production of goods and services (Bocken, 2017). The main focus of this term is on
delivering products and services in successful and efficient manner. Thus, in this report M&S has
been taken into consideration, that undertakes various activities that is held by them. It is
multinational leading company and specialised in clothing and luxurious food and home
products. The main aim of this company is to fulfil requirements and needs of customers by
increasing productivity.
In the following report, M&S and its management structure has been introduced deeply
and comparison is also been done between managers and leaders. The below report also
highlights on the various external factors that affects the business along with approaches that has
been adopted to overcome certain obstacles by M&S LTD.
TASK 1
1. Introduction to organisation and its management structure.
Marks & Spencer is a leading company of multinational selling. It is headquartered in
City of Westminster, London. It has been listed on London stock exchange. M&S is specialised
in selling cloth, home products and luxurious food products (Brandon-Jones and et.al., 2016). It
was founded in 1884 by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer. The principal aim of this
organisation is to achieve high revenue by fulfilling needs and requirements of high volume of
customers.
M&S follows structure of Flat organisational structure. In this structure there are few or
no levels of management in between staff level employees and management. It also refers to
nature of distribution of units and positions involved in it. Here, there are large number of people
that are directly been supervised by each member in organisation. In flat structure, the manager
has much more responsibilities as compared to manager of Tall structure. This is because of
number of individuals are involved below them whom they direct, help or support. There are
limited number of supervisors above manager in M&S, therefore they work on themselves
without any guidance from others that are above them.
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2. Defining manager and leader and comparing their roles and characteristic.
The manager is termed as an individual who is in charge of certain groups or tasks. The y
have a certain staff or group of people that reports to him (Haksever and Render, 2018). The
leader is termed as an individual that influence the workers in order to work hard by putting
maximum efforts and achieve targeted goals. Thus, role of managers and leaders have been
discussed as per below-
Bases of comparison Managers Leaders
1. Meaning Manager is an individual that
owns the company.
Leader is an individual that
directs or guides the followers.
2. Work done by Managers have those people
who work for them and
follows his instructions. They
order leaders about the task
that has to be fulfilled.
Leaders further guides about
the given task to followers or
team mates. They help them in
fulfilling those task allotted by
manager.
3. Resources to achieve
Objectives
Managers of M&S organise
human as well as physical
resources in order to achieve
particular objectives
Leaders develop the followers
by helping them with
appropriate coaching and also
treat them with respect. They
also challenge the workers
under them to work with
enthusiasm for achieving
certain goal.
4. Task allocation and
delegation.
The managers have to
coordinate with leaders with
particular leaders and allocate
task accordingly to each
leader.
The allocation of task varies as
per the skills of followers and
they will further have to work
as per the variation in
allocation.
5. Ability Managers of M&S have ability
to direct leaders about their
work on daily basis and also
The leaders of the cited firm
have ability in order to make
team members work by
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review sources that are needed
in a particular firm.
motivating them that helps in
increasing efficiency and
profitability.
3. Analysing differences of managerial functions and leadership roles by applying range of
management theories and concepts.
Managerial functions of M&S includes many functions as to plan, organise, staff, lead
and control (Hitt, Xu and Carnes, 2016). Therefore, the managers of a particular organisation
have to function in appropriate manner, as the amount of time given to each functions that are
involved in management depends according to the level of management and organization.
The role of leaders is to prompt worker of M&S Ltd to perform so effectively that they
can achieve the targeted goals or objectives that has been set by the business administration. The
followers of a team has to follow the mission decided by leaders. Thus, the functions of manager
and role of leader has been discussed as per following theory of management.
 System theory- This type of theory mainly depends on systems adjustment level in M&S
LTD. The main aim or goal of system theory is to find mechanics of systems, their
restriction, conditions and way that helps in applying to the system that are available at
every level of earthy target.
 Scientific management theory- It is the management theory that helps in examining the
travel of work and has its focus on rising the skillfulness of every respective that are
working in organisation and also helps M&S to use the increasing profit.
 Chaos theory- Chaos theory is a part of maths and looks at definite systems' behaviour
that is very much sensitive. Thus, this study of dynamic system is very much complex.
4. Analysing different situations and examining the roles of leader and functions of a manager in
those situations.
The role of leaders and functions of manager in a particular situation of M&S LTD has
been discussed as per the following-
 Budget cuts- this is one of the main situation and usual situation that has been faced by
managers and leaders of M&S. Thus, to overcome these obstacles, both manager have to
follow relevant ways in order to reduce wastage and inefficiencies in a particular
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department of production and clothing and leaders have to follow the order or work
assigned by manager and also guide team members accordingly.
 Conflicts between team members- if such situation occurs, the manager of a selected firm
has to organise and distinguish the task and conflicts accordingly and try to manage
situation. Thus, they both have to work hard and clarify the issues between team
members early in process of formation of a team. They must conduct fair discussion that
will help them to resolve the disputes.
 Valued members leaving company- the one of the toughest situation that has been faced
by the company. Manager must reward with some incentives so that it will motivate
them to perform a particular task and also increase efficiency.
5. Applying different management and leadership theories to support growth and sustainable
performance.
The maturation and property of M&S depends on functions and roles of managers and
leaders respectively. Thus, if a selected enterprise have continuity in growth then they will have
to follow leadership styles as follows-
 Situational leadership- it is the style where manager and leaders of M&S has to change
their style of working as per the change in situation. The style in this change continuously
according to situation so it is known as having adaptive nature (Jacobs, Chase and
Lummus, 2014). It is based on changing needs and requirements of customers rather than
skills or knowledge.
 Contingency leadership- in this type of style, there is no single or best way to make
decisions or lead a particular company. Thus, leaders are matched according to the
situations by the skills they have to overcome those situations.
 System leadership-it is the most complex one that indicates leaders in organisation and
people can work more effectively and efficiently according to skills they acquire so that
they can achieve long term profitability.
6. Assessing strengths and weakness of different theories and approaches.
1. Situational leadership
 Strengths: it is applicable and casual to realise and also applied easily in variety of
settings. Members becomes more flexible and can easily accept the changes that helps
them in developing innovative ideas.
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 Weakness: here, manager has to recognise the limitations and presentation of workers in
appropriate manner and has to make them do things that easily suit their skills and
knowledge.
2. Contingency leadership
 Strengths: the employees in this are not depended on others and leaders also work
accordingly in their own style without any guidance.
 Weakness: the state that can be taken in this style are not spelled out easily because of
inadequate literature.
3. System leadership
 Strengths: this leadership style provides efficient action plan and control of good basis.
 Weakness: the work is done beyond the national boundaries so it reacts very slow in case
of any change in situation.
7. Concluding on managers and leaders making impact on organisation and recommendations for
future improvements.
From the above task, it has been ended that the managers and leaders of M&S LTD are
not best-known by knowledge and skills but they are known by knowing between all the
members that are involved in cited company (Jiménez-Jiménez, Martinez-Costa, Martínez-
Lorente and Rabeh, 2015). Both managers and leaders have to look many challenges that can
later affect the maturation of a particular business.
In order to get over the situations that has been faced by the selected company, they have
to analyse the requirements of the potential customers an accordingly fulfil requirements. They
must motivate followers that will later help them in pushing efforts in a particular task and
increase efficiency.
Recommendations in order for future improvements is that they have to maintain
relationship between buyers and sellers by providing filtering and sorting options on websites
that can help customers in finding the needs without any kind of trouble.
TASK 2
1. Introducing operation management and explaining key approaches adopted.
Operation management is defined as a subject in business that helps in ensuring the
operations that has been undertaken in business are effective and efficient that are mainly related
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with production of goods and services (Laudon and Laudon, 2016). It plays critical role in
improving M&S productivity of goods and services and also maintains design and operations
that is further used in attracting large volume of customers. The members are trained so well that
helps them in taking a sudden decision for sudden change that occurs in business.
The key approach that is used by M&S LTD is quality management approach. Due to
increase in competition globally, the company has to increase the quality of foods and cloths so
that large number of customers are attracted towards them. This leads in increasing brand image.
2. Identifying roles and responsibilities of managers and leaders in successful management of
operations.
The role and responsibilities of managers and leaders are discussed as per below context- Role of manager- the manager of M&S has to train staff and determine salaries as per the
work done by the followers. They have to also assign schedule so that they work well
with existing staff of a particular company. As it is a customer oriented company, they
have to direct their employees towards analysing needs and demands of customers so that
they can easily fulfil needs by organising human as well as physical resources in order to
attain business goals and objectives. They play a critical role as they have to perform
various functions in organisation.
 Role of Leader- the main and important role is to motivate employees in order to perform
particular work by putting their whole efforts that later helps in high efficiency and good
productivity. For this, they has to guide their team mates to perform in a particular
direction without any hurdles. They set a vision about future picture and accordingly
direct their subordinates to perform and achieves those goals. They have to communicate
with every team member to avoid any type of conflicts.
3. Explaining importance and value of key approaches to operation management in achieving
organisational objectives successfully.
The key approaches to operation management in order to achieve organisational
objectives are discussed as below context-
 Six sigma- it is a symbol of risk. This is used in order to reduce risk of misleading of
decision taken by management (McCleskey, 2014). The basic principles that are followed
by Six sigma is to have focus on customer and also win and modify the flow of process in
a smooth way. The main principle beside this is to undertake activity of improvement in
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systematic way. The main aim of adopting this approach is to increase profits in
innovative way that includes reducing wastage of raw materials eliminating variability.
 Total Quality Management- the workers of M&S LTD must have complete and unique
knowledge about the policy of TQM. The main aim is to improve the quality of goods
and services offered by them to the customers and meet their expectations as soon as
possible for them. They have to look forward in meeting the needs and demands of the
customers by improving quality. This will build loyal customer base that in turn will
increase brand image in market.
 Lean Production- it is a systematic process that helps in reducing wastage of resources by
making use of resources in optimum manner. It is applied to all levels that are involved in
M&S Ltd that includes designing, production, and also distribution.
4. Evaluating managers and leaders could be effective in improving operational effeciences to
successfully meet business objectives.
 Transformation of raw materials into finished goods- the manager of M&S plans
transformation process and directs leaders to work accordingly. Further, leaders along
with its team mates transform raw materials into finished goods that attracts large number
of customers towards it that leads in achieving high term profitability.
 Designing process- the process that is designed must be so well that tit attracts large
volume of customers so that they enjoy their journey right from selecting product till they
purchase it (Nawaz and Khan_ PhD, 2016). This helps them in being loyal that leads in
maximum profit. The process must be designed so well that customers can easily buy a
particular product.
 Controlling Inventory- this acts as the most difficult system in M&S. It plays important
role because the time limit of desires of customers are less sometimes than the time of
production and delivering that particular product.
5. Assessing impact of external business environment factors on operational management
decisions by leaders and managers.
External factors affecting business are as follows-
 Political factors- this includes policy of government and laws that mainly affects business
dealing positively and negatively (Northouse, 2018). If government policy and laws
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changes, it will have direct impact on entire business operations that has direct impact on
desire to trade internationally.
Illustration 1: PESTLE analysis
(Source: Scanning the Environment: PESTEL Analysis, 2016)
 Economic factors- the dynamic conditions of economy that is prevalent in market affects
business environment of M&S Ltd. This factors include taxation, government spending,
general demand interest rates, exchange rates etc. recession is also an important factor as
if there is lack of economic growth in a particular country it will affect the sales of M&S.
 Social factors- it includes beliefs of society, customs, practices and also behaviour of an
individual towards a particular product. If M&S operates in a society with various
cultures, the decision of manager and leaders gets affected by unique values and customs.
 Technological factors- the cited company has to move forward and adopt the updated
technology to avoid the affection of such factor. Thus, trend of today is completely based
on shopping online, the customers uses different websites. M&S must ensure that their
website must be up to date and are well designed which attracts large volume of clients
towards the brand.
 Legal factors- M&S is a multinational leading company of foods and clothing, so they
must have complete knowledge of legal formalities to trade beyond the national
boundaries (Thompson and Glasø, 2015). This is because different company has different
rules and regulations that has to be followed.
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 Environmental factors- the sale of a particular product are usually based on a season.
Thus, change in climate affects the business environment in critical way. So it is
important for selected company to produce goods as per needs and demands of customers
as per the changing season.
6. Including critical evaluation of application of operations management to manage the factors.
It has been ensured from above factors that chosen institution should have accomplished
psychological feature about need of customers regarding goods and services so that they can
produce it accordingly (Sallis, 2014). M&S acts as a multi channeller that makes easy way for
customers in order to buy goods that they need. Thus, managers and leaders research on the
requirement in deep manner and produce goods of well quality at fair price that attracts large
number of customers.
As it is said every positivity come with some negative aspects with it. The stated
company has to face various factors that affects the environment of M&S. They has to hold its
honor by giving concern to customers in terms of promotion.
7. Concluding and suggesting recommendations for future improvements.
It has been concluded from above task that managers and leaders must maintain
relationships with each and every employee top make them free in shring their views and
concerns regarding increasing productivity. They must also manage quality that helps customers
in remaining loyal to particular company.
The operation manager of M&S must establish various channels of communication
through various methods that includes meetings, events and questionnaire (Scott, Jiang, Wildman
and Griffith, 2018). They must also train and develop the employees that are involved in order to
resolve issues and also sharp their skills to perform particular work.
CONCLUSION
Thus, from above report, it has been concluded that M&S is a top leading company of
luxurious foods and clothing. The above assignment discusses about roles and responsibilities of
leaders as well as managers. Further, it has also been analysed from the above report that there
are various external factors that affects business for which M&S has to undertake various
recommendations for future improvements. These recommendations that has been undertaken
will further help in increasing efficiency and high volume of profit.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journal
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