Management and Operations: Roles of Managers and Leaders

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MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................4
Define the difference between the roles of a manager and a leader................................................4
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................6
References........................................................................................................................................7
Appendix..........................................................................................................................................8

Introduction
The management and the operations are some of the significant functions that play an important
role in case of ensuring the success of any organisations. However, both of them are equally
important for ensuring the success of any organisation, but there is of course a significant
difference, that lies between the two and the current project will concentrate on them.
For understanding the impact of these, the case study of Mark and Spencer has been chosen. The
organisation is an example of one of the leading supermarket chains in the country dealing in the
retail sector. The difference among the roles of the manager as well as the leader in case of the
organisation will be discussed in the below sections.

Task 1
Define the difference between the roles of a manager and a leader
It has been included in the introduction segment regarding the leader and the manager. The
leader refers to an individual who is capable of leading the employees and motivating them to
work more effectively towards the success of any organisation (Fransen et al., 2018). The
managers on the other hand are the individuals who manage the overall activities of the
organisation. It is the duty of the manager to ascertain that the resources are being allocated in an
effective manner and things are going in the actual way in which they have been designed.
Roles and the characteristics of a leader
Some of the significant roles of a leader may include
 The leadership is a function that has been identified at all levels of the organisation. Hence co
operating among the different levels of the organisation turns out to be the main role of the
leader
 In most of the cases, the leaders serve as the representatives of the organisation.
 Since the leaders are the individuals who motivates the employees to work more effectively
towards the success of the organisation, hence it is important for the leader to understand
the organisational goals and the objectives effectively
 Communication is also among the key skills that can be possessed by the leader. He is the
one who needs to communicate in each level of the organisation and hence he needs to have
excellent verbal as well as written communication skills.
 Above all the leader need to be a trust worthy type of person, who can be trusted by the
employees at all of the different levels of the organisation. In the words of Huang et al
(2017), more than an employee of the management, he needs to be a friend of the employees,
who can be trusted by the employees at almost all of the levels of the organisation. An
effective leader is of course the one who have effective “friendship “with the employees of
the organisation.
Roles and the characteristics of a manager

The job role of a manager is extremely crucial in case of any organisation and Marks and
Spencer is not an exception to it. In most of the cases, the success of the organization is defined
greatly by the ways in which the manager co ordinates the resources of the organisation. Unlike
the roles of a leader, the roles of the manager are of much diverse types. In the words of Shakya
et al (2019), in most of the cases, it has been identified that the roles of a manager can be
categorised into some of the distinct categories and these are the planning, organising, staffing,
co coordinating roles or the functions of the manager.
However, the role of a manager can be estimated very well using the Mintzberg roles. In
accordance with the theory that have been put forward by Mintzberg in this regard, it has been
identified that there are 10 different roles of a manager and these are
Decisional Roles
Entrepreneur- It is essential for the manager to be an entrepreneur. In the words of Kumar
(2015), he needs to be the one who initiates the projects and hence enhances it.
Disturbance Handler- It is essential for the manager to respond to the different situations of the
organisations and hence handle them in an effective way.
Resource Allocator- The manger needs to be the one who is capable of allocating the resources
in an effective way, there is neither scarcity nor abundance of the resources.
The negotiator- the negotiator is an individual who is capable of committing the real time
responsibilities of the organisation.
Interpersonal Roles
The figurehead- The manager needs to perform a range of ceremonial duties on the behalf of
the organisation
The leader- The manager is also responsible for working with the subordinates in an effective
manner
The liaison- This identifies the roles of the manager to develop proper contacts outside the
vertical chain of command of the manager

Informational Roles
Monitor- The manager needs to monitor the environment for collecting the new information
Disseminator- it is the role of the manager to provide effective as well as privileged information
to the subordinates directly
The spokesperson- It is also essential for the manager to share relevant information to the
individuals who are not directly related with the organisation
Conclusion
The above sections have proved to be effective enough in providing an effective idea as to the
roles of a leader and manager. It has been identified that both the manager as well as the leader
have significant roles to play in case of Marks and Spencer. The roles of the manager have been
discussed with the help of Minztberg theory and model. It has been identified that the roles of the
manager can be divided into 3 distinct categories and there are overall 10 significant roles that a
manager plays in case of any organisation.

References
Fransen, K., Vanbeselaere, N., De Cuyper, A., Vande Broek, G. and Boen, F., 2018. When is a
leader considered as a good leader? Perceived impact on teammates’ confidence and social
acceptance as key ingredients. International Journal of Psychology Research, 12(1), pp.1-21.
Huang, C.Y., Huang, J.C. and Chang, Y., 2017. Team goal orientation composition, team
efficacy, and team performance: The separate roles of team leader and members. Journal of
Management & Organization, pp.1-19.
Kumar, P., 2015. An analytical study on mintzberg’s framework: Managerial roles. International
Journal of Research in Management and Business Studies, 2 (3), pp.1-19.
Shakya, A., Shrestha, S.K. and Mishra, A.K., 2019. Managerial Roles in Retail Firms of
UK. Journal of Advanced Research, 6(1), pp.1-7.

Appendix

The leader refers to an individual who is
capable of leading the employees and
motivating them to work more effectively
towards the success of any organisation Some
of the significant roles of a leader may include
The leadership is a function that has been
identified at all levels of the organisation. Hence
co operating among the different levels of the
organisation turns out to be the main role of
the leader
Since the leaders are the individuals who
motivates the employees to work more
effectively towards the success of the
organisation, hence it is important for the
leader to understand the organisational goals
and the objectives effectively
Communication is also among the key skills
that can be possessed by the leader. He is the
one who needs to communicate in each level of
the organisation and hence he needs to have
excellent verbal as well as written
communication skills.
Above all the leader need to be a trust worthy
type of person, who can be trusted by the
employees at all of the different levels of the
organisation. more than an employee of the
management, he needs to be a friend of the
employees , who can be trusted by the
employees at almost all of the levels of the
organisation. An effective leader is always the
one who have effective “friendship “with the
employees of the organisation.
The role of a manager can be estimated very well using the
Mintzberg roles. In accordance with the theory that have
been put forward by Mintzberg in this regard, it has been
identified that there are 10 different roles of a manager and
these are
Decisional Roles
Entrepreneur- It is essential for the manager to be an
entrepreneur. In the words of Kumar (2015), he needs to be
the one who initiates the projects and hence enhances it.
Disturbance Handler- It is essential for the manager to
respond to the different situations of the organisations and
hence handle them in an effective way.
Resource Allocator- The manger needs to be the one who is
capable of allocating the resources in an effective way, there
is neither scarcity nor abundance of the resources.
The negotiator- the negotiator is an individual who is capable
of committing the real time responsibilities of the
organisation.
Interpersonal Roles
The figurehead- The manager needs to perform a range of
ceremonial duties on the behalf of the organisation
The leader- The manager is also responsible for working
with the subordinates in an effective manner
The liaison- This identifies the roles of the manager to
develop proper contacts outside the vertical chain of
command of the manager
Informational Roles
Monitor- The manager needs to monitor the environment for
collecting the new information
Disseminator- it is the role of the manager to provide
effective as well as privileged information to the
subordinates directly
The spokesperson- It is also essential for the manager to
share relevant information to the individuals who are not
directly related with the organisation