BTEC HND in Business Management and Operations: Unit 4 Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of management and operations, focusing on the context of Tesco plc. It begins by defining management and leadership, exploring the roles and characteristics of managers and leaders, and differentiating between them. The report examines various leadership styles, including directive, supportive, participative, and achievement-oriented styles, and their application within Tesco. It delves into organizational situations and their impact on management functions, emphasizing planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. The report also explores different leadership theories and models, such as situational leadership, system theory, and contingency theory, and their relevance to Tesco's operations. Furthermore, it examines approaches to operations management, including Total Quality Management (TQM), and discusses the importance of operations management in achieving business objectives, specifically those of Tesco. Finally, the report considers the impact of the business environment on operational management and decision-making, providing a holistic overview of the subject.

Faculty of Business and Management Studies
BTEC HND in Business
Management and Operations
Submitted by:
Full Name: …………
ID No: …………
Session: February 2020

Unit 4 Management and
Operations

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................................4
MAIN BODY..........................................................................................................................4
Roles and characteristics of managers and leaders ...............................................................4
Role of a leader and manager in different situational contexts.........................................6
Various theories and models of leadership........................................................................8
Approaches to operations management and the role of leaders and managers..................9
Importance and value of operations management in achieving business objectives........10
Business objectives of Tesco................................................................................................10
Impact of business environment on operational management.........................................12
CONCLUSION.....................................................................................................................14
REFERENCES......................................................................................................................15

INTRODUCTION
Management is the process of planning, organising, directing and controlling the human
resource for the achievement of organizational goals. Operations plays an important role in
controlling and designing the production process. Management plays an important role in
achieving individual, group and organisational goals. It helps in organising resources in an
effective and efficient way. In this report it has been discussed that how a manager and a
leader play their important role in the achievement of the organisational goals. Also, there
are different approaches applied by management and leaders in the organisation in different
situations, which has also included in this report along with the impact of business
environment on the operational management and decision making by leaders and managers.
This report is prepared in context of Tesco plc. Tesco plc is the third largest retail company
of British. The management structure of Tesco is hierarchical, which reflects the huge size
of business.
MAIN BODY
Roles and characteristics of managers and leaders
Management can be defined as the process of planning, organizing, directing and
controlling the human resource effectively and efficiently of the organization for the
achievement of predetermined goals and objectives.
Leadership can be defined as an art to motivate an individual or group of people to achieve
the organisational goals.
Functions of management by Henry Fayol: -
Planning: - planning refers to thinking in advance. It is like a blueprint of what it is to be
done, how it is to be done, for whom it is to be done (Edwards, R, 2018). For example,
Tesco’s plan is to maximise profits and to maintain the position of no.1 retail store of UK.
It follows certain business plans to achieve the set goal.
Organizing: - organizing refers to developing a proper structure for all the departments,
people and positions. For example, Tesco has organized each and everything accurately,
whether it is there store, human resource positions, etc.

Leading: - leading refers to guiding, motivating, directing or supervising the workforce to
work in an effective and efficient way. For example, Tesco uses democratic style of
leadership, which means that voices of employees are heard while taking decision related to
the organisation.
Controlling: - controlling refers to measuring the set standards with actual performance,
and then taking actions to correct the deviations. For example, Tesco always take corrective
measures in the field where they lack.
Leadership Roles
Leadership plays an important role in achievement of organisational goals. A good leader
always tries to inspire, guide and influence others. The various leadership roles in
management are- Interpersonal, Informational and Decisional Roles.
Interpersonal Role: - the interpersonal roles are the roles played by manager to keep a
relationship with others. It is divided into three parts i.e., figurehead, leader and liaison.
Figurehead is the one who express the company in symbolic way. He is the one who
performs duties of ceremonial nature and also performs routine duties. Leader is the one
who inspires and motivates others for achievement of goals. Liaison is the one who acts as
a mediator between the organisation and outside parties. He maintains contacts
Informational Role: - the informational roles are the roles which includes processing the
information to the useful parties. It is divided into three parts i.e., Monitor, disseminator
and spokesperson (Anbu, D, 2019). Monitor searches and collects the useful information
for the organisation. Disseminator passes the significant information to the one who need to
know. Spokesperson is the one who passes the information to the outside parties on behalf
of the organisation.
Decisional role: - decisional roles includes 4 roles i.e., resources allocator, negotiator,
entrepreneur, and disturbance handler. Resource allocator is the one who allocates scare
resources to the organization. Negotiator solves disputes of the organization (Altamony, H.
and Gharaibeh, A, 2017). Entrepreneur identifies opportunities and apply them.
Disturbance handler resolves unexpected disturbances in the organization.
Key differences between manager and leader
Manager is the person who manages people and organization while leader is the person
who influences his junior to achieve a specific goal (Wajdi, B.N, 2017).

Managers always focuses on creating goals while leaders inspire to convert dreams into
reality by motivating and guiding.
Manager uses transactional leadership style whereas leader uses transformational leadership
style.
Role of a leader and manager in different situational contexts.
Organisational situations are the various situations that are faced by organisations while it
is operating. Some of the organisational situations are: - stable situations, slow to moderate
changing situation and fast changing situations (Nunhes, T.V., Barbosa, L.C.F.M. and de
Oliveira, O.J, 2017). Stable situations are the situations in which any more changes will not
influence the organisation. For example: - if there are no changes in the market (including
recession, inflation, etc.) then it will not affect the organisation. Slow to moderate changing
situation is the situation in which changes are done or some modifications are done in a mid
or long period of time. For example, if the inflation rises in the market, then the situation
which is changing will moderately emphasis the results. Fast changing situations are
situations which happen so fast inside and outside the organisation. For example, changes
in the stock exchange.
From the above mentioned organizational changes, Tesco uses slow to moderate changing
situations for their organization. They use various precautions and handling methods for the
benefit of the organization. Tesco is the most popular organization of the UK, so the
strategies followed by them greatly benefits the organization.
Outer organisational changes- these changes are influenced by external forces which
includes economic factor, social factor, technological factor, political factors, etc. in
relation with Tesco, external factors have major impact on the working of organisation.
Changes in interest rates, exchange rates, fiscal policies, monetary policies affect the
operation of the organisation.
Inner organisational changes- these changes are influenced by internal forces which
includes efficiency of the employees, internal pressures, changes in workforce, internal
efficiencies, etc. In relation with Tesco, the market share can be increased with the help of
internal factors which leads to the diversification of products and services.
Impact of organizational situation on Tesco in relation with Management functions.

Planning: - while analysing the organisation in relation with slow to moderate position, the
certain planning techniques is used by Tesco for optimum utilisation of resources, budget
allocation, etc.
Organising: - Tesco ensures that coordination must be maintained for economic
development and measuring technique to get the results or achieving predetermined goals
or objectives.
Leading: - the leading function of Tesco is engaged in slow to moderate position, it
involves leading and motivating the employees for higher growth.
Controlling: - the controlling function of Tesco involves controlling operations like
checking out the policies, internal management, adoption of new technology and to monitor
the optimum utilization of resources.
Leadership styles
Directive style- it is the type of leadership style in which leader’s guides or direct their
employees to complete the given task or responsibility. This leadership style provides
structure to unstructured projects (Müller, R., Packendorff, J. and Sankaran, S, 2017). The
leaders focus on more of their opinions and experiences. They must have potential to
convey information to others in the accurate way.
Supportive styles- in this leadership style, manager not only gives task to the employees
but instead work with them until the task completed. It creates motivation among
employees.
Participative styles- in this leadership style, manager also considers the ideas of their
employees while taking important decisions for their organization. This style enhances the
employee morale and demands creative solution from the employees. It helps in increasing
collaboration and decreasing competition.
Achievement oriented style- in this leadership style, managers encourages the
performances of their employees. It increases the employability and rewards are given to
the employees. In this type of leadership style goals are clearly stated to the employees and
consistent deadlines are provided. With the help of this style the employees can manage
their time efficiently.

The Tesco uses participative leadership style. The leadership style of Tesco increases the
motivation among employees, as their voices are heard and implemented in the
organization.
Various theories and models of leadership
Situational leadership: - Situational leadership is introduced by Blanchard and Hersey in
1969. It suggests that how leaders leading an individual or group is dependent on various
situations. In their research they found out that to guide or lead others, the leaders have to
make modifications in themselves too or in their leadership styles to motivate people or
employees to complete the task (Henkel, T. and Bourdeau, D, 2018). This leadership is also
known as The Life Cycle Theory of Leadership. The leaders must be smart enough to
diagnose critical situations in the organisation and they must have that much skills in them
to take corrective measures for the organisation. The situational leadership style is the most
important leadership style for retail industry like Tesco. The retail industry may face
problems related to damaged products or customer services, so they can apply this
leadership style at that time. The Tesco uses situational leadership in order to ensure that
operations in the organisations works effectively and efficiently. With the help of
situational leadership, the socio-emotional support can be provided to the subordinates.
Adaptability of this leadership style encourages past, present and future situations.
System theory: - system theory includes certain systems or process like organisations
requires various essential resources from the environment, customers who are willing to
purchase goods or services, management from employees, investment from the
shareholders, and government regulation. The organisation has to follow the system to
achieve the goals. The Tesco uses system theory to adapt the environmental changes. It
provides an effective framework for interaction in various parts of management.
Contingency theory: - contingency theory focuses on matching the specific technique to
the specific situation in order to attain organisational goals or objectives (Kulkarni, V.,
2017). It is related with the different variables of environmental factors. Contingency
theory tries to integrates theory with practice. Tesco focuses on providing not only
leadership skills but also managerial skills and abilities in their employees for the
attainment of organisational goals and objectives.

Approaches to operations management and the role of leaders and managers
Operations management refers to the function of administering the various activities of the
business for the purpose of achieving high efficiency. Its focus is to convert material and
men into final products and services with a great efficiency. This is done to ensure
balancing between operational costs and operational profit which is a main concern of
every operation manager. The functions of operational manager include handling various
issues related to the operations of the business, deciding upon the size of the production
plant and the structure of IT, inventory management and devising policies for handling and
maintenance of operations.
Approaches to operations management
There are six approaches to operations management through which an operation manager
can achieve its objectives of greater efficiency with the highest possible profits and lowest
possible costs. These approaches are discussed in details in this report:
Total Quality Management (TQM): Under this approach, there is a continuous effort from
the management, leaders and employees towards ensuring loyalty and satisfaction to
customers for the long period (Chary, 2017). This continuous efforts are done in the context
of quality improvement of product and services it offers through continuous feedback from
customers which helps in ensuring superior quality of products and services. For example
by maintaining a high quality in their offering Tesco has achieved the position of leader in
the supermarket industry of UK.
Just In Time: This approach of operations management applied the strategy of obtaining
inventory of raw materials just at the time when production is scheduled. This strategy
helps in avoiding various costs associated with the inventory and increasing overall
efficiency (Chary, 2017). For example, Tesco has applied this approach over many years in
its processes to ensure delivery of right product with right quality to right people.
Six sigma: This approach is particular developed to be applied by the business and
management towards management of its quality where it can be used to improve quality of
processes, services and products offered by the company by removing defects and errors.
This practice helps companies to achieve their goals faster without any mistakes. For
example, Tesco has applied this approach in improving its process to reduce the lead time

taken in the process of manufacturing ice-creams and it has achieved 36% improvement
with lower lead time through this approach (Heizer, 2016). Also, this technique has been
applied in reducing consumption of energy in its processes.
Lean production: As the name suggests lean, which means no excess, so this approach has
concerned towards achieving efficiency through minimum or no wastage. The management
should take possible steps to minimise waste out of production process which would
definitely be helpful in reducing costs and increasing operating profit. This wastage is not
only concerned with the raw materials but also include time and labour. For example,
Tesco has applied this approach in their manufacturing process to minimise the wastage in
order to cut costs and added more value. Tesco has done this through introducing
innovations in its supply chain management.
Roles of leader in operations management
The most important role of the leader in the operations' management of Tesco is to ensure
high level of productivity, efficiency and effectiveness of its team member by influencing
and motivating them towards minimising errors, defects and wastage in their efforts.
Roles of manager in operations management
The manager has to play a key role in managing operations of the Tesco by proper planning
and controlling of the processes, devising strategies for successful completion of business
operations, allocating resources and managing financial aspects of the operations and
establishing an effective communication throughout the processes.
Importance and value of operations management in achieving business objectives
Business objectives of Tesco
Survival objective: Like any other companies, Tesco has the objective of long term
survival along with success and for this they are always working on higher customer
satisfaction through improved and high quality products with reasonable price (Heizer,
2016). By doing so they have achieved leading position in the supermarket industry of UK
which is a positive move towards the long term survival.
Increasing sale: Tesco has an objective to increase its sales to 1 billion pound in the
upcoming five years of its organic products. Increasing sales is necessarily important for

every business to gain sustainability. Currently it is the third largest retail company in
generating revenue in the world.
Maximising profit: Tesco has gained the second position in the world in terms of its profit
and the reason behind this is its strategies of offering everywhere, everything to everyone.
Through its strategies for improving performance all the time it can ensure maximum
profit.
Satisfying customers: The main purpose of Tesco is the creation of value for its customers
and satisfying them by properly analysing their needs and demand along with their
changing tastes and preferences.
Growth: Tesco has the objective to grow at the first position as the retailer in the UK
market. For this they always work upon achieving greater customer loyalty and providing
them with quality life.
Importance of operations management: Operations management plays a very key role in
every business organization like Tesco. This arm of management is concerned with the
improvement in efficiency and effectiveness in every business processes which ensures
productivity enhancement, maximum output with minimum resources and achievement of
organizational objective in an easier and faster way (Lee and Tang, 2018). There are many
functions in operations management which makes it so important for every business.
Control system: The main function of every operation manager is to ensure a good control
for controlling costs, quality, wastage and resource utilization. This is helpful in achieving
desired objectives with minimum costs and greater profitability.
Distribution system: Managing transportation system to ensure proper distribution of
products and services at the appropriate location so that the customers can enjoy the
services of Tesco in an easier and comfortable way. This function of operation manager
ensure that whatever has been produced must be available to right person at the right time.
Transformation of raw materials into goods and services: This function of operation
manager is concerned with the proper flow of raw materials and other resources in the
production process till the final goods and services produced. This function ensures
efficiency and effectiveness in the process.
Product design: The operation must work hard on bringing innovations in its product and
services and quality maintenance by properly incorporating new technologies (Lee and

Tang, 2018). This must be done in reference to changing demands of the customers in the
market.
Inventory management: It is the duty of the operation manager to correctly forecast the
need of inventory and make it available in the right quantity without any shortages and
excess where the former would ensure no delay in production process and the later would
ensure costs reduction in terms of storage and maintenance.
Roles of operations management in achieving business objectives
The operation management plays a very key role in achieving business objectives like
survival which can be achieved through offering good quality and innovative products,
increasing sale can be achieved through good distribution system and customer satisfaction,
maximising profit can be achieved through cost and wastage minimisation, satisfying
customers can be gain through quality and innovative products by properly analysing the
market trend and preferences and all this if fulfilled then Tesco would definitely achieve
the path of sustainable growth and success.
Impact of business environment on operational management
The ever changing business environment has a lot of impact on the operational
management of the company. It requires high potentiality and eligibility from the
operation's manager to incorporate the changes taken place in the business environment in
their decision making in order to respond to such changes without any delay (Magon and
et. al., 2018). The factors of business environment mentioned below can impact operational
management in many ways.
Corporate social responsibility:The corporate social responsibility of any business
enterprise refers to its accountability towards the society in which it operates. It includes
the overall development and growth of society which can be fulfilled by the companies
through contributing some proportion of the profit they earned in the particular year. For
this operation's manager must be concerned about how they need to incorporate this social
concerns in planning their operations so that the society and environment should not be
negatively gets affected.
The operation manager must take decision which is in the interest of the society and
environment. They must considered their social goals of providing good quality product at
lowest possible price. This will influence the operation's manager decision in the way that

they need to consider the society's goal before initiating production and also they need to
serve according to the needs and goals of the society (Magon and et. al., 2018). For
example Tesco for improving socio economic status of society, provision of nutritions and
education has made good contribution in order to carry out its corporate social
responsibility.
Sustainability: It refers to the judiciously utilizing the present resources so that the future
generation's need should not be harmed. Society always encourage those organisations who
used to be more concerned about human, social and environmental impact of their
operations instead of just considering its short term benefits. The companies nowadays is
more and more concern about how to reduce carbon emissions, adopt zero waste processes
to minimise pollution and ensure that their wastage from production processes must be
disposed of properly (Barnes, 2018). This will affect decision making activity of operation
manager in a way that they need to ensure that their environmental, social and human goals
should not be compromised in achieving their short term profit goals. For example, For
environmental protection TESCO have a goal to reduce its carbon emissions 100% by
2050.
Stakeholders: Stakeholders refers to any party whose interest is necessarily there in the
business without which a company cannot exist. Such parties include employees of the
company, its suppliers, customers, communities, government and investors at large. These
stakeholders have a greater impact on the operations of the business and the manager must
consider their interest in decision making. They influence the policies of the manager
because the manager cannot do anything in isolation without considering its stake holder's
interest (Torlak, Demir and Budur, 2019). For example, Tesco considers its customers
interest and serve them accordingly because they consider them as the reason of their
success and without them they are nothing.
Organisational culture: The culture in the context of organisation refers to the behavioural
pattern of its people, environment under which they work, way of communication,
hierarchy and flow of work in the organisation. This guide operation manager in their
decision making activity and also influences its decision because without proper
consideration to culture, if the manager makes decision then there is no use of such
decisions because a policy must be well fitted in the organisational culture. For example,

Tesco has adopted a culture of respect and trust for its colleagues, where they feel
recognised and their efforts must be rewarded followed by their overall development which
ensures their success.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it has been concluded that leadership and management are
two different arms of the organisation who has its important role to play in the success of
the organisation. The leaders have different styles to follow according to the organisational
structure whereas managers have different functions to perform for the achievement of the
goals and objectives. The report include how operational management and its approaches
are helpful towards improving quality of products and services, minimising costs and
wastage for maximising profit and improvement of processes for higher customer
satisfaction. The management structure and operational management of Tesco has been
explained throughout this report.

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Online
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