Analysis of Leadership and Management in M&S Limited Operations

This report provides an in-depth analysis of leadership and management practices within M&S Limited, a prominent clothing company. It differentiates between the roles and responsibilities of managers and leaders, highlighting their impact on achieving organizational goals and sustainable development. The report explores various leadership theories, including situational and behavioral theories, and discusses their practical application within M&S Limited to enhance productivity and customer satisfaction. It also examines Mintzberg's managerial roles, illustrating how leaders and managers can effectively manage operations, resolve conflicts, and maintain a healthy working environment. The report emphasizes the importance of market analysis, customer satisfaction, and the application of appropriate leadership approaches to foster growth and sustainable performance within the company. The report also explores application of different management and leadership theories like Situational Theory and Behavioral Theory in M&S Limited for growth and sustainable performance.

Management and
Operation

INTRODUCTION
Management of operation is necessary so that organisation can achieve their targets
effectively and they can achieve sustainable development. The undermentioned report is
based on the case study of M&S Limited which is a very famous organisation in cloth
manufacturing industry. It is largest clothing company which has its branches across the
world (Akkerman, Farhan and Grunow, 2010). They have a huge customer base hence to
manage operations on such a big level they have a huge workforce and for managing that
work force, they require better leaders and managers who can lead them and to guide them in
achievement of organisational goals and objectives. In this report role and responsibilities of
managers and leaders in context of M&S limited has been mentioned with their
characteristics. Further reader can understand various leadership theories like situational
leadership theory, system leadership theory and contingency theory and how M&S Limited
and its management can apply these theories in order to achieve sustainability and better
productivity.
TASK 1
P1 Differentiation between roles and responsibilities of leaders and managers
Roles of managers and leaders are considered as same but their responsibilities
towards an entity is very different. They require to perform various activities so that they can
fulfil the requirements of organisation and public. Both managers and leaders are responsible
for the management of operations (Alderton and Saieva, 2013). Better and effective
management of organisational operations allows an entity to achieve a level of better
productivity and effective management. Further they can satisfy the need and requirements of
their customers. Broadly it can be ascertained that manager’s manager organisational
operations by managing human resources and providing them a goal to achieve. But on the
other hand, quality of leadership is inborn it can’t be learned and acquired through any
academic knowledge.
Leaders are those persons who are having followers and they are creating vision
which had to be achieved by persons in future times. They are using different tools to
motivate persons so they will follow and work according to their given pathways.

Mangers are persons who have the overall responsibilities to manage all the activities
of business in planed and effective ways. All the workers are approaching mangers for any
types of problems which are faced by them. There are two types of managers at work place
one is Line mangers who are directly related with earning profits for business and another is
staff mangers they are involved in achieving coordination between different departments.
The different roles and responsibilities of leaders and managers are mentioned below:
Managers Leaders
 Role of managers starts from the very
beginning of organisational operations.
 Managers analyse various sources of
raw material which is required by
production department of M&S
Limited so that they can acquire better
raw material so as to maintain quality
in their products (Anupindi and et. al.,
2011).
 Manager of M&S Limited needs to
analyse organisational structure of it so
that operations can be performed easily
and they can generate better revenue
and can boost up their productivity.
 Manager requires to search over better
sources of finance which are cost
effective.
 Leaders in M&S Limited make
strategies and action plans. They also
make policies in accordance with
strategies so that they can achieve their
goals and objectives.
 Leaders set a certain quantitative
targets as per the capacity of the staff
members so that they can achieve those
targets without any stress and
frustration.
 Leaders motivate their subordinates for
their task which they have performed so
that next time they can improve their
performance.
 Leaders make strategies and
communicate such strategies and its
component so that they can acquire
better idea, if any from their
subordinates.
Characteristics of leaders and managers
Managers and leaders plays a vital role in managing operations of M&S Limited.
They provide better techniques so that productivity of clothing products and other home

products can be improved (Barratt, Choi and Li, 2011). There are several characteristics of
leaders and managers which are mentioned below:
 Managers and leaders are responsible for maintaining a better path through which
production and distribution services can run smoothly.
 Manager improvise personal ability of employees who are working under them as
well as they develop professional quality in them.
 Managers and leaders are responsible for generating new ideas so that they can
provide innovative products and services to their customers.
 Managers and leaders search and utilize better financial sources which can help cited
entity in getting perfect return (Binder and Edwards, 2010).
 Managers and leaders manages the human resources of cited entity so that they can
eliminate any conflicts and confusions regarding the work.
Here are some following functions of management which has to be also considered by
managers and leaders.
Planning – It means looking ahead. It involves setting objectives and determining
best course of action for attaining goals of organisation. It requires that manager should be
aware about environmental conditions and forecast future conditions.
Organising - It involves developing an organisational structure and allocation of
human resources should be there properly. In this manager and leader have to make proper
coordination with each other to accomplish with the objectives.
Staffing – It is the process where manager is filling the vacant position in
organisation with qualified personnel.
Directing – It is a process where manager and leader of Mark and Spencer are
instructing, guiding, and overseeing the performance of employees so that predetermined
goals can be achieved.
Controlling – In this manager has to control all the activities and oversee them to
analyse that whether task is done in appropriate manner or not. It is a process where leaders
and managers are measuring and directing the actual performance against planned aims and
objectives.
Further there are some roles which has been described by Mintzberg’s managerial and
these are described as below. It includes ten roles which are divided into three parts.

(Sourec: Mintzberg's Management Roles, 2015)
In interpersonal, it provides information and ideas to employees and workers. In
includes liaison, leader and figurehead. The leader has to be figurehead for the rest of the
group. Managers have also to perform legal responsibilities at work place. in leader, manager
has to lead employees or guide them towards achieving specific goals of company. In last
liaison, manager has to face different variety of people so that they can run their business
functions smoothly.
Informational category, involves that there is processing of information.
Figure 1: Informational Category
(Source: Mintzberg's Management Roles, 2015)
In monitor, leader and manger have observed the activities which has been performed
by employees. They have to monitor their team so that productivity result from employees

will be receives. In Disseminator, manager of Mark and Spencer has to communicate
important information to their employees and workers. Last spokesperson, manager is
responsible for transmitting information of organisation to employees.
Last category is decisional which is using to use information to achieve predetermined
objectives of Mark and Spencer.
Figure 2: Decisional Category
(Source: Mintzberg's Management Roles, 2015)
In entrepreneur, manager have to control all activities in organisation as well as if
there is any change in management policies. If any disturbance is there in organisation and it
distract the work of employees, then manager has to handle the problem by providing an
appropriate solution. In resource allocator, manager has to use funds in limited manner or in
some other way. Last in negotiator, leaders and managers have to take part in all decision for
the benefit of organisation.
P2 Role of a leader and function of a manager in organisation
Manager and leaders of M&S Limited have various responsibilities and functions.
They manage business process in a way so that sustainable development could be achieved
by cited entity. Managers learn everything from the situations which they face during the
course of business operations (Chiarini and Vagnoni, 2015). They require to research over the
market for better understanding of trends other than this they work on such data which has
been derived from research and analysis. They need to find solutions for getting over such
trends and then they need to select the best alternative out of the solutions. Which can assist

cited entity and management for getting better results. Some other roles of leaders and
managers are mentioned below:
 Analysis of market: A regular and detailed analysis of trend of market is necessary.
Leaders and managers takes several steps for trend analysis as managers researches
over the market so as to collect data which can assist M&S Limited in taking any
decision. On the other hand, leaders implement better policies and strategies so that
they can produce better products for their customers as customer satisfaction is the
main target for any firm or entity.
 Maintenance of demand and supply of products and services offered by M&S
Limited: Managers and leaders needs to make certain decisions so that they can
maintain a balance between demand and supply of products of cited entity (Dekker,
Bloemhof and Mallidis, 2012). For managing the balance managers need to ensure
productivity of goods so as to cross check that weather the production is sufficient to
fulfil the requirements of customers.
 Satisfaction of customers and better business relation with buyers: customer
satisfaction and profitability are to interdependent factors. As profitability is the
ultimate business objective but to achieve that objective an entity requires to satisfy
the needs and requirements of their customers as without maintaining the needs of
customers they can’t increase their sales which results in less revenue. Leaders and
managers establish better techniques and they implement better technology so that
they can provide upgraded products as M&S Limited deals in clothing hence they
need to follow fashion trends so that customers can get those outfits which are in
trend (Ergun and et. al., 2010).
 Resolving issues and conflicts: managers and leaders maintains a healthy working
environment so the workers who are working in such business environment can feel
less stress and their conflicts and issues can be resolved easily on the initial level.
They make such a network channel so that their subordinates can easily communicate
their issues with them. They are responsible for maintaining good human relation at
the business.

P3 Application of different management leadership theories in M&S Limited for growth and
sustainable performance
Management theories and approaches addresses managers and leaders in order to
attain the organisational aims and objectives. Implementation of concepts mentioned in
theories can assist the managers and leaders to maintain the human resources available in the
cite entity and they can also apply better techniques in order to increase the productivity of
the business entity (Galindo and Batta, 2013). There are a number of leadership theories
which can be helpful for cited entity in different contexts. These leadership theories are
mentioned below:
Situational Theory: As the name describe itself this theory deals with various
situations which occurs during the course of business. This theory gives a phenomenon that
there is not any fixed style of leadership that a leader should possess as leadership is all about
taking decision as per the situations hence it is very less practicable that in any organisation
situation remains same at every point of time. Effective leadership involves decisions as per
the situation. Situational theory deals in various situations in which a leader needs to take
initiative as per the circumstances which he faces in organisation. This theory is also termed
as task oriented theory because of the fact that the leader and his leadership style is totally
depending on circumstances.
Behavioural Theory: This theory defines the behavioural aspects of a leader. As per
this theory the behaviour of a leader plays a significant role in his work. This theory defines
the importance of leader and his behaviour in achieving the organisational goals and
objectives. Quality of leadership is there in a person by his birth it can’t be developed, leaders
needs to inspire their subordinates through their behaviour in an entity while performing his
work so that subordinates can work with more efficiency and they can generate better results
(Hamilton, Holub and Blunt, 2011). Leaders who are working at M&S needs to develop
behaviour of them and their subordinates because a positive attitude can easily impact growth
by boosting it up.
Contingency Theory: This theory is supported by the fact that business environment
is dynamic in nature and it doesn't remain constant but it keeps on changing as per the change
in time. Hence it can clearly be ascertained that situations which are faced by leaders of M&S
are keeps on changing and they are contingent because they can’t be clearly estimated hence

leaders of M&S needs to develop their skills of leadership through various situations faced by
him (Hill and Hill, 2012). These contingent situations allow a leader to get some experience
about how to deal with the situations which may adversely affect operations of M&S
Limited.
System theory – In this, leaders have to maintain the dignity of organisation by
following all rules and regulation in systematic way. It is considered like a board concept
where manager and leaders are achieving goals and objectives of company.
Chaos theory – This theory can also use by manager of Mark and Spencer existing
rules and policies can be altered by them. This will help them in facing complexity, if it arises
in organisation.
Queueing theory – This theory is mathematical method which helps to manager in
analysing delays of waiting in line. There are many components which are included in this
such as arrival of products should be on time, how many customers are there and many more.
With the help of this Mark and Spencer can also improve their shipping order in effective
manner and satisfy customer needs.
There should also continue improvement in services and theory has been defined by
Kaizen. This theory has seven phase; manager has to identify an opportunity, analyse the
process, find out an optimal solution and implement them, after study the results and
standardised the solution for achieving future objectives.
TASK 2
P4 Approaches of operation management and roles of leaders and managers
Operation management involves some role and responsibilities of mangers and
leaders which they have to perform in organisation for the achievement of business
objectives. The manager of Mark and Spencer have to redesign the process of production so
that maximum utilization of resources can utilized properly. The operation manger has prime
responsibility to convert the input into the output process. In other words, the operation
manger has to manage those activities which are the part of the production and goods. They
are directly responsible for managing the operation process, planning, controlling and for the
improvement of operation strategy (Jacobs, Chase and Chase, 2010). The following are some

key approaches of operation management which can give benefit to the Mark and Spencer
company to provide the quality of clothes and increase the efficiency.
Just in time approach – In this approach the operation manager has to focus on
increasing the efficiency of employees and to decrease the inventory cost. Through this
approach the manager can reduce the cost by eliminating the warehouse storage needs.
The role of managers and leaders are essential in every department. They should
ensure that the production cost should be less and the changes made according to the current
line of product on equal interval basis. The managers have to spend less money on raw
materials which ensure to make the products and no more. The production of clothing should
be done on the basis of current market trends.
Dynamic approach – In this approach the managers and leaders are dealing with the
four elements i.e. knowledge, problem solving, consistencies and learning (Kuruppuarachchi
and Perera, 2010). The manager has to use these four elements for the improvement of the
employee’s efficiency. The manager has to use proper technologies so that employee’s
efficiency will also increase towards their work.
In a dynamic environment the mangers have to set the goals in such a manner which
does not affect the organisation environment. The managers have to manage all the activities
which are performing by the employees so that they can give best possible of outcomes. The
leaders have to coordinate with managers to complete the task in efficient manner.
Time Quality management – This approach is mainly used by many organisations.
In Mark and Spenser, the manager has to improve the quality of clothes and the production of
products should be done in time period (Nicks and Nelson, 2012). The manager has to
provide the best quality of services and sale the products at reasonable price so that customers
can retain for a long period of time.
The managers need to trained at various level of TQM practice before implementing
any planning. In every financial year, it is the responsibility of manager to allocate the budget
for TQM. On other sides, the manager must communicate about the TQM benefits with other
members so that high quality of products can be sold in market.
Six Sigma – This approach is used by organisation to collect data which helps them in
developing decent employment infrastructure thus result in reducing staff turnover ratio. It
includes various aspects such as location and infrastructural layouts, operation size which

effect to efficiency of organisation also. It emphasises on brain storming of activities which is
measured and analysed on continuous improvement.
Just-in-time inventory – It is a strategy where employees are increasing efficiency
and decrease the waste when goods are received in production process. This method is used
when manager of Mark and Spencer has to forecast on demand accurately which is done by
customers.
P5 Importance and value of operation management
The basic aim of operations is to controlling all the activities of the production in
which they are producing goods and services. It ensures that all the workers are properly
trained and managed for the service or in production activities. according to the given
scenario of the of the Marks and Spencer they are usually engaged in clothing, luxury goods
and home products. Their basic objectives is to satisfy their consumers by giving best
services.
The operational management help them through by making good quality products
their operational workers are trained. They are producing those type of products which are
reasonable for every groups of the society (Peng and Lai, 2012). The operational
management work on those strategies which are made by top management. They have to
achieve those goals and objectives.
The operational level members should have some special skills, creativity so the
management made some new objectives for the new trends can be achieved. They are also
work on sustainable issues of workers. The operation management helps the management to
achieve the target sales by producing effective goods in an efficient way.
They help the management to furnish their raw material in to finished goods. They
contributed their maximum efforts to the organization. The objectives of managers M&S is to
earn customer’s satisfaction as maximum (Singhal and Singhal, 2012). So the operations
management produce those kinds of products which can satisfy the consumer at the end of
the day. So the operations management makes sure to fulfil the demand of consumer can
satisfy them as much as they can.
Operations management add values only through by ensuring quality control over the
product. If M&S are giving their best quality services in producing the clothes, by producing
durable clothes the operation management add value to this by ensuring the durability in the